TEEN DRIVING BILLS SIGNED INTO LAW
Gov. Robert Ehrlich signed into law five teen driving safety bills May 26. The bills were passed overwhelmingly by the Maryland General Assembly.
The bill signing came about six months after a rash of accidents in the Washington area left at least 18 young people dead.
Three of the bills were chiefly sponsored by Del. Bill Bronrott (D-16), who represents parts of Potomac and Bethesda.
Bronrott’s bills will prevent teenager drivers from carrying non-family teenagers as passengers for the first five months of their provisional license period; prevent inexperienced drivers from talking on cell phones while driving; and increase from 40 to 60 the number of hours of adult-supervised driving time required during a teen’s learner’s permit period; 10 of those hours must be at night.
The other two bills that passed were part of the governor’s own legislative package. One will lengthen the learner’s permit period from four to five months and the other will cause the 18-month provisional license period to reset each time a provisional driver is caught in violation of the midnight-5 a.m. curfew or state seat belt law.
“There’s no silver bullet, there’s no magic wand. But we need to do what we know is effective,” Bronrott said, referring to the many endorsements the bills received from safety experts. With the enactment of the bills, he said, "There will be fewer tragedies and more families kept whole.”
FATHER'S DAY PHOTOS
In an Almanac tradition, readers are invited to send in photos of fathers with children, grandfathers with grandchildren and multi-generational photos. The Almanac will print as many photos as possible in the week before and after Father’s Day.
E-mailed photos are best. Be sure to include text that identifies every person in the photograph and their ages if possible, tells when, where and what’s happening, and includes your town of residence. A few words or a sentence or two on what your father means to you are always welcome.
You can also mail in a print, being sure to include the same information. If you include a self-addressed-stamped envelope, we will do our best to send the print back to you, but please do not send us any irreplaceable photographs.
Email: Almanac@connectionnewspapers.com
Or mail to Connection Father’s Day Photos, 7913 Westpark Drive, McLean, Va. 22102.
Questions? Call 703-917-6407.
STUDENT SEEKS LAPTOP DONATIONS
Emilie Kimball, a 15-year-old National Cathedral School student from Potomac, is seeking used laptops to be donated to Women in Progress, an international volunteer organization that helps women in West Africa.
Emilie will take the laptops with her when she travels to Ghana June 19, where, as Women in Progress intern, she will aid local women who wish to become self-sufficient by starting a business.
Most of the women sell handmade clothing through the Internet, and will use the computers to contact customers worldwide and keep business records.
The organization accepts almost any type of laptop, although it prefers computers that can run Windows 2000 or Windows XP — generally at least a Pentium II with 128 kb RAM. Virus protection software and Microsoft Office software are also helpful.
To donate a tax-deductible used laptop, or for more information, contact Emilie at 301-299-1133 or at pkimball@kimbal.com To learn more about Women in Progress visit www.womeninprogress.org.
TISCH TO SPEAK AT B'NAI TZEDEK
James S. Tisch, president and CEO of Loews Corporation and chairman of the Council of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, will be the recipient of the Ninth Annual David Ifshin Memorial Award on Thursday, June 9 at Congregation B'nai Tzedek in Potomac.
The David Ifshin Memorial Award Annual Lecture was established by the Ifshin family to honor individuals who are devoted to the ideals of public service and issues important to David Ifshin.
Past honorees have included Ambassador Dennis Ross, sports mogul and community leader Abe Pollin and U.S. Sen. John McCain.
Admission is free and open to the public. This program will begin with a dessert reception at 7:30 p.m.
Congregation B'nai Tzedek, is located at 10621 South Glen Road. For information and reservations contact Brittany Doane at 301-299-0225, extension 301.
PADDLE FOR CONSERVATION
Registration is open for the fourth annual Potomac Sojourn, a week-long canoeing and kayaking expedition with visits to important sites along the river, shoreline camping, ecological restoration projects, festive meals, meetings with elected officials, and more.
The Sojourn is co-sponsored by the Interstate Commission on the Potomac and the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay to boost awareness of the Potomac River’s importance to the region and encourage residents to play an active role in its restoration. Novice and experienced paddlers are welcome to join, and may sign up for all or part of the trip.
The trip begins July 9 in Shepherdstown, W.Va. and ends in Great Falls, Va. with planned stops at White’s Ferry and Pennyfield Lock in Montgomery County.
For more information and registration, visit www.acb-online.org/project.cfm?vid=241.