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near-suitland-md · 1 year ago

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Suitland, MD, is Rapidly Developing

Visitors to this place find a wealth of opportunities to learn about and experience its rich history and culture. I like this place because it offers a great lifestyle. One of the best apartments in Suitland, MD, is Towns at Andrews Park which offers the best life ever. It has fantastic amenities to enjoy. Enjoy a picturesque neighborhood or walk through the beautiful grounds of the beautiful parks. Both of these locations are great options for history enthusiasts. Those who like shopping can find a diverse selection of stores and eateries downtown. In addition to the Silver Hill Plaza and Southgate Shopping Center located in the surrounding area, you'll be close to every destination. Enjoy living in Suitland, MD.

Townhomes For Rent in Suitland

Towns at Andrews Park is the best townhome for rent in Suitland. It's newly designed in an incredible location, offering convenience, comfort, and style. This apartment home is also designed to create a natural and open flow throughout the space. I like this place because it offers excellent community amenities such as a playground, onsite retail, advanced auto parts, and Wawa. It's also a short distance from the Branch Avenue Metro Station and in a prime location off the I-495. The bus stop is also located directly outside the community. This location will let you enjoy the warm neighborhood feel in an ideal location. You can choose from three- and four-bedroom townhomes that are thoughtfully appointed with elevated finishes and amenities designed to provide comfort and a sense of home. For inquiries, call (301) 375-0597.

3- Bedroom Townhomes in Suitland.

With top-of-the-line washers and dryers, a private balcony, and a private two-car garage, this home truly has it all. Towns at Andrews Park has the best 3-bedroom townhomes in Suitland. It's an opportunity to experience the pinnacle of modern living -https://www.andrewsparkliving.com/amenities schedule a viewing today! Discover the ultimate hidden treasure of Camp Springs with these apartment homes that are conveniently situated near everything. You won't find a better location that offers such a perfect blend of convenience and comfort for its residents. The Town at Andrews Park is the perfect choice if you're looking for a townhome near Allentown. Each three- and four-bedroom unit has been thoughtfully designed with high-quality amenities. Don't miss out on valuable information for inquiries; call (301) 965-1831 now to get all the necessary details.

United States Botanic Garden Near Suitland, MD

The US Botanic Garden is a fantastic destination for anyone who loves nature, plants, and gardens. Enjoy exploring the conservatory since it's the main attraction at the Botanic Garden and a must-see for anyone visiting the area. Inside the Conservatory, you'll find a wide variety of plants from all over the world and informative exhibits that teach visitors about the importance of plants in our daily lives. You can also visit the outdoor gardens in addition to the Conservatory. The Botanic Garden also has several outdoor gardens that are open to the public. These include the National Garden, the First Ladies Water Garden, and Bartholdi Park, which features beautiful fountains and sculptures. You can also take a guided tour that gives visitors a deeper understanding of the plants and gardens on display. These tours are led by knowledgeable guides who can answer questions and provide fascinating insights into the history and significance of the Botanic Garden.

One Dead in a Shooting in Suitland

Suitland double shooting leaves one dead; cops are currently looking for suspects. Suitland police are searching for culprits after 2 men are shot. Authorities are looking into reports that two males were shot in Prince George's County early on Tuesday. Authorities are looking into the shooting deaths and injuries of two men that occurred in Prince George's County on Tuesday morning. Around 4:35 in the morning, a gunshot was reported in Suitland's 4000 block of Silver Hill Road. A hospital report indicates that one of the males passed away. The state of the second victim is yet unclear. This story is still developing. Keep checking back for updates. Read more.

Link to maps

United States Botanic Garden 100 Maryland Ave SW, Washington, DC 20001, United States Get on I-695 E 2 min (0.7 mi) Continue on I-695 E. Take Suitland Pkwy to Suitland Rd in Camp Springs. Take the exit toward Morningside from Suitland Pkwy 13 min (8.9 mi) Follow Suitland Rd and MD-337 S/Allentown Rd to Allentown Andrews Dr 7 min (2.8 mi) Towns at Andrews Park 5925 Allentown Andrews Dr, Suitland-Silver Hill, MD 20746, United States

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thelokhagroup · 6 years ago

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Is Safety a Priority?

MHN and Kingsley Associates asked renters what they think of the security measures at their communities, and what could be done to improve them.

Do your residents feel secure in their apartment or community? This month, MHN and Kingsley Associates asked renters what they thought of the safety measures, and what could be done to improve them.

“I wanted to add cameras to the outside of my apartment because of recent robberies in my building. To my dismay, management won’t allow it.” —Phoenix

“It’s not safe here. I’m still pretty upset that someone with accomplices was able to walk out of the complex with three large-screen televisions and no one noticed!” Tempe, Ariz.

“The sense of security here is low. The parking lot is extremely dark and we sometimes have to walk to our cars with our phone flashlights on as a safety precaution.” —Atlanta

“The building needs strict security measures to keep uninvited people out. I have noticed strange people lingering in the community and waiting for resident to leave or enter their apartments.” —Silver Spring,

The post Is Safety a Priority? appeared first on Looking For Apartments For Rent Silver-Spring MD?.

from Looking For Apartments For Rent Silver-Spring MD? http://www.thelokhagroup.com/is-safety-a-priority-2/ via IFTTT

#IFTTT #Looking For Apartments For Rent Silver-Spring MD?

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ericvick · 5 years ago

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many in US struggle to pay rent. Their stories.

The National Multifamily Housing Council found a 12 percentage point decrease in the share of apartment households that paid their rent through April 5.

Last weekend, Apartment List surveyed 4,129 people and asked whether they were able to pay their mortgage or rent on April 1. The result: 1 in 4 renters/homeowners did not pay it in full, and of the those people who were unable to make their payment, 45 percent of renters and 44 percent of homeowners reached an agreement with their landlords or lenders to defer or reduce their payments.

Most state and local governments are putting evictions on pause as states prepare to pay unemployment and the federal government prepares to send stimulus checks. So for most, April’s knock won’t come with a notice to get out.

A roof over the head is one of the most basic needs in life. Without money for rent, how can the other bills get paid? And while many will get a reprieve in April, eventually the rent comes due, whether or not the restaurant, plant, or construction site reopens when the COVID-19 threat lessens.

Here are some of the stories of Americans trying to make the rent, this month and beyond:

At 21 years old, Jade Brooks pulls in her family’s only full-time salary, working at a hospital switchboard.

Brooks’s mother just lost her job at a health insurance company — a casualty of the plummeting economy. She’s found part-time work at the hospital, but between them, they make only $400 weekly after taxes and insurance, Brooks said. Their rent is $1,810.

During sleepless nights, Brooks worries most about her 8-year-old cousin, who lives with them.

“I don’t want her to grow up in a homeless shelter, having to sleep in a bunk bed with other people, asking why we have to stand in a long line to get a room to sleep in, why we have to stand in a long line to get food, why she can’t invite her friends over,’’ Brooks said. “It’s hard to explain that to an 8-year-old.’’

— Michael Casey, Boston

Itza Sanchez knows she can’t make her $400 rent for April. She’s praying to the Virgin of Guadalupe that she doesn’t get kicked out of her Richmond, Va., mobile-home park.

Sanchez made her money searching for and recycling scrap metal and selling tamales in a heavily Hispanic neighborhood. Fear of getting sick has stopped both income streams.

A single mother of two who emigrated from Honduras to the United States 14 years ago, Sanchez’s 7-year-old daughter and 11-year-old son have been eating lunches delivered to the neighborhood by schools and depending on churches for other meals.

“I’m basically penniless,’’ Sanchez, 39, said in Spanish.

She hasn’t heard from the landlord about what will happen if the rent isn’t paid. So she keeps praying.

“May she help us. May the Virgin put her love over us and help us.’’

— Regina Garcia Cano, Washington

Andrea Larson made $70,000 a year curating wine lists and suggesting pairings to customers at 5th & Taylor. But the popular Nashville restaurant closed its dining area, and working as a sommelier isn’t something Larson can do from home.

The first unemployment check was $275 for a week. Larson said she was humiliated but applied for food stamps.

“I’m screwed financially,’’ Larson said. “If I do pay my rent, it’s going to eat into my food money.’’

Larson, 42, moved from a high-rise downtown apartment to a house in east Nashville four months ago. Rent was cheaper. She planned to pay off debt and start saving. Instead, she called credit card companies and said she couldn’t pay the minimum.

Larson’s restaurant offered a few shifts answering phones for takeout, but she figures it’s not worth the risk of getting COVID-19.

“I do wine, and nobody wants to hear about wine right now,’’ she said. ‘‘They just want to chug it.’’

— Travis Loller, Nashville

Roushaunda Williams was able to scrimp and use credit card cash advances to pay the $1,850 rent for April for her two-bedroom Uptown Chicago apartment.

But the rent comes due again in 30 days. Can she afford a smaller apartment in her building if one’s available? Should she move in with friends if they’ll let her?

“April 1 isn’t even here yet, and I’m already working on what I’m going to do for May 1,’’ Williams, 52, said.

Before being laid off, she made drinks and chatted with people from around the world for 20 years as a bartender at the Palmer House Hilton Hotel in the heart of Chicago’s downtown Loop.

Her income depended on tips — in the best times, she’d make $70,000 to $100,000 annually. Now, she’s on unemployment for the first time and searching for work.

— Kathleen Foody, Chicago

Tnia Morgan shares her Baltimore County, Md., town house with her 18-year-old pregnant daughter and 18-year-old nephew. And they all spend a lot more time together since Morgan was laid off March 6 from her job serving food at a hotel banquet hall.

Morgan’s landlord told her to take her time with the rent, but it isn’t the only bill piling up. She ticks them off: car payment, car insurance, cellphone, Internet, water, gas, and electricity. And she always has to buy food, so tough choices are ahead, especially until unemployment benefits kick in.

Morgan, 39, has checked on getting food stamps and looked for work at stores and warehouses with no luck.

She appreciates her landlord’s kindness this month, but she knows he needs her rent money to pay his bills.

“If I don’t pay the rent, it falls on him,’’ Morgan said. “We can’t be evicted right now, but eventually they’re going to want their money.’’

— Michael Kunzelman, Silver Spring, Md.

Bartender Luke Blaine was laid off when the downtown Phoenix restaurant Fez closed, but he’s not too worried about rent — yet.

He shares his small adobe-style home and backyard garden of tomatoes, beets, squash, radish, lettuce, and eggplants with his boyfriend, Kyle Schomer. Schomer still has his job in technology and works from home.

Blaine, 30, figures unemployment will kick in. His car is paid for, and he owes little beyond a small credit card balance.

Blaine credits his thrifty nature to his family. And that’s whom he worries about most these days. His mother and sister are nurses in Illinois, not far from hard-hit Chicago.

“It definitely is nerve-racking having your family on the front line,’’ Blaine said.

— Anita Snow, Phoenix

Ruqayyah Bailey’s life had balance — so important with her autism — before coronavirus.

She was going to college and was a part-time cafe cashier. She couldn’t wait for the Special Olympics in March, to run and compete in the long jump and shot put.

But the virus closed the cafe, canceled the meet, and ended the community college’s personal instruction.

Bailey, 30, of St. Louis County, was dipping into savings for food and other necessities, so she’s moved back in with her mother. She hopes it’s temporary and she can get back to her apartment, with its $400 monthly rent.

“I had to suspend my Internet and my cable,’’ Bailey said of her apartment. “It’s tough because I’m so used to being there in my own little space.’’

— Jim Salter, St. Louis

Jason W. Still was let go from his job as a cook, and he’s found one small benefit: He hasn’t spent as much money since he’s inside most days.

Still and his wife — who works in packaging for a marijuana dispenser in Spokane, Wash., — should be able to make April’s rent as they wait to see what he’ll get in unemployment and from the federal government.

Still, 30, worked at a high-end restaurant and just finished the last classes for his bachelor’s degree. Now he’s applying for graduate school to study environmental economics and public policy.

In unemployment, he has a lot of time on his hands. “I’ve seen corners of my house that I didn’t know existed.’’

— Anita Snow, Phoenix

It’s a lousy choice, but an easy one for personal trainer and apparel designer Sakai Harrison — food in the refrigerator over April rent for his Brooklyn apartment.

Harrison, 27, moved from Atlanta to see whether he could succeed in the toughest place in the world. And he was on his way, with 20 clients training one on one.

Then his gym shut down with the rest of the city. And the $1,595 rent is due.

“The way I see it, the whole world is on pause,’’ Harrison said. “I’d rather allocate my money towards my actual survival, which would be food.’’

An acquaintance is letting Harrison use a basement as a makeshift gym. It has dumbbells, a bench, and a punching bag left by a previous tenant. Harrison wears disposable gloves and keeps his distance. A few clients keep coming, but not as many as before.

“My clients are like my family, for the most part, especially in New York, because I’m here alone,’’ he said.

— Aaron Morrison, New York

Tinisha Dixon was homeless before she moved into her current apartment and is now struggling to make the rent.

She said she was about to start a new job at the State Road and Tollway Authority. But the job was put on hold, thanks to the virus.

The rent bill of $1,115 is due whether she’s working or not. It covers the apartment near downtown Atlanta she shares with her partner and their five kids. Dixon, 26, said she’s trying to braid hair, and her partner has sought work as a security guard.

Dixon’s landlord had gone to court to evict the family before the coronavirus. Now she worries not making April’s payment will strengthen that case.

“Are we going to be out on the street when this is over?’’ she said. ‘‘Because this is what we’ve been fighting for this whole time, not being back out on the street.’’

— Sudhin Thanawala, Atlanta

With help from friends and a nonprofit, Jas Wheeler can pay April’s rent. But Wheeler and their partner just bought a house down the road in Vergennes, Vt., and the first mortgage payment is due in May.

“I am just really just trying to pray,’’ said Wheeler, who hopes to see unemployment checks soon but worries the system is overwhelmed with so many people out of work.

Wheeler was laid off from a bakery. The 30-year-old thought about a grocery store job, but they don’t want to risk exposure to the coronavirus. So for now, they’ll wait to see whether the bakery reopens.

“I would rather just get an unemployment check and ride it out … I’m really thinking at the end of all this whenever that is, I’ll be happy to get any job that I can get.’’

— Michael Casey, Boston

Neal Miller is refusing to pay April’s rent, to make a point.

Miller’s last stable job was as an adjunct professor at Loyola University in Chicago. He recently was working temporary jobs, until that dried up, thanks to the virus.

Miller, 38, shares a house on the west side of Chicago with four others and pays $400 of the $1,500 monthly rent.

Miller and his roommates decided to join leaders of Chicago activist groups calling for a rent strike amid the virus outbreak.

“We wrote a letter, sort of stated our situation,’’ Miller said. “We’re still waiting to hear back. We’re not sure if that’s a good sign or if that lack of response means we’ll be hearing from a lawyer.’’

– Kathleen Foody, Chicago

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go-redgirl · 6 years ago

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Police: Md. Human Traffickers Released On Bond Despite Immigration, Public Safety Concerns WJLA ^

ROCKVILLE, Md. (ABC7) —

Three weeks after Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan declared war on human trafficking, two men accused of taking part in the illegal sex trade, were released from jail despite immigration, flight risk and public safety concerns.

The case highlights the frustrations shared by multiple law enforcement sources working to eradicate pimps and madams, but finding themselves at the mercy of the judicial system that can have a more lenient worldview. The Brothel Along Garland Avenue:

In August 2018, the Montgomery County Police Department’s gang unit conducted an undercover sting at an apartment building along Garland Avenue in Silver Spring, near Rolling Terrace Elementary School. The officers witnessed various men come and go from the building.

Police stopped a number of suspected “johns” as they left the area. All admitted to paying for sex with an unknown woman inside. One man confessed to shelling out $30 for a 20-minute appointment. Another man explained he knocked on the apartment door, was let in by a short, heavyset man, paid that individual $35 and was then allowed into the bedroom.

The following day, police entered the first-floor apartment with a search warrant. Inside they found a man, woman, condoms, lubricants, wipes, lingerie, ledgers, $1,000 in cash and a small bag of cocaine.

The 39-year-old woman — who ABC7 is not identifying — told investigators that she had traveled from New York City to Silver Spring to work as a prostitute. She further claimed to have provided sexual services to 63 clients in less than three days.

In a separate interview room, Roberto Diaz-Mejia, 38, explained he had been living in the apartment for approximately two months.

“Diaz-Mejia is not on the lease, but is living there as part of an arrangement where he collects the money from clients when they come to have sexual intercourse with prostitutes,” police wrote in court documents obtained by ABC7. “He also cooks and provides security for the prostitutes as necessary.”

Diaz-Mejia freely stated that a man by the name of Herlan Javie Rosales-Velasquez, 34, would come to the apartment every two days to collect money. Rosales-Velasquez reportedly paid Diaz-Mejia around $260 a week for his various household services.

“Rosales-Velasquez brings in news girls and takes out the old girls,” police further noted in the same criminal affidavit. Unjust Clemency By The Court?

In court a few days later, the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office told District Court Judge Karen Ferretti it had a list of concerns about Diaz-Mejia’s being released from jail on any sort of bond.

“There’s no form of employment aside from the illegal form of employment described in the charging document,” the prosecutor opined. “And I do have concerns about potential for flight risk and danger to the community.”

In its rebuttal, the public defender’s office explained Diaz-Mejia is a native of the Dominican Republic, moved to the U.S. in 1996 and currently holds a resident card. It went on to explain Diaz-Mejia has an eighth-grade education and recently suffered a “serious accident” that impacted his employability.

After listening to both sides, Judge Ferretti granted Diaz-Mejia a $10,000 unsecured personal bond, which allowed the 38-year-old to walk out of jail without putting down any money. Ferretti declined comment for this story, citing Maryland judiciary policies.

In a separate court proceeding, the state’s attorney’s office told Montgomery County District Court Commissioner A. Onwuzuruike, it did not think it was appropriate to grant Rosales-Velasquez an affordable bond.

“Mr. Rosales-Velasquez is a danger to the safety and welfare of the woman he is alleged to have been exploiting, as well as a danger to the community,” the prosecutor argued. “Furthermore he is facing up to 30 years of incarceration, and up to $20,000 in fines if convicted. So the state thinks that presents an incentive for flight.”

Yet, Commissioner Onwuzuruike stated that because Rosales-Velasquez was gainfully employed and had no apparent criminal record, she was willing to grant the undocumented immigrant on a bond that required he post $800 for release. He was out of jail hours later.

The court system, however, neglected to confirm Rosales-Velasquez’s home address prior to his discharge from jail. The Hyattsville address listed in court documents was invalid.

“Oh my God,” said Karen Ayala-Ventura after ABC7 knocked on her front door. “We rented the basement to Herlan, but he moved out more than a year ago.”

Ayala-Ventura explained she and her husband had no indication that Rosales-Velasquez was dabbling in nefarious circles. In fact, the alleged human trafficker had invited the couple to his daughter’s birthday party a few years ago.

“What if he doesn’t show up for court? Will the police kick down my door looking for him?” Ayala-Ventura asked while showing ABC7 her empty basement in effort to prove her account.

After Commissioner Onwuzuruike’s set a nominal, $800 bond, ICE agents scrambled to detain Rosales-Velasquez for fear he might flee. According to ICE, the 34-year-old entered the U.S. in April 2005 without proper documentation. An immigration judge later ordered Rosales-Velasquez’s deportation, but ICE says for some reason that never happened.

Like Judge Ferretti, Commissioner Onwuzuruike declined to comment for this story, citing Maryland judiciary policies. A Clash of Governing Worldviews?

This sequence of events transpired in the immediate wake of Gov. Larry Hogan declaring war on human trafficking in Maryland. The governor made that avowal during an August 9, press conference attended by local law enforcement and political leaders, including then Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett.

“For four years we have been working to combat the criminal gang enterprises that are terrorizing our communities,” a tearful Hogan stated before a crowd of around 100 people at Montgomery County’s Department of Health and Human Services building in Rockville.

Hogan took the opportunity to reveal a new statewide initiative aimed at cracking down on human trafficking. The list of improvements included $9 million in funding to strengthen victim services and police efforts, a $500,000 grant to create a human trafficking research center at the University of Maryland, plus re-introducing legislation in Annapolis that would classify felony human trafficking as a “violent crime.”

“These vulnerable young victims are being coerced and threatened. They’re exploited and enslaved and then they’re often repeatedly sexually assaulted and raped,” Hogan shared. “As a father, I’m heartbroken for these daughters and sons who are being victimized and brutalized.”

ABC7 contacted the governor’s office three times asking for its opinion on how the court system has handled Diaz-Mejia and Rosales-Velasquez’s cases, but did not receive a reply. Human Trafficking On The World Stage:

“This is what’s manifesting in all 50 states across the country,” said Bradley Myles, CEO of the Polaris Project, a D.C. based non-profit formed to prevent human trafficking worldwide. “It’s happening at a gigantic scale.”

According to Myles, 25 million people are victims of human trafficking worldwide. Two-thirds of those individuals are trapped in labor trafficking (i.e. agriculture, construction, fishing, carnivals). The other one-third consists of the sex trade, the majority of those victims being women and girls.

With the advent of technology, street prostitution has “precipitously declined” over time.

“The fact is most of the sex trade has moved online for the efficiency gains where you can attract thousands of customers who are anonymous, and you don’t have police cars driving around,” Myles shared.

Truck stop prostitution, however, is still rampant in certain parts of the county. In those circles, pimps advertise women on CB radios or order girls to knock on windows of parked tractor-trailers.

Although there are numerous sub-categories of prostitution, Myles explained there are three primary types of sex trafficking in the U.S.

1.) U.S. citizens pimp out females by posting ads online, and then directing “johns” to a local hotel room where the woman is waiting. These pimps typically assign women with a daily monetary quota. In other words, the number of clients does not necessarily matter so long as the women hit their preset number.

2.) Women from Asian nations like China, Korea and Thailand are brought to the U.S. and placed in massage parlors. The women work 10 to 12 hours a day, usually providing services to a different customer each hour. These woman are often kept in “debt bondage” by way of threats, manipulation and deception.

3.) Latino gangs bring women from Central American nations like El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico, and place them in bars, houses and apartments. The women are priced not in hour-long increments, but rather by the quarter hour.

“So usually those types of brothels have guys pay $30 per 15 minutes of sexual intercourse,” Myles remarked. “Those women work a 12-hour day — from 10am to 10pm — and usually have to be with 30 to 40 guys in a day. It’s the highest volume anywhere in the commercial sex trade.”

And that’s precisely why law enforcement sources tell ABC7 that Montgomery County District Court Judge Ferretti and Commissioner Onwuzuruike missed the mark by granting bond to Diaz-Mejia and Rosales-Velasquez. Both men are scheduled for trial in late March, and face up 41 and 31 years in prison respectively. The Polaris Project’s Roots:

Two students at Brown University formed the Polaris Project in 2002 after learning about a human trafficking case near their Ivy League campus in Providence, Rhode Island. The group later moved to D.C., and now has 110 employees. It also runs the National Human Trafficking Hotline for the U.S., which is manned 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

“The hotline is really a lifeline for victims because increasingly victims are calling from within the trafficking situation. They’re hiding in a hotel room or they are hiding in a house. They’ll call or send a silent text message while their trafficker is still there.”

The hotline accepted its first phone call in 2007. It now averages 100,000 calls per year. Operators have more than 3,000 non-profits and 1,000 law enforcement agencies listed in their digital Rolodex. That helps pair callers with assistance including, but not limited to safe housing, job placement, attorneys, churches and hospitals.

TOPICS: Crime/Corruption/Government/News/Current/Events/Current Events Events/Politics/Elections

________________________

OPINION: OMG! Whats Wrong With Our Law Enforcement To Allow Criminals, Human Traffickers Out On Bond and Back Into The Communities To Do More Harm.

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gnarcissistic · 8 years ago

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Moving from Virginia to Maryland http://ift.tt/2kXiUqZ

Virginia is a popular state because of its rich culture and good environment but its neighboring state, Maryland, is also a nice place to live. If you are moving between the two, here are some things you should consider and plan for beforehand.

Search: Find Apartments for Rent in Rockville

Economy

Before moving from one state to another it is important to research what economic differences there will be in your new home state. Even if the states are close to each other there can be big differences. For example, Virginia’s income tax is higher than what you pay in Maryland. The sales tax of the two states are the same, though. It is important to consider these and other taxes before moving because you need to make sure you adjust your budget for living in Maryland.

Transportation

Maryland is a small state, broken down into distinct regions. The Atlantic coast is located at the eastern shore, and this is a place with beaches, larger cities and small towns, with areas for seafood, sailing and southern-style hospitality. The major part of Maryland is considered part of the DC-Metro area, with lots of job opportunities. Because of all these jobs, the morning commute can be real tough, which is something you should consider before moving. Are you staying at the same job? If so, how long will your commute now be?

Related: 5 Ways to Survive a Major Move

One option to avoid that terrible commute is to look for an apartment not far from a Metro line. The Red Line goes north into Maryland and south into D.C., passing through the popular towns of Bethesda, Grosvenor, White Flint, Twinbrook, Shady Grove, Rockville, Takoma Park and Silver Spring. Another option is the Green Line, which diagonally cuts towards the east and north of D.C. and has stops in College Park, Prince George’s Plaza and Greenbelt. With your apartment close to a metro-accessible neighborhood, you can explore the city without having to drive and be held up in any highway traffic. Plus, if your new (or previous) job is in DC then the commute will be a breeze.

Entertainment

For those in live in Northern Virginia, places like Fairfax, Arlington, and Alexandria are the spots to go for dining and entertainment. While you can still do so after moving to Maryland, you should also explore what Maryland has to offer in this area. Bethesda has shopping, concert venues, and unique things to do like Bowlmore Lanes. Silver Spring is another hip area with lots of entertainment venues like the Fillmore and AFI Silver Theatre.

An Afternoon At Bowlmor. Credit: Meg Lauber on flickr creative commons

Don’t be afraid to make the plunge- moving to a new place can be super exciting and rewarding- but make sure you’re fully prepared for all aspects of moving to a different state!

Find apartments in Northern VA, Metro MD, and Washington, D.C. with Apartment Showcase.

Neighborhoods, Tips, apartment, apartments, economy, local fun, Maryland, maryland apartment, metro, moving, moving in, moving tips, tips, Virginia

#IFTTT #WordPress #DC #VA #MD #DMV #apartments #apartment #blog #article

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apartmentshowcase · 8 years ago

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Top 5 Reasons to Live in Bethesda

http://www.apartmentshowcase.com/blog/neighborhoods/2017/05/top-5-reasons-to-live-in-bethesda/

Not quite city and not quite suburb, downtown Bethesda offers a metro accessible life-style as well as budget friendly housing options. With shops and restaurants galore, Bethesda, Maryland is the best of both worlds for its residents.

Search: Find Apartments for Rent in Montgomery County

Here are five reasons one might consider moving to Bethesda:

Culture

Bethesda Blues and Jazz Supper Club

Bethesda features several playhouses, it’s own jazz club and the Writer’s Center. Most weekends the main street hosts festivals and fairs. On rainy weekends you can catch up on the latest films at the Bethesda Row Cinema.There’s always something culturally significant to experience in Bethesda and of course it’s easy to access cultural events and galleries in the District.

Location

Bethesda, MD provides the best of many worlds. It’s close to route 495 and other major roadways to help its residents easily leave the city, it’s a stone’s throw away from up and coming Silver Spring and Rockville as well as a quick drive or metro away from Northern Virginia, and it’s very easily bus and metro accessible. Residents can quickly enter the city with ease and convenience.

School District

Montgomery County Public School District has a strong reputation. They have some of the highest-ranking schools in Maryland and schools that rank in the top 100 in the country. If you are looking to send your child to a top public school, a Bethesda zip code might be your ticket.

Shops and Restaurants

Persimmon Restaurant

From designer brands to chic consignment, from Italian cuisine to Indian dishes, you will not run out of places to eat and shop in Bethesda. Living within walking distance of the many fabulous restaurants in downtown Bethesda will keep you busy and nourished.

Related: Local DMV Coffee Joint Guide

Affordability + Safety

Although Bethesda is not cheap, there are many reasonably priced apartment buildings in the area. For those who may not be able to afford a super safe central DC neighborhood, Bethesda is a ritzy alternative. Bethesda is a quiet neighborhood in which residents can continually find new experiences and yummy food at reasonable prices.

Let Apartment Showcase help you find an apartment in Bethesda, MD within your budget today.

#apartment #apartments #Bethesda #entertainment #Maryland #Md.#moving #things to do #Local Fun #Neighborhoods

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chatting-leaves · 5 years ago

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Someone From The Internet (5/?): Double Dip

With years and years of hindsight, I've found that I have some very interesting stories of people who I have met online, some of which have sprung into solid friendships lasting decades while others have been very short lived yet have been memorable for other reasons. Once in a while, you have two that end up crossing in the most awkward way possible with results that, for myself, were quite cringeworthy at best and aggravating at worst. Bonus points when this becomes an issue in your regular, physical, day-to-day life. To begin, let's go back to the fountain of hope known as 2008.

As that year dawned, I made a lofty goal for myself: I wanted out of Albany as soon as possible, preferably in two months, and I ideally wanted to be out of New York State as I was still very bitter over losing a job with the state, a coveted thing to have, the prior summer. In the interim period, I lived on a combination of unemployment, a credit card handled by my Dad, and a well-timed check from my former job for a retroactive raise negotiated after my departure. After this, I had a random idea:

"Maybe I should see if all the taxes I didn't do in college could pay off." After doing them for every year going back as far as I could, I discovered that I had a refund of a little under $3000 coming my way via all of the tax credits I could have taken. This put a move within reach and my landing spot came down to two places, Boston and Washington, DC, the advantage going to DC because of a greater number of people I knew there and a desire to get to another part of the country. As any thirsty twenty-five year old would do, I began testing the waters of online dating in the DC area, a place where several people I knew said that the man-to-women ratio was greatly in my favor. One of the first people I began talking to was a woman a year younger than me in the Virginia suburbs we'll call Jolene.

In some regards, Jolene and I clashed. She came from a well-off family on the Gold Coast of southwest Connecticut, the land of financial types avoiding the high taxes of New York, a different experience from my down-to-earth rural roots albeit eroded from years in smaller cities. While I was a devout non-denominational Christian at that time, she was Jewish; no big deal since I am prone to have a phileosemitic streak and have been always interested by Jewish culture. My run of the mill state university education contrasted to her multiple degrees from a renowned tech school which led her to become a master in web design, the fruits of pushing girls into STEM fields before that became a buzzword. On the other hand, our sports leanings, political leanings, and our ties to Connecticut were things that we immediately bonded over and found chemistry with. All seemed to be going well, then the first shoe dropped.

The brother of a good friend, a lobbyist for a tech industry association, was buying a condo in Silver Spring, MD - the town I ideally wanted to live in after being sold on it a year earlier. He needed help to help him move his belongings from the house he already owned right down the road in an isolated residential neighborhood of DC, problem is there was a mere range of when he would close on the condo. I turned this into an exploratory trip, making appointments for several job interviews along the way. Upon hearing this news, Jolene said that she really wanted to meet while I was there.

"Where would you like to meet," I asked. "I'd preferably want to do something in the District." "There's a Starbucks in Clarendon that works for me," Jolene responded, citing a popular neighborhood in Arlington right along the Orange Line of the Metro "It's right between work and home so I can just stop on the way home from work." "I ideally wouldn't, but I'll try," I responded, genuinely wanting an additional friendship because I had designs of having a place to live when I left that week. We made plans for that Wednesday afternoon with the caveat that I may have to punt it if the closing already happened and my help was needed to help my friend's brother move. As I was about to leave, the news that the condo was closed on broke and I was going to have to help. Could I punt this? No. I reached out to Jolene, could she reschedule for the next day? No, she had plans. Friday morning near her job? Also a no-go. I apologized for having to cancel on such short notice, hoping we could make plans when, not if, I moved.

The next time I was able to check anything, she blocked me on both the dating site we had met on and on Facebook where we had already been friends. I was flabbergasted at such an overreaction to a legitimate issue, shot her a text saying so, and went along my way or at least tried to do so. Such a drastic overreaction over such a minor problem clearly was a sign that she was not meant to be long for my life and I, even in my desperate state, knew better. This unfortunately is not where Jolene's story ends.

Fast forward a little over a year and my first year in DC was a roller coaster: Job issues, living situation issues, social circles turning on me in a heartbeat, and tons of other drama. When my third living situation in just over a year, one in a large apartment complex where myself and a debt-ridden technical writer paid cheap rent to enable a senile man pushing 80, I looked for something new and found that the solution was right over my head in the apartment literally above mine. My new roommates were two guys a couple of years my junior, Ben (a fellow upstate New York native who worked in the arts field) and Nate (a local who was an accounting student). At first, Nate and I got along a little too well, he had family ties to my former home of Poughkeepsie, was producer of a college radio show I liked, and had an inkling that as our mothers had the same rare maiden name that we may be related, a thing confirmed years later. We all got along at first, however as the summer chugged by Nate and I started to wear on each other, I for my tendencies to be cluttered, he for the fact that I seemed to take more interest in his cat than he did.

By the start of September, things began to silently boil over between Nate and I. One night, he confronts me and says that he and Ben had made the decision to kick me out of the apartment effective the end of that month due to my cleanliness issues in our shared kitchen. I then ran this allegation by Ben who then raced back from work to find that Nate was putting words and stance's in Ben's mouth; the final consensus was that we all had to get better as while I was the worst of the three, we all were to blame somehow.

A week later, fresh off of a trip back home and some other activities with friends, I arrived home from having dinner with a friend to see Nate on the couch, a rare sight in itself as Nate was a secretive person that rarely left his bedroom. A minute later, a curvy figure emerged from our hall bathroom who looked a bit familiar but I couldn't immediately place the face.

"This is my new girlfriend, Jolene," Nate said as we awkwardly shook hands, both of us knowing that we had previously pursued each other. We exchanged pleasantries then I ran to my bedroom to try to process this shocking news. It isn't everyday that you find out your roommate is dating a girl you once pursued who cut off contact because your plans changed last minute. The next day, with Nate off for the weekend to Jolene's apartment in Virginia, I revealed to Ben what had gone on between Jolene and I and how she had left me jaded. Ben then revealed a bombshell of sorts.

"He's head over heels for her because it'll force him to convert." Raised in a Unitarian household, Nate had an almost obsessive love of Judaism and yearned to be Jewish himself, a somewhat problematic situation given the matrilineal nature of that religion and the painstaking process of perseverance and studying needed to convert. In fact, when Jolene were on better terms she had told me that she would've been fine marrying a Gentile willing to convert. "Deep down, I think she might be a bit too cheerful and liberal for Nate," Ben continued alluding Nate's love of Libertarian politics and guns, a potential backlash of the far-left and vehemently anti-gun nature of the suburb where he had grown up. Personally, I wanted the whole thing to blow up because seeing Jolene made me loathe myself, that somehow I did something I didn't realize to warrant being unpersoned and that she now was dating my own roommate whose own social skills were lacking. Such an idea drove me crazy as I was trying to work through some personal issues on that front and to see that front and center only flamed out my insecurities.

Jolene was the last straw in the already strained relationship between Nate and myself and soon enough I began avoiding him (and her) as much as possible. Soon enough, he began spending most of his time at her place and spent maybe a token night or two a week in Maryland at best, his cat pretty much becoming my responsibility. Eventually, he announced his departure and while he came back to help us try to find a roommate, he had long mentally checked out of our apartment and I was ready to move on just to not have to deal with the awkwardness.

As if his girlfriend didn't do enough, Nate ended our friendship and joint tenancy by mass blocking me on everything, unpersoning me without a reason that could be easily discerned on the surface. I darn well knew why, that my past with Jolene made things weird for all of us as a whole, however I did end up moving on.

Eventually, Nate proposed to Jolene, successfully converted to Judaism, and ended up marrying her a little over two years later, coincidentally a day after I married my now-wife. Such impeccable timing given what I went through with the both of them.

#writing #somebody from the internet #camp nano april 2020 #nanowrimo

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marilynngmesalo · 6 years ago

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Arrested U.S. Coast Guard officer accused of targeting politicians, journalists kept in jail

Arrested U.S. Coast Guard officer accused of targeting politicians, journalists kept in jail Arrested U.S. Coast Guard officer accused of targeting politicians, journalists kept in jail https://ift.tt/2GWYSuk

GREENBELT, Md. — A Coast Guard officer suspected of drawing up a hit list of top Democrats and network TV journalists spent hours on his work computer researching the words and deeds of infamous bombers and mass shooters while also stockpiling weapons, federal prosecutors said Thursday.

Lt. Christopher Paul Hasson, 49, was ordered held without bail on drug and gun charges while prosecutors gather evidence to support more serious charges involving what they portrayed as a domestic terror plot by a man who espoused white-supremacist views.

Hasson, a former Marine who worked at Coast Guard headquarters in Washington on a program to acquire advanced new cutters for the agency, was arrested last week. Investigators gave no immediate details on how or when he came to their attention.

This image provided by the U.S. District Court in Maryland shows a photo of firearms and ammunition that was in the motion for detention pending trial in the case against Christopher Paul Hasson.

Federal agents found 15 guns, including several rifles, and over 1,000 rounds of ammunition inside his basement apartment in Silver Spring, Maryland.

In court papers this week, federal prosecutors said he compiled what appeared to be a computer-spreadsheet hit list that included House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and presidential hopefuls Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand, Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker and Kamala Harris. Also mentioned were such figures as MSNBC’s Chris Hayes and Joe Scarborough and CNN’s Chris Cuomo and Van Jones.

In arguing against bail Thursday, federal prosecutor Jennifer Sykes said Hasson would log onto his government computer during work and spend hours searching for information on such people as the Unabomber, the Virginia Tech gunman and anti-abortion bomber Eric Rudolph.

Sykes said the charges so far are just the “tip of the iceberg” and called Hasson a “domestic terrorist” who appeared to be planning attacks inspired by the manifesto of Anders Behring Breivik, the Norwegian right-wing extremist who killed 77 people in a 2011 bomb-and-shooting rampage.

Public defender Julie Stelzig accused prosecutors of making inflammatory accusations against her client without providing the evidence to back them up. “It is not a crime to think negative thoughts about people,” she said.

She also questioned whether the government is trying to make an example out of Hasson, given criticism that authorities have overlooked domestic terrorists.

“Perhaps now they can say, ‘Look, we’re not targeting only Muslims,”‘ she said.

U.S. Attorney Robert Hur (centre) speaks while flanked by FBI Special Agent Gordon Johnson (right), and Art Walker (left) of the Coast Guard Investigative Service, after a hearing at the United States District Court Greenbelt Division is shown on Thursday, Feb. 21, 2019 in Greenbelt, Maryland.

Stelzig said Hasson doesn’t have a criminal record and has served 28 years in the Coast Guard. She described him as a “committed public servant” and a loving husband and father.

Hasson spent about $14,000 on weapons, survival gear and other equipment, Sykes said. However, Hasson’s public defender argued that the number of firearms found in Hasson’s apartment is “modest, at best” for many gun collectors in other parts of the country.

“There is nothing I’m seeing in here that would show he was stockpiling weapons,” Stelzig said.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Charles Day agreed to keep Hasson behind bars but said he is willing to revisit his decision in 14 days if prosecutors haven’t brought more serious charges by then.

Hasson was previously an aircraft mechanic in the Marines, serving from 1988 to 1994.

Court papers detail a 2017 draft email in which he wrote that he was “dreaming of a way to kill almost every last person on the earth.”

Also, Hasson sent himself a draft letter in 2017 that he had written to a neo-Nazi leader and “identified himself as a White Nationalist for over 30 years and advocated for ‘focused violence’ in order to establish a white homeland,” prosecutors said.

Stelzig identified that neo-Nazi leader as white separatist Harold Covington. The Southern Poverty Law Center reported that Covington died last July.

Last February, Hasson searched the internet for the “most liberal senators” and also asked, “Do senators have ss (Secret Service) protection” and “Are supreme court justices protected,” according to the court filing.

Bob Davis, who rents a house from Hasson in coastal Currituck County, North Carolina, and met him a few times, said he was “absolutely shocked” by the allegations.

“He was a very stern military guy. That’s how I saw him. I truly nothing but respected him. There are people in life who are not 100 percenters. He was a 100 percenter,” Davis said, meaning Hasson worked hard and didn’t slack off. “He portrayed in a very professional manner. He was honourable. … He was a good man.”

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thelokhagroup · 6 years ago

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Additional Information About 3219 Beaverwood Ln, Silver Spring, MD 20906

3219 Beaverwood Ln, Silver Spring, MD 20906 3219 Beaverwood Ln, Silver Spring, MD 20906 Bedrooms: 4 3 Full Bath(s) Lot Size Area: 1517

*School data provided by National Center for Education Statistics, Pitney Bowes, and GreatSchools. Intended for reference only. GreatSchools Ratings compare a school’s test performance to statewide results. To verify enrollment eligibility, contact the school or district directly.

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thelokhagroup · 7 years ago

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Additional Information About 3006 Gazebo Ct, Silver Spring, MD 20904

3006 Gazebo Ct, Silver Spring, MD 20904 3006 Gazebo Ct, Silver Spring, MD 20904 Year Taxes Land Additions Total Assessment 2018 $4,305 Price Not Available + N/A = Price Not Available 2017 $4,095 $267,600 + $149,100 = $416,700 2016 $3,641 Price Not Available + N/A = $390,133

The price and tax history data displayed is obtained from public records and/or MLS feeds from the local jurisdiction. Contact your REALTOR® directly in order to obtain the most up-to-date information available.

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thelokhagroup · 7 years ago

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Property Details for 3408 Island Creek Ct Unit 128C

3408 Island Creek Ct Unit 128 C, Silver Spring, MD 20906 Year Taxes Land Additions Total Assessment 2018 $3,389 Price Not Available + N/A = Price Not Available 2017 $3,309 Price Not Available + N/A = $346,667 2016 $3,020 Price Not Available + N/A = $333,333

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thelokhagroup · 7 years ago

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Additional Information About 14201 Catamount Ct, Silver Spring, MD 20906

14201 Catamount Ct, Silver Spring, MD 20906 14201 Catamount Ct, Silver Spring, MD 20906 Bedrooms: 3 3 Full Bath(s) Lot Size Area: 3000

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thelokhagroup · 7 years ago

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Additional Information About 330 Scott Dr, Silver Spring, MD 20904

330 Scott Dr, Silver Spring, MD 20904 330 Scott Dr, Silver Spring, MD 20904 Bedrooms: 6 4 Full Bath(s) Lot Size Area: 43560

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Hogan Had Little Contact With Discovery Before Company Decided To Leave Silver Spring

Chair of Maryland Democratic Party contends governor’s actions were a ‘monumental failure of leadership’

The Discovery building in downtown Silver Spring. Credit: Joseph Zimmermann

Maryland government officials had little more than a month to try to convince Discovery Communications to remain in downtown Silver Spring after the company notified them shortly after Thanksgiving that it was considering leaving the state.

During that time, Gov. Larry Hogan spoke by phone once with Discovery CEO David Zaslav—on Dec. 8—before the multimedia company announced Jan. 9 it would vacate its Silver Spring headquarters. He never met with Zaslav, the head of one of the state’s four Fortune 500 companies.

State commerce officials initially met with Discovery officials Nov. 29—about four months after Discovery announced in late July it was acquiring Scripps Networks Interactive, based in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Meanwhile, Tennessee officials were credited by Scripps CEO Ken Lowe earlier this year with beginning talks with Discovery officials immediately about the company’s plans after the deal was announced last summer, according to published reports. Discovery eventually decided to move its headquarters to New York City and its operations center to Knoxville.

Discovery, which owns TV channels such as Discovery, Animal Planet and TLC, bought Scripps, which operates HGTV, Food Network and Travel Channel, partly to give it more leverage with cable providers in negotiating channel fees.

Though state and Montgomery County officials say they made every effort to keep the company in Silver Spring, the governor’s apparent lack of involvement appears to be in sharp contrast to his recent efforts to lure Amazon to build its second headquarters in the county, which include shepherding a tax incentive package that could be worth as much as $5 billion through the General Assembly this spring.

Landing Amazon with its promise of 50,000 jobs could be a major coup for the state and county, but the loss of Discovery, with its 1,300 employees, is an economic blow, especially to downtown Silver Spring, where it had anchored the community’s revitalization with the opening of its headquarters in 2003.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, center, participates in a bill signing ceremony April 25 for the Amazon tax incentive package that’s part of his administration’s efforts to land the company in Montgomery County. Credit: Andrew Metcalf

Kathleen Matthews, chair of the Maryland Democratic Party, said the record of Hogan’s communications with Discovery demonstrates his negligence. Matthews previously worked as the chief communications officer for Marriott, one of the three other Fortune 500 companies in the state.

“As somebody who worked for one of the largest corporations and major employers in Maryland for nearly a decade, I’m appalled that Gov. Hogan was so negligent and did not reach out to the CEO of Discovery, which is a major employer in our state,” Matthews said Wednesday. “I think for a governor who campaigned that Maryland would be open for business under his leadership, this was a monumental failure of leadership.”

The details about Maryland officials’ interactions with Discovery emerged in information provided to Bethesda Beat from Hogan’s office as well as emails between Discovery and state officials provided to the state’s Democratic Party through a public information request it made after Discovery announced it would leave Maryland. Those emails were shared with Bethesda Beat.

Amelia Chasse, the governor’s spokeswoman, said state officials did everything possible to keep Discovery in Silver Spring. She provided a schedule that showed Discovery representatives first advised the governor’s office Nov. 29 of the company’s potential relocation plans. Between that date and Jan. 9, when Discovery made its announcement, staff members from the governor’s office and Department of Commerce met or spoke on conference calls with Discovery officials another six times, according to Chasse.

Those meetings and calls mostly took place between Maryland Secretary of Commerce Mike Gill, his staff members, Hogan administration officials and David Leavy, Discovery’s chief corporate operations and communications officer.

Chasse wrote in an email Thursday that Hogan also spoke with Zaslav on Jan. 9, the day Discovery announced it would vacate the Silver Spring headquarters, move its global headquarters to New York City and locate its operations center at the Scripps campus in Knoxville.

“As soon as Discovery signaled their potential relocation, the Hogan administration worked swiftly with our partners in Montgomery County to fight to keep the company here in Maryland,” Chasse wrote in an email last week. “The state and county put together an aggressive, competitive incentive offering that ultimately was not able to prevail over financial and geographic realties resulting from Discovery’s merger with Scripps.”

Chasse accused the state’s Democratic Party of attempting to “score cheap political points” by criticizing Hogan for the loss of Discovery.

“The fact that Democratic leaders in Montgomery County who were actually involved in the negotiation process have offered nothing but praise for the role played by the governor and the administration raises the question of who the Maryland Democratic Party is serving with this false attack,” Chasse wrote in an email.

Matthews said Hogan, who is running for re-election in November, took every opportunity in his 2014 campaign to criticize Democrats for not being proactive in bringing jobs to Maryland.

“So it’s absurd to say this is a cheap political shot,” Matthews said. “We’re just holding the governor up to his own standards.”

The Silver Spring headquarters is Discovery’s largest office location and primarily home to the company’s operations, technology and corporate services employees, according to Discovery. The company does plan to keep a couple hundred of its employees in Maryland to handle government relations and other functions and is seeking office space. Discovery already has offices in New York, where Zaslav and many of its executives work. The company also maintains offices in Los Angeles, Miami, London, Singapore, Warsaw and Milan.

Besides Discovery and Marriott, the other Fortune 500 companies in Maryland are Lockheed Martin and Host Hotels and Resorts.

Neither state nor county officials provided details of the incentive package offered to Discovery during negotiations. Chasse said the state doesn’t typically release details of incentive packages that aren’t accepted. Jennifer McEachern, spokeswoman for the Tennessee economic development department, wrote in an email Thursday that she can’t share details about the Discovery incentive package because the contracts between the state and Discovery haven’t been finalized.

Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett said in an interview last week the governor’s office worked cooperatively with county officials to try to keep Discovery in Silver Spring, but ultimately the company’s departure was due to changes in the television industry. He believes the state’s offer exceeded the incentive package offered by Tennessee, based on the information he was provided.

“Based on what we saw and what we did analyze, it was clear to us that it was not a question of the incentive package,” Leggett said, “but a business decision.”

He said Discovery was interested in expanding its digital media operations and Scripps was set up to excel in that portion of the business.

County spokesman Patrick Lacefield wrote in an email the county first met with Discovery officials about the Scripps merger on Nov. 21 and after that county officials had a continuing dialogue with Discovery staff about its plans. Leggett said he spoke with Zaslav during this time.

Lacefield wrote the county did not offer in writing any type of incentives to Discovery to stay in Silver Spring.

One government official with knowledge of the Discovery negotiations said on background that there were concerns about providing lucrative tax or financial incentives to Discovery to keep its offices in Silver Spring because of the company’s business struggles over the past few years. Some feared that investing in Discovery might not pay off if the company couldn’t turn its business model around as consumer dollars shifted from cable subscriptions to Netflix and other on-demand media and entertainment providers, according to the official.

Since mid-2014 the company’s stock price has declined from around $43 per share to around $24 per share in April, a figure that reflected a rebound from a previous low of about $16.50 per share in November. The company has experienced declining revenue from its cable TV channels as more people cancel cable subscriptions in favor of streaming services.

The emails and meeting descriptions provided to Bethesda Beat by the state Democratic Party also showed multiple attempts by a Discovery representative to set up a meeting between Hogan and Zaslav when the governor first took office in 2015.

Discovery lobbyist Robert Garagiola sent multiple emails requesting a meeting over three months before a 15-minute call with the governor was scheduled. After sending eight messages to Hogan’s scheduler and one request to Hogan’s brother, Patrick Hogan, Garagiola wrote to Hogan’s then-Deputy Chief of Staff Michael Richard on March 24, 2015, that he had “been trying to schedule a call between Discovery Communications CEO and Governor for more than 2 months.”

“Request was 10-15 min call,” Garagiola continued in the email. “More meet and greet. The sky is not falling for Discovery in MD; CEO had developed good rapport with [former governors Martin] O’Malley and [Bob] Ehrlich (as well as Govs in other states) and is seeking the same with Governor Hogan. They are a multi-billion worldwide communications business headquartered in MD … . Can you help facilitate?”

Hogan and Zaslav eventually spoke on the phone on April 20, 2015, three months after Hogan took office, according to the records.

In response to a question about why the initial call took so long to set up, Chasse wrote, “The governor had a call with Mr. Zazlav [sic] shortly after taking office, during which they developed and maintained a cordial relationship. Discovery officials have publicly attested to the strength of the company’s relationship with the state.”

When asked for details about the calls between Zaslav and Hogan concerning the company’s relocation plans, Leavy, the Discovery executive, said in an email to Bethesda Beat that Discovery does not discuss its interactions with government officials.

“I can share that we had extensive conversations at all levels of the Maryland State Government and the office of the Montgomery County Executive over the course of our deliberations,” Leavy wrote. “Those discussions were constructive, comprehensive and wide ranging. Maryland elected officials worked very hard and did their jobs in trying to find a solution for Discovery and for the state. No one ‘lost’ Discovery.”

Leggett said he spoke twice on the phone with Zaslav during the negotiations and that the CEO said that leaving Silver Spring was a tough decision for the company. At one point in the conversations, there was a proposed compromise that would have potentially split Discovery employees between Knoxville and Silver Spring, Leggett said.

Leavy wrote in an email to Bethesda Beat last month that Discovery chose New York City as the location for its new global headquarters because of the nature of the media business and because it “is the epicenter of the media industry.”

He wrote that Knoxville was chosen for Discovery’s operations office because it has “a strong community and amenities, favorable business climate, and a more favorable cost of living.” Leavy described the Scripps campus as “world class.”

A Kiplinger report noted that Scripps spends about half of what it costs Discovery to create content for its TV channels and websites.

The Scripps headquarters in Knoxville, Tennessee. Credit: Google Maps

Chasse said part of the reason why Maryland officials didn’t seek meetings with Discovery prior to Nov. 29 was because they didn’t have any indication the company was considering leaving Silver Spring. She noted that in September, the state worked with the company to provide a $625,000 loan to help pay for renovations to its Silver Spring headquarters. Hogan said in a press release at the time the money would be used to enable the company to “expand their headquarters and consolidate their company.” The loan was scuttled after Discovery announced it would leave.

However, in September, Discovery officials were publicly saying they had not made a decision about the location of the company’s corporate headquarters following the merger with Scripps. Earlier, in late July, shortly after the deal was announced, a Discovery spokeswoman told Bethesda Beat the company had made no decisions about office locations.

While Maryland officials were not initially active in discussions with the company about its possible relocation, Tennessee officials had been engaged since the deal was announced.

Knoxnews.com, the Knoxville News Sentinel website, reported that Knoxville Mayor Madeline Rogero and the Knoxville Chamber had been “talking to Discovery executives” since the Scripps sale was announced. City officials were initially concerned Knoxville would lose Scripps, but the city ended up landing Discovery employees instead.

Discovery’s decision to relocate company operations to Knoxville “took something that could have been perceived as lemons, with losing a major player, and turned it into lemonade with them making themselves a major presence in Knoxville,” Bill Lyons, the chief policy officer and deputy to Rogero, told the news organization.

Lyons added that the move would cement Knoxville’s role “as a hub for video production and distribution”—something that Discovery’s initial move did for Silver Spring after the company arrived there in 2003.

The article quotes Scripps CEO Ken Lowe with crediting Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam, Rogero and Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett with being “actively engaged with David [Zaslav] and Discovery since the day the deal was announced.”

Matthews said Hogan’s office mismanaged its interactions with Discovery.

“One of the basic functions of a governor is to protect their constituents’ livelihoods and jobs,” Matthews said. “It’s apparent from the record that Gov. Hogan sat on his hands after Discovery reached out multiple times to him and even after the merger was announced. Obviously Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam took advantage of the opportunity. He was proactive and as a result he was able to attract hundreds of high-paying Maryland jobs to Tennessee.”

Leavy previously said in an email to Bethesda Beat at the end of March that the company is “months away” from making decisions about potential layoffs or major employee relocations as part of the planned moves.

Discovery’s exit leaves downtown Silver Spring with a 10-story, 540,000-square-foot building needing a new tenant. Discovery owns the building and has contracted with the commercial real estate broker JLL to sell it. Leggett said last week there has been some interest in the building, but most of the interest has been in dividing the space to house multiple tenants. He said the county remains interested in attracting one or two major tenants.

David Petr, CEO of Montgomery County’s Economic Development Corp., told a County Council committee last week that he’s “cautiously optimistic” that a buyer will purchase the building, but he warned that a decision will not happen “in the next month or two.”

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thelokhagroup · 7 years ago

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Silver Spring, MD Real Estate: Open Houses

So you want to look at some open houses for sale in Silver Spring this weekend? Good idea. An open house planned by the right realtor can help you in any number of ways. Open houses provide you information on how to list and show your own house and they can give you an idea of the quality of homes in an area before you waste too much time going house to house.

The best open house of all? The open house that you end up owning. Take a look at the open houses in and near Silver Spring listed by our partners at realtor.com.

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thelokhagroup · 7 years ago

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Silver Spring, MD Real Estate: Open Houses

The best open house of all? The open house that you end up owning. Take a look at the open houses in and near Silver Spring listed by our partners at realtor.com.

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