EBCA Newsletter May 2009
Content
Neighborhood News WWW.EBCA.ORG WWW.EBCA.ORG
MAY 2009 MAY
Representing the 1200 households North of East-West Highway, South of Jones Bridge Road, East of Wisconsin Avenue and West of Columbia Country Club.
Mosquitoes! President’s Notebook Mosquitoes! By Ilaya Hopkins, President My how time flies! I have been in this position for two years and have enjoyed getting to know more residents and keeping East Bethesda at the forefront of the many issues impacting our neighborhood. We have seen great successes in these last two years, including a revamped website with more interactive features and a monthly newsletter underwritten in great part by our wonderful sponsors. Our opinions are sought on development projects near our boarders and we continue to provide an on-the-ground perspective to decision makers on issues such as the BRAC expansion at the new Walter Reed in Bethesda to the Purple Line proposals. Our membership continues to grow and participation at quarterly meetings has been strong. We continue to work to make our neighborhood a strong community by working with the Montgomery County Public Schools to clarify school assignments at the elementary school level and by
working together to clean up our parks and public spaces so that we can all enjoy them. At the May 20th general membership meeting, we will hold elections for the next set of officers. Current nominees are listed in the newsletter. We will also take nominations from the floor. If you have questions or want to nominate someone, please contact Nominating Committee Chair Allen Rothenberg at [email protected] or 301-907-0232. In addition, we will hear a presentation on reducing the mosquito problem in our neighborhood and finish the discussion on The Examiner newspaper. It has been a tremendous honor to represent this community over the last two years. I look forward to continuing to support EBCA and working toward preserving the strong sense of community and the wonderful quality of life we are so lucky to have here. Thanks to you all.
General Membership Meeting Wednesday, May 20th, 8 p.m. Lynnbrook Recreation Center Agenda: 8:00 p.m. Mosquito Presentation 8:30 p.m. Examiner Delivery 8:45 p.m. Elections 9:00 p.m. Old Business 9:15 p.m. New Business 9:30 p.m. Adjourn
Slate of Officers: President: Greg Volz 1st VP: Kevin Kraus 2nd VP: Rebecca Fayed Treasurer: Jack Hayes Secretary: AB Carneal Assistant Secretary: Open
By Ella Krainsky As the weather warms, many of us look forward to spending time outdoors with our families. However, the early spring fantasy of grilling in the backyard, working in the garden, or watching our children run through the sprinkler, is marred by the reality of our annual mosquito infestation. This year, I decided to investigate whether East Bethesda could do something to control the mosquitoes. I spoke to Janine Dorothy, an entomologist at the Maryland Department of Agriculture. She explained that we, as a neighborhood, could request that the state spray for mosquitoes. She will speak more about this possibility at the next general membership meeting. She also stated that, while we have the usual home-grown variety of the insect, our real problem is the Asian Tiger Mosquito, which is prevalent in Montgomery County. The Asian Tiger is extremely aggressive and, unlike its native cousin, bites during the daytime. It flies low to the ground and likes water as well as sheltered places. Dorothy told me that the Asian Tiger likes to nest in bamboo, and I asked her whether the bamboo that grows along the Crescent Trail might be the cause of our problem. She said, however, that the real problem was standing water in our yards. Dorothy pointed out that many of us don’t realize we have standing Continued on page 3...
PAGE 2
Neighborhood News
MAY 2009
It is not too late for 2008-2009! Become a member of EBCA today! Please support our neighborhood activities, this newsletter, and the community activism that makes East Bethesda one of the most desirable places in which to invest and raise a family. $15 per member, but additional contributions are always welcome. EBCA - Membership P.O. Box 41020 Bethesda, MD 20824 Members _____________________________________ Address _____________________________________ Phone _____________________________________ E-mail _____________________________________ Number of Members _____ x $15 each = $_____ EBCA will not share your contact information with anyone outside of the organization.
Inside This Issue Slate of Officers ........................ 1 Mosquitoes................................ 1 Neighborhood Roundup............ 3
Coming Up Next General Membership Meeting Wednesday, May 20th Lynnbrook Recreation Center Parks Clean-Up Saturday, May 9th, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Group Photograph at 11 a.m.
MAY 2009 MAY
Representing the 1200 households North of East-West Highway, South of Jones Bridge Road, East of Wisconsin Avenue and West of Columbia Country Club.
Mosquitoes! President’s Notebook Mosquitoes! By Ilaya Hopkins, President My how time flies! I have been in this position for two years and have enjoyed getting to know more residents and keeping East Bethesda at the forefront of the many issues impacting our neighborhood. We have seen great successes in these last two years, including a revamped website with more interactive features and a monthly newsletter underwritten in great part by our wonderful sponsors. Our opinions are sought on development projects near our boarders and we continue to provide an on-the-ground perspective to decision makers on issues such as the BRAC expansion at the new Walter Reed in Bethesda to the Purple Line proposals. Our membership continues to grow and participation at quarterly meetings has been strong. We continue to work to make our neighborhood a strong community by working with the Montgomery County Public Schools to clarify school assignments at the elementary school level and by
working together to clean up our parks and public spaces so that we can all enjoy them. At the May 20th general membership meeting, we will hold elections for the next set of officers. Current nominees are listed in the newsletter. We will also take nominations from the floor. If you have questions or want to nominate someone, please contact Nominating Committee Chair Allen Rothenberg at [email protected] or 301-907-0232. In addition, we will hear a presentation on reducing the mosquito problem in our neighborhood and finish the discussion on The Examiner newspaper. It has been a tremendous honor to represent this community over the last two years. I look forward to continuing to support EBCA and working toward preserving the strong sense of community and the wonderful quality of life we are so lucky to have here. Thanks to you all.
General Membership Meeting Wednesday, May 20th, 8 p.m. Lynnbrook Recreation Center Agenda: 8:00 p.m. Mosquito Presentation 8:30 p.m. Examiner Delivery 8:45 p.m. Elections 9:00 p.m. Old Business 9:15 p.m. New Business 9:30 p.m. Adjourn
Slate of Officers: President: Greg Volz 1st VP: Kevin Kraus 2nd VP: Rebecca Fayed Treasurer: Jack Hayes Secretary: AB Carneal Assistant Secretary: Open
By Ella Krainsky As the weather warms, many of us look forward to spending time outdoors with our families. However, the early spring fantasy of grilling in the backyard, working in the garden, or watching our children run through the sprinkler, is marred by the reality of our annual mosquito infestation. This year, I decided to investigate whether East Bethesda could do something to control the mosquitoes. I spoke to Janine Dorothy, an entomologist at the Maryland Department of Agriculture. She explained that we, as a neighborhood, could request that the state spray for mosquitoes. She will speak more about this possibility at the next general membership meeting. She also stated that, while we have the usual home-grown variety of the insect, our real problem is the Asian Tiger Mosquito, which is prevalent in Montgomery County. The Asian Tiger is extremely aggressive and, unlike its native cousin, bites during the daytime. It flies low to the ground and likes water as well as sheltered places. Dorothy told me that the Asian Tiger likes to nest in bamboo, and I asked her whether the bamboo that grows along the Crescent Trail might be the cause of our problem. She said, however, that the real problem was standing water in our yards. Dorothy pointed out that many of us don’t realize we have standing Continued on page 3...
PAGE 2
Neighborhood News
MAY 2009
It is not too late for 2008-2009! Become a member of EBCA today! Please support our neighborhood activities, this newsletter, and the community activism that makes East Bethesda one of the most desirable places in which to invest and raise a family. $15 per member, but additional contributions are always welcome. EBCA - Membership P.O. Box 41020 Bethesda, MD 20824 Members _____________________________________ Address _____________________________________ Phone _____________________________________ E-mail _____________________________________ Number of Members _____ x $15 each = $_____ EBCA will not share your contact information with anyone outside of the organization.
Inside This Issue Slate of Officers ........................ 1 Mosquitoes................................ 1 Neighborhood Roundup............ 3
Coming Up Next General Membership Meeting Wednesday, May 20th Lynnbrook Recreation Center Parks Clean-Up Saturday, May 9th, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Group Photograph at 11 a.m.
