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Goings on in Gaithersburg, Maryland

May 21st, 2009

The Gazette This Week, Part 2

  • Patricia M. Murret writes, Marraffa cleared of campaign violations:

    Maryland prosecutors cleared Gaithersburg City Councilman Henry F. Marraffa Jr. last month of violating state election laws during his 2006 run for Montgomery County Council.

  • Patricia M. Murret writes, Postal worker attacked on his route:

    Three young men attacked and robbed a postal worker delivering mail May 11 in Gaithersburg.

    The mailman was entering a building in the Potomac Oaks Condominium complex at 808 Quince Orchard Blvd., when he was “significantly beaten, said Sgt. Rudy Wagner, a Gaithersburg Police Department spokesman.

  • Douglas Tallman and Sebastian Montes write, New drivers license rules start June 1:

    Come June 1, getting a Maryland driver’s license could be a lot tougher for some people.

    In addition to proving they can parallel park or pass an eye exam, potential Maryland drivers also will have to prove they belong in the United States.

  • C. Benjamin Ford writes, Investigation of perjury spotlights police car cameras:

    A Montgomery County police officer caught by a security camera taking actions that differed significantly from her court testimony shows how cameras in police cruisers could be a useful tool, a county spokesman said.

May 21st, 2009

The Gazette This Week, Part 1

  • Sebastian Montes writes, County Council approves $107M acquisition of GE Tech Park:

    The Montgomery County Council last week unanimously approved a $107 million project to rent then buy the GE Tech Park in Gaithersburg, clearing the way turn the 52-acre parcel into the county’s public safety headquarters.

    The county’s police and fire departments are expected to finish moving into the five-story office building at the GE Tech Park by early 2010.

  • Sebastian Montes and Patricia M. Murret write, Tenth arrest made for teen’s death:

    And Montgomery County Assistant State’s Attorney Jeffrey Wennar, one of the county’s top gang prosecutors, said that prosecutors will consider whether to ask a grand jury to indict some of the suspects using a new state anti-gang statute based on anti-gang laws found in 35 other states.

    The law allows a judge to impose an additional maximum penalty of 20 years for each count of participating in a gang crime, he said. Prosecutors will propose charges within the next few weeks and a grand jury will decide how to indict the 10 suspects, he said.

  • Sebastian Montes writes, Planners see big hurdles in drafting ‘Science City’:

    The Montgomery County Planning Board has rebuffed widely varying alternatives proposed for the Belward Farm in Gaithersburg, forging ahead under a blueprint that would allow up to 4.5 million square feet of buildings up to 143 feet high.

  • Patricia M. Murret writes, Roy’s Place loses its namesake:

    For more than 50 years, Roy Passin spent mornings opening his restaurant, an eatery that was known for its smorgasbord of sandwiches and moved to Olde Towne Gaithersburg in 1971.

  • Patricia M. Murret writes, City’s overtime is under overhaul:

    Overtime is getting a close look in Gaithersburg as the city grapples with a fluctuating deficit hovering near $4 million.

    Total overtime costs in fiscal 2009 could exceed a budgeted $1.1 million, said Human Resources Director Margaret Daily. With two months left in the fiscal year, city overtime spending is fast approaching fiscal 2008 levels. City Manager Angel Jones last week called for cutting $469,612 in overtime costs out of the proposed $48 million fiscal 2010 budget.