During the month of May, detectives received complaints from citizens and information from fellow officers about possible prostitution activity in the 400 block of North Summit Avenue.  During the course of the investigation several males responding to the solicitation of females were identified.  Based on the information a search and seizure warrant was obtained.

As a result of the warrant several items such as condoms, advertising calling cards and over $3,000 in U.S. currency plus a quantity of cocaine was recovered.

The women who prostituted themselves would come from surrounding states for an undisclosed amount of time and then return back home when they were done.

Hernandez, Lira-Gomez, and Puertas are currently being held at the Montgomery County Detention Center without bond. 

John T.C. Yeh, the owner of Viable, a Rockville, Md., company, and his brother, Joseph Yeh, the former vice president for corporate strategy, were also ordered to pay $20 million in restitution to the FCC. Viable pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and was ordered to forfeit $20 million and pay $20 million in restitution to the FCC.

John Yeh, 64, Joseph Yeh, 66, and Viable were sentenced by U.S. District Judge Joel A. Pisano in Trenton, N.J. Both executives were indicted on Nov. 19, 2009, along with Viable and other employees of Viable, and pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit mail fraud in October 2010. In connection with their sentencings, both men admitted to defrauding at least $20 million from the FCC’s Video Relay Service (VRS), a program designed to pay for services for the hearing disabled.

John Yeh and Joseph Yeh admitted that beginning in approximately fall 2007, they conspired with others to pay individuals to make fraudulent VRS phone calls using Viable’s VRS service. According to court documents, both men paid employees of Viable, who then paid others to make the fraudulent phone calls. Viable then submitted the fraudulent call minutes to the FCC and was paid approximately $390 per hour for all VRS calls that Viable processed.

VRS is an online video translation service that allows people with hearing disabilities to communicate with hearing individuals through the use of interpreters and Web cameras. A person with a hearing disability who wants to communicate with a hearing person can do so by contacting a VRS provider through an audio and video Internet connection. The VRS provider, in turn, employs a video interpreter to view and interpret the hearing disabled person’s signed conversation and relay the signed conversation orally to a hearing person. VRS is funded by fees assessed by telecommunications providers to telephone customers, and is provided at no cost to the VRS user.

MTPD detectives have linked McIntosh to at least four robberies within the Suitland station parking garage in recent months. In each case, customers were approached by a man who displayed a gun and demanded property. No one was injured in any of the incidents.

McIntosh was arrested October 16 aboard a Green Line train following a non-Metro-related armed robbery at a business near U Street Station. McIntosh matched a suspect description provided by Metropolitan Police and was subsequently arrested at Waterfront Station. Once in custody, MTPD officers recognized that McIntosh matched the description of the suspect wanted in the series of robberies at Suitland. Several victims of the Suitland garage incidents were able to positively identify McIntosh.

Additional charges are pending.

Metro Transit Police routinely work with local police agencies to enhance the security of riders. Local police departments provide supplemental patrols of parking lots, stations and bus bays throughout Metro’s service area. In Prince George’s County, MTPD and PGPD conduct high-visibility patrols in all Metrorail stations in the county.

Crime on Metro, including crimes committed in Metro parking facilities has decreased in the first six months of 2011 compared with 2010, with robberies falling from 540 to 449 in the January to June period.

GREENBELT, MD—Nicolas Kantartzis, age 62, of Bethesda, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to wire fraud in connection with a six-year scheme to fraudulently obtain payments from over 200 victims, including federal government agencies, a homeless shelter, banks, and airlines, for toll-free phone calls placed from his payphones.

The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Inspector General Brian D. Miller of the General Services Administration – Office of Inspector General; and Special Agent in Charge Richard A. McFeely of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

“For more than six years, Nicolas Kantartzis stole millions of dollars in fraudulent profits by programming payphones he controlled to dial hundreds of toll-free numbers,” said U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein. “There were no actual callers, but owners of the toll-free numbers, including many government agencies, were required by law to pay Mr. Kantartzis 49 cents for each sham call.”

GSA Inspector General Brian Miller said, “By auto-dialing, this fraudster exploited a public service and essentially, ‘dialed for taxpayer dollars.’”

According to his plea agreement, Kantartzis and Federal Telephone Corporation Inc.(FTCI), a company he owned and operated, controlled approximately 165 payphones located at businesses and on the streets in Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties, Maryland and in the District of Columbia, including locations in Kensington, Silver Spring, Gaithersburg, Hyattsville and Rockville, Maryland.

Federal regulations require that each owner of a toll-free phone number pay the owner of a payphone $.494 for each completed toll-free call placed from his payphone. This payment is commonly called “dial around compensation.”

From January 2005 to July 2011, Kantartzis used a computer service to program his payphones to robotically place repeated phone calls to toll-free numbers to obtain the $.494 dial around compensation fee for each phone call. He programmed toll-free calls to between 200 and 250 victims, including the U.S. General Services Administration, the U.S. Department of Labor, the U.S. Department of Education and the Internal Revenue Service, as well as Dell Computer, the District of Columbia Homeless Shelter Hotline, financial institutions, and airlines. Kantartzis fraudulently received at least $4 million in dial around compensation paid by victims of his scheme.

Kantartzis programmed his payphones to call toll-free numbers in a repeating pattern, consisting of blocks of 10 calls within three minutes followed by five hours of no toll-free calls. These calls typically lasted only a few seconds. For example, in January 2008 Kantartzis programmed his payphone located at Super Dollar on Georgia Avenue in Washington, D.C. to make 2,669 outgoing calls, of which 1,688 (63 percent) were to toll-free numbers. Of the 1,688 toll-free calls, 93 percent lasted 10 seconds or less. Surveillance at some of the Kantartzis’ programmed phones showed that no user was physically placing a call at the payphone at the time the calls were made and in fact, calls were made after the business was closed and locked.

As part of his plea agreement, Kantartzis has agreed to forfeit to the United States all payphones owned by him and FTCI, $2,886,158 held in investment and bank accounts, and funds received in the future as a result of the fraud scheme.

Kantartzis faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Chief U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow scheduled sentencing for January 4, 2012 at 2:00 p.m.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the GSA and FBI for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant United States Attorney Christen A. Sproule, who is prosecuting the case.

“This extension of Woodfield Road is a short road with a huge impact on the Damascus community,” said Leggett. “The road is about enhancing the livability of one of our faster growing communities and providing easier access to jobs, services and programs.”

The project also reconstructed and widened a 2,000-foot portion of Ridge Road from 500 feet south of Woodfield Road to 1,500 feet north of Woodfield Road. This portion of Ridge Road now has two, 12-foot wide travel lanes, two, four-foot wide paved shoulders and an auxiliary left turn lane at the intersection with Woodfield Road.

“Damascus, and the commuters who travel through Damascus, have waited a long time for the construction of Woodfield Road Extended to provide some relief to the traffic congestion that clogs Route 27 at peak hours,” said County Councilmember Craig Rice, who represents District 2 that includes the Damascus area. “The opening of this section of roadway will help significantly. I want to thank all those from the State and County transportation departments who persisted to make this plan a reality. The residents of northern Montgomery County will immediately benefit from the hard work that went into this project.”

The new road extension is a 28-foot wide curbed roadway with two, 14-foot wide lanes. A separate eight-foot wide bikeway/shared use path was built along Woodfield Road Extended and along Ridge Road.

Safety improvements were an important part of the project and included vertical realignment of Ridge Road for better sight distances. Faith Lane was also realigned to intersect Woodfield Road at a point south of Ridge Road.

Environmental features include construction of six acres of offsite reforestation area, 1.3 acres of offsite wetlands and three storm water management facilities.

In addition to the bikeway, the project also includes traffic signals, streetlights, crosswalks, bus stops and Americans with Disabilities Act ramps to ensure the safety of pedestrians and cyclists.

The project took about two years and cost $5.9 million. The construction contractor was Kibler Construction Company, Inc. and the design consultant was Wallace, Montgomery & Associates, LLP.

More than 45 firefighters responded to the fire at the height of operations. Fire Investigators on the scene conducted an origin and cause investigation. An examination of the scene revealed a fire that remained contained to the room of origin. The kitchen housed the washer and dryer. The fire originated in the electrical wiring feeding the electric dryer. The fire is listed as accidental and was caused by an unknown malfunction or failure of the 220 electrical plug/outlet to the dryer. The estimated damage is nearly $125, 000.

Montgomery County Firefighters will be conducting an “After the Fire” door-to-door outreach campaign in an effort to check smoke alarms and talk to residents about fire safety.

To use pay-by-cell, first-time patrons register for the program once by going online anytime to www.mc.goparknow.com or calling 301-830-7074. Parkers set up an account and indicate which credit card will be used for the parking charges. The step-by-step instructions, printed on each meter, direct parkers to:

• Use a cell phone to call 301-830-7074.

• Or, send a text message to 32075.

• Follow the phone/text prompts to enter the meter location number (located on the meter decal).

• Select the amount of time desired for parking.

The patron then receives voice and text messages confirming the start of the parking session. A 35-cent transaction fee will be charged in addition to the parking fee.

Pay-by-cell provides many conveniences to parkers. Those who use the payment system get a text message reminder that their parking time is about to expire. Patrons can extend parking time remotely and view transactions online. Parkers can stop a parking session upon returning to a vehicle, so they only pay for the parking time they have used.

MobileNOW! LLC is the County’s contractor for the pay-by-cell program and a tenant of the Rockville Innovation Center, part of the Montgomery County Business Innovation Network. Operating under the County’s Department of Economic Development, the network helps small and emerging technology, biotech, pharmaceutical and professional services firms succeed by offering turnkey office and/or wet lab space, fully integrated conference rooms and key resource and support services. In addition to Rockville, the network includes four other centers — Shady Grove, downtown Silver Spring, Wheaton and the Germantown campus of Montgomery College.

For more information on the pay-by-cell initiative, or to register for an account, go to the Division of Parking’s website at www.montgomerycountymd.gov/mcdot.

This volunteer opportunity demands flexible daytime hours during the work week and creativity in developing problem solving strategies. It is an advanced level of commitment and requires the ability to work autonomously with support and guidance. Training and on-going technical assistance are provided by experienced professionals.

The intensive orientation program for volunteer candidates is a comprehensive training focused on promoting resident rights in nursing home and assisted living systems. Using advocacy skills and applicable laws, volunteers will work to resolve complaints. The orientation will be held during the week of Monday, October 10 through Friday, October 14 at Holiday Park Senior Center in Wheaton. The course meets daily from 9a.m. to 3 p.m. Class size is limited and pre-registration is required.

Contact Eileen Bennett at eileen.bennett@Montgomerycountymd.gov or 240-777-1067 to learn more.

Hockey legend Mario Lemieux, his wife, Nathalie, and son, Austin, join Navy Vice Adm. John M. Mateczun, far right, commander of Joint Task Force National Capital Region Medical, and Navy Rear Adm. Matthew Nathan, far left, commander of Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, in cutting the ribbon to officially open Austin’s Warrior Playroom in a wounded warrior barracks on Naval Support Activity Bethesda, Md., Sept. 7, 2011. The playroom offers children care while their parents attend medical appointments. DOD photo by Elaine Sanchez   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available.

Braving a heavy downpour, NHL great Mario Lemieux, his family and hospital officials stopped by here to dedicate Austin’s Warrior Playroom to the children of outpatient service members and their families.

The weather was a perfect litmus test for the playroom, Navy Rear Adm. Matthew L. Nathan,the medical center’s commander, said. “It’s one of the most dingy, dismal days outside, and this room is bright and cheerful, and full of light and hope,” he said.

Austin’s Warrior Playroom, a bright, airy room stocked with toys, is located near the hospital in Tranquility Hall, a wounded warrior barracks designed to house outpatient service members injured in Iraq and Afghanistan, and their families. The playroom offers children a fun and educational experience while their parents attend medical appointments and treatment sessions together.

“This room … changes lives that have been dramatically changed,” Nathan said. “Any of us who have children know that if you’re not comfortable or confident in their welfare … you can’t concentrate on what you’re doing, whether you’re at work or whether you’re getting well yourself.”

The playroom is a gift to wounded warriors from the Mario Lemieux Foundation, an organization dedicated to raising funds for cancer research and for hospital playrooms. Lemieux created the foundation in 1993 following his successful battle against Hodgkin’s disease.

He and his wife, Nathalie, later expanded the foundation’s mission after their son, Austin, was born profoundly premature in 1996. While caring for Austin, they realized there wasn’t a place to offer a calming environment for his sisters.

The couple established the Austin’s Playroom Project in 2000. The playroom here marks their 23rd room, and their first in a military hospital.

The playroom offers a way to acknowledge the tremendous sacrifices troops and their families make each day, said Lemieux, who led the Pittsburgh Penguins to two consecutive Stanley Cups as the team’s forward in 1991 and 1992, then again in 2009 as the team’s principal owner. He is still principal owner and chairman of the board for the Penguins.

“This is probably the best that we’ve done over the years; [it’s] certainly the biggest,” he said.

The playroom is about helping families stay together while their loved one seeks medical care. “That’s the most important thing,” Lemieux said, “that families feel comfortable when they come here and have a place to go together.”

The foundation typically places playrooms in neonatal intensive care units and emergency rooms. But as they considered their next step, branching out into a military hospital made perfect sense, said Nancy Angus, the foundation’s executive director.

Service members “protect our freedoms, put themselves in harm’s way, and leave their families at home to do that for us,” she said. “We couldn’t have picked a better location for this room.”

The foundation plans to place more playrooms in military installations in the future, Angus said.

Navy Vice Adm. John M. Mateczun, commander of Joint Task Force National Capital Region Medical, thanked the Lemieux family and their foundation on behalf of the military.

“We in military medicine spend our lives serving those who serve our country, and you are helping to serve those people who serve our country with this contribution … with this addition to the lives of people who had extraordinary changes in their lives,” he said.

The guilty plea, which took place this morning in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, was announced by Lisa Monaco, Assistant Attorney General for National Security; Ronald C. Machen Jr., U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia; and James W. McJunkin, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office.

Nozette, 54, of Chevy Chase, Md., pleaded guilty to one count of attempted espionage. Senior Judge Paul L. Friedman, who presided at the plea hearing, scheduled a status hearing for Nov. 15, 2011. No sentencing date was set. The plea agreement, which is subject to the judge’s approval, calls for an agreed-upon prison term of 13 years.

Nozette has been in custody since his arrest on Oct. 19, 2009. FBI agents arrested him following an undercover operation in which he provided classified materials on three occasions, including one occasion that forms the basis for today’s guilty plea. He was subsequently indicted by a federal grand jury. The indictment does not allege that the government of Israel or anyone acting on its behalf committed any offense under U.S. laws in this case.

“Stewart Nozette betrayed America’s trust by attempting to sell some of the nation’s most closely guarded secrets for profit. Today, he is being held accountable for his actions. As this case demonstrates, we remain vigilant in protecting America’s secrets and in bringing to justice those who compromise them,” said Assistant Attorney General Monaco.

“Stewart Nozette was once a trusted scientist who maintained high-level government security clearances and was frequently granted access to classified information relating to our national defense. Today he is a disgraced criminal who was caught red-handed attempting to trade American secrets for personal profit. He will now have the next 13 years behind bars to contemplate his betrayal,” said U.S. Attorney Machen. “The FBI and its partners deserve tremendous credit for their outstanding work on this case. This investigation and prosecution demonstrate our commitment to identifying and punishing those who would put our national security at risk.”

“Preventing the loss or compromise of high-technology and vital national security information is a top priority of the FBI,” said Assistant Director in Charge McJunkin. “This case is a prime example of what happens when a person decides to sell our nation’s most valuable secrets for individual gain.”

Background

Nozette received a Ph.D. in Planetary Sciences from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1983. He has worked in various capacities on behalf of the U.S. government in the development of state-of-the-art programs in defense and space. For example, Nozette worked at the White House on the National Space Council, Executive Office of the President, from approximately 1989 through 1990. He also worked as a physicist for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory from approximately 1990 to 1999, where he designed highly advanced technology.

Among other things, Nozette assisted in the development of the Clementine bi-static radar experiment, which purportedly discovered water ice on the south pole of the moon. A version of the Clementine satellite currently hangs on display at the National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., and was later hailed as the vanguard of the new “faster, cheaper, better” revolution in space exploration.

Nozette was also the president, treasurer and director of the Alliance for Competitive Technology (ACT), a non-profit organization that he organized in March 1990. Between January 2000 and February 2006, Nozette, through his company, ACT, entered into agreements with several government agencies to develop highly advanced technology. Nozette performed some of this research and development at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C., the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency in Arlington, Va., and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.

According to a factual proffer in support of the guilty plea, from 1989 through 2006, Nozette held security clearances as high as TOP SECRET and had regular, frequent access to classified information and documents related to the national defense of the United States. The factual proffer also provides details about the undercover operation that led to Nozette’s arrest.

The Investigation

According to the factual proffer, on Feb. 16, 2007, law enforcement agents executed a search warrant at Nozette’s home in Maryland as part of a fraud investigation and found classified documents. Further investigation into the classified documents revealed that in 2002, Nozette sent an e-mail threatening to take a classified program he was working on, “to [foreign country] or Israel and do it there selling internationally…” As a result of this and other information giving rise to suspicion of espionage, the FBI decided to conduct an undercover operation.

On Sept. 3, 2009, Nozette was contacted via telephone by an individual purporting to be an Israeli intelligence officer from the Mossad, but who was, in fact, an undercover employee of the FBI. During that call, the defendant agreed to meet with the undercover employee that day on Connecticut Avenue N.W., in front of the Mayflower Hotel in downtown Washington, D.C.

Later that day, Nozette met with the undercover employee and had lunch in the restaurant of the Mayflower Hotel. After the undercover employee made it clear that he was a “Mossad” agent, Nozette stated, “Good. Happy to be of assistance.”

After lunch in the hotel restaurant, Nozette and the undercover employee retired to a hotel suite to continue their discussion. During the conversation, the defendant informed the undercover employee that he had clearances “all the way to Top Secret SCI, I had nuclear…,” that “anything that the U.S. has done in space I’ve seen,” and that he would provide classified information for money and a foreign passport to a country without extradition to the United States.

The defendant and the undercover employee met again on Sept. 4, 2009, at the Mayflower Hotel. During this encounter, Nozette assured the undercover employee that, although he no longer had legal access to any classified information at a U.S. government facility, he could, nonetheless, recall the classified information to which he had been granted access. The defendant said, “It’s in my,” and pointed to his head.

Undercover Operation Continues

On Sept. 10, 2009, FBI agents left a letter in the prearranged “dead drop” facility for the defendant. In the letter, the FBI asked Nozette to answer a list of questions concerning classified U.S. satellite information. FBI agents also provided signature cards, in the defendant’s true name and an alias, for Nozette to sign and asked the defendant to provide four passport sized photographs for the Israeli passport the defendant requested. The FBI agents also left $2,000 cash for the defendant in the “dead drop” facility, which Nozette retrieved the same day, along with the questions and signature cards.

On Sept. 16, 2009, Nozette left a manila envelope in the “dead drop” facility in the District of Columbia. One of the “answers” provided by the defendant contained information classified as SECRET/SCI which related to the national defense, in that it directly concerned classified aspects and mission capabilities of a prototype overhead collection system and which disclosure would negate the ability to support military and intelligence operations. In addition to disclosing SECRET/SCI information, Nozette offered to reveal additional classified information that directly concerned nuclear weaponry, military spacecraft or satellites, and other major weapons systems.

On Sept. 17, 2009, FBI agents left a second communication in the “dead drop” facility for the defendant. In the letter, the FBI asked Nozette to answer another list of questions concerning classified U.S. satellite information. Nozette retrieved the questions from the “dead drop” facility later that same day.

On Oct. 1, 2009, Nozette left a manila envelope in the “dead drop” facility in the District of Columbia. The FBI also left a cash payment of $9,000 in the “dead drop” facility. Later that day, the FBI agents retrieved the sealed manila envelope left by the defendant. Inside the envelope, FBI agents discovered the encrypted thumb drive that was provided to Nozette on Sept. 17, 2009, which included another set of “answers” from the defendant. The “answers” contained information classified as TOP SECRET/SCI and other information classified as SECRET/SCI. This classified information related to the national defense, in that it directly concerned satellites, early warning systems, means of defense or retaliation against large-scale attack, communications intelligence information, and major elements of defense strategy. (This information is what formed the basis for the charge in today’s guilty plea.)

On Oct. 5, 2009, Nozette left a manila envelope in the “dead drop” facility in the District of Columbia. Later that day, the FBI agents retrieved the sealed manila envelope left by the defendant. Inside the envelope, FBI agents discovered the encrypted thumb drive that was provided to Nozette on Oct. 1, 2009, which included another set of “answers” from the defendant. The “answers” contained information classified as TOP SECRET/SAR. This classified information related to the national defense, in that it directly concerned capabilities of a U.S. military weapon system research and development effort.

Nozette and the undercover employee met again on Oct. 19, 2009, at the Mayflower Hotel. During that meeting, the following exchanges took place:

NOZETTE: “So, uh, I gave you even in this first run, some of the most classified information that there is. . . . I’ve sort of crossed the Rubicon. . . . Now the, uh, so I think when I said like fifty K, I think that was probably too low. . . .The cost to the U.S. Government was two hundred million. . . . to develop it all. Uh, and then that’s not including the launching of it. . .Uh, integrating the satellites. . . . So if you say okay that probably brings it to almost a billion dollars. . . So I tell ya at least two hundred million so I would say, you know, theoretically I should charge you certainly, you know, at most a one percent.”

Nozette was arrested soon after he made these statements. He was subsequently indicted on four charges of attempted espionage. Under the plea agreement, Nozette pleaded guilty to the third count of the indictment, arising out of his passing of TOP SECRET/SCI information on Oct. 1, 2009.

At the time of his arrest, Nozette was awaiting sentencing in another federal case. On Jan. 30, 2009, he pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to charges of conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government with respect to false claims and tax evasion in an amount up to $399,999. In that case, Nozette agreed to pay restitution of $265,205 to the U.S. government. Nozette is awaiting sentencing in the case. Under terms of today’s plea, the sentence in the fraud case is to run concurrently with the sentence for attempted espionage.

WASHINGTON—Stewart David Nozette, a scientist who once worked for the Department of Energy, the Department of Defense, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the White House’s National Space Council, pleaded guilty today to attempted espionage for providing classified information to a person he believed to be an Israeli intelligence officer.

The guilty plea, which took place this morning in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, was announced by Lisa Monaco, Assistant Attorney General for National Security; Ronald C. Machen Jr., U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia; and James W. McJunkin, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office.

Nozette, 54, of Chevy Chase, Md., pleaded guilty to one count of attempted espionage. Senior Judge Paul L. Friedman, who presided at the plea hearing, scheduled a status hearing for Nov. 15, 2011. No sentencing date was set. The plea agreement, which is subject to the judge’s approval, calls for an agreed-upon prison term of 13 years.

via FBI — Noted Scientist Pleads Guilty to Attempted Espionage.

In 2010, the overall infant mortality rate for Montgomery County was 4.3 per 1,000 live births. While this represented a decline from the previous year, Montgomery County still had the fourth highest number of deaths in Maryland, surpassed by Baltimore City, Baltimore County and Prince George’s County.

In addition, black infant mortality in Montgomery County for most years exceeds 10 deaths per 1,000 births, and is two to three times greater than white infant mortality. These numbers highlight a racial disparity that has persisted for several years and crosses all socio-economic levels.

”Because infant mortality is a sensitive indicator of the health of our county, there continues to be a strong need to eliminate racial disparities and inequities concerning infant deaths,” said County Health Officer Ulder J. Tillman. “Although the research and clinical findings are not yet clear about the role of environmental stressors and social determinants that affect birth outcomes, we have it within our control to increase awareness about infant mortality among health care providers, among African American women at every socio-economic level, among their partners and those who care about them to improve the health and well-being of women long before they reach child-bearing years and then during and between pregnancies for healthy moms and infants,” she continued.

Among industrialized countries, the United States is ranked 29th in the world in infant mortality, with premature birth, congenital abnormalities, low-birth weight babies and SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) ranked as the leading causes of death.

Since half of pregnancies are unplanned, good preconception health is key for all women of childbearing age. This includes women who may be years away from having a baby and those who are actively planning pregnancy. Women who see a healthcare provider early in pregnancy increase their chances of preventing pre-term labor and having a positive birth outcome.

Infant Mortality Awareness month was established by the National Healthy Start Association to focus attention on the tragedy of infant death across the country. The Montgomery County FIMR Board is responsible for conducting an in-depth review of cases of fetal or infant death. The CAT is an advisory group to Montgomery County’s Department of Health and Human Services and to community organizations that takes FIMR recommendations and works to make changes that strengthen community resources and improve the public/private health service delivery.

Montgomery County offers services for uninsured women who need prenatal care. Contact the Service Eligibility Unit in Silver Spring, Rockville and Germantown by calling 3-1-1.

The following community activities related to improving pregnancy outcomes are planned during September:

• “For Men Only: Call of Duty War on Infant Mortality” workshop will address the important role of men in affecting positive birth outcomes. Saturday, September 17, from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Silver Spring Civic Building at Veterans Plaza. Guest speaker: Donald Shell M.D., M.A, interim director, Center for Health Promotion, Education, Tobacco Use Prevention and Cessation, Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
• “Healthy Babies Begin with a Healthy You,” cosponsored by the County’s Minority Infant Mortality Reduction Pilot Project and “S.M.I.L.E.- Start More Babies Living Equally Healthy,” part of Montgomery County’s African American Health Program. The event is free and open to the public. To register, please contact Eusi Holt at eholt@betah.com or call 240-601-0013.
• “A Baby? Maybe?” lecture on the importance of preconception health planning for a healthy pregnancy. Tuesday, September 27, from 7 to 9 p.m. at Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring. Call 301-754-8800 for information or to register for this free event.

Montgomery County Recreation’s indoor swimming pools offer state-of-the-art facilities, including competition and leisure pools, water slides, hydro-therapy pools and diving platforms. All four pools offer swimming, diving and aquatic fitness classes. In addition to the Germantown Indoor Swim Center, the County operates the following three indoor pools:

• • Martin Luther King, Jr. Swim Center, 1201 Jackson Road, Silver Spring;
• • Montgomery Aquatic Center, 5900 Executive Boulevard, North Bethesda; and
• • Olney Swim Center, 16605 Georgia Avenue, Olney.

For more information on these facilities, or on classes and programs, visit www.montgomerycountymd.gov/rec.

The ill individuals are unvaccinated children who arrived in the United States on Wednesday, August 24. On Monday, August 29, prior to the onset of illness but during the time when the measles virus could potentially have been spread, the children visited the Suburban Washington Resettlement Center, located at 8700 Georgia Avenue in Silver Spring. Individuals who visited the office building on August 29 should be aware that they may have been exposed to measles.
Individuals who have had measles, have received two doses of the measles vaccine (MMR) or were born in the United States before 1957 are not considered at risk for contracting measles. However, health officials recommend that parents of infants, unvaccinated pregnant women and unvaccinated persons with weakened immune systems who may have been exposed on August 29 contact their health care providers. Immune Globulin, a medicine which may prevent measles if given within six days of exposure may be recommended.
Anyone concerned that they may have been exposed to measles or who might have measles infection should call their doctor’s office for instructions prior to going for an evaluation. Those who may have potentially been exposed may also call Montgomery County Health and Human Services’ Disease Control Office at 240-777-1755 to determine their risk of contracting measles.
Measles is a highly contagious virus that is spread through the air when someone with measles coughs or sneezes (and by direct contact with infected nose or throat secretions). Symptoms usually appear in two stages. In the first stage, most people develop a fever greater than 101 degrees, runny nose, watery eyes and a cough. The second stage begins around the third to seventh day when a rash begins to appear on the face and spreads over the entire body.
Measles has been virtually eliminated in the United Sates due to the widespread use of the MMR vaccine. However, sporadic cases can arise when unvaccinated people enter the United States or when an unvaccinated individual visits a foreign country where measles circulates in the population. Proof of vaccination has been required for school admission since 1957 and for citizenship applicants, so that most people have either been vaccinated or are from a generation when they were exposed to measles as children.
Vaccination with MMR is recommended for all children, with the first dose given at about one year of age and a second dose between ages four and six — before the child enters kindergarten. The second dose is critically important to ensure protection from measles. Individuals of any age can receive MMR vaccine.

The accused is identified as James H. Hill, III, of New Haven, Conn.  He is charged on a warrant obtained by Maryland State Police with attempted second degree murder, reckless endangerment, and first degree assault.

No one was injured in the incident, which began about 2:30 a.m. today.  An off-duty Prince George’s County Police Department sergeant, driving his personal vehicle home after his shift ended, called the Maryland State Police Rockville Barrack and reported that he was following a vehicle traveling at a high rate of speed on the outer loop of I-495 near Georgia Avenue.  He described the vehicle as a light-colored Audi with Connecticut tags that was driving erratically with its lights off.  State Police issued a lookout to troopers and Montgomery County Police.

The sergeant called the barrack back and said he had followed the vehicle onto northbound I-270.  Near the 14 mile marker, the sergeant said someone in the Audi held a handgun out the window and fired multiple times at him.  He said he continued to follow the car, which exited onto Rt. 121 and then returned to southbound I-270 and exited onto Father Hurley Boulevard.  The sergeant said the Audi pulled to the ramp to return to I-270 and stopped.  He said another shot was then fired at him from the car.  The Audi then fled north onto I-270 and the sergeant continued to follow it.

Troopers from the Rockville and Frederick barracks, as well as Montgomery County Police officers converged on the area, but did not locate the Audi.  The sergeant said he lost sight of the car as they passed the weigh station in Hyattstown.

The sergeant was not struck by the gunfire, nor was his vehicle.  The sergeant did not fire his weapon at the suspect.  There are no reports of any injuries or vehicles damaged from others on the interstate at the times the shots were fired.
Maryland State Police investigators at the Rockville Barrack worked the investigation into the shooting throughout the day.  Assistance was provided by the Maryland Coordination and Analysis Center and police at the West Haven and New Haven police departments in Connecticut.

Investigators were able to use the tag number obtained by the sergeant during the pursuit this morning to assist in identifying the suspect.  Police in Connecticut were familiar with the suspect and set up a surveillance that ended with the suspect’s arrest this afternoon.  Questions concerning the arrest in Connecticut should be directed to the New Haven Police Department.

Troopers have been in contact with the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office concerning this investigation and charges against the suspect.  The state’s attorney has confirmed support for extradition proceedings against Hill to return him to Maryland to face charges.  Those extradition efforts are underway.  For now, Hill is held in Connecticut as a fugitive from Maryland.

Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett will host a Town Hall Meeting in the Bethesda area on Wednesday, September 21 at 7:30 p.m. at Westland Middle School, 5511 Massachusetts Avenue, Bethesda. Previous town meetings have drawn thousands of residents who have taken advantage of the opportunity to voice their concerns to the County Executive.

“Town meetings present an excellent opportunity for me to find out what’s on the mind of our residents,” said Leggett. “A cornerstone of my administration has been to make sure ‘everyone has a seat at the table’ and these public meetings provide a forum for our residents to share their ideas and concerns.”

The town meeting is free and open to all and will be videotaped by County Cable 6, the County government channel, for future airing.

Sign language interpreter services will be provided only upon request with notice as far in advance as possible, but no less than 72 hours prior to the event. If these or other services or aids are needed to participate in this activity, please call 240-777-6507, TTY 240-777-6505 or email a request to karen.falcon@montgomerycountymd.gov.

Commuters may want to allocate additional time for their commute, especially along Route 29 which has several signals without power north of Randolph Road.

Troopers are on patrol around Maryland are reporting the most serious hazard they are seeing today involves motorists moving through intersections with non-functioning traffic lights due to power outages.  Many motorists are acting as if they have no obligations if the lights are not working.  That is not true and can be deadly.

Maryland State Police and State Highway Administration officials are reminding motorists that upon approaching an intersection with non-functioning traffic lights ALL drivers should stop at the intersection first and then proceed with caution.  If lights are on flash, those facing yellow flashing lights can proceed with caution.  Those facing red flashing lights must stop and then proceed with caution.

Click photo for screen-resolution image The last inpatient from Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., receives a police escort during the transport of inpatients to the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., Aug. 27, 2011. Officials moved up the transfer date by one day to avoid the worst effects of Hurricane Irene along the East Coast. DOD photo by Sebastian J. Sciotti Jr

As the ambulance turned north on Georgia Avenue toward the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., the once-bustling Walter Reed hospital fell silent.

This early morning move of inpatients — one to an ambulance — marked the end of an era for Walter Reed and its 102 years of Army medicine that has saved hundreds of thousands of military lives.

Walter Reed and the National Naval Medical Center are consolidating as one medical center as mandated by the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Act. The Army and Navy complex on the grounds of Bethesda will be renamed the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.

“It’s been 102 years for Walter Reed, but the legacy lives on,” Army Col. Norvell “Van” Coots, Walter Reed commander, told reporters this morning at the hospital. “The name lives on, and it’s a new beginning for our health care system.”

Earlier expectations were to move 150 inpatients this weekend, Coots said, but the number was reduced to 50, and gradually became 18 this morning after eight were moved to Bethesda yesterday. Walter Reed’s staff also was able to discharge and relocate many other patients who wanted to be hospitalized closer to their homes.

With Hurricane Irene bearing down on the East Coast today, the move was made a day earlier than planned.

As the Red Cross flag came down from the front of the hospital this afternoon, it signaled the final closing of the iconic medical center.

“The Red Cross flag is the symbol of health and healing, and symbolizes the end of physical patient care at Walter Reed,” Coots said.

Walter Reed has been the Army’s flagship of military medicine since 1909, and cared for soldiers during World War I and World War II, the Korean conflict, the Vietnam War, and the decade-long wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

A small post, Walter Reed had no room to expand and accommodate more wounded warriors, Coots said in a press conference earlier this summer. The medical center straddles a couple of neighborhood blocks between Georgia Avenue and 16th Street.

The Walter Reed garrison and installation will remain open until Sept. 15, Coots said. When the U.S. flag comes down that day, he added, the installation and the garrison will close for good.

Sometime afterward, Walter Reed will become the property of the District of Columbia government, and the State Department is expected to take over the hospital building.

Looking forward to a new beginning, Coots said today was emotional as he walked the wards early this morning, stopping in to check on each of the remaining 18 patients.

“There’s still an energy you can feel in those halls,” he said. “It’s an energy that’s left behind from the hundreds of thousands of patients we’ve treated in these 102 years, and the tens of thousands of staff members.

“We take Walter Reed with us,” Coots added. “And we leave a piece of it here.”

By Terri Moon Cronk

“We are thrilled to partner with the Global Giving Campaign to give back to military heroes who have served our country,” said Jason Bryan, Director of Program Outreach at Mercy for Me. “The challenges facing National Guardsmen and Military Reservists are daunting. Not only do many of them endure loss of income when they deploy overseas, but they often return home to find their civilian jobs eliminated entirely. Mercy for Me’s 30-day fundraising campaign seeks to bridge the financial gap Guardsmen and Reservists often face when returning home from war.”

As part of the campaign, Mercy for Me established the Military Heroes Hardship Relief Fund. Funds raised over the 30-day period will be distributed as grants to Guardsmen and Military Reservists suffering from financial hardship. All donations are tax deductible. Donations can be made by clicking here or visiting www.globalgiving.org, clicking “Find A Project” and typing “Mercy for Me.”

On August 20, at approximately 10:02 a.m., officers from the 1st District along with officers from the Rockville City Police Department responded to the Capital One bank located at 101 Halpine Drive in Rockville for a report of an armed bank robbery that had just occurred. The preliminary investigation revealed that a suspect entered the bank and approached the teller. The suspect passed a note to the teller demanding cash and implying that he had a weapon. The teller complied with the suspect’s demands, and the suspect obtained an undisclosed amount of currency. The suspect then exited the bank and was last seen walking toward the Twinbrook Metro station. No one was injured in this incident.

The suspect is described as a black male, 6’3”-6’5” tall, with a mustache. He was wearing a white dress shirt, a black tie, a black jacket with a hood, and a dark-colored baseball cap.

Anyone who has information about this bank robbery and/or the suspect involved is asked to call the Robbery Section at 240-773-5100