2015, 2016, 2017 MDDC News Organization of the Year! Celebrating more than 160 years of service! Vol. 165, No. 17 • 50¢ SINCE 1855 Thursday, October 3, 2019 INSIDE You Can Feel The Electricity In The Air! Takoma Park receives The Merger Two Montgomery County- first fully electric vehicle based community banks recently announced their plans to join forces so they can continue to boost their earnings and expand charging station in U. S. their presence, pending investor The new electric station will approval and other closing re- By Elle Meyers also be like a traditional station in that quirements. @_ElleMeyers it will have a convenience store locat- Page 6 TAKOMA PARK—On Sept. ed on the lot. 26, Montgomery County became the Matthew Wade is the CEO of the home of the first fully electric vehicle Electric Vehicle Institute (EVI), charging station in the United States. which helped fund the project. He The new service station, located said that, all told, converting the gas on Carroll Avenue in Takoma Park, station to an electric vehicle charging has, in fact, provided gasoline to trav- station took about a year-and-a-half elers for years as RS Automotive. of work. However, by converting the former Wade noted that in the future, gas station into an electric vehicle similar projects could be completed charging station, the longstanding pit faster. stop will be able to serve the growing “I would say if we were to do it ‘Rigoletto’ number of vehicles in the area that do all again, we could do some parts of not run on gasoline. the project simultaneously. So, for Performances of “Rigoletto” In some ways, the charging sta- example the removal of the tanks, are 3 p.m. on Oct. 13 and 20 and tion will operate like a traditional gas that took a long time because the 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 19 at Randolph station. For instance, the charging Maryland Department of the Envi- Road Theater, 4010 Randolph stations have thick cords and nozzles ronment have quite a few rules and regulations we had to adhere to. So, I Road, Silver Spring, and at 8 p.m. that plug into each car and are de- think if we were to do it again, it on Oct. 26 at the BlackRock Cen- signed to look much like a traditional probably would take six months to a ter for the Arts, 12901 Town Com- gas pump. However, the electric ve- mons Drive, Germantown. year,” Wade said. hicle charging stations tend to take He went on to explain that offi- longer than a standard fill-up would. Page 11 COURTESY PHOTO cials chose Takoma Park because the Takoma Park boasts having the first fully-electric vehicle station in the According to the state of Mary- city government and Montgomery United States of America. It will also be able to charge up to four cars land, the station is able to charge an County were both very supportive of simultaneously, through a high-powered, 200-kilowatt system. The new electric vehicle in about 20 to 30 min- electric station will also be like a traditional station in that it will have a utes. It will also be able to charge up convenience store located on the lot. Story continues on Page 8. to four cars simultaneously, through a high-powered, 200-kilowatt system. See Electric, Page 8 MCPS BOE receives update on student academic performance, resource equity Clarksburg Wins! Montgomery County Board of Edu- African American students (6.3%) ty of education for all students in the By Kathleen Stubbs cation during its Sept. 23 meeting to and for African American students county. @kathleenstubbs3 Clarksburg High School’s gauge how the students in its sub- who receive free or reduced-price MCPS staff and their supportive football squad shutout Walt Whit- ROCKVILLE – Montgomery groups are doing. These measures in- meals, by 7.3%. teams are working toward the goal man High School 14-0 in a tight County Public Schools (MCPS) re- clude readiness for college and ca- Wilson said that in English/lan- that one day, student access to educa- defensive battle on Sept. 27. viewed recent data on student acade- reers and for the next school grade, guage arts, the percentage of students tional materials, expert teachers and mic performance and a study about framed by the title “Evidence of who were deemed proficient dropped learning environment will be equi- Page 20 the resources its schools use to under- Learning.” in some age groups from spring 2018 table. A journey toward that end is stand where they can make improve- Wilson said the percentage of to spring 2019. Part of the reason for challenging and complicated, Smith ments in the quality of education the fifth graders who were proficient in the drop, she speculated, was that said during the meeting. school system can provide. two of three literacy measures, for MCPS started emphasizing on- MCPS can also use data, such as MCPS Area Associate Superin- which MCPS assessed all students, grade-level reading texts. student performance on county and tendent Janet Wilson of the Office of decreased by 2.5% for students over- The importance of the new data, state tests, to formulate plans to ad- Shared Accountability and Area As- all, as well as for all student sub- according to MCPS Superintendent dress gaps in student academic sociate Superintendent Cheryl Dyson groups in fifth grade, between spring Jack Smith, was to indicate whether achievement. But Smith offered a of the Office of School Support and 2018 and spring 2019. The most-se- the school system is making adequate Improvement gave updates to the vere drops in proficiency was for strides in trying to improve the quali- See MCPS, Page 8 2 THE MONTGOMERY COUNTY SENTINEL OCTOBER 3, 2019 EFLECTIONS The Montgomery County Sentinel, published weekly by Berlyn Inc. Publish- R ing, is a community newspaper covering Montgomery County, Maryland. Our of- fices are located at 22 W. Jefferson September 6, 1979: Gilchrist lobbies for Metro funds Street, Suite 309, Rockville, MD 20850. Founded in 1855 by Matthew Fields. All Each week the Sentinel visits a The Washington metropolitan with state dollars. and population density, the Balti- mail to: P.O. Box 1272, Rockville, MD 20849-1272. Subscription Rates for The memorable story from its archives. region (including jurisdictions in “For FY1980, the Baltimore more region got more than we did. Montgomery County Sentinel – Weekly Maryland, Virginia and the District system had a gross deficit of $32.8 But the entire mass transit system in by mail: $40.00 per year & $26.50 for Se- County Executive Charles W. of Columbia) must come up with million,” Lee said. “They received Baltimore is being paid for by the nior Citizens. (USPS) 361-100. Gilchrist lobbied in Annapolis Sept. $160 million in matching local funds $15.2 million in federal aid, and the state.” Bernard Kapiloff 5 for state funds to complete the 101 by September 1980 in order to re- state picked up the $17.6 million net Lee said Montgomery and PUBLISHER EMERITUS mile Metro subway system. ceive a federal allocation of $3 bil- deficit. Not only that, the state put up Prince George’s Counties will try to Lynn G. Kapiloff Testifying before a subcommit- lion. the $66.8 million front-end costs to present their case to state legislators CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER/ tee that will make recommendations “There is an issue of equity be- operate the system.” next month when James O’Donnell, PUBLISHER on transportation funding to Gov. tween the Baltimore and Washington In contrast, Lee said, the Metro state transportation secretary, will [email protected] Harry Hughes and the General As- are involved,” said Gilchrist. “The gross deficit for Montgomery and host a Metro day for the officials in Mark Kapiloff sembly, Gilchrist argued that Mont- county funds required this year Prince George’s Counties was $30.1 the two counties. On Oct. 3, the ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER gomery and Prince George’s Coun- (FY1980) to pay for mass transit million, of which Montgomery General Assembly will be invited to [email protected] ties were not getting their fair share (Metro and county’s Ride-On bus County’s share was $13.5 million. ride the Metro through the two coun- EDITORIAL of state money for mass transit. system) will be $11 million. Unless The two counties received $7.3 mil- ties and visit Maryland senators and Gilchrist noted that state funds the state gives us additional help next lion in federal aid, leaving a net congressmen on Capitol Hill. Daniel Kucin Jr. paid for most of the deficit in the year, the county’s obligation will deficit of $22.8 million. Afterwards, there will be a so- EXECUTIVE EDITOR mass transit system used in Anne climb to $19 million.” “State aid to both counties cial gathering at White Flint Mall to [email protected] Arundel County and Baltimore City, Blair Lee IV, director of the came to $16 million, and that left a demonstrate to legislators the José Umaña this year, but Montgomery and county’s Office of State Affairs, ex- deficit of $14 million that had to growth possibilities inherent along CITY EDITOR Prince George’s Counties were left plained that the state Mass Transit come out of local funds,” Lee said. subway lines. [email protected] to fund a $14 million Metro deficit Administration funds the Baltimore “Where’s the equity there? Because “We are, after all, Maryland’s out of local offers. regional subway and bus system federal aid is based on population first operating subway,” Lee said.