Maryland

In February, MDTA started a civil penalty waiver grace period for tolls paid in full and has ceased referring toll bills to the Central Collection Unit (CCU) and MDOT Motor Vehicle Administration (MDOT MVA) temporarily. The grace period will end at 11:59 p.m. on November 30, 2022, and the MDTA will resume referrals of unpaid toll bills and civil penalties to CCU and MDOT MVA on December 1.

If you have unpaid Video Tolls and/or Civil Penalties, the MDTA will waive the Civil Penalties if your toll balance is paid in full between Feb. 24 and 11:59 p.m. on Nov. 30, 2022. After the grace period ends, customers will remain responsible for all unpaid tolls and civil penalties and referrals will resume.


Maryland

Maryland Attorney General Brian E. Frosh joined a coalition of 18 attorneys general calling on the Federal Trade Commission to adopt and strengthen guidance on automobile sales.

The comment letter, led by Maryland, Illinois, Iowa, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania, expresses approval of the FTC’s proposed updates to the Motor Vehicle Dealers Trade Regulation Rule related to the sale, financing, and leasing of motor vehicles by motor vehicle dealers. The proposed rule, published in the Federal Register on July 13, would provide a critical tool to address misrepresentations in sales, leasing and financing transactions, and increase pricing transparency in advertising.


MoCo

Just a day after County Executive Marc Elrich urged the Montgomery County Council to disapprove Thrive 2050, the Montgomery County Planning Department expressed its appreciation for the Montgomery County Council’s consultant-led racial equity and social justice review of the Planning, Housing, and Economic Development (PHED) Committee Draft of Thrive Montgomery 2050, the update to Montgomery County’s General Plan.

Per Montgomery Planning: The report includes an assessment of how historically disadvantaged and vulnerable social groups are represented in the current version of the plan and a draft chapter on racial equity and social justice to be considered by the County Council to be included in the final plan.


MoCo

Montgomery County recently launched a new online tool to help older adult residents find volunteer ride providers to help them get where they need to go, when they need to get there.

The online tool uses GIS mapping to connect an address with organizations, such as nonprofit groups and senior villages, who provide volunteer rides for such things as medical appointments and grocery shopping.  In addition to free bus rides and a discounted taxi program for eligible residents, the County supports non-profit organizations that offer volunteer rides.


MoCo Government

Per Montgomery County: The Montgomery County Department of Housing and Community Affairs (DHCA) participated in financing, with a 40-year Housing Initiative Fund (HIF) loan of $5,342,517, to support preservation and renovation of 177 affordable units at Parkside Landing Apartments in Rockville. Through lending, DHCA supported preserving 118 affordable units and producing 59 additional affordable units – for a total of 177 units now priced affordably.

Parkside Landing Apartments has a total of 236 garden-style, one-, two- and three-bedroom apartment units. The City of Rockville’s public housing agency, Rockville Housing Enterprises, Inc. (RHE), acquired the apartment property in 2012 to preserve the affordable rental community and recently completed a full renovation.


Maryland

The personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2022’s Most & Least Diverse States in America, and Maryland was ranked the 9th ‘Most Diverse State in America.’

To determine where the most idea and identity exchanges have occurred at the highest level in the U.S. – and where the population is relatively more homogeneous – WalletHub compared the 50 states across six key categories: socio-economic, cultural, economic, household, religious and political diversity.


Bethesda

This week it was announced that a plaque with the name of former Cabin John Park Volunteer Fire Department Fire Chief James Seavey Sr. will be added to the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation memorial wall in Emmitsburg, Maryland. An honored first responder in the greater D.C. area for 42 years and a key member of state, regional, and national fire and rescue organizations, James Perrine Seavey, Sr., passed away September 4, 2018, after a courageous five-year battle with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Seavey’s death will be considered a line of duty death, with his battle with non-Hodgkins Lymphoma presumed to have been a result of contact with toxic substances during his 42 years of service as a first responder, per the Bethesda Patch.

Per his obituary, Seavey was born in D.C., but raised in Bethesda’s Westmoreland Hills. His calling began in 1976 as a 16-year-old Walt Whitman High School volunteer at the Glen Echo Fire Department. There he rose to the rank of Assistant Chief. He moved to the Cabin John Park Volunteer Fire Department in 1990 and took office as Fire/Rescue Chief in 1992, a post he held until retiring on Dec. 31, 2017.


Glenmont

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s Glenmont Metro Station bus canopy rehabilitation project started on Monday, Sept. 12. The project will be closing two bus bays at a time to replace the skylights and do structural work. The project will be completed in 4 phases of bay closures, and is scheduled to be completed July 5, 2023. Signage will be posted at the station (more in the images below).

Passengers using Montgomery County’s Ride On buses are encouraged to wear a mask but are no longer required to wear them. Masks are available on all buses for riders who need them. Fare collection resumed on all Montgomery County buses on Aug. 1. The one-way pre-pandemic fare, which was $2 per ride, is now $1. Monthly passes, which were $45 per rider, are now $22.50. Bus interiors will continue to be cleaned by the County’s Department of General Services with hospital-grade disinfectant. Bus filter and ventilation systems are also treated with a disinfectant.


MCDOT

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.


Montgomery Parks

Montgomery Parks and Montgomery Planning, both part of The Montgomery County Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, are combatting climate change in the county by using clean energy, enabling energy efficient transportation in the county, implementing new programs and initiatives, supporting carbon sequestration efforts, and collaborating with the Montgomery County Department of the Environment in meeting the County’s Climate Action Plan. All of these efforts among others are detailed in the Montgomery County Climate Action Annual Report, which showcases 2022 accomplishments and outlines plans to combat climate change in 2023.

The Montgomery County Climate Action Plan (CAP) is a strategic plan to cut community-wide greenhouse gas (GHG)emissions by 80% by 2027 and by 100% by 2035, as compared to 2005 levels. The plan also seeks to reduce climate-related risks to county residents, businesses, and the built and natural environment.