Mayor wants to know why Rockville election board is defying request to appear at City Council

Rockville Mayor Bridget Donnell Newton and Councilmember Beryl Feinberg are seeking answers as to why the Board of Supervisors of Elections is refusing to appear before the City Council to brief them on the switch to voting-by-mail, that will occur with the next City election in 2019.  Newton and Feinberg queried Deputy City Clerk Sara Taylor-Farrell and City Attorney Debra Yerg Daniel about the delay in updating officials on their plans and progress on the new voting system.

"I'm a little concerned, because this is a huge deal," Newton said. Feinberg too expressed concerns over the delay given the enormity of the task ahead, calling the new system a "sea change" for the city. She said she wanted to know where exactly the Board is in implementing voting by mail.

Daniel said the Board technically does not have to appear at the request of the Mayor and Council, because they are a separately-chartered body in charge of elections. Staff and Councilmember Virginia Onley said the Board is understaffed, and that their request for additional staffing funds from the Mayor and Council may have to be acted upon before the Board will agree to appear.

Onley suggested discussing the staffing problem with the Board, even if the conversation must be held out of public view. "If it's offline, then let's discuss it offline," Onley suggested. Daniel said an offline discussion could be held in closed session. The Mayor and Council have a closed session today at 4:00 PM at the Cottage at Glenview Mansion, at 603 Edmonston Drive, where the matter may now be discussed. That closed session is, of course, closed to the public.

They will also be discussing something related to the Office of the City Clerk, the original reason for the closed session.

Golden Samovar closed in Rockville after flood

Golden Samovar is closed at Rockville Town Square. The restaurant says the closure is due to repeated flooding of its space from the apartments located upstairs, and that it will not reopen "until the issue is resolved."

However, the restaurant's website is currently down, as well. I know there is a basis in truth for the flooding explanation, because the restaurant indeed closed temporarily in late May, due to water from the apartments upstairs. They then reopened.

We will have to stay tuned here. It would be truly sad to lose Golden Samovar, as we are in great need of Russian and Eastern European restaurants in Montgomery County.

Derwood man missing

Montgomery County police are seeking the public's help in finding a missing Derwood man. Marvin Darnell Obrien, 33, lives in a group home on Granby Road. He was last seen by caretakers there on September 7, when police say he left the home on foot.

Police describe Obrien as an African American male, approximately 5’9″ to 6’ 1” tall and weighing 160 pounds. He has short black hair, brown eyes, and a tattoo located on his forehead.

Anyone who has information regarding the whereabouts of Marvin Darnell Obrien is asked to call the police non-emergency number at 301-279-8000 (answers 24-7).

Mayor and Council to consider abandonment of easement along Veirs Mill Road

Rockville's Mayor and Council will hold a public hearing on the potential abandonment of a City right-of-way easement located on the property of 2131 Veirs Mill Road. According to 1976 documents, the easement was granted to the Mayor and Council of Rockville at that time "for use as a public road or 'service road' to facilitate the interior flow of traffic along Viers (sic) Mill Road.

It's intriguing that an abandonment could occur prior to final decisions being made about the impact and needed right-of-way for the Bus Rapid Transit boondoggle planned for Veirs Mill. Quite a few homes and businesses will be partially or entirely condemned if that plan goes forward as generally described now. There is currently a bus stop in front of the subject property.

The current property owner is seeking the abandonment of the easement because it would hinder a building addition, and future redevelopment of the property, according to the applicant's attorney. A public hearing on the abandonment will be held at the Mayor and Council meeting on Monday, September 17, 2018 at 7:00 PM at City Hall.

Sprint proposes adding new cell tower on Rockville water tank

Sprint has applied to construct a new telecommunications tower on an existing water tank in Rockville. The tank is located at 13890 Glen Mill Road. In addition to the tower, related equipment would also be located on the ground nearby.

The only public comment being accepted at this time is on potential effects you feel the tower would have on any existing historic property that is either on, or eligible for, the National Register of Historic Places.

Comments on that issue can be received by Andrew Smith at 260-385-6999. The site is located across from Lakewood Country Club, and is down the road from Lakewood Elementary School. It is also surrounded by single-family homes.

Hogan declares state of emergency ahead of Hurricane Florence

Potomac River at 

flood stage at

Little Falls, 

White's Ferry closed,

National Guard alerted

Will Hurricane Florence hit Maryland hard? We don't know yet, but Gov. Larry Hogan isn't taking any chances. "While we're hoping for the best, we are preparing for the worst," Hogan said at a press conference, where he announced he has declared a state of emergency. The governor said the declaration would allow the state to mobilize the resources and personnel potentially needed in the areas expected to be hardest hit.

Hogan warned of the strong possibility of "historic, catastrophic, and life-threatening flooding," in coastal and low-lying, flood-prone areas. "At my direction, the state is currently taking action to activate all available resources," he told reporters, "including alerting the Maryland National Guard."

Sporting a yellow-trimmed polo shirt, Hogan said he is in constant contact with the National Weather Service and National Hurricane Center, to obtain up-to-the-minute briefings on the storm's track. He said the state's Emergency Management Center is "fully-staffed" at this hour, at that emergency shelters around the state are now standing by to receive displaced residents.

Pepco will face its first real test of its "new" system. The utility will have no excuse to be short on personnel, because Hogan explicitly mentioned that he has personally alerted the state's electrical companies to mobilize now.

The governor urged residents to "start now to prepare your families and your homes for potential heavy rains, wind and possible flooding." He recommended citizens "have water, batteries, and flashlights at the ready in case of power outages."

Hogan said he expected to know more about the storm's potential impacts by later today.

Suburban News Network

Storm Center Update

The National Weather Service has put a Dense Fog Advisory into effect until 10:00 AM this morning. A Flood Warning remains in effect until noon Wednesday. The many preceding days of heavy rain have put the area behind the 8-ball before Florence even arrives near the end of the week.

Already, the Potomac River is above flood stage at Little Falls, and high water has closed White's Ferry for now.

Current temperature in Rockville is 69 degrees. It is 67 in Darnestown, and 68 in Derwood.

The high today will be 81, with a shower or thunderstorm expected this afternoon. Winds are from the west at 1 MPH, gusting to 6 MPH.

Coalition relaunches effort to declare MoCo a sanctuary county

A group calling itself the Montgomery County Trust Act Coalition is again urging the County Council to officially declare Montgomery County a sanctuary county. The County is already unofficially a sanctuary jurisdiction, as it has repeatedly released prisoners from the County jail on whom U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has placed detainers, so that federal agents can arrest and deport those individuals.

ICE reprimanded County officials in 2017 for forcing them to chase down an individual the County let go, despite a retainer being lodged. A second man was released despite a detainer last December, and was shot and killed in Takoma Park by another gang member.

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The sanctuary effort may have been revitalized by the Trump administration's failure to follow through with any sanctions against existing sanctuary jurisdictions, including threats to cut federal funds. Despite tough talk, Attorney General Jeff Sessions quickly backed down from publishing lists of prisoners with detainers that jurisdictions like Montgomery had released, when County officials cried foul after the inaugural list was published. And public outrage over the separation of families at the border earlier this year may have created a more-favorable environment to raise the issue in progressive Montgomery County.

Montgomery County Trust Act Coalition is asking community groups to sign onto its letter to the Council by noon today. It plans to send the letter on September 13. Members of the coalition include the ACLU of Maryland, Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), Jews United for Justice, Progressive Maryland, and Showing Up for Racial Justice - Montgomery County.