A Severe Thunderstorm Watch is in effect for Montgomery County and surrounding areas until 9:00pm, today, 9/7. The primary risk is large hail, damaging winds, and lightning. Severe thunderstorms can and […]
Author: MCS Staff
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The Takoma Park Folk Festival takes place this Sunday, September 10th from 10:30am until 6:30pm at Takoma Park Middle School (schedule available below, pinch and expand). The mission of the Takoma Park Folk Festival, Inc. is to present a free annual folk festival in Takoma Park each September that celebrates the arts and the Takoma Park-Silver Spring community. The event, which is held rain or shine, presents six stages of music, a juried crafts show, international food, community nonprofit tables, and children’s games and activities. The Festival offers free shuttle buses (with wheelchair accessibility) to the Takoma Metro station.
All roads will remain open with limited access to the Takoma Park Middle School. Motorists are urged to use caution and drive slowly – there will be heavy pedestrian traffic expected on Piney Branch Road. No parking from Piney Branch to Grant to Holly Avenue Parking is limited to residential side streets. Spaces will be reserved for handicapped parking, vendors, festival staff members, musicians & artists.
As previously reported, customers served by WSSC Water’s Potomac Water Filtration Plant (Potomac River) may still notice changes in the taste and odor of their tap water because of algal activity in the Potomac River (map available below). This change is not harmful and is due to an increase in a naturally occurring substance, Geosmin, caused by warmer weather and low water levels in the Potomac River. As Geosmin are prone to fluctuate with rain and changing water levels, customers may notice order is stronger at certain times than others. This is completely normal.
The odors from the naturally occurring compound, Geosmin, are not toxic. Because the human nose can detect Geosmin concentrations at very low levels, the unpleasant smell can cause sensitive individuals to experience nausea/headaches. Despite the taste and odor issues, the water remains safe, meeting all EPA Safe Drinking Water Act standards.
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Montgomery Parks is inviting the public to a ceremony naming the newest mural at Brookside Gardens. The celebration will take place on Sunday, September 10, 2023 from 1:30-3:00 p.m. at Brookside Gardens Underlook/Harry Dewey Terrace 1800 Glenallen Ave. in Wheaton, MD 20902 (in case of inclement weather the program will be held in the Visitor Center).
The new artwork was painted this summer by Afro-Cuban artist Osbel Susman-Peña. Entitled “Where Dreams Live/ Donde Viven los Sueños,” the dynamic artwork is in the Brookside Gardens Underlook, adjacent to the Aquatic Garden. The mural is a memorial to the late Betsy Thomas, past president of the Friends of Brookside Gardens.
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Permanent signage is up at Chopin Noodle House at 12123 Darnestown Rd in the Shops of Potomac Valley shopping center. It will take over the location that was home to Pho City for 15 years until the restaurant closed at the end of July.
Chopin Noodle House offers a variety of hand pulled noodle soups, including Lanzhou beef noodle soup, traditional beef noodle soup, crispy fish noodle soup, cold noodles, and many others. The menu will also offer appetizers such as cucumber salad, chili oil cabbage, mutton chops and more. A variety of milk teas and iced tea/lemonades will also be available. An opening date for the restaurant is not yet available, but the restaurant has recently opened its first location in Catonsville.
For the 2023–2024 school year, Glenstone Museum has launched a new booking page that will make scheduling an on-site, guided visit more seamless for educators. This system provides real-time availability to schedule guided visits between Sept. 1 and Jan. 26, 2024.
The Potomac museum provides opportunities for middle and high school students to learn in an environment that encourages direct connection with art, architecture and nature. Glenstone offers guided on-site visits and virtual engagement options. The school program is intended for a broad range of curriculum and grade levels and uses interactive exercises to encourage direct engagement. In conjunction with Glenstone’s temporary exhibit, Ellsworth Kelly at 100, school visits have been expanded to include Kelly’s important contributions to the contemporary art world. To learn more about school visits, visit the website.
The City of Rockville will proclaim September 15th-October 15th as Hispanic Heritage Month. According to the City of Rockville, the 2023 Hispanic Heritage Month Theme has been selected. This year’s theme is: “Latinos: Driving Prosperity, Power, and Progress in America.”
Per the City of Rockville: Hispanic Heritage Month originally started with one week of commemoration when it was first introduced by Congressman George E. Brown in June 1968. With the civil rights movement, the need to recognize the contributions of the Latin community gained traction in the 1960s. Awareness of the multicultural groups living in the United States was also gradually growing. Two heavily Latinx and Hispanic populated areas, the San Gabriel Valley, and East Los Angeles, were represented by Brown. His aim was to recognize the integral roles of these communities in American history. Observation of Hispanic Heritage Week started in 1968 under President Lyndon B. Johnson and was later extended to a 30-day celebration by President Ronald Reagan, starting on September 15 and ending on October 15. It was enacted into law via approval of Public Law 100-402 on August 17, 1988.
At Tuesday night’s Mayor and City Council meeting, the City of Gaithersburg proclaimed that September 15th-October 15h will be Hispanic Heritage Month. Per the City of Gaithersburg, “the National Hispanic Heritage Month began in 1968 as Hispanic Heritage Week under President Lyndon Johnson. In 1988, President Ronald Reagan changed the designation to a 30-day time covering the dates of September 15 to October 15. The date of September 15 is historically significant as it marks the anniversary of independence of five Latin American countries: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. The designation period also includes Mexico and Chile, which celebrate their independence on September 16 and 18, respectively. According to the U.S. Census, Hispanic Americans are identified by the parts of the world that they or their ancestors came from, including Puerto Rico, Cuba, Mexico, Spain, and the countries of Central and South America.”
City programming in recognition of Hispanic Heritage Month:
The Gaithersburg Mayor and City Council will hold its record open until 5 p.m. on Friday, September 15, 2023 (10 days) for a proposed ordinance to amend Chapter 15A of the City Code to apply restrictions to the use of marijuana, including but not limited to the same restrictions that now apply to smoking. Policy Discussion, and possible adoption, will take place on October 2, 2023. Per the proposed ordinance, “this has become necessary since Maryland State voters in the 2022 elections approved the use of cannabis, including marijuana, in small amounts for more than medical purposes.” More from the proposed ordinance below:
In 2022, The General Assembly approved proposing to the voters of Maryland a constitutional amendment authorizing the public and recreational use of marijuana without a medical need, and the voters approved this amendment in the November 2022 elections. The amendment required the General Assembly to enact legislation authorizing distribution, and in Senate Bill 516, the General Assembly passed the Cannabis Reform Act, which enabled and authorized the use and sale of cannabis, including marijuana, in small amounts for general and recreational use. The legislation also imposed a 9% tax to be shared with municipalities and counties. While the legislation did not impose restrictions on the use of cannabis, it established local authority to restrict public use and establish some distribution zoning requirements. If the City does not impose restrictions on the use of cannabis, such as for the use of tobacco, no such restrictions will be in place at least for uses of small amounts now authorized by state law.
After more than 30 years of dedicated service to what was Community Ministries of Rockville, and is now Community Reach of Montgomery County, and 15 years as the Executive Director, Agnes Saenz is stepping down in early September 2023. Originally from Costa Rica, Agnes joined CMR (now Community Reach of Montgomery County) in 1991 as a volunteer accountant and soon became a full-time employee charged with updating CMR’s accounting system. She proposed and founded CMR’s Language Outreach Program (originally Latino Outreach), directing that program until 1998 when she was promoted to Managing Director. In that position, she was responsible for oversight of all direct service programs and administration, as well as the day-to-day operations of the organization. In 2008, Agnes was named Executive Director of CMR. Since 2013, Agnes has also served as the Executive Director of Reach’s subsidiary, Mansfield Kaseman Health Clinic.
Agnes is fluent in both Spanish and English, knowledgeable in Latino/Hispanic culture issues and serves on several boards and commissions. She has been a member of the Latin American Advisory Committee for Montgomery County Executive, Montgomery Cares Advisory Board, Health Centers Leadership Council for Montgomery County Clinics, and the Human Services Advisory Commission for the City of Rockville. She is a graduate of the 1998 class of Leadership Montgomery. Agnes holds a BS Degree in Business Administration with a major in Management and Accounting from the University of Lima, Peru. She received her Master’s Degree in Human Resources from the University of Maryland University College. She was honored by the Maryland Hispanic Business Conference (MDHBC) as the 2014 Latina Powerhouse Award winner. Agnes is close to her extended family, who also live in Rockville and strongly support Reach and the Clinic.