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HE’S A MAGIC MAN Illusionist returns to BlackRock with entertaining bag of tricks. B-5
The Gazette POTOMAC | NORTH POTOMAC
DAILY UPDATES ONLINE www.gazette.net
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
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Fraser-Hidalgo expected to be next delegate from District 15 Governor’s office to make announcement Wednesday
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KATE S. ALEXANDER STAFF WRITER
PHOTOS BY GREG DOHLER/THE GAZETTE
Deepti Navile stands amid the nearly 500 dolls and other miniature pieces on display in her Potomac home in celebration of the Hindu festival Dussehra. Many of the dolls have been handed down for generations in her family.
A mix of
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BY
Figurines help family share Hindu festival of Dussehra
PEGGY MCEWAN
rated their houses,” she said. “That is one story.” She knows why she does it and will continue to, even though it entails hours of work. “I started doing this because my grandmother did it and I liked it as a child,” she said. “It’s very creative.” She wants her daughters, ages 10 and 16, who are being raised in this country, to share in this part of their Indian heritage. It’s a lesson not lost on her older daughter, Shreya Navile, a junior at Winston Churchill High School in Potomac. “I’ve grown up watching my mom do the dolls, helping her set them up and learning the stories. It’s part of me,” Shreya said. “It’s
STAFF WRITER
Century-old wooden dolls, a miniature marketplace and a replica mariachi band combine old and new in a display in Deepti Navile’s basement. It isn’t a little girl’s playhouse, but rather a way to share the history and culture of Navile’s native India during the Hindu festival of Dussehra, which this year was celebrated Oct. 5 through Monday. The festival celebrates Lord Rama’s victory over the 10-headed demon King Ravena, a victory of good over evil, Navile said. She was not sure why many people set out displays of dolls during the festival. “In celebrating the victory, people deco-
A sample of the miniature figures on display in the Potomac home of Deepti Navile in celebration of the Hindu festival of Dussehra.
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Businesses split on minimum wage increase n
Chamber: Many businesses focused for now on effects of shutdown BY
RYAN MARSHALL STAFF WRITER
Proposals to increase the minimum wage at the county or state levels have some Montgomery County businesses worried about the effect the bill would have on their bottom line, while others support a raise in the wage. County Councilman Mark Elrich (D-At
NEWS
A CELEBRATION AND A CAMPAIGN The Equality for Eid campaign asked Muslim community members to skip school.
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large) of Takoma Park has proposed a bill that would raise the county’s minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to $11.50 an hour over three years. Similar bills have been proposed in Prince George’s County and Washington, D.C. A bill also is expected in the Maryland General Assembly during the 2014 session to raise the state’s minimum wage to $10.10 an hour. Many businesses in Montgomery that depend heavily on government workers and federal contracts are more focused on the immediate damage caused by the government
shutdown, said Georgette Godwin, president and CEO of the Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce. Godwin said she respects the county bill’s sponsors for trying to help people, but the uncertainty caused by the shutdown makes it a bad time to look at a county measure. “I know their intentions are good, their timing is terrible,” Godwin said. She said she believes the issue would be better addressed at the state or federal level.
SPORTS
ALL RUN, NO DANCE
Bullis running back has the right moves on the field, but not so much on the dance floor.
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See INCREASE, Page A-13
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RECYCLE
Gov. Martin O’Malley is expected to announce Wednesday his appointment of David Fraser-Hidalgo as the next delegate from District 15, which includes parts of Potomac. Montgomery County’s Democratic Central Committee nominated Fraser-Hidalgo of Boyds last week after considering eight candidates for the job. While O’Malley (D) was expected to accept the party’s nominee, he has in the past rejected party picks for filling vacant legislative seats. Last year, O’Malley rejected the Prince George’s County Democratic Central Committee’s initial choice of businessman Greg Hall to fill a the seat of former Del. Tiffany Alston (D-Dist. 24) of Mitchellville, asking the party to choose another person after Hall’s criminal record surfaced. In January, O’Malley appointed former Del. Darren M. Swain to represent District 24. According to the governor’s office, O’Malley will announce Fraser-Hidalgo as his appointment Wednesday. Fraser-Hidalgo will serve the remaining year of former Del. Brian J. Feldman’s term. Feldman (D-Dist. 15) of Potomac was appointed the senator for District 15 by O’Malley after former Sen. RobertGaragiola(D-Dist.15)ofGermantownresigned. At the central committee meeting on Oct. 8, Fraser-Hidalgo said he was excited to join the legisla-
See DELEGATE, Page A-13
Delaney says he will donate portion of his salary to clinic n Contribution will be made to Mercy Health Clinic in Gaithersburg after federal government shutdown ends BY JENN DAVIS STAFF WRITER
Rep. John Delaney (D-Dist. 6) of Potomac is donating a cut of his congressional salary earned during the government shutdown to a clinic in Gaithersburg. The congressman, who was reported by The Gazette last July to be worth at least $51 million, will give a portion of his $174,000 annual congressional salary to Mercy Health Clinic, according to spokesman Will McDonald. “He [Delaney] felt it was the right thing to do, just given the overall dysfunction of Congress right now and the fact that the government is shut down,” McDonald said. “John and his wife were looking for a good, charitable group in the district that really helps people who are less fortunate.”
See DELANEY, Page A-13
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