Events

Registration is now open for the 10th Annual Montgomery County Energy Summit, which will take place in-person on March 28-29, at the Silver Spring Civic Building. Hosted by the County Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), the Energy Summit brings the private sector, nonprofit groups and local governments together to collaborate on expanding high-performing, sustainable buildings.

The 2023 Energy Summit will focus on preparing the commercial building community for compliance with energy benchmarking, building energy performance standards and emerging building codes. It will explore requirements and opportunities in these areas and provide hands-on learning opportunities, as well as case studies from commercial and multifamily buildings.


Beyond MoCo

District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser and Metro General Manager and Chief Executive Officer Randy Clarke announced a new partnership between the Metro Transit Police Department (MTPD) and the DC Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) to enhance public safety and security on the transit system. The partnership will increase police presence and MPD will be the first partner.

“We know that residents and visitors want to see a strong police presence in our community, and that’s what this partnership will allow us to provide,” said Mayor Bowser. “When police are in the community, people feel safer and our officers can respond faster. Hundreds of thousands of people use Metro every day to move around DC, and now, they can expect to see more MPD officers out during their commutes.”


Education

The Minority Scholars Program (MSP), a student-led initiative to help narrow the opportunity gap in MCPS, increase the academic success of minority students and foster positive relationships, will hold its 12th annual retreat on Saturday, March 18. This year’s theme is “We are the Blueprint: Dream About it, Scream About it, Be About It.” This event will be held from 9 a.m.–3:30 p.m. at Northwest High School, 13501 Richter Farm Road in Germantown.

Since its inception 17 years ago, MSP has worked to change the conversation around race, equity and the opportunity gap. MSP has been growing steadily and now has chapters in every MCPS high school, 24 middle schools and six elementary schools. Student leaders have spoken at county, state and national events, spreading the MSP model across the state and nation.


Ashton

Working with industry leaders, hospitality and restaurant management students at Seneca Valley and Sherwood high schools served a four-course meal at a pop-up restaurant in Potomac on Feb. 3. The school was above to raise over $5,200 from the event (photos available below).

The dinner was an opportunity for the students to experience the variety of activities necessary to stage a sophisticated experience—from social media and ticket sales to front-of-house management and heart-of-house hustle. With a team of chefs from CAVA, the students designed, prepared and served the dinner at the Falls Road Golf Course Café on Friday.


Education

On Feb. 3, DuFief Elementary School in North Potomac welcomed Montgomery County Chief of Police Marcus Jones to speak to students on community leadership. The school is celebrating Black History Month by looking at ways to serve the community through leadership.

Along with the parent community and the DuFief Diversity Committee, the month will include guest speakers, including Robert Frost Middle School students and students from the Thomas S. Wootton High School Minority Scholars Program. Featured photo: Montgomery County Police Chief Marcus Jones speaks to students at DuFief Elementary School.


Education

In partnership with Montgomery Goes Purple, MCPS invites families to come out Saturday, Feb. 25 for an event and discussion on Fentanyl. Panelists will share important information on the dangers and prevalence of illegally-made fentanyl, prevention tools and protective factors for students, and resources for treatment when needed. The event will be from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. in the Northwood High School Auditorium, 919 University Blvd W. in Silver Spring.

Breakout discussions for students and parents/caregivers & students, resource fair, COVID-19 vaccinations and refreshments will be available. Panel and breakout sessions will be in English and Spanish. Hundreds attended the Fentanyl Family Forum that took place at Clarksburg High School on January 28th.


Education

Today, Thursday Feb. 9, the Board of Education held the final operating budget work session with MCPS Administration. The proposed budget is designed to improve literacy and math, recruit and keep diverse and high-quality employees, and keep schools safe and welcoming. Key adjustments to the budget include:

Up next, the board will vote to tentatively approve and adopt the proposed budget, and will then send it to the County Executive/ County Council. You can attend county public hearings starting in April. See the presentation video. Review the presentation slides


Gaithersburg

Kabongo pleaded guilty to two counts of Second-Degree Rape and two counts of Sexual Abuse of a Minor for the abuse of four female victims who rode the bus he drove for Montgomery County Public Schools. One of the victims came forward after an incident in July of 2018 and a Montgomery County Police investigation resulted in the discovery of school bus surveillance footage of multiple incidents involving three additional victims. Two of the girls were minors at the time and the other two were both 18-years old.

The defendant had maintained that he was not criminally responsible due to an alleged mental disorder, but today the jury found he is indeed responsible for these crimes. Kabongo faces up to 40 years in prison. A sentencing hearing is set for March 30th 2023.


Bethesda

Per MCPD: Detectives from the Montgomery County Department of Police – 2nd District Investigative Section are investigating a commercial burglary that occurred on Friday, January 20, 2023, in the 4400 block of East West Highway in Bethesda. Detectives have released surveillance photos of the suspect and are asking for the public’s assistance in identifying him.

On Monday, January 23, 2023, at approximately 8 a.m., 2nd District Officers responded to the location for the report of a commercial burglary that occurred earlier.


Health

The County’s Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) worked with Rockville-based Westat to design a mail-in survey to assess community health needs for Montgomery County residents aged 18 and older. The report is the first primary quantitative data collected to assess community health needs and will complement findings from other secondary quantitative data and qualitative data collected from key informant interviews and focus groups meetings. The findings will be included in Healthy Montgomery’s upcoming Community Health Needs Assessment.


Olney

Donna Kelce, whose sons will be playing against each other in Sunday’s Super Bowl, was recently interviewed by GQ magazine. During the interview, she was wearing a half Chiefs half Eagles jacket that was created by a business that is owned and operated by MoCo natives. “This is a jacket that Passion For Ezra put together. The Eagles on one sleeve and the Chiefs on the other. And then on the back—I don’t know if you can see—the names and then the two logos for the Chiefs and the Eagles. So this is really fun, this jean jacket. I really love it.”

Passion For Ezra is based in Columbia, Maryland, but also operates out of Rockville/Olney. Many in the area have visited the home in MoCo for photoshoots with Santa, Valentine’s Day, the Easter Bunny, and more. in addition to the jacket created for Mrs. Kelce, Passion For Ezra made a custom pair of shoes- Philadelphia Eagles on the left foot and Kansas City Chiefs on the right (seen below). The business, which is veteran owned, creates custom items like shoes, clothing items, corn hole boards, and more.