gaithersblog.net

Kathleen Miller writes:

Police officials from Washington, Prince George’s County and Montgomery County said Wednesday they do not have any agreements to accept ID cards issued by a Maryland pro-immigrant advocacy organization as valid identification, contrary to the claims of the group’s leaders.

Montgomery police spokeswoman Lucille Baur said: “We do not have an agreement with them.”

“If the police departments are expressing another policy, we will obviously have a conversation directly with them about the utility of accepting the identification,” [CASA spokeswoman Kim] Propeack said in an e-mail.

The Washington Post has been more interesting over the past few days than has this week’s Gazette, so, given limited time this week, I’ll round up some of the articles from the Post:

• Pamela Constable writes, Sometimes, A Labor Day:
  

  This has been a tense summer for the men who arrive each morning at the Center for Employment and Training in Gaithersburg, operated by the nonprofit CASA de Maryland. Many have no legal documents. They have anxiously followed the news of Virginia communities passing laws against illegal immigrants, of stepped-up factory raids and deportations. And they hear the angry voices.

  But no worker is asked whether he is in the country legally, and it is assumed that many are not. On the front table is a stack of brochures that explain in Spanish what to do in case of an immigration raid. “Don’t lie. . . . Don’t turn over false documents. . . . Don’t discuss your migratory status. . . . Ask to speak to a lawyer . . . ask to see a warrant . . . contact your consulate.”

  And I have to give this guy credit; this is one of the first times I’ve heard a CASA employee talking sense:

  “Some guys still prefer to wait for jobs outside the 7-Eleven. They say it gives them more freedom. But what they really want is to be drinking a beer and hiding it behind the dumpster,” says German Reyes, a staff member at the trailer. “This is bad for everyone. It is not a question of freedom. It’s a question of discipline and order.”

• Bill Turque writes, Laborer Ruling a Setback for Herndon:
  

  A Fairfax Circuit Court judge threw out Herndon’s anti-solicitation ordinance yesterday, finding that the town’s two-year-old prohibition against laborers and motorists discussing employment on the streets violates First Amendment rights to free speech.

  The third prong is where the town falls short, [Judge Leslie] Alden said, noting that governments restricting public speech must “open ample alternative channels” for communication of the prohibited speech.

  Alden said the Herndon Official Workers Center is not adequate because it is described in the ordinance as a temporary site. She also cited Reston Interfaith’s agreement with the town, which was based on a temporary permit.

  The bar on solicitation described in the ordinance, however, is permanent.

• Karin Brulliard writes, Immigrant Laws Tread Uncharted Legal Path:
  

  As officials in places such as Prince William County increasingly respond to public discontent over illegal immigration by passing ordinances, law scholars say a key question remains: Are local regulations legal?

  For now, they say, some things are clear. The Supreme Court has ruled that true immigration matters — who enters and leaves the United States — fall under the federal government’s realm alone. When it comes to laws related to noncitizens, the Constitution invalidates, or “preempts,” state laws that clearly conflict with federal laws or that courts interpret to be ground that Congress intended to dominate.

  That is where things get hazy, experts say.

  As the Virginia task force’s co-chairman, Del. David B. Albo (R-Fairfax), put it: “I’ve been working on this for three years, and everybody is confused about what you can and can’t do. . . . You ask four attorneys, and you’ll get four answers.”

  Albo, himself a lawyer, asked whether state police could arrest people who approached them and said they had expired visas. Probably not, the lawyers said, because that is a civil immigration violation. And if the person said he had entered the country illegally? Probably so, he was told, because that is a criminal violation.

• Spencer S. Hsu writes, Planned Crackdown on Immigrants Denounced:
  

  The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the AFL-CIO this week separately assailed a new White House-backed crackdown on illegal immigration, warning of massive disruptions to the economy and headaches for U.S. citizens if the proposal goes ahead as planned in the coming days.

  Under the new rules, set to take effect on Sept. 14, employers that receive “no-match” letters have 90 days to resolve discrepancies. If they do not, the DHS may conclude that employers knowingly violated the law by employing illegal workers, opening the door to fines and even criminal arrests.

  That approach marks a major change. The Social Security Administration has long sent “no-match” letters, and it has found that 4 to 10 percent of workers have suspect numbers because of typographical errors, name changes resulting from marriage or multiple surnames, as well as fraud. But, until now, it has not held employers liable.

• Nick Miroff writes, A Strong, but Divisive, Voice for Immigrants:
  

  Twelve years ago, Ricardo Juarez was an unemployed government clerk standing in the dark on a riverbank outside Eagle Pass, Tex. He had no particular American dream in mind, he says, no vision of white picket fences or the Liberty torch. The youngest male in a family of 12 siblings, Juarez was mostly thinking about food. He and a group of other migrants set their inner tubes into the swirling blackness of the Rio Grande and let the current carry them across.

• Andrea Hopkins of Reuters writes, U.S. immigrants worry as families face deportation:
  

  When 300 U.S. immigration agents surrounded the chicken processing plant where Danny Alvarez-Reyes works, he did the only thing he could think of: he gave his coat to a scared friend determined to hide in the walk-in freezer.

• Tim Craig writes, Va. Republican Bill Would Bar Illegal Immigrants From College:
  

  Virginia Republicans announced legislation Wednesday that would prohibit public colleges and universities from accepting illegal immigrants even if they attended a public high school and were brought to the United States at an early age by their parents.

From the Town Courier PDF:

• Krista Brick writes, City Commissioners Approve Aventiene’s First Phase:
  

  Grading for the new Aventiene development planned for now-vacant farmland along Fields Road and I-370 near Washingtonian Center may start as early as next month after developers got approval to get the first phase underway.

• Sonya Burke writes, Market Square Parking Reduced for Safety Reasons:
  

  The city of Gaithersburg is notifying Market Square residents and business owners that the parallel parking adjacent to the city plaza is being eliminated because it violates the Maryland and Gaithersburg fire codes.

• Patsy Beckckman writes, Rockville’s Resurgence has Residents Reaping Benefits:
  

  Just a few miles down the I-270 corridor, Lakelands, Quince Orchard Park and Kentlands residents can join their neighbors to the south in Rockville in experiencing the city’s resurgence with the rebirth of its downtown area.

  The above article has a sidebar, What’s Next for Olde Towne?:

  The city of Gaithersburg came up with a plan of its own to revitalize its aging Olde Towne District in 1995 by developing a vision that created a vibrant, pedestrian-friendly urban center. It was revisited again in 2004 when a planning charrette was held, bringing together a team of professional planning consultants and stakeholdersto plan the future of Olde Towne.

• Sonya Burke writes, Chief Unveils Police Beat Plans:
  

  On the job just eight weeks, Gaithersburg Police Chief John King is moving ahead with plans for a city-wide beat plan for the department’s 47 officers, and he’s focusing on increasing the department’s recruitment efforts.

As has been mentioned elsewhere (e.g. The Examiner and Mocoprogressive), the County Police have started to publish a list of outstanding traffic warrants. In looking through the list, however, it struck me that some of the names (both first names and last names) were quite common therein. I wanted to check that perception matched reality, so I pulled the records out of the PDF and did a little sorting and counting.

Now, there were, by my count, a total of 5877 records in the August 22 list. There were a total of 3213 surnames (last names) represented in that list. Below is a table of the most common 32, or 1% of those names, with a count of the number of warrants for people with those names. Note that those counts add up to exactly 1000, or 17% of the warrants:

I did the same analysis for first names on the list. There were fewer unique first names, 1880 in total. Here are the nineteen (again, 1%) most common:

This 1% of first names accounts for 1453 of the 5877 warrants, or 25%. The first three, which are the only names which appear on more than 100 warrants, add up to 628, or about 11% of all the warrants in the County’s list. I also looked a little at the age distribution, using the listed birthdates. It was, I think, pretty unsurprising that the counts took a steep climb from age 18 to around age 25, and then slowly tailed off between the ages of around 32 and, well, old. (There were some records for people who are either over 100 or under 10. They could be errors, they could be old warrants that have never been cleared, or we could just have some centenarian scofflaws out there).

Update: It occurred to me that someone might wonder how overrepresented some of these names might be if some of the people on the list had multiple warrants, so I did a little more analysis to try to adjust for this. Understand that I can’t really adjust for it, because the list provides no way to tell with certainty that two warrants are for the same person. So what I did do was to collapse into a single count any records where the first name, last name and birthdate matched; there were a total of 5319 unique first name/last name/birthdate combinations in the file. This modification could be wrong in multiple directions — an alias, typo or alternative spelling for example could result in a single person still being listed twice, while there is no reason you couldn’t have two people with the same name born on the same date. But at least this is a one way to try to get an idea of how multiple warrants affects the list.

In fact, however, after doing this the name lists change relatively little. On the surname list, we pick up Fuentes and Jackson, losing Guzman and Pineda. On the given name list, we lose Hector and pick up Anthony. The orders also change a little bit: Robert and William trade places, for example, and Oscar moves up a few to before John. In the surname list, Martinez and Lopez switch, as do Flores and Johnson; there’s maybe a dozen such small changes. But the first three names on the given name list — which don’t change order — still amount to about 11% of of the unique name/birthdate combinations on the list.

From the City’s website:

Saturday, August 25, 2007
Strong Arm Robbery

On 08/25/07, at 4:50 a. m., police responded to the rear of the 300 block of North Summit Avenue for an assault and battery in progress. Upon arrival, the victim advised officers that he was knocked to the ground by the suspect and that this bag containing his food and personal belongings were taken from him. The suspect also took his wallet. The victim received a minor cut to his head, and the suspect was last seen running onto North Summit Avenue.

Suspect: Hispanic male wearing a white shirt and long black shorts.

---

Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Burglary

On 08/22/07, while the resident was away for the day, unknown suspect(s) entered a residence in the 400 block of Woodland Road and removed items of property

Woodland Road is in the neighborhood behind City Hall.

Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Burglary

On 08/21/07, between the hours of 7:15 a.m. and 5:30 p.m., unknown suspect(s) entered a residence in the 100 block of Russell Avenue and removed items of property.

On 08/21/07, between the hours of 1:00 p.m. and 3:30 p.m., unknown suspect(s) entered an unlocked residence in the 100 block of Bent Twig Lane. The suspect(s) vandalized portions of the residence interior.

Bent Twig Lane is near Diamondback & Muddy Branch.

The announcement below is from the City’s website. This is a significant loss for the City — from what I’ve seen Ms. Borten has done an admirable job — and I hope they can find someone new soon. The City Attorney sits in public meetings with the Council and with the Planning Commission to provide immediate advice on procedural and legal issues, and generally helps to keep them out of trouble. I expect they will have to act quickly to retain someone to serve in that role; perhaps they will bring back Stanley Abrams in the interim. With the anti-solicitation ordinance up in the air for another several weeks — the Council has deferred the effective date yet again while waiting for the Attorney General’s opinion on its constitutionality — and the ACLU fighting the City on this issue, they will need some good representation sooner rather than later. I also did some checking up on a couple of other issues that I knew that the City had been caught up in.

One of these issues is the Hair Bar case, wherein Mr. Hamza Halici (and Halici, Inc.) is suing the Historic District Commission over the denial of his application for a demolition permit for the historic Talbott House, currently used as the Hair Bar. Back in June, Judge Robert A. Greenberg found in favor of the City, rejecting the argument that the HDC was improperly formed and letting stand the decision rejecting the demolition permit. In July, Mr. Halici filed an appeal, and, according to court records, on Tuesday of this week (8/21), Judge James R. Eyler ordered that the appeal proceed without a prehearing conference. Thus, the next City Attorney will likely have some work to do here.

The second issue that I know about is the case of Mora v. City of Gaithersburg. In this Civil Rights case, Anthony Mora sued the City for what he believed was unlawful search and seizure. According to the District Court opinion, the police were responding to a call from a counseling hotline, informing them that Mr. Mora had “indicated that he was suicidal and had weapons in his apartment”. After arriving at the scene and finding Mora “loading luggage into a van in the parking lot of the apartment complex”, the police “found and seized 41 firearms, as well as firearms parts, ammunition, ammunition magazines, firearms, books, a spotting scope, and a pair of binoculars.” There ensued a long dispute over the return of the firearms, which you can read about in the District Court opinion. Generally, the District Court found in favor of the City.

Mr. Mora has appealed (Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals case 06-2158), and, as far as I can tell from what is available in Pacer, the court has yet to issue an opinion; the most recent activity appears to have been oral arguments on May 23 of this year.

I expect that there many other issues that the City Attorney is in the middle of, but I think these few things, together with those mentioned in the announcement, give an idea of the importance of this position. Anyway, here’s the City’s announcement:

City Attorney Borten Announces Resignation
Posted 8/23/2007

City Attorney Cathy Borten, who joined the City of Gaithersburg as its first in-house attorney in 2004, announced her resignation, effective September 21, 2007. She is leaving to pursue another professional opportunity. The City Attorney is appointed by the Mayor and City Council.

“Ms. Borten has been a true asset to the City,” said Mayor Sidney Katz. “Over the past three years she has provided much-needed guidance as we navigated through some very complicated issues. Her services will be missed, and we wish her well in all future endeavors.”

Among the issues that Borten has dealt with in her tenure with the City are the smoking ban, the potential day laborer center, a modification to the anti-solicitation ordinance, and a host of large-scale development issues including Casey East and West, the Monument Office Park, and the Crown Farm (now Aventiene) annexation and development.

In the coming weeks the Mayor and City Council will be discussing the procedure for finding Borten’s replacement. For more information please contact the City Manager’s office at 301-258-6310.

Congratulations to some of Gaithersburg’s finest.

From the City’s website (and note that the City’s copy of this announcement has photographs):

Business Community Honors City Police
for Distinguished Service, Meritorious Conduct
Posted 8/22/2007

At its Public Safety Awards program at the Montgomery County Agricultural Center on Friday, August 10 the Gaithersburg-Germantown Chamber of Commerce recognized several members of the Gaithersburg Police Department for distinguished service and meritorious conduct. This annual awards program provides the business community with an opportunity to publicly thank those who help maintain the quality of life in the Gaithersburg and Germantown area.

A Meritorious Conduct Award was presented to Community Outreach Specialist Elena Ingram, who was singled out for her efforts in such areas as the Citizen’s Police Academy, the Chief’s Advisory Council, various Neighborhood Watch programs, and for her work in enhancing the department’s crime analysis function.

A Distinguished Service Citation was presented to Corporal Dwight Lumsden and Officer Matthew Bellard of the Gaithersburg Police Department, along with Officer Peter Camp of Montgomery County Police’s Sixth District, for their collective efforts to subdue an intoxicated and extremely aggressive suspect. They were recognized for acting with restraint, good judgment and clear thinking to resolve a potentially deadly situation.

Officer Joseph Marion also received a Distinguished Service Citation, recognizing the large number of quality felony arrests that he has made in the past year. The award noted that his success was a result of his aggressive patrol tactics, his awareness of lookout information, and his willingness to look beyond the obvious.

A Distinguished Service Award was given to Sergeant Randy Rude for the arrest of an armed robbery suspect. Sergeant Rude conducted the arrest completely alone and attempted to do so with minimum force before being forced to use his firearm. The suspect, a career criminal, is now serving a significant prison sentence.

"I am thankful to the Gaithersburg-Germantown Chamber of Commerce for hosting this event and recognizing some of the outstanding work that is done on a daily basis by the men and women of the Gaithersburg Police Department," said Gaithersburg Chief of Police John King. "Additionally these incidents highlight the strong public safety partnership that exists between the Gaithersburg Police, the Montgomery County Police and the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service."

The Gaithersburg Police Department is a nationally-accredited law enforcement agency that shares responsibility for services with the Montgomery County Police, providing coverage 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The Department responds to calls for service as necessary, and utilizes community action teams, when appropriate, to solve problems and deal with issues affecting the safety of all City neighborhoods. For more information please contact the Gaithersburg Police Department at 301-258-6400.

From the County’s website:

• An armed robbery with a handgun of B & B Beer and Wine Store, 8403 Snouffer School Road, was robbed on Tuesday 8/7 around 9:00 pm. Weapon displayed, property taken.

  Suspect: B/M 30 to 32 years, 5’7”-6’0”, 130-140, grey t-shirt, jean shorts

  Suspect: B/M 5’8” to 5’9”, 190-210, black t-shirt

  Vehicle: Blue Toyota or Honda

• A residential burglary/ attempt sexual assault occurred Saturday 8/11 around 12:45 am, the female resident in the 18200 block of Lost Knife Circle. Forced entry, made sexual demands.

  Suspect: B/M 18 to 19 years, 5’6”-5’7”, 160-180, short black hair

• A strong-armed robbery of an adult male in the 900 block of Hillside Lake Terrace on Thursday 8/9 12:35 am. The victim was assaulted, property was taken.

  Suspects: (2)B/M’s 20 to 25 years, 6’0”-6’2”, 170-180, crew cuts, black clothing

  Hillside Lake Terrace is near Great Seneca & Muddy Branch.

• An aggravated assault occurred outside the Red Rocks Café, 385 Muddy Branch Road, on Friday 8/10 around 12:40 am. The adult male victim was found unconscious in the parking lot with his wallet lying on the ground next to him.

• An aggravated assault involved a fleeing shoplifter and a loss prevention officer at Lake Forest Mall on Friday 8/10 around 2:15 pm. The suspect made it to her car and attempted to run over the guard.

  Suspect: B/F 5’6”, 156, 16-20 years old

• On Thursday 8/9 around 9:55 pm, a juvenile male was robbed by four juvenile suspects at Hart Road and Golden Ash Way. The victim was assaulted and property taken. All the suspects were described as between 5’0” and 5’4”, 130-150, in black sweat suits and ski masks. One of the suspects may have been a female.

  This would be in Kentlands.

• An attempted robbery of an adult female near the Cider Mill Apartments near the Lost Knife Safeway on Monday 8/13 around 4:30 pm. Victim assaulted, no property obtained.

  Suspects: (2) H/Ms 14 to 16 years, 5’0”-5’4”, 125-145, crew cuts

• A peeping tom was reported in the 10000 block of Stedwick Road on Thursday 8/9 around 7:50 am when a female resident saw a subject looking in her window as she got dressed.

  Suspect: H/M or light skinned 1/M 5’10”, white shirt

• Between Sunday 8/12 and Monday 8/13, theft from vehicle activity was noted on Gable Ridge Terrace and Sterling Terrace with the attempted theft of a 1991 Ford Mustang and the completed theft of a 1995 Dodge Neon 4-door. Property was stolen from the Mustang.

  Gable Ridge Terrace and Sterling Terrace are near Great Seneca & Sam Eig Highways.

• A commercial burglary occurred at the Gaithersburg Pet Center, 602 Quince Orchard Road, between Thursday 8/9 at 8:06 pm and Friday 8/10 at 6:15 am. Forced entry, property was taken.

• Attempts and vehicle theft of a Dodge Caravan between Thursday 8/9 and Friday 8/10:

  • 800 block Russell Avenue Attempt only 2005 Caravan
  • 850 block Russell Avenue Attempt only 2007 Caravan
  • 400 block Christopher Avenue Completed theft 1996 Caravan

  These addresses are all in the vacinity of the Costco & the Bloom Grocery store.

• Three residential burglaries occurred during this reporting period.

  Tuesday 8/7 9:50 am - 4:45 pm	9700 block Shadow Oak Drive Forced entry, property taken.
  Monday 8/13 7:40 am – 5:15 pm	1200 block Knoll Mist Lane Forced entry, property taken.
  Sunday 8/12 2:00 am – 5:20 am	150 block Watkins Mill Road Forced entry, Property taken.

  Shadow Oak Drive is near Montgomery Village Ave & Apple Ridge. Knoll Mist is near Watkins Mill Road & Travis Lane.

• A residential burglary occurred in the 200 block of Rolling Road on Friday 8/10 between 8:00 am and 3:45 pm. Entry was forced, property taken.

  Rolling Road is in the neighborhood behind City Hall.

• Chris Robinson writes, Flashlight assault gets Gaithersburg man an attempted murder charge:
  

  A Gaithersburg woman was hospitalized early Sunday after an argument with her boyfriend where he allegedly beat her in the head with a flashlight, according to court documents.

• Chris Robinson writes, In two Gaithersburg cases, women wake to strange men in their bedrooms:
  

  Two Gaithersburg women fought off men who forced their way into their homes earlier this month, according to police who do not believe the cases are related.

• Sebastian Montes writes, No arrests in hit-and-run death:
  

  The hit-and-run death of 17-year-old Esai Lopez is still being investigated, though it has been nearly three weeks since Montgomery County police found the car they believe killed him.

• Danny Jacobs writes, Trial set for man accused in fatal hit-and-run crash:
  

  The man alleged to be responsible for a fatal hit-and-run collision along Route 29 is in the country illegally, authorities said, while three injured construction workers involved in the Aug. 13 crash are expected to survive.

• Chris Robinson writes, Gaithersburg man acquitted in Pa. crash:
  

  A Gaithersburg trucker was acquitted Aug. 2 of charges in a Feb. 8 accident that killed a Honduran diplomat on the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

• Chris Robinson writes, BMW jumps curb, hits sign that knocks over family:
  

  A Gaithersburg man received a traffic citation last week after his BMW struck a sign in the Kentlands that fell and injured a family of five, county police said.

• Chris Robinson writes, New fees for city’s fire system certification:
  

  To increase the regularity of inspections on sprinklers and other commercial fire protection systems, Gaithersburg could soon require businesses to pay for an annual verification permit for each device.

• Chris Robinson writes, City leaders OK relocation assistance program:
  

  The Gaithersburg council on Monday unanimously approved allocating $400,000 for a plan to provide financial assistance to residents displaced by redevelopment, $100,000 more than was planned.

• In the Of Note column, Chris Robinson and Sebastian Montes write:
  • Another newcomer may enter City Council race

    A ninth potential candidate in the Gaithersburg city elections this November is resident Shawn Ali, who picked up a candidate packet Aug. 10.

  • New Village leaders to take their spots
    

    The Montgomery Village Foundation\u2019s board of directors will vote in closed session Thursday whether to accept the nomination for executive vice president, according to foundation documents.

  • Solicitation law delayed another six weeks
    

    Gaithersburg leaders have decided to wait even longer to settle the fate of the city’s controversial anti-solicitation ordinance.

  • A balanced budget for Village
    

    With a raise in annual assessment fees, tightened expenses and a $700,000 contribution to its reserve funds, the Montgomery Village Foundation has come up with a balanced budget for 2008.