FOOTBALL PREVIEW
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A breakdown of all 30 Montgomery County teams, preseason rankings, and features. B-1
The Gazette ROCKVILLE | ASPEN HILL | WHEATON
DAILY UPDATES ONLINE www.gazette.net
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
PurpleLine IN THE PATH OF THE
SOUNDING OFF
A2020Vision
WOODSIDE/16TH STREET STATION, 9:07 A.M. “It doesn’t make sense, to put all this in jeopardy for nothing,” said Babou Jobateh, as he stood outside the
Jerry’s Subs he has owned for six years. Jobateh said he worked at the store for 20 years, until he had saved enough money to take out a loan and buy the franchise. He is there from open until close, seven days a week, and is hoping the Purple Line turns out to be just talk.
DAN GROSS/THE GAZETTE
Austin Lee, owner of Spring Discount Beer & Wine on 16th Street in Silver Spring, will have to find another location when the Spring Center is demolished to make way for one of the Purple Line stations.
A virtual ride
16-MILE LIGHT RAIL LINE WILL LINK BETHESDA WITH NEW CARROLLTON
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BY JAMIE
T
ANFENSON-COMEAU AND KARA ROSE STAFF WRITERS
he Purple Line has been on the books in Maryland for decades, but as 2020 looms, Purple Line planners and Montgomery County residents are hammering out the nitty-gritty details of exactly what this $2.2 billion light rail line will look like. The 16-mile line, which will link Bethesda with New Carrollton, will cross parts of both Montgomery and Prince George’s counties, linking up with Metro stops and MARC train stations. The $2.2 billion price tag is
to be divided among federal, state and local governments. The U.S. and Maryland governments each are expected to contribute about $900 million, and Montgomery and Prince George’s counties are expected to provide the remainder, said Leif Dormsjo, Maryland’s deputy secretary for transportation. State officials recently announced that $680 million was earmarked from the recently raised fuel tax for the project. The state also is pursuing a public-private partnership to help defray its costs. Besides being responsible for designing, constructing, operating and
See PURPLE, Page A-13
BY KARA ROSE, AGNES BLUM AND MARLENA CHERTOCK STAFF WRITERS
The Purple Line is a $2.2 billion light rail project that will cross 16 miles to connect Bethesda and New Carrollton, passing through many communities along the way. Take a virtual morning ride on the transit line from Bethesda to Takoma Park to see the project’s impact on Montgomery County. MTA RENDERING
A Purple Line light rail car pulls into the Bethesda station, as envisioned by the Maryland Transit Administration.
ONLINE
n For an interactive map of the Purple Line and more stories about the project, go to www.gazette.net/purpleline.
Bethesda Station, 9 a.m.
The Purple Line station will be at the corner of Wisconsin Avenue and Elm Street, just outside the Regal Bethesda movie theater. Stairs or a high-speed
Event provided activities and information but no free school supplies BY
PEGGY MCEWAN STAFF WRITER
Montgomery County Public Schools held its annual Back-toSchool Fair on Saturday, but students didn’t leave the fair this year in Rockville with new backpacks slung over their shoulders. That’s because this year backpacks were sent directly to schools to be distributed. “We thought empowering the
NEWS
SECURITY TEAMS PREP FOR START OF SCHOOL
Sessions focus on drugs, gangs, other threats.
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schools to meet the needs of their students was a positive,” school system spokeswoman Gboyinde Onijala said. More than 41 schools were selected to receive backpacks, mostly Title I schools as identified by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. “The legislation provides federal funds to help students in schools with high economic needs achieve high standards. The specific objective of the Title I program is to enable all students to meet state and local student performance standards and for schools to achieve the Annual Measurable Objectives targets set by the Maryland State Department of Educa-
See SCHOOL, Page A-16
elevator will lead to the platform. The drop is too steep to allow for escalators. Trains will run every six minutes during peak hours, and 10 to 12 minutes during off-peak hours. As the above-ground train travels west toward Silver Spring, riders will be able to watch cyclists and runners on the adjacent 16-foot-wide Georgetown Branch Trail extension of the Capital Crescent Trail, separated from the rails by a fence. Formerly a freight rail line run by CSX, the line was purchased by Montgomery County in 1988 and preserved as a hikerbiker trail until it could be converted for future rail use.
See RIDE, Page A-13
Grand jury: Rockville doctor’s death ‘justified’
Plenty to do at Back-to-School Fair, but no backpacks in sight n
25 cents
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BY
Preliminary cause is asphyxiation
ST. JOHN BARNED-SMITH STAFF WRITER
TOM FEDOR/THE GAZETTE
Letisha Wander of Rockville, with children Lucas, 6, and Logan, 4, and her mother, Grace Kishna, makes her way around the Montgomery County Public Schools Back-to-School Fair on Saturday at the Carver Educational Services Center in Rockville.
NEWS
50 YEARS LATER: A MARCH TO CELEBRATE
County residents remember the historic 1963 March on Washington.
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Automotive Calendar Celebrations Classified Community News Entertainment Opinion School News Sports Please
No one will be charged in the death of a doctor who died in suspicious circumstances in his Rockville home in July. A grand jury has ruled that the actions related to the July 11 death were justified, according to a statement released by the State’s Attorney’s Office on Friday.
See DOCTOR, Page A-16
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