Silverspring 042215

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RASKIN IN THE RACE State senator kicks off congressional campaign. A-4

The Gazette

SPORTS: Einstein softball in position to share division title after win. B-1

SILVER SPRING | TAKOMA PARK | WHEATON | BURTONSVILLE

NEWS: Silver Spring students pool their talents to honor Mother Earth. A-3

DA I LY U P DAT E S AT G A Z E T T E . N E T

Wednesday, April 22, 2015

25 cents

Purple Line’s anticipated impact grows Updated study shows more jobs, money headed to region if rail line is built n

BY

KATE S. ALEXANDER STAFF WRITER

BILL RYAN/THE GAZETTE

Leisure World resident Robert Ardike favors saving the original administrative building at Leisure World in Silver Spring.

Leisure World eyes new building Some at Silver Spring community want to see structure preserved

n

BY

KEVIN JAMES SHAY STAFF WRITER

Leisure World of Maryland is proposing to build a new administration building, costing as much as $5.2 million, according

to minutes of meetings and other documents from the Silver Spring private community corporation’s board. The plans have been in the works for several years. At one time, officials considered renovating the current building, which dates to the 1960s. That option would cost $2.3 million to $3.2 million, depending on if an addition would be built, according to a report presented to board

members in 2013. The 610-acre, fenced community near Georgia Avenue and Norbeck Road houses about 8,000 independently living older adults in single-family homes, townhouses, high-rise apartments and condominiums, sheltered by guarded access points. In April 2014, the Leisure World Com-

See BUILDING, Page A-12

More than 27,000 new jobs, $2.2 billion in new income and $12.8 billion in property value would be added to the region if the Purple Line is built, a new study says. However, the study’s author said those benefits won’t arrive until at least five years after the project is complete. Transportation Economics & Management Systems Inc. of Frederick studied the economic impact of the Purple Line in 2010. On Monday, it provided updated figures to a group of business leaders from Montgomery and Prince George’s counties. According to the report, the project will have greater economic impact than originally

Late-session stalling kills Montgomery’s student-member bill Proposal to extend local voting rights ran into Frederick County opponent n

BY

LINDSAY A. POWERS STAFF WRITER

With minutes left in the Maryland General Assembly’s 2015 session, state Sen. Nancy King thought there was time to pass a bill to expand voting rights for Montgomery County’s student school board member. “I thought, ‘This is going to sail right through,’” said King (D-Dist. 39) of Montgomery Village. But there was a roadblock — state Sen. Michael J. Hough, whose skeptical questioning ran out the clock, preventing a final vote on the bill. Hough (R-Dist. 4) of Brunswick said in an interview last week that, after reading the bill with a few minutes left, he “joined the bipartisan tradition in killing that bill.” He noted that former Sen. Brian E. Frosh made sure the bill didn’t pass in a previous session. Currently, Montgomery’s stu-

INDEX A&E Automotive Business Calendar Classified Obituaries Opinion Sports

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dent member of the board can vote on many issues. The bill would have added previously restricted matters, including the capital and operating budgets, collective bargaining, school closures and school boundaries. The student still would not vote on negative personnel issues, such as suspensions or dismissals. Before the 2015 session began, some county lawmakers thought the bill had a good shot at passing this year after past failures. Frosh, a former Montgomery delegation member and now state attorney general, was an outspoken opponent of granting more voting rights to the student board member. Hough said it would be “absurd” to let a teenager vote on collective bargaining and teacher pay, possibly facing pressure from a teachers’ union. Hough’s district includes Carroll and Frederick counties. Frederick County’s student board member doesn’t vote and Carroll County doesn’t have a stu-

See BILL, Page A-12

See PURPLE, Page A-12

Exemptions possible for school tests n

MCPS board to take broad look at exams in district BY

LINDSAY A. POWERS STAFF WRITER

latest details about the county’s plans to build a combined library and recreation center. The price tag of the project has risen to $89 million, but officials are working to find ways to lower that, said David Dise, director of the county Department of General Services.

Montgomery County Public Schools may exempt some students from final exams next year if they’re in classes that require them to take one of two state tests. The school system is considering the change following a request from two school board members concerned about students taking redundant tests. In a March 24 letter, board President Patricia O’Neill and board member Philip Kauffman asked Interim Superintendent Larry Bowers to consider final exam exemptions this year for students in five subjects to “provide some relief for our students and staff from this redundant local and state testing.” Students in the district’s Algebra, Algebra 2 and English 10 courses take Partnership for Assessment of Readiness of College and Careers (PARCC) tests. Students in Biology and National, State, and Local Government classes take High School Assessments.

See CENTER, Page A-14

See EXAM, Page A-14

KEVIN JAMES SHAY/THE GAZETTE

This site plan was among the sketches and renderings displayed by Montgomery County officials during an April 13 meeting on the proposed Wheaton Library and Community Recreation Center.

Residents advocate for library-recreation center n

Official says county working to lower projected cost BY

KEVIN JAMES SHAY STAFF WRITER

Dozens of residents packed the ballroom at the Wheaton Volunteer Rescue Squad this month to hear the

A&E B-5 B-13 A-13 A-2 B-9 A-14 A-15 B-1

thought. The Maryland Transit Administration commissioned the firm to conduct the initial economic impact study of the line. Montgomery and Prince George’s counties and the Greater Washington Board of Trade commissioned the update, Alexander Metcalf, the firm’s president and author of the report, told reporters after his presentation. As designed, the 16-mile light-rail line would connect Bethesda and New Carrollton and link four existing Metro stations at an estimated cost of $2.45 billion. The price tag has drawn criticism from Gov. Larry Hogan (R), who ordered Transportation Secretary Pete K. Rahn to review the project to see if it could be built at a lower cost. Hogan has not given a clear indication that he will allow the project to proceed. In January,

FARCICAL SERVANT Montgomery College plays with commedia dell’arte in production of “Servant of Two Masters.” B-5

Volume 28, No. 12, Two sections, 32 Pages Copyright © 2015 The Gazette Please

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