Eleven men were  nabbed this month by Gaithersburg Police for trying to get intimate with minors on the Web.

Then men were from different states, including Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia and Washington DC. Cops posted a phony profile online and arranged meetups with the doomed men using phone calls and text messaging. This operation marks the first of its kind for Gaithersburg, lasting from November 15 through the 19th and included the likes of the FBI and the Montgomery County Police Department and attorney’s office.

The 25 to 48 year old men were each charged with a count of sexual solicitation of a minor and thrown in jail. Of the creeps, one was from Gaithersburg, and all  will stand trial in Montgomery County.

Popularity: 6% [?]

Food banks are vital to the community – especially this time of year. Unfortunately, some people don’t quite understand that.

Manna Food Center, based in Gaithersburg, had one of their food vans stolen Tuesday morning – and as if that wasn’t bad enough, some food was stolen from the warehouse as well. The van, a white 2001 Chevy cargo van with their logo, is exclusively used for supply pick-ups and food drives.

Luckily, the van was eventually found at around 3 pm the same day in the parking lot of an apartment complex in Rockville. Police have an arrest warrant out for the person responsible, but have yet to release names.

The local food bank has  been struggling with donations recently, but workers and volunteers say that this along with the recent acts of heartlessness from thieves won’t stop them from helping area families. Manna Development manager Natalie Corbin told the Montgomery Gazette: “Even in the midst of things like this, we’ll continue to provide the services we always have. And, any help from the community is appreciated and needed.”

Popularity: 31% [?]

Sodexo employees at eight college campuses cut kitchen waste by about one third, simply by tracking and monitoring food waste, according to the preliminary findings from the first eight weeks of a pilot study that is part of the company’s commitment to stop wasting food to curb climate change and improve business practices.

Sodexo is partnering with LeanPath, a technology company providing food waste tracking systems, to conduct the review. The pilot study focuses on kitchen – or pre-consumer – waste, not what customers throw out. The pilot study system features a tracking station where Sodexo employees enter data about what they are throwing out and why. By tracking the reason for throwing away items, Sodexo is able to correct the problem to prevent future food waste. Sodexo employees at those eight sites have dramatically reduced overproduction, spoilage, expiration and trimmings by participating in the pilot study.

“Our people have been vigilant about preventing food waste at these sites demonstrating they are extremely good stewards of the environment,” said Tom Post, president of education – campus, at Sodexo. “The pilot results show it’s possible to send less waste to landfills and to reduce costs without compromising the quality or variety of the food we serve.”

LeanPath estimates that 4 to 10 percent of the food that is purchased ends up in kitchen waste. Each participating site in the Sodexo pilot also has a Stop Waste Action Team (SWAT) composed of employees. This group reviews the waste tracking data, sets specific goals for improvement, and tests waste prevention ideas. The most effective ideas become permanent.

In September, Sodexo launched “Stop Wasting Food”, a campaign to engage its customers and employees in reducing food waste to curb climate change. To learn more, visit www.stopwastingfood.org.

Americans trash 25 percent of all the food they prepare each year, leading to 31 million tons of wasted food piling up in landfills annually. Food waste in landfills produces methane gas, which is at least 21 times more potent than carbon. Methane breaks down the ozone layer and leads to climate change.

Sodexo pilot study results come from a program initiated in early September at eight college campuses across the country to analyze and measure kitchen waste in an effort to better manage it. Colleges participating in the waste-reduction pilot program include Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, California State University of Monterey Bay in Seaside, Calif., Juniata College in Huntingdon, Pa., Linfield College in McMinnville, Ore., Marist College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., Pomona College in Claremont, Calif., University of California at Davis, Calif.,  and University of Wisconsin in River Falls, Wis.

Popularity: 34% [?]

A local man was shocked with gunfire early Saturday while climbing through a window that he thought was his. Instead, it was the apartment window of his neighbor, who was armed with a shotgun filled with lead pellets.

The resident of Governor Square apartments in Gaithersburg called Montgomery County Police to tell them that he had shot an intruder. The confused “intruder” was taken to a local hospital where he is expected to recover.

No one has been arrested, and an investigation is ongoing.

Popularity: 34% [?]

Montgomery county is seeing an increasing number of a hot commodity stolen – airbags.

Yes, airbags.

Eight of the crash cushions have been ripped out of steering wheels and dashboards in the past two months in Montgomery County. This year, 127 have been stolen in the county, which has eclipsed the previous record of 93 stolen in 2007.

Stealing an airbag is risky business, and not just for the criminal consequence. Practically speaking, one false move and that highly compressed airbag could deploy at 125 MPH at close range in a crook’s face. Within minutes, a well-versed thief could have the bag pried out in mere minutes and be on his way to becoming up to $300 richer, thanks to shady auto repairmen using them as replacements in wrecked vehicles.

Airbags are currently the third most stolen item from vehicles, behind stereos and tires. AAA estimates around 600 are stolen each week. Honda Civics and Accords are the most frequently targeted because of their popularity. To avoid being a target, stash away all personal items, park in a well-lit area, consider getting a car alarm, and above all – lock your doors.

Popularity: 5% [?]

A union affiliated with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) used contract negotiations to punish two employees who supported a rival union, according to a recent complaint issued by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

The NLRB complaint alleges that the Rochester Regional Joint Board of Workers United, an SEIU affiliate, committed unfair labor practices by negotiating to insert new language in a labor contract that reduced the pay and work opportunities of the employees, Sharron Rodrigue and Tina Mayotte. Both are Sodexo employees who work in cafeteria and catering jobs at Empire State Plaza in Albany, NY. The NLRB is the independent federal agency empowered to protect employees’ rights to join a union and to prevent and remedy unfair labor practices committed by private sector employers or unions.

After an investigation, NLRB found there was enough evidence to support the employees’ allegations that Workers United engaged in illegal conduct against them in retaliation for their support of a rival union, Local 471-UNITE HERE. The NLRB complaint specifically alleges that during negotiations for a new contract in May 2010, Workers United, an SEIU affiliate, demanded new contract language that reduced the vacation pay of Rodrigue. The SEIU affiliate also demanded new contract language requiring that catering assignments be made based on seniority, which reduced the work opportunities and pay of Mayotte, according to the NLRB.

The NLRB alleges that the SEIU affiliate engaged in this illegal conduct to retaliate against Rodrigue and Mayotte, who supported Local 471-UNITE HERE, and also “to discourage other employees from supporting” Local 471-UNITE HERE. By this conduct, the union “has been restraining and coercing employees in the exercising of rights guaranteed” under federal labor laws, according to the complaint. As part of the remedy for the alleged unfair labor practices, the NLRB is seeking to have Workers United pay lost wages, with interest, to the affected workers.

The SEIU affiliate must file its answer to the complaint by November 10, 2010. The NLRB has scheduled a hearing on the complaint before an NLRB Administrative Law Judge for Jan. 10, 2011, in Albany, NY.

Although the two employees worked for Sodexo, the company was not accused by the employees or the NLRB of any illegal conduct and was not named by the NLRB as a party in the complaint.

Popularity: 16% [?]

Vandals set fire to two cameras used to catch speeding violators in Gaithersburg Monday, giving late commuters to work added incentive to make it on time.

One camera on Quince Orchard Road was reported to be burning at around 2:30 am Monday, and the other was found smoldering three miles west of that one at noon.

Both of the cameras are toast  and will cost $80,000 to replace due to the city’s lack of insurance.

Two other cameras were covered with spray paint early in the year, and the cameras have been targets for vandals in previous years. The main reason for this is probably the fact that the cameras have been the bearer of 33,000 citations at 40 bucks each in September alone.  The city expects to gain $17.2 million from drivers courtesy of Big Brother in fiscal 2010.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Layoffs of more than 100 firefighters is a major consequence of Montgomery County voters voting against an ambulance fee.

The proposition, which if approved would have set a countywide ambulance fee that would charge insurance companies, Medicare and Medicaid for ambulance rides, lost with 54 percent of voters having none of it. The proposition was spearheaded by newly elected incumbent County Executive Isiah Leggett, who says the fees would have generated $14 million for the fire department – which is now left wounded.

Leggett said there was a lot of misunderstanding surrounding the proposal, which is partly to blame for its failure. Given the failure, board members say that the ambulance fee is logical, given the dire situation of the fire department and what could be lost in the form of 118 employees.

The county will actively push for the ambulance fee, nonetheless.

Popularity: 2% [?]

A warrant has been issued in Montgomery County for the arrest of Deandrew Hamlin, the man who stole slain American University professor Sue Ann Marcum’s Jeep and a suspect in the mueder. He is currently detained in Washington, D.C. on other charges.

The 18 year old was arrested in D.C. soon after Marcum’s body was found in her Bethesda home early Monday. He took police on a small chase, eventually wrecking her Jeep on M Street Northwest. He is charged with being a fugitive from Mayland and unauthorized use of a vehicle by the Montgomery County Police, and is in jail in D.C on charges of being a fugitive from justice.

Hamlin is a prime suspect in her murder, as police found stolen items in his home that could be enough to formally charge him at a later date as the investigation continues. For now, his extradition hearing is slated to take place November 24.

Marcum’s official cause of death was determined as homicide by asphyxiation and blunt force trauma by the Bethesda medical examiner.

American University has planned a remembrance service for Marcum for 8 p.m. Nov. 9. in Bender Arena, 4400 Massachusetts Ave., Washington D.C.

Popularity: 29% [?]

As Interstate 95 marks its 50th anniversary this year, the I-95 Corridor Coalition announced several key milestones in their coordinated multi-state effort focused on improving the transport of people and commerce in a region representing the world’s 3rd largest economy.

Today, the Coalition announced its ground-breaking “Vehicle Probe Project” now provides real-time traffic speeds and travel time information for more than 5,000 miles of roads along the I-95 corridor.  In announcing the expansion, the Coalition outlined how the 2-year-old project, through a more cost-effective approach, has improved operations, managed emergency response, and delivered new and improved traveler information services.

“Two years ago, leaders of the Coalition decided to seek consistent real-time traffic data for a large multi-state area, believing the timing was right to leverage technology capable of delivering high quality traffic information at much less cost than traditional approaches,” said George Schoener, Executive Director, I-95 Corridor Coalition

The I-95 Vehicle Probe Project is a public-private partnership, launched in October 2008, between the Coalition, the University of Maryland and INRIX resulting from a competitive bidding process managed by the Coalition.  The project is focused on creating the nation’s first seamless traffic information and monitoring system to use “crowd-sourced” traffic information for achieving a more complete view of travel times and speeds on freeways and arterials along the eastern seaboard.  Key results to date include:

• Better Traffic Monitoring at a Fraction of the Cost. In addition to providing states with a more complete view of traffic conditions on their major roads, INRIX’s real-time traffic information has helped states more effectively allocate limited traffic operations resources.  According to North Carolina DOT where previous approaches to gathering traffic data had a life cycle cost of nearly $50,000 per mile, INRIX vehicle probe data has been proven to deliver more coverage at about 25 percent of the per mile life cycle cost.(2)  Similarly, South Carolina DOT claimed that maintaining coverage to gain speed data for over 300 miles of South Carolina roads using traditional methods is equal to the total cost of the INRIX speed and travel time data for 1,200 miles of roads.(2)
• Faster Emergency Response. In addition to seeing real-time traffic conditions for more roadways and across state lines, member states have been able to more quickly identify and respond to traffic issues.  In New Jersey, traffic operations staff identified a serious accident on a stretch of I-80 during a surprise October 2008 snowstorm that they previously wouldn’t have been able to see using their CCTV system.  Without the Vehicle Probe Project traffic monitoring site, response to the 2nd incident would have been delayed by as much as an hour.  NJDOT estimated that the expedited response to the second incident translated into $100,000 in savings in user delay costs. (2)
• New and Improved Traveler Information Services. In a region of 100 million people where more than 100,000 cars and trucks travel the I-95 corridor every day, the Project has delivered new and improved traveler information services that help residents and businesses better plan their trips including:
  • Online. i95travelinfo.net provides valuable information to help people better plan their trips with traffic information and travel times for destinations in 15 states covering 24 metropolitan areas including I-95, the beltways surrounding each major city, and all associated routes that together make up the corridor.  Additionally, New Jersey DOT is now posting trip times for key corridors and work zones on its newly upgraded nj511.org site along with the traffic flow map that has been on the site since the projects inception.
  • On the road. The Maryland State Highway Administration is now posting travel times on 22 dynamic message signs in the Baltimore/Washington area during peak periods using Project data.  Additionally, Virginia DOT is displaying travel time information to common destinations on several multi-function displays at one of the nation’s largest malls at Tysons Corner and at two welcome centers along I-95.
  • On the phone.  North Carolina DOT has created a statewide “virtual dynamic message sign” feature on its 511 telephone service that allows callers to get estimated travel times to major interchanges.  The Florida DOT also has made improvements to its statewide 511 service by using project data along I-10 and I-75 in North Florida, areas previously not covered until Florida joined the Project in June 2010.

“As we move forward with to expand coverage throughout the Coalition, more of our members will have access to traffic data that is becoming a valuable tool in the development of performance measures for their systems,” added Schoener.

Popularity: 26% [?]