No Hard Feelings After End-of-Session Squabble

Among what Dernoga called a "cavalcade of zoning lawyers," fighting against the transferable development rights bill were Arthur Horne, Russell Shipley, Ed Gibbs, Tom Hamer and Lawrence Taub.

Michael Arrington, Andre Gingles, Gregory S. Proctor Jr. and Derrick Green attended the meeting, but they did not speak on any bills.

Also in the crowd: former state senator Tommie Broadwater Jr. (D), who spent about 10 minutes in the back room before the beginning of the meeting, and former county executive Wayne K. Curry (D), who spoke in opposition of Dernoga's bill.

When Curry's three minutes were up, Vice Chairman Marilynn Bland (D-Clinton) asked him to stop speaking. Curry continued. Bland insisted. Curry continued and then walked away when he had finished making his final point.

Tulip Grove Teacher Wins Milken Award

Shannon Landefeld, a Prince George's County elementary school teacher, won one of the largest cash awards in education this week, capping off a successful awards season for the county.

Everything about the $25,000 Milken Educator Award was hush-hush, until it wasn't. Unlike most teaching awards, there is no nomination or application process, and teachers don't know they are being considered for the award until they receive it.

Landefeld was no exception. The first-grade teacher at Tulip Grove Elementary School in Bowie was summoned like everyone else to a morning assembly. She might have suspected something was up when she saw Nancy S. Grasmick, the state schools superintendent, and William R. Hite Jr., the Prince George's deputy superintendent, as well as members of the Board of Education.

Then they announced the award, complete with a large novelty check, to the cheers of Landefeld's colleagues and students. Landefeld will receive the real money, which she is free to spend any way she chooses, at a conference this spring.

Grasmick said in a statement that Landefeld, a nine-year teaching veteran, had a style that brought together technology, art, music and writing for the betterment of her students' lives.

The award is the second big win for the county in recent months: In October, William Thomas, a social studies teacher at Dr. Henry A. Wise Jr. High School in Upper Marlboro, was named the 2009 Maryland Teacher of the Year, the state's highest honor for teachers.