Beyond MoCo

Turbulence has been ruled out as the cause of Montgomery County woman’s death earlier this month after pilots told investigators they did not encounter turbulence on the flight, providing an update to the early statements from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) from a preliminary assessment the day after the crash. According to FOX5, “investigators said Friday that a passenger on a business jet was fatally injured in early March when the aircraft violently bucked up and down after pilots disconnected a system used to stabilize the plane.”

The flight took off from New Hampshire and was destined for Leesburg, VA before making an emergency landing in Connecticut. Dana Hyde, of Cabin John, was transported via ambulance to Saint Francis Medical Center, in Hartford, Connecticut after suffering blunt-force injuries. Hyde worked in the Clinton and Obama White Houses and was counsel on the 9/11 Commission, which investigated the September 11th terrorist attacks.


Takoma Park

Update: Morfu Kollie has been located safe and unharmed.

Takoma Park Police is asking for assistance in locating a missing 14 year old teenager, Morfu Kollie, who was last seen at approximately 1pm on the 600 block of Houston Avenue in Takoma Park on Friday, March 24th.


Silver Spring

Montgomery County Police responded to a shooting that occurred on Sunday, March 26, 2023, on Treetop Lane in Silver Spring. According to MCPD, “At approximately 7:20 p.m., Montgomery County Police responded to an apartment building located at 2001 Treetop Lane for the report of a shooting. Upon arrival, officers located an adult male with trauma to the body. Officers provided life saving measures to the victim who was then pronounced dead at the scene.  


Germantown

Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services (MCFRS) responded to a two-car collision on Frederick Rd and Plummer Drive in Germantown at approximately 8pm on Sunday night.

According to MCFRS Chief Spokesperson Pete Piringer, crash debris was spread out approximately 150 yards following the crash. The fuel tank of one of the vehicles ruptured, but the gas was contained with absorbent with some lanes temporarily blocked. Three people were transported to the hospital, all with non life-threatening injuries.


DMV

CCRM Fertility, a company specializing in fertility treatment, research and science, announced the introduction of two new satellite office locations in the greater Northern Virginia, Washington, D.C. and Maryland area. The first-ever Downtown D.C. location opened on February 21, 2023, and on February 27, 2023, CCRM Fertility’s Rockville, MD (14995 Shady Grove Rd., Suite 430, Rockville, MD, 20850) permanent space opened its doors. Patients can schedule appointments at either location. CCRM Fertility now has three locations and four endocrinology and infertility specialists serving the community. Led by reproductive endocrinology and infertility specialists and current CCRM Northern Virginia doctors, Dr. Olivia Carpinello and Dr. Anne Martini, the new Downtown D.C. and Rockville, MD satellite offices were created to provide patients in the area with even more accessibility and convenience to CCRM Fertility’s exceptional fertility care. Upon opening, these CCRM Fertility spaces will support all procedures (with the exception of embryo transfers and egg retrievals); new patient consults for IUI, IVF, egg freezing; monitoring, diagnostic procedures, ultrasounds, phlebotomy and clinical lab services.

Per the press release: “By adding two additional satellite offices to Northern Virginia and the surrounding area, our leading physicians can better help their existing and future patients achieve their dream of having a baby today,” said CCRM Fertility CEO Bob LaGalia. “Both Dr. Carpinello and Dr. Martini will now have the opportunity to bring CCRM Fertility’s gold standard of fertility care to even more individuals and families going through their fertility journeys and help them develop custom tailored plans to ensure their best outcomes possible.”


Education

The Richard Montgomery Mock Trial team won the Maryland Mock Trial State Championships on Friday, March 24 in a close victory over North Point High School. The team went undefeated this season with an 11-0 record. The varsity team, made up of 7 seniors and 5 juniors, began preparing to argue the criminal drug conspiracy case in November 2022.

For the state finals, the defense team argued before the Maryland Supreme Court. Daniel Evans has been the coach of the RM Mock Trial team since 1989, and works closely with Jonathan Taylor, the team sponsor and Law teacher at RM, and Benjamin Vaughan, the attorney advisor, to support the students. The attorneys are seniors Shayyan Ahmed, Shairee Arora, Allison Howlett, Kit Kringel, Jake Lee, and Scout Pollack. The witnesses are senior Claire Johnson and juniors Marissa Boucher, Eva-Jessy Guech, Susanna Hubacker, Georgia Levine, and Emma McCarthy. All information above and photos below courtesy of Allison Howlett.


Burtonsville

Eun Yang, who grew up in MoCo and celebrated 20 years with NBC4 last year, has announced that she will be moving to evenings after spending the last 12 years anchoring News 4 Today. Yang was born in Seoul, Korea and grew up in the right here in Montgomery County. She graduated from Paint Branch High School (1991) in Burtonsville and then earned a degree in broadcast journalism from the University of Maryland in 1995.

Per the Montgomery County Commission for Women, Yang began her broadcast journalism career while at the University of Maryland. She worked as a reporter for “Maryland Update,” a program on the University’s cable channel, and then moved to TV- 58 where she freelanced as a special projects reporter for Asian- Pacific American affairs. In 1995, she worked full-time as a WUSA-TV production assistant while finishing her last year at the University of Maryland. She was a “reporter trainee” for a year when the station started its weekend-morning newscast. She remained at WUSA-TV for six years, working her way up to a substitute anchor.


Beyond MoCo

The Mall in Columbia, also known as Columbia Mall, will now require adult supervision for minors on weekends. According to WBAL, “Starting March 31, all guests under 18 must be accompanied by an adult who is at least 21 years old. The curfew begins at 4 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. To enforce the program, trained public safety officers will be stationed at mall entrances to check IDs.”

According to the report, the mall said the new curfew is intended to crack down on unruly behavior. The policy comes after police made three arrests in January while responding to a large group of disorderly teenagers at the mall. FOX 5 reported that “Brookfield Properties did confirm they already began a juvenile curfew policy at the Towson Town Center in Maryland. That policy requires teens 17 years old and younger to be escorted by a parent or supervising adult on Fridays and Saturdays, from 4 p.m. to close.”


Kensington

Pets Are Home will open its second location at 10038 Darnestown Rd. in the Travilah Square Shopping Center, taking over the space previously occupied by Michael’s Noodles near a Title Boxing Club. The first Pets Are Home Location was opened by a husband and wife team in Kensington (10414 Derrick Ave, Suite 300) in August 2021. We have been told by a representative at the Kensington lcoation that the store expects to open in May. Additional information on the story behind Pets Are Home, courtesy of its website:

“Nathan and his wife Ross moved to Kensington MD in 2019 where they now share a home with Cotton, their  French Mastiff.  As soon as they moved to Kensington, they quickly realized that buying food for Cotton involved either traversing through 40 minute traffic or buying online. Neither were desirable options for them, and they were not alone in this struggle. They discovered that other pet parents in their neighborhood also disliked driving through heavy traffic in North Rockville, competing for parking space in Downtown Bethesda, and buying online from big name retailers. It was immediately clear to Nathan and Ross that there was an unmet hunger for a pet supply store in Kensington.


Burtonsville

Two Montgomery County Athletic Specialist/Directors, Ed Dalton (Clarksburg) and Heather Podosek (Paint Branch) have earned state honors through the Maryland State Athletic Director Association (MSADA).

Per MCPS: Ed Dalton, athletics specialist/athletic director at Clarksburg High School, has been named the Maryland State Athletic Directors Association’s (MSADA’s) 2023 District 2B Athletic Director of the Year. He was selected by all 25 MCPS athletics specialists for the recognition. Heather Podosek, athletics specialist/athletic director at Paint Branch High School, was selected the 2023 MSADA Co-Athletic Director of the Year. They will receive their awards at the state conference banquet on Saturday, April 29.


Gaithersburg

Yesterday we highlighted MoCo native Jordan Hawkins as UCONN prepared to play Gonzaga in an Elite Eight matchup. The young man led his team to a trouncing of Gonzaga, scoring 20 points and hitting six threes to take the #3 seed UCONN to the Final Four with an 82-54 win. Hawkins is a Montgomery County native who attended Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School in Germantown and Gaithersburg High School for his freshman and sophomore years before transferring to DeMatha. UCONN plays the winner of Miami/Texas on April 1st.

Hawkins was a top 50 recruit, who came to UConn following two years at powerhouse program DeMathaCatholic (Hyattsville, Md.) under Coach Mike Jones. He played AAU for Team Durant under Coach Angel Hernandez, and as a senior at DeMatha, averaged 19.7 points, 11.4 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 2.3 steals and 1.9 blocks, while shooting .636 overall and .464 from three-point range to lead DeMatha to an 11-0 record and was named 2020-21 Gatorade Maryland Player of the Year. Hawkins was a two-time Washington Post All-Met Honorable Mention pick and averaged 20.2 points per game as a sophomore when he was at Gaithersburg High School (per UCONN).


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