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CASA de Maryland turned the unofficial and soon-to-be illegal day laborer hiring site at 17 N Frederick into a bus station on Monday, to pick up about three to four dozen people traveling to Annapolis to rally in support of three bills which favor illegal immigrants.

From what I’ve been able to determine, buses such as those in these pictures cost around $1000 per day to charter. They also seem to hold between 45 and 60 passengers, and thus to transport the the 1200 people who reportedly took part in the rally would take as many as 30 of these buses. While I expect many participants used other forms of transportation, it appears they may also have over-allocated buses. I would be curious to know where the money for this activity came from; CASA receives about 45% of its funding directly from government grants and contracts. CASA is also a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization, upon which there are restrictions regarding political activities.

CASA de Maryland organized the yesterday’s rally in Annapolis to lobby for the passage of three bills — one to allow illegal immigrants to receive in-state tuition in the University of Maryland system, one to increase funding for ESOL classes sixfold, and one to block implementation of the Federal Real ID standards in Maryland. For more information on the rally, see Lisa Rein’s story in the Washington Post and Cassie Bottge’s report in the Diamondback.

We have no word on how the more than twenty thousand immigrants of all origins and status who live in Gaithersburg but did not attend this rally feel about these bills.

Photos courtesy of a Gaithersblog reader.

Update: The Gazette also has a story on the ralley.

Update: The Gazette identifies the arrested individual as Jeison Gustavo Borja-Ortiz, age 25. Court records further indicate that Mr. Borja-Oritz lives on Havard St. in Silver Spring, and has been charged with armed robbery, first degree and second degree assault, reckless endangerment, false statements to a peace officer and disorderly conduct. He is being held on $250,000 bond.

From the City Police Crime Summary:

Attempted Armed Robbery

On 02/25/2007 at approximately 4:00pm victim was exiting Lakeforest Mall, 701 Russell Avenue, and was approached by three suspects who attempted to rob him of cash and property. Victim refused and was struck with a handgun. Two suspects still outstanding, one arrested on [scene].

Suspects described as hispanic males, 20 - 25 years of age

From the Gaithersburg Police Crime Summary:

Burglary Arrest
On 02-23-07 at about 12:50 a.m. police responded to unit block of Water St. for a burglary in progress. A witness reported seeing three suspects break a window and enter a vacant apartment. When police officers arrived on scene they where directed to a abandon unit where the three suspects were located inside. The three suspects were arrested and charged with 4th degree burglary and malicious destruction of property.

Arrested:
Jose A Fuentes 49 yoa, Hispanic Male, no fixed address
Antonio Fuentes 35 yoa, Hispanic Male, no fixed address
Jose Sanchez 34 yoa, Hispanic Male, no fixed address

Great work here by the Police. I think this is pretty unusual — so many burglaries go unsolved. One wonders, however, what they were going to burgle from an vacant apartment.

Aggravated Assault

Victim reports that on 02/22/07, at approximately 8:30 a.m., she was stopped behind a school bus, displaying its alternating red signals, in the area of Watch Hill Lane and Crown Farm Drive. A motorist behind her began to drive past her vehicle. Victim reports that she exited her vehicle to stop the other motorist, and a verbal dispute ensued. When the victim refused to move, the other driver purposely bumped her with his vehicle. No injury reported by the victim. The identity of the other driver has not yet been verified.

Armed Robbery
On 02/21/2007 at approximately 5:36 pm victim was walking in the unit block of Standard Court and was approached by two suspects. They displayed a knife and robbed victim of an iPod. Investigation to continue.

Both suspects described as Hispanic males, 16 - 18 years old, 5′07″ - 5′09″, 140 -150 pounds, one armed with 4 - 5 inch folding knife.

On 02/21/2007 at approximately 10:09 pm a cab driver was assaulted and robbed at knifepoint by suspect in cab. Suspect fled on foot and was arrested a short distance away. Cab driver was treated for injuries on scene.

Arrest
On 02/21/2007 at approximately 4:26 pm officers responded to 517 South Frederick Avenue for a dispute. One of the involved subjects became irate and attempted to assault the officer. He was arrested and charged accordingly.

Mocoprogressive has more on the taxi incident.

From the Montgomery County Police Crime Summary:

On 2/7/07 at 6:35 p.m., a 47-year-old homeless woman was physically attacked by a 40-year-old homeless man in the 18500 block of N. Frederick Avenue in Gaithersburg.

-Arrested – Timothy Brian Keith, charged with 1st and 2nd degree assault.

-On 2/8/07 at 12 midnight, police responded to the Bloom Grocery Store located at 833 Russell Avenue in Germantown, for the report of a larceny. Money was stolen from a woman’s purse. Arrested were:

• Rodney Irving Cotton, age 21, of the 2000 block of Merryfield Drive in Silver Spring.
• George M. Pickett, age 19, of the 9500 block of Wightman Road in Gaithersburg.
• T. Herbert Martin, age 19, of the 9300 block of Merust Lane in Gaithersburg.

All there were charged with theft. Cotton was charged with giving a false name and hindering the investigation of a crime, as well.

The 6th district weekly report summary states that they handled one robbery, one aggravated assault, three commercial and eight residential burglaries, thirty-six thefts from vehicles, and six stolen vehicles. There apparently was a great deal of vandalism in the area in the past week. Please do download the report PDF and read through the litany.

In today’s Washington Post “Montgomery Extra”, Miranda S. Spivack has an article about political developments regarding the Metropolitan District Tax:

A panel being set up by County Executive Isiah Leggett (D) to examine how to pay for services provided by Montgomery County’s municipalities and the county government is likely to consider a new system of paying for the county’s regional park system.

The regional park system has been losing income in recent years as the cities began annexing property from the county’s unincorporated areas, with County Council permission, and then taxed those residents for city-run parks. The side effect was to decrease the tax base for the county’s Department of Park and Planning.

Residents of the county’s unincorporated areas pay a special tax to help subsidize neighborhood and regional parks run by the county parks department. Montgomery County has a multi-layered system of parks and local government, with some parks run by the cities and others run by the parks agency, which reports to the County Council and is governed by a bi-county commission shared with neighboring Prince George’s County.

Current law bars the county from collecting a parks tax from residents who live inside city boundaries set by 1965. But it allows the county to collect from annexed sections of cities, even though the county has not done that.

Of course, there appears to be no parallel law that allows the cities to tax the county residents for the use of City parks.

Early this month, Montgomery’s House delegation in the General Assembly unanimously approved a bill that would bar the county from collecting a parks tax from city residents. It was sponsored by lawmakers from District 17, which includes Gaithersburg and Rockville, and could affect about 21,000 taxpayers in those cities. The bill is now before the Senate delegation for consideration.

My understanding is that the bill is actually winding its way through multiple levels committees and subcommittees in Annapolis. Assistant City Manager Fred Felton has been instrumental in shepherding the bill through this process.

County Council President Marilyn Praisner doesn’t much like the bill; she’d prefer that everyone just cool off and trust that the County will be reasonable:

“We are saying, ‘Don’t bother now.’ . . . Maybe in the future the Metropolitan District Tax will be the vehicle for whatever we agree to, and we don’t know what that is at this point,” Praisner said. “Nobody is under any risk. We aren’t going to collect the tax now.”

Note that she says “now” — she isn’t saying that the tax won’t be collected in the future. Given the level of difficulty of getting a bill through Annapolis, it isn’t like the cities can just wait and see what the County’s intentions are, and quick get this bill passed if things go badly. To my knowledge, the impetus for this bill came when the County started asking the Cities for a list of properties to which they could apply this tax. Quoting an October 2006 Gazette story by Jaime Ciavarra:

The county’s Department of Finance sent Gaithersburg officials a letter in early September, asking them to provide a list of properties annexed after 1965, when the Maryland General Assembly approved the metropolitan district tax to provide park revenue.

‘‘The theory is, and it’s a logical one, that people who live in King Farm are still going to camp at Little Bennett or go boating at Black Hill and still enjoy all of the resources that these county parks provide,” said Marion Joyce, spokeswoman for the county’s Department of Park and Planning.

Skeptical about how the tax’s revenues would benefit Gaithersburg residents, City Manager David B. Humpton sent a letter to county officials earlier this month questioning the county’s rationale and legal reasoning for the tax and asking for more discussion or a public hearing before such a levy would be implemented.

‘‘The city, obviously, provides its own city parks that I believe many county residents also use. And we don’t tax them for that,” said Mayor Sidney A. Katz.

Dena Levitz also wrote an article on this topic in the Examner about a week ago, mostly reporting MNCPPC’s point of view on the subject.

A few notes here about the status of Montgomery County’s new Day Laborer Center on Crabbs Branch Way.

First, Dena Levitz writes in the Examiner:

Had snow and ice not blanketed the region last week officials said a new day labor center for the Gaithersburg community would definitely open by March 1.

But in spite of the harsh weather, the hope still is to be in business as close to the beginning of next month as possible, according to Chuck Short, special assistant to County Executive Ike Leggett.

“We’re waiting for the trailers to be delivered,” he told The Examiner on Tuesday. “That was supposed to happen already, but it was delayed by the weather.”

In fact, as of Tuesday, the trailers have been delivered (picture courtesy of a Gaithersblog reader):

Short said the contract between CASA of Maryland and the county outlining the way CASA will run the center has been signed but county officials did not provide a copy to The Examiner on Tuesday, nor did they reveal the amount of the contract.

The previous deal between Montgomery County and CASA for management of the Wheaton day labor center allows the county to pay the immigrant advocacy group up to $114,780 per year. It’s estimated that running the Gaithersburg-area center will cost nearly $140,000 annually.

Second, I note that the audio recordings of the February 8 Planning Board Meeting are now available. The hearing on this topic is just about two hours long. It starts at the beginning of segment 8, and continues to about two thirds of the way through segment 10. The audio may either be downloaded as mp3s (and loaded to your iPod if you like :) or streamed into your computer’s media player.

Lastly, a Gaithersblog reader has obtained a copy of the memo from the Planning Board Chairman to Mr. Arthur Holmes, Director Department of Public Works and Transportation, communicating the decision of the Planning Board as well as specific direction regarding the construction, operation and supervision of the proposed center. As the memo was provided in the form of a scanned, bit-mapped PDF, the Gaithersblog reader kindly also provided a transcription, which I’ve formatted into HTML below. As usual, this transcription could contain errors and the original PDF — or better yet, the Planning Board themselves — should be consulted for the exact wording. If anyone does spot any errors, however, please bring them to my attention.

On a 4-1 vote, the City Council tonight enacted an anti-solicitation ordinance. The approximate text of what was adopted can be found (as a PDF) here.

Please do read the whole thing to understand what all it says, but the meat of it is in this section:

Prohibited Conduct

1. It shall be unlawful for any person, while occupying as a pedestrian any portion of a public or private roadway, sidewalk, driveway, parking area, or alley, including drive lanes, medians and curbs, to solicit or attempt to solicit employment, donations, alms or subscriptions, from any pedestrian who temporarily exits a vehicle, or from any person occupying or traveling in a vehicle, on a roadway, sidewalk, driveway, parking area, or alley.

2. It shall be unlawful for any person occupying or traveling in a vehicle, or who temporarily exits a vehicle, to solicit or attempt to solicit employment, donations, alms or subscriptions, from a person who is a pedestrian on a public or private roadway, sidewalk, driveway, parking area, or alley, including drive lanes, medians and curbs.

The council had a little trouble with this bit:

(f) Effective Date

It is the intention of the Council that this ordinance not go into effect until an employment center, located either within the City of Gaithersburg or in an area of Montgomery County, Maryland proximate to the City’s corporate boundaries, in accordance with the laws and requirements of the respective jurisdiction, is open and operating on a regular schedule.

in that the “It is the intention” clause seemed a little too wishy-washy; that was replaced during the Council session with language that left the Council’s intent out of it, and just affirmatively stated the conditions under which the law would go into effect.

There was some debate over whether to pass the ordinance. Ms. Edens appeared not to like it at all, despite having expressed support for it in the past. She said that she was concerned that it was a bad law, that it would be difficult to enforce in a non-discriminatory fashion, it would be challenged, and it wouldn’t do what people seemed to want it to do. She also stated that she preferred that the laborers be offered “carrots” instead of this stick, although she offered no suggestions as to what sort of carrot should or could be offered, or what the City could do if it turned out some of the laborers just don’t like carrots. Ms. Edens was the only Council member to vote against the ordinance.

Two other council members — Alster and Sesma — also expressed concern that the law would be challenged and that it wouldn’t do what people wanted, but they voted for it anyway. Mr. Marraffa expressed strong support for the law, and Mr. Schlichting largely kept quiet.

There was no talk of passing this as “emergency” legislation, and thus — assuming that the County stays on track with their Day Laborer center (and in that regard, it appears that the trailers were delivered to Crabbs Branch Way sometime this morning), then all the angst over delaying the ordinance until the labor center is in operation will have just been for show; the labor center will likely have been in operation for some time before the first laborer or employer can be cited for violating this ordinance.

Update: Sebastian Montes has an background article on this topic in today’s Gazette. As the decision came after the Gazette’s publishing deadline, it does not discuss the outcome; I expect they will have an update on this before the day is out.

If passed, it will be the first such law in Montgomery County. County Executive Isiah Leggett (D) has said he will wait until Gaithersburg makes its decision before announcing his position on the issue.

Civic groups such as the state chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union and the county chapter of the NAACP have threatened to sue Gaithersburg if it enacts the law. They argue that the law violates the First Amendment. Numerous communities across the country have enacted similar measures, many of which have been shot down by courts.

To my knowledge, the courts have trouble with these laws when there is no place provided where these rights can be exercised, which is part of why the law was written to be dependent on the existence of a labor center.

Dena Levitz writes in the Examiner:

Increasingly, drivers are turning their cars on, leaving the motor running to warm up the interior and then running off to complete a quick errand–only to return to find that the vehicle has vanished.

Cpl. Sonia Pruitt said the message police are trying to send is that, no matter how low the temperatures drop and how short the stop, it’s never a good idea to leave a car unattended when the key is in the ignition.

Or to leave your doors unlocked; thefts of items from vehicles has been a constant problem in Gaithersburg lately…

Natasha Altamirano writes in The Washington Times (this is from a few days ago):

Maryland’s largest immigrant advocacy group is on track to open a permanent day-laborer center in Prince George’s County this summer, despite delays to make the facility handicapped-accessible.

The project, led by CASA of Maryland Inc., has faced setbacks because of failure to comply with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act.

Similar to CASA’s day-laborer centers in Silver Spring and Wheaton, the $600,000 center in Langley Park will offer job placement, vocational training andlegal services, she said.

Critics said it was ironic that CASA was willing to comply with building code regulations but not federal immigration laws. Day-laborer centers are used primarily by illegal aliens looking for temporary work.

Michael Martinez and Oscar Avila write in yesterday’s Baltimore Sun:

Illegal border crossings are declining because of tougher enforcement, posting an overall 27 percent drop in the four months ending Jan. 31, the U.S. Border Patrol says. All sectors on the southern border, even the nation’s busiest one based in Tucson, are showing drops in apprehensions of illegal migrants.

But the crackdown has been accompanied by deadlier tactics by the most daring smugglers, who are now charging higher fees to bring Mexicans and others from Latin America into the United States illegally.

“We have to be realistic that an unintended consequence is that the price goes up, and the unscrupulous people who see no value in human life are going to maximize their profit” by trying to hijack rivals’ deliveries of illegal immigrants, said Alonzo Pena, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s special agent in charge of Arizona.

Mexican officials said drug smugglers and illegal immigrants typically shared the same routes, but a growing turf war among Mexican drug cartels makes them less likely to tolerate migrants, especially as the U.S. beefs up border patrols.

From the City’s website:

City of Gaithersburg
AGENDA FOR A REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2007, 7:30 P.M.

I. CALL TO ORDER

II. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

III. INVOCATION

Pastor Sarah Lewis, St. Luke’s Lutheran Church

IV. APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Minutes of a Regular Meeting of the Mayor and City Council Held February 5, 2007
Background Material (pdf format)

V. CONSENT ITEMS
(resolutions for approval by the City Council that do not need discussion)

1. Resolution of the Mayor and City Council Awarding a School Playground Matching Grant for a New Playground at Gaithersburg Elementary School ($6,000)
   Background Material (pdf format)

2. Resolution of the Mayor and City Council Authorizing the City Manager to Award a Contract for Sanctioned Official Services for City Sponsored Programs for Adult and Teen Softball to Greater Washington Softball Umpires Association ($9,075)
   Background Material (pdf format)

3. Resolution Authorizing the City Manager to Negotiate and Execute a Renewal of Retention Agreement with Special Counsel Stanley D. Abrams, Esq. ($24,000)

   Background Material (pdf format)

VI. PRESENTATIONS

1. Introduction of New Police Officers
2. Readings by the Winners of the National CHARACTER COUNTS! Week Adult Heroes in OUR Community Writing Contest
3. Presentation of the City of Gaithersburg’s Government Finance Officer’s Association (GFOA) Distinguished Budget Presentation Award
4. Certificate of Appreciation Presented to Beautification Committee Member Frank Mate
5. Certificate of Recognition Presented John Stepek, Recipient of the 2007 Mid – Atlantic Recreation and Sports Alliance Award
6. Presentation from the Humane Society

VII. PUBLIC APPEARANCES
(public is invited to speak on any subject that is not a public hearing topic on tonight’s agenda - each speaker three minutes)

VIII. FROM THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL/ANNOUNCEMENTS

•  Upcoming City Events

IX. FROM THE CITY MANAGER

X. ORDINANCES, RESOLUTIONS, AND REGULATIONS
(ordinances, resolutions, and regulations to be introduced or adopted following appropriate procedures required by the City Code, or resolutions that may require discussion by the Mayor and Council prior to approval)

1. Resolution of the Mayor and City Council Authorizing the City Manager to Negotiate and Execute a Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) Agreement With the Housing Opportunities Commission of Montgomery County on Behalf of Forest Oak Towers Apartments
   Background Material (pdf format)

2. Resolution of the Mayor and City Council Awarding a Matching Grant to The Orchards Homeowners Association ($5,000)
   Background Material (pdf format)

XI. POLICY DISCUSSION AND STAFF GUIDANCE
(discussion by the Mayor and Council about previous public hearing topics and other policy matters)

1. Z-303(o), Proposal to Rezone 1.2099 Acres of Land, Currently Known as Lot P-87, the Duane Property, Located Off Game Preserve Road Between Arrowsmith Court and Travis Avenue in the City of Gaithersburg, From the Existing C-2 (General Commercial) Zone to the E-1 (Urban Employment) Zone, Under the Optional Method of Rezoning, in Accordance With §24-196 (map amendments) and §24-198 (optional method) of the City Code (Ready for Final Action)

   Background Material (9.3M - pdf format)

2. An Ordinance to Repeal and Reenact With Amendments Section 15-4 of the City Code, Entitled “Loitering,” so as to Clarify Existing Language With Regard To Prohibited Conduct, and Section 15-9, Entitled “Solicitation in Roadways,” so as to Expand the Applicability of the City’s Prohibition on Solicitation Specific to this Chapter (Ready for Final Action)

   Background Material (pdf format)

XII. FROM THE ASSISTANT CITY MANAGERS, CITY ATTORNEY AND OTHER STAFF

XIII. ADJOURNMENT

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THE NEXT REGULAR MEETING OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL

WILL BE HELD MONDAY, MARCH 5, 2007, 7:30 P.M.
COUNCIL CHAMBERS, 31 SOUTH SUMMIT AVENUE

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UPCOMING COUNCIL MEETING AND WORK SESSION ITEMS
This list is not all-inclusive, and does not reflect priorities or scheduling
But is intended to provide a glance at future items to come before the City Council.

March 5 Meeting:

Presentations
-Winter Lights Sponsors
- Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection on the Clean Energy Rewards Program

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WORK SESSION ANNOUNCEMENT

Notice to the general public is hereby given that the Mayor and City Council of the City of Gaithersburg will not conduct a Work Session on Monday, February 26, 2007.

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COMMUNITY WORKSHOP ANNOUNCEMENT

On Monday, February 26, 2007, the City will host a Community Workshop at Lakelands Park Middle School located at 1200 Main Street, to give the public an opportunity to review initial concept plans for the new Gaithersburg Indoor Aquatic and Recreation Center at Edison Park Drive. Displays boards will be available for viewing beginning at 6:30 p.m. City staff and the design firm, SORG Architects, will make a presentation
at 7:30 p.m., followed by ample opportunity for questions and answers.

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MAYOR & CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS

ARE TELEVISED LIVE ON CABLE CHANNEL 13
AND ON THE
INTERNET AT
www.gaithersburgmd.gov/tv