HELPING AUTISTIC KIDS Controversial program piloted at Bethesda schools. A-6
A&E: Former Silver Spring resident brings about the end of the world in his new movie. B-5
The Gazette
SPORTS: Georgetown Prep football eager to return this season to the IAC. B-1
BETHESDA | CHEVY CHASE | KENSINGTON DA I LY U P DAT E S AT G A Z E T T E . N E T
Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2014
Town gets County fair kicks off 66th annual run Purple Line data from state agency ‘Country in the Air’
Rides, 4-H exhibits and wild performances to entertain the masses n
BY JENN DAVIS STAFF WRITER
Have you ever wanted to watch a calf being born, see two monster trucks do a simultaneous back flip or witness the crowning of a king and queen? You’ll have the chance when the Montgomery County AgriGo online for cultural Fair complete fair returns to coverage Gaithersburg n www.gazette.net this week. Featuring a “Country in the Air” theme, the fair will begin its 66th annual run at 3 p.m. Friday, giving attendees the opportunity to enjoy hundreds of activities, exhibits and experiences. The fair, open from 10 a.m. to midnight through Aug. 16, will be held at the Montgomery County Fairgrounds, 16 Chestnut St. in Gaithersburg. Admission is $10 per person; children 11 and younger are admitted free. Those who have their hand stamped at the gate before leaving can re-enter the fair for free on the same day. On-site parking is $10, cash only. More than 200,000 people are
Chevy Chase examining ridership information provided n
BY
STAFF WRITER
DAN GROSS/THE GAZETTE
A worker measures and marks distance for the placement of games on the midway at the Montgomery County Agricultural Fair on Tuesday. The fair in Gaithersburg opens Friday and runs through Aug. 16. expected to visit this year, said Martin Svrcek, the fair’s executive director. A mix of traditional fair staples
— like carnival rides and 4-H exhibitors — and exciting new additions will greet families and groups each night.
The Winery at Olney will make a splash at the fair scene this year as a
See FAIR, Page A-12
Escalator work will likely continue into 2017 Metro riders walk up the escalator from the platform to the mezzanine level at the Bethesda station. The down escalator next to it is being replaced, so both are out of service.
WMATA replacing five 30-year-old escalators at the Bethesda station n
BY
ELIZABETH WAIBEL STAFF WRITER
When it comes to the escalators at the Bethesda Metro station, riders have had more than their fair share of ups and downs over the years. The seemingly interminable shutdowns of one or more of the station’s six escalators continues, as a contractor is now working on the second of
DAN GROSS/ THE GAZETTE
ELIZABETH WAIBEL
five of those escalators the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority plans to replace there. WMATA began replacing the up escalator that runs from the platform to the mezzanine level, where the fare gates are located, last year after repairing stairs at the station, The Gazette previously reported. The replacement of the up escalator is finished. That escalator is not running, however, because the one right next to it, the down escalator, is under construction. Lonnie Murray, general superin-
See ESCALATOR, Page A-11
The Maryland Transit Administration sent the town of Chevy Chase data and software that it says can replicate Purple Line ridership forecasts. Town officials had threatened to file an official request for the data under the Maryland Public Information Act. The state agency sent the town several reports and data sets, so it can see how the agency came up with its ridership estimates for the Purple Line. The Purple Line is a $2.37 billion, 16-mile light-rail transit Citizens system that would link Bethesda scrutinize with New Carrollton. Purple Line Henry Kay, head of projbid request ect development at the transit n Page A-16 agency, said the Purple Line is expected to see 74,000 riders per day in 2040. Transit officials use “riders” to mean the number of boardings, rather than individual people, so a person making a round trip would be counted as two riders. Kay said Parsons Brinckerhoff, the contractor that compiled ridership estimates, has agreed to let the town use its software to analyze the data. “We can only give people things we have,” Kay said. “We don’t have this, but sort of just because the town has persisted and is interested, Parsons Brinck-
See DATA, Page A-11
Three county pre-K providers win state money n
Bethesda, Rockville, Takoma Park programs to expand services BY
LINDSAY A. POWERS STAFF WRITER
Ex-teacher brings passion for learning to digital games n
Chevy Chase woman’s Bethesda company focuses on fun, too BY
PEGGY MCEWAN STAFF WRITER
Suzi Wilczynski worked as an archaeologist at digs in Greece and Israel, then as a social studies teacher at private schools in the Washington, D.C., area. The Chevy Chase woman then
The company she started in her home in 2005 is on its way to meeting her goals, she said. From a one-woman company that outsourced much of its work, Dig-It! Games has grown into a Bethesda work space with three game developers, two artists, one producer and Wilczynski, the CEO, who said she generates most of the ideas. She also employs a separate marketing team. Mikel Wellington is one of the artists, creating 3-D art for the games.
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SUMMER S.T.E.M. Cub Scout camp these days is about much more than archery and campfires.
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“It’s an exciting group,” he said. “It’s the culture we build here, building games for kids to learn without the fear of failure.” Dig-It! Games’ first offering was Roman Town, which launched digitally at the end of 2009, Wilczynski said, and on CD in January 2010. “[When] I was teaching middle school, I was looking for a tool to bring all the environment I had from the field into the classroom,” she said. “Archaeology is a remark-
See GAMES, Page A-11
See PRE-K, Page A-11
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combined those careers at Dig-It! Games, creating educational computer games for fifth- through ninth-graders. “I wanted to change the Wilczynski way teachers and students think about learning,” Wilczynski said. “I wanted a fun, engaging activity that promotes lifelong learning.”
Three Montgomery County prekindergarten providers will receive a financial boost from the state to help them expand their services to more youngsters. Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown (D) and the Maryland State Department of Education announced July 28 that 17 community programs and seven school systems around the state would receive a total of $4.3 million in grants. This marks the first use of a grant program created by the Prekindergarten Expansion Act of 2014. Brown said in April that the legislation marks another step toward the larger goal to provide universal, half-day prekindergarten by 2018. The money will help the programs serve more families whose income falls at or below 300 percent of the federal poverty guidelines. Montgomery County’s grant recipients are the
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