&
SWEET MICHELANGELO Lynyrd Skynyrd drummer finds inspiration in classic ‘David’ statue. B-5
The Gazette GAITHERSBURG | MONTGOMERY VILLAGE
DAILY UPDATES ONLINE www.gazette.net
Wednesday, May 14, 2014
25 cents
Temporary fix found to fund area schools
Volumes expected at book festival n
Proposal would fund system’s full budget request n
BY RYAN MARSHALL STAFF WRITER
Rather than increase the amount that Montgomery County will have to provide to its public schools in upcoming years, the County Council is faced with a plan to use money from various school funds to meet the
Gaithersburg event chairman hopes to draw more than 20,000 people BY JENN DAVIS STAFF WRITER
With nearly 100 featured authors and more than a dozen interactive workshops in the line-up, the Gaithersburg Book Festival is preparing to write its best chapter yet. Renowned authors, local writers, poets and other literary artists are expected to converge at the annual festival, which is scheduled to take place from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. May 17 on the grounds of City Hall at 31 S. Summit Ave. in Gaithersburg. Admission is free. Gaithersburg Book Festival founder and City Councilman Jud Ashman said he’s hoping this year’s event draws the largest crowd in its five-year history — more than 20,000 people. Last year’s attendance was around 18,000, he said. Featured authors will be on hand to chat with attendees and sign books. In addition to the featured authors, about 50 more will be exhibiting their works. Fiction writers like Anthony Marra, author of the novel “A Constellation of Vital Phenomena,” and Alice McDermott, a National Book Award winner who has authored seven novels, will be in attendance. Mark Leibovich, who wrote the New York Times best-seller “This Town: Two Parties and a Funeral — plus plenty of valet parking! — in America’s Gilded Capital,” as well as famed sports writer John Feinstein, are set to appear. A new resource for festival attendees this year is an interactive, online schedule that allows them to search and plan in advance which people and activities the want to visit. Details about author presentations, workshops, book signings and other programs are included. Visitors can search by time, title, author, genre and location. “We put it in this interactive schedule so you can really search and look at the program in a number of different ways,” Ashman said. “We think it’s going to make it easier for the
See BOOKS, Page A-10
IF YOU GO
school system’s budget requests for the upcoming fiscal year. But school board members are warning that the solution can’t become a regular occurrence. The council’s Education Committee voted 3-0 Monday to approve a budget recommendation for Montgomery County Public Schools that meets the full amount requested by the Board of Education for fiscal 2015,
See SCHOOLS, Page A-11
City is likely to adopt county’s minimum wage
n When: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. May 17 n Where: Grounds of Gaithersburg City Hall, 31 South Summit Ave.
GETTING THERE:
n
n Free shuttle from the Shady Grove Metro station on the Md. 355 side when exiting the station
Most officials agree with Montgomery policy BY JENN
n Handicap-accessible shuttles leave from the Lakeforest mall Transit Center Parking Lot near Sears beginning at 9:30 a.m. The last shuttle will leave the festival area at 6:30 p.m. Parking is free.
DAVIS
STAFF WRITER
The Gaithersburg City Council is likely to follow the county’s lead on the minimum wage businesses should pay their employees, after a discussion Monday night. In November 2013, the Montgomery County Council agreed to raise its minimum wage gradually to $11.50
n Limited free parking near the festival at the Activity Center at Bohrer Park, 506 South Frederick Ave., next to Gaithersburg High School.
per hour by 2017. Maryland lawmakers voted to increase the state’s minimum wage as well, elevating it to $10.10 per hour after a series of phases by 2018. At the meeting, Councilman Henry Marraffa was the only councilman who thought the city should follow the state’s rate. Councilwoman Cathy Drzyzgula said she believed the county “overreached” with its raise to $11.50, but that it would be a mess for employees
See WAGES, Page A-11
Putting skills to the test
FILE PHOTO
Margot Bohan (left) and husband Ned Cyr of Washington Grove talk with Hyattsville novelist David L. Levy at last year’s Gaithersburg Book Festival.
Volunteers lend to the binding of annual event More than 160 helpers have donated time to festival n
BY JENN
DAVIS
STAFF WRITER DAN GROSS/THE GAZETTE
Becky Meloan in Politics and Prose, where she works as an events planner, is a volunteer for the Gaithersburg Book Festival..
ELECTION
2014 Learn more about the candidates running in the June 24 primary. Check out our online voters guide at www. gazette.net/voters guide2014.
1910252
When Becky Meloan first read that the city of Gaithersburg was looking for volunteers to coordinate the first ever Gaithersburg Book Festival almost five years
ago, she was immediately intrigued. “A big event celebrating books in my backyard — that was an appealing idea to me,” she said. After being appointed to the event committee, Meloan helped to put together the inaugural festival in 2010, and she hasn’t looked back since. Meloan is one of nearly 160 volunteers who are
GEORGE P. SMITH/FOR THE GAZETTE
Eric Rogers, 18, of Rockville goes inverted on the half pipe during the 2014 Spring SkateFest at the Bohrer Park Activity Center in Gaithersburg on Saturday.
See VOLUNTEERS, Page A-10
SPORTS
PENN STATE TURNPIKE?
Nittany Lions get commitments from three defensive linemen they targeted in Montgomery County.
B-1
Automotive Calendar Classified Community News Entertainment Celebrations Opinion Sports Please
RECYCLE
B-16 A-2 B-11 A-5 B-5 A-15 A-16 B-1
Check out our Services Directory ADVERTISING INSIDE B SECTION