Showing posts with label Montgomery College. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Montgomery College. Show all posts

Wednesday, March 23, 2022

Pepco makes donation to Montgomery College


Pepco
has made a donation to Montgomery College, as part of a $650,000 package of donations to local community colleges and historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). The money will go to workforce development in the energy field, teacher training and scholarships, the Exelon-owned utility announced in a press release. Montgomery College has campuses in Rockville, Germantown and Takoma Park.

“We hope this funding helps open the door to educational opportunities that all too often are just a dream for many young people within our communities,” Rodney Oddoye, Senior Vice-President of Governmental, External and Regulatory Affairs for Pepco Holdings, said in a statement. “Through our partnerships with local community colleges, HBCUs, and workforce development programs like the DC Infrastructure Academy, we are not only expanding the possibilities for our youth, we are building the talent pool for the future energy workforce.”

Tuesday, August 17, 2021

Montgomery County executive appears maskless in Montgomery College classroom


Montgomery County has been under an indoor mask order for several weeks. When County Executive Marc Elrich (D) was caught on camera without a mask in a classroom at Montgomery College on Monday, his critics pounced, calling it hypocrisy. Elrich was attending a "5G Bootcamp" at the community college with Congressman David Trone (D - 6th District).


Trone posted several photos of the event on Twitter. In all but one, Elrich is wearing a mask. But in the maskless photo, everyone but Elrich in the classroom is wearing a mask. "Rules for thee, and not for me," tweeted @justhefactsmo1, sharing Trone's tweet. "What's the ticket for doing this in the grocery store? $500?" asked @jensreesman.




Tuesday, March 24, 2020

Montgomery College student and employee test positive for coronavirus; YMCA offering free kids' meals, produce

College to restrict access to
campus buildings starting today

UPDATE - March 25, 2020: YMCA says it has had to suspend plans to distribute meals due to supply shortages.

Montgomery College announced Monday that one of its students, and one of its employees, have tested positive for the covid-19 coronavirus. The student hadn't been on-campus since March 11, 2020, and did not begin experiencing symptoms until March 16. But the employee did begin to feel sick the last day they worked on-campus, college officials said, which was March 13.

The college and the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services are cooperating to determine and identify who may have been exposed to either patient. Those individuals should be informed by the end of today.

A memo about the coronavirus cases by the head of public safety for the college did not identify which of the three campuses - Rockville, Germantown or Takoma Park - the student and employee were on. 

The cases came to light on the very day that the college transitioned most coursework to online classes. College officials said they had hoped to allow some campus facilities to remain in operation, but have now announced that starting today, March 24, access to all buildings on all campuses will be restricted even to employees. Only employees who have a critical need to take or return equipment or resources necessary to complete online course instruction will be allowed to enter any college facility. They will have to keep social distance of six feet while inside the building, and must exit the building in 30 minutes.

METROBUS IS NOW FREE

Gov. Larry Hogan has admonished residents that they should not be boarding transit unless they work at an essential business like a grocery store or pharmacy, or are a frontline healthcare worker. But if  you do qualify to ride, your Metrobus trip is now free by default. Starting today, passengers must board using the rear doors of the bus, unless they require the ADA features at the front doors. Passengers will not be required to pay fare on buses until further notice.

FRIENDSHIP HEIGHTS
VILLAGE SHUTTLE TO
ADD WESTBARD GIANT
TRIPS

The Village of Friendship Heights shuttle bus has been making trips to the Westwood Shopping Center Giant on Westbard Avenue on Saturdays since the Chevy Chase Giant store closed. Given the grocery shortages caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the shuttle is adding a second day of Giant trips to Westbard. The shuttle will travel to the Westwood Giant on Wednesdays between 10 AM and 9 PM.

MoCo YMCAs OFFERING
FREE BOXED MEALS FOR KIDS,
FREE PRODUCE FOR EVERYONE

Several YMCA locations in Montgomery County will be offering boxes that contain 3-days' worth of breakfasts and lunches to anyone 18 or younger twice a week. They do not need to have any affiliation with YMCA to receive the free meals.
In cooperation with Keany Produce, these YMCAs are also offering free fresh produce to anyone who wants it, while supplies last. All you need to bring is a bag to put the meals and/or produce in. Here is a list of the YMCA locations offering the meals and produce in Montgomery County, and the days and times they will be available:


Friday, November 1, 2019

Montgomery College sends out false active shooter alert, apologizes

Montgomery College, through an electronic alert system, sent out erroneous tweets and text messages at 7:42 AM this morning falsely stating there was an "active shooter" at one of its campuses. The message included a bracketed phrase stating, "[insert campus]," (Montgomery College has three campuses). About half an hour later, the College deleted the original tweet from its Twitter account, and sent another message indicating the alert was a false alarm and apologized.

Friday, January 25, 2019

Montgomery College-Rockville water main break closes several campus buildings

A water main break this morning at the Rockville campus of Montgomery College has shuttered several buildings, and forced the cancellation of some classes today. The Counseling and Advising (CB), Music (MU), South Campus Instruction Building (SCIB), Parilla Performing Arts Center (PAC), and Art (ART) buildings are closed. All classes and activities in those buildings are canceled today, the college has announced.

Parking Lot 11 is also closed, which should make parking even more difficult in other lots later this morning.

Friday, January 27, 2017

New parking garage opens at Montgomery College (Photos)

The Rockville campus of Montgomery College is celebrating the grand opening of a new parking garage, just in time for the new Spring semester. Located by the Physical Education building along North Campus Drive, the garage holds 918 parking spaces, and electric car charging stalls.

For safety purposes, it is equipped with a whopping 59 security cameras, and two emergency phones on each level. It will also be patrolled by campus security officers.

One high tech touch is a digital readout of how many spaces are available on each of the 7 floors of the garage.

“The garage will help alleviate challenges with parking on campus, and that’s a big deal," said Dr. Mark Carmody, director of facilities for the campus. "We want to make it easy for students to get to class on time and to be ready to learn,” he added.

Thursday, November 10, 2016

New Montgomery College parking garage expected to deliver by Spring 2017 semester

The new parking garage at the Montgomery College Rockville campus is expected to be completed and ready for vehicles in time for the Spring 2017 semester start in January, according to a spokesperson from the community college.

Photo by Marcus Rosano/Montgomery College

Thursday, September 4, 2014

PROPOSED MONTGOMERY COLLEGE PARKING GARAGE ON ROCKVILLE PLANNING COMMISSION AGENDA SEPT. 10

A new parking garage at Montgomery College's Rockville campus will be among the agenda items when the Rockville Planning Commission resumes its work on September 10 at 7 PM at City Hall.

The proposed garage will rise above existing Lot 4 on the northern side of the community college campus, and will be open to visitors, students and faculty members. There is no map of the precise location, or rendering of what the garage will look like, currently attached to the agenda online.

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

ROCKVILLE RESIDENTS TELL PLANNING COMMISSION: CURRENT BIKEWAY PLAN WOULD BE "DISASTER"

The president of Regents Square's condo board told Rockville planning commissioners that the draft Bikeway Master Plan would be "a disaster for our community," at last week's public hearing on the document. Joe Covey said his community of 252 townhouses on Azalea Drive, and Nelson Street, were planned with street parking designed to complement off-street lot parking. Woodley Gardens Civic Association President James Reschovsky shared Covey's concern, although both emphasized that their communities are not opposed to improving bike mobility through their neighborhood.

A primary issue is the plan for a .4 mile bike climbing lane on Azalea Drive, that would displace existing street parking. Reschovsky said he did not have the precise number of parking spaces that would be lost, but estimated them as 50-75. "What I can say with confidence," Reschovsky added, is that "the street is totally parked, the off-street parking lots are full [and] there’s already a parking problem now." "50 to 75 is a substantial number of cars," Planning Commissioner Jack Leiderman said, describing the parking elimination as "a major change."

Reschovsky suggested the city examine alternative routes for the new bike connection between Nelson Street and Gude Drive. Pressed by commissioners for specific routes, Reschovsky said it would be inappropriate to speculate, without input from Woodley Gardens residents. He said Crocus Drive and Aster Boulevard would be possible alternatives, but that residents had not had a chance to address that specific question yet.

Montgomery College also expressed opposition to the draft plan's route that passes through its Rockville campus. Don Smith, director of the college's Evening and Weekend Office, and a member of its bike task force, said the college "strongly supports" biking, noting its participation in the Capital Bikeshare program. But "it cannot compromise security by opening the perimeter fence" in the northwest area of the campus, Smith said. "Controlling access is critical to the prevention” of crime on campus, Smith argued. The college "does not endorse" the plan's proposed through-campus route for that reason, Smith said.

The solid opposition of the college to opening the fence needs to be taken into account before passing the draft plan, two commissioners argued. Commissioner John Tyner said the campus is "not to be breached in any place." Leiderman pointed out that, while the city can put any route into the plan, the college cannot be compelled to open its property. To go forward with the college segment as written, would be "exercising futility, to put something in a master plan that cannot be," Leiderman argued.

Proponents of the plan stressed the importance of bike route connectivity both within the city, and to bike infrastructure outside of it. Rockville is already ahead of most in the county in its number and route miles of bike trails. It seems realistic that the goal of more connections could be accomplished while addressing community concerns, such as those expressed at the hearing.

Leiderman moved to hold a second public hearing after the commission holds work sessions, and to keep the public record on the plan open until after that hearing is held. That would ensure the public can comment on finer details not yet known, he said. Tyner agreed, and urged citizens to get involved on the issue. Commissioner David Hill recommended the record close one week following the second hearing. Leiderman and Tyner concurred. Leiderman's amended motion passed unanimously.

Thursday, January 9, 2014

YOUNG PEOPLE DON'T DRIVE ANYMORE? YEAH, RIGHT!

One of my favorite urban legends is, "Kids/teenagers/millenials don't drive anymore." By itself, the Young People Don't Drive canard would merely be humorous and harmless. Unfortunately, the anecdotal "evidence" behind this claim is now being used by urban planners to reduce parking spaces, and cheat on transportation capacity standards.

Certainly, many young people do walk, bike or use transit. It's a commendable choice. When it makes sense to do so, why wouldn't you? Where the problem comes in, is when planning changes are made based on a myth, and then you have a transportation system that can't handle the volumes that exist in reality.

Reality is the key word. You can conveniently forget the new driver's license hurdles created by many states in recent years, and then twist that data to extrapolate that those teens won't drive when they can later. And you can say teens would rather have an iPhone than a car, but only if you weren't out in the real world, where kids not old enough to drive already have the latest smartphones. There must be a special button in Photoshop that allows you to create fake travel photos. There isn't? Gosh, then how are young folks generating all these "road trip!" shots on social media?

Stop by the Rockville campus of Montgomery College around 11:00 AM, and try to convince yourself that young people are giving up the automobile. Google "the cars of GW." Or check out the car clubs of Penn State, the University of Maryland, or the University of Calgary.

My favorite recent story about young auto enthusiasts was in Bloomberg Businessweek. According to the article, Chinese high school and college students have spent $15.5 billion dollars purchasing cars in the United States between 2012-2013. "A little more than half the vehicles bought by Chinese students in the U.S. during the 22-month period [CNW Marketing Research] studied were new, with an average purchase price of $52,796; and 32 percent of buyers paid cash," Businessweek reported.

In Eugene, Oregon (the town supporters of Bus Rapid Transit in Montgomery County keep referring to us as a model), the University of Oregon has an International Student Auto Club. "While members throw barbecues and help new students navigate the car-buying process," the article notes, "their favorite thing to do is gather in parking lots with their rides." It sounds like California car culture is not only alive and well, but crossing international and political borders.

As top tech and automotive firms refine the technology that will eventually allow autonomous vehicles, the American automobile is far from extinction. That means adequate highway capacity remains a critical necessity in planning. A former DC transportation official was recently quoted saying that we are witnessing the last generation of private automobile ownership. But again, reality is quite different.