Text Box: AROUND TOWN Text Box: Steve Matney’s kinetic sculpture, “Jazz Hands,” finished (yes, that’s an accomplishment in this race) in the Kinetic Sculpture Race of the Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore on May 5. The entries are all amphibious, human powered “works of art” --one a 24’ long steamboat--mostly pedaled over the 15-mile course, which includes mud and sand traps, but also equipped with pontoons for the water-borne section in Chesapeake Bay. Both the contraptions and the pedalers sometimes collapse before the finish line and end of the eight hour race. “Jazz Hands” won the “Best Art” award for its team’s land-based dance performance. Aleya Khalifa and Chelsea Shaut were models in the gala Walt Whitman fashion show May 19. It was part of the school’s “Festival of the Art” celebration. Chris Anderson was named one of the 100 Most Influential People in The World by Time magazine in its May14 issue. The editor of Wired magazine, he wrote an influential business book “The Long Tail.” He is the son of Jim and Carlotta Anderson and brother of Julia Wilson and grew up in Glen Echo. Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority is planning to remove some of the wood pieces that are threatening to fall off the former trolley trestles along MacArthur Blvd., The Mohican Hills Citizen reports. Protective chain link fences were recently installed at each end of the four existing trestles, two of which are in or near Glen Echo… Michelle Brafman of Oxford Rd. just completed her M.A. in Writing at Johns Hopkins Univesity and received the Outstanding Fiction Student award from the faculty… Several town residents were disturbed in mid-May by the visit Text Box: of what one described as “scam artists,” who claimed to be “new neighbors” collecting money for a scholastic program. They had no credentials. One mentioned that the program would involve a trip to Barcelona, another offered to do a chore in exchange for money, and one threatened to have her “Mom call you if you don’t give me a check,” although she looked to be about 30 years old. After agreeing to contribute, one resident was told to write a check for $40, which she did. A resident called police and the visitors were not seen again.. About two dozen people who use the Clara Barton Community Center in Cabin John showed up at a public forum last month to ask that improvements for the center be included in the county’s 2009-14 capital budget. Of particular importance, they said, was a new roof, more storage space, and the possibility of opening the second floor to some kind of use. The county is considering upgrades at eight of its aging community center and $320,000 has been proposed for the 2008 budget… Nine Cabin John residents packaged and mailed 10 large boxes of toys for children in Iraq to two soldiers based in and around Baghdad, The Village News reported. One soldier has begun distributing some of the items to a displaced family now living in a “bombed-out shack.” The other, who organized the “Beanies for Baghdad” project has developed an extensive network for distribution of the donated items… Five hundred cyclists are expected to undertake an eight-day tour of the Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail on June 23-30. Participants in the 6th Annual Greenway Sojourn will have a 335 mile ride on the longest multi-purpose trail in the nation...