Women’s Legislative Briefing – Seminars for Teen Girls Added This Year

The Montgomery County Commission for Women will host the 2014 Women’s Legislative Briefing on Sunday, January 26 at The Universities at Shady Grove in Rockville. Doors open at 11:30 a.m. with the program from 12:30 to 6 p.m

This year’s keynote speaker is Joanne Bamberger, author of the Amazon bestseller Mothers of Intention: How Women & Social Media are Revolutionizing Politics in America.

New this year is a series of seminars for teen girls in grades eight to 12. Students must be accompanied by a parent or chaperone. The program will also include a panel discussion on women’s issues in Congress and seminars on legislation in this year’s Maryland General Assembly.

• Read news release.
• See flyer (pdf).
• Register.

Automated School Bus Cameras in Operation

Maryland Law requires that when approaching a stopped school bus with its flashing red lights activated, motorists traveling in the same direction as the bus must stop. The law also requires that motorists approaching the bus from the opposite direction must stop unless there is a physical barrier, such as a median.

When Montgomery County Public School students returned to classes after the New Year, the County Police began a new enforcement program -- “Respect the Bus: Don’t Get Bus-ted” -- targeting motorists who pass stopped school buses.

Several school buses are now equipped with automated cameras that record vehicles passing stopped school buses that have their flashing red lights activated. The violations will be reviewed by the Police Department’s Automated Traffic Enforcement Unit, and citations will be mailed to the registered vehicle owners. The fine is $125 and no points.

The program will expand over the next several months, targeting bus routes with the highest reports of violations. The cameras can be moved throughout the County as needed.

For more information about the program, contact the Police Traffic Division at 240-773-6600.

Read the flyer about the program, including illustrations of situations when motorists must stop for the school bus.

Radon Action Month: Act Now for a Safer Home

During January, the Department of Environmental Protection is recognizing National Radon Action Month by encouraging residents to act to protect their homes and families. Radon is a naturally occurring, invisible, odorless, tasteless gas. It is released from soils and disperses outdoors, but can reach harmful levels when trapped in buildings.

Unsafe levels of radon can lead to serious illness.According to the Surgeon, radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the U.S., behind smoking. But, simple fixes in a home or building can lower human health risks from the gas. January is an especially good time to test homes and schools because windows and doors are closed tightly and people spend more time indoors.

Radon test kits can be purchased at local hardware and home improvement stores or directly from radon testing companies. Many are priced under $25. Radon problems can be fixed by qualified contractors, with repairs typically costing between $800 and $2,500.

See more information on radon, testing, mitigation and radon-resistant new construction.

Read the news release.

Wall Street Journal Looks at Study of Local Bag Taxes: County’s Results Showed Change in Consumer Behavior

From the WSJ’s “Washington Wire”, reporter David Wessel writes about “Why a Bag Tax Works Better Than a Reusable Bag Bonus.”

Wessel begins, “Government policies, no matter how well-intentioned, often fail to achieve their goals. Practitioners of the rapidly expanding field of behavioral economics, which seeks to better understand why people do what they do, are laboring to change that.”

His article focuses on a September 2013 PhD dissertation by then-Princeton doctoral candidate Tatiana Homonoff that looks at the effectiveness of bag taxes in Montgomery County, the District of Columbia, Arlington, VA and Santa Monica, San Jose, and Santa Cruz County in California.

Homonoff’s work evaluated two policies designed to reduce consumers’ use of disposable grocery bags: “…a five-cent tax on disposable bag use and a five-cent bonus for reusable bag use.” Her research revealed that “the tax decreased disposable bag use by a substantial amount while the bonus generated virtually no effect on behavior….”

Wessel writes about the research, “Before the tax, several stores offered a 5-cent bonus to shoppers who brought their own bags. In stores that offered no incentive, 84% of shoppers took at least one throwaway bag per shopping trip; in stores that offered the nickel lure, 82% did.

“In contrast, some 82% of Montgomery County shoppers used at least one disposable bag per shopping trip before the bag tax was imposed; 40% did afterward. “

Read the entire WSJ “Washington Wire” story.

Public Libraries Launches Three New Online Services

Montgomery County Public Libraries (MCPL) has kicked off the New Year by launching three new online services -- Zinio for Libraries, 3M Cloud Library e-book lending system and Learn4Life – that will appeal to a wide variety of customers.

Zinio digitally recreates, page-by-page, full-color magazines with interactive elements such as audio and video; intuitive navigation; and keyword article search. Registered customers may view 100 magazine titles and checkout as many as they want.

The 3M Cloud Library e-book lending system currently offers titles from all of the “big six” publishers. Customers can check-out and read books and browse the digital bookshelf from any location.

The Learn4Life program makes it easy to take high-quality, free courses and career training programs entirely over the Internet.

Get more details about the services.

For more information on how to access the new services, visit any MCPL branch or the MCPL website at http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/library.

Healthy Montgomery Seeks Public Comment on Action Plans for Addressing Behavioral Health and Obesity

Healthy Montgomery is a one-stop source of population-based data and information about community health. It is intended to help planners, policy makers and community members identify issues and devise solutions

The Healthy Montgomery Steering Committee invites residents to review and make comments on the Behavioral Health Action Plan Report and the Obesity Action Plan Report. Comments will be reviewed and shared with the action plan work group members and the Healthy Montgomery Steering committee for possible inclusion in the final reports.

The Healthy Montgomery Behavioral Health Action Plan includes three recommendations to improve the overall behavioral health (including mental health and substance abuse) of County residents.

The Healthy Montgomery Obesity Action Plan includes recommendations to prevent and reduce obesity among County residents.:

Read the complete action plan reports.

Residents should email comments by close of business on Friday, January 31 to Healthy.Montgomery@montgomerycountymd.gov.

For more information about Healthy Montgomery, contact Susan DeFrancesco at 240-777-1704 or email  susan.defrancesco@montgomerycountymd.gov.

Time on Your Hands? Try Volunteering

The Day of Service traditionally observed in the County on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday is certainly one time for residents to take time and give back to the community.

But, it’s not the only time when helping hands are needed.

To get more ideas for upcoming and/or ongoing opportunities to volunteer right here in Montgomery County, check out the Volunteer Center’s newsletter.

Behind on HOA/Condo Fees?

Homeowners can avoid foreclosure and mounting collection and attorney fees by taking advantage of the County-funded HOA/Condo Fee Rescue Program. Home Savers can help pay your past due HOA/Condo Fee up to $4,000.

For more information, call (301)760-7636, email counseling@aa-hc.org or visit the
Asian-American Homeowners Counseling website at www.aa-hc.org.

County Executive Part of United Nations Panel on Building Better Urban Futures

County Executive Ike Leggett recently participated in a leadership dialogue at the United Nations (UN) in New York City on “Accelerating Action towards Sustainable Urbanization: The Role of Private Urban Partnerships in Catalyzing Change.”

Leggett served on a panel that was to “provide a high-level platform for an exchange of critical thinking, insights and innovations” to private sector, urban and UN leaders. The panel was part of UN Habitat’s “For A Better Urban Future” effort designed to feed input and ideas into next year’s UN World Urban Forum in Colombia.

In his remarks, the Executive noted that Montgomery County’s population is fortunate on many fronts, such as public safety, access to food and water, educational and employment opportunities, and many other basic human needs. However, he said, “… we face the challenges of crippling traffic congestion, a lack of sufficient affordable housing, protecting water and air quality, an aging population requiring increased health and social services, and many other issues.”

Leggett said he feels that for many issues, the solution is “partnering with the private sector, which can provide economic, intellectual and technological solutions that complement government services.”

Read Leggett’s remarks.

Four MCP Officers Complete Multiple Marathons

Montgomery County Police officers (left to right) Lieutenant Mark Plazinski, Assistant Chief Luther Reynolds, Captain Laura Lanham and Detective John Reinikka at the 2013 New York Marathon.

Montgomery County Police officers (left to right) Lieutenant Mark Plazinski, Assistant Chief Luther Reynolds, Captain Laura Lanham and Detective John Reinikka at the 2013 New York Marathon.Back in 2009, three Montgomery County Police Officers who ran individually for fitness teamed up to train together to run in the Marine Corps Marathon. Family Crimes Detective John Reinikka urged his fellow Family Crimes Division officers Laura Lanham and Mark Plazinski to take the longer marathon-preparing practice runs together. That original running teamwork has yielded years of marathon successes.

Fast forward to 2012. Montgomery County Assistant Police Chief Luther Reynolds set a new goal of running a marathon and joined in the training runs with now-Captain Laura Lanham, Lieutenant Mark Plazinski and Detective John Reinikka. Their goal -- to run the New York City Marathon.

However, they encountered an unexpected obstacle when Superstorm Sandy caused cancellation of the race. Undeterred, Reynolds, Lanham and Plazinski headed to Raleigh, NC, and ran the City of Oaks marathon taking place that same weekend.

With their shared goal of running in the 2012 NYC marathon unfulfilled, the four agreed to try to compete in 2013. On November 3, they achieved their original goal of running the New York City race. Afterward, Detective Reinikka said, “It was the best marathon ever. I love the city, and the crowds of supporters were just fantastic.”

But Reynolds, Lanham and Plazinski truly peaked on November 23, when they completed the grueling JFK Ultra-marathon – 50.2 miles - held in Boonsboro. The event was created in 1963 as one of the many 50-mile races held across the country as a result of President John F. Kennedy’s efforts to promote a healthier lifestyle for Americans. The JFK 50 Mile in Washington County is the only original JFK race that has been held every year since Kennedy’s assassination.

Of the approximately 1,100 participants, about 750 completed the race. The course took runners over South Mountain on the Appalachian Trail and 26 miles on the C&O Canal towpath, ending with eight miles on a hilly country road.

Running the ultra-marathon was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life,” said Reynolds. Lanham said, “The JFK 50-miler was on my bucket list, and now I can cross that off.” Would Lt. Plazinski tackle another ultra-marathon? “Once was definitely enough for me!”

This doesn’t mean that any of the four will stop running. A new year has begun, bringing new running goals for the officers.

Shown before the ultra-marathon in Boonsboro are (left to right in red): Assistant Chief Luther Reynolds, Captain Laura Lanham and Lieutenant Mark Plazinski.