Maryland

Governor Larry Hogan announced the appointment of Bernice Mireku-North—a former assistant state’s attorney in Anne Arundel County—to represent Legislative District 14 in the House of Delegates. This appointment will be effective January 11, 2023, the date that the 445th session of the Maryland General Assembly convenes. Mireku-North succeeds Del. Eric Luedtke, the incoming Chief Legislative Officer for Governor-Elect Wes Moore.

“I want to congratulate Bernice Mireku-North on her appointment to the General Assembly, and wish her well in representing the people of Montgomery County,” said Governor Hogan. District 14 is also represented by Sen. Craig Zucker, Del. Anne Kaiser, and Del. Pam Queen.


Maryland

With rampant inflation making raising children much more costly than usual, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2023’s Best & Worst States to Raise a Family. Maryland was ranked 19th overall, coming in at 8th place for ‘affordability’ and 10th place for ‘education & child care.’

To determine the best states in which to put down family roots, WalletHub compared the 50 states across 51 key indicators of family-friendliness. The data set ranges from the median annual family income to housing affordability to the unemployment rate.


DMV

Over 1.9 million vehicles on the road have rolled-back odometers, a 7% increase from the previous year, according to Carfax research. That includes an increase of 18% in odometer scale in Maryland, a 6% increase in DC, and Virginia  leading the area– coming in 8th in the nation in odometer scams.

“Many people think odometer fraud disappeared with the invention of digital odometers,” said Emilie Voss, Public Relations Director for CARFAX. “But that couldn’t be further from the truth. We’re still seeing the number of vehicles on the road with a rolled-back odometer rise year-over-year.” According to Carfax data, consumers lose an average of $4,000 in value from unknowingly buying a car with a rolled-back odometer, and that doesn’t include unexpected maintenance costs.


WMATA

Starting Monday, three new escalators will be up and running at L’Enfant Plaza Station following eight months of construction that closed the north entrance at Maryland Avenue and 7th Street SW. The project, completed on budget, will provide better, more reliable escalators for customers and includes the latest safety features and LED lighting. The reopening of the north entrance will also restore the connection to Virginia Railway Express (VRE) and the closest Metro entrance for government agencies, office buildings and some of the most popular museums on the National Mall.

During construction, Metro’s contractor, Kone, removed all three escalators at once. New concrete encased support beams had to be installed before replacement work could begin. Each escalator is custom built to fit the entrance and is industrial grade, designed to be more durable for the weight and traffic of a busy station. The completion of the north entrance escalators is part of a seven-year project to replace 130 escalators by 2028 and brings the number of escalators replaced in the past two years to 39. Work will begin next year to replace the remaining six escalators at L’Enfant Plaza’s two other entrances.


Education

Per Montgomery College: The Rolling Raptor EduKitchen is a 26-foot-long mobile food lab that arrived at Montgomery College in October. It is equipped with the most cutting-edge culinary equipment and technology to serve as a business lab that facilitates experiential learning experiences for students within the Hospitality Management Program. Its design enables students to develop a food truck business/ concept, fabricate and test out products to be served, cost out and develop menus, operate the food truck in a real setting (e.g., golf courses, breweries, City of Rockville events), and finally evaluate the success of the concept based on customer feedback and financial gains or losses. 

“The Rolling Raptor creates an unprecedented opportunity for students to gain real-life entrepreneurial experiences throughout their studies at Montgomery College,” said Jana Anderson, Hospitality Management Program coordinator and associate professor at Montgomery College. “The mobile food lab allows students to bring the products and business ventures they develop in the classroom to actual customers in real-life settings. It also creates an opportunity for the Hospitality Management Program to partner with local businesses such as True Respite Brewing Company in securing locations for the Rolling Raptor.”


Uncategorized

Per Montgomery County: The Policing Advisory Commission (PAC) of Montgomery County will hold a virtual public forum at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 9, to solicit community testimony and feedback on traffic enforcement by the Montgomery County Police Department (MCPD). Other police departments—municipalities, park police, state police, etc.—are not under the PAC’s purview. Community members are invited to register to provide live testimony during the public hearing or to submit written, audio, or video testimony. Residents will be asked to limit their live testimony to no more than three minutes and to one speaker per organization (if applicable). Written, audio and visual testimony submitted prior to the public hearing may be longer, if needed. The deadline to register to speak at the public hearing is 4 p.m. on Jan. 9.

The PAC believes that traffic enforcement practices in the County do not meet basic tests of effectiveness, efficiency and equal enforcement and that a change in mission, focus and strategy is necessary. The PAC’s report on traffic enforcement, including recommendations, can be found here.


MCDOT

“The map on this page shows the current extent of the Streetery on Norfolk Avenue in red (between Del Ray Avenue and St Elmo Avenue). The project study area is shown with a dotted black line. The study area extends along Norfolk Avenue from Rugby Avenue to Woodmont Avenue. The study area also includes cross streets, approximately 100 feet in both directions from Norfolk Avenue.”


Germantown

Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services (MCFRS) responded to a townhouse fire on the 13300 block of Demetrias Way (off Wisteria Dr) in Germantown on Sunday morning around 3:30am. According to Chief Spokesperson for MCFRS Pete Piringer, damage is estimated to be $300,000 and several families have been displaced. One person was transported to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries. The cause of the fire is currently under investigation. We will post an update when additional information becomes available.

Per @mcfrsPIO on Twitter: (320a) 13300blk Demetrias Way, off Wisteria Dr, Germantown, 3-sty MOR TH, fire showing upon arrival, all occupants got out, fire is out, 1 civ transported, NLT, @mcfrs PE729, PE722, PE734, PE735, PE708, T734, AT735, RS729, M729, BC705, BC703, T731, PAT708, A722 & others responded


DMV

Cousins Maine Lobster, a food truck concept and provider of Maine lobster rolls, has announced an expansion into Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C, bringing six food trucks to the region over the next 18 months. Cousins Maine Lobster appeared in Shark Tank over a decade ago to help launch expansion and began franchising in 2014. The deal marks their first multi-unit franchise sale.

Yunus Shahul joined the Cousins Maine Lobster Franchise Family when he launched his first food truck in Connecticut in September 2018. Six months later, Shahul added a second truck dedicated to New York City. For expansion into the DMV market, Yunus will partner with his brother, Thameem. The brothers have worked together for the last four years as Yunus grew his operations in New York and southern New England. Yunus currently owns and operates five trucks across his territories.


Business

Transwestern Real Estate Services announced its Mid-Atlantic Multifamily Group has brokered the sale of Parkside Terrace, an 87-unit multifamily asset at 502 Easley St. in Silver Spring, Maryland. A partnership led by Enterprise Community Development (ECD), a nonprofit owner and developer of affordable homes, purchased the garden-style community for $20 million, or $229,885 per unit.

Per the press release: “The property has been well managed by long-term owners allowing ECD and its partners to preserve naturally occurring affordability in desirable Montgomery County with a high-quality apartment community,” said Williams, an Executive Vice President at Transwestern. Parkside Terrace features one- and two-bedroom units in a quiet neighborhood east of downtown Silver Spring. The property is situated adjacent to a public park, offering exceptional walkability and convenient access to public transportation and surrounding transportation arteries.


Education

Per Montgomery County Public Schools: MCPS held a Teacher Device Showcase to give teachers the opportunity to test more than 50 devices under consideration for future technology acquisition. Teachers also had the chance to check out new technology to support science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM) learning.

Those who attended were encouraged to share input on what device features are most important to them and give feedback in order to inform future purchases and align new technologies with unique classroom needs. Teacher devices will be a new and important part of the refresh cycle starting in Summer 2024.