Thursday, November 02, 2017

MoCo political cartel sees cemetery "protection" law as a move-the-bodies bill

Something is happening behind the scenes in Montgomery County government. This week, multiple government departments are coordinating new public messaging on the battle over the African-American cemetery at Westwood Tower in Bethesda. Developer Regency Centers, the County's Housing Opportunities Commission, and Montgomery County want to build a parking garage on top of the graves, many of which belong to the first generation of free African-Americans after Maryland Emancipation. While the HOC tested a new, but not-credible, PR message yesterday, the County Council and Planning Department scored a fake news victory with a preposterous headline in the Washington Post Metro section yesterday.

Much like the HOC headdesk-worthy statement, the article on a new cemetery "protection" bill being passed unanimously by the pro-developer County Council was all about false impresssions. A banner headline falsely stated: "Montgomery to protect cemeteries." As Bill Clinton said, "Give me a break." I actually heard from someone yesterday who saw the story, and believed that the County had stepped in to save the cemetery at Westbard. WRONG. But that is clearly what the County's political cartel - in reality just a tiny-but-powerful sliver of the local Democratic party - and headline writer at the Post had in mind, a deliberate misinformation campaign.

Anyone following the contentious battle over the cemetery on this blog already knows the bill will not solve the Westbard graveyard battle. It would not have prevented it had it been in place, and will not prevent a similar battle in the future, when a cemetery is physically "lost" to the naked eye and community consciousness. One cannot "research the boundaries of burial sites" on their ready-to-develop land IF THEY DON'T KNOW THE CEMETERY IS THERE (or pretend they don't know - the County Council hasn't bothered to inquire whether the Tauber family informed Capital Properties of the cemetery when they sold the land to them a decade ago, or if Capital Properties informed Regency Centers when they sold the 22 acres to them in 2012).

But the fake news came with a dose of chilling reality, as we've now confirmed that the County Council and Planning Department support the destruction of cemeteries, and the removal of bodies to clear the way for private profit by big corporations. Significantly, no taxpaying civilian who testified on the bill supported giving the Planning Board authority to decide if a developer gets to relocate bodies. In fact, several - including myself - pointedly asked the Council to remove that provision from the bill.

Shockingly, the Council ignored its own constituents, and retained the pro-developer proviso that would let the same Planning Board Chair who surrounded himself with police officers to speak to a representative of a black church decide whether black bodies will be relocated at Westbard.

The Council should have instead included a provision forbidding the relocation of graves in cemeteries such as the one at Westbard. This is not the discovery of a random pauper's grave during highway construction. Rather, this cemetery is formally delineated in land records, has recorded burial announcements, and has both a descendant community and church as present-day legal parties to the matter. It is also, along with the Macedonia Baptist Church, the only remaining physical remnant of the "lost" African-American community along River Road, founded by former slaves of the adjacent Loughborough plantation. Living history that has been suppressed by the County for decades, but is now forcing its way back into the conversation.

Yet, according to Planning Director Gwen Wright, "if burial sites are found" by Regency Centers (there's that conditional "if" again - the Post claims the cemetery was "probably disturbed" by construction of Westwood Tower, despite at least two witnesses who have great detail about the discovery of bodies during that late-1960s desecration), "the Planning Board would use the criteria developed and make a judgement."

"Montgomery to protect cemeteries?" Not with a move-the-bodies bill. Fake news. Should Regency, HOC and Montgomery County actually be stupid enough to try to relocate these graves, this will be a national civil rights story.

31 comments:

  1. Anonymous6:26 AM

    That Post headline is a joke to anyone informed about this matter.

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  2. 6:26: I think the Post should be forced to retract this headline, and include the retraction in the "Corrections" inside the front page. It is patently false.

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  3. Anonymous6:36 AM

    I think you should be forced to #DeleteYourAccount.

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  4. Woodmont6:38 AM

    I clicked on the reporter's name and it literally says she is a college "intern". So, there's that.

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  5. Anonymous6:47 AM

    I clicked on Woodmont's name and it literally said he is #UnsignedDyer.

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  6. Robert is right, he is an expert on this matter and fighting for what is right.

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  7. Anonymous6:53 AM

    The interns in the legacy local media are usually eager to please elected officials for some reason. They're happy to be mentioned during Council meetings and what not.

    I've never seen an investigative piece from the Post (or even the old Gazette) regarding MoCo government.

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  8. Anonymous7:00 AM

    This thread is full of #UnsignedDyers this morning, as far as the eye can see.

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  9. Anonymous7:05 AM

    Glad that Macedonia and the larger Bethesda community are not being fooled by the Council's parlor tricks to distract from their crazy plan.to desecrate the cemetery for a parking garage of all things.

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  10. Anonymous7:27 AM

    I am for the development and disagree with the Church. Sorry, but the place is a parking lot and NOT a cemetery. I do not agree with using the space as a museum and I am a RESIDENT of the county and neighborhood. The church cannot dictate for me and the community, especially when none of them live there. I wonder what the native americans in the united states would say about all the land if this church had its way.

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  11. Anonymous7:42 AM

    7:27AM Thank you for saying what so many of my neighbors and friends are saying. What was done in the 1960's was heinous, but was certainly not the fault of the current council.

    "Tim"? Which one are you in the pictures?

    "Woodmont" - everybody starts their career as a newbie. It doesn't mean they aren't talented. And she certainly isn't afraid of putting her name on her words. Just saying.

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  12. Woodmont7:49 AM

    7:42 AM I'll give her a pass, her editor probably wrote the headline. But, can we agree the headline was false and deceptive?

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  13. Anonymous8:47 AM

    I love how Dyer plays both sides.

    When it comes to public interest stories like White Flint Mall, sidewalk closures, or Westbard he sides with the NIMBYs and throws shade at the "evil" and "corrupt" developers.

    However, in the rest of his posts he posts complimentary photos of development projects and new retail all over Bethesda accompanied with nothing but gushing laudatory remarks and praise, talking about how great they'll be for the community.

    It's also funny that a fervent Trump supporter like Dyer would quote Bill Clinton.

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  14. I remember Gifford's8:52 AM

    8:47 AM So, you're saying Dyer is sensible, pragmatic and endorses projects that are good for the community while also looking out for pedestrian safety?

    And that's a bad thing?

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  15. There is a thuggish, violent undercurrent to everything he says.

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  16. Anonymous9:20 AM

    Where is "Friends of Woodmont Triangle"? He's the only sheepshill that hasn't been heard from this morning.

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  17. Anonymous9:40 AM

    The lost art of compromising. Move the graves, and make the church a Museum, as well as a place of worship - for all races. They left their decendents behind and abandoned them. 7:27, I agree for the most part and believe the church should pay for the removal. Give them a proper burial, on their property, and if any Native American artifacts are found during the digging, give them their land back.

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  18. Anonymous9:43 AM

    "at least two witnesses who have great detail about the discovery of bodies during that late-1960s desecration"

    Nope.

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  19. Anonymous10:24 AM

    Hey 9:20, I think Skippy is holding him hostage. If you get a ransom demand, don't pay it, k?

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  20. Anonymous10:59 AM

    And the Regency Center PR troll emerges, just in time to launch his usual defamation campaign against Dyer.

    I know you have millions $ at stake, but you still can't defame someone.

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  21. Anonymous11:16 AM

    Which comment is from the Regency Center troll?

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  22. Anonymous11:21 AM

    I've never seen a local government go after a journalist reporting on a project like this before.

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  23. Anonymous11:22 AM

    It's weird how Robert Dyer covers the HOC meeting on both his Bethesda and his EastMoCo blogs, but if you read both articles, you'd think that they were about two completely separate meetings.

    -Bethesda blog: Extensive coverage of cemetery controversy, including pictures, but no mention of HOC tenants' complaints.

    -EastMoCo blog: Extensive coverage of HOC tenants' complaints, but no mention of cemetery controversy, and no pictures of attendees.

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  24. 11:22 AM is a loyal Suburban News Network user. I love that.

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  25. Anonymous11:38 AM

    The Post headline should have been "Council Turns to Move the Bodies Legislation"

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  26. Anonymous1:36 PM

    Robert, I’ve never met someone so jealous of the Council. If it weren’t so easy to write you off as a comeplete cuckoo, I’d think you may need serious mental help. You do know zombies aren’t real and can’t vote, right?

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  27. Anonymous2:29 PM

    1:36 PM I don't see how reporting on the Council and maintaining skepticism is "jealousy".
    It's more like Journalism 101.

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  28. There's reporting and then there's opinionating.
    There's skepticism and then there's prejudicial barbs.

    The way it's thrown around on this site, it almost makes me want to take Journalism 101. Here's some basics:
    Journalism-16 Things

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  29. Anonymous5:43 AM

    Whenever you ask Dyer if he ever actually took "Journalism 101", he (or one of his proxies) whines that he doesn't need a "super-secret journalist badge".

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  30. Anonymous12:58 PM

    "Anonymous I remember Gifford's said...
    8:47 AM So, you're saying Dyer is sensible, pragmatic and endorses projects that are good for the community while also looking out for pedestrian safety?"

    That's not what I'm saying at all Dyer. I'm saying you praise a development project one day (exactly as you did with Equity One plans for Westbard) and then turn around and slam it the next.

    If others don't believe me look at Dyer's old complimentary reports on Equity One's plans and how ecstatic he was when the new Giant was announced.

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  31. MikeGordon25:46 PM

    The cemetery bill is"feel good" legislation. If it actually did something, like the minimum wage bill, it would probably get vetoed.

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