MCPS drafts " Guidelines for Respecting Religious Diversity " in schools

Montgomery County Public Schools has released a draft of a new document on respecting religious diversity in schools. Guidelines for Respecting Religious Diversity was released in draft form at a community forum on the topic last week.

The document opens by stating, "Montgomery County Public Schools are committed to a culture of respect and equity that embraces the diversity of our community and ensures that every student has the opportunity to succeed and thrive. Part of that commitment is making sure our students have the right to express their religious beliefs and process free from discrimination, bullying, or harassment. As a system, we are committed to making feasible and reasonable accommodations for those beliefs and practices."

A complete draft version of the document may be read here.

Mansfield Kaseman, County Executive Ike Leggett's Interfaith Community Liaison, reacted favorably to the document's release. "We are unaware of any other school system producing such a full spectrum of policies and guidelines," Kaseman said in a statement. "Thanks to our collaborative relationship, every principal, teacher, and family will have the guidelines in August."

The topic is particularly timely, as some Muslim public school students continue to press MCPS to show the same consideration of their religious holidays that other major religions have today. 170 students at Chevy Chase Elementary School recently submitted a petition to the school board asking for MCPS to close on two Muslim holidays, Eid al-Adha and Eid al-Fitr.

Male seeks Purple Line briefing for Takoma Park

Takoma Park City Councilmember Tim Male (Ward 2) last night urged the city to arrange a briefing for residents and elected officials from the state regarding the proposed Purple Line light rail project.

Maryland Governor Larry Hogan (R) is expected to announce his decision on construction of the controversial project any day now. If Hogan's answer is "yes", Male said, residents deserve to know more about what the impact of the project may be on Takoma Park.

Photo courtesy City of Takoma Park

Colby Avenue playground renovation can proceed with state grant in Takoma Park

Takoma Park can now proceed with renovating the Colby Avenue playground, after receiving approval for a grant from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources' Legacy Open Space program. The announcement was made by Mayor Bruce Williams at last night's City Council meeting.

Those renovations would include an upgrade of the tot lot, and accessibility improvements, according to the city's application it submitted to the DNR in 2014. $178,000 in Montgomery County funds are earmarked for the Colby park project in the county's FY-2016 capital budget.

Roy Rogers returning to Aspen Hill

The rapidly-expanding Roy Rogers chain is planning a return to yet another location where it had a storied history. Get your fry holsters at the ready - Roy Rogers is opening a restaurant in Aspen Hill.

Perhaps like me, you remember dining at the Roy Rogers in the Aspen Hill Shopping Center on Connecticut Avenue in decades past. That location - like many former Roy's - became a McDonald's eventually.

But now Roy's is coming back about a block away, in the Northgate Plaza Shopping Center at 13884 Georgia Avenue. Roy Rogers recently returned to Rockville, as well.

If you're wondering if the food is the same as you remember, here are my reviews of the 2015 Roy Rogers fried chicken, famous Double R Bar Burger, and the legendary Holster Fries.

MoCo Transit Authority public hearing trying to limit number of speakers to 40

A public hearing on perhaps the most controversial issue in Montgomery County - the proposal for an unelected Independent Transit Authority with unlimited taxing power to fund an equally-controversial $5 billion Bus Rapid Transit system - won't give every citizen a chance to speak, it turns out. A document uploaded to the County Executive's Transit Task Force website now says the number of speakers will be capped at 40. To quote the document, "It is planned that 40 people will be able to present their views during the Public Forum."

Other troubling details:

A May 23 memo from County Attorney Marc Hansen leaves gigantic loopholes you could drive a (rapid) bus through.

It claims, for example, that the unlimited eminent domain authority the ITA would wield is limited by Bill MC 24-15. Not true.

Hansen states that the legislation "places an indirect limitation on the Transit Authority’s power to condemn, because it requires that the Authority submit a 6-year Capital Improvement Program (CIP) to the County for approval."

Whoops. Check out the actual legislation posted on the TTF website. On Page 5, Item 6 of the proposed legislation, it only says that the County "may include a requirement" for submission of a 6-year CIP. "May" does not equal "requires".

It also does not require the ITA to submit any budget for review by anybody. On Page 6, section II, it clearly states this: "MAY NOT REQUIRE THE TRANSIT AUTHORITY TO SUBMIT ITS CAPITAL OR ITS OPERATING BUDGET TO THE COUNTY FOR APPROVAL" (italicized emphasis mine).

To that broader lack of accountability, later in the memo Hansen clearly admits "The legislation specifically prohibits, however, the County from requiring the Transit Authority to submit its capital and operating budgets to the County for approval."

One other controversial provision Hansen does acknowledge is the proposed power of the ITA to create unlimited debt. This provision will, in Hansen's words, "prevent debt incurred by the Transit Authority from being considered as County debt by bond rating agencies."

Do the math - unlimited debt with no fear from County Council members of losing their AAA bond rating. Unlimited power by the ITA to raise taxes on you to pay back their unlimited debts. What could possibly go wrong, right?

Well, conversely, how about if the ITA somehow went bankrupt? Who would be left holding the bag for an unlimited amount of debt? It seems that the taxpayer loses under any outcome.

The document notes that state legislation may be written to create the taxing authority as soon as early September. It states that a second public hearing will be held in September, as well.

Written statements are being encouraged by the document, which civic activists recognize are utterly useless, as the general public and media rarely examine written statements submitted at these hearings. If it isn't heard live, or reported in the media afterward, it essentially is the proverbial tree falling in the forest.

Important to note if you plan to (try to) speak at this forum - you must sign up online by noon on June 17, by calling 240-777-7165. The hearing will begin at 6:00 PM on Wednesday, June 17 in the 3rd Floor Council Hearing Room at the County Council office building, located at 100 Maryland Avenue in Rockville.

Silver Spring Transit Center protest scheduled for Saturday morning

A citizen protest regarding the cost, delays and questions of who is responsible for them in the construction of the Silver Spring Transit Center will be held tomorrow, Saturday, May 16, from 9:00-11:00 AM. The protest will be located in front of the Transit Center site in downtown Silver Spring.

The protest is being organized by the Montgomery County Young Republicans.

"The Silver Spring Transit Center is an embodiment of failed policy and wasteful spending –$140 million of tax payer money wasted on a project that is 5 years behind schedule," MCYR Vice President Daniel McHugh said in a statement.  "No accountability and no oversight is unacceptable and outrageous! In January, the council awarded this failed effort with another $21 million of taxpayer money."

Prior to last November's election, the incumbent Montgomery County Council had assured voters that taxpayers would not have to pay the cost overruns on the project.

McHugh says the extra cost was money that could have gone to education and other top priorities.

The transit center's completion was recently delayed yet again.

Montgomery County-funded health initiative to reward students with sugary Starbucks drinks

Healthy Montgomery, a Montgomery County Government initiative co-chaired by County Council President George Leventhal (D-At-Large) and largely funded by taxpayers, was chartered to "improve the health and well-being of Montgomery County residents." Among its primary stated goals are the reduction of diabetes and obesity.

So you might be surprised to find that Healthy Montgomery plans to reward county students with gift cards for sugary, fat-filled drinks at Starbucks.

County high school students are invited to a Healthy Montgomery-sponsored "community conversation" at Suburban Hospital on May 21, to "discuss what they think about health and the quality of life in Montgomery County." For attending, the event announcement says, the students will be rewarded with a free "$5 Starbucks drink card". They'll also get a Chipotle gift card.

The most popular Starbucks drinks are loaded with sugar, and are often high in fat, as well. Many have more grams of sugar than the often-demonized 12 oz. Coca-Cola. They certainly exceed the recommended daily intake of sugar.

Chipotle isn't exactly health food, either. The average order at Chipotle comes in at around 1,070 calories, 75% of the recommended daily intake of saturated fat, and a whopping nearly-2,400 milligrams of sodium.

This is not only hypocrisy at taxpayer expense, but absurd when one considers Council President Leventhal's longstanding crusade against fast food restaurants in the county.

In 2008, Leventhal was quoted as saying, "school policies should support parents, and not let junk-food marketers go around parents’ backs directly to young children." Yet, the Healthy Montgomery initiative he co-chairs is literally going around parents' backs, and delivering Starbucks and Chipotle marketing and food "directly to young children." "It’s incredible, the extent to which our kids are subjected to [fast food] advertising," Leventhal told an audience of students and parents in 2007.

Sure, you can absolutely order healthy food and drinks at Starbucks and Chipotle. But you can at McDonald's and Wendy's, as well. Leventhal memorably took a publicity stunt trip to Wendy's, remarking on the nutritional content of the Baconator. He didn't mention that Wendy's also offers a line of salads and baked potatoes that are far healthier than the average Starbucks or Chipotle order.

The county just added new taxes on electronic cigarettes and Airbnb. And as Bill Turque writes in the Washington Post, the just-approved County budget increases spending by about $90 million, and your property tax bill "will tick upward slightly." A new property tax increase is being floated for next year's budget. And a majority of the Council voted to keep the Energy Tax the same, despite having promised to eliminate the massive increase it passed in 2010 in 2012. They lied to taxpayers. Period.

It's amazing that residents will be paying more and new taxes, under a new county budget that is bigger than last year's, and yet there is somehow money left for escapades such as this.