Sunday, March 10, 2013
The Montgomery County Executive wrote an op-ed for The Gazette, hoping to garner support for a bill to fund the replacement of trees lost to development.
Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett took to The Gazette last Wednesday, writing an op-ed seeking support for his proposed Tree Canopy Conservation bill. Leggett (D) wrote: The good news is that trees cover more than half of the county. So why do we need this bill? The reason is that our urban tree canopy is now being endangered by new development patterns. As the land available for new development in our county grows scarce, we increasingly redevelop our older, urban areas. While this revitalizes aging communities, provides new homes, creates infrastructure close to existing employment centers and transportation networks and creates jobs vital to the county’s economy, it also affects our tree canopy. We must act now to protect and …
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Montgomery County Executive delivered the address Wednesday in Silver Spring.
Issuing his first State of the County address in four years, Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett detailed new education and development initiatives, The Washington Examiner reported. Leggett (D) hopes to promote adult-level English classes to "make it easier for English-as-a-second-language residents to master the language, enabling them to get better jobs and expand the county's tax base," according to the report. The County Executive also wants to create an after-school program to help underachieving students. The proposal would "expand the current 'Excel Beyond the Bell' program—an after-school support system available in just a few middle schools in the county—to all middle schools," according to the report. Read the full text of…
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
The County Executive is expected to reflect on the county's accomplishments, challenges and opportunities in the speech Wednesday night.
Whether or not you gleaned a clear sense of where the nation is headed from President Barack Obama's State of the Union last week, County Executive Isiah Leggett is offering a chance to get up to speed on the road ahead for Montgomery County at his State of the County address this evening. All are invited to the Silver Spring Civic Building at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 20 for Leggett's speech, which will "reflect on the county's accomplishments and on challenges and opportunities ahead in the coming year and beyond," according to a statement from the executive's office. If you won't be in Silver Spring tonight, the address will be broadcast live to County Cable Montgomery, channel 6 for Comcast and RCN customers and channel 30 …
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
“We have thousands of kids competing for fields in this county,” booster parent says.
Parents say the soccer fields proposed by the Brickyard Soccer Field Project are long overdue. For nearly two years, the Brickyard Road Middle School site in the heart of Potomac has been embroiled in a heated battle between Montgomery County’s mission to turn the site into youth soccer fields, and local activists’ desire to save a 32-year-old organic farm. The most vocal of the fight’s participants have opposed the county’s plan, but soccer parents are starting to speak up. "I really feel that the bottom line is that the people in Potomac—and many of my friends live there—they don't want the traffic, they don't want the hassle. But it's really not about that small group in Potomac. It has to be about what's best for the county," said …
Sunday, January 20, 2013
Fiscal year 2014 budget would delay some planned projects in the 2013-2018 Capital Improvements Program.
Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett released his fiscal year 2014 capital budget this past week, and recommended that a number of planned projects in the six-year, $4.37 billion Capital Improvements Program be delayed. Leggett's proposal was released by the county's community relations department. Leggett spoke on the issue of the CIP, stating that "reducing CIP growth and debt service payments is an essential part of my ongoing strategy to ensure that our fiscal house is in order." Regarding the debt service, Leggett explained his recommendations as being limited to "previously established guidelines of $295 million a year in each of the six years in this CIP." Transportation-related projects that would be affected by the amended …
Friday, January 4, 2013
County Councilman could be among crowded Democratic field in 2014.
It’s no secret that Montgomery County Councilman Philip M. Andrews plans to run for Montgomery County Executive in 2014. Now, with 2014 just 361 days away, Andrews has launched a website, the political blog Maryland Juice reported Friday. PhilAndrews.com includes the flag “Phil Andrews for Montgomery County Executive” and tells visitors: “We'll be adding material to our new website over the coming weeks; please return to see what's new!” It also includes a place to sign up to volunteer for the campaign and—as any good campaign site should—a place to donate money. The Democratic councilman from Gaithersburg is in his fourth term representing District 3, which includes Gaithersburg, Rockville, Washington Grove, Leisure World, and parts of…
Public forums for Montgomery County's FY14 operating budget are scheduled in January and Feburary.
Montgomery County residents can have their say regarding the county's FY14 operating budget priorities at five public forums in January and February. The forums, which are sponsored by County Executive Ike Leggett, begin at 7 p.m. on the following dates: • Jan. 10, Mid-County Community Recreation Center, 2004 Queensguard Rd., Silver Spring; • Jan. 24, BlackRock Center for the Arts, 12901 Town Commons Dr., Germantown; • Jan. 28, Bethesda-Chevy Chase Regional Service Center, 4805 Edgemoor La., Bethesda; • Jan. 29, Silver Spring Civic Building, One Veterans Plaza, Silver Spring; and • Feb. 4, Eastern Montgomery Regional Services Center, 3300 Briggs Chaney Rd. Silver Spring. Leggett will announce his recommended fiscal year 2014 operating …
Friday, December 14, 2012
"Such violence directed toward anyone is unspeakable – aimed at little children all the more so," County Executive Isiah Leggett said in a statement.
Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett released a statement Friday afternoon in response to a mass shooting at a Newtown, CT, elementary school. Montgomery County police increased presence around schools at dismissal time Friday afternoon “for the comfort of the community." Leggett joined parents, teachers and police officials in expressing sadness and horror. Leggett's words: “Our thoughts and prayers go out to all the families touched by the senseless slaughter perpetrated today at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. “Such violence directed toward anyone is unspeakable – aimed at little children all the more so. There is no point in trying to make sense of it for it makes no sense. “Ralph Waldo Emerson once said…
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Monday event at Congressional Country Club charged attendees $1,000 per ticket, The Washington Post reports.
Maryland Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. raked in nearly $200,000 at an "opulent" Monday fundraiser at Bethesda's famed Congressional Country Club, The Washington Post reports. Attendees were charged $1,000 per ticket, according to the report. Guests included newly-elected congressman John Delaney (D), most of the state senators from Montgomery County, County Executive Isiah Leggett (D) and former County Executive Doug Duncan, who will once again seek the county executive seat, as Patch first reported. The longtime Senate president is running for another term, but will use much of the funds raised Monday to help fellow Democrats in Senate races, The Post reported. Read the full story at The Washington Post.
Friday, November 30, 2012
Despite pressure to reconsider, Montgomery's two-term county exec has not reversed his decision to step down in 2014.
Last year, Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett went on the record saying that he would not seek a third term in office. In this fifth excerpt from a recent interview with Patch editors, Leggett (D) acknowledges that he has been “under a lot of pressure from people asking me to reconsider," but says he hasn't wavered from on his decision not to run, "as of yet." Click here for Part 1 of the interview, in which Leggett discussed the ballot referendum on the Maryland "Dream Act," which would allow in-state tuition for certain illegal immigrants. Click here to watch Part 2, on his support for Maryland's historic same-sex marriage law. In Part 3, Leggett talks about the county's fiscal outlook. Part 4 covers Montgomery's projected …
Mark Risk
12:45 am on Monday, March 11, 2013
Payment into such a fund should be by DEVELOPERS only, not by private citizens who may fall victim to the aggressive MONTCO Tree Nazis and their permits. more ›