Neighborhood News
WWW.EBCA.ORG
Representing the 1200 households North of East-West Highway, South of Jones
Bridge Road, East of Wisconsin Avenue and West of Columbia Country Club.
President’s Notebook
By Ilaya Hopkins, President
Spring has sprung and it is
wonderful to see everyone out and
about. Be sure to mark May 9th on
your calendar for our annual
Neighborhood Day of park cleanup.
This year we will also have a
special celebration for our newly
installed playground equipment
that I hope everyone has had a
chance to try – at least if you are 5-
12 years old which are the ages the
equipment is designed to
accommodate.
Inside this issue of the
newsletter are lots of ways to roll
up your sleeves and help out East
Bethesda. From providing input to
the Woodmont Triangle Action
Group, to forwarding names to this
year’s nominating committee, to
volunteering for various activities
in the neighborhood, there is
something for everyone. There are
also some resources listed based on
input and feedback from the March
18th meeting. Meeting notes can be
found on our website,
www.ebca.org.
We’re delighted to continue our
newsletter sponsor program and
welcome Champions Field House.
Why include a sports facility in
Rockville? Well, Jenna Ries,
Founder and CEO of Champions
Field House, was raised in
Bethesda and has been an active
member of the community for the
past 20+ years. Jenna and her
husband, Dave, are proud to be
raising their family in such a
wonderful neighborhood as East
Bethesda. Champions Field House
is Montgomery County’s newest
recreational and fitness facility.
CFH offers a variety of activities
focusing on the development of
niche market sports such as field
hockey, lacrosse, soccer, futsal,
volleyball, softball and baseball.
Champions Field House creates a
“clubhouse” environment that
caters to team development and
enhances the athletic experience.
To learn more, check out the ad or
visit the website at
www.championsfieldhouse.com. We
also want to thank Smith, Thomas
& Smith, Inc., another neighbor-
owned business, for their support
earlier this year and for the
ongoing support of Marcie
Sandalow and Jane Fairweather.
In addition, local businesses like
Strosneiders, Razor Sharp Men’s
Grooming and Hollywood Tans
have supported our newsletter over
the last months and we hope that
neighbors will help to support
these businesses as well. If you are
interested in helping keep the
EBCA Neighborhood News going,
please see information at
www.ebca.org.
The newsletter, website, and
events are the threads that tie our
community together by providing
the opportunity to share
information and come together as a
neighborhood. I appreciate the
efforts of so many neighbors to
keep one another informed and
engaged. Our community is better
for it.
See you ‘round the neighborhood!
APRIL 2009
Neighborhood
Day in the Parks:
Sun, May 9th
Neighborhood Day is Saturday,
May 9th. Please stop by the
gatherings at your parks, meet
some neighbors and see what can
be done to maintain our
community's environment. One
immediate action will be cleaning
up our parks and public spaces,
such as the trail and the footpaths
that run between the streets.
At 11:00 a.m. (mid-way through
the day) we'll take a break for a
group photo by the new play
equipment. Come a little early,
stay a little later, and everyone can
chip in to get our parks ready for
spring.
We will be cleaning up
Cheltenham, Chase and Lynnbrook
Parks. Any time you can spare will
be most welcome. Groups will
gather at Cheltenham and
Lynnbrook. We will be picking up
brush, spreading mulch and
planting, so bring rakes, shovels
and wheelbarrows.
Anyone interested in raising
awareness regarding community
issues such as BRAC, the trail or
the use of Lynnbrook Recreation
Center and other public buildings
should contact Kevin Kraus. At
least stroll by and look at the
renovated playgrounds. Please
RSVP to Kevin Kraus at 301-656-
2813 or kevinkraus@usa.net.
Advance contact facilitates
organizing the groups.
PAGE 2 Neighborhood News
Committee
Jobs Open
EBCA has a number of active
committees and is looking for
people to help out in a variety of
ways.
Social Committee
Our most visible committee plans
and organizes our social events
which include the Labor Day Picnic
and the Halloween Parade. In the
past we have also had a spring
time community yard sale, happy
hours, theater nights and coffees.
We need a few good people to help
organize and recruit volunteers to
make these events a success. We
are looking for either a chair of the
committee or lead organizers for
our big events.
Membership Committee
This important committee helps to
promote, recruit and retain
members. Our revenues are based
solely on membership dues. We are
eager to develop ways to make it
easier and more fun to contribute
to the success of the organization.
We are also looking for someone to
manage the membership spread
sheet.
Newsletter/Communications
We currently publish the
newsletter ten times a year. We
need people to write content, drum
up support in the form of
advertisements, and follow through
with the printer and sponsors. We
also need help keeping the website
fresh and interesting for residents.
Parks & Playgrounds Committee
Our parks and public spaces are
treasures for all of us to enjoy. This
committee organizes clean up days
and works with Montgomery
County Parks Department to stay
on top of maintenance and repair.
There are a variety of ways to get
involved in the neighborhood and
broader community. If you’ve got
an idea, please contact
president@ebca.org to get involved.
APR 2009
Examiner Newspaper
Delivery Debated
At the March 18th general to the Gazette, the Examiner does
membership meeting, an item on not honor individual requests to
the agenda was the unsolicited stop delivery. Nevertheless, the
delivery the Examiner newspaper contact information is included
to the neighborhood. The debate below.
and any vote on whether to stop It also became clear that while
delivery neighborhood-wide was the Glenbrook Village area gets
postponed until the May meeting fairly regular delivery of the
because representatives from each Examiner (at least twice a week),
side of the issue were not available. other parts of the neighborhood do
The issue of unsolicited contacts of not receive it. If you do get it on
any kind was discussed and your block, please email
provided below are some resources president@ebca.org so that we can
to help individuals control what include that street in the request to
they receive. While some may enjoy stop delivery if that is the decision
receiving a free newspaper similar of the membership.
Contact these organizations to stop junk delivery:
• Examiner Newspaper: Call 703 560-4000 or visit www.dcexaminer.com
by clicking “newspaper delivery service” and then “stop delivery.”
• Gazette Newspaper: Call 301-670-7350 or email
circulation@gazette.net.
• Federal Trade Commission Information: Visit www.ftc.gov/privacy/
protect.shtm or, for Unsolicited Mail, Telemarketing and Email: Where
to Go to “Just Say No,” www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/alerts/
alt063.shtm.
• National Do Not Call Registry: Call 888-382-1222 or visit
www.donotcall.gov.
• The Direct Marketing Association’s (DMA) Mail Preference Service:
Visit www.dmachoice.org.
Ilaya Hopkins, President
David Saltzman, 1st Vice President
East Bethesda Citizens Tori Hall, 2nd Vice President
Association, Inc. A.B. Carneal, Recording Secretary
PO Box 41020 Jack Hayes, Treasurer
Bethesda, MD 20824 Dan Fox, Immediate Past President
www.ebca.org Andy O’Hare, Crescent Trail
Monica Hayes, Education
Neighborhood News Rebecca Fayed , Membership
Jay Briar, Editor Eleanor Rice, NIH Liaison
newsletter@ebca.org Kevin Kraus, Parks & Playgrounds
Sponsorship, Vacant Social Events, Vacant
sponsorship@ebca.org Carmen Abrams & Dorian Patchin, Website
Leslie Weber, Welcome Packets
PAGE 3 Neighborhood News APR 2009

East Bethesda is Picture Perfect

By Jennifer Dunbar

A casting agent asked me if I wanted to audition for

a commercial right in the produce section of the
Arlington Road Giant. After a callback audition
convinced me that it was not a joke, a crowd of ad
agency people, directors, producers, and camera people
descended on our beautiful neighborhood to shoot a
spot featuring their brand of natural products. They
were all uniformly impressed by Lynnbrook Park and
the close-knit, leafy simplicity of East Bethesda.
Patrick Kanold and Judy Tso opened their home for
“staging” along with their kitchen where nearly 40
pizzas were cooked to sizzling perfection! Although it
was a long day, the kids had a blast and I learned all
about the fifty or so people it takes to make even a
thirty-second television ad. Thanks to everyone in the
neighborhood for putting up with the extra cars!

Get updates every week at www.EBCA.com!

PAGE 4 Neighborhood News APR 2009
PAGE 5 Neighborhood News
Protecting Local Waterways & Yards
By Kristen Mosbaek & the East Bethesda Garden Club
So much of our community
incorporates paved surfaces that
we might not realize that this has
a harsh impact on our
environment. Problems include
erosion, flash floods, water table
depletion, and pollution. The
Minnesota Pollution Control Board
says “all stormwater pours any
contaminants directly into the local
waterway. All the paint, dog poo,
carwashing soap, etc., goes directly
into the local water,” the
Chesapeake Bay, in our case.
There is no intermediate cleansing
as there is for sewage.
Landscape your property to
accommodate excess water to
prevent as much of it as possible
from leaving your yard. Use
different kinds of vegetation to
slow down and redirect the water.
Even consider a rain garden:
www.montgomerycountymd.gov/
Content/DEP/Rainscapes/pdf/
harvesting.pdf. Uncontrolled runoff
can create gullies and deep
channels in your yard. Runoff
carries sediments and pollutants
into your local streams, eventually
delivering them to the Chesapeake
Bay. The key to controlling runoff
is to encourage water to move away
from your house slowly, soaking
into the ground as it passes
through vegetation in your yard
and into the public drainage
system or stream. During dry
summer months, you may want to
encourage some water to stay near
your thirsty grass and gardens.
Water leaves your property in
three ways: infiltration (filtering
through the soil), runoff across
land, and evaporation. Infiltration
For more information:
www.concretenetwork.com/pervious/index.html
www.metrocouncil.org/Directions/water/water2007/yardcare.htm
www.chesapeakebay.net/pubs/781.pdf
recharges your groundwater and
the water can be used by plants as
it trickles through the soil. You
want to encourage infiltration by
planting vegetation
maintaining good soil texture.
Improve soil texture by adding
organic material, such as peat or
and
compost. Clay soils may require a
little extra sand. Plants also
promote infiltration when water
trickles along root channels in the
soil and a significant amount of
water is lost through their leaves
as evaporation.
Consider creating walkways,
driveways, and patios that are
permeable. Construction
techniques and materials that
allow water to filter through the
soil are called permeable.
Permeable materials, such as
vegetation, wood chips, or gravel,
protect soil, allow rain to penetrate
into the ground, and prevent
muddy shoes. Large stones
surrounded by gravel or ground-
creeping vegetation, wooden decks,
or even bricks with sand in
between allow more water
penetration than blacktop or
cement.
The soil in your yard can help
filter contaminants such as
fertilizer and roof runoff. It will
also slow down the deluge that
comes during our heavy summer
downpours. It’s this sudden rush of
water that caries debris that can
clog our street drains.
The garden club meets the
second Tuesday of each month, at
7:30 p.m. and guests are welcome.
For more information about EBGC,
contact Nancy at 301-656-8754.
APR 2009
Medical
Center
Update
With the opening of the new
Walter Reed National Military
Medical Center just 18 months
away, improvements outside the
fence continue to be discussed.
Gridlock is already unbearable,
especially during the morning and
afternoon rush hours. An
additional 4,000 people (that’s
8,000 trips) a day will begin by
September 2011. Currently, the
Maryland State Highway
Administration (SHA) is looking at
four key intersections identified by
Montgomery County as some of the
worst. They are Old Georgetown
Road and Cedar Lane, Cedar Lane
and Rockville Pike, Rockville Pike
and Jones Bridge Road, and Jones
Bridge Road and Connecticut
Avenue. SHA says that the
improvements under consideration
are short-term fixes to deal with
the immediate needs of the influx
of people. A second project is being
considered to improve access to the
Medical Center Metro for users on
the east side of Wisconsin Avenue.
Plans range from a pedestrian
bridge over Wisconsin Avenue to a
bank of high speed elevators to the
Metro’s mezzanine level.
Montgomery County is also hoping
to improve pedestrian and
bikeways around the base through
a grant from the Department of
Defense. The Montgomery County
BRAC Implementation Committee
(BIC) meets the third Tuesday of
each month to discuss these and
other updates. More information
can be found at
www.montgomerycountymd.gov/
brac.
PAGE 6 Neighborhood News
Neighborhood Roundup
5K Charity Run
Our Lady of Lourdes School will
sponsor a 5K run, the "Lions Roar,"
on Saturday, April 25th at 9
a.m. The run begins and ends at
the school, 7500 Pearl Street, and
will take place in the neighborhood
adjacent Lourdes. There will also
be a 1K fun run for children
beginning immediately after the
5K. Stay after the runs for live
entertainment, games for children
and refreshments along with an
awards ceremony. Prizes will be
awarded in many categories. All
proceeds will benefit their drive to
build a Library Media Center in
the school. Visit
www.lionsroar5K.com to register.
Registration forms are also
available at the school office
weekdays from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Woodmont Triangle Group
As envisioned by the 2006
Woodmont Triangle Central
Business District Sector Plan
Amendment, the “Woodmont
Triangle Action Group” is being set
up to “coordinate and monitor the
progress of development, retail
revitalization, and the provision of
amenities and facilities as it
pertains to the 1994 Approved and
Adopted Bethesda Central
Business District Sector Plan.” The
group's objectives and purpose will
be formulated and formalized in a
series of meetings. Andy O’Hare, a
past EBCA President, has agreed
to serve as the EBCA
representative to the group. At this
stage, the group is collecting input
on changes to the Woodmont
Triangle area; for example, a
suggestion to engage an "anchor"
retailer that would achieve the sort
of foot traffic and mingling that the
theater and Barnes & Noble create
at Bethesda Row or a grocery store.
If you have ideas for this area of
Bethesda, please forward them to
Andy at aohare@cement.org.
Bilingual Volunteers
The Children’s Inn at the
National Institutes of Health is a
residential "place like home" for
sick children and their families.
Volunteers are needed to staff the
welcome desk and greet families as
they arrive at The Inn to provide
front-line customer service in
person and by telephone.
Educational Aides provide English
tutoring to non-English speaking
residents. Volunteers typically
serve once a week or every other
week. Volunteers must speak
fluent Spanish. If you are
interested in finding out more
information, please contact Laura
King, Director of Volunteers and
Community Outreach, via email at
lking@mail.nih.gov or by phone at
301-451-9454.
Youth Job Expo
The Youth Job Expo will be held
on April 25th from Noon to 4:00
p.m. at 916 Ellsworth Drive,
Downtown Silver Spring. For more
information and future updates:
www.letsgetitstartedyouthjobfair.com.
Nominating Committee
Each year, the East Bethesda
Citizens Association nominates a
new slate of candidates to fill
officer positions. This year the
Nominating Committee will be
chaired by Allen Rothenberg. Allen
currently serves at an EBCA
representative to the Chevy Chase
Fire Department. If you or
APR 2009
someone you know is interested in
running for President, Vice
President (1st and 2nd), Treasurer
or Recording and Assistant
Recording Secretary, please contact
Allen. He is also looking for
individuals to help him on the
committee. He can be reached at
allenwrothenberg@verizon.net or
301-907-0232.
Parking Tips
East Bethesda enjoys a peaceful
setting most of the time. We know
that when the community was
developed back in the 1930s and
on, there was not a lot of attention
given to cars and how many each
family would own. This becomes an
issue on our narrow streets when
multiple cars get parked in such a
way as to block safe passage of
school busses, solid waste trucks
and other large vehicles.
Sometimes it is difficult to
maneuver your own car around.
Please pay attention to how and
where you park and ask your
visitors to do the same. We don’t
want to block the streets and we
don’t want cars to get scratched or
dinged.
English Classes
Beginner, Intermediate and
Advanced English Classes for
Speakers of Other Languages are
offered in partnership by the
Bethesda-Chevy Chase Regional
Services Center and the Chinese
Culture and Community Service
Center. Classes are free, however a
$10 deposit is required and there is
a $20 book fee. The classes are held
at the BCC Regional Services
Center at 4805 Edgemoor Lane.
Call the instructor, Mr. Su, at 301-
897-5382 for more information.
 Public Pet Problems
By Kevin Kraus, Parks & Playgrounds Chair

With the coming of spring, our four-footed neighbors

are spending more time outdoors prompting a gentle
reminder to pet owners to keep their pets under
control.

• Pets on their own harm wildlife and are more

vulnerable to diseases, accidents and predation.
• Dogs off-leash in parks, right of ways and
neighbors’ yards raise many complaints. When
multiple dogs are off-leash, the loss of control can
frighten children and injure nearby pets and
people.
• Pet waste is a health problem all its own that is
best controlled by the owners by cleaning up after
their pets, as required by law.
• Animals found without owners may be taken by
animal control; those who do not keep their pets on
leash or who do not pick up waste are subject to
fines. 5/1/09 5/1/09

• Pet waste bags are available from two dispensers

at Lynnbrook Park.
• Dog parks are available throughout Montgomery
County. For locations, visit: www.mc-mncppc.org/
parks/facilities/dog_park/dog_parks.shtm.
 Advocate for the best schools for
East Bethesda! Become a
Inside This Issue
member of EBCA today! Newspaper Delivery ................. 2
Please support our neighborhood activities, this
newsletter, and the community activism that
Medical Center Update ............ 5
makes East Bethesda one of the most desirable
places in which to invest and raise a family. $15 Neighborhood Roundup ........... 6
per member, but additional contributions are
always welcome. Dog Walking Reminders .......... 7
EBCA - Membership
P.O. Box 41020
Bethesda, MD 20824 Coming Up Next
Members _____________________________________
Address _____________________________________ Neighborhood Day Parks Cleanup
Phone _____________________________________ Sunday, May 9th, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
E-mail _____________________________________

Number of Members _____ x $15 each = $_____ General Membership Meeting

EBCA will not share your contact information with
Wednesday, May 20th
anyone outside of the organization.