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Update: Jennifer over at The Silver Spring Penguin was kind enough to send me links to some videos from the Town Meeting that she posted to YouTube. Those videos are now embedded at the end of this post. Thanks!

Dan over at the east county blog Just Up The Pike describes the scene at last night’s Town Hall meeting with the Governor-Elect and Ike Leggett. His post is in two parts.

For additional coverage of the Town Hall Meeting, check out the Silver Spring Penguin and Maryland Politics Watch, along with the Baltimore Sun and the Post’s Get There blog.

The parking lot at Einstein High was packed forty-five minutes before last night’s Town Hall Meeting with Governor-elect Martin O’Malley, Lieutenant Governor-elect Anthony Brown, and new Secretary of Transportation John Porcari (oh, and Ike Leggett hosted, apparently), reflecting the normal Montgomery County seriousness about local politics. A standing-room-only crowd of nearly a thousand filled the auditorium, eager to see our new governor kick off his week-long “One Maryland” tour, culminating with his inauguration next Wednesday.

In a story about public sentiment on the Iraq War, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reporter Heather Maher visited Gaithersburg. Only first names are given, and place descriptions are generic (”a bus stop”, “a bookstore”) and even the pictures are of other places. But if you or someone you know was interviewed for the story, maybe you will recognize yourselves:

GAITHERSBURG, Maryland; January 10, 2007 (RFE/RL) — Technology, computer, and telecommunications companies line the highways of this city of 50,000 some 32 kilometers north of Washington, D.C.

Gaithersburg is also home to a Maryland National Guard recruiting and training center. So many military families with relatives in Iraq live nearby.

On the eve of U.S. President George W. Bush’s prime-time speech to the nation, in which he is expected to set out his plan to temporarily add 20,000 U.S. troops to the force of 132,000 already serving in Iraq, locals in Gaithersburg are thinking a lot about the war.

And there are stark divisions of opinion. Some locals disapprove of the war altogether, while others say a troop increase wouldn’t make any difference. A third group said they are willing to support the so-called surge in troops — as long as it helped Iraq and sped the return home of U.S. service personnel.

Over at Mocoprogressive, MoCo has named his Criminal of the year, Gaithersburg’s own Jose A. Amaya:

You probably think that Mr. Amaya was selected as the 2006 Criminal of the Year because his case history is unusual.

In fact, that’s not why we selected him at all.

Mr. Amaya was selected because his case history is so typical of what happens with repeat offenders in Montgomery County. He and others like him are a good source of business for the the state’s attorney and for the public defender. If I were paid for writing this blog, I could list 100 others just like Mr. Amaya.

I will add that, at least through the end of November 2006, it appears that Mr. Amaya’s immigration status has never been checked.

If it gets to two in one day, is it a trend?

From the City’s Crime Summary

Tuesday, January 09, 2007
Armed Robbery
On 1/9/07 at 10:10 P.M. there was an armed robbery on the railroad tracks in the 200 Block of East Diamond Avenue. There were two victims walking on the tracks when one was pushed down. Both victims had a handgun pointed at them and a wallet was obtained.
Black male, unknown age, 5′-8″, 160 pounds wearing a black hooded nylon jacket and blue jeans. He was armed with a black automatic handgun.

Strong Arm Robbery
On 01/09/07, at 5:50 a.m., in the area of 510 Carousel Court a male subject pushed a female from behind and stole her purse.
Suspect: Unknown race male wearing a black jacket.

Update: Some might argue that Carousel Court is not in “Olde Towne”. But is near the west end of Victory Farm Drive, and is between 200 and 300 yards from Gaithersburg Middle School. It is in the upper right of the picture below. There have also been repeated complaints of men hanging out and drinking along that footpath that you can see extending from the end of Victory Farm and into the field between Gaithersburg Elementary and Gaithersburg Middle, so this appears to be a problem area.

Image source: http://local.live.com

• Chris Robinson writes, Historic Hair Bar building will stand, city rules
  

  The ruling is the latest in a protracted struggle to determine the city’s first case where an owner has sought permission to remove a historical home.

  Halici, who has attempted to raze the place for over a decade, said he plans to appeal the ruling in court. His lawyer, Stephen Orens, was unavailable for comment.

  Upkeep on the property is expensive, and to sell the property the house must go, according to Halici, who applied for and received historic designation for the building soon after he bought the property in 1989.

  In 2003, the city granted a permit to demolish the house, but it expired before work was performed. Now the commission is unwilling to grant approval again.

  Alster noted prior to last week’s vote that the qualifications of ‘‘economic hardship” are too low, and have allowed Halici to take advantage of the city.

  ‘‘This has opened my eyes that we need to be clearer on the criteria and information that we require,” Alster said Thursday.

  Though it’s unclear when a worksession or public discussion will be to review standards for economic hardship, the process already is underway, said Planning and Code Director Greg Ossont.

• Chris Robinson writes, Gaithersburg approves growth restrictions
  

  The requirements will take effect Jan. 24, prompting a moratorium on residential areas around Rachel Carson Elementary School, Assistant City Manager Fred Felton said.

  Residential development also could be stopped around Summit Hall and Thurgood Marshall elementary schools, city managers have said. That might impact the GE Technology property in west Gaithersburg, the city’s largest undeveloped parcel.

  Two versions of the APFO were considered last week. One gave capacity credit for school projects within Montgomery County Public Schools’ six year facilities master plan, while the other only credits school projects budgeted within a two-year timeframe.

  Residents have widely praised the APFO, with the exception being mixed opinions on the length of school projects. Many written public comments supported the two-year limitation.

  The more restrictive version was approved, with council members Geri Eden, Michael A. Sesma and Stanley J. Alster in favor of the ordinance. Councilmen Henry F. Marraffa Jr. and John B. Schlichting voted against it.

• Chris Robison writes, Summit Crossing residents to get financial help
  

  Gaithersburg is set to provide up to $337,500 in assistance for homeowners of the upcoming Summit Crossing development in Olde Towne.

  The economic incentive program, unanimously approved by city leaders last month, is part of an ongoing effort to revitalize Olde Towne, said Assistant City Manager Tony Tomasello.

  ‘‘Clearly the Council has prioritized affordable housing and homeownership, but they also have parallel goals they want to meet to revitalize Olde Towne,” he said.

• Chris Robison (whose wrists were getting a workout this week) writes There’s no business for snow business
  

  The phenomenon, caused by an abnormal warming of waters in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, generally brings milder winters to the East Coast and also results in a muted hurricane season, Hoekzema said.

  It cycles every five to 11 years, with the last strong El Niño in the winter of 1997 and 1998, he said.

  ‘‘It’s hard to pin a record on recent global warming talk and things like that,” Hoekzema said. ‘‘We often see our highest temperatures in years where there was no mention of global warming. … We could set a record low this year, it’s not totally out of the question, and then still have an above-normal winter. That’s just kind of the way weather works.”

  For Gaithersburg, a city that prides itself on arboreal aesthetics, the extended warmer winter certainly is a consideration, said Wally DeBord, public works operations director.

  However, after consulting with an agricultural expert at the University of Maryland, DeBord said the only real impact will be a less colorful spring.

• Sebastian Montes writes, Shady Grove eyed for laborers
  

  Short expected to meet late Tuesday with county officials to determine which site to recommend to Leggett, he said.

  County-owned properties near the Metro station include the waste transfer station and several industrial sites along Crabbs Branch Way. All are outside Gaithersburg’s city limits.

  Short said none of the sites is within a mile of the Metro station.

• Chris Robinson writes, Woman robbed at gunpoint near Old Towne (I mentioned this earlier. Mr. Robinson’s article on this appears only to be in the print edition of the Gazette, I can’t find it online. Below is a brief transcription of some additional information in the article.)
  

  The men demanded the woman’s handbag, then fled on foot after getting it, according to a police report. No injuries were reported.

  The handbag later was recovered a short distance from the crime scene, with only an undisclosed amount of mony missing, [Gaithersburg Police spokesman Cpl. Rudy] Wagner said.

  The robbery is the third in or near Olde Towne since Christmas Eve. Wagner said the case doesn’t necessarily indicate a spike in robberies and no additional police patrols are planned.

• Chris Robinson writes, Business brings hope to El Salvadorian town
  

  For six years, Gaithersburg businessman Kevin Bohrer has sought to improve the quality of life for a little town in Central America, and now he close to seeing it happen.

  ‘‘If we could get health care a little closer, our guys, when their kids have problems and they’re back there, could get health care on a more ready basis,” said Bohrer, president of Goshen Enterprises and a cousin of former Gaithersburg Mayor Edward Bohrer. ‘‘For them to have health care readily available is great.”

  Goshen Enterprises donated $4,000 for construction of the 500-square-foot facility, which the El Almendro Town Council had planned but ran out of money to complete. It’s a single-floor building with one room for patients, a small waiting area, a small storage room and an outside waiting area.

  The company also is picking up the tab for employing the medical staff, Bohrer said

  To broaden its altruistic mission, the company partnered with St. John Neumann Catholic Church in Gaithersburg.

  Donations to Goshen Enterprises’ ongoing social projects in El Almendro can be made directly to the church.