Black students more likely to be suspended by MCPS than by Texas schools

Everything's bigger in Texas - except racial disparities in public school discipline policies, apparently. A new study by Texas Appleseed helps provide further context to a recent report that showed African-American students in Montgomery County Public Schools are 3 times as likely to be suspended from school as white and Asian students.

In Texas, there are also racial disparities in school discipline. But the Texas Appleseed report, titled "Suspended Childhood", found that black students in that state are less likely to be suspended than black students in Montgomery County. Black students in Texas are more than 2 times as likely to be suspended as whites - not laudable, but lower than in MCPS schools.

Montgomery County should consider this comparison, and some of the recommendations in this report, as it continues to struggle with a growing achievement gap. A 2014 County Office of Legislative Oversight report confirmed that MCPS had declined, and the achievement gap had widened, since 2010.

Now we know that Montgomery County students also fared poorly on this year's PARCC exams, the scores of which determined less than half of MCPS high school students are ready for college-level work.

And that superintendent search? Yeah, that search. They'll get around to it. Maybe some of the WMATA runners-up will give it go. The Montgomery County Council and Board of Education have made slouching a science.

3 new buildings proposed in office park across from King Farm in Rockville (Photos)

First Potomac Realty Trust has made a pre-application submittal with the City of Rockville proposing to add two new office buildings, and a café pavilion with open space for employees, at the Redland Corporate Center. The office park is located directly across Gaither Road from King Farm, at 520-540 Gaither Road.

This neighborhood is directly
across from the office park
entrance

After adding these structures over a 3-phase construction schedule, the property will hold 800,000 SF of office space, and a maximum of 3,000 SF of restaurant space (including the existing buildings already on the site). The two 11-story buildings will be built atop 267 surface parking spaces that are there today, and replace those with 1342 structured parking spaces.

Site plan
(click to enlarge)

FPRT says the additions will help the office park be more competitive in the weak Montgomery County office market, by adding the types of building designs, features and amenities employers want today.

The calendar for the full build-out is not known, as the application notes the construction will be based on market conditions. A Development Review Committee meeting on the project is currently scheduled for December 3.

7 Rockville businesses without water on Rockville Pike

A water main problem has closed the right northbound lane in the 1300 block of Rockville Pike. The City of Rockville says repairs are underway, and that 7 nearby businesses will be without water until repairs are finished.

Chef Geoff's closes in Rockville (Photos)

When I stopped by Chef Geoff's Sunday evening, the restaurant was closed. On the door was an explanation for the ostensibly-temporary closure.

Alas, owner Geoff Tracy has now confirmed the closure of his Rockville restaurant is permanent. He told Eater DC that he simply could not make the financials work at this location, and candidly said he should have closed it a year ago.

Sad news, as I've dined here quite a few times and it's been one of the top restaurants on the Pike since opening a few years ago.

Newton reelected Mayor of Rockville; Team Rockville takes 3 of 4 Council seats - 2015 election results (Photos)

Mayor Bridget Donnell Newton
addresses supporters after
winning reelection last night

Incumbent Rockville Mayor Bridget Donnell Newton crushed challenger Sima Osdoby Tuesday night, easily winning reelection with 64.85% of the vote. Osdoby's Team Rockville slate colleagues fared far better in their City Council races. Incumbents Julie Palakovich Carr (12.50%) and Virginia Onley (11.44%) won, as did challenger and former councilmember Mark Pierzchala (11.68%).

A jubilant Newton supporter
celebrates as the Mayor's
big win is announced

Councilmember Beryl Feinberg bested all of the Team Rockville winners with 14.36% of the vote, and was the only independent Council candidate to win last night. The independent candidates were within winning distance though, with Richard Gottfried the top vote-getter among them at 10.25%. These election results are being termed "preliminary results" by the City.

Newton's campaign manager
and husband, Fred Newton,
welcomes the crowd

Council candidate Patrick Schoof (10.07%) managed to finish just behind Gottfried, despite being relegated to "Page 2" on the Early Voting machine ballot; how much his and Council candidate Clark Reed's (9.51%) vote totals were affected by that unfair circumstance remains to be determined.

The other two Council candidates, Brigitta Mullican (10.04%) and David Hill (9.83%) were not out of the running by any means. This was a fairly close election in the Council races.

Newton arrives at her
post-election party at
American Tap Room in
Rockville Town Square

But voters still chose a divided government, and Newton and Feinberg acknowledged in their victory speeches that all of the winners will have to work together to be successful.

Beryl Feinberg accepts
the microphone from Newton
after winning reelection
to her Council seat

"Two years ago, Beryl and I found out we were sisters," Newton told supporters at a post-election gathering at American Tap Room in Rockville Town Square. "We have found a way over the past two years to come together, to work together."

Former Mayor Jim Coyle
arrives at the party

In thanking her husband and campaign manager, Fred Newton, Bridget Newton promised this would be her last election in Rockville. Fred Newton found himself under attack from the Team Rockville slate in the final week of the campaign, an attack that culminated in an election-eve hit piece mailing that included false accusations against him, Bridget Newton, and Rockville Planning Commission chair Don Hadley.

Fred Newton hands the
microphone to Bridget Newton
after announcing the
election results to the crowd

Bridget Newton grew emotional as she described her husband's efforts as campaign manager while juggling an out-of-town work commitment, and the false charges lobbed by opponents. "He's been working his tail off," she said, "and probably of anybody, he's taken it the hardest. He's got my back."

Of the last-minute smear campaign, centered around a now-infamous mailing that carried an Osdoby authority line but also Team Rockville logos, Newton said, "The last 24 hours have been a low point, probably, in Rockville politics. I have never seen anything like what hit your and my mailboxes yesterday."

Pledging the controversy over that mailing is "not over," Newton said, "You cannot say those kind of things and not have anything happen." Hadley has already warned Osdoby and Seventh State blogger David Lublin that they may be responsible for damage to his professional name and reputation as an attorney.

"Don Hadley was maligned yesterday," Newton added. "I hope people realize that you cannot do that type of thing and just walk away."

Who all the players behind the mailing were is not yet clear, but Newton's supporters were anxious to find out. The hit mailing that arrived in voters' mailboxes Monday may also have impacted the results. Not only was Newton's win resounding, but the nasty mailing may have turned off some voters from voting at all.

Feinberg was the top
vote-getter on the Council

Of the 40,749 registered voters in Rockville, only 6,343 (15.57%) voted last night and during the Early Voting, or by absentee ballot. Turnout was actually higher in 2013 at 16.62%, and there was much hand-wringing after the election about that low number. Whatever efforts were made to address that have clearly failed.

Newton and former
Mayor Larry Giammo

Despite the negative political atmosphere, Newton pledged that "we are moving forward with the leadership of this city. We are going to move this city forward in a very positive way." In addition to thanking her staff and supporters, Newton also thanked the independent Council candidates.

Coyle and fellow past
Mayor Steven Van Grack
confer as they await
election results

She also congratulated the winning Team Rockville candidates. "Together we can do this. We can make this a great, great leadership team," she vowed.

Feinberg agreed, telling Newton, "You and I found a fantastic way to work together." Referring to her legislative priorities, Feinberg said, "I have a laundry list at home, so I have to call Bridget probably tomorrow to talk about what I want to work on." Budget and purchasing issues would be at the top of that list, she predicted.

County Councilmember Sid Katz

Both Newton and Feinberg expressed interest in holding a Mayor and Council retreat as soon as possible, to foster a better working relationship among the incoming body, and set "rules of the road."

Council candidate Patrick Schoof
and former
Councilmember Anne Robbins

Among a long list of independent candidates and VIPs at Newton's event were former Rockville mayors Jim Coyle, Steven Van Grack and Larry Giammo; former Gaithersburg Mayor (and current District 3 County Councilmember) Sid Katz; state delegate and 8th District Congressional candidate Kumar Barve; former City Councilmember Anne Robbins; City Council candidates Hill, Schoof, Gottfried, and Mullican; Hadley and Planning Commissioners Jack Leiderman, Charles Littlefield and Gail Sherman; former planning commissioner Dion Trahan; and former Montgomery County Public Schools administrator and County Council candidate Fred Evans.

Council candidate Brigitta Mullican

Rockville Planning Commissioner
and Council candidate David Hill

All of last night's winners made history, as they will be the first Mayor and Council to serve a four-year term.  The new Mayor and Council will be sworn in during an inauguration ceremony at 1 p.m. on Sunday, November 15 at the F. Scott Fitzgerald Theatre, at 603 Edmonston Drive. Their first meeting will be at 7 p.m. on Monday, November 16.

Attack on Newton backfires as Planning Commission chair demands retraction of "false" accusations

Rockville Planning Commission Chair and practicing attorney Don Hadley has forcefully responded to "grossly, recklessly and intentionally false" accusations made about him by Team Rockville mayoral candidate Sima Osdoby, and Chevy Chase blogger David Lublin. In a letter Monday, Hadley put both "on notice" regarding the allegations, which Lublin doubled down on yesterday by posting an Osdoby press release to his Seventh State blog.

Former Rockville mayor Steven Van Grack was also the subject of attack in the press release, which was supposed to be a critique of incumbent Mayor Bridget Newton's alleged "conflicts of interest."

But Hadley's response appears to demolish the allegations - and those allegations may have backfired, with consequences that extend beyond today's Mayor and Council election.

For starters, Hadley notes that he was nominated to the Planning Commission in 2010 by then-mayor Phyllis Marcuccio, not Newton, who had no such nominating power when she was a councilmember in that year.

More to the point, Hadley declares that he, in fact, has "never been a business partner with [Fred] Newton or Mayor Newton, directly or indirectly, in any project or enterprise." His involvement as an attorney as it related to a property developed by Newton's husband was merely an "arms-length settlement" for the transaction, Hadley wrote. "I am not in business with Mr. Newton in any way, [and] the seller conducted the historic designation process [for 408 Great Falls Road] prior to Mr. Newton becoming interested in the property," he added.

Hadley and the Newtons are not even "close family friends," as was alleged, Hadley said.

He concludes his letter by warning Osdoby and Lublin that his law practice and reputation may have been damaged by their allegations, and that he is already receiving calls regarding the charges that are taking time from his work. Hadley urges them to retract their statements, and says he will "look to you and and those participating with you for damages incurred."

"All of this is done by you on election eve for the cynical purpose of immediate political and personal gain," Hadley wrote to Osdoby and Lublin.

Rockville voters go to the polls today to elect a mayor and four councilmembers. You can find your polling place here. 

Not registered to vote in Rockville? You can register today at your polling place, and still vote today.

Still deciding who to vote for today? Click on the "Election 2015" tag at the bottom of this post (desktop browser version) to read all of the election and debate coverage here on Rockville Nights.

Mayoral candidates line up endorsements in Rockville

Incumbent Rockville
Mayor Bridget Donnell Newton
with 3 of the 5 past mayors
supporting her - Jim Coyle,
Steven Van Grack, Larry Giammo

Many of Rockville's past mayors remain closely engaged in city politics, and - as you might expect - their endorsements are in great demand. Incumbent Mayor Bridget Donnell Newton and challenger Sima Osdoby have both released letters and statements in the closing days of the campaign highlighting those endorsements.

Newton is leading the mayoral endorsement race, with 5 of the city's former top leaders on-board. They are former mayor and Montgomery County Executive Doug Duncan, and past mayors Jim Coyle, Larry Giammo, Steven Van Grack and Phyllis Marcuccio.

Osdoby has received the endorsement of former mayor Rose Krasnow.

Former Mayor Rose Krasnow
has endorsed challenger
Sima Osdoby

As one might expect, the letter from the Newton endorsers has an optimistic tone, touting Newton's "proven, thoughtful leadership." Their letter goes on to say the incumbent has "been a steady leader who listens to all stakeholders, masters the issues and makes sound judgements." It also applauds Newton's management of the City's growth, and efforts to ensure there is adequate infrastructure to support new development. The mayors also note the City has just been ranked as the 17th "Most Livable City in America" by Livability.com.

Krasnow, by contrast, says she will be "heartbroken" if voters don't elect Osdoby, warning "Our City's future hangs in the balance." Now Deputy Director at the Maryland National Capital Park & Planning Commission, Krasnow is particularly critical of the delay in passing the Rockville Pike Plan in her statement. Newton has said the plan originally produced by a City-hired consultant was not sustainable, and needed to be thoroughly reworked by the Mayor and Council and Rockville Planning Commission.

Voters will go to the polls tomorrow, November 3.

Top photo by Robert Dyer

Krasnow photo courtesy MNCPPC