RideOn Eyes Cutting ‘Round Rockville’ Route 45 On Saturdays

Drawing From The City

According to Rockville Central friend Max van Balgooy, one issue on citizens’ minds at the recent meeting of the Mayor and Council in Twinbrook is RideOn bus Route 45. Specifically, Montgomery County is considering canceling Saturday service on this route in order to plug the hole in its budget.

This seems a shame, and short-sighted given that just a few years ago it cost almost a million dollars to get the route up and running, and that it is envisioned as a key element in the business development plan for Rockville’s town center area.

Our friend Jonathan Smith let us know that the County has scheduled a public forum on the Route 45 (and other routes) cancelation. It is:

Monday, February 1, 2010
6:30 pm until the last speaker is done (whew!)
Executive Office Building Cafeteria, Terrace Level
101 Monroe Street, Rockville, Maryland

If you use this bus, you might consider making yourself heard at this meeting.

Drew Powell In MPW On The County Council Special Election

As Rockville Central readers know, one of our very favorite blogs that covers Montgomery County politics is Maryland Politics Watch, which is always useful.

As many readers also know, there’s an important County Council election coming up for District 4, the seat formerly occupied by Don Praisner and, before him, Marilyn Praisner. MPW has been covering this race in detail (as have our good friends at Just Up The Pike).

In an article this morning, former Rockville mayoral candidate Drew Powell has a very complete review of the District 4 candidates’ finances. One of Drew’s chief issues in his analysis is how much “developer money” the candidates are receiving. People differ on how important that is and what actually constitutes a “developer,” but regardless of your stance on that question, the piece is useful overall to give you a sense of this important aspect of the race.

It costs money to run a campaign. It’s hard for me to see how a serious candidate can get out their message with little or no funds. Based on the State Board of Elections database, it appears that there are only three candidates on which to perform campaign finance analysis. Those are (in alphabetical order) Kramer, Lamari and Navarro. From the standpoint of campaign funding, each candidate falls into very different categories. . . .

I urge people to read the rest. I am neither endorsing nor criticizing Drew’s conclusions, I am just pointing out that he makes a useful analysis.

Thanks, Drew, for a helpful addition.

Contributor Opinion By Jacquie Kubin: Your Libraries Need You!

Dear Neighbors:

With budget cuts your libraries need your help as they are being considered for additional cuts in hours they are open, services and amenities. It could mean drastically reducing your library services, or even closing your local library.

Hearing dates before the County Council are April 13, 14, 15 and 16th at 7pm held at the Council Office Building, 100 Maryland Avenue, Rockville, MD 20851.

You are encouraged to attend and speak out on behalf of your, and all, libraries. You much call in advance (240-777-7931) to sign up to speak. Each speaker will receive 3 minutes. If you wish a procedures document for speaking at a Public Hearing, please email me directly.

The Library needs people to attend these hearings, but if you cannot, please WRITE your state legislators, county councilmember, newspapers and electronic sources. At the end of this email is a listing of names and email addresses. Let them all know that you care about our library and want to keep it intact and whole. Here are some ideas you can use in your messages.

And if you are not a member of the Friends of the Library please visit our website, making sure to “click” your favorite library so that your donation funds go to your library.

If you have questions, need more information or want to let me know that you will be attending please email me and I will make sure you get the response you need.

Thank you for your action. Please cc me on your emails so that we can keep track of the number of letters sent. And please add Judy Hruz, editor of the Gazette (info also below) to your CC list. Let her know that this is important and deserves media attention.

Thank you in advance for helping.

Best,

Jacquie Kubin
President
Friends of the Library, Twinbrook Chapter

This is a contributor opinion. Rockville Central encourages readers to submit such opinions for consideration — the more voices the better. We especially welcome people who disagree with us. We ask that all such contributions be civil and we reserve the right to edit (in consultation with the author) or reject. Contributor opinions should not be seen as reflecting opinions held by Rockville Central editors, as they are just as frequently at odds with our own views. That’s the whole point!

A Glimpse of the Second Graders at the National Philharmonic

Yesterday I was let in on a secret. I found out what goes on when all the Montgomery County Public School second graders go on a field trip to hear the National Philharmonic at The Music Center at Strathmore. This week, November 18–20, 2008, the National Philharmonic is presenting an interactive concert twice each day to accommodate more than 10,000 students. Music Director and Conductor, Piotr Gajewski, invited me to this delightful experience which provided a glimpse at his professional life beyond the Rockville City Council.

When the house lights went down, the kids cheered. Maestro Gajewski explained that an “overture” is a piece played at the beginning of a performance. As the music started, I looked out over the crowd in the 1,976-seat concert hall and to my amazement, there was no wiggling. One boy in the back was even conducting along. Maestro explained that he chose the “Overture to Candide” because it was composed by his teacher, Leonard Bernstein. Teachers are important and he was glad that the kids brought their teachers along. The Maestro has a wonderful speaking tone with the children, filled with his enjoyment of the music.

Since it is almost exactly four years since Strathmore opened, the kids sung “Happy Birthday to Strathmore” with an orchestral accompaniment. A large screen above the stage highlights the musicians and instruments. Throughout the performance the children were an enthusiastic audience, clapping at every opportunity so that little bursts of applause peppered the morning.

Although Maestro Gajewski explained that you don’t usually get to stand up and sing with an orchestra, the kids probably left thinking it was an everyday occurrence. My son, a second grader at the performance, had brought home the music to “The Berry Pickers’ Song”, so we sung it together. I had no idea he had memorized the words and motions to perform with the National Philharmonic. The percussion section produced the sounds of smoke and steam from the “Little Train of Caipira”. The woodwinds sounded the train whistle while the horns and trombones brought a cow to life. All the children were on their feet and knew the words. The final note brought giggles from this engaged audience.

Composer Russell Peck, narrated his “The Thrill of the Orchestra”. He teaches all about the instruments, explaining how and why the musicians play. “It is like a listeners dream come true. There are so many magical things they could do.” At one point, the drums demonstrated their power and had the audience ducking. The brass musicians made a nasty sound with their mouthpieces but then played a beautiful piece through their instruments. The kids expressed their delight by clapping along to the classical concert without adult constraints. By the end of his piece, Mr. Peck had passed along the thrill of performing.

These second grade performances have recently been expanded to include fifth graders. The “All Kids, All Free, All the Time” program offers children ages 7-17 free admission to all National Philharmonic subscription concerts. The 2008-2009 season will feature 18 concerts at Strathmore, including Sunday matinee performances. With these initiatives, the National Philharmonic strives to make classical music and concert going a part of daily life for young people.

From me, the National Philharmonic gets a standing ovation!

County Council Studies Ambulance Fee

Note: Our friends at the Silver Spring Penguin (which you should definitely read) asked if we could cover a couple of County Council events. We usually don’t focus on County government, but since they have direct bearing on events in Our Fair City, we thought we’d publish them here too, with permission from the Penguin. The original article is here. We encourage any Rockville Central reader who has opinion on the ambulance fee issue to submit a contributor opinion article for consideration by sending us an email.

Last Thursday morning, the County Council’s Public Safety Committee held a worksession to discuss the proposed new ambulance fee. A procedural meeting, the Committee heard that the Fire and Rescue Commission had voted 4-3 to oppose the measure. They received technical amendments to the proposed legislation from Ike Leggett’s office. And they got answers to questions they had posed to the Executive after their July 24 worksession on the bill. On hand were representatives of volunteer rescue squads in Montgomery County.

Fire and Rescue Commission chair Kevin Maloney reported that at the previous night’s meeting, his commission had narrowly voted 4-3 to oppose the measure. “This process worked,” he said. “Maybe the outcome didn’t come out the way some wanted, but the process worked. . . It didn’t become a fractious discussion; it was a positive discussion.”

Next up: a delegation from the County Executive’s office. Leggett’s office had sent along a series of proposed amendment to the measure. According to Deputy County Attorney Marc Hanson, it seems that the original language of the bill would have actually allowed private insurers to refuse to pay claims for ambulance fees. It took a letter from private insurer GEHA to point this out.

Leggett’s office offered amendments that make explicit an assumption that had been embedded in the measure: that County residents’ taxes are being treated, in essence, as “prepayments” for any ambulance fees the County might impose. This follows a similar system already in place in Columbus, Ohio, according to Kathleen Boucher, the County’s assistant chief administrative officer.

At their July 24 worksession on the proposed ambulance fees, the Public Safety Committee had asked Leggett’s office a few questions. Among other questions, the Committee had asked about the possibility that imposing an ambulance fee would discourage people from using the ambulance when they need it. Opponents of the measure have pointed to this as a key argument.

According to attorney Ted Wolfberg, who is working on this issue as outside counsel for the County, this is a “laudable and legitimate policy debate.” But the studies opponents cite don’t actually support that position. While the studies do point out that income affects health care use, he reported, the studies don’t make a connection to ambulance fees.

Council Member Marc Elrich said, “I agree with how you read these studies, they just don’t indicate that fees have a deterrent effect. . . . If you do not have insurance . . . the magnitude of the ambulance fee is just a small portion of what you’re about to be hammered with. . . . people will still be afraid of going to the emergency room because if you don’t have insurance, you’re in deep, deep trouble.”

Council Member Don Praisner agreed, “I think this question is irrelevant. Neither side can prove to me [what will happen].”

However, John Bentovoglio, counsel for the Bethesda Chevy Chase Rescue Squad, pointed out that in Fairfax County, the year they imposed an ambulance fee — ambulance calls went down. “We are concerned about [the fee's] impact on people,” he said.

Council members expressed the most concern about what the possible paperwork and other administration might look like. “The devil is in the detail in this thing,” said Elrich.

Committee Chair Phil Andrews said that there would also be one more worksession — “which may be the final one” — at which the committee will get into the fiscal assumptions behind the bill, and just how efficient an ambulance fee will be at raising revenue.

County Decision on Rockville Library Parking

While visiting the Human Service Advisory Commission this evening, Rockville City Councilmember Anne Robbins reported that the Montgomery County Council had voted to continue to fund two hours of free parking in the Town Center garages for patrons of the Rockville Library.

Anne said that she worked with Judge Irwin Cohen and County Councilmember Phil Andrews to stop the resolution which would repeal the Policy on Parking at County libraries. A group of citizens with signs also turned out to show their support for free library parking.

So for now, the County will continue to pay Rockville. You will still be able to punch your parking space number into the machine in the library lobby and enjoy free parking.

Contributor Opinion by Gayl Selkin-Gutman

The following contributor opinion is by Gayl Selkin-Gutman, president of the Rockville Library Advisory Committee. She sent it along as an email originally, and I have reformatted it as an “opinion piece.”

If you listened to the last edition of Rockville Central Radio, you know that we discussed the fact that the Montgomery County Council appears poised to do away with a subsidy that makes free parking at Rockville Library possible. This contradicts a 2006 policy that the Council passed making parking free for all library patrons throughout Montgomery County.

My own opinion is that ending this subsidy, which I am told is $84,000 per year, is a bad move and sends the wrong message about the worth of public libraries. Libraries can turn areas that are otherwise strictly commercial in nature into civic hubs — witness what is beginning to happen in Town Square. This move would work against that, treating this important public institution as just another shop in a commercial center.

Enough from me. Here is Gayl’s note:

Dear Friends of the Library, Rockville Chapter and Members of the Rockville Library Advisory Committee,

As you may have heard, on Tuesday, May 13th the County Council plans to consider a hastily proposed resolution to eliminate the library parking subsidy. This means that the policy adopted in April 2006, enabling Montgomery county library patrons to park for free near all of the county’s libraries could be rescinded. The Rockville Library Advisory Committee seeks to encourage library use, and we support free parking at all county libraries. We believe that this resolution is the wrong way to go.

If you support free parking at the county’s libraries, please take the time to send an email, or contact your Council member to let them know of your support for this policy.

Following are some important points:

• The policy was established after significant input and deliberation – and should not be rescinded without allowing enough time to adequately inform the public, provide opportunities for sufficient input and understand the impacts of such a change.
• Requiring paid parking at only two of the 22 branches will deprive some county residents of equal access to their libraries.
• Imposing a parking fee would discourage library use for many patrons for whom driving is their only viable option for getting to the library.
• Many daytime library users, senior citizens on fixed incomes, the poor or the disabled, simply cannot afford to pay for parking

Thanks for your interest and support of the Rockville Library.

Rockville Central runs occasional, edited opinion pieces by contributors as well as other guest columns. Their views are not necessarily those of Rockville Central. We encourage you to join the growing list of contributors! To submit your piece for consideration, contact us.

Praisner, Fennel Win Council Primary

Don Praisner, widower of Marilyn J. Praisner whose vacant County Council seat is the subject of a special election set to be held May 13, won the Democratic primary in voting Tuesday night. His opponent will be Republican Mark D. Fennel.

According to the Gazette:

Praisner, 75, husband of former Councilwoman Marilyn J. Praisner, whose February death triggered the special election, had 44 percent with 3,288 votes with all precincts reporting. [Nancy] Navarro trailed with 39 percent and 2,940 votes.

Republican Mark D. Fennel, 42, a marketing analyst from Silver Spring, defeated candidate John McKinnis of Calverton in that party’s primary. Fennel had nearly 48 percent with 898 votes, while McKinnis had 41 percent and 771 votes.

The winners will square off in a District 4 special general election May 13.

The Gazette article is a good wrap so if you are interested I urge you to read it for the full scoop.

Looking For News Of Montgomery County Special Election Candidates?

You may have noticed that, compared to our coverage of last year’s City elections, Rockville Central has been mum on the subject of the upcoming special election to fill Marilyn Praisner’s seat (District 4, east county) on the Montgomery County Council. That’s because the district falls outside of our coverage area. (Here’s a map of County Council districts with the street names helpfully left blank.)

It is a big endeavor to really cover an election, and I just don’t have the time to devote to it and still keep up all of my other obligations! There are a lot of candidates, too. However, I do know that many Rockville citizens are interested. We are the County seat after all.

Thankfully, a blog for which I have extremely high regard has been diligently covering this election and plans to do more of it. Dan Reed’s Just Up The Pike is in the midst of a series of sit-down interviews with all of the candidates. Dan conducts a great interview and his writeups are excellent.

So, bookmark JUTP to keep up on the District 4 special election. The primary is April 15 and the general election is May 13.

College Admission Angst — "A Statistical Mirage"