Wednesday, May 22, 2013
The suspect allegedly threw large rocks at a Chevy Chase Village house, police said.
A man suspected of throwing large rocks at a Chevy Chase Village house was caught on tape by village security cameras as he left the yard of the vandalized property, Chevy Chase Village police said. The suspect threw the rocks at a window and expensive set of French doors from the rear yard of the property—in the 5500 block of Montgomery Street, Chevy Chase—at around 1 a.m. on April 29, police said in a statement released on May 21. The house sustained thousands of dollars' worth of damage in the incident, police said. Village security cameras captured images of the suspect as he left the yard of the vandalized home. The photographs show a black male, about 6 feet tall and 230 pounds, police said. The suspect "appears to be in his 30s, and…
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Pedestrian crossing signals with longer crossing times are in the future for Friendship Heights.
The Friendship Heights Transportation Management District Advisory Committee is working with transportation officials to install safer crosswalk signals in Friendship Heights. Here is a timeline of all fatal accidents in Montgomery and Prince George's counties. Wisconsin Avenue—a state highway that passes through Friendship Heights—is a danger zone for pedestrians. Last month, the Montgomery County Department of Transportation held a meeting to discuss the necessity for longer walking signals near medical buildings, a location that senior citizens frequent. Transportation Systems Engineering Manager Bruce Mangum shared great news: “We have an effort ongoing in the county to re-time all of the pedestrian signals in the county to reflect the…
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Residents of Chevy Chase, DC, recently got something that some residents of Chevy Chase Village, MD—just a few blocks away—would like: a high-tech, pedestrian-activated HAWK traffic signal.
Ever wished that you could just walk up to an intersection, press a button and—presto—stop traffic so you could cross the street? Some residents of Chevy Chase Village have been asking the Maryland Department of Transportation for months to install a traffic signal and marked crosswalk across Connecticut Avenue near Chevy Chase Village Hall. That request has been denied, for now. Meanwhile, just a few blocks away, on the other side of the Maryland-Washington, DC, border—in Chevy Chase, DC—a special new pedestrian-activated signal was installed on April 19 to allow pedestrians to stop traffic to cross Connecticut Avenue at Northampton Street at the touch of a button. The new signal—called a HAWK, or High-Intensity Activated crossWalK, …
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Chevy Chase Village Public Works Supervisor Jerry Lesesne received a special recognition at the village's 99th annual meeting on Monday, April 15.
Chevy Chase Village Public Works Supervisor Jerry Lesesne received a special recognition at the village's 99th annual meeting on Monday, April 15. Lesesne is the village's most tenured employee, and celebrated 30 years with the village last summer, Village Manager Shana Davis-Cook told Patch. Village Board Chair Patricia Baptiste presented Lesesne with a framed certificate and two tickets for a Potomac River cruise on the Odyssey. Each year at its annual meeting, the Chevy Chase Village Board "recognizes the contributions of specific employees and residents who have made special contributions to the community," Davis-Cook explained. Last year, Chevy Chase Village Police Sgt. Adventino Dasilva was recognized for his work as acting police …
Monday, April 15, 2013
The Chevy Chase Village Board of Managers is back to being a full board of seven members.
The Chevy Chase Village Board of Managers is back to being a full board of seven, after two residents stepped up to run for the two seats left vacant after two former board members resigned in advance of a new state disclosure law taking effect. Chevy Chase Village residents Robert Goodwin and Elissa Leonard will join current board members Patricia Baptise, Gary Crockett, Michael Denger, Richard Ruda and David Winstead to comprise the board for the next year. As only six candidates ran for six open spots (Michael Denger was not up for re-election), an election was not needed. "We were really heartened to find out that there [are] sufficient residents who want to see our government continue," Charlotte Jones–Carroll, chair of the village's …
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
The new state ethics disclosure law is making it hard for Chevy Chevy Village to attract candidates to run for a position on the village board.
With the Chevy Chase Village Board of Managers down two members, the tables at the front of the room at Monday's board meeting looked a little empty. And they could get emptier still. Last Thursday, the village was denied (for the second time) an exemption from the state's new stricter disclosure law for elected officials, which is set to take effect on April 26. The new disclosure law is making it hard for the village to retain a full board of managers. Last October, Peter Kilborn and Thomas Jackson resigned from the board in advance of the new law, which will require members of municipal councils and boards—and their spouses—to disclose to the public all real property interests, stocks and bonds, regardless of the properties', stocks' or…
Friday, March 15, 2013
Because of the new stricter disclosure requirements set by the state, two Chevy Chase Village Board of Managers members have resigned, and more resignations are likely, The Gazette reported.
The Maryland State Ethics Commission denied on Thursday—for the second time in a row—Chevy Chase Village's request to be exempted from a new state disclosure law affecting elected members of municipal boards and councils, The Gazette reported. The Chevy Chase Village Board of Managers already is down two members since the resignation of Peter Kilborn and Thomas Jackson last October, in advance of the state ethics law taking effect to require members of municipal councils and boards—and their spouses—to disclose all real property interests, stocks and bonds, regardless of the properties', stocks' or bonds' connection to the village, Patch reported. The disclosure forms are to be available to the public. On Thursday, "[with] three of five …
Monday, March 11, 2013
The triennial accreditation process begins next month, and members of the community are invited to provide comments on the department to the team of assessors.
It's accreditation time for the Chevy Chase Village Police Department, and members of the public are invited to share comments about the police department as part of the accreditation process. Accreditation takes place every three years. "Accreditation covers a three-year period during which the Department is required to submit annual reports and other documentary evidence of continued compliance with 480 written standards. The 3-day on-site assessment process requires the assessment team to review written materials, interview individuals and visit offices and other locations where compliance can be witnessed and validated," according to a Chevy Chase Village Police Department statement. A team of assessors from the Commission on …
Monday, February 4, 2013
Chevy Chase Village is expected to save about $14,000 by eliminating municipal mowing in village rights-of-way from the village budget.
Chevy Chase Village no longer will provide municipal mowing in village rights-of-way—the grassy strips between village sidewalks and curbs. Village board members voted 4-1 last month to eliminate municipal mowing in village rights-of-way, according to the village website. Slashing right-of-way mowing from the budget is expected to save the village about $14,000 a year, the website added. Village board members discussed the possibility of eliminating right-of-way mowing in the village at the board's October meeting at which Village Manager Shana Davis-Cook noted that newer residents often were surprised that the village provided the service. In December and January, the village ran articles in its monthly newsletter and on its homepage and…
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
The Chevy Chase Village Board of Managers has been down two members since last fall, when the state ethics commission determined that the managers would not be exempt from stricter disclosure requirements.
Chevy Chase Village Board of Managers members may be exempted, after all, from the state's new, stricter disclosure requirements, according to The Gazette. Or, they may not. But at least the village is getting a second hearing with the Maryland State Ethics Commission on the matter, The Gazette reported. Chevy Chase Village is still down two members since the resignation of Peter Kilborn and Thomas Jackson last October, in advance of a state ethics law taking effect to require members of municipal councils and boards—and their spouses—to disclose all real property interests, stocks and bonds, regardless of the properties', stocks' or bonds' connection to the village, Patch reported. The disclosure forms would be available to the public. …
Wendy Leibowitz
11:00 am on Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Generally HAWK signals are installed when there is no traffic light (as on Connecticut Ave. at that particular crossing). I agree that Wisconsin Avenue at Stanford Street, in front of Trader Joe's, must have a HAWK signal. The crosswalk could not be better marked--bright neon signs indicating where the crossing is and reminding drivers to yield to pedestrians in the crosswalk. But many drivers … more ›