Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Montgomery County Council Member Roger Berliner asked the Maryland Public Service Commission to require that substantial changes be made to electricity services in the state.
Is better electricity service in the future for Montgomery County? Montgomery County Council Member Roger Berliner—chair of the council's Transportation, Infrastructure, Energy and Environment Committee—is pushing to make that happen. On Tuesday, Berliner filed a formal pleading asking the Maryland Public Service Commission to implement the "Utility 2.0" pilot program developed by the Energy Future Coalition, which was tasked by Governor Martin O'Malley's Grid Resiliency Task Force to come up with recommendations for improving electricity service in Maryland. The Utility 2.0 pilot program is "a system truly worthy of the 21st century—cleaner, more reliable, efficient, technologically advanced and consumer-driven. Montgomery County …
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Four Montgomery County Councilmembers agreed that the one-year-old tax was not appropriate for non-food businesses.
A sweeping measure that aimed to reduce plastic bag consumption and litter in Montgomery County may see its days numbered, at least in the current iteration. County councilmembers Roger Berliner (D-Bethesda), Craig Rice (D-Germantown) and Nancy Floreen (D-At Large) proposed Tuesday to limit the scope of the county's 5-cent bag tax to only apply to food stores, not retail businesses or take-out restaurants. Councilman George Leventhal (D-At Large) decided to co-sponsor the bill during the council meeting. "There are things we need to clean up with this bill," said Rice, noting that he has heard the tax was challenging for clothing retailers. Since the bill went into effect last January, the county has raked in more than $2 million in bag…
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Notable outcomes include eased regulations for accessory apartments, passing of the disabled hiring bill and evaluation of potential affordable housing locations.
The Montgomery County Council met Tuesday, Feb. 5. Notable outcomes from the meeting include: County Eases Rules for Accessory Apartments The Montgomery County Council passed a zoning amendment and bill Tuesday that will make it easier for homeowners to add an accessory apartment to a single-family home, The Washington Examiner reported. After almost 10 years of policy discussion, homeowners who want to add a small apartment for an aging parent, a caretaker or a renter can now do so in 90 to 110 days, versus a process that previously took a minimum of five to six months, The Washington Post reported. Residents opposed to the change were concerned it might lead to overcrowding of neighborhood schools, according to The Washington Post, but "…
Thursday, January 31, 2013
And is being "hip" necessary to Montgomery County's future success?
Can suburban Montgomery County be made hip? County Councilman Hans Riemer reportedly believes so: "I really think that we are on the verge of a golden age in Montgomery County," Riemer said at a happy hour called "Can we make the suburbs hip? The future of White Flint," Bethesda Now reported. "The region that we are in is ... dynamic, growing, exciting... . ... But we have to and we are positioning ourselves in that region to capture that future growth," he added, Bethesda Now reported. The White Flint Sector (430 acres bounded by the CSX tracks, Montrose Parkway, Old Georgetown Road and the White Flint Mall) has been approved, so far, to be redeveloped with 2,220 residential units added to the existing housing stock of 2,321 units; 9,801 …
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Montgomery County Council Member Roger Berliner will host an informal discussion about District 1 issues with constituents Wednesday evening.
Bethesda, Chevy Chase and Potomac residents will have the opportunity to meet with their Montgomery County Council representative in a town hall setting on Wednesday. Roger Berliner, District 1 council representative, will meet with residents at 7:30 p.m. at the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Regional Services Center as part of a series of community meetings. Residents may ask questions and discuss issues most important to the Bethesda, Chevy Chase and Potomac areas. “At the Bethesda-Chevy Chase meeting, we will discuss local issues important to residents, including planning and zoning projects, environmental conservation, traffic and transportation concerns and public safety,” Berliner said in an announcement. “I hope my constituents will come …
Montgomery County Councilmember Roger Berliner will host an informal discussion about District 1 issues with constituents Wednesday evening.
Bethesda, Chevy Chase and Potomac residents will have the opportunity to meet with their Montgomery County Council representative in a town hall setting on Wednesday. Roger Berliner, District 1 council representative, will meet with residents at 7:30 p.m. at the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Regional Service Center as part of a series of community meetings. Residents can ask questions and discuss issues most important to the Bethesda, Chevy Chase and Potomac areas. “At the Bethesda-Chevy Chase meeting, we will discuss local issues important to residents, including planning and zoning projects, environmental conservation, traffic and transportation concerns and public safety,” Berliner said in an announcement. “I hope my constituents will come …
Thursday, December 6, 2012
What do you think of Councilman Roger Berliner’s list of council ‘wins?’
In his last day as president of the Montgomery County Council, Roger Berliner spoke with reporters in Rockville, recounting a year that included continued budget wrangling, squabbles over Pepco's performance and steps to aid small businesses and stimulate economic development. Click here to a see a video of Berliner’s remarks. Councilwoman Nancy Navarro (D-Dist. 4) of Silver Spring took the reins as the council’s new president on Tuesday. But before he stepped aside during Tuesday's council meeting, Berliner (D-Dist. 1) of Potomac outlined what he sees as the council’s greatest accomplishments during his yearlong term. Click here to read Berliner’s remarks in their entirety. The council on Tuesday also released a list of accomplishments …
Monday, December 3, 2012
The sometimes outspoken councilman says the county has moved forward but "we have serious work to do."
On the eve of his final day as president of the Montgomery County Council, Roger Berliner met with reporters in Rockville to look back on a year that saw continued fiscal reforms, scuffles over Pepco's performance and steps the county took to stimulate small business and large-scale economic development. "We need to move beyond the old Montgomery County way," he said. "We have serious work to do."
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Ervin: ‘We’re turning on a faucet and only letting some drops drip out of the faucet, and then we’re pretending like that’s good enough.’
Officials, advocates and the community at large need to shed outdated ideas about the long-hailed strength of Montgomery’s affordable housing programs, councilmembers say, and come up with concrete plans that work effectively. More than a year in the making, the Department of Housing and Community Affairs has drafted a 100-page housing policy—the first update since 2001—that puts a priority on: Councilmembers want to make sure the county does not rest on the laurels of decades past, when initiatives like the MPDU program LINK made Montgomery a pioneer in affordable housing. “Before we start patting ourselves on the back and congratulating ourselves for all the wonderful things we’ve done, we still have to recognize that Montgomery County…
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Montgomery County Council President Roger Berliner celebrated Walk to School Day Wednesday with Wood Acres Elementary School students.
To mark Walk to School Day Wednesday, Montgomery County Council President Roger Berliner (D-Dist. 1) hit the streets with students from Bethesda's Wood Acres Elementary School. Did you walk to school Wednesday? Tell us in the comments, and upload your photos to this gallery.
Grace B.
5:41 pm on Monday, May 20, 2013
Pepco, and BGE, are going to get at least a portion of all of the rate increases they submit because O'Malley put all of his cronies into MPSC seats. And, Montgomery County helped to put O'Malley into office. You get what you vote for. more ›