County Recognizes Locals For Recycling Prowess
As part of its annual Recycling Awareness Week activities, Montgomery County on Wednesday honored a number of area residents and businesses for pushing more recycling in their communities and organizations.
The Park Avenue Condominium Association in Chevy Chase recycled more than 70 percent of its waste stream in 2012. The Grosvenor Park II Condominium near Strathmore, Highland House Apartments and Highland House West Apartments in Chevy Chase, The Riviera of Chevy Chase, The Sterling Home Owner’s Association in North Bethesda, The Whitney at Bethesda Theatre and The Wisconsin Condominium in North Bethesda all received recognition for outstanding efforts in recycling.
The Whitney increased its recycling percentage from 35 percent in 2011 to 56 percent last year by recycling rechargeable batteries and carpeting and donating books and clothing.
Austin Creel, from Maplewood Park Place in Bethesda, was recognized individually for efforts to get others in the community to recycle.
Crawford Tire (7015 Arlington Rd.), The German School Washington DC (8617 Cheateau Dr., Potomac), Lockheed Martin Center for Leadership Excellence (6777 Rockledge Dr.) and Ridgewells Catering (5525 Dorsey Lane) all received the Excellence in Recycling award for business, meaning the companies recycled at least 70 percent of their waste stream last year.
Crawford Tire included mandatory and voluntary recycling of batteries, antifreeze and motor oil in its program to recycle 84 percent of its waste stream. Lockheed Martin included food waste composting and pallet recycling to hit 96 percent, the county said.
Bethesda Green, Brookfield Office Properties, the Landow Building Limited Partnership, Our Lady of Lourdes Parish and School, Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart and Potomac Place Shopping Center all received recognition for Outstanding Achievement in Recycling.
Montgomery County has the highest recycling rate in Maryland, at 57 percent, according to 2011 numbers from the state.
Flickr photo by Carla Bob Nora Russell
Business Forum, Small Business Awards This Week
A pair of events celebrating area businesses are set for this week, with The Greater Bethesda-Chevy Chase Chamber of Commerce’s Business Forum & Showcase on Wednesday and Montgomery County’s first ever Small Business Awards Luncheon on Friday.
The Showcase will run from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 a.m. tomorrow at the Hyatt Regency Bethesda (7400 Wisconsin Ave.) and includes more than 65 area businesses displaying their products and services.
The event also includes two educational presentations and a networking luncheon. For more information and to register, visit the event website.
Andy Stern, owner of Andy Stern’s Office Furniture in Rockville and the chair of the Chamber Board, sat down with Comcast Newsmakers to discuss the event and challenges facing local businesses.
On Friday in North Bethesda/White Flint, Montgomery County will put on its inaugural Small Business Awards Luncheon from noon to 2 p.m. at the Bethesda North Marriott Hotel & Conference Center (5701 Marinelli Rd.)
The ceremony will honor winners in eight award categories: Bioscience Company of the Year, Information Technology Company of the Year, Montgomery County Innovation Network Company of the Year, Small Business Award for a company with one to 10 employees, Small Business Award for a company with 51 to 200 employees, Small Business Award for a company with 51 to 200 employees, Start-up Business of the Year and Workforce Award.
The county’s Department of Economic Development initiated the event and will present the awards, chosen from more than 60 entries.
Video via Comcast Newsmakers
Bethesda Painting Awards Finalists
The Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District today announced the eight finalists for the Bethesda Painting Awards, the annual competition with a $10,000 prize for Best In Show and gallery in the Bethesda Urban Partnership’s Gallery B.
The Arts & Entertainment District will announce the top prize winners at 7 p.m. on June 5, at an event to show off the paintings in Gallery B (7700 Wisconsin Ave., Suite E). The second place winner will earn $2,000. The third place winner and a young artist will receive $1,000 each.
Joan Belmar, of Takoma Park, Dennis Farber of Lutherville, Christine Gray, of Alexandria, Hedieh Ilchi, of Rockville, Barry Nemett, of Stevenson, Cara Ober, of Baltimore, Erin Raedeke, of Gaithersburg, and Bill Schmidt, of Baltimore, are the finalists. Gray’s and Ilchi’s paintings are displayed above.
The public opening of the gallery will be 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on June 14, in conjunction with the BUP’s monthly Bethesda Art Walk. The paintings will serve as Gallery B’s June exhibition.
Tim Doud, Associate Professor of Art at American University, painter and blogger Duane Keiser and Christine Neill, Professor of Painting at Maryland Institute College of Art, judged the entries.
Photos via Bethesda Urban Partnership
B-CC Student Named 2013 Presidential Scholar
Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School’s Bayard Miller has been named a 2013 U.S. Presidential Scholar, one of two Maryland public school students to receive the honor.
Miller and 140 other students from across the country will be honored during a ceremony in D.C. on June 16. The award is given to students for academic achievement, leadership, citizenship, service and contribution to the school and community.
Miller named B-CC Social Studies teacher Timothy Gilmore as his most influential teacher.
One man and one woman from each state, as well as 15 at-large winners and 20 arts winners are chosen. They’ll receive a Presidential Scholar Medallion from U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan at the ceremony. The White House Commission on Presidential Scholars, appointed by President Barack Obama, selects honored scholars annually.
Since 1983, each Presidential Scholar has invited his or her most inspiring teacher to go to the ceremony with them, meaning Gilmore will be in attendance to receive a Teacher Recognition Award from the Department of Education. Richard Montgomery High School student Marni Morse, of Potomac, was named as the second 2013 Presidential Scholar from Maryland.
Flickr photo by US Department of Education
Trawick Among Honorees At 2013 Montgomery Serves Awards
Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett today announced Bethesda philanthropist Carol Trawick will be one of nine honorees at the 2013 Montgomery Serves awards at Imagination Stage on Monday, April 29.
Trawick, who helped lead the creation of the Bethesda Urban Partnership in the early 90′s and who lends her name to the Trawick Prize art competition at BUP’s Gallery B, is one of three winners of the Roscoe R. Nix Distinguished Community Leadership Award, named for the former County Councilmember and County Executive.
Odessa Shannon, who as special assistant to former Montgomery County Executive Charles Gilchrist became the first woman to hold that policy-making position, and MCPS Spanish educator Teresa Rios Wright will also be honored, according to the press release:
During and after an extraordinarily successful business career, Trawick – cofounder with her husband of the Jim and Carol Trawick Foundation – has devoted her time, talent and resources to serving others and promoting the arts.
Other honorees include Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services advocate Marcine Goodloe and Joyce Siegel, who helped fight for the revitalization of Potomac’s historically black Scotland neighborhood. Alfredo Colina Iturralde, MedImmune in Gaithersburg and Walter Reed medical tech Robert Zagorski were selected for special volunteer accomplishments.
The event is free and scheduled for 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Imagination Stage (4908 Auburn Ave.)
Photo via Bethesda Urban Partnership
MoCo Named One Of Best Intergenerational Communities
Montgomery County is one of America’s best intergenerational communities, according to awards given out at a ceremony this morning on Capitol Hill.
The MetLife Foundation and Generations United presented the honors at a ceremony attended by county officials and Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D).
The designation means the organizations think Montgomery County is one of the top places to live for people of all ages. The awards are meant to highlight the importance of solidarity between residents of different generations.
“We congratulate Montgomery County for earning this designation,” executive director of Generations United Donna Butts said. ”It takes a great deal of effort and forward thinking to create a community where members of every generation want to live. Montgomery County has worked to ensure its residents enjoy a vibrant, meaningful place to live, are treated with respect and caring, and have ample opportunity to work together for the betterment of all.”
Dunedin, Fla., Itta Bena, Miss., and Westchester County, N.Y., also received the award.
Generations United is a D.C.-based lobbying group for intergenerational programs.
Montgomery County was honored in part because of its Intergenerational Resource Center and nonprofit Interages, created in 1986. Programming from the group includes seniors mentoring immigrant students, a shared site adult and child day care facility in Silver Spring, activities in senior centers and other arts and tutoring programs.
“Prior to joining the County Council, I worked in advocacy related positions on behalf of younger people and also seniors, and I love serving in a County that takes pride in building a better future for all generations,” Councilman Hans Riemer (D-At large) said. “This award honors our progress. We actively work to serve our seniors and young families by planning more walkable communities, improving public transportation, providing great recreation services, libraries and health care, boosting affordable housing and valuing inclusiveness.”
Board of Education President Christopher Barclay and Office of Community Partnerships director Bruce Adams were also in attendance.
Morning Notes
Opposition Brewing To Lockheed Hotel Tax Break Bill — A group of Annapolis lawmakers has come out against a proposal that would exempt Lockheed Martin’s corporate training center and hotel in Bethesda from Montgomery County’s hotel tax. Senators have delayed a floor vote and are seeking a compromise, perhaps by leaving the $1.8 million tax refund to Lockheed out of the bill. [Maryland Juice]
Millenials Do Live Here, And About Where You’d Expect — A look at the Census numbers from Just Up The Pike/Friends of White Flint/Greater Greater Washington blogger Dan Reed shows Montgomery County does have its fair share of 25-34 year olds and most live around transit in areas such as Bethesda and Silver Spring. The issue of attracting millenials to the county has become a big talking point as County Executive Isiah Leggett and Councilman Hans Riemer prepare a “Night-Time Economy Initiative” aimed at the demographic. [Just Up The Pike]
Report: MCPS Achievement Gap Widens On AP Tests, SAT/ACT — A report from the county’s Office of Legislative Oversight shows the school system narrowed the achievement gap between students of different races and income groups in many areas, but that gap widened when it came to advanced state and national tests. [The Gazette]
Nominations Open For 2013 Community Action Awards — Nominate someone you know who has helped those in poverty for one of the two awards from the Montgomery Department of Health and Human Services’ Community Action Awards. [Montgomery County Health and Human Services]
Flickr photo by ehpien
Morning Notes
Voltaggio Sandwich Shop Coming To Chevy Chase Pavilion — Celebrity chef Bryan Voltaggio will bring a Lunchbox sandwich shop to Chevy Chase Pavilion to go along with his restaurant, Range, and the Civil Cigar Lounge. It’s expected to open sometime this year. [Washingtonian]
Afghan National Youth Orchestra Comes To U.S., Rehearses At Strathmore — A group of 10- to 21-year-olds are part of Afghanistan’s first orchestra in 30 years. The Taliban banned most music. Before performing at the Kennedy Center on Feb. 7, the group rehearsed with the Maryland Youth Orchestra at the Strathmore in North Bethesda. [CBS News] [h/t @georgina_javor]
Baltimore Sun: Gas Tax Opposition Taking The Easy Way Out — The Sun yesterday delivered an editorial criticizing those who oppose a state gas tax hike that would help pay for transportation projects and bring revenue to a dwindling transportation fund. The editorial says some opponents are misleading constituents. [The Baltimore Sun]
Two Bethesda Teachers Up For County Teacher Of The Year — Steven Katz, a math teacher at Westland Middle School, and Dawn Charles, an English teacher at Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School, are two of three teachers nominated as finalists for Montgomery County Public Schools Teacher of the Year award. The winner will be announced in April. [The Gazette]
Flickr photo by dan reed!
More Praise For White Flint Projects
Development at White Flint won some more recognition earlier this week as one of seven projects to be honored at the first Maryland Sustainable Growth Awards in Annapolis.
The Maryland Sustainable Growth Commission had Christopher Leinberger, author of a George Washington University study on Washington area walkable communities, speak about what he sees as the benefits of smart growth-oriented projects such as White Flint.
The video above includes interviews with a Montgomery County planner and four of the biggest companies driving that transformation.
The award was presented to “White Flint Sector Implementation Project,” described by the Commission below:
The White Flint Sector Plan set the stage for transforming a car-centric suburban shopping district known for its sea of parking lots and choking traffic into a dynamic mixed-use center featuring housing, shopping, public use space, and a favorable environment for walking and cycling.
The White Flint Sector Plan area consists of 430 acres with approximately 160 acres as surface parking. Low-scale commercial development is the dominant use in the plan area. For example, Mid-Pike Plaza, a 300,000 square foot traditional one-level shopping center on 24 acres, has more than 19 acres as surface parking.
Video via MarylandPlanning
‘Washingtonians of the Year’ Include 3 With Bethesda Ties
The CEO of the Children’s Inn at NIH, a Bethesda billionaire with some major philanthropic deeds to his name and a former Army psychologist with one of the most successful wounded warrior programs going at Walter Reed were named “Washingtonians of the Year 2012” this month by Washingtonian Magazine.
As CEO, Kathy Russell has helped build the Children’s Inn, which provides permanent living situations for parents and families of sick children from around the country undergoing treatment at NIH.
Bethesda’s David Rubenstein, co-founder of the private equity firm The Carlyle Group, was honored for his “philanthropy that unites Washington.”
Rubenstein recently donated $2 million for a new organ in the Kennedy Center’s Concert Hall and $1.5 million to the Library of Congress.
Ken Strafer, an Army vet who was injured in an IED blast in 2004, started Project Enduring Pride, which helps wounded veterans at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center get off the base and provides other support activities.
Photo via Washingtonian Magazine
Bethesda Cares Honored For Work In Homeless Community
Homeless services nonprofit Bethesda Cares received a pair of awards at a ceremony last week put on by the Montgomery County chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness.
The group named Bethesda Cares, which provides meals, social worker support, a clothes closet and eviction prevention services to homeless and working poor out of its Woodmont Avenue office, as its 2012 Outstanding Service Organization.
Outreach worker John Mendez, who spearheads the group’s efforts to interact and provide services to some of the estimated 72 chronically homeless on Bethesda streets, received NAMI’s 2012 Dr. Wayne Fenton Memorial Award.
On an early morning survey of homeless people’s medical needs last month, Mendez spoke about the mental illnesses some face and how those can prevent them from finding ways off the street.
Mendez said he typically goes out once a week to places where homeless people are known to stay in order to maintain contact. Bethesda Cares provides guidance to homeless in entering various housing programs and is a major proponent of the “Housing First” strategy to ending homelessness, as opposed to the more traditional route of putting homeless in transitional shelter or rehab programs first.
The group has actively lobbied county officials, including County Council Health and Human Services Chair George Leventhal (D-At large) of Takoma Park, to adopt a more agressive approach to putting chronically homeless people in their own homes as an incentive to keep them off the streets.
Trio of Bethesda, Chevy Chase Residents Heading to Human Rights Hall of Fame
On Sunday, the Montgomery County Office of Human Rights will induct three Bethesda/Chevy Chase residents into its Human Rights Hall of Fame.
Karen Britto, Susan Lee and Dr. Bernice Sandler will receive recognition for their work in promoting racial and gender equality.
The Office of Human Rights has inducted six classes of honorees into the Hall of Fame since it began in 2001. Residents can nominate candidates, to be reviewed and selected by a panel of community representatives.
Britto, a former District 16 Maryland State House Delegate, and Lee, a current District 16 Maryland State House Delegate, will both be recognized for the advances they made for minority women in politics. Sandler, “the Godmother of Title IX“, will be honored for her gender equality work in education.
The ceremony will take place at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 28 at the BlackRock Center for the Arts in Germantown.
Bios for Britto, Lee and Sandler, as presented by the Office of Human Rights, follow:
Karen Britto (Chevy Chase) – former and first African American Chair of the Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee and former District 16 Delegate. Britto was nominated for her dedication to promoting human rights and improving the quality of life for all Montgomery County residents, particularly women and minorities.
Susan C. Lee (Bethesda) – As a committed civil rights and women’s rights activist, Lee helped bring to the forefront important issues impacting minorities and women. She has played a critical role in bringing together diverse ethnic, faith and women’s organizations in Montgomery County to advance common civil rights efforts, eliminate discrimination and promote better understanding and cooperation between those communities. Lee was the first Asian American woman elected to the Maryland General Assembly in 2002 and has been a champion legislator of civil rights and women issues.
Dr. Bernice R. Sandler (Chevy Chase) – a visionary and pioneer for gender equality in education, Dr. Sandler has spent more than 50 years advocating for women’s rights. She has been a part of many “firsts” in the fight for gender equality. In 1970, she was the first person to testify before Congress about gender discrimination in education. She then became the first person appointed to staff a Congressional committee specifically on issues concerning women’s rights. In 1971, she wrote the first federal policy report regarding sex discrimination in education. As a result of these efforts, she was appointed to chair the first federal advisory committee on Women’s Educational Equity.
Other inductees include Montgomery County Police Chief Thomas Manger and WUSA9 anchor JC Hayward.
Photo via Maryland State Assembly
Bethesda Green, Bethesda Magazine Name Green Award Winners
Bethesda Green named the 2012 Bethesda Magazine Green Award winners on Thursday night at its 3rd Annual Gala, a group that included tech companies, educational initiatives, a local municipality and a local private school.
Solar energy software company Geostellar, the Audobon Naturalist Society’s GreenKids program, the JBS International IT firm, the Calleva outdoor adventure camp, the City of Rockville, the Landon School and building designer John Spears of the Sustainable Design Group all won awards and will be featured as Green Champions in Bethesda Magazine.
Bethesda Green is an environmental nonprofit that promotes sustainability projects and education in Bethesda and includes a green business incubator.
Details on the winners, from the press release, are after the jump:
Bethesda Social Worker Honored For Adoption Work
A Bethesda social worker who helps match area teenagers with prospective adoptive parents received a Congressional honor last week.
Beverly Clarke, director of the Barker Foundation’s “Project Wait No Longer,” attended the Angels in Adoption gala last Wednesday after being selected for the honor by Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D).
Each member of Congress gets the chance to pick one adoption or foster care worker or parent form their district.
Clarke, herself an adoptive parent, said she doesn’t know who nominated her for the award. She was able to interact with a number of other adoptive parents, foster care parents and social workers in the field.
Clarke’s program differs from many other foster care intiatives.
She focuses on children between the age of 10 and 16, many of whom have lived in multiple homes and have behavioral and trust issues that come with such transiency.
She recently placed a 12-year-old who had been in 16 homes.
“This population of children in particular, they are an amazing group because they have an ability to overcome challenges that most of the adults that we work with can’t even imagine,” Clarke said. “I’m driven by how they try to be successful.”
Clarke has been at the nonprofit Barker Foundation since 2010. The program also trains hopeful adoptive parents, something Clarke said allows the Foundation to find better matches for older kids.
“It’s really nice to see them embrace the older kids in this population because it’s rare to have agencies emphasizing that,” Clarke said. “It’s really the great families we have that power us.”
Bethesda Green Holding 3rd Annual Gala
The environmental nonprofit that works on sustainability programs and education in Bethesda is holding its annual gala and major fundraising event on Oct. 11 at the LEED Platinum certified 2000 Tower Oaks Blvd. building in Rockville.
The gala helps fund many of Bethesda Green’s most prominent initiatives, including its annual Fields of Green Internship Fair (set for February), its solar and green home expo and its green business incubator program at its headquarters on the corner of Woodmont and Cordell Avenues.
The event includes an auction and the announcement of Bethesda Magazine’s annual Green Champion award winners.
“At the core of what we do is education and information to connect the community with ways to improve energy efficiency,” said Bethesda Green’s Dave Heffernan.
Advance tickets are $100 a person. Attendees can claim $40 of each ticket as a tax deductible donation to Bethesda Green. For more information, visit the Gala website.
