Ervin Hosts Ceremony for Fenton Street Market

The market's spring debut is Saturday, April 28 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

  When the Fenton Street Market reopens Saturday, Councilwoman Valerie Ervin (D-District 5) will be on hand to speak. Ervin has been one the market's strongest advocates alongside Councilmember Hans Riemer (At-Large). The ceremony to celebrate the reopening will be begin at 10 a.m. at the intersection of Fenton Street and Ellsworth Drive. This is a huge moment of success for lead organizers Hannah McCann and Megan Moriarty. The fate of the market was challenged in July 2011 after county officials considered increasing the market's fee from $48 per Saturday to more than $1,200 each week. The increased fee is based on an hourly rate of $125 to use half of the plaza.  FSM officials were initally offered the discounted rate to help determine …

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Councilwoman Ervin Expected at Monday's Community Meeting

The meeting starts at 7 p.m. at the Silver Spring Civic Building.

The Silver Spring Advisory Board has a full agenda scheduled for Monday’s meeting at the Silver Spring Civic Building at 1 Veterans Place. Public comment is set for 7 p.m., followed by county Councilwoman Valerie Ervin (D-District 5), who is expected to deliver updates on the Capital Crescent Trail and the Silver Spring Green Trail, including the Seminary Road Improvements. Other agenda items include:

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Valerie Ervin Q&A: East County Has Been Forgotten

Councilmember Valerie Ervin now represents most of East Montgomery County on the County Council.

Just this month, most of East Montgomery County (except the western portion of Colesville) moved from Council District 4 to Council District 5. Councilmember Valerie Ervin, a Democrat in Silver Spring, has represented the district for the past six years. Colesville Patch spoke with Ervin about some of the issues that are most pressing for this part of the county: development, crime, opportunities for youth and Washington Adventist Hospital's slated relocation.  Colesville Patch: Coming from having some of East County, but not most of it, to now having the majority of East County, what kind of things have you done to get acquainted with the area? Valerie Ervin: First of all, it’s not a hard challenge to get to know East County; I know East …

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Who Reps You? Council District Boundaries Change Today

Montgomery County Council districts changed on March 7, affecting about 20 percent of residents.

Many East Montgomery County residents went to sleep in District 4 Tuesday night. When they woke up Wednesday morning, they were part of District 5.  Montgomery County Council districts changed on March 7, 90 days after a redistricting plan that moved about a fifth of the county's residents into a new district was approved.  The new bounds of District 5, which is represented by Councilmember Valerie Ervin, a Democrat, include parts of many communities in East County like White Oak, Hillandale, Colesville, Cloverly and Burtonsville. District 5 also includes downtown Silver Spring and Takoma Park. (See a map of the new district attached to this article.)  Communities west of New Hampshire Avenue are still in District 4 and represented by …

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Bullying Symposium Educates Families on Growing Issue

The event will feature keynote speaker Martin Castro who chairs the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.

Montgomery County Councilmember Valerie Ervin (D-dist. 5) is set to moderate a community symposium on preventing bullying in schools.  The event will hosted at the Silver Spring Civic Building-located on One Veterans Place-on Saturday, Feb. 4 from 2 p.m to 4 p.m. As the chair of the County Council's Education Committee Ervin says that her focus is to address this matter by giving families the tools they need. “Our goal is to equip parents, students, school staff, community leaders, policy makers and others with strategies for preventing bullying and for dealing with it when it occurs,” Ervin said. The symposium will feature keynote speaker Martin Castro, who is the chair of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. Other panelists will include …

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Traffic Cameras May Make Their Way to School Buses

Council President Valerie Ervin wants to catch motorists who drive past stop signs on school buses.

Too many drivers are whizzing past school buses as they stop to let kids off, according to Montgomery County Council President Valerie Ervin. Ervin sponsored a bill that would allow police to install cameras in school buses and snap photos of cars that violate this traffic law. Drivers would be fined up to $250 for each violation.  “The goal of this legislation is to change the behavior of drivers who currently ignore traffic laws intended to keep our students safe while traveling on school buses,” wrote Ervin in a letter to the Board of Education on Nov. 22. Over 1,600 drivers in the county did not yield to stop-arm signals last year, according to a 2011 report from the Maryland State Department of Education. Every year, more than 1,500 …

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DNC Holds 2012 Campaign Rally at Blair High School

Governor O'Malley (D), state and local officials speak to nearly 1,000 people who attended the rally.

The Democratic National Committee held their 2012 Campaign Kick-Off Rally Wednesday at Montgomery Blair High School, giving the party a forum to engage constituents in the reelection of President Barack Obama and Maryland democrats in the 2012 election. Organized primarily by volunteers from the Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee (MCDCC) with assistance from other volunteers in Maryland, Virginia, DC and Pennsylvania, the event drew more than 1,000 people. It included State Delegates and Representatives, Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett (D), Montgomery County Council President Valerie Ervin (D-Dist. 5) plus a host of city and local officials. “We’ve been working on this event for more than a month,” said Susan Miller, …

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KatieSilverSpring

7:09 am on Friday, October 28, 2011

Well, since state Sen Jamie Raskin is a Blair alum ANd the head of MontgomeryCounty's reelect Obama campaign, I guess the location makes sense. I wonder if MCPS would allow a TEA party function at any of its schools? wonder if it would be noted in the press?   more ›

Ervin: Governor’s Redistricting Plan ‘Very, Very Problematic to People of Color’

Critics of Maryland’s redistricting committee’s proposed map say it prohibits non-white communities from electing the candidate of their choice.

People don’t know what Montgomery County residents look like, say some of the county’s top lawmakers who gathered Thursday evening at a redistricting forum, hosted by the African-American Democratic Club of Montgomery County at the People’s Community Baptist Church in Cloverly.  Del. Eric Luedtke, (D-East Montgomery County) said the county is among the most diverse communities in America; County Council President Valerie Ervin (D-Silver Spring) added that she represents a majority black district. Both elected officials, along with half-a-dozen others, agreed that a proposed map of state legislative and Congressional districts slices through minority areas and may inhibit the ability of non-white groups to elect representatives of their …

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Parsons on Politics

Keeping Her Balance on Collective Bargaining

Council President Valerie Ervin, a former union organizer, seeks to repeal law that gives unions great power over management decisions.

This year, the Montgomery County Council has taken several steps to rein in some of the more questionable concessions public employee unions had extracted from the county in previous years. In a county known for granting the unions virtually everything on their wish lists, today’s tough economic climate is forcing the council to restore a little more balance to the relationship. It has not been easy for anyone, Council President Valerie Ervin and the unions in particular. First came the inevitable trimming of county employees' health and retirement benefits, to help bring spending back in line with declining revenues. Then the county moved to rein in some of the more outrageous abuses that had been going on for years in the disability …

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lilkunta

5:45 pm on Tuesday, July 19, 2011

noPoMoCo: how come she hasnt paid her taxes?   more ›

Safe Silver Spring Committee Meets With County Council President Valerie Ervin

School resource officers, gang activity and future of “old” Silver Spring Library among topics discussed.

The Safe Silver Spring group had the opportunity to update and elicit opinions from Montgomery County Council President Valerie Ervin on a number of key safety initiatives, primarily focusing on youth issues. The meeting on Wednesday highlighted many issues inside the Long Branch Community Center. Truancy Court - Council President Ervin led the discussion about the county’s pilot truancy program at Neelsville and Francis Scott Key middle schools, explaining that the program is based on a similar one that has been successful in California. Ervin expressed interest in expanding the program which has been successful at improving attendance, classroom behavior and academic performance, but realized that funding could be a challenge. The “old” …

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Susan Burkinshaw

9:43 am on Friday, March 11, 2011

Thank you for so accurately portraying the value of the SRO program. It is also important to note that this is not just a school issue--as Safe Silver Spring recognizes, safe schools are a community, and whole county, issue.   more ›