Author: Elena Sorokina

Event: A Virtual Walk & Talk Along Little Hunting Creek

Posted on by Elena Sorokina

If you missed our virtual stream walk with the Audubon Naturalist Society and Fairfax County staff, you can watch the presentation here.

From ANS: On September 10th, 2020, Fairfax County staff Charles Smith & JoAnne Fiebe led us on a virtual walk-and-talk of an area around Mount Vernon Plaza, part of Little Hunting Creek, one of the sites of a proposed “ecological spine“. This concept, introduced in Chapter 3 of the Richmond Highway Urban Design Guidelines, envisions how streams can be made part of the community again. Instead of burying streams and building on top of them, how can redevelopment integrate streams and their riparian buffers into walkable, bikeable areas where people and nature can thrive in urban settings?

Tune in to the webinar to hear about the vision for the Route 1 redevelopment and hear about how redevelopment can be tied to creating healthier streams, and therefore a healthier world for us.

Guide to Safe Voting in the DMV

Guide to Safe Voting in the DMV

Posted on by Elena Sorokina

The election in November will be one of the most important in American history. Our nation is facing multiple crises that are testing our democracy and rarely has it been more important that we exercise our hard-earned right to vote. We want to make sure that you have all the information necessary to ensure your vote is counted this November! Scroll for voting information in DC, Virginia, and Maryland. 

If you live in DC, you do not need to request a ballot. 

  • If you are a registered voter, you will receive a ballot. Check your registration here to ensure the listed address is correct. 
  • If you would prefer to drop your ballot in an official dropbox rather than mail it, you can see a list of locations here. 
  • If you wish to vote early in-person from October 27th-November 2nd. A list of early voting centers is available here. 
  • If you wish to vote in-person on election day, a list of polling places is available here. 
  • Any other information you might need to vote in DC can be found at dcboe.org. All of this information is available in Spanish here.

If you live in Maryland, you must request a mail-in ballot if you wish to vote by mail, which you can do online here.

  • You must request your ballot by October 20th. All Marylanders will autonatically receive a mail-in ballot application, but not a mail-in ballot.
  • If you do not want to mail your ballot, a list of ballot drop boxes will be available here once locations are finalized. 
  • Early voting in Maryland will take place from October 26th-November 2nd from 7am-8pm and the list of early voting locations will be here once they are finalized. 
  • If you wish to vote in-person on election day, you will receive a mailing in October telling you where you can do so, as not all polling places will be open. 
  • All Maryland voting information can be found on elections.maryland.gov. This information is also available in Spanish here.

If you live in Virginia, you must request a mail-in ballot if you wish to vote by mail, which you can do so here. You must request your ballot by 5pm on October 23rd. 

  • If you don’t want to mail your ballot, you can drop it off at your local elections office. If it is your first time voting in a federal election in Virginia, you must include a scanned copy of your ID with your ballot application. 
  • Early voting in Virginia will take place from September 18th to October 31st at your local elections office. Find the location of your elections office here. You must present a valid form of ID when voting in-person. A list of valid IDs can be found here.
  • All usual polling places will be open on Election Day. To find your polling place, click here.
  • All Virginia voting information can be found on elections.virginia.gov. This information is also available in Spanish here.

Whichever method you choose to cast your ballot, mark the appropriate date on your calendar and exercise your right to vote! Please continue to stay safe and healthy.

Sign-on Letter to the Montgomery Planning Board Re: Thrive 2050 Outreach

Posted on by Elena Sorokina
2020_08_12_Thrive-community-outreach-sign-on-letterDownload

August 12th, 2020 

Dear Montgomery Planning Board, 

The coalition of organizations and individuals undersigned request additional outreach activities for the upcoming release of the working draft plan of Thrive Montgomery 2050. Many of our organizations have worked with the planning staff and have seen their diligent and innovative ways of conducting outreach during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, community leaders and organizations working with highly impacted communities see an interest and a need to take additional action in order to fully engage all communities. The communities of color that have been the most affected by COVID-19 in our county are the same communities where more Thrive 2050 outreach is needed, and comments are missing. 

It is our understanding that the Montgomery Planning Department intends to release the working draft plan of Thrive Montgomery 2050 on September 24th, hold a Planning Board review meeting on October 1st, hold a public hearing on November 19th, and maybe allow the public to submit comments until two weeks after the public hearing.1 We propose the following extensions, recommendations, and additional outreach strategies. 

• A working draft in both English and Spanish least 30 days before the November public hearing. 

• We ask for a second public hearing that is scheduled 30 to 45 days after the working draft plan has been released in Spanish. 

• Create more live multi-bilingual / bilingual outreach opportunities to have bilingual discussions between community members and planners on all sections of the working draft plan. 

• Conduct in-person outreach that is safe, outdoors, and physically distant, such as at food distribution centers/ hubs and at parks across the county. 

• Create and simultaneously release one-page multilingual informational fact sheets that highlight key sections and points of the working draft plan. Additionally work closely with community organizers to disseminate information and conduct community outreach on the working draft plan. 

We appreciate and thank the Planning Board for the opportunity to provide feedback on the working draft plan. We look forward to continuing to be partners in the Thrive 2050 conversation and find new and innovative ways to conduct outreach. 

1 Thrive 2050 Public Comment Timeline. (Last Updated on August 4th, 2020). Available from: https://montgomeryplanning.org/planning/master-plan-list/general-plans/thrive-montgomery-2050/ 

Sincerely, 

Denisse Guitarra

Maryland Conservation Advocate

Audubon Naturalist Society