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vide additional incentives to encourage county government employees to stop commuting alone.

Silverman said he did not know whether he had the votes to add the money to the budget, and acknowledged that without a tax increase his proposal would have to compete against demands from the public school system, social services and other areas of county government. But he said he hoped the support from the business and environmental communities could help persuade his colleagues.

Neal Fitzpatrick, of the Audubon Naturalist Society, called the proposal a great idea. Business leaders who frequently find themselves at odds with environmentalists agreed.

"Our county's businesses need relief from the effects of traffic congestion," said John Dillon, president of the county's Chamber of Commerce."

Postcards Push for Beltway Metro Line

METRO In Brief
Washington Post
Thursday, April 19, 2001

Members of the Sierra Club plan to pass out tens of thousands of postcards at Metro stations this morning calling on Virginia Gov. James S. Gilmore III (R) and Maryland Gov. Parris N. Glendening (D) to support construction of a Metrorail line along the Capital Beltway.

Metro planners and transportation agencies in Maryland and Virginia are in the early stages of studying a rail line to parallel the Beltway. The group supports the so-called Purple Line as a way of moving commuters around the region without more road construction.

Officials Declare Victory In Legislative Session
Duncan Calls County's Gains 'Extraordinary'

By Jo Becker
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, April 12, 2001

Standing before signs emblazoned with the words "Bringing Home the Bacon," Montgomery County officials this week declared victory in the just-concluded legislative session as they outlined the money they had won for projects ranging from a concert hall for long-term guest Baltimore Symphony Orchestra to a district court in Silver Spring.

"This was an extraordinary, extraordinary session for Montgomery County," said a smiling County Executive Douglas M. Duncan (D). "My hat is off to the members of the Montgomery County delegation."

The session was relatively controversy-free, with little of the regional infighting that characterized past budget battles, said county lobbyist Ben Bialek. Much of the money the county received for schools and other programs was preordained by state funding formulas.

The county scored big in terms of state money for construction projects. Assuming the state Board of Public Works gives Montgomery County the $50 million in school construction funding officials anticipate, the county will come away with nearly $181 million for non-transportation projects.

That represents a 65 percent increase over last year and translates into significant funding for the arts, college and university expansions, parks, wastewater treatment, storm-water improvements and groups that serve the poor and disabled.

The county also received nearly $54 million for local road maintenance, construction and county mass transit. County officials said the state aid will allow them to expand the number of Ride On bus routes and extend bus service hours. It's all part of Gov.
Parris N. Glendening's transit initiative, which will also provide big increases in funding to purchase new Metrorail cars, replace old escalators and other equipment and to study the expansion of Metrorail lines in Maryland.

That could help supporters of a long-coveted Purple Line, which would run east-west and connect the two existing Red Line routes, said county lobbyist Rich Madaleno.

The county did not fare as well as some others in obtaining aid for state road projects, with lawmakers approving only a portion of the projects the county pushed.

Duncan, however, said he believes that the county will fare better on roads next year.

"This is a major issue, and next year is an election year," he said.

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