Leggett's on YouTube (But Dissenters Aren't)

County Executive Isiah Leggett (D) is not known for the aggressive public relations tactics of his predecessor, Douglas M. Duncan, or D.C. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty. But Leggett has recently taken his agenda to a new medium that not even Duncan or Fenty has explored: YouTube.

Leggett made his official debut this week on the popular online video site, creating a county page, http://www.youtube.com/user/montgomerycountymd, that includes several slick movies that viewers could previously watch on the county's Web site and cable channel.

The videos are essentially infomercials for Leggett's policy proposals and are the brainchild of Patrick Lacefield, Leggett's spokesman. Lacefield helped create television spots earlier as chief spokesman for the County Council.

Leggett splits time on the cable channel with council members. Lacefield said he uses the executive's spots as tools for advocacy.

The videos are produced in-house by Lacefield's Office of Public Information and include a special edition of the local cable show "Performance Moves" dedicated to Leggett's efforts to bring one of Live Nation's Fillmore music halls to downtown Silver Spring. The spot includes footage of Jerry Garcia from the original Fillmore in San Francisco accompanied by a rock soundtrack. There are testimonials praising the project from residents and community leaders, in addition to clips from council meetings that show members backing the project. But there is no mention of any opposition on the council or concerns about the connected land-use plans.

"We are aggressively promoting the county executive's vision and agenda," Lacefield said.

A second video introduces residents to Leggett's proposal to create an ambulance transport fee "at no cost to residents." There are interviews with Fire Chief Thomas W. Carr Jr., Gustavo Torres of the immigrant advocacy group CASA of Maryland and an appearance by Lacefield -- all making the case for the fee. Again, no word of the vigorous opposition campaign mounted by volunteer firefighters, who fear that a fee will discourage residents from calling for emergency assistance.

Weast and Grasmick Clash on Assessments

Montgomery County School Superintendent Jerry D. Weast has had the occasional disagreement with the state superintendent of schools, Nancy S. Grasmick, and the two have clashed repeatedly over the direction of Maryland's exit exam.

Grasmick considers the Maryland High School Assessments a good measure of basic standards that all students should be able to meet before graduating. Weast considers them an unforgivably low set of standards that needlessly distract students and teachers from more rigorous work.

Their dispute is heating up, perhaps because of an approaching deadline: All seniors must pass the exit exams to graduate next spring.

In a Sept. 22 letter to Grasmick, Weast sharply criticized the State Department of Education for its handling of exit examinations for special-needs students. He cites "significant flaws" with the version of the tests offered to students with disabilities, shortcomings that "unfairly punish our students and our schools." He says the testing system is "neither fair nor accurate," and he accuses the state of enforcing "arcane rules" that "could end up hurting students."

Among the problems he cites with the versions of the test for students with disabilities: Students were not given sufficient access to practice exams, the online version was not compatible with assistive technology used by the students, and some modified tests were actually longer than the standard exams.