EDUCATION Honor society concerns spur change at Westover ES. A-6
A&E: Fourth of July celebrations will pop up throughout area this weekend. A-11
The Gazette
SILVER SPRING | TAKOMA PARK | WHEATON | BURTONSVILLE
SPORTS: Springbrook swimmer sets herself apart with record performances. B-1
DA I LY U P DAT E S AT G A Z E T T E . N E T
Wednesday, July 2, 2014
25 cents
Hucker’s lead holds in County Council Dist. 5
Lights, camera, Maryland!
Glass trails after first round of absentee ballots are tallied n
BY
KATE S. ALEXANDER STAFF WRITER
With the first count of absentee ballots complete, Del. Tom Hucker maintained his narrow lead over activist and former journalist Evan Glass for Montgomery County Council’s District 5 seat. Hucker now leads Glass 7,506 votes to 7,281 votes, according to unofficial results.
MIRANDA HONTZ
Filmmaker Jason Baustin of Silver Spring is working on a short film titled “City of Lost Souls.” It’s being filmed in Montgomery and Charles counties.
Silver Spring filmmaker takes on ‘Lost Souls’ BY
SARA K. TAYLOR
MARYLAND INDEPENDENT
Writer and director Jason Baustin films what he knows — Maryland. The Silver Spring resident and filmmaker is working on the short film “City of Lost Souls,” and along with using many Maryland-based actors, the movie has filmed on locations in Montgomery and Charles counties. On a recent afternoon, Baustin and a film crew from Absolute Independent Pictures took over the Spice Lounge in Waldorf before the club opened for business. The crew was filming scenes featuring childhood friends and Waldorf natives Johnny Christos and Bobby J. Brown who play Nyx Carlucci and Mikey Wallace, respectively. The crime drama, penned by Baustin and Brown’s brother, Brooks Brown, tells the story of Wallace, who attempts to go on the straight and narrow after being released from jail. He fights the lure of making easy money and the potential of doing more hard time
by going back to shady deals with bad guy Carlucci who is in league with a crooked district attorney played by Richard Cutting. Altorro Prince Black, playing assistant state’s attorney Roger Kenfield, was also filming scenes at the club — those involving a silver briefcase packed with fake cocaine and money. The film’s producers Martha Newman and Diane Robertson scouted locations and looked to book them for free or for very little — a recently vacated courthouse in Montgomery County, a private home, an art gallery, the Spice Lounge. “It’s a short [film], 30 minutes or less, a very tight plot line,” Newman said. “We set up a schedule and see if we can stick to it. Locations do add realism and production value.” Baustin said he grew up filming family events on a camcorder, but didn’t think about becoming a filmmaker until he started taking film and media arts classes at American University. While in college, he studied abroad in Prague and after graduating worked for the Discovery Channel in digital media creat-
ing content for its website. In August, he founded Travestee Films and has filmed and edited local music videos, commercials and documentaries. He also started writing and directing short films, although he admits that he doesn’t consider himself a writer. He was assisted on the “City of Lost Souls” script by Brooks Brown, whose strength at writing dialogue helped flesh out the story, said Baustin, who is drawn to stories about the underbelly of society. “The outcasts,” he said. “The people not welcomed by society.” He said Christos was “pivotal” in the making of the film. “He’s a huge advocate of independent films,” Baustin said. Christos, who was named Best Actor in a Comedy Short for “What’s Eating Pee Pee Wong?” at the Studio City Film Festival last year, has acted in commercials and other short films. “I always play the bad guy,” said Christos, who owns a carpet cleaning business
See FILMMAKER, Page A-9
Play will be in style at Independence Day parade ‘The Play Lady’ is grand marshal for 125th annual Takoma Park celebration
n
BY
KEVIN JAMES SHAY STAFF WRITER
For the 125th annual Takoma Park Independence Day Parade and Fireworks, longtime resident Pat Rumbaugh wants to make the event more play-filled than usual. Rumbaugh, who was a physical education teacher and tennis coach at Washington International School for more than 25
INDEX Automotive Calendar Classified Entertainment Obituaries Opinion Sports
NEWS B-11 A-2 B-7 A-11 A-8 A-10 B-1
TAKOMA PARK INDEPENDENCE DAY PARADE AND FIREWORKS n When: Friday. 9 a.m. Assembly of parade units. 10 a.m. Parade starts and lasts about two hours. 7 p.m. Evening program at Takoma Park Middle School that includes fireworks around 9:30 p.m. n Where: Parade starts at Carroll and Ethan Allen avenues and travels south on Carroll to Maple Avenue. Units turn right on Maple to Ritchie Avenue, where the parade disbands. n More information: www.takomapark4th.org
years, started attending the annual event when her family moved to Takoma Park some 27 years ago. In recent years, the route has paraded by her home on Maple Avenue, where she has held court with a
See PLAY, Page A-8
EAGLE SCOUT GOES GLOBAL WITH SERVICE Silver Spring troop member helped battle malaria in Nigeria.
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watch station that includes games such as hopscotch and other activities. This Fourth of July, Rumbaugh, known
Volume 22, No. 27, Two sections, 32 Pages Copyright © 2014 The Gazette Please
RECYCLE
Hucker was leading by 217 votes at the end of the night on the primary day. His lead increased to 225 votes after the first absentee ballot count. It’s unclear if there are enough uncounted ballots left for Glass to overtake Hucker. As of Tuesday, about 160 of the absentee ballots requested by Democrats were outstanding and could be counted, if all come back to the board of elections. In the district, 940 absentee ballots were requested in advance, 733 by Democrats.
See HUCKER, Page A-8
County pays $375K to pregnancy center Money covers legal fees in case that struck down 2010 county law n
BY
KATE S. ALEXANDER STAFF WRITER
Montgomery County has paid $375,000 in attorney fees, costs and damages to a Silver Spring pregnancy center that challenged a county requirement that pregnancy centers post signs to warn women if they are not being advised by medical professionals. In March, a federal court struck down the law. Centro Tepeyac Women’s Center in Silver Spring, one of four limited-service pregnancy
centers affected by the law, sued the county in 2010, seeking to overturn it on the grounds that it restricts freedom of speech. Matt Bowman, senior legal counsel with the Alliance Defending Freedom and co-counsel in the case, said the recent settlement covers what it cost for attorneys to defend “against the unconstitutional law and to restore freedom.” The settlement also includes $1 in damages paid to Centro Tepeyac. “This decision and the fee award both show that when you offer free help and assistance to women, the government should not be attacking you,” Bowman said.
See CENTER, Page A-9
Key endorsements in Dist. 20 loomed large Hixson’s, district’s clout likely to increase with primary results, some say
n
BY
KEVIN JAMES SHAY STAFF WRITER
The District 20 House race in the Democratic primary was supposed to be wide open, with two open seats due to delegates running in other races. But endorsements by veteran legislators Del. Sheila E. Hixson (D) of Silver Spring and Sen. Jamie Raskin (D) of Takoma Park appeared to play a key fac-
Dem ticket set in Dist. 19. n Page A-4
tor in putting David Moon and Will Smith in a good position to reach the General Assembly for the first time. There is nothing unusual about such an alignment — it’s a fairly common occurrence in politics — but the situation left some wondering what might have been. “It’s tough to deal with a slate,” said Will Jawando, who
See ENDORSEMENTS, Page A-9