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SPOOKYBUSINESS
The Gazette Reluctant horror film host to haunt AFI Silver festival. B-7
GAITHERSBURG | MONTGOMERY VILLAGE
DAILY UPDATES ONLINE www.gazette.net
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
25 cents
Thousands remain idled by shutdown
Oktoberfest 2013
Walter Reed employees return to work; Navy scrubs birthday concert
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BY
KATE S. ALEXANDER STAFF WRITER
Employees at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda went back to work Monday, despite the lingering federal government shutdown. The Department of Defense, under the direction of Secretary Chuck Hagel, eliminated furloughs for employees whose responsibilities contribute to the morale, well-being, capabilities and readiness of service
members, based on a legal interpretation of the Pay Our Military Act, Hagel said in a statement Saturday. However, the law does not allow for a blanket recall of all Defense Department employees, Hagel said in the statement. Walter Reed ordered all general schedule employees back to work Monday at their regularly scheduled times, according to the hospital. Still, thousands of federal workers remain out of work, as do federal contractors. Bethesda military giant Lockheed Martin, one of Montgomery County’s largest employers, started furloughing about 2,400 employees companywide
See SHUTDOWN, Page A-12
Quincy’s in Gaithersburg burned by NIST closing Owners: Shutdown means 30 percent drop in lunch sales n
GREG DOHLER/THE GAZETTE
BY JENN DAVIS STAFF WRITER
Kaia Sanders, 6, of Montgomery Village puts the finishing touches on her scarecrow Saturday during Oktoberfest at High Point Farm in Clarksburg. Residents celebrated Oktoberfest on Saturday with food, dance and drink. Kids at the family-friendly event stuffed their own scarecrows and learned German songs. Police officers serving in the area received awards at the annual event.
When Gaithersburg restaurateurs Alexis and Marty Magill returned from their first vacation in five years, they weren’t expecting to come back in the midst of a federal government shutdown.
Plans approved for Washingtonian North Apartments slated to rent for about $1,600 a month
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BY JENN DAVIS STAFF WRITER
Hundreds of apartments and a health club may come to Washingtonian North after the Gaithersburg City Council approved changes to an old annexation agreement Monday. The mayor and council unanimously passed the proposed amendment to the annexation agreement that will allow Camden Property Trust of McLean, Va., to construct up to 400 apartments and a health club on a 27acre parcel in Washingtonian North. The parcel, located off of Sam Eig High-
way near Fields Road, once was the proposed site of Manuguistics Group’s headquarters, with about 850,000 square feet of office space planned there, but has been vacant since the deal went bad in 2000. The next step for the applicant, Washingtonian North Associates LLC, is to give a signed copy of the annexation agreement to the city manager for final review, according to Community Planning Division Chief Trudy Schwarz. A schematic development plan submission will follow. Councilman Mike Sesma said that he was glad plans for the site were moving forward, but he is concerned about the overbuilding of multi-family units in the city and the potential for vacancies.
Quincy’s Bar and Grille, owned by the Magills since 2008 and located off Quince Orchard Road, has seen a decline in customers and revenue in the wake of the federal government’s decision to close many agencies and furlough employees, including the National Institute of Standards and Technology, which now quietly sits across the street from the restaurant. About 2,700 people work at the
See QUINCY’S, Page A-14
“Since about 2006, this council and the planning commission has approved almost two multi-family units for every one single-family unit throughout the city,” he said. Under the proposal, a 320,000-square-foot office pad will remain available for a future user. However, about six acres of property will be sold to Camden Properties for apartments renting in the $1,600-per-month range, according to Jay Johnson, director of new development for Camden. In addition, Lifetime Fitness has proposed building a 127,000-squarefoot fitness complex on 8 acres of the site, complete with indoor and outdoor pools, a salon and a café.
JENN DAVIS/THE GAZETTE
“There has been a decrease in what the bar has been taking in and what I’ve been taking in,” says bartender Stephanie Ayton at Quincy’s Bar and Grille in Gaithersburg.
See PLANS, Page A-14
Cities, towns upgrade sites to provide more services Governments take different Digital approaches to using the Web overnment n
Part two in a two-part series
BY SYLVIA CARIGNAN AND ELIZABETH WAIBEL STAFF WRITERS
ONLINE EXTRAS n Data mining has both positive and negative sides. TOM FEDOR/THE GAZETTE
Kyung Lee is Web content manager for Montgomery County’s Office of Public Information.
n Trends and statistics for municipal governments’ and county entities’ websites. www.gazette.net
Early next year, the city of Gaithersburg plans to roll out a new website with better search capabilities and a more user-friendly design. “We’re switching over to a services-based model,” said Andrew
NEWS
SPORTS
Mall in Gaithersburg could be on its way to redevelopment.
Paint Branch has a new stadium, weight room, one of the county’s top offenses and an undefeated record.
A NEW LOOK FOR LAKEFOREST? A-4
NEW LOOKS GOOD B-1
Barnes, a programmer for Gaithersburg’s website, which currently presents information sorted by departments. The “modern-day look and feel” of the new site will make it easier for residents and business owners to access basic information and services, such as finding out how to apply for a permit or get a recycling bin. With the contractor’s redesign, Gaithersburg joins local governments nationwide trying to meet the demand of higher Web use
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RECYCLE
while dealing with dwindling resources. “Some see technology as a way to extend services at a lower cost through their websites, while others view it as a cost center that could be cut,” said Todd Sander, executive director for the California-based Center for Digital Government. Gaithersburg, Rockville and Takoma Park are among the Montgomery municipalities trying to provide
See SERVICES, Page A-19
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