1. This Friday - Opening Reception for "Traditions & Testimony:" Please join us tomorrow, Friday, October 9th, at the opening reception of "Traditions & Testimony," an exhibit celebrating the cultures and traditions of Spanish speaking residents in the United States, tracing roots from Spain to Mexico, Central America, South America and the Caribbean. The work, which includes the prints of Luis Scotti and the devil masks of David Camero, will be on display in the Atrium Gallery at the Takoma Park Community Center (7500 Maple Avenue) throughout October - National Hispanic Heritage Month. The reception begins at 6 PM and is free and open to the public. (Housing and Community Development)

2. Wednesday! Make a difference in the future of Long Branch! Info Gathering Session (Ward 5): M-NCPPC staff is hosting a community info gathering session in preparation for the Long Branch Sector Plan, Wednesday, October 14, 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. - drop in anytime - at the Long Branch Library, 8800 Garland Ave., Silver Spring, MD 20901. Now is the time to get involved and have your say on a long-term vision for the Long Branch community, as county planners are launching a new sector plan on the community's land use, zoning and other community priorities. The sector plan area encompasses two proposed Purple Line stations. (Housing and Community Development)

3. New Signs Installed throughout City (City-Wide): This past week and during early next week, staff is overseeing the installation of numerous signs throughout the City as part of a comprehensive identity and wayfinding signage system. Thirteen Historic District signs were placed at the edges of the Takoma Park Historic District in locations such as Cedar Ave, Holly Avenue, New York Avenue, Poplar Avenue and many others. Twelve tertiary signs (round images of the City seal) were mounted at the edges of the City, with a large number installed in Ward 5, and several others in Ward 6. Most impressive are the three new Gateway signs at key entrances to the city: New Hampshire Avenue & East-West Highway, Carroll Avenue & University Boulevard, and Piney Branch Road at Eastern Avenue. (Housing and Community Development)

4. The New Ave Booth at Street Festival (City-Wide): The New Ave booth was a great success at the Street Festival! Staff chatted with residents about the new web site and redevelopment plans for the corridor, shared fortune cookies, invited visitors to tour the New Ave with the handy Walking Tour brochures, gave away T-shirts, and temporary tattoos for the kids. While many were shocked at the 10-20 year time line for the larger scale improvements, people were excited to hear about ongoing projects and planned changes. (Housing and Community Development)

5. Facade Easement Program (Ward 6): The CDBG funded commercial building facade easement program for the area east of New Hampshire Avenue and north of Erskine Street received 1 grant application and three requests for an extension to the application deadline, which were granted. This facade easement program purchases up to 50% of the value of facade rehabilitation and improvements and is modeled on the County program available in Long Branch. (Housing and Community Development)

6. Community Gardening at Erskine (Ward 6): Last Saturday and Sunday, assisted by Mike Welsh and an expanding circle of volunteers, members of the Hillwood Manor Neighborhood Association laid down mulch and planted many ornamental perennials, shrubs and grasses in their gateway garden. The garden, located at the corner of Erskine and New Hampshire Avenues, will be completed in the Spring. The project is funded by the City's New Hampshire Avenue Community Gardening and Beautification program. (Housing and Community Development)

7. Referrals Provided to Seniors for Needed Assistance: Do you know senior citizens who might not be able to afford to do repairs to the exterior of their homes? In recent months, the City's Code Enforcement and Landlord Tenant staff have been working with a few seniors to help them abate identified housing code violations by referring them to the Montgomery County's Department of Housing and Community Affairs which provides low interest housing loans for single family homeowners. In addition to this resource, Rebuilding Together, a non-profit organization which helps low income families with free home repairs has also been contacted. For further information on the programs or to request an application, please call Linda Walker at 301-891-7222. (Housing and Community Development)

8. Deadline Extended to October 30th: The deadlines for the City's recent Request for Proposals (RFP) for its Emergency Services and the Capacity Building Initiative have been extended to 3:30 PM on Friday, October 30, 2009. Copies of both RFPs will be re-posted on the City's website the week of October 12. Inquiries regarding the RFP issued on behalf of the City's Emergency Services program should be directed to Moses Wilds, Jr. at 301.891.7215. Questions about the RFP issued for the Capacity Building Initiative should be directed to Linda Walker at 301.891.7222. (Housing and Community Development)

9. Tenant Rights Class to be Held on October 14: Landlord-Tenant staff is offering a free class on "Knowing Your Tenant Rights" in Takoma Park. The class will be held in the Community Center, 7500 Maple Avenue on Wednesday, October 14 from 7:00pm - 8:30pm. Topics to be discussed include how to protect your security deposit, how to give a proper notice to vacate, the rent stabilization law and what type of notice is required for a landlord to enter your rental unit. To register for the class, please call Moses Wilds, Jr. at 301-891-7215. (Housing and Community Development)

10. Fair Return Rent Increase Petition Training Held for Landlords: Seven landlords attended a training given by Jean Kerr and Linda Walker of the Landlord-Tenant staff on the Fair Return Rent Increase Petition process on Thursday, October 8. Landlords who seek to increase their rents above the annual rent stabilization allowance, because of a decreasing net operating income for their rental property may file a petition with the Commission on Landlord-Tenant Affairs. The next training will be held on December 10, from 7pm-8:30pm. If you would like to register for the class, please contact Jean Kerr at 301-891-7216. (Housing and Community Development)

11. Free First Time Home Buyer Class scheduled for Saturday, October 24: If you are thinking about buying a house or a condominium, now or in the near future, this is the class for you!! Learn everything you need to know about mortgages, lenders, title companies, and the inspection process. By the time you complete this 5 hour class, you will be ready to tackle the home buying process and feel secure in your knowledge. A certificate that qualifies you for low-interest loans through the county or state is awarded to all attendees. The class will be held in the Takoma Park Community Center, 7500 Maple Avenue, from 8:30am - 1:30pm on October 24 and there is no cost. Pre-registration is required by calling 301-891-7222. (Housing and Community Development)

12. From the Montgomery County Cable Office: Beginning on or around November 30, Comcast will begin delivering the majority of channels in a digitally encrypted format. Most local broadcast and public, education, and government access channels will be available as analog or digital channels and can be seen on digital or analog televisions without a converter box. All other channels, such as CNN, MSNBC, ESPN, History, and Discovery, will no longer be transmitted in an analog format and will require either a digital converter box or a digital adapter on each television, including digital televisions with QAM tuners, to receive the channels. Comcast has been using multiple forms of advertising to notify their customers of the impending change. Both RCN and Verizon have converted their systems to all digital over the past year. On these two systems, broadcast and PEG channels can be seen on a digital television with a QAM tuner without a converter box, but all other channels require a converter box to be received. (Communications)

13. An Award Winning Team: City TV is pleased to announce that it won three awards this year: an Honorable Mention for ImageWord from the Alliance for Community Media's Annual Hometown Video Festival, and two Honorable Mentions for the Jazz Band Brawl performance by Sabroso in the Government Programming Awards in the categories of Visual Arts and Arts and Entertainment. (Communications)

14. An Award Winning Leader: Communications Director Lonni Moffet attended the annual conference of NATOA (National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors) last week in New Orleans, courtesy of MC PEG Network. She attended sessions on use of social media, emergency communications, policy updates and broadband technology. Most notable were presentations by representatives of the FCC who, under the Obama administration, are responsive to the concerns of local government. Ms. Moffet received a Certificate of Appreciation for her commitment and service to NATOA as Chapter President. (Communications)

15. What's on City TV?: City TV covered all three stages at the Street Festival last Sunday, October 4. It was a perfect fall day for a festival, and programming from this day should be available starting next month. Also, we aired the TPPD CompStat presentation last week, and it is replaying on City TV. It is also available for viewing online, at:
http://takomapark.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?publish_id=90. (Communications)

16. Pizza Party for Kidz City: Thanks go out to Pizza Roma of Takoma Park who donated pizza to the Kidz City program at the Takoma Park Recreation Center. As a part of the newly developed relationship, Pizza Roma will be one of the presenters for the teen entrepreneurial workshop that will coming soon to the Recreation Center. For more information, contact John Webster at 301-891-7286 or johnw@takomagov.org. (Recreation)

17. Takoma Park Seniors Celebrate New Ride-On Bus Route #18: Thirty-five supporters and friends joined Colleen DiPaul (Chair, Transportation Committee of Victory Tower Senior Residences and a Silver Foxes Senior), and Paula Lisowski (Recreation Department Seniors Program) on Wednesday, October 7 in the Senior Room of the Community Center to formally acknowledge and celebrate the rerouting of Ride-On Bus #18. We gratefully acknowledge Phil Andrews, Montgomery County Council President; Deanna Archey, Montgomery County Department of Transportation; Barbara Mathews, City Manager; Suzanne Ludlow, Deputy City Manager; Ronald A. Ricucci, Chief of Police and others for their support, and attendance at this event. (Recreation)

18. Flag Football Fun: Don't just watch football...get out and play! The Flag Football program began this week at the Ed Wilhelm Field. Over fifteen kids ranging in age from 8-10 meet on Wednesdays from 3:45 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. If you are still interested, we have a few spots left so hurry and sign up. Send your information by email to WilliamH@takomagov.org or call (301) 891-7284. (Recreation)

19. Winter Basketball League: The Winter Basketball League will be starting soon and the recruiting of commissioners, coaches and players has begun. The league will allow participants from kindergarten all the way up to the 8th grade to participate in the upcoming league. Since the program was such a huge success last year, we are getting an early start in anticipation of over 600 participants this year. So sign up early to get on your team. For more information on this program, please contact Will Hanner at WilliamH@takomagov.org or call (301) 891-7284. (Recreation)

20. Teen Lounge: The word has gotten out that the pre-teens can utilize the teen lounge on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Once a week on Thursdays, an activity is featured such as making healthy snacks like smoothies or playing bingo for some great prizes. Next week the kids are looking forward to cake decorating. The group meets at 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. in the teen lounge for this drop in program. (Recreation)

21. Community Services: Community service SSL hours will be in full swing within the next couple of weeks for teens 13- 17 years of age. Our current fall projects include errands and yard work for the seniors and projects to collect donations for the holidays. For more information, contact Faye Wright at 301-891-7283 or by email at Fayew@takomagov.org. (Recreation)

22. The Spanish Circle Time: The Library's Spanish Circle Time resumes every Thursday morning at 10:30 a.m. Our new leader for this program is Geiza Keller-Souza, who comes to us with impressive credentials in early childhood education. The programs last approximately 50 minutes and are appropriate for pre-schoolers and their care givers. All are welcome; no pre-registration is necessary. (Library)

23. The College Bound Series: The first in our series of College Bound programs, featuring Dr. Lori Potts-Dupre, had to be cancelled. We are hoping to re-schedule; check back with us for a new date! Meanwhile, Dr. Herm Davis will discuss funding for college on October 13 at 7:00 p.m. and Dr. Ilhan Cagri and a colleague will talk about the SATs on October 20. Both programs will be videotaped for cable television. Pre-registration is required. Call the Library at 301-891-7259 for more information. (Library)

24. Learn About Graphic Novels!: "Graphic Novels 101 for Parents and Educators" offers a primer on this increasingly popular genre on Monday, October 19 at 7:30 p.m. Join Dave Burbank and Karen MacPherson for a spirited discussion. Registration encouraged. (Library)

25. Art and Poetry Program: Poets Liz Rees and Roseanne Singer will lead a program of art and poetry focused on animal dreams on Wednesday, October 21 at 7:00 p.m. Appropriate for ages 4 and up. Registration is required. Please call 301-891-7259 for information and registration. (Library)

26. Officers in Meetings:
- On October 6, Chief Ricucci attended a Curriculum Advisory Committee (CAC) Meeting for American University in Fairfax, Virginia. American University had requested that area Chiefs of Police participate.
- On October 7, Chief Ricucci and various members of the police department participated in "Walk to School" Day; Chief Ricucci attended the "Seniors Celebrate New Ride-On Bus Route in Takoma Park" event; and, the CSAFE-VPI in the Maryland International Corridor held their regular HEAT Team meeting to discuss the monitoring and supervision of clients of parole and probation.
- On October 9, Chief Ricucci will attend the 10th Annual School - Community United in Partnership Conference, in collaboration with Montgomery County Public Schools, the Collaboration Council, the Mental Health Association, and the Universities at Shady Grove Road in Rockville, Maryland. The theme is "Maintaining Wellness: Yes, We can!" Topics include mental health and community resources, school connectedness and building positive school environments. (Police)

27. Traffic Enforcement: Officers conducted at least 77 traffic stops, which resulted in citations and seven vehicle impounds.

During October 5-8, 2009, the following details were completed:

October 5, 2009
- Maple Avenue & Lincoln Avenue (stop sign enforcement) - conducted a 30-minute detail and issued one warning.
- Flower Avenue & Garland Avenue (stop sign enforcement) - conducted a 30-minute detail and issued one State citation.
- 1000 block of University Blvd. (speeding) - conducted a 90-minute detail and issued four State citations.

October 6, 2009
- Flower Avenue & Garland Avenue (stop sign enforcement) - conducted a 30-minute detail and issued one state citation.
- 1000 University Blvd. (speeding) - conducted a 2-hour detail and issued six State citations for speed and eight other State citations.

October 8, 2009
- Flower Avenue & Houston Avenue (stop sign enforcement) - conducted a 30-minute detail and issued one warning.
(Police)