GOT TOYS? Joint effort collects gently used playthings. A-4
The Gazette
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GAITHERSBURG | MONTGOMERY VILLAGE DA I LY U P DAT E S AT G A Z E T T E . N E T
Wednesday, April 8, 2015
Council, Leggett disagree on Pepco n
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SAMANTHA SCHMIEDER
As per the county council’s request, the Montgomery County Department of Transportation has sent their Midcounty Highway Extension, or M-83, Preferred Alternative/ Conceptual Mitigation Report through the permit process, according to Department of Transportation spokeswoman Esther Bowring. The study will be reviewed by the Maryland Department of the Environment and the Army Corps of Engineers in order to review the environmental and community impacts of chosen
STAFF WRITER
See PEPCO, Page A-11
Next steps unclear STAFF WRITER
KATE S. ALEXANDER
Montgomery County’s settlement with Pepco and Exelon in a proposed utility takeover does not do enough for the public, the County Council said. Last week, the council unanimously approved a resolution asking state regulators for more from the deal, arguing that County Executive Isiah Leggett’s deal with the companies fell short. “Not that the deal the county executive struck is a bad deal, but it was the wrong deal,” Councilman Roger Berliner said Monday. “For this settlement, this deal, to be in the public interest, we will need to see oh so much more than we have seen yet from Exelon and Pepco.” Chicago-based Exelon Corp., parent of Baltimore Gas and Electric, plans to acquire Pepco Holdings Inc. for $6.83 billion in cash. The sale would bring together Exelon’s three electric and gas utilities — BGE, ComEd and PECO — with Pepco Holdings’ three utilities, Atlantic City Electric, Delmarva Power and Pepco, cementing Exelon’s hold on the mid-Atlantic market. The Maryland Public Service Commission is considering whether to approve the proposed takeover. Regulators have until May 8 to rule. Together with Prince George’s County, Montgomery and other parties reached the settlement with Pepco and Exelon in the acquisition, securing benefits such as a promise to be among the nation’s most reliable utilities by 2018. The settle-
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M-83 report moves ahead to permit process
One day, 1000 acts of kindness
Legislators urge state regulators to require more from utilities
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SPORTS: It’s not easy to put together a top-notch tennis doubles team. B-1
alignment 9A. Though there is currently “no money allocated for the project beyond this point” and the county executive does not approve it, MCDOT is following the direction it was given by the council, according to Bowring. Alignment 9A was chosen as the best option of the 11 alignments that were part of the study and the Preferred Alternative/Conceptual Mitigation report is available online now. The Corps of Engineers and Department of the Environment will decide whether the roadway, which would stretch from Gaithersburg to Clarksburg, is constructible and permissible,
See REPORT, Page A-11
Child sex offender enters guilty plea PHOTOS BY DAN GROSS/THE GAZETTE
(Above) Second-grader Emmy Cooley makes an encouragement card for a local pregnancy center on Thursday at Covenant Life School in Gaithersburg. (Below) Second-grader Anna Tilles makes a card for the center.
Covenant Life spreads smiles BY
W
SAMANTHA SCHMIEDER
Former substitute teacher from Gaithersburg was facing trial n
BY
VIRGINIA TERHUNE STAFF WRITER
A former substitute teacher from Gaithersburg who was facing a trial on child sex offense charges entered a guilty plea on April 1. The guilty plea entered by Jose Pineda, 50, would be part of plea agreement offered by prosecutors in the county State’s Attorney’s Office. Under the terms, Pineda would serve a total of five years for one count of sexual abuse of a minor and one count of
STAFF WRITER
ith 38 stations, more than 250 students and countless craft supplies, Gaithersburg’s Covenant Life School set out to complete 1000 acts of kindness on Thursday . The private Christian school took a different approach this year for their fundraiser with the Servathon 2015. Family, friends and neighbors were encouraged to donate to the school in order to sponsor
See SMILES, Page A-11
3rd-degree sex offense, wrote Ramón Korionoff, spokesman for the county’s State’s Attorney’s Office, in an email on April 1. Pineda would also be added to the Sex Offender Registry for the rest of his life, Korionoff wrote. Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge Dugan is scheduled to sentence Pineda on May 29. Accepting the plea agreement means the case would not go to trial, which was scheduled for April 6. Korionoff wrote that part of the prosecutor’s responsibility is to “make sure we do not re-traumatize victims or out/shame little girls who are very hesitant
See ABUSE, Page A-11
Gaithersburg theater camp takes giant step Actors have five days for ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’ n
BY
SAMANTHA SCHMIEDER STAFF WRITER
Fi-fie-fo-fun! Children attending the Arts Barn’s “Jack and the Beanstalk” spring break theater camp have less than a week to put together a full-fledged performance. “It’s very condensed and very intense, [which is] part of what makes it so much fun,”
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by the giants and it’s up to Jack to rescue him. Offutt explained that the different age range of students participating means there are different levels of sophistication in the roles. Some students will play leading roles, such as Jack, while others might be cast as cows, but everyone will participate and act. “Forty minutes long, three scenes. The actual production will be performed on the last half of the last day. All family and friends and everyone who wants
to come out and see it can,” Offut said. Parents will help their children with their costumes and there will be a makeup artist present for a few of the days to determine the best way to portray the characters through makeup. Offutt has never worked with the Arts Barn before, but she has experience with productions with prep time lasting from as little as one week to multiple
See CAMP, Page A-11
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said camp director Stephanie Offut. Children ages eight to 14 could sign up to be a part of the camp and Offut said she even gave special permission to a 7-year-old to participate. Offut explained that this version of “Jack and the Beanstalk” is a little different than versions she’s seen in the past. “There’s a mother and Jack, and the father is even in it,” Offutt said. In this version, the father gets stolen away from the family
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RENT-A-CHICK Service lets families borrow baby birds, and then send them back.
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Volume 28, No. 14 Two sections, 32 Pages Copyright © 2015 The Gazette
BILL RYAN/THE GAZETTE
Stephanie Phelan Offutt, of Rockville (standing center) gives directions to Gaithersburg residents (from left) Stephanie Alas, 11; Sahaj Chahal, 6; Rebecca Spillman, 15; and Madeline McHugh, 15, as they audition for roles in “Jack and the Beanstalk.”
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