Ask MCPS / Pregunte a MCPS

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Castle Blvd Traffic Study

MONTGOMERY COUNTY COUNCIL
ROCKVILLE, MARYLAND

Nancy Navarro, District 4


January 20, 2010

Mr. Khurseed Bilgrami
Montgomery County Department of Transportation
101 Monroe Street, 10th Floor
Rockville, MD 20850

Lieutenant Steve D’Ovidio
3rd District Police Station
801 Sligo Avenue
Silver Spring, MD 20910

Mr. Khursheed Bilgrami and Lt. Steve D’Ovidio:

I am writing to urge prompt action from the Department of Transportation and the 3rd District Police Department to address concerns from the communities along Castle Boulevard. As you are likely aware, these neighborhoods are witnessing increasing public safety concerns, ranging from automobile speeding and pedestrian safety issues, to violent crime and theft. As a result, my office has prioritized addressing these problems and beginning the complicated but necessary process of making residents feel safe again.

In particular, I am requesting a traffic study be conducted by the Department of Transportation to identify ways to reduce speeding violations and vehicular and pedestrian accidents. Likewise, we hope the 3rd District Police Department can complement these measures with greater enforcement of traffic laws, as well as expanding community policing and increasing foot patrols in the area.

Any assistance my staff and I can provide for these efforts will be at your disposal. Please do not hesitate to contact me should you need additional information or clarification. I look forward to receiving a prompt response to share with the community.

Sincerely,

Nancy Navarro
Montgomery County Council, District 4

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District Food Crawl: Azúcar Restaurant Bar & Grill

Azúcar Restaurant Bar & Grill was recently featured in the "Lunching in the DMV" blog.

Featuring Mexican cuisine, Azúcar is located at 14418 Layhill Road, Silver Spring, Maryland 20906.

The Lunching in the DMV reviewers complimented Azúcar on its warm decor and attentive staff, but most importantly, its flavorful food.

Click here to check out their menu!

or

Click here to read the entire reveiw!

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Comptroller Franchot Unveils Taxpayer Bill of Rights, Consumer Guide

Peter Franchot

________________________________________________________________

NEWS release

Comptroller Franchot Unveils

Taxpayer Bill of Rights, Consumer Guide

-Offers Tips to Taxpayers on Selecting a Legitimate Tax Preparer –

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (January 14, 2010) –Comptroller Peter Franchot today released the Maryland Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights and Consumer Guide, a publication designed to help Marylanders navigate the taxpaying process. The Comptroller unveiled the guide at his Baltimore office along with City Comptroller Joan Pratt and at a separate event at the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Regional Services Center with Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett and consumer protection officials.

“I believe in transparency of government. Taxpayers deserve to know their rights as well as what they can expect from my office when filing a tax return,” Franchot said. “This publication is designed to not only inform Marylanders of their rights but to protect consumers from fraudulent tax preparers,” he added.

County and city officials applauded Franchot’s efforts.

“Montgomery County prides itself on its reputation for protecting its consumers from fraudulent and unfair business practices,” said County Executive Isiah Leggett. “And, because we place such a high premium on consumer protection, I applaud the efforts of Comptroller Franchot in launching this consumer bill of rights. An informed consumer is a better-protected consumer and I hope everyone who is filing a tax return this year will take a moment to read this important consumer guide.”

Baltimore City Comptroller Joan Pratt added, “I cannot stress enough how important it is for our taxpayers to have a clear understanding of their tax rights; and that the choices they make will affect their tax responsibilities. Comptroller Franchot’s Maryland Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights and Consumer Guide is an excellent means of giving our taxpayers the ability to make good tax preparation choices.”

In addition to stating the rights all taxpayer can expect, the guide features tips on selecting a tax preparer. At today’s events the Comptroller offered the warning signs of a potentially-shady preparer. A tax preparer should never:

- promise you a refund before looking at your financial information

- guarantee you a larger refund than another preparer

- ask you to sign a blank or incomplete return

- ask you to sign a return in pencil

- claim they have a special relationship with the Comptroller’s Office or IRS

“We applaud Comptroller Franchot’s commitment to protect Maryland taxpayers from fraudulent and unqualified tax preparers. Along with the IRS’s new efforts to license paid tax preparers, the Comptroller’s bill of rights and consumer guide will help educate taxpayers across the state and help hold the entire tax preparation industry to a high professional and ethical standard,” said Robin McKinney, director of the Maryland CASH Campaign, a consumer protection organization.

At today’s events, the Comptroller also warned of the risks of Refund Anticipation Loans and Refund Anticipation Checks, high-interest loans designed to get taxpayers their refunds quickly but at a high price.

“RALs and RACs are nothing more get-rich-quick schemes that prey on our most vulnerable taxpayers. They are unnecessary for taxpayers to get a quick refund,” Franchot said. “Simply file a return electronically and choose direct deposit to get your refund in 72 hours,” he added.

More than 1.6 million taxpayers recognized the safety and simplicity of electronic filing last year- an increase of nearly 10 percent over last year. Additionally, efiling saves the state millions in processing costs. Since its inception in the 1990s, electronic filing has saved the state more than $18 million.

The Comptroller’s Office offers free tax preparation at any of its 11 branch office across the state. Taxpayers simply need to bring a completed federal return and a copy of their W2 information and state officials will prepare and electronically file their return for FREE. Visit www.marylandtaxes.com for a list of branch office locations.

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Montgomery County Sends Two Disaster Specialists to Haiti

Montgomery County Sends Two Disaster Specialists to Haiti

Montgomery County’s Fire and Rescue Service is sending two disaster specialists to Haiti to help with recovery efforts in the wake of Tuesday’s devastating earthquake. A communications specialist and a command specialist from the County’s Incident Support Team (IST) have been deployed, and Montgomery County’s Urban Search and Rescue Team (USAR) is currently on standby, awaiting orders from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

To date, FEMA has called up six USAR teams from around the nation to respond to the disaster in Haiti. MDTF-1, Montgomery County’s USAR team, is on standby and prepared to depart within hours should FEMA require an additional team.

The Montgomery County USAR team consists of 210 individuals who are highly skilled in urban search and rescue operations. It is likely that if called by FEMA to respond, 80 of the County’s USAR team members will be deployed to Haiti to conduct building to building searches for survivors and victims.

“We all need to do as much as we can to help our neighbors in Haiti who are in such critical need,” said County Executive Isiah Leggett. “I urge Montgomery County residents to support humanitarian efforts to save lives and help feed and shelter survivors by contributing to relief efforts”.

Anyone interested in making a donation can find information on the Montgomery County Volunteer Center’s website at www.montgomerycountymd.gov/volunteer.

Providing assistance to Haiti is not new to Montgomery County’s Fire and Rescue Service, which trained the Haitians in urban search and rescue as recently as October.

# # #

Release ID: 10-024
Media Contact: Donna Bigler 240-777-6507

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Groups on the Ground in Haiti

Below, you will find a list of organizations that are already on the ground in Haiti for anyone wanting to donate to help out the Haitian people in their time of need:

Initial list of CORE Group members who are responding to the Earthquake in Haiti, as of January 14, 2010:

Others are undoubtedly involved; list to be updated.

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Help for Haiti Earthquake Survivors

Help for Haiti Earthquake Survivors

Many of you have likely already seen the images and news reports about the massive devastation in Haiti this week. This tragedy has hit close to home for my family, as my husband is originally from Haiti. I am joining County Executive Ike Leggett's call for residents of Montgomery County to do what they can to help victims of the Earthquake. Here are some places where you can donate to help survivors:

Interaction Coalition
The US State Department recommends donating to one of the members of this coalition of US-based relief organizations that respond to worldwide disasters. Their website has a brief description of each organization, and a donor can choose the organization and be taken right to their donation page:
interaction.org/crisis-list/earthquake-haiti

American Red Cross
You can donate to the Red Cross directly on their website. Or donors can also text "HAITI" to "90999" and $10 will be given automatically to the Red Cross.
RedCross.org

Doctors Without Borders
doctorswithoutborders.org

International Medical Corps
imcworldwide.org

For other kinds of information go to the Department of State website
www.state.gov

Statement by County Executive Ike Leggett Regarding the Earthquake in Haiti

For Immediate Release: 1/13/2010

“Montgomery County’s hearts and prayers go out to all those in Haiti affected by the terribly destructive earthquake there. We empathize with the difficulties and challenges faced by Haitians who live in the County who are worried and concerned about their loved ones and their native land. “I urge Montgomery County residents to support humanitarian efforts to save lives and help feed and shelter survivors by contributing to relief efforts. Among the many organizations actively involved are the following: Catholic Relief Services, P.O. Box 17090, Baltimore, MD 21203 www.crs.org American Jewish World Service, 1001 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20036 www.ajws.org United States Fund for UNICEF, 125 Maiden Lane, New York, NY 10038 www.unicefusa.org

Click here for a press release from the Montgomery County Volunteer Center.

For information about Yele Haiti, the grassroots movement founded by Wyclef Jean that is raising money to help survivors of the earthquake, visit http://www.yele.org/about/index.html

Ongoing Coverage of This Tragedy:

• The Washington Post
• New York Times
• The Gazette
• CNN

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Ride On Public Forum

Montgomery County / Ride On

Notice of Public Forum

On Proposed

Service Changes & Reductions

Monday, February 1, 2010

Montgomery County is faced with a projected budget shortfall for Fiscal Year 2011. There is also a projected budget shortfall for the current fiscal year. In order to help close this projected budget gap, service cuts are necessary. Several routes have been identified for reduction and/or elimination. These routes either fall below their sustainable threshold or they are being selected to impact as few riders as possible with alternative service available in some cases. For additional information prior to the public forum regarding these proposed changes, please access the Ride On web site at www.rideonbus.com and click "visit here" under "Riders' News".

Montgomery County hereby notifies the general public and other interested parties that a public forum will be held on Monday, February 1, 2010 starting at 6:30 p.m. and ending after the last speaker at the Executive Office Building Cafeteria, Terrace Level, located at 101 Monroe Street, Rockville, Maryland. In the case of inclement weather, the public forum will be held on Tuesday, February 2, 2010.

On remaining Ride On routes neither the route’s total number of trips or span of service, for example, 6 AM to 8 PM, are proposed for change other than minor variations (less than several minutes) in currently scheduled trip departure times.

Individuals and representatives of organizations who would like to speak at the public forum are requested to furnish in writing, on or before January 25, 2010, their name, home address, telephone number, e-mail address and organization to Division of Transit Services, Ride On Public Forum, 101 Monroe Street, 5th Floor, Rockville, Maryland 20850. Individuals who have signed up to speak must bring two (2) printed copies of their testimony for the record. Sign language interpreter services will be provided only upon request with notice as far in advance as possible but not less than 3 business days prior to the date of the forum. Large print format is available upon request. All comments will be considered before any changes are finalized.

Comments may be written, faxed or e-mailed on the proposed service changes and reductions to the Division of Transit Services by 5:00 p.m. on January 29, 2010. Send your comments to:

Division of Transit Services

Ride On Public Forum

101 Monroe Street, 5th Floor

Rockville, Maryland 20850

(240) 777-5800 (phone)

(240) 777-5801 (fax)

mcdot.rideonpublicforums@montgomerycountymd.gov

Title VI: Montgomery County assures that no person shall, on the grounds of race, color, or national origin, as provided by Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Civil Rights Act of 1987, be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be otherwise subjected to discrimination under any program or activity.

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Leggett To Sponsor Budget Forum Today

Public Encouraged to Attend and Provide Input on the Upcoming Challenges Decision Makers Will Face

Tuesday, January 12
7 to 8:30 p.m.

Eastern Montgomery Regional Services Center
3300 Briggs Chaney Road,

Silver Spring, MD 20904

Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett will sponsor a budget forum tonight to seek input from residents about the challenges facing the County in the upcoming fiscal year 2011 operating budget. This is one of five budget forums being held in January that are open to residents from any part of the county. The forums are hosted by the Regional Services Center Directors and the Regional Services Center Citizen Advisory Boards.

Leggett and staff from the County’s Office of Management and Budget will make presentations and be available to answer questions.

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