Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Montgomery County legislators approved Tuesday a ban of smoking on most county-owned or county-leased property.
Need a cigarette break? Better be careful where you go to have that smoke. The Montgomery County Council approved Tuesday a ban of smoking on most county-owned or county-leased property. The ban was approved with the following recommended amendments from the Health and Human Services Commission: The bill will allow the Director of Health and Human Services to designate outdoor smoking areas on certain county properties. “There is no risk-free level of exposure to secondhand smoke,” Councilwoman Nancy M. Floreen (D-At large) of Garrett Park said in a statement. “We are stewards of public health. The passage of [the smoking ban] will help us to protect our residents, employees and visitors from dangerous exposure. I applaud my colleagues for…
Monday, November 19, 2012
Councilwoman Nancy Floreen's proposal includes county-owned parks, golf courses and parking garages.
The Montgomery County Council will soon consider whether to expand the county's ban on smoking. Proposed by Councilwoman Nancy Floreen—who battled breast cancer last year—the new legislation would outlaw smoking on all property owned or leased by county government. Floreen (D-At large) of Garrett Park plans to submit the bill Nov. 27, and a public hearing has been tentatively set for Jan. 15. Here's a look back at some of milestones in Montgomery County's crackdown on tobacco: 1986 - Smoking banned from Metro stations and most county government workplaces. 1988 - Smoking banned from rest rooms, auditoriums and the public areas of offices, retail stores, banks and other private businesses. 1992 - Tobacco products banned from most vending …
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Bill coincides with American Cancer Society’s 37th Great American Smokeout
Montgomery County leaders are considering tightening restrictions on tobacco use again, this time with a smoking ban on any property owned or leased by county government. The ban—proposed by Councilwoman Nancy Floreen—would apply to the land around recreation centers and county buildings, for example, but not bus shelters and sidewalks, The Examiner reported. Floreen, a breast cancer survivor, will announce more details at a news conference Thursday timed to coincide with the Great American Smokeout, which the American Cancer Society holds to try to cut into the nation’s 44 million smokers. That figure, according to a county statement, stands at 1 in 12 adults in Montgomery, which has been at the leading edge of the nationwide tobacco …
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
“I don’t think Pepco gets it that they’re the Darth Vaders of the utility companies,” said Del. Ben Kramer (D-Distr. 19).
County, state, and national legislators came to Kemp Mill Tuesday night to sympathize with their constituents and to hear their grievances against Pepco after last week’s prolonged power outage. More than 60 Kemp Mill residents gathered for their quarterly civic association meeting at the Kemp Mill Elementary School at 7:30 p.m., but finding it locked, drove over en masse to the Kemp Mill Synagogue. Many of the residents told stories of how Pepco had told them their power had been restored when in reality it had not. Margie Epstein, who has lived in Kemp Mill for 30 years, lost power for five days. "I had just gone to the grocery store on Friday," she said. "I had to throw it all out." Now she wanted to hear from her elected …
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Costco’s fueling station special exception also discussed.
Two of the larger issues facing the Wheaton community took center stage at Wednesday's Wheaton Redevelopment Advisory Committee meeting: the recently approved plans for Wheaton Redevelopment (in a straw vote by the Montgomery County Council) and the proposed special exception for a Costco gas station. Wheaton Redevelopment Echoing sentiments expressed during an April 10 Wheaton Urban District Advisory Committee meeting, WRAC members aired their frustration over the process that led to the Montgomery County Council tentatively approving a Wheaton Redevelopment Plan that includes a new M-NCPPC headquarters office building and a town square. Councilmember Hans Reimer shared his opinions and concerns about how things will move forward with …
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
An online tool gives first place to Councilmember Nancy Navarro, whose district will include Wheaton starting March 7.
Of all the members of the Montgomery County Council, Nancy Navarro has the most social media clout--or at least according to Klout, a popular online tool that analyzes data from social networks such as Twitter. A Klout Score “measures influence based on your ability to drive action.” The Klout score considers three things: the number of people you influence, the degree of influence, and how much influence your network exerts. Navarro, who is now vice president of the council, weighed in at 26, narrowly beating Councilmember (and now Council President) Roger Berliner, whose Klout Score is 25. Councilmember Hans Riemer is close behind, with a Klout Score of 24. Adam Fogel, Navarro's chief of staff, said that open communication with …
Holly Stephens
11:40 am on Monday, March 18, 2013
And another: ----------------- I am a high school student who agrees with the County Council's decision to approve a smoking ban in some public areas. I agree with the decision because there are times people don't want to breathe second hand smoke. I think it is so appropriate to create smoking areas for smokers. Not everybody smokes or lies the stench of smoke from cigarettes so why should they … more ›