Daily Journal (Feb 21 – Feb 24)

Tuesday started early with a meeting in Downtown Silver Spring with Ronnie Galvin, Executive Director of Impact Silver Spring. Impact focuses on building a thriving and engaged multicultural community, with campaigns in Gaithersburg, Wheaton, Silver Spring, and other areas. The organization does great work so it was a pleasure meeting with Ronnie.

Next came a meeting with leaders from the Rockville Economic Development Institute’s Women’s Business Center. I am very interested in seeing how the county can help entrepreneurs in the child care sector to expand or start new child care businesses. They are presenting ideas that I think are exciting and I’m looking forward to working on these issues at Council.

Lastly, a meeting with fellow Councilmember’s Roger Berliner and George Leventhal with the Maryland Secretary of Transportation, Beverley Swaim-Staley. We discussed Montgomery County’s critical transit priorities, the Purple Line and the Corridor Cities Transitway. I was heartened to hear the Secretary explain that while big infrastructure projects have doubters, the doers get them done and she firmly expects that we will figure out how to finance these projects and get them done.

Wednesday featured an extended meeting with Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments’ (COG) Air Quality Committee as a new member. The COG’s focus is simple; creating a more accessible, sustainable, prosperous, and livable National Capital Region. The MWAQC is the entity that sets policy on pollution limits and signs off on those air quality alerts you hear, for example. I will be working hard to keep the pressure up on measures we can take to prevent global warming.

Thursday started with a meeting of the Purple Line Now (PLN) board, then a meeting discussing the County’s development review process with our Director of Permitting Services, Diane Schwartz-Jones. After that, a whirlwind of meetings from Brian Edwards and Richard Lipsky of Montgomery County Public Schools discussing PEG Channels in our schools to issues relating to the Kensington Sector Plan with community advocates (hi Judy Higgins!) and finally a very helpful meeting with the past chair of the county’s aging commission, Elaine Binder, about senior transportation issues; I am working on ideas for our Transportation committee to consider.

Friday featured a discussion about workforce training with Montgomery College President DeRionne Pollard. We are making sure our students are getting practical training so that they can confidently and competently enter the workforce. Meanwhile I am focusing intently on the coalition campaign to stop the cost-shift budget cuts on pensions – www.stoptheshiftmd.com – and also putting a great deal of thought into Wheaton redevelopment.

The Mini Nut

Enjoying our first trip to the Maryland Youth Ballet's performance of the Nutcracker. It's a shortened version for kids. Still, lots of wiggles in the rows and kids getting caught in those folding theater seats! :)

The venue is Montgomery College's performing arts stage and it couldn't be more spectacular.

Daily journal, 11-8-11

I was with family for a funeral on Monday (yesterday), I am sorry to say.

Today began with "state legislation", a meeting between the full council and the executive team's Maryland state legislative representatives. Melanie Wenger heads our efforts and does a superb job.

I find these meetings somewhat exasperating because we are asked to take positions on a variety of bills in the state house that are "county only" bills, meaning they would affect only county residents. We work as a group and there could be 5, 10, or even 15 bills to discuss. For example, a proposal to allow Damascus to bring their liquor prohibition to a ballot initiative, or a bill to allow permitting of roadside solicitation.

As opposed to our deliberative committee process on county bills, this process is hasty.

We also discussed the county's overarching priorities for the state, which are largely about getting certain grants approved, for example for Montgomery College, securing school funds and fending off changes that would prevent us from meeting our state funding obligations for MCPS, passing a transportation fund improvement and securing same funds particularly for transit expansion, and so on.

In the full council session we heard a very helpful presentation from regional economist Stephen Fuller about Montgomery County's economic outlook. The outlook is fundamentally very strong because the DC region is increasingly THE place for companies to be. But MoCo needs to provide the high quality work force these companies will need in order to land in the county, which means education and training as well as housing.

At the end of the day I volunteered for my friends Ryan Spiegel, Jud Ashman and Cathy Dryzygla, who are running for re-election to the Gaithersburg city council. They have been a joy to get to know in my work in the county and they did so much for me when I ran for Council. Even better I was joined at the polling place by council member Mike Sesma and we got a good long talk in about everything from the curfew to the big box bill. Gaithersburg is lucky to have this council working with their fine mayor, Sidney Katz.

New science center at Montgomery College

If you want to see how America wins the future, it's right here on
display at the groundbreaking for the new science center at Montgomery
College's Rockville campus. Speaking is one of the colleges bright
science students who perhaps soon will be working at one of out
startup or flagship science companies.