Tuesday, March 19, 2013
The multicultural resource and educational center would move from its offices on Reedie Drive.
The Charles Gilchrist Center for Cultural Diversity, which provides services and classes to immigrants and their families in Montgomery County, will likely be a part of the new library and community recreation center complex planned for Wheaton. "I'm pretty certain that it's going to happen," said Karla Silvestre, the center's director, who has been in talks with the county's Department of Libraries. Ernest Lunsford, division chief for Building Design and Construction in the Department of General Services, also confirmed plans to include the center in the designs. The center is located in the Mid-County Regional Services Center at 2424 Reedie Drive, near the Wheaton Metro station and the bus bay at the intersection of Georgia Avenue and …
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
The new Maryland HIghway Safety Act could change daily routines for undocumented immigrants living in Wheaton and Silver Spring.
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Tuesday, March 12
by Allison Goldstein, Capital News Service ANNAPOLIS -- Silver Spring resident Andrea Gonzales is the only licensed driver in her family of three, so for her, a weekday morning means waking up at 5:30 to shuttle her husband to work with their 5-year-old daughter in tow. The new Maryland Highway Safety Act may change her family’s routine by allowing undocumented immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses. Gonzales’s husband, Jaime, an undocumented immigrant from Nicaragua, can’t legally drive to pick up their daughter, Ana, from school at 3 p.m. Instead, the couple hired a babysitter to transport and care for Ana on most afternoons. “My husband, we are working on getting him legalized, but until then I still need him to help me with the …
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
The festival showcased four Montgomery County immigrant populations and held a Salvadoran-style cook-off for the best pupusa.
Montgomery County is home to many people from different cultures and the World of Montgomery festival, which took place Sunday afternoon in downtown Wheaton, showcased the county’s diversity through music, dance and food. “We are so proud to celebrate our cultural diversity,” Susan Jenkins, CEO of the Arts and Humanity Council, said. “We need to learn and respect one another and this festival helps us do that.” For its fourth annual celebration, the festival partnered with Kids International Discovery (KID) Museum to create an international village, with four large tents representing China, India, El Salvador and Ethiopia. Jill Chessen, co-founder of KID Museum, was pleased with the turnout. “Montgomery is such a diverse county,” Chessen…
Thursday, October 4, 2012
The Oct. 21 festival will spotlight the cultures of four of Montgomery County's largest immigrant populations--from China, India, El Salvador and Ethiopia.
The World of Montgomery Festival returns to Wheaton in a few weeks—but with new life breathed into it. In addition to the ethnic food, music and dance performances from years past, the free festival will highlight the cultures of four large immigrant populations in Montgomery County. The festival will take place Sunday, Oct. 21, from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. in the large parking lot at the intersection of Grandview Avenue and Reedie Drive in Wheaton. The county has partnered with the Kid International Discovery Museum to create an International Village, with four large tents representing China, India, El Salvador and Ethiopia. Children at the family-friendly festival can get a "passport" stamped at each tent for participating in different …
39.03837
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Reedie Dr & Grandview Ave, Wheaton, MD
/articles/world-of-montgomery-festival-returns-with-help-of-kid-museum
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Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Long-standing Wheaton restaurant makes 10,000 pupusas during an average week.
In 1970, Irene Cuevas came to the U.S. from Honduras and over the following 15 years, started a family and learned to make pupusas from her husband at the time. The popularity of her pupusas slowly grew by word of mouth and she eventually bought a food truck in 1985. As she traversed the Langley Park and Hyattsville areas over the next decade, the legend of her savory, saucer-shaped treats grew, and Irene opened the first stationary restaurant on University Boulevard in Langley Park in 1996. Storefronts in Wheaton and Laurel would follow in 2005. Irene’s son, Jose Melgar, grew up seeing the hard work that his mother, father and grandfather were putting into the Irene’s ventures, studying every facet of the business. “I hated it as a kid…
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Irene's Pupusas III
11300 Georgia Ave, Silver Spring, MD
/articles/wheaton-s-irene-s-iii-still-producing-pupusa-perfection
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/locations/6476747
Friday, February 10, 2012
Advocates and opponents of in-state tuition bill gearing up for November.
While Barack Obama and his Republican opponent will capture national headlines this November, Maryland voters will turn their attention to in-state policy disputes, like 2011's In-State Tuition Bill, also known as the DREAM Act. "The idea is that, while you're waiting for citizenship, you can be preparing yourself to contribute to the future of Maryland," said Sen. Victor Ramirez, D-Prince George's, who coauthored the in-state tuition bill in 2011. By the end of April, groups like Educating Maryland Kids and Help Save Maryland will be canvassing neighborhoods, calling homes and distributing pamphlets in an attempt to sway voters on a referendum vote for the controversial bill. Presidential candidates will of course be on the ballot in …
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Patch asked Montgomery County Council Vice President Nancy Navarro about her vision for Latino leadership in Wheaton and the rest of Montgomery County.
Montgomery County Councilmember Nancy Navarro organized a Latino Civic Leadership Conference at Ana G. Mendez University on Jan. 28 for parents of MCPS students. Last week, Patch published the first part of an interview with Navarro, in which she explains how she initially became interested in building Latino leadership in Montgomery County, and how her office chose the parents who attended the invitation-only conference. Today we continue the conversation. Patch: What do you see as the intersection between the Latino and immigrant communities? The growth of the Latino community has really been happening for the last 30 years in the county. They are the fastest growing minority group, and most interestingly, the under-18 group is the …
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Conference organizers say they want to provide Latino parents in Montgomery County with the necessary resources for civic engagement and leadership.
This Saturday, Wheaton will host Montgomery County's first Latino Civic Leadership Conference. More than 100 Latino parents of Montgomery County Public Schools students will gather on Jan. 28 at Ana G. Mendez University, a dual-language university that opened in November at 11006 Veirs Mill Road at Westfield Wheaton Mall. The 100 parents for this invitation-only event were selected by the office of County Council Vice President Nancy Navarro (Distr. 4), who organized the conference in collaboration with MCPS and the County’s Collaboration Council for Children, Youth and Families. The conference, which runs from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., features the following workshops in English and in Spanish, according to a county press release: …
Friday, January 13, 2012
Gov. O’Malley's redistricting plan leaves out the option of organizing a minority sub-district in Wheaton.
Gov. Martin O'Malley's Redistricting Advisory Committee's proposed redistricting plan will not be unchallenged in this year's General Assembly in Annapolis. District 18 Del. Ana Sol Gutiérrez will battle in the legislature to reinstate her proposal for a Hispanic sub-district, following the decision by O’Malley on Wednesday to leave the proposal out of the proposed redistricting map, as reported by the Gazette. In the General Assembly, Gutiérrez plans to try to change the proposed plan to include a sub-district with a Hispanic majority in District 18, citing results from the 2010 Census that show extraordinary growth in the Hispanic population in Montgomery County, Gutiérrez said in an email to Patch. “Bad news,” Gutiérrez said of O’Malley…
Friday, January 6, 2012
The Mid-County Regional Services Center director talks to Patch about her hopes and plans for 2012.
Patch sat down with Ana Lopez van Balen earlier this week to discuss her goals for the new year. “I want to build Wheaton pride,” the director of the Mid-County Regional Services Center said. How does she want to do this? By promoting events, by working with small businesses, by focusing on redevelopment and revitalization, and by renewing interest in Wheaton as an Arts & Entertainment District. “Yes, we’re an Arts & Entertainment District,” she said. “But there’s nothing really going on right now.” However, van Balen sees Wheaton’s collection of small, ethnic restaurants as one of the community’s greatest assets--and something to build on. The D.C. chapter of Les Dames d'Escoffier, which organized a culinary walking tour of Wheaton in mid…
Frank Plummer
1:44 pm on Wednesday, March 13, 2013
....So is this reciprocal in their home contries? I want to apply for benefits and get a drivers liscense in their home countries as well. Oh yes I want their home country to learn my language so they can better communicate with me as I should not have to learn their language. more ›