SNOW DAZE School year may be extended to make up lost time. A-4
A&E: Comedy troupe Upright Citizens Brigade comes to BlackRock. B-4
The Gazette
SPORTS: Transfer wrestler in search of a state title feels welcome at Walter Johnson. 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, March 4, 2015
25 cents
Kensington playground reopens Purple Line n
forum plumbs pros and cons
St. Paul Park equipment burned in October BY
ELIZABETH WAIBEL STAFF WRITER
A Kensington playground has been rebuilt after a fire destroyed it. The playground in St. Paul Park, at the intersection of St. Paul Street and Plyers Mill Road, burned down in October. A November report by fire investigators concluded that somebody set a fire under the playground’s slide, but no suspects were found. The town of Kensington, which owns the park, paid about $82,000 to rebuild the playground, according to an emailed announcement from the town. Insurance covered about $41,000 of the rebuilding cost, and the town received $31,000 from a state grant. The town’s parks budget covered the remaining cost, including some lighting and security upgrades. ewaibel@gazette.net
Silver Spring gathering draws supporters, foes of light-rail project
n
BY
STAFF WRITER
DAN GROSS/THE GAZETTE
Sam Beaudet, 4, of Kensington — under the watchful eye of his father, David Beaudet — takes advantage of Monday’s break in the wintry weather to climb on the new playground equipment in St. Paul Park in Kensington.
Chefs and artisans pitch in for food bank Local restaurants, potters donate the makings of a soup lunch n
BY
ELIZABETH WAIBEL STAFF WRITER
BILL RYAN/THE GAZETTE
Katherine Allison, a volunteer with the Capital Area Food Bank, serves soup to Sasha Ernest of Arlington, Va., during the Empty Bowls Bethesda fundraiser Thursday at the Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club.
Artists handcrafted bowls and Bethesda-area restaurants whipped up pots of soup to fill them last week — all to fight hunger in the Washington, D.C., area. The first Empty Bowls Bethesda event Thursday at Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club raised money for the Capital Area Food Bank. Attendees got to enjoy soup and take home a unique bowl to remember the day. The food bank
has held similar fundraisers elsewhere in the Washington area, but this is the first year for Empty Bowls Bethesda. More than 200 people attended, raising $5,350, according to the food bank. Black’s Bar & Kitchen was one of the Bethesda restaurants providing soup or other food for the event. Dane Sewlall, executive chef, said his team brought a Mexican pork stew with slowbraised pork, peppers, onions and hominy. He said the restaurant tries to participate in charity events such as Empty Bowls whenever it can. “We get a lot from the community in Bethesda ... and we want to give back,” he said. ewaibel@gazette.net
PARCC tests face slight delay after snow day n
Officials, principals say schools, students ready for full rollout
BY
LINDSAY A. POWERS STAFF WRITER
Montgomery County Public Schools students were scheduled to start taking new state tests early Monday morning, but icy winter weather upset that plan. Instead, the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness of College and Careers tests — which will be fully implemented for the first time this spring — had to wait for Tuesday.
Suzanne Woertz, supervisor of the school system’s testing unit, said Monday that the lost day isn’t expected to derail testing schedules. Some schools will shift back a day; others will take advantage of built-in makeup days, she said. “If we just miss this one day, then we don’t anticipate any problems with having enough days for all of our schools to finish testing,” Woertz said. The school system must follow a state-dictated window from March 2 through March 26. The district doesn’t need to ask to extend that time frame yet, Woertz said, but school officials will re-evaluate if schools close
SPRING FORWARD Daylight Saving Time begins at 2 a.m. Sunday. Don’t forget to turn your clocks ahead one hour.
1930705
RYAN MARSHALL
again on a testing day. Schools can choose when to give the tests, as long as students take them within the 20-day window. That flexibility marks a significant change from the stricter schedule for the Maryland School Assessment tests, Woertz said. The PARCC tests, which the district piloted last year, are aligned with the Common Core State Standards and replace the Maryland School Assessments in reading and math. This month, students will take the first of two PARCC testing rounds. The first group of tests are “performance-based assessment” that are longer
and more complicated than the “end-of-year assessment” students will take later this spring. Students in third through eighth grades will take math and English language arts tests. High school students studying Algebra 1, Algebra 2 and English 10 will take corresponding tests. The district and individual schools have been preparing for the new tests, both directly and indirectly, school officials and principals said. Most students will take tests on computers, a task made easier by the school system’s technology plan put in place
See PARCC, Page A-10
It’s the best of projects, it’s the worst of projects. To paraphrase Dickens, that was the picture painted by a supporter and an opponent of the Purple Line at a forum Monday night in Silver Spring on the proposed $2.45 billion, 16-mile light-rail project that would link Bethesda and New Carrollton. On the one hand, the project would be a partial solution to the Washington, D.C., region’s transit problems and a business generator. But on the other hand, detractors say, it’s too expensive and won’t deliver on the cost to build it. The Purple Line is currently under review by the state Department of Transportation. Gov. Larry Hogan (R) said he hopes to make a decision on the project — expected to cost $55 million a year to operate and maintain — by May, according to The Washington Post. While the pros and cons were later heard inside the AFI Silver Theater and Cultural Center, demonstrators gathered outside before the forum, holding signs and shouting their support for the project. The project will bring economic stimulus and environ-
mental benefits, said Nick Brand of Chevy Chase Section 3, who wore a purple scarf around his neck to fend off the March wind as he waved a sign along Colesville Road. Brand said he believes that if the state takes a fair and honest look at the project, it will decide that it’s crucial to Montgomery County’s future. The forum featured a debate between Rich Parsons, vice chairman of the Suburban Maryland Transportation Alliance, and Randal O’Toole, a visiting fellow with the Maryland Public Policy Institute and a senior fellow with the Cato Institute. Parsons favors the project, while O’Toole opposes it. About 75 people attended the forum, said Christopher Summers, president of the nonprofit Maryland Public Policy Institute, which sponsored the event and cost $45 to attend. Most of the questions from the audience were directed at Parsons, challenging his assertions. The Purple Line will be good for transportation and the environment, plus bring economic benefits, and any could damage the viability of the project, said Parsons, a former CEO of the Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce. “We literally are on the 1-yard line and ready to score here,” he said. The line will lead to more transit riders and faster trips,
See FORUM, Page A-10
They write the songs Composers to perform in contest Friday in Bethesda
n
BY
ELIZABETH WAIBEL STAFF WRITER
A Bethesda songwriter is one of nine finalists set to compete for $12,500 in prizes. This is the first year for the Bernard/Ebb Songwriting Awards. The finalists will perform their original works Friday evening in Bethesda before judges select winners in general and youth categories. Laura Baron of Bethesda, one of the finalists, said she has been writing and playing songs since high school. She used to teach music at the National Child Research Center and has released four albums, including one for children. The Bernard/Ebb contest is different from others she has en-
tered because songwriters submitted three songs in any genre. The application also asked what being a songwriter meant to her. “I like putting words to deeper feelings that are under the surface of daily life,” Baron said. “I like very much to write songs that are about second chances and new beginnings and finding new life paths. But I also really like the fun swing of jazz and blues.” Baron said winning the contest would help her gain more visibility and make connections with the artistic leaders in Bethesda and Washington, D.C. Plus, she could put the money toward recording her next album. The Friday evening performance will feature two songs by each adult finalist and one song by each under-18 finalist,
See SONGS, Page A-10
INDEX Automotive Business Calendar Classified Entertainment Opinion Sports
B-12 A-11 A-2 B-8 B-4 A-12 B-1
Volume 4, No. 7, Two sections, 28 Pages Copyright © 2015 The Gazette
WINTERIZE YOUR HOME
Please
RECYCLE SEE HOME IMPROVEMENT SERVICES INSIDE ADVERTISING INSIDE A SECTION