Author: Patrick Herron

Hillandale

Silver Spring Resident Wins $51,422 at Hillandale Beer & Wine Playing Lottery Game

By Patrick Herron

He played a number of tickets and said he had won about $200 before deciding to replay one of his tickets — a 50-cent Superfecta Box ticket for one race. He picked the 1, 10, 11 and 12 horses to finish in the top four in any order. When the order of finish in that race was 11, 12, 1 and 10, he knew he was a big winner.

“I said ‘Oh!’ and then I stopped myself,” he said with a smile. “I didn’t want to say too much right there. I checked the ticket in the store and then I left and I checked it again. And again. I probably checked it about 20 more times.”

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Bethesda

New Season of CBS’s Survivor to Feature Contestant From MoCo

By Patrick Herron

Owen Knight, originally from Bethesda (now residing in New Orleans), will be a cast member on the upcoming 43rd season of Survivor, which premieres next Wednesday, September 21 at 8pm on CBS. Owen was born in Korea and adopted when he was four months old. He grew up in Bethesda and graduated from Walt Whitman High School in 2010,  where he was on both the football and rowing teams. During this time Owen also swam for the Montgomery County Swim League and worked at Bethesda Row’s Georgetown Cupcake.  After high school Owen went on to study business administration at Tulane University, where he now works as the Director of Admission Engagement.

Owen tells us, “I am very privileged to have grown up in Montgomery County! My parents moved away when I was in college, but I still get to visit multiple times a year for work. I still go out of my way to eat at Ledo’s and Bethesda Bagels, and ironically, one of my family’s favorites growing up was Louisiana Express.”

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MCDOT

Maryland’s ‘Move Over’ Law Will Expand Again October 1

By Patrick Herron

Based on bill (SB0147) signed into law by Governor Larry Hogan on April 21, Maryland’s “Move Over” law will expand once again on October 1, 2022. In Maryland, the law was originally enacted in October 2014 requiring motorists to move over for emergency vehicles, law enforcement vehicles and tow trucks. The law was expanded in 2019 to include service vehicles such as transportation, service and utility vehicles, as well as waste and recycling trucks that have their lights flashing.

The expanded law that will be enacted on October 1st, will require a driver to make a lane change or slow the speed of their vehicle when approaching from the rear any stopped, standing or parked vehicle displaying hazard warning lights, road flares or other caution signals including traffic cones, caution signs or non-vehicular warning lights. The expanded law is aimed toward protecting all road users.

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Health

COVIDReady Maryland: State Expands Fall Outreach Campaign For COVID-19 Bivalent Boosters

By Patrick Herron

ANNAPOLIS, MD—Governor Larry Hogan today announced that the state continues to expand its COVIDReady campaign to encourage Marylanders to maximize their protection against COVID-19 and the flu this fall and winter.

The bivalent boosters—which contain “tools” (spike proteins of the virus) to target the original COVID-19 virus as well as its omicron variants—are available at more than 850 pharmacies, clinics, and local health departments statewide. Find a clinic at covidvax.maryland.gov or by calling 1-855-MDGOVAX (1-855-634-6829).

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MoCo Government

‘Clean Water Montgomery’ Grants Available for Local Nonprofits and Community Groups with Awards Up to $100,000

By Patrick Herron

The grant program is accepting proposals for projects that could include tree planting, installing permeable pavers or creating rain gardens. The projects should aim to improve the County’s water quality and stream health as called for in the County’s Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) permit. Eligible projects that are outside of the municipalities of Rockville, Gaithersburg and Takoma Park will be considered.

Applications are due no later than 4 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 17.

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Gaithersburg

Montgomery County ABS’s Oak, Barrel & Vine Coming to Gaithersburg Square

By Patrick Herron

Coming soon signage is up for Oak, Barrel, and Vine at 512 N. Frederick Ave. in the Gaithersburg Square shopping center, next to Lil’ Cakes & Creamery and the recently opened Five Below. The county-run beer, wine, and liquor store will feature a tasting room with beers on tap and space to hold events hosted by local breweries and distillers.

Montgomery County opened its first Oak, Barrel & Vine location at 7913 Tuckerman Ln in Potomac in October 2021. In August the ABS began renovations at its Montrose store (1205-B Rockville Pike) to turn that location into an Oak, Barrel, & Vine. A complete list of ABS store locations and hours is available at https://montgomerycountymd.gov/ABS/stores/.

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Beyond MoCo

Several Maryland Universities Ranked in U.S. News’ 2022-2023 Best List

By Patrick Herron

Several Maryland schools were ranked in U.S. News & World Report’s 2022-2023 Best National University list that was released earlier this week.  Some of the factors that U.S News uses when compiling the list include graduation and retention rates, faculty resources, “expert opinion”, student excellence, and standardized test results.  John Hopkins University (Baltimore) ranked #7, University of Maryland (College Park) #55, University of Maryland Baltimore County #137, and Morgan State University (Baltimore) #317.  According to U.S. News, “these rankings and the other school information and data on usnews.com are based on many months of data collection and analysis. The U.S. News Best Colleges rankings expose users to the broad range of four-year degree options available. U.S. News recommends prospective students explore the rankings to create an initial list of schools based on academics, and then use the website’s search tools and data to more closely examine other factors based on their personal priorities and interests.”

Announcing: U.S. News ranks the Best National Universities for 2022-2023. https://t.co/pC308Ska9D #BestColleges

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Gaithersburg

Where You Can Still Find Some of Your Favorite Ichiban Restaurant Dishes in Gaithersburg

By Patrick Herron
Ichiban Restaurant, 2020

A big loss was felt in the community when Ichiban Restaurant at 637 N Frederick Ave in Gaithersburg closed its doors on September 12, 2021 after over 35 years in business.  Ichiban specialized in Korean BBQ and sushi, and was known for their popular lunch buffet. But did you know that the former owners, which took over the restaurant in 2005, also own two other locations that offer many of the items found on the Ichiban menu?

The restaurants are Aery Food and Ichiban Mikoshi Sushi, both located inside the LOTTE Market at 221 Muddy Branch Rd Gaithersburg. Menu items at Ichiban Mikoshi Sushi include the Spider Roll (Deep-fried soft-shell crab, avocado, cucumber, crab, tobiko) and the Flying Dragon (California roll, dressed in a half sheet of whole baked eel, eel sauce, crunch, and masago) while Aery features items like Jok Bal (Korean pig trotters cooked in soy and other spices, served with a salted shrimp paste) and Soon Dae (Sliced Korean blood sausage). Items from both restaurants can be ordered online here.

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Rockville

MCFRS Respond to House Fire Tuesday Morning in Rockville

By Patrick Herron

Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services responded to a house fire in the 11700 blk of Rocking Horse Rd on Tuesday morning around 6am. According MCFRS Assistant Chief David Pazos, the fire was located in the basement of a single family home and has been extinguished.  Two occupants (one adult male, one adult female) were home at the time of the fire. Both were evaluated by EMS and the adult male was transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The cause of the fire has not yet been released. We will post an update when more information becomes available.

MCFRS units are operating in the area of 11700 blk of Rocking Horse Rd (Rockville) with a basement fire in a SFH. Fire is extinguished. Two occupants (1 adult M/1 adult F) were evaluated by EMS. Adult male transported to area hospital with NLT injuires. @mcfrsPIO @DavidPazos15 pic.twitter.com/MtGYqHCdNs

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MoCo Government

Montgomery County Council Meets on Sept. 13 at 8:45 a.m. with Briefings on Thrive Montgomery 2050, Purple Line Construction and Public Health

By Patrick Herron

More detail on each agenda item is provided below.

Updates on Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) and Health Planning; Montgomery County Government and Montgomery County Public Schools

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