&
FOUR-DIMENSIONAL
VisArts exhibits combine divergent styles, views. A-11
The Gazette ROCKVILLE | ASPEN HILL | WHEATON
DAILY UPDATES ONLINE www.gazette.net
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
25 cents
TOM FEDOR/THE GAZETTE
Troy Snell, a Humane Society of the United States field responder from Alabama, comforts a rescued animal outside the HSUS office in Gaithersburg on Aug. 7. Dogs and puppies rescued from an Arkansas property were transferred to area pet adoption agencies.
Humane Society extends a paw for Arkansas puppies Rescued dogs looking for new homes in D.C. area n
BY
ELIZABETH WAIBEL STAFF WRITER
An uber-fluffy brown and gray puppy no bigger than a loaf of bread snuggled sleepily into Ashley Mauceri’s arms. She carried the pup from a
PHOTOS BY DAN GROSS/THE GAZETTE
Maryland amusement ride inspector Chad Georg (right) walks through the funhouse with ride supervisor Stephen Bergeron at the Montgomery County Agricultural Fair on Thursday.
BEFORE THE THRILLS,
large kennel trailer to volunteers from the Humane Society of Calvert County, who hope to find the dog a new home. The puppy was one of 95 animals seized from an apparent hoarding case in Arkansas in July. Mauceri, manager of cruelty response for The Humane Society of the United States, helped Arkansas State
n
See PUPPIES, Page A-9 BY
‘Wellness-minded’ hotel is planned for Rockville n
EVEN Hotel expected to open next year in Twinbrook area
BY
ELIZABETH WAIBEL STAFF WRITER
A new hotel brand is seeking to attract “wellnessminded” travelers to a planned location in Rockville. InterContinental Hotels Group announced last week that the Twinbrook area is slated to get one of the first EVEN Hotels. The 167-room Rockville hotel, anticipated to open at 1775 Rockville Pike early next year, is planned to target wellness-minded travelers with a gym, small-group fitness classes and in-room fitness elements, according to a news release from the company. EVEN Hotels also will have healthy food options, ecoconscious design, LED mood lighting, naturally derived bath products and antibacterial wipes, according to emailed information from Adam Glickman, head of EVEN Hotels,
NEWS
TWO CASES OF FRAUD IN N. BETHESDA
Police say victims were conned into withdrawing money, giving it to strangers at shopping center.
A-4
and Jordan Worrall, public relations manager. The Rockville hotel site was previously occupied by a Holiday Inn Express hotel. As planned, the hotel will occupy seven floors in a larger mixeduse development. Room rates have not yet been set, but Worrall said in an email that they will be competitive with brands such as Courtyard by Marriott and Hilton Garden Inn. EVEN Hotels also announced plans to open a similar hotel in Norwalk, Conn., early next year. Both communities are affluent and have a “high wellness-minded resident and traveler base,” the press release said. Rockville is in a feeder market for Washington, D.C., the release said, and in Montgomery County, is home to major corporate headquarters. IHG launched the EVEN Hotels brand in February 2012 and also has announced plans to open two hotels in New York City. ewaibel@gazette.net
Safetyfirst
Ride inspector says mechanical failures are rare
KATE S. ALEXANDER
B
STAFF WRITER
efore thousands of fairgoers hop on the Ferris wheel or enter the funhouse at the Montgomery County Agricultural Fair, inspectors spend days combing over every midway ride to ensure each is in safe working order. Maryland’s Department of Labor Licensing and Regulation conducts about 6,000 ride inspections each year to ensure the safety of Marylanders who use amusement rides, said Rob Gavel, supervisor of the department’s Amusement Ride Safety Unit. State inspectors arrived at the Montgomery County Agricultural Fairgrounds on Aug. 5, when most rides were still in transport trailers.
“When they are like that, you get to see the rides ... parts of the rides you don’t get to see once they are fully assembled,” Gavel said. Gavel spoke Thursday as his team was finishing inspections in advance of Friday’s opening. Inspectors checked for proper assembly, that the foundation of each ride was secure, that the nuts and bolts holding rides together were properly torqued, that all pins were in place and that safety devices worked. Each ride also was turned on and run to ensure proper speeds and that fences were in the correct place, he said. “We have to see it run before we put a certificate on it,” Gavel said. Gavel said no major issues or concerns were found among the approxi-
ONLINE: www.gazette.net/mocofair
Maryland amusement ride inspector Chad Georg checks the funhouse before it can operate at the Montgomery County Agricultural Fair. n Visit our website for more stories and photo galleries
See RIDE, Page A-9
Open, free online course comes to local college Montgomery College introduces first ‘massive open online course’ n
BY
LINDSAY A. POWERS STAFF WRITER
Montgomery College is offering a new English prep class with no price tag, no class-size limit and only one prerequisite: an Internet connection.
Joining in a growing group of colleges offering such a course, and setting out as the first community college in Maryland to produce its own, Montgomery College has added its first massive open online course (MOOC) — an English prep class that is, as the name would suggest, pretty big and completely open. “It’s free and available to anyone in the world who has Internet access,” said Emily Rosado, an associate professor
SPORTS
A WHOLE NEW REALITY Coaches say there has been an increase in high school athletes transferring to new schools.
B-1
Automotive Calendar Celebrations Classified Community News Entertainment Opinion Sports Please
RECYCLE
at the college who will lead the online course involving video lectures, assigned readings and discussion boards. “MOOCs are kind of all the rage right now,” she said. Rosado said she has experience teaching several English classes, including freshmen English, introduction to literature and introduction to journalism — but this class represents a large jump for her in terms of class size.
“It’s a little scary,” she said. As of Monday, about 215 students were enrolled, including people living in England, New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates. The college also plans to reach out to high school students in Montgomery County Public Schools, Rosado said. While she said it is exciting to have international students, Rosado said the college wants
See COLLEGE, Page A-6
B-13 A-2 B-7 B-9 A-4 A-11 A-8 B-1
Check out our Services Directory ADVERTISING INSIDE B SECTION
1889693