Silver Springers set their 2007 Resolutions
Jennifer Deseo
Ah, January! Time to swear off those pesky personal vices. To lose the weight, join a gym and never, ever get that drunk ever again. Ever.
What resolutions are Silver Spring's newsworthy residents making this year? The Voice examines the possibilities.
Quit smoking (or get out)
Even money says smokers at The Blairs are vowing to either kick the habit or find a new place to live.
On January 1, management of the downtown Silver Spring apartment complex snuffed out smoking inside all of its 1,400 units. The complex along East-West Highway and Colesville Road is the county's first residential development to go smoke-free.
Tenants are also required to sign a "smoke-free lease addendum," management wrote in a memo to residents. No signature, no lease renewal. Not everyone is happy.
"I had to sign it and I don't agree with it," one resident told The Gazette. "There are a lot of other things that should be managed instead of policing the smoking ban."
County law forbids landlords from discriminating against tenants based on their race, religion and sex, among other things. However, smoking does not get the same protection.
"We're trying to do the right thing," Elizabeth Lisboa, spokesperson for the The Blairs' management, told The Gazette. "Obviously, you can't please everyone."
Learn basic mathematics
Maybe Blair smokers could bring up their gripes with Valerie Ervin (D), who represents Silver Spring on the county council. Based on recent comments, it's a good bet that the first-term council member has resolved to take no prisoners in Rockville.
 | | You can count on Valerie Ervin to speak her mind as the new District 5 County Councilwoman. |
While Ervin is a newbie to the job, she's no stranger to politics. She served on the county's board of education and was chief of staff to council member George Leventhal (D-At large) before landing her current job.
Her background--along with the 2006 political enema that stacked the county council with Democrats--have buffed her brass balls to a brilliant luster.
At a council meeting last month, what would have been a straight up-or-down vote on the grant application process turned into a stinging exchange between Ervin and senior council members, the Washington Post reported.
Leventhal and council president Marilyn Praisner (D-Eastern county) proposed an independent review of grant applications, with approval reserved for the council. Ervin, on the other hand, wanted the independent reviewers to have the final say.
Leventhal reminded his "new colleagues and friends" that any five of the nine council members could allocate funds as they see fit, the Post reported.
"Thank you for the lecture on counting," Ervin snapped back. "I think all four of us that were [newly] elected count really well, and we understand that it takes five votes to do anything on this council."
"I also know that five votes taken in private did not exactly make the grants process transparent," Ervin added.
 | | Congressman Chris Van Hollen resolves to bring more Democrats to Washington in 2008. | Make more money
While the county council is working on its basic math skills, US Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md) is brushing up on the principles of campaign finance. His resolution is to keep the Democrats in the driver's seat.
Last month, Speaker-designate Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif) promoted Van Hollen to chair their party's Congressional campaign committee. It's now his job to recruit candidates and raise money for the 2008 House election, the Washington Post reported.
The two-term rep, whose turf includes parts of Silver Spring, wasted no time in asserting his oratory prowess in the Post. "We are going to continue recruiting to make sure we're in a position to continue the momentum to change direction in Washington," he said.
Van Hollen's cerebral speech contrasts sharply with that of his predecessor, firebrand US Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill). When Emanuel wasn't bashing the GOP in the press, he was rallying the Dems to retake Congress in the 2006 midterm election.
Can Van Hollen repeat Emanuel's success in 2008? Pelosi is betting the House on it.
Take on new challenges
In another game for nationwide dominance, one Silver Spring teen vows to become champion. Caroline Jones , a 17-year-old Albert Einstein senior, has resolved to walk away with all the marbles from this year's "Jeopardy!" teen tournament.
Jones was selected among 7,000 applicants to appear on the popular trivia-game show. She is the only contestant in this year's tournament to call Maryland home, The Gazette reported.
"We've sort of found this great use for Caroline's brain," Jones's mother, Stephanie, said to The Gazette. "We enjoy the benefits of her knowing what she knows."
And what mother wouldn't, especially since the younger Jones plans to put any winnings toward her college tuition. Even if she doesn't win the $75,000 grand prize, she is guaranteed to take home at least $5,000, The Gazette reported.
Jones goes toe-to-toe with 14 other contestants and the erudite--some say aloof--host, Alex Trebek , early this month. The episodes are scheduled to air beginning February 5.
Play more
The last resolution comes from Tarik Smith , a 30-year-old administrative associate from Silver Spring and a rabid fan of classic video games. Given the currently high demand and low inventory of popular game systems, chances are, Smith is resolving to spend more quality time with his Atari console.
That's right: Atari, a model dating to 1977. However, he has spent a lot of time recently with his Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), which he received as a gift when he was 12 years old. No seizure-inducing graphics. No complicated controls. No delicate disks to handle.
"Sometimes you just want to sit down and play a game," Smith told the Washington Post.
Who can blame him for savoring the old-school game consoles? Software problems have sucked the fun out of the PlayStation 3 (or PS3) system, which sells at retail between $500 and $600, the Baltimore Sun reported.
And in the hands of enthusiastic gamers, wireless controls for the new Nintendo Wii system have become projectile objects, piercing through plasma screens and bruising adjacent players, according to CNN.
"I don't understand why everybody's spending so much money and sweating over the PS3s and the Wiis," Smith told the Post. "Especially when they could still spend hours playing their old NESes."
And play he does. He spent four hours on a Friday night playing "Tecmo Super Bowl," and another five hours on Saturday, said the Post.
Still, Smith does have a life, or some semblance of one. He even has a girlfriend. (Sorry, ladies.) Jennifer Dostal, a 30-year-old web developer, told the Post that her boyfriend's hobby is like collecting antique cars.
"He's just having a lot of fun with games he played with when he was a little kid," she said.
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