Posted at 12:00 PM ET, 11/23/2011
Thanksgiving getaway: Transit and transportation changes
By Mark Berman

It’s Thanksgiving week, which means travelers are already heading out of town. It also means a lot of transit changes that could impact you whether you’re hitting the road or still heading to work on Thursday and Friday.

The Capital Weather Gang is predicting rain and wind for Wednesday, followed by much nicer weather on Thursday. If you’re flying on Wednesday, make sure to check with your airline before you leave the house because inclement weather could cause big delays.

Dr. Gridlock has already given out lots of advice for travelers, but in case you missed any of it:

?Some tips for travelers seeking the best routes and travel times.

? Dr. Gridlock’s holiday getaway guide.

? A live discussion with readers tackling, in part, holiday travel.

? The live Google+ Hangout where Dr. Gridlock and Dana Hedgpeth discussed holiday travel with area transportation officials.

There will also be plenty of transit and transportation changes caused by the holiday. Here’s our roundup:

Parking Enforcement

D.C.: No parking tickets will be issued for expired meters, rush hour lane violations or residential parking violations on Thursday. The District Department of Public Works will also not tow abandoned vehicles on Thursday. Parking enforcement resumes on Friday.

Alexandria, Va.: Parking enforcement is lifted on Thursday and Friday.

Arlington, Va.: Parking meters are not enforced on Thursday and Friday.

Montgomery County: Parking meters are not enforced on Thursday.

Metro

On Thursday, Metrorail and Metrobus will be operating on a Sunday schedule (opening at 7 a.m. and closing at midnight) and parking will be free at all Metrorail station parking facilities. On Friday, Metrorail and Metrobus will run regular Friday service (opening at 5 a.m. and closing at 3 a.m.).

Metro will also be adding additional buses to the 5A route for travelers heading to Dulles. There will be no significant track work over the Thanksgiving holiday.

MARC

There will be no MARC service on Thursday and Friday. If you’re a Penn Line rider, remember that Amtrak does not accept MARC weekly and monthly tickets on days when there is no MARC service.

And here are a few changes that should be noted by MARC riders aiming to leave work early on Wednesday:

? Brunswick Line trains 871 and 877 will run, while train 879 will hold for 20 minutes in Union Station. The 4:55 p.m. Brunswick Line departure from Union Station won’t be operating.

? Camden Line train 852 will be operating and making all stops to Camden Yards, while the 5:51 p.m. Camden Line departure won’t be running.

? The larger Penn Line train sets for rush hour travel will be used beginning with train 520 (departing at 12:20 p.m.). There will also be an extra Penn Line train leaving Washington at 2:50 p.m. and making all stops to Perryville. The 5:25 p.m. Penn Line departure will hold for 25 minutes in Washington.

VRE

The Virginia Railway Express won’t run on Thursday. The rail agency will be operating on an “S” schedule on Friday.

There will also be additional cars for the Fredericksburg Line on Wednesday afternoon to alleviate potential overcrowding as people leave work early.

Ride On

Montgomery County’s Ride On service will run a Sunday schedule on Thursday.

DASH

Alexandria’s DASH system will not run on Thursday, but it will resume full service on Friday.

Arlington Transit

On Thursday, Arlington Transit will run ART routes 41 and 51 on Sunday schedules. On Friday, ART routes 41, 42, 51 and 87 will run on Saturday schedules.

The STAR call center will also be closed on Thursday and Friday. Standing orders are canceled for both days; call 703-892-TRIP (8747) to schedule rides.

Fairfax Connector

The Fairfax Connector is running a Sunday schedule on Thursday and a holiday weekday schedule on Friday.

OmniRide

There will be no OmniRide service on Thursday. On Friday, there will be a modified holiday schedule with limited service. (Check your particular schedule to see if it will be running.)

TheBus

TheBus in Prince George’s County will not run on Thursday.

By Mark Berman
 | 
12:00 PM ET, 11/23/2011

Categories: 
Getaways

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Posted at 04:07 PM ET, 11/23/2011
P.M. Getaway Update: Crowds on I-95, flight delays in the Northeast
By Mark Berman

For the latest transportation and transit news, follow us on Twitter: @drgridlock.

Thanksgiving travelers continue streaming out of town, heading to the region’s airports or hitting the road for the holiday. But congestion and flight delays could cause problems on Wednesday afternoon and evening.

If you’re still at work and staying in town, remember that there are lots of transit and transportation changes that begin on Wednesday and continue through Friday. If you’re in town but planning on leaving, make sure to read Dr. Gridlock’s getaway guide.

The Capital Weather Gang warns that there could still be some rain this afternoon and evening, which could cause delays.

After the jump, information on area roads, airports and delayed flights.

On the roads: There’s traffic where you would expect traffic on the Wednesday afternoon before Thanksgiving. In Virginia, there are heavy delays on I-95 South beginning in Newington and continuing far, far south. Westbound I-66 is jammed outside of the Beltway.

In Maryland, I-95 North is pretty crowded on both sides of Baltimore. I-270 North is slow north of the spur.

There are also very heavy delays on I-95 North in Delaware approaching Wilmington.

The F.A.A.’s flight delay map is still showing issues throughout the Northeast in Newark, LaGuardia and JFK airports in New York and Boston. There are also delays in San Francisco.

Crowds are flocking to Dulles International, Reagan National and Baltimore Washington International airports.

At Reagan National early on Wednesday afternoon, there was a lull after lunch before the main terminal began filling up with people who had left work early to catch flights.

The lunchtime crowd at Sam and Harry’s, located next to the security line in Terminal C, was lighter than on a normal Wednesday, said Nick Ryan, the executive chef.

A Transportation Security Admnistration official at National said it felt like a normal day with lots of “ebb and flow.”

Security lines were moving smoothly at National and Dulles, said Rob Yingling, a spokesman for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, which operates both airports.

It was busy during the morning and afternoon at BWI Airport, where things also went smoothly, said Jonathan Dean, an airport spokesman. The airport is expecting about 72,000 departing and arriving passengers.

Dean did have a warning for anyone heading to BWI to pick up passengers arriving this afternoon and evening. In the morning, they see mostly outbound travelers, but in the afternoon and evening it will be mostly arrivals. That means a lot of traffic on the airport’s roadways.

Drivers should use the cell phone lot or park in the hourly garage, he said. Another tip: Meet arriving passengers on the upper level, where departures normally go, rather than the lower level.

And if you’re flying on AirTran but haven’t been to BWI since the summer, the airline moved to a different terminal at the airport.

Before you head to the airport, check with your airline to make sure everything is running on time.

Here are some resources:

Airlines

Airlines serving BWI

Airlines serving Dulles

Airlines serving Reagan National

The FAA’s Flight Delay map

Airline advisories

AirTran Airways

American Airlines

Continental Airlines

Delta Airlines

Frontier Airlines

JetBlue

Southwest Airlines

United Airlines

US Airways

Virgin America

By Mark Berman
 | 
04:07 PM ET, 11/23/2011

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Updated: November 25, 2011 2:29AM

The auction of 34 unique wooden benches sponsored by Lindenhurst Lake Villa Fine Arts Council garnered $12,805 donated to local charities, including $5,000 to Lake Villa Township Food Pantry, with the balance used to create a new LLV Fine Arts scholarship fund.

Lake Villa Boy Scout Troop 188 also received $1,700, in part because they built the wooden benches designed by Pat Gallagher, owner of Twisted Cow in Lindenhurst. “As funds are paid to us from last month’s auction, we anticipate more money will be donated to the food pantry with enough left over to fund $500 scholarships for two years to Lakes, Grayslake North and Grant High Schools,” said LLV Fine Arts Council Treasurer June Goss.

The public art project was the group’s most ambitious undertaking so far, said Goss. “It was all about raising money for local groups, especially the food pantry because we are seeing an increase in hungry families, with the township pantry serving more than 1,000 families monthly. Our number one priority was to help our residents in need.”

Also a priority was creating the scholarship fund to benefit Lake Villa Township students who want to pursue a college education in fine arts.

The project started last year with the idea of having a public art project that would benefit the entire community. The council brought together local businesses, community groups and individuals to sponsor 34 benches built by Boy Scout Troop 188 and creatively painted by local artists.

The benches were displayed throughout the Lake Villa Township during the summer and early fall, followed by a dinner gala and auction Nov. 5.

“We want to thank all the sponsors, artists and buyers for making this event so successful. It was a wonderful evening of fun, with bids flying back and forth and lots of happy people when they won a bench,” said Betty Burns, Fine Arts Council member and one of the organizers of the auction.

Goss confirmed resident Rob Frank, who acted as auctioneer, did a fabulous job, “and the Boy Scouts carried the benches all around the room so bidders could get the best view of them. It was a lot of fun,”

Goss said the council usually sponsors a big project or event every other year, with the bench art program the most ambitious to date. “We usually do a big project every other year. We are really pleased with how the bench project turned out, given we are a small local group. We will talk about our plans for 2012 when we meet again in January and look around the community to see what groups may need our support.”

What to do this Thanksgiving weekend! Get in the holiday spirit with these very bright holiday Getaways!

*The Festival of Trees at the Granger Homestead in Canandaigua is an annual holiday event that lights up the Ontario County mansion. See wall-to-wall Christmas Trees now through December 10th. Hours Friday-Sunday 11am-5pm (Closed Thanksgiving Day) $5 adults, $4 seniors, $1 kids, under 5 are free. (585) 394-1472

*Its a Dickens Christmas in Skaneateles that transforms the village into A Christmas carol with all the characters mingling and singing! This unique holiday getaway happens Saturdays and Sundays, 12 noon to 4pm now through December 18th with a brief show on Christmas Eve.

*Lights on the Lake on Onondaga Lake in Liverpool near Syracuse is a 2-mile drive-thru holiday light show open every night of the week from 5pm to 10pm. $8 per car Monday-Thursday, $12 per car Friday-Sunday.

*Albanys Hannaford Capital Holiday Lights in the Park in Washington Park is a drive-thru holiday display with 125 light displays and scenes open every night from 6pm-9pm and until 10pm Fridays and saturdays. $15 per car.

Festival of Trees

Lights on the Lake

Hannaford Capital Holiday Lights

Dickens Christmas in Skaneateles

Audrey Castoreno
acastoreno@kwes.com

MIDLAND- Thanksgiving is all about sharing and thats one thing a local organization is working to instill in their daughters by working the usual Meals on Wheels routs this holiday.

The meals came with all the fixings, butit was nothanded out by the usual Meals on Wheels drivers.

No, this holiday, girls also known as Indian Princess Tribes and their families were in charge.

We get together to deliver these meals so that the city has a day off, Tribe Leader, Rick Mesa said.

This year the tribes teamed up with Way Out West restaurant, who prepared the traditional meals. In all, they delivered to over 200 meals toelderly in the Midland and Odessa areas.

These people theyre not going to get a thanksgiving meal, or this will probably be the only meal they get today, and the only interaction they get with anybody until Monday, said Mesa.

Gabe Estrada got his whole family involved in the holiday project. This is their second year taking part.

It makes me feel good because you just know that you helping out the less fortunate, and it makes you realize what you have and your giving back to the community. Youre giving those a break who usually do this, volunteer Sarah Estrada said.

Its important to me because you get to meet new people that you havent met, and your helping them out, volunteer Gabriella Estrada said.

The volunteer effort is definitely showing these girls what the holiday season is all about.

They dont care if you call it Black Friday, Small Business Saturday or something else, just as long as you call — call at their shops and galleries, that is.

This weekend, long heralded as the biggest shopping time of the year, all sorts of galleries around Springfield will be open both Friday and Saturday, and artists and business owners alike are hoping shoppers searching for holiday gifts will consider the gift of fine art.

We are not only going to be open, well be doing continuous demonstrations, said Terry Bloodworth, owner of Springfield Hot Glass. Well have special deals on seasonal items and treats for our customers from Amycakes bakery.

For several years now, theres been a push to buy American-made products, and this year is no exception.

Ideas ranging from gift certificates for a day at the spa to housekeeping and pet-sitting services have all been suggested as alternatives to cheap Chinese-made products thrust at the American public during the Christmas shopping season.

Art fits right in with other locally-produced gifts, local businessmen and women say. Eunice Wallar, owner of Waverly House Gallery and Gifts, said that although her benefit exhibit for A Sporting Chance is still on display, theres much more to see.

We have art everywhere, she said, not just in the show.

Galleries along Walnut Street, such as Good Girl Art, which is featuring the paintings of Kate Baird, are open both Friday and Saturday, as is the cooperative space Fresh Gallery, a little farther down the street.

Fresh will have a number of items for less than $50, said Carl Huser, a wood-turning artist and member of the Fresh group.

Huser added that many works at the gallery right now were created with gift-giving in mind.

Nathan Falter, owner of Springfield Pottery, said visitors are welcome both Friday and Saturday, and again, the upcoming Christmas holiday is the perfect occasion to purchase a piece of locally-made ceramic art, either for someone else or just for yourself.

A bit out of downtown, but still nearby, Maschinos Home Expressions continues its exhibit of the work of select artists who are members of Fresh Gallery, and owner Nancy Dornan said the idea of people stopping in Friday and Saturday to look at the art sounds wonderful.

Obelisk Home Gallery, whose exhibit by painter Karen Schneider was featured in this space a few weeks back, will also be open, and that exhibit will continue through the weekend.

Many other venues will be open for the weekend following Thanksgiving, and the galleries mentioned above are not meant to be a complete listing, just suggestions for a place to start.

So when its time to go holiday shopping, the gift of fine art might be just the ticket — and long after that musical plastic Santa or blow-up reindeer is gathering dust in the attic, the painting or print or piece of art glass or pottery will still be important to the person who received it.

Most galleries mentioned above will open at 11 am both Friday and Saturday, but a few will open earlier.

Check their websites or call them to verify business hours — and enjoy shopping for locally-created gifts.

Supermarket thieves caught when getaway car has no fuel

Two supermarket thieves were caught when they forgot to put petrol in their
getaway car.

The Getaway Plan will play the Cambridge Hotel on Saturday. Tickets from Moshtix or at the door.

THE Getaway Plan found fame and success with lightning speed after bursting on to the scene in 2006. Three years later, it all stopped when the band announced an indefinite hiatus.

But two years on, they have re-formed, recorded a new album and are heading on the road for a national tour.

Drummer Aaron Barnett spoke to LIVE about the alternative band’s early experiences and the year they’ve had since reuniting.

”At the start it was just all fun, because we were just young kids, straight out of high school. All we were doing was going on the road touring and that was fun,” Barnett said.

”But the album [Other Voices, Other Rooms] came out and within a year we went from playing 200-capacity venues to thousands and playing Big Day Out crowds and stuff like that. With that comes the media and all that attention and I think that just got to all of us. We obviously weren’t ready for all of that.”

Things came to a head in February 2009 when the band announced they would no longer make music together.

Before the hiatus, the band completed a tour and released a compilation album. Then Matthew Wright (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Clint Owen Ellis (guitar), Dave Anderson (bass) and Barnett went their own ways.

The drummer said it wasn’t an easy decision to step away from a group that had defined their lives for so long.

”It was a bit of a shock for all of us. It was hard because all we’ve known is to play music and tour so it was kind of hard to think, ‘shit, what am I going to do?’ You just can’t go and get a normal job,” Barnett said. ”But now we look back and it’s the best thing that could’ve happened for The Getaway Plan.”

While they were taking a break, the band members pursued other projects including The Amity Affliction, Young Heretics and Deez Nuts. But the months passed and they began spending time together again.

”We just started slowly hanging out together again. We kind of wanted a break from each other, I guess, after the break-up. But after a while we just started hanging out again – we missed each other,” Barnett said.

Hugo is arguably director Martin Scorseses most personal work to date, a love letter to the pioneers of Golden Age filmmaking and a beautifully constructed – in 3D, no less – tale of the magic in the art that has long since believed lost. Scorsese brushes every stroke of this work with care and admiration, even when the film is more slapstick kiddie fare than the real passion he allows to bleed through in Hugos last half. Always exquisite but never gaudy, the film, and its filmmaker, realizes the settings and story with child-like wonder to the point where even when the mystery has been unfolded, the magic is still allowed to awe us.

The setting is 1930s Paris where orphan Hugo Cabret (Asa Butterfield) lives alone in the walls of a train station. He winds the clocks. He steals the food he needs along with random, mechanical parts. When hes not sneaking in to watch films at a local theater, hes observing the real life movies, the brewing relationships and interesting characters, going on right there in the station. Hugos only real desire in life is to bring to life the strange robot his deceased father left behind, a robot within which Hugo believes his fathers last message resides. And so it is, after stealing from a local toy shop owner in the station, Hugo, along with an eccentric, young girl, discovers the truth behind the robot, his fathers message, and the past life the toy shop owner wishes to keep buried.

Its in that first half of Hugo, when the mystery is revealing parts of itself and the story is being established, where the kiddie aspects of the film are allowed to run rampant. Even amidst the breathtaking visual imagery Scorsese offers us, the humor falls back on pratfalls one too many times. Much of that comes from Sacha Baron Cohens station inspector who is hot on the trail of this mysterious boy who steals from local shop owners. Yes, the film looks stunning, something that never subsides in Hugo, but much of this comedy seems to run in the obvious circles far too often. Thankfully Scorsese and screenwriter John Logan are able to make the station inspector a multi-dimensional character, one whose story brings a far greater emotion than expected.

But its in the last half of the film, when it goes from being about Hugos quest to uncover his fathers hidden message to being the secret of the toy shop owner, that Scorseses real fondness for this story comes to light. Based on the book by Brian Selznick, its no wonder after seeing Hugo why Scorsese jumped at the chance to make this film, to tell this story. An avid fan of the art of cinema, Scorsese is allowed to uncover the mysteries and magic of his own childhood, watching BW and silent films of old and working out how the masters of that form of cinema were able to pull their tricks off. While the last half of Hugo might grow dry for some, most notably the crowd for whom the first half was devised, there is no question it was realized by a current master of the craft, one who has a passion for what he does and for all who did it before him.

Its a stroke of genius for Scorsese to present this story in the latest of technologies, as well. With the steamy, metallic corridors of the inner workings of the train station to the bustling and colorful streets of Paris, Hugo was a film made for 3D. It immerses you far greater than any film has to date, transports you to this wonderfully lush world even when that world is clearly crafted inside a computer. One moment early on follows Hugo as he travels through the station, one, unbroken shot that would grasp your attention regardless but becomes an incredible journey through this location with the 3D working at its best.

However, Hugo is more than just a film studies course and 3D trek through a Parisian train station. Theres a level of emotion at work here that goes beyond Scorseses love for cinema, one that embeds itself into this story of a young boy whos lost his place in life. His father deceased, his uncle abandoned him, Hugo is alone in his world with only the robot and the mystery of what it holds to keep him company. Through his journey and friendship with young Isabelle, played stunningly as always by Chloe Moretz, Hugo finds himself as he is finding the secret of another mans desire to become lost.

Enter Sir Ben Kingsley as the toy shop owner. Kingsley brings an air of mystery to this character, one that was already established based on his actions alone. But this actor in this role even helps establish the environment Hugo is living in even more. When the secrets begin to be revealed and we see flashbacks surrounding this man, Kingsleys ability to transform himself becomes even more apparent. He becomes the man hes supposed to be playing, brings the character and his works to a new life that surely has become one of Scorseses proudest moments of his career. Its a passionate character crafted by a passionate filmmaker, and an actor as fine as Kingsley finds no effort in fleshing him out.

Hugo is a fabulous work of cinema for anyone who has a love for the art, a beautiful work of sentimentality from one of the leading craftsmen working today. Scorsese is a master filmmaker, but even he has idols of the art form that he looks up to. Hugo is a way for him to express this fervent admiration, to introduce us to both what made him desire to do what he does and the genius creators who inspired him. Full of exquisite imagery and emotional storytelling, Hugo is a love letter to the masters of cinema crafted by one who will surely go down in history as just that.

Jeremys Rating: 9 out of 10

Small businesses are still learning how social media marketing can help them grow their customer relationships, this according to Mark Schmulen, general manager of social media at Constant Contact. The latest survey from Constant Contact on social media usage in small business finds that social media marketing efforts are on the rise and thriving. In fact small business representations have grown over the six months since the last survey was administered and the efforts have proved to be an effective marketing and customer relationship building strategy.

Just six months ago, (businesses) were learning the ropes and finding out what social media marketing tools were available. Now, they are beginning to understand more about what social media marketing can do for them,says Mr. Schmulen. In last months survey, 1,972 respondents, represented by only small businesses of which 81% have 25 or fewer employees, with 87% of the businesses recorded as being located in the US, report that use of specific online marketing tools revealed a significant reduction in perceived barriers to adoption of social media tools since last springs survey. Survey participants reported an increased awareness of social tools as being able to easily update and quickly distribute information with little effort. In the previous survey, the barriers to usage were a perception that social media tools were time-consuming and difficult to use.

The fall survey indicates that small business perception of social media usage is significantly easier and qualified the use as more time-efficient than previously anticipated.This revelation suggests that small businesses may adapt and make better decisions more quickly than their larger, corporate counterparts. Since discovering these barriers to usage were not founded, respondents to the survey say, although these tools do not require a significant amount time, the businesses now report wanting to allocate more time to the effort. Facebook and Twitter being the clear winners in the category of target marketing, showing an increase of usage by these respondents, to 96% and 76%, respectively.

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