Bethesda-Gaithersburg-Frederick Area Named Healthiest in United States for Women
(SILVER SPRING - December 2, 2008) - “Self” magazine has named the Bethesda-Gaithersburg-Frederick corridor at the top of its 2009 list of America’s Best Places for Women, ranking above San Francisco, Honolulu, Nassau-Suffolk Counties (NY) and Cambridge, MA that rounded out this year’s top five.
Factors helping the area to the top spot were one of the nation’s lowest rates of smoking, obesity, cancer, depression and heart disease, as well as 34,000 acres of parks and 100 miles of trails. Another contributing factor was the area’s smart transportation planning, including Metrorail, that allows women to “live, play and work without a car.” Bethesda was also noted for its farmers markets, with locally-grown produce and its many restaurants, a great number of which meet the local demand for healthy meals.
The annual survey began nine years ago as a “tool to help [the magazine’s] readers become more active in their communities.” It also publicly recognizes cities throughout the country that have made strides to help women live a healthy lifestyle.
Responding to the survey, Judith Vaughan-Prather, executive director of the Montgomery County Commission for Women, said, “The number of women in lead positions in county government, the sensitivity of the leadership to the concerns of women and the emphasis on quality of services, along with cooperation with the private sector, all add up to livable, healthy and safe communities. This very favorable rating by the “Self” magazine survey validates all that is being done by all sectors to provide local communities conducive to healthy lifestyles.”
On the other side of the coin, the survey also noted that the area has one of the longest average daily commute times – just over 70 minutes per round trip.
In another part of the survey that ranked the Happiest (least stressed) areas, Bethesda was listed as the area with the lowest unemployment, giving it runner-up status in the category to Cambridge, MA. These and other results from the 2009 survey are in the December issue.
Now in its 29th year, “Self” magazine, a Condé Nast publication, is described as “a blueprint for the woman who wants to stay informed, get inspired, grow and achieve her personal goals.”
Read more from BMORENEWS.COM
TGR: Guest Editorial: Heroes Will Emerge! By Armstrong Williams:
The continuing embarrassing situation became a desperate matter for Ms. Gallo in the Rhode Island public school system. The shameless teachers and administrators boasted an average salary of $72,000 - $78,000 a year in a town where the average salary was only $22,000.Thankfully, Ms. Gallo became fed up and demanded that student results become a priority for these hypocritical and selfish teachers and demanded six changes that she knew would turn around the unaccountability of that school. These changes included: Being subjected to new standards of professional evaluations, adding 25 minutes to the work day, meeting with other professionals weekly for planning sessions, eating lunch with students one day a week, a two-week training session in the summer, and tutoring, occasionally: All of which I am shocked were not a priority and demanded from these teachers in the first place. Read in Full >>
CMS or what?:
Recently, I've had several conversations with clients on the benefits of moving their web sites to a web content management system or CMS. I currently use Wordpress for my web site, but I have also used Joomla, Drupal, Expression Engine, and Simple Updates. For a list and description of some popular CMS software go to CMS Critic, this by no means lists every system, but it does a good overview of many systems. I am a big fan of open-source CMS, but as long as you use one, it will be a good step in the right direction. Read in Full >>
BMORENEWS.com presents The Wayne Curry Soiree on Thurs., March 18th:
To speak, please call 202.756.4865. Read in Full >>
TGR: Walk to Cure Diabetes by Lakrisha White:
My son, Jay, has been living with type 1 diabetes for a little over a year now. He's managing his diabetes with an insulin pump. Last fall he met with Senator Mikulski as part of JDRF's Promise to Remember Me Campaign. The campaign consists of coordinated meetings where children and teen diabetics are able to share their personal stories face-to-face with members of Congress so lawmakers can hear first hand about living with type 1 diabetes. The meetings ensure that research funding continues to be expanded and the needs of those with diabetes are included in legislation. Read in Full >>
TGR: Will Leronia Josey Make County History?:
Baltimore County Councilman Ken Oliver could have his hands full this election season - that is, if Ms. Josey decides to put her bid in for his seat. While Oliver is the first black to serve on the County Council, a loss to Josey would make her the first black woman to serve on the Baltimore County Council - a crew that consists mostly of white males. Move over, guys!
A black president; a possible black governor; seems only logical to me.
Read in Full >>