Issuu

PARKING Time limits to be extended in the Kentlands. A-4

The Gazette

ENTERTAINMENT: National Players bring Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” to Olney A-11

SPORTS: Watkins Mills boys basketball has inside-out plan to rebound. B-1

GAITHERSBURG | MONTGOMERY VILLAGE DA I LY U P DAT E S AT G A Z E T T E . N E T

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

25 cents

Gaithersburg senior center renovations move forward

Making a splash!

HBW Group Inc. will build new ﬁtness room, expand computer lab BY JENN

DAVIS

STAFF WRITER

The aging Gaithersburg Upcounty Senior Center will soon be given a welcomed facelift. The City Council recently voted to award a contract to HBW Group Inc. of Rockville to handle the renovations of the center, which sits at 80A Bureau Drive in Gaithersburg. HBW Group Inc. was one of nine bidders who

See RENOVATIONS, Page A-9

County: Incubator is the right recipe for food startups TOM FEDOR/THE GAZETTE

The Gaithersburg Aquatic Center reopened its doors to the public on Monday.

Gaithersburg Aquatic Center reopens after long closure BY JENN DAVIS STAFF WRITER

Gaithersburg Aquatic Center ﬁnally reopened its doors Monday after undergoing repairs and renovations during a more than two-year process. A grand reopening celebration and ribbon cutting ceremony is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Sept. 4, according to a city news release. “We were very excited to open to the

public again, welcoming patrons back and being available for people who did not know the facility existed,” Michele Potter, the city’s director of the Department of Parks, Recreation and Culture, wrote in an email to The Gazette. Potter said that 13 people attended the facility’s soft reopening. “...We thought it was successful as everyone who visited was very pleased and had a big smile on their face,” she wrote. “It gives

County bill aims to help ex-cons get jobs n

Measure would prohibit employers from initially inquiring about criminal record BY

STAFF WRITER

A movement that began in Hawaii to ban background checks on criminal records from job applications has come to Montgomery County. The County Council has introduced legislation that would prohibit certain employers from including a check-box on job applications asking applicants if they have a criminal record. Some employers, including those that work with minors and vulnerable adults, would be exempt. The bill allows conducting a background check on

See BILL, Page A-6

INDEX Automotive Calendar Classiﬁed Entertainment Obituaries Opinion Sports

1934314

B-10 A-2 B-6 A-11 A-8 A-10 B-1

Please

RECYCLE

KATE S. ALEXANDER STAFF WRITER

Like its business incubators for technology, cybersecurity and biotech, Montgomery County hopes a kitchen incubator will help food entrepreneurs thrive in the county. The county is seeking proposals for a private partner to help “accelerate the commercialization of creations from local food entrepreneurs” by establishing a kitchen incubator, a shared kitchen space food entrepreneurs can use to start their businesses.

See CENTER, Page A-9

See FOOD, Page A-9

Short plays take stage at Gaithersburg Arts Barn Eight different works performed as part of two-weekend event

Passionate acting, rich characters and intense storylines will take center stage for the second consecutive weekend as the Gaithersburg Arts Barn and the Montgomery Playhouse team up to present the 13th annual One-Act Play Festival. The two-weekend festival features eight different short plays — three of which are published works — that are performed and directed by

many community theater participants. Four of the works are performed each day. Performances were held last weekend, and they will be held again at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, along with a special matinee at 2 p.m. Sunday. This weekend’s lineup includes Evan Guilford-Blake’s “Weavers,” Kryss Lacovaro and Natalie Brunelle’s “Fight or Flight,” Frances A. Lewis’ “Goode Grief” and Eric Coble’s “H.R.” on Friday and Sunday. Robert Anderson’s “I’m Herbert,” Susan Miller’s “The Grand Design,” Alexis Roblan’s “Color Blue” and Guilford-

See PLAYS, Page A-9

Proposals sought for project to help entrepreneurs

us great pride to be a recreational amenity within the City.” The center at 2 Teachers Way has been closed since January 2012, when cracks were discovered in the exterior support columns that compromised the building’s structural integrity, the release said. Built in 1975, the building is owned by Montgomery County Public Schools and operated jointly by the

BY JENN DAVIS STAFF WRITER

KATE S. ALEXANDER

GAZETTE SENIORS ‘FAST’ thinking helped George Wilson survive a stroke; Rockville man set to defend pingpong titles; should you sell your life insurance policy?; places to volunteer

INSIDE TODAY

PHOTO BY DAVID JONES

(From left to right) Actresses Debi Preston and Stephanie Shade perform in “Goode Grief,” a short play written by Frances A. Lewis. It is one of eight works being performed at the 13th annual One-Act Play Festival at the Arts Barn in Gaithersburg.