DESIGNING WOMEN
&
Playwright’s characters reveal a rich female perspective throughout history. A-12
The Gazette POTOMAC | NORTH POTOMAC
DAILY UPDATES ONLINE www.gazette.net
Wednesday, March 19, 2014
25 cents
Who wants
TO KNOW? n
Tenants, businesses, watchdogs, parents and more, records study shows BY
ANDREW SCHOTZ STAFF WRITER
Last year, the public asked local government bodies for copies of employees’ salaries, property inspection reports and information about a mysterious 1990 homicide. Motorists who received tickets from cameras pointed at their vehicles were an active subgroup, requesting information to help them fight their tickets. Watchdogs sought copies of expense reports showing how school system officials were spending
taxpayers’ money. Much of it was public and available through a simple request, under Maryland’s sunshine laws. Sometimes, the records were considered private and the request was denied. Maryland’s Public Information Act guides the release of public records. Local residents, law firms, out-of-state businesses and journalists filed hundreds of PIA requests last year with government bodies in Montgomery County. This year, The Gazette asked Montgomery County, Montgomery County Public Schools and 19 municipalities within the county for copies of all of the PIA requests they received in 2013. The newspaper asked for a copy of each request, the government’s reply and, when feasible, the information that was provided to fulfill those requests. The study was done in conjunction with Sunshine Week, a national effort by news organizations and open-government advocates to spotlight laws that keep government’s workings transparent. Sunshine Week is held in mid-March every year,
TOM FEDOR/THE GAZETTE
A Potomac Paddle Sports group instructs new raft guides Sunday morning in the Great Falls Tavern area of the C&O Canal National Park in Potomac. That night, another snowstorm walloped the county with up to 10 inches of snow.
SPRING ON THE HORIZON
See KNOW, Page A-9
BUT WINTER WEATHER STILL HANGING AROUND IN MARCH
INSIDE AND ONLINE n How local governments did when asked for PIA information – chart, www.gazette.net n Editorial: Information belongs to you – Page A-10 n The types of records sought locally through PIA in 2013, www.gazette.net
PIA PEOPLE:
The Gazette talked to several people in Montgomery County who made Maryland Public Information Act requests in 2013 about their experiences. For other Q&A profiles, go to www.gazette.net. Name: Lang Lin Hometown: Potomac Occupation: Engineer How many Maryland Public Information Act requests have you ever made (to any government body)? Estimate if needed: “This was the one and only. I’m new to all this stuff. This was my first time.” In 2013, you asked Montgomery County Public Schools for: a list of the number of students in each Montgomery County elementary school allowed to participate in the compact math 4/5 program in fall 2013 and a list of schools that offered the program.
Data are for Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport.
15 12
What is compact math 4/5? “It is an accelerated curriculum within Curriculum 2.0 where third-graders can take a test and [if they qualify] can finish math for grades 4, 5 and 6 in two years.” Did you get the information you wanted? Yes How was your experience? “The process was very smooth. If someone asked me, I’d definitely advise them to go ahead.” Do you have any advice for anyone else seeking public information? “You need to follow the instructions on the website. You need to be explicit or you might not get what you want.” — PEGGY MCEWAN
SPORTS
SPRING SPORTS PREVIEW Baseball, softball, lacrosse, and track and field are starting. See which teams are favorites.
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Sunday’s snow keeping sports teams from play
NORMAL
n
14.2 11.9*
9.8
9
LANG LIN
2013-14
SNOWFALL (IN INCHES)
BY KRISTA BRICK STAFF WRITER
8.0
6.8
6 3
2.9 3.0
1.9**
DECEMBER
JANUARY
FEBRUARY
* through Monday ** for all of March
MARCH*
SOURCE: NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE
It’s an annual rite of spring when baseball players take to the diamond for spring training. Well, Mother Nature apparently is not a fan of spring sports. Spring may start Thursday, but due to the harsh, wet winter that’s been hanging on through March, the county’s athletic fields, including local
parks, elementary and middle schools, are closed to teams that ordinarily would be starting their spring play now. Those fields have beckoned to players, as warmer weather crept into the county Friday and Saturday. But those same inviting fields found themselves blanketed by up to 10 more inches of snow Monday morning. The restriction will be reassessed daily but is in place to prevent surface damage, according to the county. The decision affects all the county’s
See SPRING, Page A-9
Couple works to bring awareness to autism n
Foundation hosting art exhibit BY
PEGGY MCEWAN STAFF WRITER
It took 26 years for Rafael Angevine to be diagnosed as autistic. Despite a childhood of angry outbursts and social issues at school, Angevine never knew why he acted that way. Now Angevine, 29, of Germantown and his family is learning how to help him face adulthood with autism, a problem
Automotive Business Calendar Celebrations Classified Entertainment Opinion School News Sports Please
RECYCLE
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shared by an estimated 1.2 million adults and about 800,000 children who are on the autism spectrum in the United States, according the advocacy group Autism Speaks. JaLynn Prince and her husband, Gregory Prince, of Potomac, also concerned about adults with autism, started Madison House Autism Foundation in 2008 to help address those challenges. “Many people think that when people reach [age] 21 they outgrow autism,” JaLynn Prince said, “That’s not true.” Autism is a general term used to de-
scribe a group of complex developmental brain disorders — autism spectrum disorders — caused by a combination of genes and environmental influences. These disorders are characterized, in varying degrees, by communication difficulties, social and behavioral challenges, as well as repetitive behaviors. An estimated one in 88 children in the U.S. is on the autism spectrum — a 78 percent increase in six years that is only partly explained by improved diagnosis, according to the Autism
See AUTISM, Page A-9
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