Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services are on the scene of a collision that occurred around 11am on Rt 29 and Greencastle Rd near Burtonsville. According to MCFRS Spokesperson Pete […]
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As mail-In/provisional ballots are counted in the Democratic primary for Montgomery County Executive, David Blair has closed the gap and now trails incumbent Marc Elrich by just 141 votes after tailing by 276 votes on Saturday night, according to the latest update by the Maryland State Board of Elections at 9:39am on Sunday morning. Marc Elrich (39,117, 39.30%) holds a lead of 276 votes over David Blair (38,976, 39.16%). David Blair led by 1,191 votes when early voting and Election Day votes were tallied, but has received 9,622 mail-in/provisional ballot votes compared to 11,089 for Marc Elrich. Marc Elrich defeated David Blair by just 77 votes in 2018.
Approximately 115,000 mail-in ballots were sent to voters in Montgomery County. According the State Board of Elections, there were 25,453 Democratic mail-in ballots received by the county when polls closed (all ballot drop off boxes were also locked shut on Tuesday at 8pm). Ballots are still coming in via the mail and will be counted as long as the envelope was postmarked by July 19 and arrives by July 29. A final result could take days due to how close the race is and the amount of ballots left to count.
Coming off of the hottest day of the year, we are experiencing another hot one as the July heat wave ends. Temperatures should reach approximately 90 degrees for most later on Monday afternoon before a cold front brings the chance of sever weather in the form of thunderstorms later this evening. According to the National Weather Service, “A cold front will push through the region today bringing showers and thunderstorms to the region. A few storms may become severe, bringing damaging wind gusts and heavy rainfall.”
As the day goes on, chances of showers increase this evening, with the greater chance for thunderstorms coming this evening around 7pm and into the early night. Highs tomorrow will be in the low 80s, which will be a welcomed break from the 90+ degree weather for many in the area. Temperatures are expected to remain pleasant and in the 80s for the rest of the week, including the weekend. August looks to be coming in warm, with temperatures approaching 90 degrees, but we are still about a week or so away.
With the gaps in test scores between low-poverty and high-poverty elementary schools growing by 15% to 20% during the COVID-19 pandemic, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2022’s States with the Best & Worst School Systems. Maryland was ranked 5th overall, including bring ranked 7th in “Quality” and 6th in “Safety”. In order to determine the best school systems in America, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 32 key measures of quality and safety. The data set ranges from pupil-teacher ratio and dropout rate to median standardized-test scores.
Quality & Safety of Schools in Maryland (1=Best; 25=Avg.):
“Tree of Hope was born out of a passion to bring hope and healing to those who struggle with addiction and the stigma of recovery, and a commitment to provide those in the recovery community with the support and resources they need to succeed as productive, contributing members of their communities” says LaTonia Rich, Executive Director of Tree of Hope Association.
Meghan Westwood, Executive Director of Maryland Treatment Centers and a long-time partner of Tree of Hope states that, “Maryland Treatment Centers has had the honor of partnering with Tree of Hope for years to ensure that people in early recovery understand their courage, resiliency and value to the community. Tree of Hope has been a leader in peer leadership for those in recovery from drug and alcohol addiction, and has made incredible strides in combating the stigma that poses such a barrier to success. This new drop-in center will be a welcoming place to go, without judgment, to find like-minded individuals, with lived experience, to provide mentorship and support. Under the leadership of Latonia and Bunny Rich, Tree of Hope has created the gold standard in recovery support services.”
The one-way pre-pandemic fare was $2 per ride. Monthly passes, which were $45 per rider prior to the health crisis, will be $22.50 starting Aug. 1. The new fares were supported by County Executive Marc Elrich and approved by the County Council in May.
County bus fares will be free for seniors (age 65 and older), persons with disabilities and youth under 19 (older if still in high school). Specialized SmartTrip cards are needed and can be obtained through the MCDOT Mobile Commuter Store, Silver Spring TRiPS Commuter Store, any County library or the Montgomery County Division of Treasury in Rockville. Students can also obtain their specialized ‘Youth Cruiser’ card through their school.
Power has been restored for over 6,000 residents in the Germantown area after a small animal came into contact with electrical equipment to cause the outage on Sunday afternoon. Power for most residents was restored by Sunday evening, but some retailers in the area were forced to temporarily close due to the outages.
Thousands of residents had to deal with this outage on the hottest day of the year, with temperatures approaching 100 degrees on Sunday afternoon. According to an NBC Washington report, “A spokesperson for FirstEnergy, of which Potomac Energy is a subsidiary, the company couldn’t confirm the exact type of animal that caused the outage, except that it was similar in size to a squirrel.”
“988 is an easy-to-remember number and an incredibly fast way to get anyone who experiences a behavioral health crisis the help they need right away,” said MDH Secretary Dennis R. Schrader. “In addition, in Maryland, we are integrating 988 into our existing and expanding crisis system support network.”
Suicide was a leading cause of death for people ages 10 to 34 years in 2020, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Moreover, from April 2020 to 2021, over 100,000 individuals died from drug overdoses in the U.S.
Back in November of 2020, we let you know that Chase Bank was close to receiving approval to take over the location previously occupied by Meixin Supermarket (formerly Maxim) on Hungerford Drive (355) in Rockville. The building has now been demolished (photo below) in preparation for the upcoming Chase Bank building, but the process has been a long one.
Rockville’s Historic District Commission (HDC) recommended and found that the property met certain criteria for historic designation. City staff staff disagreed and recommended the the Planning Commission deny the change of zones from MXCD (Mixed-Use Corridor District) to MXCD-HD (Historic District) due to not meeting criteria for the designation. After a vote late last year, the City of Rockville decided that the building did not meet criteria for historic designation and the decision to move forward with the plans for Chase Bank moved forward.
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Bao Bei, specializing in authentic Taiwanese cuisine, is now available for pick-up and delivery through a ghost kitchen located at 11910 Parklawn Dr #O in Rockville. The ghost kitchen is owned and operated by Gaithersburg native, Kevin Hsieh.
“The past few years I’ve attended food festivals and private events, but recently opened for pick-up and delivery (UberEats, DoorDash, Grubhub) at a ghost kitchen located in North Bethesda.” said Hsieh. “I’m excited to finally share it with our local community.”
Per Montgomery County: COVID-19 cases are increasing in Montgomery County and throughout the nation as Omicron’s BA.5 variant has become the predominant strain circulating. The BA.5 variant spreads easily, and while symptoms are generally not severe, it is still important to practice recommended COVID-19 prevention steps. Montgomery County’s Department of Health and Human Services recommends residents follow these precautions: