REVENUE DROPS $96M County takes in less in income taxes. A-5
NEWS: Silver Spring restaurant inviting the homeless in for a Thanksgiving Day meal A-3
The Gazette
SILVER SPRING | TAKOMA PARK | WHEATON | BURTONSVILLE DA I LY U P DAT E S AT G A Z E T T E . N E T
Wednesday, November 26, 2014
Retailers prepare for holiday season
Montgomery families eager to hear about immigration plan
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Holiday sales at area stores expected to rise at least 3 percent this year
BY
RAISA CAMARGO STAFF WRITER
KEVIN JAMES SHAY
For families feeling the brunt of the immigration system, President Barack Obama’s executive action on administrative relief for nearly five million people couldn’t come soon enough. Salvadoran native Marcela Campos, who lives in Silver Spring, has waited more than eight years since she arrived to hear the announcement. “You can come out of the shadows and get right with the law,” President Barack Obama said in an address to the nation Thursday night. “That’s what this deal is.” Campos listened intently along with her U.S.-born son Abraham as the president officially outlined the general requirements of the reprieve. She joined a packed room of around 100 families waving American flags at Casa de Maryland’s basement in Hyattsville. Parents like Campos still worried they wouldn’t qualify. “Every day, you go to sleep thinking about what’s going to happen the next day,” she said. “Maybe we’ll be here or we’ll be in an immigration center — we don’t know. The greatest fear I have is my son.”
STAFF WRITER
For many, Thanksgiving Day is a time to relax and enjoy a meal with family. But for many employees at Kohl’s on Cherry Hill Road in Silver Spring and bargain shoppers, it’s a little more stressful. That’s when Black Friday — one of the busiest shopping days of Some small the year for retailretailers also ers — begins. plan to open The Silver Thanksgiving Spring Kohl’s store n Page A-6 is among those opening for the Black Friday deals earlier, on Thursday evening. That store and other area Kohl’s will open at 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving. Besides deals like a 32” high-definition television for $99, customers can receive $15 good for Kohl’s items for every $50 spent in the store or online, said Maggie Lund, a Kohl’s spokeswoman. Stores in the Silver Spring area and statewide are expected to see an increase in holiday sales — those made during the last two months of the year — of 3 percent to 3.5 percent from last year, said Patrick Donoho, president of the Maryland Retailers Association. That would be better than the previous two years’ increase of about 2.5 percent, he said. Rising consumer confidence in the
See RETAILERS, Page A-10
25 cents
Immigrant parents find joy, relief in Obama’s speech
Turkey topper
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BY
SPORTS: Gazette previews the high school wrestling and swimming seasons. B-1
TOM FEDOR/THE GAZETTE
Barbara Menard of Takoma Park has the holiday spirit in her turkey hat at Montgomery County’s annual Thanksgiving parade in Silver Spring on Saturday.
Campos said not knowing what might happen to her son if she were deported or placed in an immigration detention center worried her because she didn’t want him to live in the heightened violence of El Salvador. Yet, that night, she found out amid shouts of joy that she likely would be legally eligible to stay in the country, at least temporarily. The president’s speech sparked hope for many undocumented immigrants across the nation, but it also angered some Republicans who have accused him of abusing his executive power. Republicans in Congress have said it would undermine a permanent solution to immigration. In the past, Republican presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and Dwight D. Eisenhower used executive powers to provide legal status to certain undocumented individuals who fell into several categories. Obama said in his speech that the reprieve of deportation is a middle-ground approach. The administrative relief would grant individuals who have been in the U.S. for more than five years with citizen or legal resident children born on or before Nov. 20, 2014, to apply to stay in the country temporarily. The plan allows individuals who qualify to apply for work
See SPEECH, Page A-10
Parents questioning
conduct code Takoma Park trying to clear up parking issue district School officials n
Officials grapple with whether to let trailers sit on residential streets n
BY
KEVIN JAMES SHAY STAFF WRITER
Takoma Park officials are reviewing how to clear up confusion over what types of vehicles can be parked on public streets in front of homes. Currently, the city does not allow commercial vehicles — which it defines as those used for “carrying freight or merchandise” — to park on residential streets, except when loading or unloading merchandise. Takoma Park Police Chief Alan Goldberg and others said that definition is unclear, and
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there is confusion over whether it includes, for instance, a trailer used in a small, home-based lawn mowing business. “We need a better definition of what [a commercial vehicle] is,” Goldberg said. “The police department doesn’t want to write tickets. ... We get more tempers flared over parking tickets than arresting someone for a crime. We need clear-cut direction before we start enforcing laws.” City Attorney Susan Silber said that, unlike Montgomery County, Takoma Park’s codes don’t clearly define whether recreational vehicles, utility trailers and buses can park on residential streets overnight. No vehicle, whether it is the homeowner’s tiny Smart car or
a commercial dump truck, can be parked on a public street for longer than 72 consecutive hours, she said. Councilman Terry Seamens said that in a recent meeting in his ward, residents didn’t want to infringe on neighbors who have small businesses and need to park a van or utility trailer on the street overnight. “They don’t want to hamper people trying to make a living,” he said. Councilman Fred Schultz said it is challenging to craft an easily understandable ordinance that does not infringe on home-based businesses. There are cases of excess, such as a home in his ward that has five commercial vans with ladders parked on the streets of a corner lot, he said.
It’s also frustrating when people have driveways, but park boat trailers on streets, he said. “That makes it difficult for emergency vehicles to drive on those streets,” Schultz said. Several council members said that making a better definition of a commercial vehicle, following the lead of the county codes, is appropriate. For instance, the county code makes it clear that one recreation vehicle per household can be parked off-street on a surfaced area such as a driveway. City Manager Brian Kenner said he will meet in the next few weeks with the staff, such as Goldberg and Silber, to figure out how to proceed. kshay@gazette.net
ENTERTAINMENT
CELEBRATING OUR PLANET Scientific, artistic production ‘Bella Gaia’ comes to Strathmore.
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Volume 27, No. 48, Two sections, 28 Pages Copyright © 2014 The Gazette Please
RECYCLE
say new guidelines still carry consequences BY
LINDSAY A. POWERS STAFF WRITER
Some parents are concerned that school administrators might not be disciplining students severely enough under Montgomery County Public Schools’ new code of conduct and the district’s efforts to reduce suspensions. School officials, however, say students are facing consequences for bad behavior even if they aren’t suspended. Serious offenses are still often handled with a suspension, officials say. Concerns around the guidelines were discussed on Nov. 19 during a meeting of the Mont-
gomery County Council of Parent-Teacher Associations’ health and safety committee. The county PTA does not have an official position on the code. In light of the issues raised, committee members want to gather more information about how the code is working in schools. The code, which is being used for the first time this school year, guides administrators on disciplining students. The new guidelines stem from state regulations aimed in part at reducing suspensions and expulsions and giving administrators greater discretion to determine discipline. Susan Burkinshaw, co-chair of the health and safety committee, said she’s heard concerns
See CODE, Page A-10