THE GAZETTE
Page A-4
Wednesday, April 9, 2014 b
AROUND THE COUNTY Officials promise school construction study n
Top issue for Montgomery County lawmakers BY
KATE S. ALEXANDER STAFF WRITER
Montgomery County will not get more school construction money for next fiscal year, which starts July 1, but Annapolis leadership is not willing to let the issue stagnate. Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. said Tuesday that he and Gov. Martin J. O’Malley (D) have agreed to issue an executive order to study alternative financing methods for school construction. “Last night while y’all were out there partying,” Miller said at a bill signing Tuesday morning with O’Malley. “The governor and I were working.” In the final hours of the session Monday, the Senate squatted on legislation requiring a study of alternative financing methods for school construction funding, effectively killing it. “We were so sure, even at 5 minutes to 12,” Sen. Nancy J. King said. “I was just sure it was going to come up on the calendar and we were going to vote on it.” But the bill never resurfaced. “And when it’s midnight, it’s done no matter what,” King (DDist. 39) of Montgomery Village said. Sen. Richard S. Madaleno Jr. (D-Dist. 18) of Kensington said repeated special orders — motions to delay consideration of a bill — kept pushing off the final vote. When the balloons fell and the cheers rose marking the end of the
DAN GROSS/THE GAZETTE
Sen. Nancy J. King (D-Dist. 39) of Montgomery Village and Sen. Edward J. Kasemeyer (D-Dist. 12) of Columbia confer during the final day of the General Assembly’s 2014 session in Annapolis on Monday. King and other Montgomery lawmakers, pushed — unsuccessfully — for more school construction money for the county. 90-day session, King said Montgomery lawmakers flocked to talk to Miller (D-Dist. 27) of Chesapeake Beach. Miller said Tuesday the executive order will resolve the issue. King, who attended the bill signing, said she understands the order will require what the bill required, a study with recommendations by December. Montgomery lawmakers said early in the session that establishing a steady, predictable stream of school construction funding was their top priority. Montgomery County Public Schools enrollment has been steadily growing by about 2,000 students per year, the equivalent of a high school, according to county figures. But midway through the session, Delegation Chairwoman Del.
Anne R. Kaiser (D-Dist. 14) of Calverton and King both admitted that there was little hope of a program passing this year. County Executive Isiah Leggett (D) also said the county knew it likely faced a multiyear battle. Lingering state structural deficit meant Maryland lacked the money Montgomery sought. A study of funding mechanisms was a compromise crafted to still move the issue forward, King said. Council President Craig L. Rice said a study should be able to give state lawmakers concrete evidence of what Montgomery faces. “We knew it was going to be a hard sell for us to get this done this first year,” Rice (D-Dist. 2) of Germantown said. “I think this [study] really sets us up well for next year.” All three of the Democratic candidates for governor — Del.
Heather R. Mizeur, Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown and Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler — have openly supported the county’s push for the funds. “I’m hopeful that whoever is governor next year — assuming it’s a Democrat, we have a 100 percent chance of having a governor from one of the jurisdictions that benefit from this plan — that we will get it through,” Madaleno said. Leggett (D) said in a statement Tuesday that Montgomery made significant progress and he remains confident it will ultimately be successful. Other legislation of note: • Maryland expanded its antidiscrimination laws to include gender identity. • Maryland made it no longer a crime to possess small amounts of marijuana. While still illegal, possession of a small amount of pot will not automatically result in jail time, but rather a civil fine starting at $100 for a first offense. • Maryland expanded its laws for medical marijuana by allowing specialized doctors to prescribe medical marijuana to patients and by licensing growers and dispensaries in the state. • Maryland closed a loophole in a law protecting students by including part-time, temporary and contract employees and coaches among those who cannot engage in sexual contact with students. • Maryland made fatal accidents caused by driving and texting, or holding a hand-held device, punishable by up to 1 year in jail. kalexander@gazette.net
InBrief Transit Advisory Group seeks members The Montgomery County Department of Transportation is seeking 12 regular passengers of the county’s Ride On bus system to serve on its Transit Advisory Group. Those interested should email, fax or send a letter to the agency containing the following information: • Name, home address, city, state and zip code. • Day/evening telephone numbers. • Email address. • Length of time using Ride On. • Frequency of using Ride On. • The contributions you hope to provide to the Transit Advisory Group. • Personal or professional background information. Email the information to mcdot.tag@montgomerycountymd.gov, fax to 240-777-5801 or mail to Division of Transit Services, Transit Advisory Group, 101 Monroe St., 5th Floor, Rockville, MD 20850. Applications will be accepted through Tuesday. For more information, montgomerycountymd.gov/dot-transit and click on current events or call 240-777-5800.
MADD meets at Rockville library The Maryland chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving will hold a community meeting at 6:30 p.m. Monday in Rockville to announce new data about underage drinking prevention from a national survey of high school students. The talk precedes the group’s fourth annual PowerTalk 21 day on April 21, a national day for parents to start talking with their children about alcohol. The day is designed to coincide with the start of high school prom season. The talk at Rockville Memorial Library will feature Herman Bonaparte, program coordinator with MADD, and Jan Withers, the group’s national president. The library is at 21 Maryland Ave.
Waste-to-energy plant honored by EPA
Parents, sons charged in drinking party fracas due in court this week n
Cellphone records are being examined
BY
T IFFANY A RNOLD STAFF WRITER
A mother, a father and a son charged with attacking police and providing alcohol to teens during their son’s 21st birthday celebration are scheduled to appear in Montgomery County District Court on Thursday. The parents — George Magas, 54, and Cathy Magas, 46, and their sons, Nicholas Magas, 21, and Eric Magas, 18 — were charged with 21 counts of furnishing alcohol to minors, in addition to obstruction and hindering, according to online court records. The charges stem from what police allege happened when officers responded to a complaint about a party at the family’s house in the 9400 block of Damascus Road on Jan. 4, just prior to midnight. Police described seeing teens drinking in the yard and said there was a keg outside a stairwell of a basement, where 35 underage partiers were allegedly drinking. Police said residents wouldn’t let officers inside the home. A struggle ensued when officers tried to obtain the keg outside and saw someone coming out of a basement door trying to grab several cases of beer, police alleged. Police said attendees tried to slam the front door on the
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officer’s arms and a second officer who tried to help also was assaulted. Meanwhile, partygoers inside were banging on windows, yelling profanities and making video recordings of the scuffle. Police alleged that homeowner George Magas, the father, had to be subdued by a stun gun because he reached for an officer’s holster. Magas additionally was charged with attempting to disarm a law officer, attempting to incite a riot and three counts of second-degree assault. The Magas brothers also were charged with attempting to incite a riot. Eric Magas and mom Cathy Magas additionally were charged with seconddegree assault. Montgomery County police spokeswoman Angela Cruz said police were still considering whether to press charges against other partygoers. Prosecutors and defense attorneys filed a joint motion for a continuance, which means Thursday’s court date could be postponed. As of Tuesday afternoon, a District Court judge had not made a determination. Rene Sandler, a private defense attorney representing the family, said she was still in the process of examining a large number of cellphone records obtained from the party attendees. tarnold@gazette.net
TOM FEDOR/THE GAZETTE
Customers Scott Velasquez and Heather Henderson, both of Germantown, have a laugh as they sample their ice cream on free cone day Tuesday at the Ben and Jerry’s shop in Rockville Center. The store encouraged donations from customers to benefit the Sjogren’s Syndrome Foundation.
Patrons getting the scoop n
Rockville Ben and Jerry’s offers free ice cream, information about Sjogren’s syndrome BY KRISTA BRICK STAFF WRITER
An ice cream giveaway at Ben and Jerry’s on Tuesday had customers donating to the Sjogren’s Syndrome Foundation, a cause that has hit home for the Rockville store owners. Bonnie and Marc Sosin own the Ben and Jerry’s at 199F E. Montgomery Ave. and are using the tasty treat to raise awareness and money for the foundation. Their daughter, Paula Sosin, was diagnosed with the autoimmune disease at 19. Sjogren’s syndrome is a chronic autoimmune disease in which a person’s white blood cells attack their moisture-producing glands. Immunosuppressants can be used to alleviate its symptoms. Today, as many as 4 million Americans are living with this disease, according to the foundation’s
website. “Ever since Paula was diagnosed and after we went to our first national patient conference in 2009, we knew we wanted to make a difference,” Bonnie Sosin wrote in an email to The Gazette. For the past four years, the Sosins have hosted free cone day at Ben and Jerry’s, with customers’ donations going to the foundation that is based in Bethesda. The cone day brings in about $1,200 each year and about 4,000 customers, according to Marc Sosin. On Tuesday, ice cream lovers flooded the store around lunch time and more were expected later in the evening until 8 p.m. The most popular flavor of the day was chocolate chip cookie dough, Marc Sosin said. “More important than even raising money is raising awareness of the disease,” he said. Steve Taylor, CEO of the Sjogren’s Syndrome Foundation, helped greet customers at the event Tuesday. “This is a very tricky disease to diagnose. The challenge for us is we are the most common unknown disease,” he said. kbrick@gazette.net
Montgomery County’s waste-to-energy plant in Dickerson has won a 2014 Clean Air Technology Award from the Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA recognized the facility, which is operated by Covanta Montgomery, for upgrading its systems to cut its nitrogen oxide emissions in half. Covanta developed the technology as a retrofit for existing facilities such as the one in Dickerson, according to a news release from the Morristown, N.J., company. Nitrogen oxides contribute to the formation of ozone in the lower atmosphere and smog. The Dickerson plant was the first in the nation to use the Covanta system, starting in 2009. The facility is owned by the Northeast Maryland Waste Disposal Authority. Since it began operations in 1995, the plant, with a capacity of 52 megawatts, has generated 5.7 billion kilowatt hours of electricity, or enough to power Washington, D.C., for six months. In the process, it has saved landfill space equal to trash piled 1.4 miles high on a football field, according to Covanta.
POLICE BLOTTER
Complete report at www.gazette.net The following is a summary of incidents in the Bethesda area to which Montgomery County police responded recently. The words “arrested” and “charged” do not imply guilt. This information was provided by the county.
Sexual assault • On March 22 at 6 p.m. in the 3600 block of Littledale Road, Kensington. The subject is known to the victim. Aggravated assault • On March 22 in the 8000 block of Cindy Lane, Bethesda. The subject is known to the victim. Commercial burglary • On March 23 at 4:40 a.m. at Mobil Gas, 5054 River Road, Bethesda. Forced entry, took property. • On March 23 at 5:18 a.m. at Exxon, 6100 MacArthur Blvd., Potomac. Forced entry, took property. Residential burglary • 4200 block of East-West Highway, Chevy Chase, at 11:30 a.m. March 20. Attempted forced entry, took nothing. Theft • On March 18 at 7 p.m. at a construction site in the 5400 block of Albia Road, Bethesda. • On March 18 or 19 in the 11700 block of Parklawn Drive, Rockville. Took items from outside the residence. Vehicle larceny • Walton Road and Melvern Drive, Bethesda, on March 20 or 21. Unlocked vehicles, took loose cash.