MORE APARTMENTS, RETAIL COMING Board OKs North Bethesda development. A-3
NEWS: Fallen heroes honored at annual law enforcement ceremony. A-5
The Gazette BETHESDA | CHEVY CHASE | KENSINGTON
SPORTS: Landon senior golfer establishes himself as one of the best in the region. B-1
DA I LY U P DAT E S AT G A Z E T T E . N E T
Wednesday, May 13, 2015
25 cents
School pairing plan proceeds
Partying for a cause
Opponents cited traffic, lack of community voice in Tilden-Rock Terrace project n
BY
LINDSAY A. POWERS STAFF WRITER
The Montgomery County school board approved on Tuesday a study to look at a possible pairing plan for Tilden Middle School and Rock Terrace School on a North Bethesda campus. The plan and the project process have sparked heated community opposition. Seven board members voted in favor of the feasibility study of a new facility that would house both the general education
and special education schools. Board President Patricia O’Neill was absent. Interim Superintendent Larry Bowers recently recommended the paired facility on Tilden Lane, which the district expects to hold more than 1,000 Tilden students and up to about 100 Rock Terrace students, now in Rockville. At an April 27 public hearing, community members told board members that the district had not given them a fair chance for input on the pairing plan. Speakers also voiced concerns about the plan itself, including arguments that the
See SCHOOL, Page A-12
Big issues flare in small election Write-in for town of Chevy Chase council cleared of ethics violation n
(Above) Susan Henderson and her husband, David Hu, of Bethesda, members of the River Road Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Bethesda, dance at the spring fiesta Saturday at the church to support the El Salvador University Scholarship Fund. The evening included dinner, dancing and a pinata for children.
BY
TIFFANY ARNOLD STAFF WRITER
Usually, small-town council elections are rather ho-hum affairs. Not so in the town of Chevy Chase last week. There, a last-minute writein campaign for a council seat by a virtual unknown ousted Pat Burda, an established incumbent who had served as the town’s mayor. Fred Cecere, a retired physician who said he agreed to become a write-in candidate just days before the May 5 election, is to be sworn in as Chevy
(Right) Francisco Ramirez Rivera of Herndon, Va., received a humanitarian award during the fiesta. Rivera is a Salvadoran refugee who has founded a coalition of local immigrant communities to fund scholarships for students in Santa Marta. PHOTOS BY TOM FEDOR/THE GAZETTE
Chase’s newest town council member Wednesday. “It’s kind of a wonder of democracy that it could work,” Cecere said. The election result was cloudy until just this week, however. The town’s ethics commission was asked to resolve whether Cecere violated ethics rules by filing his financial paperwork late. A few stunned residents claimed the campaign’s tactics — getting a surge of residents to write in Cecere’s name hours before the polls closed — were sneaky and unfair. Monday night, the ethics commission upheld Cecere’s election. Up until election day, two incumbents, Burda and John
See WRITE-IN, Page A-13
Warning: Safer pedestrian crossing ahead Auto dealers shuffle the deck State to install stoplight on Wisconsin Avenue in Bethesda this summer
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Downtown showrooms opening for Audi, VW, Volvo n
BY
ROBERT RAND STAFF WRITER
Car dealers are playing musical imports in downtown Bethesda. After only about nine months, Euro Motorcars is converting its Volvo show-
INDEX A&E Automotive Business Calendar Classified Obituaries Opinion Sports
B-5 B-13 A-14 A-2 B-10 A-12 A-15 B-1
room on Woodmont Avenue into a showroom for its new Audi dealership. The showroom, near the southern corner of Woodmont and Wisconsin avenues, could open May 18, said General Manager Gil Hofheimer. That depends partly on the conversion of its Volvo service facility on River Road to handle Audis.
See AUTO, Page A-12
BY
MARGIE HYSLOP
SPECIAL TO THE GAZETTE
Pedestrians who have dared to cross six lanes of Wisconsin Avenue along a busy stretch in downtown Bethesda can expect more help this summer when a stoplight is slated to be installed. “Midsummer” is when a traffic signal at Wisconsin Avenue and Stanford Street is
expected to start regulating vehicle and foot traffic there, said David Buck, a spokesman with the State Highway Administration. Changes to the crossing will cost about $185,000. There’s a recently renovated crosswalk there now, about halfway between the traffic lights at Bradley Boulevard on the south and Woodmont Avenue on the north. It’s a bustling one, as the west side of Wisconsin is home to a post office, gym, condominium complex and several stores, including Verizon, Staples and a
See SAFELY, Page A-12
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HARMONIOUS LILIES
Volume 4, No. 17, Two sections, 32 Pages Copyright © 2015 The Gazette
Boxcar Lilies return to BlackRock with new music, old favorites. B-5
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A pedestrian crosses Wisconsin Avenue at the intersection with Stanford Street in Bethesda this winter.