With Patch slashing employees, wither Local?

News broke this morning that AOL's Patch will be pink-slipping workers today.  We have seen at least one local Patch editor report on being let go. 

This is especially rough coming on the heels of big changes at the sale of the venerable Washington Post earlier in the month.  For people in the area over forty, and those who haven't yet joined FaceBook, Twitter, Reddit, or some similar social media network to pass word of local news, it's more isolating than ever.

What will you be doing if you are accustomed to reading Patch?  Do you chat with neighbors periodically?  And where do you meet them, at the grocery store, commuting, at church or synagogue or mosque, or elsewhere? 

Do you feel as though you are in touch with what's going on in your community?

PG Desert, and Weekly Round-Up

Last week saw several notable events hereabouts.

First, a new blog was launched on the Upper Marlboro Patch.  The first post covers the recent NO KILL CONFERENCE and PG County's role there.  The annual event hosted people from across the globe, and took place near the end of July in Washington, DC.  If you missed the conference, be sure and read and subscribe to the new blog!

Also afoot is a court case, to litigate the confiscation of a beloved and necessary service dog for a person with disabilities who lives in PG County.  That story is both heartbreaking and infuriating.  And litigating against an entrenched bureaucracy in PG as you may know, ain't easy! Read about the journey here.

And finally, do we live in the desert?  You may be  a food desert-dweller, according to the USDA's new map.  Food deserts, where people have no, or limited, access to grocery stores with fresh, non-pre-processed food, exist in the County.

You can learn a lot more about it, from USDA.

Grass fed beef in burgers in Bowie

This evening I grabbed a bite at a new restaurant chain.  Elevation Burger now has a Bowie location in the Vista Gardens Marketplace on Route 450 (near the Home Depot).  This location is so new, that it wasn't in my GPS database, and I wasn't sure about the hours, but they were doing a lively business around 8:30 at night.  There are a lot of people behind Elevation's counter.  The menu is short, as has become the norm for fast-food type chains today.  But it's a pretty good menu, if you crave burgers and fries and a shake. 

I had the cheeseburger, my companion tried a shake with his.  The store also sells a vegan burger and a veggie burger that has cheese in it, so I'm eager to try those, too.  I think the beef burger has a delicious, authentic taste.  The elevation sauce is tasty too, and whoever fixed my burger wasn't too heavy-handed with sauce.  I don't like a drippy burger! 

You can order at some Elevation Burger locations online -- I think this location is too new to have that working so far.  Elevation's menu does include a few sides, including fries cooked in olive oil, cookies, salads, fresh fruits, and ice cream and shakes with various fresh ingredients to add in.  You can stack beef patties about as high as anyone could possibly want their burger stacked.  (I'm definitely a single-patty diner!!)

Not only is the beef grass-fed at Elevation rather than corn-fed, but the stores are high in use of recycling and some apparently are buying carbon credits or green credits where such are available.  Grass fed beef is a lot better for you nutritionally, than corn-fed.  Also, Elevation reports that their beef is free range, which would mean better living conditions for the cows generally. 

The Bowie store is not spacious but there are tables to eat in at, and there is plenty of parking nearby.  A lot of people were getting their food take-out when I was in, but the servers were very friendly and they were calling out names and bringing food out to diners and patrons.  I know there is an Elevation Burger also in Hyattsville, so I encourage you to check it out and "eat green" when you can.