Update: In a message sent to the Watkins Mill community principal Vilma Najera at 7:41pm Wednesday evening, the threat was deemed not credible by Montgomery County Police. The full message can be seen below:
“Good evening Watkins Mill families and staff,
Per the Maryland Attorney General’s Office (10.18.23): – Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown today announced the guilty plea and sentencing of Curtis Bay Energy, LP (Curtis Bay Energy), the owner and operator of a special medical waste incinerator facility located in south Baltimore City, to a forty-count criminal information that resulted from a long-term investigation conducted by the Office’s Environmental and Natural Resources Crimes Unit (ENRCU). The charges to which Curtis Bay Energy pled guilty relate to the insufficient treatment and improper handling of special medical waste and the operation and concealment of an unpermitted discharge outlet.
On August 18, 2023, in sentencing Curtis Bay Energy, the Honorable Judge Martin H. Schreiber II of the Circuit Court of Maryland, placed the company on 2-years of probation and ordered the company to pay a fine of $1,000,000 to the Maryland Clean Water Fund. As a special condition of that probation, Curtis Bay Energy will fund a Supplemental Environmental Project (SEP) that will direct $750,000 into communities surrounding the facility for environmental projects to protect and improve the environment and reduce risks to public health. The SEP will be administered by the Chesapeake Bay Trust, a nonprofit grant-making organization. This sentence is one of the largest penalties in the Office’s history for an environmental criminal case.
Yesterday, Frederick County Public Schools (FCPS) filed a lawsuit against Meta, Google, ByteDance, and Snap Inc. contending that “excessive social media usage and addiction are exacerbating the mental health struggles of students. Students have faced a myriad of challenges, including heightened feelings of depression, anxiety, and body image issues, among others.” In June, Montgomery County announced it had joined over 500 school districts across the county in a lawsuit against social media companies.
Per FCPS (10.18.23): “As a result of this ongoing addiction crisis, FCPS is facing the challenge of providing adequate mental health resources and proactive social media education for their students. Through this lawsuit, FCPS aims to curtail the exploitation of young social media users and secure funds from those responsible to address the crisis.
Per MCPD: The Montgomery County Department of Police – Special Victims Investigations Division (SVID) is actively investigating a reported kidnapping incident involving a 13-year-old girl.
Preliminarily, the girl reported that between 3 – 3:15 p.m. on Tuesday, October 17, 2023, she was approached by two male suspects in a dark grey sedan near the intersection of Waring Station Road and Stoney Bottom Road in Germantown. The suspects allegedly got out of the vehicle and forced the girl into the car.
Italian women’s clothing line Calzedonia is coming to the lower level of Montgomery Mall, across from the LEGO store. Calzedonia specializes in leggings and swimsuits. We will provide an update when an opening date is announced.
Per Montgomery County: The ad-hoc Executive Director Recruitment Committee will meet in a proposed closed session on Wednesday, Oct. 18 at 11 a.m. to evaluate the role and responsibilities of the Council’s executive director position and make decisions about the recruitment process. The members of the ad-hoc Executive Director Recruitment Committee include Council President Evan Glass, Chair Vice President Andrew Friedson and Councilmembers Gabe Albornoz, Kate Stewart, Marilyn Balcombe and Kristin Mink.
The joint Public Safety (PS) and Government Operations and Fiscal Policy (GO) Committee will meet at 2 p.m. to review a $350,000 supplemental appropriation to the FY24 Operating Budget for the Drone as First Responder Pilot Program within the Montgomery County Police Department (MCPD). The members of the GO Committee include Chair Stewart, Council Vice President Friedson and Councilmember Sidney Katz. The members of the PS Committee include Chair Katz and Councilmembers Dawn Luedtke and Mink.
Per Montgomery County: “As Veterans Day approaches on Saturday, Nov. 11, Montgomery County has joined the national “Operation Green Light” salute to veterans and the County’s Commission on Veterans Affairs is seeking additions to its virtual tribute to County veterans. For those who want to attend ceremonies on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, several will be held around the County.
Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich and the County Council are supporting Operation Green Light, a program sponsored by the National Association of Counties to honor those who have made immeasurable sacrifices to preserve freedom. The program asks for displays of a green light, from Nov. 6-12, in a window of businesses or residences to honor veterans.
At the hearing, proponents of Bill 35-23 said it would reduce wage theft and help working families, while opponents of the bill said it would lower profits, increase prices for customers, and reduce the income that tipped employees currently earn. The bill would adjust the calculation of the minimum wage for tipped workers and phase out the tip credit amount under the Montgomery County’s minimum wage law. Currently, businesses are required to pay servers $4.00 per hour; if a server does not make the current minimum hourly wage ($15-16.70) per hour, employers are required to make up the difference.
If the bill passes, there will be incremental increases over the next five years:
• $4.00 per hour, until July 1, 2024;
• $6.00 per hour, effective July 1, 2024 until July 1, 2025;
• $8.00 per hour, effective July 1, 2025 until July 1, 2026;
• $10.00 per hour, effective July 1, 2026 until July 1, 2027; and
• $12.00 per hour, effective July 1, 2027 until July 1, 2028
Per MCPD: Two women, one man and a teen are in custody and charged with murder, in connection with the death of 18-year-old Rosa Sanchez Merino. Roberto Carlos Rivera-Delgado, Iris Yudella Alonzo-Salgado, Aracely Abarca-Melgar and Edwin Alexander Rivas-Salvador are accused of killing Sanchez Merino on or about May 1, 2023, and burying her in a shallow grave in the 3600 block of Brookville Road, in Olney.
Rivera-Delgado was arrested for a parole violation in Nevada and extradited to Maryland on Tuesday, September 29, 2023. The 23-year-old suspect led Montgomery County Department of Police – Major Crimes detectives to the location where Sanchez Merino was buried. On October 1, 2023, an autopsy of Sanchez Merino was conducted by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, and the death was ruled a homicide.
The Maryland-National Capital Park Police is seeking the public’s assistance with identifying the person pictured above. The photograph was obtained via security camera footage near the intersection of Manchester Road and Hamilton Avenue. This is in reference to a 4th Degree Sex Offense that occurred on the Sligo Creek Trail in the area of Three Oaks Drive on Sunday 10/15/2023 between 3:50PM and 4:00PM. The suspect was described as a 5’8 to 5’9 medium build teenage Hispanic or light skinned black male. The suspect was wearing a black ski mask covering most of his face, blue/teal windbreaker jacket, brown or tan cloth backpack with buckle fastener, and khaki pants.
Detectives from the Montgomery County Department of Police – Special Victims Investigations Division (SVID) are asking for the public’s assistance in locating Alisson Fernanda Alfaro Quinonez, a missing 15-year-old from Gaithersburg. Alfaro Quinonez was last seen on Monday, October 16, 2023, at approximatley 9 a.m., in the 100 block of Sharpstead Lane in Gaithersburg. She is 5’1″, 97 Ibs., with long brown hair, brown eyes, and has a dimple on her left cheek. She was last seen wearing pajamas and crocs.
Anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of Alisson Fernanda Alfaro Ouinonez is asked to call Montgomery County Police Non-Emergency (301) 279-8000 (24-hour line).