Welcome to the EBCA Neighborhood

I'm sure you've seen the long lines of people cueing up across the street from Starbucks on Waverly Rd.  They are waiting for the Vamoose bus to take them to New York's Penn Station.  I took the bus on a business trip this past Monday, and I have to tell you for $60 round trip it was a breeze!  The bus departed on schedule at 8:10 am and within 4 hours we were unloading at the corner of W. 31st and 7th Avenue in Manhattan.  The ride was comfortable and relaxing.  The bus is equipped with a clean restroom, but no dining car!  You need to bring your snacks and drinks.  It's easy to sign up at www.vamoosebus.com.  I highly recommend it as an inexpensive, clean and timely way to travel to New York City.

Join us for the final quarterly general membership meeting of the year on Wednesday, December 16 at 8:00 p.m.  Meetings are held in the Lynnbrook Community Center on Newdale Drive adjacent to the playground.  The main topic for discussion is the education outlook for the coming year and beyond for schools in the BCC cluster.

Come listen, learn and tell us what you are thinking.

Also, check out the website. Thanks to many residents who are using the EBCA Messageboard as a way to share information in the community.

Happy holidays to all.  Hope to see you at the meeting and around the neighborhood.

Save the date for EBCA's Halloween Parade to be held on Sunday, October 25th from 3 to 5 pm.  We will gather at Chase Park at 3 and parade down Chase Ave to Lynbrook Park.  We will have refreshments and the always popular haunted house.  Come enjoy the afternoon with your neighbors.

EBCA will hold it's General Membership Meeting at 8pm this evening at the Lynbrook Park Recreation Center located at 8008 Newdale Rd.  Tonight's agenda will include updates on various issues regarding our community such as the Purple Line, schools, and commercial development including BRAC.  Please join us.  I look forward to seeing you there.

Kick-off Your Weekend Right Under the Friday Night Lights!!

Friday, September 11

Don't miss the BCC Barons' First Home Football Game featuring the Color Guard, Poms, Pep Band, Drumline.... and former NFL players!

Where: Bethesda Chevy Chase High School

4301 East West Highway, Bethesda

Time: Food and Fun starts at 5:00 pm

Kick-off at 6:30 pm

Cost: $5 Adults, $3 Students

The Game Plan:

1) Rush to the stadium and score blue and gold spirit giveaways.

2) Rush to the food stands.

3) Score autographs and photos with former NFL and local celebrities.

4) Lose your voice as the Barons WIN their opening game!

Please join us and support BCC sports!

The latest newsletter is now online and should be in mailboxes shortly.  The next newsletter will come out toward the end of summer - an August/September issue.  If you are interested in running an ad, please contact sponsorship@ebca.org.  If you have other items of interest for the newsletter, please write to newsletter@ebca.org.

For more timely matters, you can always post something on the EBCA Message Board.  This virtual bulletin board is a great way to share information, start a conversation and keep the neighborhood connected.

Also, don't forget to mark these dates on your calendar:

Tuesday, June 30 - Columbia Country Club Fireworks display seen from Lynnbrook Park

Monday, September 7 - Annual Labor Day Picnic (to help, please contact president@ebca.org)

Wednesday, September 16 - Quaterly General Membership Meeting

This will be my final blog post as President.  Welcome to Greg Volz who officially takes over on July 1. 

Have a great summer everyone! 

Congratulations to the incoming Board! New officers were elected to their positions at last night’s meeting. As of July 1, the new board will be

President, Greg Volz

1st VP, Kevin Kraus

2nd VP, Rebecca Fayed

Treasurer, Jack Hayes

Recording Secretary, AB Carneal.

Full bios and photos will be in the next newsletter. July 1 is the start of our fiscal and membership year. Watch for a membership letter in the mail in the coming weeks.

The mosquito presentation was also very interesting and spoke to the importance of everyone chipping in to keep their yards clean and free of standing water (even just a tablespoon is enough for larvae to survive) to keep those pesky Asian Tiger Mosquitoes at bay. More info will be posted on the website in the form of minutes from the meeting and in a follow up article in the June/July newsletter.

Lastly, I just got word that the Bethesda Pool will not open this weekend due to a necessary upgrading of drain covers. For the full press release, see http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/Apps/News/press/PR_details.asp?PrID=5591

Questions?  Contact Ilaya, president ex-officio (is that the title?) at president@ebca.org 

The quarterly EBCA general membership meeting is on Wednesday, May 20 at 8:00 p.m. at the Lynnbrook Recreation Center. Be sure to check out the wonderful landscaping compliments of our volunteer crew who worked hard on Saturday, May 9 to clean up the area. Councilwoman Nancy Floreen (D- At large) even stopped by to show support for our efforts. Thanks to Kevin Kraus for organizing the event and to everyone who pitched in (see photos at the photo gallery).

The agenda on Wednesday includes a presentation on Mosquitoes by Ms. Janine Dorothy, an entomologist with the Maryland Department of Agriculture. She’ll talk about steps we can take to reduce the hassle of summers lost to swarms of mosquitoes in our midst.

After the presentation, we will hold elections for the 2009-2010 Board. The current candidates are listed in the May issue of the newsletter. Nominations will also be taken from the floor. You must be a member in good standing (2008-2009 dues paid) to vote.

We are in the process of preparing the June/July newsletter. If you have information to share, please send it to newsletter@ebca.org. If you would like to receive periodic emails from EBCA, be sure to sign up for the EBCA e-Alerts. You can also peruse the EBCA Messageboard to see what neighbors are discussing. To post items on the messageboard you must be a registered member of the site.

Thanks for staying in touch and involved. Hope to see you on Wednesday.

Questions? Contact Ilaya at president@ebca.org.

A chance to share your opinions on the future of Montgomery County! Two big items of note - one in person, one on line. 

First, from the Montgomery County Planning Department: The Montgomery County Planning Department has begun working on the 2009-11 Growth Policy, which measures how and where we should grow.  As part of our preliminary recommendations, we are rethinking how we manage growth, looking beyond basing it just on congestion relief and school capacity to include other ways to enhance quality of life.

 We would like to hear from you! Tell us about your experiences with growth in the county and how you think we might grow in the future. Join us at one of our Growing Smarter Listening Sessions:

7 p.m. May 11, Park and Planning Headquarters, 8787 Georgia Ave., Silver Spring

7 p.m. May 18, Shady Grove Training Center

Our interactive listening sessions will inform our recommendations to the Planning Board, which will in turn recommend a 2009-2011 Growth Policy to the County Council later this summer.

Learn more at http://www.montgomeryplanning.org/research/growth_policy/growth_policy09/agp_growing_smarter.shtm , where you can also provide feedback using our online comment board.

Community Outreach

Montgomery County Planning Department

MCP-CR@montgomeryplanning.org

Second, from Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service:   

Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service takes pride in the service we provide to you and the community.  We would like to hear from you about your perception of our services.  Please complete the following survey by checking your answer to each question.  Some questions may allow multiple answers.  Your comments are appreciated.

http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/survey-intro.zgi?p=WEB228X6T8RPLK

To learn about items like this on an ongoing basis, sign up for Montgomery County e-subscription at www.montgomerycountymd.gov/eSubscription

- Ilaya Hopkins, President, EBCA