I realize the smart thing to do as a practitioner is to carry a flashlight with you at all times, but haven't you been caught without one when you open up a home at night and realize there is no power?  These days, the greater number of foreclosures and short sales make this scenario much more prevalent.

A few weeks ago, I walked into a home with a group, and the lights were out.  Of course, I didn't have a flashlight with me, and so we all proceeded into the house trying to light up the house with the LCDs of our cell phones.  While this isn't a terrible option, I stumbled across an option on my phone that has become of great use.  I use the AT&T 8525 (manufactured by HTC), which, like many new phones outfited with a camera, comes with an on board camera "flash".  When activated, the flash, which is only a white LED, turns on and provides a continous glow of light.  This is supposed to help in poor light photos, but in a house with no lights, it's a pretty handy feature.

Since then, I get a lot of "wow"s from clients impressed with the amount of light it puts out, and it's generally a great ice-breaker with new or newer clients.

Many of you may already have this feature and just never tried it, or others may not have it at all.  In any case, I hope this info is useful.

When the recycling program became law in Montgomery County, MD on January 13th, 1994, the blue bins started their descent on our homes and communities. I remember back then that putting a glass bottle or or aluminum can into the recycling container was more about remembering to do it, and people would ask "do you recycle?"

These days, it is a widespread habit that we don't have to think about, and now the question is "where is your recycling bin?" In fact, I believe we often find ourselves feeling uncomfortable when we are in a position where the only place to put a plastice bottle is in a container with garbage. Of course, we should be proud about being more conscientious consumers and thankful to all of the people in our communities that fought to put these kinds of simple measures into place.

That being said, we are now in a position to do more. There are many resources and groups we have access to, that can help us find even more ways to be responsible about our environment.

For instance, think about the brown paper lawn bags we buy to dispose of yard trimmings. Sure, it's better than the old plastic lawn & leaf bags we used in the old days, but we are still producing a product, only this time, it's made of recycled paper. What can be better than that? Try this: Go to our county website and request free yard trim decals by clicking HERE. Then go to our local FreeCycle group website and register, then put a request out to the community looking for a used trash can (believe me, you will find someone who wants to give you an old trash can. Actually, you'll find people on FreeCycle that will give or take just about anything you want. For more information on FreeCycle, go to the homepage, http://www.freecycle.org).

You should get both the trashcan and the stickers within about 3-4 days, and you'll then have a way to dispose of your lawn waste which is not only free but better for the environment. If you know of more ways to be environmentally friendly, please share them here. To look for more on your own, try starting at the county's recycling home page and looking around. You can order a bunch of different recycling products, as well as read up on more ideas to contribute to a cleaner community.

If you are a Comcast Cable, Internet, or Phone service subscriber, you may have noticed an additional insert in your last bill detailing a recent policy change proposed by the cable giant.  If you're like a lot of people, that insert went into the garbage without a thought.

If you did read the notice in detail, then you are aware that Comcast plans to take away your right to take legal action against them.  Instead, your only recourse would be a small arbitration hearing.  Comcast, on the other hand, has to decided to retain their right to sue you if they decide it necessary.  Awfully convenient for them to make that decision, isn't it?

To prevent them from tying one arm behind your back, you'll need to go to "Opt Out" of this change in their policy within 30 days of receiving the notice.  Not opting out of this change means you accept the change and will be bound by its new covenants.

To opt out, click here.  For the county's response and instructions for opting out by mail, click here.

On Monday, July 16th, Montgomery County Executive Isiah "Ike" Leggett and Montgomery County Council President Marilyn Praisner released the news that the County has joined forces with other counties across the US to form the Cool Counties Climate Stabilization Declaration.  As part of this trailblazing group, our County government has pledged to dramatically reduce emissions contributing to global warming and to put pressure on the federal government to do the same.

So what do they consider a dramatic cut?  How about an 80% reduction of harmful emissions by the year 2050?  This may seem like a long time, but even the most eco-friendly countries in the world have just 25% of their energy coming from a renewable source.  Since most of the US is not even close to 5%, such a reduction in 40 years shows, in the least, a strong and sorely needed commitment to change.  Here are some quotes from our leaders:

"Montgomery County is a leader in the fight against global warming and we are making a difference through our initiatives to cut greenhouse gases," said Leggett. "We are proud to join the Cool Counties Program as we continue to do all we can on the local level to safeguard our climate and set a course for future improvements.  But, we can't do it alone.  For our actions to be successful, the states and the Federal government must also be at forefront of efforts to reduce these harmful emissions."

"There are many issues in which counties across the nation share concerns, but I cannot think of an issue that will have greater impact on the future for all of us than the need to protect the environment," said Praisner.  "For some of the common issues discussed at this conference, we can take our own individual routes to solving them.  However, the problems threatening our environment are not limited within a jurisdiction.  These matters cross all borders. We must commit to identifying the problems, identifying the remedies and then to working in a united effort to make these solutions work."

Of course, we won't know exactly how this will be accomplished, but we can all help by voting in support of these efforts when we have an opportunity to do so at the polls.  Stay tuned for more information, and to read more about Monday's events from the county press release, click HERE.

In case you haven't heard, Montgomery County Police has launched an addition to their Traffic Camera initiative: new street cameras aimed now at Speeders. Recently approved by our elected officials, several high traffic areas throughout our County will now have the speed limit regulated by a 24 hour patrol.

Our own Bel Pre road is included in the list of streets approved for cameras, and studies are underway to make determinations on where along the roads to place them. One of the sections of Bel Pre being studied runs between Connecticut Avenue and Layhill Road, which I hope leads to safer traffic around Plaza Del Mercado and Argyle Middle School.

For more information about the program and to view the planned locations for all parts of Montgomery County, visit www.montgomerycountymd.gov or just CLICK HERE.

As part of a state-wide effort to gather citizen feedback, Maryland is collecting surveys from everyone and anyone who has thoughts on their local traffic. The following broadcast came over the county newswire earlier this week:

The entire state of Maryland is conducting driver surveys for their specific counties and need as much feedback from the community as possible. The survey is to obtain a random sampling of the community at large, everyone and anyone is encouraged to participate so, please feel free to forward this information to anyone that you know. The survey will be conducted from July 6 to August 15, 2007. Each person, when entering the survey site will be asked to select their county of residence. Select your jurisdiction from the Drop-down menu and begin!! We are looking to get as many people in the community to respond as soon as possible. To take survey go to: http://www.marylanddriversurvey.com/.

In the world of politics, it's said that any communication an elected official receives from an individual constituent represents a group of 10,000 like-minded citizens. I know we each have our own thoughts on traffic in the area, so let's make sure our neighborhoods are well represented.