On Pam's House Blend, American University Law Professor Tony Varona has written about Mayor Bruce Williams of Takoma Park, Mayor David Lublin of Chevy Chase, Mayor Peter Fosselman of Kensington, and Mayor Jeffrey Slavin of Somerset.
Showing posts with label kensington. Show all posts
Showing posts with label kensington. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 09, 2011
Sunday, February 28, 2010
County Council to Hold Town Hall Meeting in Kensington
Following is the press release from the County Council.
Montgomery County Council to Host Kensington / Garrett Park Area Town Hall Meeting on Wednesday, March 24
Residents Invited to Express Their Views on Issues, Ask Questions of Councilmembers at HOC Office Building
ROCKVILLE, Md., February 26, 2010—The Montgomery County Council will continue its efforts to find out what issues most concern residents when it hosts a Town Hall Meeting for the Kensington / Garrett Park area on Wednesday, March 24. The meeting at the Housing Opportunities Commission Office Building will start at 8 p.m. A pre-meeting reception will begin at 7:30 p.m.
This will be the second Town Hall Meeting hosted by the Council in 2010. The Council is composed of President Nancy Floreen, Vice President Valerie Ervin and Councilmembers Phil Andrews, Roger Berliner, Marc Elrich, Mike Knapp, George Leventhal, Nancy Navarro and Duchy Trachtenberg. On Feb. 3, at the Council’s first-ever Town Hall Meeting for students, more than 400 people attended in Rockville.
The Housing Opportunities Commission Office Building is located at 10400 Detrick Avenue in Kensington.
The meeting will allow residents to voice their opinions on specific issues and will allow them to ask questions of the Councilmembers in an organized, but informal, setting.
Topics expected to be of interest include the proposed White Flint Sector Plan, schools, public safety, traffic, growth, the County budget and taxes.
“As the County approaches the Fiscal Year 2011 budget, we are facing an unprecedented $761 million shortfall due to decreasing revenues. We must all work together to produce a balanced budget, but it is clear that we will be making very difficult decisions that will impact every resident of this County,” said Council President Floreen. “The timing of this meeting allows us to hear from residents about their priorities and their concerns. It also gives us the opportunity to explain some of the issues that are before us.”
Council President Floreen said Town Hall Meetings are one of the avenues the Council has pursued to keep residents better informed.
“This Council has made a priority of having better direct communication with residents, and Town Hall Meetings have proven to be an excellent way to do just that,” she said. “For the citizens, these meetings provide a forum where they can see their elected officials in a different format than a televised meeting or through a news release.”
The meeting will be taped for later broadcast on County Cable Montgomery (CCM—cable Channel 6 on Comcast and RCN, Channel 30 on Verizon). Susan Kenedy, a producer for the county station, will moderate the meeting.
For more information about the Town Hall Meeting or about the broadcast times, call 240-777-7931.
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Tuesday, September 08, 2009
Labor Day Pictures
Thanks to Barrie Carr, Senator Nancy King (D-39), Delegate Saqib Ali (D-39) and the Sligo Creek Golf Association for these pictures from the Kensington and Gaithersburg Labor Day Parades.
Kensington
U.S. Senator Ben Cardin
Attorney General Doug Gansler
County Executive Ike Leggett
County Council Member Nancy Floreen. Note how well-behaved her dog is!
County Council Member Marc Elrich. Note the sign: No Developer Influence!
State Senator Rich Madaleno (D-18), in blue, leads the District 18 Delegation.
Delegates Jeff Waldstreicher (left) and Al Carr (center), teammates in District 18.
These are only a few of the Al Carr supporters who showed up. Delegate Carr, a former Town Council Member in Kensington, had a strong turnout on his home turf.
The District 18 booth, swarming with more Carr fans.
Sligo Golf Course supporters made a strong showing.
Sligo golfers take over Connecticut Avenue.
Sligo Creek Golf Association President Karen Howland speaks with a Fox 5 reporter. Politicians beware!
Gaithersburg
Senator Nancy King (D-39) and friends wearing their colors.
Senator King was named "Distinguished Friend of Gaithersburg" this year even though her district borders, but does not include, the city. We hear that King is Gaithersburg's go-to person in Annapolis.
Delegate Saqib Ali and friends.
Monday, September 07, 2009
Kensington Labor Day Parade: Quick Impressions
Just a few notes from today’s Labor Day Parade in Kensington.
This parade is one of Montgomery County’s premier political events in an election year. Despite this being an off year, turnout was decent among both politicians and civilians. Office holders who participated included U.S. Senator Ben Cardin, Congressman Chris Van Hollen, Attorney General Doug Gansler, County Executive Ike Leggett, State Senator Rich Madaleno (D-18), Delegates Ana Sol Gutierrez, Jeff Waldstreicher and Al Carr (D-18), County Council President Phil Andrews and at-large Council Members Nancy Floreen, George Leventhal and Marc Elrich. Carr, a former Kensington Town Council Member, led in T-shirt count and Van Hollen led in sticker count, but none of the politicians felt it necessary to flood the event with supporters. The elections are still a year out.
Random question: why did Phil Andrews come to this event when his hometown Gaithersburg also held a Labor Day parade? It’s not that we don’t want to see you, Council Member, but inquiring minds want to know! (Update: we are told that Andrews went to both events.) Andrews had the good sense to ride in a Jeep while several other politicians rode in foreign vehicles.
We like political souvenirs so we grabbed a couple of them. Here’s a 2006-vintage Marc Elrich hand fan. No one needed them since conditions were cool and cloudy, but it’s still an interesting bit of history.
We are struck by the twin symbols of Elrich’s 2006 campaign: MCEA’s apple and the anti-developer pledge. Elrich has turned away developer contributions for his entire career and 2010 should be no different. But will the apple appear on his literature again? MCEA’s endorsement decision on Elrich will have a huge impact on the 2010 race, and perhaps on the balance of power in the next council.
Jane de Winter, who is running for an at-large County Council seat, was the only challenger of any kind to establish a presence at the event. Several of her supporters showed up in her T-shirts and handed out this literature piece.
We talked to two of de Winter’s supporters. They were both PTA moms who worked with her when she was President of the Montgomery County Council of PTAs. Education is their top issue, but they also praised de Winter’s intelligence (citing her PhD in economics) and her experience in dealing with county government as an activist. They told me a fundraiser is in the works. How many of these moms are there around the county?
Next time, we’ll bring back pictures. We promise.
Disclosure: The author is the Treasurer of the District 18 Democratic Team, which includes Senator Rich Madaleno and Delegates Ana Sol Gutierrez, Jeff Waldstreicher and Al Carr.
Friday, January 25, 2008
Should State Legislators Hand Over Their Salaries?
According to the Baltimore Sun, Senator Bryan W. Simonaire, Republican of Anne Arundel, is proposing to give the legislature the option to reduce its own pay. Currently, legislators’ pay is determined by a state commission, and the legislature can vote their recommendation up or down. Simonaire would like to allow the legislature to cut their own pay if the state’s finances suffer (as is currently happening). But is this such a good idea?
I’m not convinced that it is. I know quite a few politicians pretty well. They may be motivated by a lot of things, but pay is not one of them. After all, the typical state legislator makes just over $43,000 per year for a 90-day session and endless nights of putting up with crazed civic activists (like me). They would get a whole lot more money (and less aggravation) from continuous non-legislative employment, believe me. And the savings available from eliminating their salaries altogether amount to only $8 million out of a $15 billion general fund.
But the compensation question is an interesting one. In my industry – unionized construction – we have fixed scales for journey workers. But on certain jobs, we negotiate shared bonuses for the workers that are tied to targets. So if we meet our schedule dates, the workers would get a bonus. If we meet our safety goals, we would get another bonus. And if we keep absenteeism below a certain specified level, we’d be paid even more. Because the profitability of the contractors increases in line with our performance, they are more than happy to make these kinds of deals with us. In our case, bonus payments are made to groups of workers because construction is a team industry. So too is politics.
So why not have a bonus system for politicians? If all the legislators within a particular district get something important done for their constituents, let’s throw ‘em a bit of extra dough! So here’s my bonus schedule for my beloved District 18 delegation:
Install new sidewalk on west side of Connecticut Avenue in Kensington: $10,000 bonus
Bury power lines in Montgomery Hills: $20,000 bonus
End evil train horn noise in Kensington and Forest Glen: $30,000 bonus
Get special elections for legislative vacancies in MoCo: $40,000 bonus ($20,000 more for banning MCDCC members from appointing themselves)
Get funding for underground, deep-tunnel Purple Line: $50,000 bonus
Get new Metro entrance at Intersection of Death: $100,000 bonus plus Adam agrees to not send any email for a year.
So what are you waiting for? Come on guys!! Let’s get cracking!!!
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
Fourth of July Celebrations
Takoma Park is hosting its annual Fourth of July celebrations which include both a parade and fireworks. The parade goes down Maple Ave. and the fireworks take place at Takoma Park Middle School. Sen. Jamie Raskin sent out an email reminding friends and supporters of these events and his district headlined by the epigram " “A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against his government.” A very American sentiment though I wonder if Jamie realizes that he is now part of the government!
The Town of Chevy Chase will be hosting its annual picnic for town residents at Rosemary Elementary. The celebration starts off with the traditional kids parade at noon. Kensington is also hosting a children's bike parade at 9:45am.
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Where the Sidewalk Begins
According to the Gazette, Kensington Councilman Al Carr is pushing for a new sidewalk as a way of improving pedestrian safety in his town along Connecticut Ave.:
Pedestrian safety was also a factor in WMATA's surprise decision to cancel development at the Forest Glen Metro stop:Mayor Peter Fosselman started planning the meeting in March following the death of Karen Shprintz-Grossman of Potomac. The Temple Emanuel schoolteacher died from injuries sustained after she was struck by a car while crossing Connecticut Avenue at Dresden Street.
Three fatalities have happened near Dresden Street since 1991.
‘‘Connecticut Avenue is not the Beltway,” Chris Schiponi, of Kensington, told the panel of representatives. ‘‘How many people have to die in our town before you take action?”
A sidewalk on the southbound side of Connecticut Avenue from Washington Street south to Saul Road may help reduce pedestrian fatalities, Carr said.
‘‘You can walk from the District all the way up Connecticut on sidewalks except for the gap right here,” Carr said of the missing sidewalks on that stretch of Connecticut Avenue.
Officials with the State Highway Administration said in 2002 that installing a sidewalk was possible but expensive, and not much has changed in five years.
In 2002, a steep slope in the area would have required larger easements from property owners and retaining walls to hold back the dirt at an estimated cost of $228,000.
County Councilwoman Nancy M. Floreen (D-At large) of Garrett Park, who once served as mayor for that town, said she noticed improved driving conditions on Strathmore Avenue after SHA expanded the sidewalks and installed more streetlights. . . .
Del. Jeff Waldstreicher (D-Dist. 18) of Kensington said he lives near the University Boulevard intersection and noticed a ‘‘bottleneck” effect that may be causing problems all along Connecticut Avenue.
‘‘We need to ease the traffic through the community core,” he said. ‘‘Traffic slows so much right there that when people get freed they jet out of there.”
Sen. Richard S. Madaleno Jr. (D-Dist. 18) of Kensington said the state lawmakers could hold SHA’s ‘‘feet to the fire” in order to keep traffic discussions and solutions coming.
Steps need to happen to develop Kensington into a community where residents feel safe walking around town, Madaleno said.
As residents continued to raise concerns about pedestrian safety in and around the Metro area, and county officials worried the project may not mesh well with the surrounding single-family detached homes, however, WMATA has stopped the talks with developers.
The next step for WMATA is to continue working with Montgomery County and the State Highway Administration to ensure community concerns, specifically pedestrian safety, are addressed before any other plans are formulated, Bottigheimer said.
Community members are happy that the Metro property will remain untouched for now.
‘‘We were very encouraged to hear them talk about pedestrian safety,” said Adam Pagnucco, a member of the Forest Estates Community Association. ‘‘That’s what we want to hear.”
The nearby Forest Glen Road and Georgia Avenue intersection was named the most congested intersection in the county, according to the 2006 Highway Mobility Report, which was released by the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, and some residents have called for a tunnel under Georgia Avenue.
Pagnucco said residents were concerned about the already congested intersection getting worse with added housing and the school system being inundated with more students than it can handle. He said nearby Oakland Terrace Elementary School already has several portable classrooms and is about 300 students over capacity.
Paul Gordon, president of the Forest Estates Community Association, sarcastically called the intersection ‘‘our favorite intersection of death.”
No doubt the County's sluggish housing market also played a role in killing the project for now. Hopefully, any new plans will address these pedestrian safety concerns when WMATA is ready to try again.
Monday, February 05, 2007
More Booze in Kensington
At the request of legislators from District 18, the Montgomery County legislative delegation voted to support changes to liquor laws in the "metropolis", as Gov. O'Malley called it at Einstein High School, of Kensington. The changes, requested by the Kensington Town Council, would lower the food-to-alcohol requirement for restaurants to the level used in the rest of Montgomery County and hopefully make it easier for the Town to attract additional restaurants.
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