Monday, November 12, 2012
County Council will hold eight public hearings and introduce three pieces of legislation on Tuesday.
The Montgomery County Council is set to take up its vision for a new housing policy, declare its position on this year's request for school construction funding, and introduce a bill to rewrite the fee structure for mitigating the traffic and school-population impacts of new developments. Tuesday's weekly meeting is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. in the Council hearing room at 100 Maryland Ave., Rockville, MD. Call 240-777-7803 to testify. The meeting is also televised live on CCM Channels Comcast 6, RCN 6, Verizon 30. For more information, go to www.montgomerycountymd.gov/council. See the full agenda here. A NEW VISION ON HOUSING The Council will be briefed on the 2012 update to Montgomery County’s Housing Policy. The draft policy—finished …
Friday, October 19, 2012
CASA of Maryland’s advocacy for next month's referendum on same-sex marriage has sparked the ire of religious leaders
Polls say one thing, but religious leaders say another on the question of whether Hispanic-Americans in Maryland will support same-sex marriage in next month's landmark referendum. National and statewide polling of Latinos has shown a steady turn in favor of same-sex marriage. The Pew Research Center published a poll last week that shows “rapidly growing support” for gay marriage among Hispanics nationwide, with 52 percent for and 34 percent against. It is the first time that a Pew poll showed a majority of Latinos in favor of same-sex marriage. That support divides along religious lines. An April poll commissioned by the National Council of La Raza found that 79 percent of atheist or agnostic Latinos support same-sex marriage, 67 …
Thursday, August 30, 2012
With two months until Election Day, a new campaign is launched to win two controversial ballot initiatives.
Casa de Maryland, the state’s largest immigrant advocacy organization, and Equality Maryland, the largest LGBT rights group, have forged an alliance to convince voters to approve same-sex marriage and to allow certain college-bound illegal immigrant students to pay in-state tuition. Dubbed “Familia es Familia,” the campaign launched Tuesday in Langley Park with advocates framing same-sex marriage and the Maryland Dream Act as kindred causes grounded in a family-first sensibility. The campaign will draw its persuasive power from the personal experiences of young, LGBT immigrants. Montgomery County Councilwoman Nancy Navarro told the story of her brother Pedro, who came out to her and her sister 17 years ago, reported The Washington Blade…
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Students will march along Georgia Avenue this Sunday afternoon.
Supporters of the DREAM Act to help educate illegal immigrants will be marching from downtown Silver Spring to downtown Wheaton on Aug. 5 to raise awareness and educate voters before the November referendum. The DREAM Act, which the Maryland Legislature passed in 2011, would qualify certain illegal immigrants for in-state tuition at Maryland community colleges. Organizers say they are expecting more than 1,000 people at the Sunday afternoon march, most of them students. Kim Propeack of CASA de Maryland anticipates that it will be the largest student mobilization in recent Maryland history. CASA de Maryland has worked with student groups in Montgomery and Prince George's counties to plan the event. The march will begin at 12:30 p.m. in …
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Montgomery County Council is set to approve a resolution to support the Casa de Maryland application for a Maryland Community Legacy Grant of $245,000.
Casa of Maryland is in line for a $245,000 state grant to renovate its Silver Spring Welcome Center. The Montgomery County Council is set to give its support after a request by County Executive Ike Leggett. "Casa does a lot of good things for the community and they've been a good community partner in many efforts," said councilwoman Nancy Floreen (D-at large) of Silver Spring. Casa, a Maryland-based immigration advocacy program, works to improve the quality of life for low-income Latinos and other immigrant communities, according to the organization's website. The group's centers help day laborers find employment. They also provide English language classes, vocational training and legal services. "We've been supportive of the need to help …
Monday, August 1, 2011
The lawsuit seeks to overturn successful petition drive.
UPDATED (3:43 p.m.)—Supporters of a bill granting in-state tuition rates to some illegal immigrants filed a lawsuit Monday seeking to overturn an effort to put the issue on the 2012 ballot. Casa De Maryland, in a statement released this morning, said the lawsuit was based on "illegalities discovered in the signatures submitted to and incorrectly validated by the Board as well as the grounds for relief." In all, opponents of the bill collected 132,071 signatures. The Maryland State Board of Elections certified that about 83 percent of those signatures—108,923— were valid. The bill was to have gone into effect on July 1 but is now on hold because of the referendum. Representatives of Casa De Maryland did not return calls from a reporter …
Sharon Adams
2:33 pm on Monday, November 12, 2012
"•Conserving and caring for residential neighborhoods" Listen up, Montgomery Village & all the neglectful HOA's within the Village. more ›