Entertainment

Tickets Now Available For 3.5 Mile Drive-Thru Winter Lights Festival

By MCS Staff

The City of Gaithersburg’s Winter Lights Festival is getting ready to welcome visitors for another spectacular season. The wondrous display of lights at Seneca Creek State Park will be open nightly November 24 through December 31. The festival is closed on December 25. The 3.5 mile drive through the enchanted setting of Seneca Creek State Park takes you past more than 450 illuminated displays and beautifully lit trees that light up the night. The park is located at 11950 Clopper Road, conveniently accessible from I-270. Tickets now available (link below).

To ensure a positive and safe experience for all attendees, staff and event-site neighbors the following policies are in place:

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Damascus

Community Meeting For Upcoming Damascus High School Renovation Takes Place This Week

By MCS Staff

Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) is scheduled to begin the Schematic Design Phase for an approved capital project at Damascus High School. Prior to beginning the design process and community engagements, a kick-off meeting for community members and all stakeholders is scheduled on Wednesday, October 18, 2023, at 6:30 pm to share the project information. The in-person meeting will be held in the Cafeteria/All-Purpose room. Doors open at 6:00 pm, presentation begins at 6:30 pm. It is unclear if the meeting will discuss any boundary changes between Damascus and nearby schools like Clarksburg High School.

A major capital project was approved to address various building systems and programmatic needs for Damascus High School, located at 25921 Ridge Road. The Board of Education, in the requested FY 2021–2026 CIP, included expenditures in FY 2022 to continue the planning and design of this major capital project with a completion date of August 2025, but the County Council delayed the expenditures by one year. An FY 2023 appropriation was approved to begin the design of this Major Capital project. An FY 2024 appropriation is recommended for construction funds. This project is scheduled to be completed August 2026. Once completed in 2026, school capacity is expected to increase from 1,543 (where it’s at currently) to 2,250.

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MoCo

Former Names of Cities, Places, and Areas in MoCo (Part 1)

By MCS Staff

While some places have had the same name for hundreds of years, many of the areas we know and love in Montgomery County weren’t always known by the names they have now. Many had similar names, others had very different names, and plenty were part of a different area before they became their own place. Let’s look at a few below in part 1 of this series:

Now: Kensington Then: Kensington Park: In the early 1890s, Washington, D.C. developer Brainard Warner began purchasing land parcels to build a planned Victorian community– he named his subdivision Kensington Park. The 10th and largest subdivision in the area became the Town of Kensington and incorporated in 1894.

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Maryland

Most Popular Halloween Candy in Maryland

By MCS Staff

Halloween candy sales are expected to be up 15% from last year and CandyStore.com has gathered the data to figure out the most popular Halloween candy for each state– their analysis was even featured on the Today Show. Before we get to Maryland, let’s take a look at the Top 10 across the country and some quick facts about Halloween Candy this year:

10. Snickers

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MCPD

Wheaton Mall and MCPD to Host “Boo Bash”

By Patrick Herron

Westfield Wheaton Mall (11160 Veirs Mill Rd) and Montgomery County Police will host their 2nd annual Boo Bash on Sunday, October 29 from 12-3pm.  According to Westfield, “this free Halloween event offers festive fun for all ages including a safety stage show, costume contest and a card and candy donation design center (in partnership with the National Institute of Health) benefitting children who are unable to trick-or-treat this year.  Attendees can get creative with cupcake decorating, pumpkin painting, and witnessing a “zombie apocalypse” via social media. After getting down at a family dance party, enjoy trick-or-treating throughout the mall until 4pm. All activities will take place in the lower level Macy’s Court.

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Silver Spring

Police Investigating 4th Degree Sexual Assault on Sligo Creek Trail Involving Suspect in Ski Mask

By Patrick Herron

Per the Maryland-National Capital Park Police:  On October 15, 2023, at approximately 3:55 pm, a woman was assaulted while walking on the Sligo Creek Parkway near the intersection of Three Oaks Drive, Silver Spring, Maryland. The victim was walking along the trail when an unknown male grabbed her buttocks. The victim turned and confronted the suspect, who ran off along Three Oaks Drive. The Maryland-National Capital Park Police detectives will be handling the follow-up investigation. There will be increased patrols in the area. Detectives are asking anyone with information or camera footage to contact them.

Suspect Description: The suspect is approximately 5’8”, medium build, light-skinned young male, wearing a teal blue windbreaker, brown or tan cloth backpack with a buckle fastener, and a black ski mask covering most of his face.

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Health

Maryland Attorney General Urges Supreme Court to Protect Access to Safe and Effective Abortion Medication

By Patrick Herron

Per the Maryland Attorney General’s Office: Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown has joined a multistate coalition of 24 Attorneys General in protecting access to abortion medication nationwide. The coalition filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court in support of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) and Danco Laboratories LLC’s petitions to reverse the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit’s ruling that reinstated certain medically unnecessary, and previously eliminated, restrictions on the medication.

The coalition is urging the Supreme Court to grant the petitions to bring the case on medication abortion before the court. The coalition also asks the Supreme Court to reverse the Fifth Circuit’s decision that restricts how mifepristone can be prescribed and dispensed. The brief highlights that the Fifth Circuit’s decision ignores decades of high-quality evidence and clinical research that shows mifepristone is safe and effective.

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MoCo Government

Tipped Workers to Speak at Public Hearing on Bill Proposing to End Tip Credit and Increase Wages for Tipped Employees

By Patrick Herron

The Montgomery County Council will hold a public hearing on Bill 35-23, County Minimum Wage – Tipped Employees on Tuesday, October 17 at 1:30pm. Workers from restaurants and other tipped professions are expected to weigh in on the bill, which 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.

The bill’s lead sponsors are Councilmembers Will Jawando and Kristin Mink. Per Montgomery County, “The tip credit represents an amount of the minimum wage a worker is expected to receive in tips. The current amount of the credit is the hourly minimum wage minus four dollars or a lesser credit if the employee or representative of the employee satisfies the Executive Director of the Office of Human Rights that the employee receives a lesser amount in tips. The limit and phase-out of the tip credit would be staggered over multiple years as proposed in the legislation.”

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Restaurants

Thai Cottage Bistro is Coming to Rockville

By MCS Staff

Thai Cottage Bistro is coming to Rockville, taking over the space that was previously home to Oishii Bluefin at 9613-G Medical Center Drive. Oishii Bluefin closed permanently earlier this year.

We don’t have much information on Thai Cottage Bistro at the moment, but we know that the restaurant has its hearing for a beer and wine alcohol license with Montgomery County’s Alcoholic Beverage Services (ABS) at 11:30am on November 2. There hasn’t been much change to the interior yet, but remodeling has started (photo below).

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MCPD

MCPD Investigating Threat Against Montgomery Blair High School

By Patrick Herron

Montgomery Blair sent the following message to the Blair community at 2:19pm: “All students will dismiss at 2:30 today using their regularly scheduled transportation. Students with a 9th period will dismiss to our stadium and shuttles will take them to Eastern MS. They will board buses with middle school magnet students to go home. All athletic programs, clubs, and RecZone are canceled until further notice. Athletic games will be reevaluated at 4:30.” We will provide an update if additional information becomes available.

To maintain a safe environment, we made the decision to dismiss all students at 2:30 p.m. Ninth period students were directed to the stadium until they could be safely transported to Eastern Middle School where they will board buses to go home. As a result of this threat, all after-school activities and athletics have been canceled this evening until further notice. We are working closely with the authorities to investigate the threat and take appropriate measures to ensure the ongoing safety of our school community.

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