COLLEGE COSTS Cardin discusses free community college proposal. A-4
The Gazette
A&E: Rockville Musical Theatre takes on popular show “Next to Normal.” B-4
SPORTS: Washington Spirit soccer opens its 2015 season this weekend in Boyds. B-1
GERMANTOWN | CLARKSBURG DA I LY U P DAT E S AT G A Z E T T E . N E T
Wednesday, April 8, 2015
25 cents
Council, exec dispute Pepco settlement Legislators urge state regulators to require more from utilities as part of deal
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KATE S. ALEXANDER STAFF WRITER
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
PHOTO BY CAROLINE TAYLOR
Allie Goldman and Danielle Roche stand next to Ten Mile Creek in Clarksburg. The girls, students at Poolesville High School, made a documentary film about the creek which flows into Little Seneca Lake, a reservoir contributing water to the Washington, D.C., region.
Ten Mile Creek in spotlight on film Students create movie highlighting environmental importance of creek
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PEGGY MCEWAN STAFF WRITER
Using just a cell phone, an online editing program and a school assignment, two Poolesville High School students created a movie about Ten Mile Creek, the Clarksburg stream
that is at the center of controversy between environmentalists and developers. “A Flowing Legacy” is just over three minutes long, the result of the work of Allie Goldman and Danielle Roche, both 16-yearold juniors at Poolesville. The girls had an assignment from their journalism class to create an essay, a photo essay or a documentary on an environmental issue. “We chose the documentary,” Allie said.
“My mom’s a big part of Ten Mile Creek initiative for protecting it.” Allie’s mother, Caroline Taylor, is executive director of Montgomery Countryside Alliance, a nonprofit dedicated to promoting and protecting rural Montgomery County. “So we know about [the issue],” Allie said. The issue, according to Taylor, is one of
See FILM, Page A-9
Roberto Clemente boys take science to top n
Students will represent Maryland in national competition BY
PEGGY MCEWAN STAFF WRITER
Edward Bian, an eighth-grader at Clemente Middle School in Germantown, said he reads a lot of “random stuff” on the Internet. It’s all good, though, because that random stuff, along with his studies, has helped Edward and his science teammates at Clemente win the Regional Science Bowl and the right to compete in the National Science Bowl finals in Washington, D.C. later this month. The team, five boys, all eighth-graders, won the regional competition March 21 at Prince George’s Community College. Coincidently, their final match was against another Montgomery County school, Herbert Hoover Middle School in Potomac. “We made a major comeback in the final rounds,” Vincent Bian, no relation to Edward, said. The team was down by 50 points at halftime of the final round, losing by a score of 90-40, said team coach
See SCIENCE, Page A-9
INDEX Automotive Calendar Classified Entertainment Obituaries Opinion Sports
KATE S. ALEXANDER STAFF WRITER
Montgomery County did not act illegally by spending money to campaign for votes on a 2012 ballot question, the Maryland Court of Special Appeals has ruled. At issue in the case was
CHEEP CARE Service lets families borrow baby birds, and then send them back.
Volume 28, No. 12, Two sections, 24 Pages Copyright © 2015 The Gazette
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RECYCLE
$122,315 of public money, plus paid staff time, that the county spent. The money paid for everything from bus ads and bumper stickers to poll workers and consultants, urging a “yes” vote on Question B in the 2012 general election. Question B asked voters whether to uphold a 2011 county law that repealed a longstanding bargaining right for the police union. The law
See COURT, Page A-9
Local workers seek immigration reform PEGGY MCEWAN STAFF WRITER
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Ruling is latest in battle over 2012 referendum n
‘Highly skilled’ workers from some countries can wait years for green card
PEGGY MCEWAN/THE GAZETTE
See PEPCO, Page A-9
Appeals court sides with county on Question B
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Members of the Clemente Middle School Science Bowl team show off the trophy they received for winning the Maryland Regional Science Bowl on March 21. The team will compete in the national finals April 30 to May 4 in Washington, D.C.
state regulators for more from the deal, arguing that County Executive Isiah Leggett’s agreement 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.” Exelon Corp. of Chicago,
Often discussed immigration reform will most likely be a long time coming, but several county residents are taking matters into their own hands, lobbying Congress to act now to speed up the waiting time for green cards. Germantown resident Shyam Sriram is one of them. He is vice president of the
Maryland Chapter of Immigration Voice, a grass roots organization concerned about the backlog of green card applications. “Its not ridiculous, its outrageous,” Sriram said. “The way the laws are written it can take 70 years to [get a green card].” A green card allows an immigrant to become eligible for permanent resident status and work in the U.S. It is also a first step towards becoming a U.S. citizen. It allows holders to open new businesses, change jobs, ask for a raise, travel to
See IMMIGRATION, Page A-9
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