Irvine Students Launch Historic Second Cube Satellite Into Space!

Irvine students successfully launched a second cube satellite, Irvine02, into space aboard SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket today, December 3, 2018, at 10:31 a.m. PST from Vandenberg Air Force Base.  This historic launch comes on the heels of Irvine students’ first launch of Irvine01 on November 11. 

 

This is the first-time ever that students from the same school district have launched two cube satellites in one year and it is the largest satellite ridesharing mission ever launched from the U.S. with 64 satellites from 34 organizations representing 17 countries.  Additionally, it is the first time SpaceX has attempted to send one of its rocket boosters into space for a third time.

Irvine02 is a more advanced twin version of Irvine01, containing electric thrusters and a high power laser for rapid transmission of data down to the Earth ground station. Once in lower Earth orbit, the cube satellite will take photos of stars and other celestial objects.


To watch a playback of this morning’s launch, including pre-launch programming, visit https://www.spacex.com/webcast.  To watch just the launch, click here.

To read the whole story of how students at the Irvine Unified School District built these satellites and sent them to space, go here.

Also, as a reminder, NASA has its headquarters right here in Maryland, in Greenbelt. Here's a map showing the distance from Montgomery County to NASA headquarters, in case anyone's interested.

Bus driver mistakenly takes Rockville student with special needs to Baltimore

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. -- Montgomery Co. officials say a student with special needs from Montgomery Co. public schools ended up in Baltimore on Wednesday afternoon after a major mishap.

According to police, the Rockville High School student boarded his bus between 3 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. to be dropped off at his home in Silver Spring. However, for unknown reasons, the student never got off at his stop and the bus driver and bus aides continued their normal route to Baltimore where it usually drops off another student...

https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/local/maryland/bus-driver-mistakenly-takes-rockville-student-with-special-needs-to-baltimore/65-623256082

It’s a Briefcase! It’s a Pizza Box! No, It’s a Mini Satellite

From the New York times. Full story here. Reporter William J. Broad.

Orbiting instruments are now so small they can be launched by the dozens, and even high school students can build them.



High school students and faculty from Irvine, Calif., conduct tests that simulate the harsh conditions of space. Their latest tiny satellite, IRVINE02, went into orbit on Dec. 3.CreditCreditKain Sosa

Recently, officials in California announced that the Camp Fire, the deadliest wildfire in the state’s history, had been fully contained. The achievement was made possible through the hard work of firefighters on the ground, with some help from above: a swarm of tiny, orbiting satellites that represent the next phase of the space age.

 

The satellites are operated by Planet Labs, a company in San Francisco that runs the world’s largest fleet of Earth-observing satellites. Its craft number around 140. All of them carry cameras and telescopes. In size, most rival a loaf of bread.

And:

On Monday Dec. 3, a SpaceX rocket in California sent aloft 64 satellites made by Planet Labs, and a total of 17 countries, including Australia, Brazil, Finland, Italy, Jordan, Poland, South Korea and Thailand. The rocket also carried IRVINE02, the second mini-satellite built by students of the Irvine school district.

This is how @MCPS 6-yr enrollment forecasts performed recently: all ~200 schools.

This is how @MCPS 6-yr enrollment forecasts performed recently: all ~200 schools. Do they even know?  Why do we have to figure it out ourselves? pic.twitter.com/P0ebvEZeYF

— Brian Krantz (@briankinmd) December 12, 2018

ABC7 EXCLUSIVE: Security guard injured during fight at Clarksburg High School. Police say guard suffered "deep scratches" to his scalp.

EXCLUSIVE: Security guard injured during fight at Clarksburg High School. Police say guard suffered "deep scratches" to his scalp.

The fight occurred on Nov. 29, near the attendance office.

Police charged a 16yo + 17yo w/ assault + disorderly conduct. Case is in juvenile court. pic.twitter.com/02BKgqfhwj

— Kevin Lewis (@ABC7Kevin) December 11, 2018

VIDEO: A brawl at Clarksburg High School left a security guard injured with "deep scratches" to his scalp.

“It’s always something at this school," said parent Lisa Lyles. “I don’t care how much security there [is], I don’t care how many police they have outside, it’s not safe.” pic.twitter.com/bgqQKNycgR

— Kevin Lewis (@ABC7Kevin) December 12, 2018

Mistrial declared in case of Montgomery County ICU doctor accused of raping young girl

 

ROCKVILLE, Md. (ABC7) — The evidence compiled against a respected physician accused of raping a young girl was not convincing enough for a jury to issue a guilty verdict.

Virendra Saxena, 61, of Darnestown, Maryland, had been facing more than 120 years in prison on a slew of sexual abuse charges. At the time of his arrest in February, Saxena was working as a contracted ICU physician at Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center in Rockville.

The alleged victim, who was not a patient, told investigators Saxena used pencils, pens, a hairbrush and his fingers to sexually assault her — often while he looked at pornography. The abuse is said to have spanned from 1987 until 2004....

https://wjla.com/news/local/mistrial-montgomery-county-icu-doctor-raping-girl

How to Stop Apps From Tracking Your Location

In the New York Times, story by reporters Jennifer Valentino-DeVries and Natasha Singer. Full story here, with additional directions. Accompanying article here.

Your Apps Know Where You Were Last Night, and They’re Not Keeping It Secret

Hundreds of apps can follow your movements and share the details with advertisers, retailers and even hedge funds. Here’s how to limit the snooping.

Which apps gather and share location?

There isn’t a definitive list. Our tests identified instances of certain apps collecting precise location data and passing it to other companies in the moment. But apps can also gather and save the data, and not sell it until later — something tests wouldn’t catch. Your best bet is to check your device to see which apps have permission to get your location in the first place.

The apps most popular among data companies are those that offer services keyed to people’s whereabouts — including weather, transit, travel, shopping deals and dating — because users are more likely to enable location services on them.

 

How do I stop location tracking on iOS?

Some apps have internal settings where you can indicate that you don’t want your location used for targeted advertising or other purposes. But the easiest method is to go through your device’s main privacy menu.

 

In the device’s privacy settings, apps provide brief explanations of how they will use location data. Do not rely on these descriptions to tell you whether the location data will be shared or sold. The Times found that many of these descriptions are incomplete and often don’t mention that the data will be shared.

 

If you want to disable location tracking entirely, toggle the “Location Services" setting to off. With location services switched off entirely, you may not be able to use certain services, such as finding yourself on a map.

 

If you have apps you no longer use, you may want to delete them from your device.

 

How do I stop it on Android?

These instructions are for recent Android phones; Google provides more instructions here.

 

Google, a prominent collector of location data, lets users delete a segment of that information called their Location History. To do that, go to this page, then hit the Delete Location History button. Click it again when prompted. You can delete another segment of location data associated with your Google account by logging in and going to My Activity. Then click on Activity Controls and turn off Web & App Activity.

After Election, Report on Embezzlement of County Funds Finally Released. It was just a "misapproriation."

Later that same day, the Consultant/BHI CEO e-mails the DED COO “Houston…We have a problem!” Page 93. 

and

" ... top-level DED management oversight was extremely weak." Page i

and

"Former DED Directors used a 2006 agreement with a public entity to escape oversight by County government and create a standing reserve fund for use by the DED Director. The fund's availability increased the risk of improper financial transactions. Essential segregation of duties was absent within DED, and top-level DED management oversight was extremely weak. Over an eleven year period, the DED COO took advantage of control weaknesses to divert at least $7.2 million from the County's Incubator Program without apparent detection or impact on program operations. In implementing the BioScience initiative, DED management used public entities to fund the development and operations of a BioHealth intermediary without executing a formal Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) or Contract. " Page 5

The IG Report:   https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/OIG/Resources/Files/PDF/IGActivity/FY2019/mcded_mismanagement_final_report_19_nov_2018.pdf

The report states on Page 5: 
Four individuals served in the position of Director of the Department of Economic Development between 1995 and 2016:
• DED Director 1 served from 1995 until 2006 during the creation of the Incubator Program2 , and subsequently served as Maryland Secretary of Business & Economic Development, as a Senior and Executive Vice President with different banks, and currently with Scheer Partners Management, Inc. (Scheer), a commercial office real estate firm and a sub-contractor to DED with whom he has served as a Senior Vice President since 2011. Former DED Director 1 was replaced as department director during the government transition that followed the election of County Executive Isiah Leggett.  [That would appear to be Henry Bernstein] 

• DED Director 2 succeeded DED Director 1, and served until 2009,
• The Former DED Director served between 2009 and 2015,
[That would appear to be Steve Silverman] 
and
• A person we will refer to as the Former Acting DED Director, who had served previously as the Director of the Rockville Economic Development Inc. (REDI) and as the former Deputy Director of DED, served as Acting DED Director from January 2015 until the DED was dissolved and replaced in 2016 by a non-profit, public-private partnership, the Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation (MCEDC) created with the recommendation of the County Executive and vote of the Council.
[ That would appear to be Sally Sternbach ]

References to "former DED Director" in IG Report:

Page 8:
In a voluntary interview during August 2018, the Former DED Director described his management of DED as “Hands Off”. Other evidence we located indicates that the Former DED Director was not engaged in daily DED operations. In a June 2009 e-mail, the DED managers were advised to go through the Former DED Director’s calendar and send him “a BRIEF e-mail updating him on any issue(s) that may be discussed during his meetings for that week.” The purpose of the “bulleted” e-mails was to be sure that the Former DED Director was aware of what the staff reported they were doing in a concise fashion. This change followed an earlier message in which the DED COO had been directed to reduce the Director's weekly meeting with the department managers from one hour to one half-hour. Politically appointed Directors are often short-tenured, focused on executing the policy objectives of an administration, and may not be either willing or qualified to manage career staff in a governmental organization...

Page 9:
The Former DED Director acknowledged that he had provided his password to the DED COO and possibly to other staff members, although he could not specifically remember with which other staff members he might have shared his password. Access to the shared password would have given the DED COO the ability to log on to the County information technology system as the Former DED Director and conduct transactions, such as sending e-mails, under the Former DED Director’s name.

Page 14
During his tenure, the Former DED Director was in a position to detect the existence of the shell company.

Page 15
It is somewhat surprising that the Former DED Director never reviewed financial statements of the incubator programs since, as he told us, he had to become personally involved in managing issues related to licensees whose past due rent payments were putting a financial strain on the program.

Groundbreaking study examines effects of screen time on kids

If you have kids and wonder if all that time they spend on their smartphones endlessly scrolling, snapping and texting is affecting their brains, you might want to put down your own phone and pay attention. The federal government, through the National Institutes of Health, has launched the most ambitious study of adolescent brain development ever attempted. In part, scientists are trying to understand what no one currently does: how all that screen time impacts the physical structure of your kids' brains, as well as their emotional development and mental health.

At 21 sites across the country scientists have begun interviewing nine and ten-year-olds and scanning their brains. They'll follow more than 11,000 kids for a decade, and spend $300 million doing it. Dr. Gaya Dowling of the National Institutes of Health gave us a glimpse of what they've learned so far...

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/groundbreaking-study-examines-effects-of-screen-time-on-kids-60-minutes/?ftag=CNM-00-10aab7d&linkId=60785051

Once again, Damascus HS students take and post on Internet humiliating picture of a classmate.

EXCLUSIVE: Brandon Salvador has autism.

Last month, two Damascus High School students took a photo of Brandon urinating in a boy's bathroom, his buttocks exposed.

The teens then posted the humiliating photo of Brandon on Snapchat for classmates to see.

Read bullying form ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/it0196GmIB

— Kevin Lewis (@ABC7Kevin) December 7, 2018

MORE: This happened one day after the locker room rapes at Damascus HS.

The principal sent an email about the bathroom photo, but didn't explain the victim has special needs.

"I think by not being open about this happening, it's going to happen again," Brandon's mother told me. pic.twitter.com/dlW9NSn0XR

— Kevin Lewis (@ABC7Kevin) December 7, 2018

MORE: Brandon's experience is similar to a story I covered in May 2016.

In that case, a male student with autism was photographed while urinating in a bathroom at Damascus HS. And like Brandon, his exposed buttocks was posted to Snapchat.

That story ⬇️https://t.co/FSDqbcObyI

— Kevin Lewis (@ABC7Kevin) December 7, 2018

Board of Education Allows MCPS Staff to Block Parents on Social Media. Then Administrators use Social Media to Send Out School Notices?

My daughter's school Montgomery Blair High School @blairprincipal has a bomb threat and the principal who is blocking me sends out mission-critical information by Twitter which I don't have access too.  @MCPS @mocoboe @PCMC1 @ggwash @wamu885  This has gone too far. pic.twitter.com/OIoSfZ1C3h

— CampbellWriter (@CampbellWriter) December 6, 2018

When your superintendent makes more than the governor: public education's priority problem

The American education lobby is caught in a pickle.

On one hand, advocates and influencers are trying to convince people that public education is chronically underfunded, even going so far as to claim that schools are “starving.”

On the other hand, watchdogs have documented countless examples of waste and misuse of funds—everything from the McKinney school district’s $70 million high school football stadium to the La Joya school district’s $20 million water park to the Brownsville school district’s 65-foot, state-of-the-art digital scoreboard that is “the largest of its kind in Texas.”

Other examples exist too, but perhaps the most instructive involves superintendent pay packages. After all, leadership starts at the top...

https://thehill.com/opinion/education/417802-when-your-school-superintendent-makes-more-than-the-governor-public?utm_content=buffer63cb5&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer&fbclid=IwAR3vcG4v_Y1vIj9jz6BYJnarH0WERTDaD6anN1pTiVtZRNowr1luUdHmxhg

Did Councilmember Evan Glass really take the bus to work?

Newly installed county councilmember Evan Glass did today what the other council members are always telling constituents to do, but never do themselves.

Glass actually rode a bus (actually two buses each way) from his home in Silver Spring to his office in Rockville.   He also survived crossing US 29.  And he anticipates taking the bus to work whenever practical.  

(Video courtesy of Montgomery County Council)

Springbrook High School Student Arrested and Charged with Possession of Unloaded Handgun on School Property

Detectives from the Montgomery County Police Department’s Firearms Investigations Unit have charged 17-year-old Solomon Henderson of Silver Spring as an adult with offenses related to the possession of an unloaded handgun on school property.

Today shortly after 10:30 a.m., administrative staff and security personnel for Springbrook High School, located at 201 Valley Brook Drive in Silver Spring, received information that Henderson was in possession of a handgun.  The School Resource Officer (SRO) was notified.  An unloaded .40 caliber handgun and an empty magazine were located in Henderson’s gym bag.

Henderson was transported to the Central Processing Unit and charged with possession of a handgun, possession of a firearm by a person under 21 years old, and possession of a firearm on school property.  Bond information is not available.

At this time, detectives have not identified any type of threat or intention by Henderson to harm other students or staff.

Investigation has determined that the handgun was legally purchased and is registered to Henderson’s father.

Anyone who has information about this incident is asked to call the Firearms Investigations Unit at 240-773-6400.

New statewide rating system reveals remarkable differences in MCPS schools

https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/education/bs-md-school-rankings-20181203-htmlstory.html?app

Councilmember Hans Riemer's plans for housing "the next generation"

Where Councilmember Hans Riemer wants "the next generation" to live (choose a room).

Where Councilmember Hans Riemer lives. 
4 beds, 2 baths, 2631 sq. ft + 500 sq. ft. finished basement on over 1/3 acre.
  Zillow estimated value $956,338
(He owns another house as an investment.)

Miller Announces Senate Committee Assignments

Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Calvert) on Friday announced the full committee lineup for his chamber, and other key assignments, for the upcoming General Assembly session.

Miller picked committee chairmen and vice chairmen earlier this year.

Miller has yet to announce who will be Senate president pro tem or majority leader in the coming term. The 47-member chamber will have 18 new senators in January.

“Committee compositions are determined with an intent to balance a variety of issues including geography, race, gender, knowledge areas, and other considerations,” Miller wrote in a letter to his colleagues Friday. “I am proud that our Senate leadership reflects the diversity of our state, with women composing half of our standing committee chairs, and with people of color representing one-third of our Senate committee leadership.”

What follows is a look at the four standing committees. An asterisk denotes a new member of the committee.

Senate Budget &Taxation Committee

Sen. Nancy J. King (D-Montgomery), Chair

Sen. William C. Ferguson IV (D-Baltimore City), Vice Chair

Sen. Addie Eckardt (R-Middle Shore)

Senator George C. Edwards (R-Garrett)

Sen.-elect Sarah K. Elfreth (D-Anne Arundel)*

Sen.-elect Melony G. Griffith (D-Prince George’s)*

Sen. Guy J. Guzzone (D-Howard)

Sen.-elect Cory V. McCray (D-Baltimore City)*

Sen. Douglas J. J. Peters (D-Prince George’s)

Sen. James C. Rosapepe (D-Prince George’s)*

Sen. Johnny Ray Salling (R-Baltimore County)*

Sen. Andrew Serafini (R-Washington)

Sen. Craig Zucker (D-Montgomery)*

Senate Education, Health, & Environmental Affairs Committee

Sen. Paul G. Pinsky (D-Prince George’s), Chair

Senator Shirley Nathan-Pulliam (D-Baltimore County), Vice-Chair

Sen.-elect Jack Bailey (R-St. Mary’s)*

Sen.-elect Mary Beth Carozza (R-Lower Shore)*

Sen.-elect Arthur Ellis (D-Charles)*

Sen.-elect Jason C. Gallion (R-Harford)*

Sen. Cheryl C. Kagan (D-Montgomery)

Sen.-elect Clarence K. Lam (D-Howard)*

Sen.-elect Obie Patterson (D-Prince George’s)*

Sen. Bryan Simonaire (R-Anne Arundel)

Sen. Ronald N. Young (D-Frederick)

Senate Finance Committee

Sen. Delores G. Kelley (D-Baltimore County), Chair*

Sen. Brian J. Feldman (D-Montgomery), Vice-Chair

Sen.-elect Malcolm Augustine (D-Prince George’s)*

Sen.-elect Pamela G. Beidle (D-Anne Arundel)*

Sen. Joanne C. Benson (D-Prince George’s)

Sen.-elect Antonio L. Hayes (D-Baltimore City)*

Sen. Stephen S. Hershey Jr. (R-Upper Shore)

Sen. J.B. Jennings (R-Baltimore County)

Sen. Katherine A. Klausmeier (D-Baltimore County)

Sen.-elect Benjamin F. Kramer (D-Montgomery)*

Sen. Edward R. Reilly (R-Anne Arundel)

Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee

Sen. Robert A. Zirkin (D-Baltimore County), Chair

Sen. William C. Smith Jr. (D-Montgomery), Vice-Chair

Sen. Jill P. Carter (D-Baltimore City)*

Sen. Robert G. Cassilly (R-Harford)

Sen.-elect Katie Fry Hester (D-Howard)*

Sen. Michael J. Hough (R-Frederick)

Sen. Susan C. Lee (D-Montgomery)

Sen. Justin D. Ready (R-Carroll)

Sen.-elect Jeff Waldstreicher (D-Montgomery)*

Sen.-elect Mary L. Washington (D-Baltimore City)*

Sen.-elect Christopher West (R-Baltimore County)*

Here are announced assignments to other committees:

...
https://www.marylandmatters.org/2018/11/30/miller-announces-senate-committee-assignments/?fbclid=IwAR35Wt6AmS2aDlF1_ssJm22ONSEyW-9r9AO9wwhMgnDWwELoqrHozjYkgCs

Rockville Man Pleads Guilty to Child Pornography Charges - Man posed as modeling agent on chat applications

A Rockville man pleaded guilty to federal child pornography charges last week after posing as a modeling agent and obtaining sexually explicit images through internet-based chat applications.

Stephen McGrath, 44, is charged with coercion and enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity in order to produce child pornography and possession of child pornography, according to a press release from the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland.

McGrath faces a minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum of life in prison for the enticement charge and a maximum of 10 years in prison for the possession charge. U.S. District Judge Paul W. Grimm set McGrath’s sentencing hearing for March 29...

https://bethesdamagazine.com/bethesda-beat/courts/rockville-man-pleads-guilty-to-child-pornography-charges/

Principal: Long-term sub taped second-grade student to chair

PASADENA — A Maryland substitute teacher who a principal says taped a second-grade student to a chair has been suspended.

News outlets cite a letter this week from Lake Shore Elementary School Principal Julie Little-McVearry that says the long-term substitute told the student she would tape him to his chair if he didn’t return to his seat. The principal says the student “found the remark funny” and the teacher proceeded with the taping.

Little-McVearry says she learned of the incident from a parent, and contacted human resources. The teacher won’t be placed in an Anne Arundel County school until the matter is resolved, and the school is looking for another long-term substitute for the class.

Police have been notified...

https://thedailyrecord.com/2018/11/30/maryland-substitute-teacher-chair/

Grand Jury Indicts Four Damascus High Students in Reported Rape Case

The four Damascus High School students facing rape charges for allegedly assaulting four fellow junior varsity football players have been indicted by a Montgomery County grand jury.

Fifteen-year-olds Jean Abedi, Kristian Lee, Will Smith and Caleb Thorpe were each indicted Thursday night in Montgomery County Circuit Court on eight counts, including one count of first-degree rape, three counts of attempted first-degree rape and four counts of conspiracy to commit rape, according to the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office .

Abedi, Lee and Smith were initially charged with two counts of first-degree rape, two counts of attempted first-degree rape and two counts of conspiracy to commit first-degree rape. Thorpe was initially charged with four counts of first-degree rape and four counts of conspiracy to commit first-degree rape...

https://bethesdamagazine.com/bethesda-beat/courts/grand-jury-indicts-four-students-in-damascus-high-in-rape-case/