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The Gazette BETHESDA | CHEVY CHASE | KENSINGTON
DAILY UPDATES ONLINE www.gazette.net
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
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Jump-starting the ‘heart’ of downtown Bethesda n
Stakeholders plan for area’s future BY
ELIZABETH WAIBEL STAFF WRITER
Efforts to create a development plan for downtown Bethesda have hit one snag already: determining just where the center of “downtown” is. The Montgomery County Planning Department hosted a workshop Saturday for residents, planners and developers. The department is in the early stages of developing a Bethesda Downtown Plan, to guide build-
ing and zoning decisions in the area. At the workshop, attendees were asked to pinpoint “the heart of downtown Bethesda” on a map posted on the wall; answers were divided among at least four different places, including the intersections of Wisconsin Avenue and East-West Highway; Wisconsin Avenue and Elm Street; Woodmont Avenue and Elm Street and St. Elmo and Norfolk avenues. Some groups suggested Bethesda had at least two “centers,” which needed better connectivity, particularly for people trying to walk from one area to other.
Another map asked where pedestrians had trouble crossing the road. The answer? Just about everywhere. Small groups gathered to discuss changes they would like to see in the area; the need for more green space was a common theme. They also tried to identify different neighborhoods in Bethesda, but many said they had trouble. The Bethesda Downtown Plan is meant to update policy from the 20-year-old Bethesda Downtown Sector Plan, which
See BETHESDA, Page A-7
TOM FEDOR/THE GAZETTE
Area residents, Montgomery County Planning Board staff and regional architects and planners gather Saturday morning at Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School for the Bethesda Downtown Plan workshop.
Calling all animal lovers:
New Montgomery shelter now open
DAN GROSS/THE GAZETTE
Katherine Zenzano, a community outreach coordinator for the Montgomery County Police Animal Services Division, holds Lulu, a 5-year-old domestic shorthair cat at the new Montgomery County Animal Shelter in Gaithersburg. Lulu and another cat were surrendered because the owner had died.
BILL RYAN/THE GAZETTE
A team of snowplows works its way down Md. 355 in Gaithersburg on Monday, when anywhere from 4 to 8 inches of snow and ice fell in the county..
SNOWFALL:
Center prepared to shelter dogs, cats, livestock, birds, reptiles n
BY JENN DAVIS STAFF WRITER
Spencer, a 3-year-old Chihuahua mix, was frightened when he came to the Montgomery County Animal Services and Adoption Center as a stray on Feb. 26. Two days later, with the help of nurturing staff, he was comfortably gobbling up treats and excitedly licking his human admirers. Spencer is one of many animals moving into rooms at the new $20 million Derwood shelter, which opened on Sunday. The 49,160-square-foot facility at 7315 Muncaster Mill Road replaces the county animal shelter on Rothgeb Drive in Rockville, which is operated by the Montgomery County Humane Society. The county contracted with the Humane Society to continue running the old shelter until the end of March, allowing for a transition time between the two centers. In July 2010, the Montgomery County Planning Board approved the use of seven acres of a 51-acre parcel at the corner of Muncaster Mill and Airpark Roads for the new shelter, after county officials deemed the old one, which was built in 1975, overcrowded and in need of renovations. Construction on the new facility, which is more than three times the size of the Rothgeb shelter, began in January 2012. All animals picked up by the county’s Animal Services Division from now on will come to the new shelter, according to Mary Healey, director of the Montgomery County Animal Services and Adoption Center. “We certainly anticipate receiving many animals in the upcoming days and weeks,” she said.
See SHELTER, Page A-7
A windfall for some, but blown budgets for many Some cursing, some enjoying winter’s icy grip n
BY
GAZETTE STAFF
Winter has wrought a meltdown on the budgets of many local governments, but for some businesses this year’s snowfall has been a windfall. Monday’s wintry blast, with about 4 to
charge the town more than $1,300. It also bought $300 worth from the county. An additional $5,000 was budgeted for contracted snow removal, which Hoffman does not expect to exceed. Contracted help was used for both of the season’s bigger storms, but the town has not received invoices yet. Snow days actually translate to costs
See SNOWFALL, Page A-7
Obama administration backs Purple Line Budget proposal includes $100M for light-rail project
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BY KATHERIINE SHAVER THE WASHINGTON POST
Maryland’s proposed light-rail Purple Line project has been recommended for $100 million in federal construction money in fiscal 2015 as part of President Barack
SPORTS
HEALING THROUGH BASKETBALL
Teressa French
8 inches falling throughout Montgomery County, was the latest blow. The town of Kensington, responsible for 8.2 miles of town roads, was not as hard hit as others, it seems. The town has spent $2,100 of a budgeted $4,000 on overtime work, and $1,300 on salt, according to Assistant Town Manager Matthew Hoffman. A contract with the Maryland State Highway Administration, which supplies the salt, states that the administration cannot
Covenant Life community uses basketball to work out grief of two deaths in three days.
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Obama’s budget released Tuesday, marking a critical financial milestone that would keep the project on schedule. More important to the project’s future is the fact that the Purple Line also was included on a list of seven large transit projects nationwide that the Federal Transit Administration recommended for a “full funding grant agreement,” a longer-term commitment by the federal government to help pay for the projects’ construction. The
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total amount of federal funding recommended for each project wasn’t included in budget documents released Tuesday. U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said those figures would be released Wednesday. Maryland transit officials have said they are seeking $900 million in federal funding for the $2.2 billion Purple Line.
See PURPLE, Page A-7
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