A chance to go see Guns N' Roses at The Fillmore in Silver Spring just got a lot more expensive. You now have to ask yourself -- how much is Axl Rose worth to me? more ›

Montgomery County police are currently investigating an incident where "about 50 teens and young adults" entered a 7-Eleven on the 12000 block of Tech Road in Silver Spring, stole food and drinks, then ran out. more ›

More details are coming to light in the incredibly odd story of a Metrobus driver who was stabbed by a man who was allegedly masturbating on board a bus early this morning. more ›

Layne Garrett has been experimenting with sound his entire life, but today he invites the public to join him for the SIlver Spring Sound Machine, the audience participation portion of Sonic Circuits. more ›

The Fillmore Silver Spring finally has an opening date. The Live Nation-owned venue on Colesville Road, which was announced way back in 2007 and hit a long series of speed bumps during development, will officially open on September 15 with a Mary J. Blige concert. more ›

A 20-year-old man was shot last night in the 12200 block of Georgia Avenue in Silver Spring, MD. The shooting occurred near a fast food restaurant around 10 p.m. Police say that the man is in critical condition. No further word on the circumstances surrounding the shooting.
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WTOP reports that police have issued a speeding citation to the Metrobus driver who rear-ended another Metrobus early this morning in Silver Spring. WMATA, who has not yet identified the driver in question, says that "about" 26 people have suffered injuries as a result of the accident, and all have been transported to area hospitals. The bus that rear-ended the other bus sustained windshield and door damage. more ›

NBCWashington.com has reported that James Jay Lee, the man who has held hostages at the Discovery Communications building since early this afternoon, is dead. No one is sure whether it was a bullet that killed Lee, or something related to the explosives he was reportedly toting around. more ›

UPDATE (5:15 p.m.): James J. Lee, who has been holding hostages since early this afternoon at the Discovery Communications headquarters building, was shot at about 4:48 p.m. Lee is in police custody but his condition is unknown at this time. Lee was described by Montgomery County Police Chief Tom Manger as having a "wide range of emotions" during the negotiations. more ›

Bum-bum-bum-bum! Reader and regular commenter DistrictDon19 snapped this shot of the Discovery Channel's headquarters in Silver Spring, which has been quite appropriately outfitted for the cable channel's annual Shark Week. You'll never go in the water again! more ›

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Restaurateur Jackie Greenbaum's pedigree is classic D.C. punk with a hint of girly girl. Born, raised, and educated in the D.C. area, she is known by many for her unique style. She's not hard to spot in a crowd with her spiky platinum blond hair and bright personality. It's her local roots, personal flair, and background that make Jackie's and the Quarry House Tavern beloved standards. With Greenbaum's new speakeasy, Sidebar, she fills the gap between the grittiness of Quarry House and the quirky fun of Jackie's. more ›

An 11-year-old girl was raped Tuesday night by two men who approached her at a park in Silver Spring and then brought her to a nearby apartment, Montgomery County Police said today. The girl reported the assault to her mother immediately after it took place, and two suspects were arrested shortly thereafter, police said. Officers found the men, Melquicide Sorto, 31, and Marcos Torres-Enriquez, 20, both of the 8700 block of Carroll Avenue in Silver Spring, inside the apartment where the girl said the rape had occurred. The suspects have been charged with one count of second-degree rape each. The girl was examined at a local hospital and released. more ›

Both President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle have been known to stop by local D.C. schools to visit with area students over the last year, but today was the first day the President visited a school in Maryland, according to the Post. Obama made a surprise to the lunchroom at Viers Mill Elementary School in Silver Spring today. He reportedly spent about 30 to 45 minutes chatting with 3rd and 5th graders at the school about what books they were reading. more ›

The Washington Blade reports (hat tip to The New Gay) that a kiss-in protest is planned for this evening at the Tastee Diner in Silver Spring. Aiyi'nah Ford and Torian Brown, a local lesbian couple, say that during a recent visit, they were asked to leave the restaurant by the manager after he observed them embracing.

Ford said a manager she identified only by the first name Paul, asked if they could "please take that outside." Ford asked Paul if he was serious, and he said that he was. Ford noted that a heterosexual couple was kissing at a nearby booth. more ›

The Washington Post has a story online about a deer that had to be put to sleep yesterday in Silver Spring. The deer, it seems, had been being chased by a dog, and in its efforts to flee, it first crashed through the front window of Greek Village Restaurant, and then later made its way peacefully inside a Giant Food grocery store, entering through the automatic door. The injured animal was eventually put to sleep once it was captured by animal control. The Post's headline? "Deer Rampage Ends in Silver Spring Supermarket." In the story itself, the frightened deer is alleged to have "ransacked" the greek restaurant, which would seem to mean that the Post believes this deer conducted a thorough inventory of the eatery and then robbed it. We're sure it was startling for patrons inside the restaurant, but "rampage" and "ransacked"? This is a deer we're talking about, right? more ›

Written by DCist contributor Andrew Schneider more ›

Silver Spring's new Fillmore music hall will be getting an $800,000 tax break over ten years under a law proposed by Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett. The proposed measure applies to the county's arts districts in Wheaton, Silver Spring, and Bethesda, and a county memo says the only projects eligible for the tax break would be the Fillmore and any condos units in a Bethesda building, the Trillium, that are occupied by "certified" artists or arts groups. The music hall, to be run by Live Nation, is expected to open in late 2009 or 2010. The agreement between the county and Live Nation has been criticized for being a sweetheart deal. more ›

Is this the end of the Silver Spring Fillmore saga? About a week after withholding funds for Live Nation's Fillmore music hall in downtown Silver Spring, Montgomery County Council members voted yesterday to approve $2 million more for the project. A week ago, we wrote that the Council voted to hold back the money to wait for some answers to questions about the project, but worried that their delay could cost them some or all of the $4 million the state was set to spend. Now the Council has gone ahead and approved their full share. more ›

The Montgomery County Council voted last week to withhold $2 million in county funds for Live Nation's Fillmore concert hall in downtown Silver Spring until some details are explained. The council members wanted to see the planning and land use details before releasing the other $2 million of their contribution. The county and state of Maryland are set to spend $4 million each on the Fillmore, with Live Nation and a developer adding about another $5 million in cash and land. more ›

We wrote last week that a deal was signed between Montgomery County and Live Nation for a Fillmore club in Silver Spring, and how Seth Hurwitz, head of local concert venue company I.M.P. vowed to keep fighting. Yesterday, Montgomery County Council members had their say, with some lambasting county officials over the deal. more ›

Despite continued opposition, Montgomery County finalized a deal with Live Nation for a Fillmore music hall in Silver Spring earlier this week. The deal, opposed by some local businesses, non-profits, residents, and a few Montgomery County legislators, will give the company $8 million in city county and state funds for the 2000-seat venue, which will pay a discounted rent of about $90,000 a year to the county. The county expects the venue to bring in $1.1 million in state and local tax revenue per year, for a profit on about $700,000 after bond payments. more ›

>> So Mayor Fenty and Schools Chancellor Rhee have scheduled 23 simultaneous school closure hearings at each of the proposed 23 schools to be closed. Logistics nightmare questions aside, what is a parent who has a child at more than one of the schools supposed to do? Pick which child they think is more important? [WaPo] more ›

Happy Christmas Eve, Washington. With the frenzy of last-minute shopping and travel out of the city largely complete, folks staying here for the holiday are being treated to a quieter, gentler D.C. than normal, and it turns out in more ways than one. Over the weekend the Post took a look at a recent decline in the murder rate, reporting that only nine homicides have been logged in the District in the 37 days since Nov. 17. That adds up to roughly half the average murder rate for the rest of the year. Are the District's murderers just feeling the holiday spirit a little more deeply this year? Chief Lanier, naturally, credits the work of her detectives, noting a sharp increase in the number of homicide arrests made during the same period. more ›

We've reached another Friday, D.C., but if those light flurries that accompanied you on your way into work this morning gave you visions of a leisurely Saturday snowball fight, you'll likely end up disappointed. Very little accumulation is expected from these flakes, and the weekend will see temperatures back in the upper 40s, with a possibility of some light rain on Saturday morning, according to CapitalWeather.com. If this update doesn't satisfy your weather nerd urges,... more ›

A Post business columnist and an independent music non-profit have joined the chorus questioning Live Nation's proposal for a Silver Spring music hall. Last Friday, Steven Pearlstein wrote that while I.M.P. boss Seth Hurwitz has fought against competition for his 9:30 Club before, and his alternative proposal to Live Nation is in his own best interest, "he's put forward a financial proposal attractive enough that county officials cannot ignore it." more ›

A happy Friday to you, Washington. Hopefully you all made it in to work on time despite Metro having reduced the speed of their rail cars in several areas this morning. Speed restrictions were in place until 8:10 a.m. along portions of the Orange line in Maryland and Virginia, the Red line from Union Station to Silver Spring and from Shady Grove to Grosvenor, and the Green line from Branch Avenue to Congress Heights... more ›

Via Silver Spring, Singular, we find this amusing/embarrassing video spoof based on The Fresh Prince of Bel Air put together by Darryl Williams, the new principal of Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring. Back in October, the Washington Post ran a profile on Williams as he transitioned into his new job at Blair, taking over for popular former principal Phillip Gainous. From the looks of things, Williams is already making his mark on... more ›

>> A gas main break closed Route 1 in Alexandria this afternoon. Expect delays. [WaPo] >> The suspicious death of a two-year-old Silver Spring boy has been ruled a homicide. [WTOP] >> Authorities have arrested and charged a Clinton, Md., woman with attempted murder and other arson-related charges for her involvement starting fire in a Gaithersburg apartment building on Thanksgiving morning. [NBC4] >> An Oak Hill Thanksgiving: "Just days before, a riot broke out... more ›

The plot thickens for the Montgomery County-Live Nation concert hall deal. In September the county signed a non-binding letter of intent with concert promoter Live Nation for a Fillmore concert hall in Silver Spring, which would give the company $8 million in state and county funds, rent well below the market rate, and other perks. But now, county council members, groups of residents, and even the Howard County executive are questioning the county's deal and backing the proposal by I.M.P., Seth Hurwitz's Montgomery-based company that runs the 9:30 Club and Merriweather Post Pavilion. I.M.P.'s proposal for a club would be cheaper for the county and would pay more rent. more ›