MoCo County Council Forgets to Check Backgrounds on Top Candidates for Planning Board.

This week the Montgomery County Council is setting a really bad example for students. They forgot to do their homework.  

In this case that means that the County Council released a list of the names of their "top" candidates to fill the vacant Montgomery County Planning Board seats without researching the candidates.

Just a few simple Internet searches would have yielded important information, such as tax liens.   

Why do personal liens matter on candidates for Planning Board positions? It's always a concern to put someone in a position of power that might have some vulnerabilities related to their personal financial status.  

Not only did they County Council forget to do their homework on their "top" candidates, but they are also blatantly violating Maryland law with regard to the appointment process for Planning Board vacancies.  

This week the Montgomery County Council is hell bent on showing the next generation how to violate the law, eliminate transparency and ignore ethics. Is their goal to show future generations what not to do? 

Montgomery County Council's 8 minute 7 second Discussion of IG 30 Page Report on School Bus Camera Scheme

Here is the Montgomery County Council's response to the July 28, 2019, Inspector General's Report on the school bus camera scheme being used by Montgomery County Public Schools.  This discussion came at the end of the Council's Joint Committee meeting on July 29th.

Councilmember Tom Hucker begins to ask questions to MCPS and Montgomery County Police Representatives based on the Inspector General's Report, however the discussion is quickly shut down and the meeting is adjourned.



At the table presenting to the Councilmembers are:

• Assistant Chief David Anderson, Field Services Bureau, Montgomery County Police
Department (MCPD)
• Captain Tom Didone, Traffic Division, MCPD
• Richard Hetherington, Manager Automated Traffic Enforcement Unit, MCPD
• Todd Watkins, Transportation Director, Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS)

Bribing for camera cash: So in 2015, Montgomery officials traveled all the way to Dallas to meet with Force Multiplier execs, including Leonard. "The Montgomery contingent was really high on Force Multiplier..."

...Montgomery had started a bus camera program in 2014, contracting with Xerox Corp., but the initiative did not receive much funding. So in 2015, Montgomery officials traveled all the way to Dallas to meet with Force Multiplier execs, including Leonard. The Montgomery contingent was really high on Force Multiplier, saying in a memo that it had a “technologically superior project” and noting that less than 2 percent of the fines sent out were contested in court.

“In exchange for free installation on all MCPS school buses, [Force] would retain all fine revenues in order to recoup its investment,” reads the memo. “MCPD indicates that [Force] will need to recoup approximately $18 million in fines to break even on their initial investment. At this point, [Force] and the county will negotiate a revenue-sharing plan.”

They lauded the “savings” of some $800,000 annually due to not having to replace some safety equipment. They admitted to skepticism, saying Force’s offer to “absorb 100% of the cost of equipment and installation…. seemed too good to be true.”

They didn’t, of course, know about the shenanigans in Dallas. But if a deal seems too good for even cash-happy public officials, wouldn’t that sound more alarms?

Montgomery moved ahead with the program, even after news of the bribery scam broke. Force Multiplier’s assets moved into a new company, BusPatrol, which officials claimed is totally different. But it lists the same local address in Lorton, Va., as Force Multiplier had. BusPatrol CEO David Poirier was the registered agent for Force, and other former Force employees also work for BusPatrol.

Did Force Multiplier execs donate to the campaigns of Montgomery County officials, as they did the Dallas officials who have been taken down?..

https://medium.com/@kevinjshay44/bribing-for-camera-cash-5a50f1d02c16

Mont. Co. Council LOVES Plastic Fields! 126 Degrees is NOT too Hot, Heat Islands don't Exist, Plastic is Organic, Plastic Pollution is Great.

On Monday, March 4, 2019, the Montgomery County Council discussed legislation proposed in Annapolis to prohibit the use of Program Open Space funds for artificial turf purchases.

Councilmembers Hans Riemer, Gabe Albornoz and Craig Rice used this opportunity to expound on how fantastic big sheets of plastic are for fields and playgrounds.  Nancy Navarro and Sidney Katz voted along with Riemer, Albornoz and Rice to oppose this State legislation.

In their speeches Hans Riemer stated that he thinks cork and zeolite are not as problamatic as tire crumb.  Apparently, skin lacerations and gashes are acceptable to Mr. Riemer.

Gabe Albornoz said that artificial turf is a problem when it gets hot in July and August.  Apparently, a 126 degree elementary school plastic field in October is OK.

Craig Rice thinks MCPS already is now routinely putting down natural grass surfaces.  Apparently he missed the MCPS plan to put a plastic football/soccer field down at every MCPS high school.

None of the 5 supporters of artificial turf said a word about what happens to these massive sheets of plastic when they are worn out in 8 years.

Below is video of the March 4th Montgomery County Council discussion that explains why artificial turf fields and playgrounds will continue to be funded in Montgomery County.

Is crumb rubber a source for pollutants and harmful effects in the marine environment?

For our elected officials who still need to be 'educated' about the deadly environmental effects of crumb rubber artificial turf fields.

Paper by Claudia Halsband-Lenk,of the NILU - Norwegian Institute for Air Research, delivered at the Norwegian Environmental Toxicology Symposium, March 2018.

Link here.

Abstract

In Norwegian coastal communities, rubber microplastic granules (≤ 5 mm in size) derived from discarded vehicle tires are used in large quantities on outdoor synthetic turf sports pitches. Through transport by waste water effluents and terrestrial runoff, these rubber particles are considered a significant source of MPs to the marine ecosystem. In the here presented interdisciplinary project we study the composition, degradation and environmental impacts of these rubber granules from locations in northern Norway and Svalbard. Their persistence and residence time in the Arctic marine environment is unknown. These rubber particles pose a potential health risk for arctic wild life through direct ingestion, especially at the base of the marine food chain, but may also provide an exposure route for toxic additive chemicals present in tires to marine organisms. Furthermore, the rubber particles may act as a vector for other persistent organic and heavy metal pollutants already present in the marine environment. Arctic marine environments present special abiotic conditions for the degradation of these particles, with cold water temperatures and long periods with unlimited sunlight. During a 12 months period, rubber crumbs were placed out in the ocean in stainless steel containers and sub-sampled continuously for the measurement of persistent organic pollutants, metals and additives. Hydrophobic persistent organic pollutants such as PAHs, PCBs, DDTs, bisphenols, as well as metals were measured to establish the adsorption and leaching kinetics in seawater under in situ conditions. Samples were extracted using ultrasound and nonpolar solvents, followed by GPC and SPE clean up. Chemical analyses using pyroGC/MS, GC/MS/MS and LC/HRMS were done in the laboratories of NILU, Tromsø and SINTEF, Trondheim. Exposure experiments with rubber leachate were also conducted and high mortality rates were found for different marine zooplankton species.

Montgomery County Councilmembers Reimbursement Reports #ExpenseReports

2017 Reimbursement Requests by on Scribd

Berliner, Hucker & Katz want to Eliminate Office of People's Counsel, Because Why Should the Public Have Any Representation in the Planning Process?

A Bill has been proposed (without consultation with communities) to permanently abolish the Office of the People's Counsel from the County Code and replace it with a Resource Officer that would not be allowed to participate in hearings.

The Montgomery County Civic Federation (MCCF) pushed hard to establish this office and it was finally placed in the County Code in 1990.  The funding for the Office of People's Counsel in 2008 was $246,000 for 1.8 positions. In 2010 the Montgomery County Council removed funding for this important office ostensibly for fiscal reasons.

MCCF pushed hard to establish this office and it was finally placed in the County Code in 1990.  The funding for the Office of People's Counsel in 2008 was $246,000 for 1.8 positions. In 2010 The County Council removed funding for this important office ostensibly for fiscal reasons.

Take the time to read the testimony from the MCCF and then send a note to the County Council asking them to reestablish funding for the Office of People's Counsel, not just a resource officer.

In the MCCF testimony it shows that the 3 development ombudsmen/coordinator positions ($577,000) that have been funded since the time that the Office of People's Counsel was defunded, are being funding with Montomgery County Department of Transportation Capital Improvement funds.  Yes, we are using debt service to pay for public positions that assist developers but the County Council (Berliner, Hucker, Katz) does not want to fund the position that is supposed to represent the public interest. 

   MCCF Testimony OPC Printed by Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland on Scribd

NBC4 Homeowners Oppose Cell Tower Proposal in Montgomery County #WatersLandingElementary #MCPS

Multiple citizens mentioned that a cell tower is also going in at Waters Landing Elementary School and, along with the front yard cell towers that are being planned, will add to the cell tower exposure in that neighborhood. When is the Board of Education voting on the Waters Landing Elementary School cell tower?

http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Homeowners-Oppose-Cell-Tower-Proposal-in-Montgomery-County_Washington-DC-398806981.html

Council's Education Comm. will Take Up State Audit of MCPS while You are on Vacation

According to a message posted on Facebook today by Montgomery County Councilmember Marc Elrich, the Council's Education Committee will be discussing the 2016 Maryland State Office of Legislative Audits report on Montgomery County Public Schools sometime in August.  No date has been set yet for this discussion.

August is traditionally a time when many Montgomery County families take vacations.  Obviously, the Council wants to make sure you are out of town when the 2016 MCPS Audit is discussed.
The Council does not want you to see any news reports about the Audits findings or hear MCPS' response that the State auditors are wrong in their findings.

So let the Council know when your family will be out of town this summer so they can safely schedule a discussion of the 2016 State audit of MCPS when the least number of County residents will be in the County.   

County.Council@montgomerycountymd.gov

The Saga of the Bus Parking Lot at Carver Educational Center continues

The folks fighting the partial relocation of the Shady Grove School Bus Lot to Carver Educational Center are meeting with MCPS this Wednesday, May 11, 2016, at College Gardens Elementary School.

Find out the real scoop on what is happening from those who are most impacted.  Who knows, maybe your neighborhood is next.

Fuzzy Math Keeps Opposition to Tobytown Ride On Bus Alive

Last year, the Montgomery County Department of Transportation estimated that a Monday - Friday daytime Ride On bus route running every 60 - 75 minutes to Tobytown would draw 100 patrons.

http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/council/Resources/Files/agenda/cm/2015/150424/20150424_TE1.pdf

This morning, at the County Council's Transportation Commitee meeting, Council staffer Glenn Orlin said that the Tobytown route would draw 48 patrons daily.  He said the line would draw 30 patrons during peak hours, and an additional 18 during the day.

But, Councilmember Tom Hucker apparently only heard the number 18 and said:

"I am struck by the cost per rider, if 18 is correct that's $10,000 per rider...it would be cheaper to buy them a car, right?"

No one in the room corrected Councilmember Hucker and he voted against the proposal to add all day Ride On bus service to Tobytown.

No one in the room explained why the Department of Transportation estimate of 100 patrons daily was not being used to discuss this proposal. 

Would you want a 100 bus school depot in your backyard?

These folks don't, and have asked that if you agree, please sign their petition.

No 100+ School Bus Depot In Our Neighborhood

PETITION: We, the undersigned citizens of Montgomery County, MD, hereby petition the Montgomery County (MC) Council (the Council) and the MC Board of Education (the Board) to stop the currently proposed plan to relocate approximately 100 school buses to the Carver Educational Services Center Parking lot (Carver) at 850 Hungerford Drive, Rockville, MD and to seek an alternative interim location for these buses as part of its solution to the impending relocation of the Crabbs Branch Way (aka Jeremiah Park) School Bus Depot.

DEMAND FOR ACTION: For the reasons cited below, we oppose the actions of the Council and the Board to relocate these buses to Carver. We demand that the Council and/or the Board authorize full and adequate studies to be performed by qualified outside individuals on the impacts to the community as was proposed in the memo to the Council by its own Council staff on February 6, 2015. . . 

We further demand that the Council and Board find an alternative solution and location that excludes the use of Carver and that the Council delay the Declaration of No Further Need (DNFN) that closes the existing Crabbs Branch depot until such time that an alternative location to Carver is found.

Read more here and sign the petition if you agree!

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/No-100-School-Bus-Depot-In-Our-Neighborhood 

The Real Montgomery County: How Council and County Exec Treat Non-Cocktail Party Residents - 45 Minute Walk to Nearest Bus Stop

Residents in this community have been asking for their bus service to be restored since 1997!


October 30, 2015

The Montgomery County Council recently made $4 million in cuts to transportation services, including the elimination of proposed Ride On bus service to Tobytown that was scheduled to begin Oct. 1. Tobytown is a historically black and low-income mixed-housing development in affluent Potomac, just a couple of miles from Potomac Chase Estates, where I grew up and attended school with kids from Tobytown. Most of the 60 or so residents of Tobytown are descendants of the freedmen — former slaves — who founded the community in 1875.

Concealed in a grove off River Road near the C&O Canal, the community is a more-than-45-minute walk from the nearest bus stop on Travilah Road. Because several residents lack personal transportation — or the money to fuel their cars — many must tread the dangerously narrow thoroughfare on dark mornings just to get to the bus...

... (The county cut an after-school program at the same time.)

 https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/a-neighborhood-in-need-of-a-bus/2015/10/30/1b3428ea-7cd5-11e5-beba-927fd8634498_story.html

Students continue to fail math final exams in Montgomery high schools

...The continuing exam failure comes about 18 months after Montgomery high schools created math action plans to target struggling students and nine months after a five-point plan was announced by then-Superintendent Joshua P. Starr, who resigned last month amid faltering support from the school board...

 http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/students-continue-to-fail-math-final-exams-in-montgomery-high-schools/2015/03/30/54211628-cf0a-11e4-a2a7-9517a3a70506_story.html?hpid=z3

Councilmember Sidney Katz, "This is not the problem that is really going to be the County Council solving it..."

Ewing Center School

On Thursday, January 15, 2015, over 100 citizens from all over Montgomery County met in Aspen Hill to discuss the Board of Education's surprise plan to demolish an existing school building and replace it with parking for 400 school buses.  What limited information the public knows about this plan can be found by following this link.

On January 29, 2015, the Montgomery County Council's Education Committee will vote on whether or not to strip the Ewing Center school building of its renovation funding.

If the Education Committee votes to strip this 600 seat building of funding, that will pave the way for the full Council's approval of this plan.

When the full Montgomery County Council votes to strip the Ewing Center School of its renovation funding they will be condemning this school building to death.  The Board of Education will then demolish the building and 600 seats of indoor classrooms will be lost to Montgomery County students forever. 

Yet, when Councilmember Sidney Katz spoke to citizens at this community meeting he gave the impression that the Council was powerless.

Let your Councilmembers know that they are not powerless. The Montgomery County Council has a vote in determining if the Ewing Center School will be demolished.

10,000 MCPS students sitting in classroom trailers will be watching how the Montgomery County Councilmembers vote on the resolution before the Council to strip the Ewing Center School of $16.6 million in renovation funds.  

WPost Ignores 27 Year Out of Date MCPS Child Abuse Policy, but Has Pictures of Sidewalks

This is what we get for hard hitting investigative reporting in Montgomery County.

Nothing on the MCPS failure to update their Child Abuse Policy that is now 27 years out of date, but pictures of sidewalks of County officials.

Putting their shovels where their mouths are

Gaithersburg Mayor Awards MCPS Parent for Advocacy

Parent-led program combats government's waste of food | The Examiner | Beltway Confidential

Afarin Homer, a mother and a frequent volunteer at Gaithersburg Middle School, couldn’t believe her eyes last March when she noticed how much food was being wasted from an after-school snack program. Thanks to food services regulations, much of the food was being thrown in the garbage, untouched.
Homer used her good reputation with the school to convince authorities that something better could be done with that food, and since then her program Food Recovery for the Hungry has redirected over 1,495 pounds of food to a community soup kitchen.
Gaithersburg Mayor Sidney Katz presented an award for contributions to educational excellence Monday to the middle school and its five student ambassadors who have helped Homer implement the program.
Gaithersburg Middle School, which has a high concentration of students in poverty, supplies after-school snacks to its students, many of whom won’t be served dinner at home. Federal regulations prevent children from refusing or giving back items they don’t want (they would then be receiving less than a full legal "snack") and so a huge amount of food simply ends up in the trash.
“Nine times out of 10, I would see the kids eat the pizza and throw everything else in the trashcan,” Homer told the Examiner. “I was shocked. The hunger issue is increasing, so why isn’t the problem being addressed in schools?”

Read more at the Examiner: http://www.sfexaminer.com/blogs/beltway-confidential/2011/03/parent-led-program-combats-governments-waste-food#ixzz1HX01x0Oa