MoCo Government

Marc Elrich Increases Lead Over David Blair in Tuesday Night’s Democratic Primary Update

By MCS Staff

As mail-in and provisional ballots continue to be counted in the Democratic primary for Montgomery County Executive, the latest update by the Maryland State Board of Elections (9:17pm, 8/2) shows that incumbent Marc Elrich (50,765, 39.30%) has increased his lead over David Blair (50,592, 39.17%) to 173 votes.

David Blair led by 1,191 votes when early voting and Election Day votes were tallied. Elrich took the lead early on during the canvassing of mail-in votes, but Blair closed the gap and eventually reclaimed the lead. Elrich regained the lead on the first day of August, and increased it by 53 additional votes in Tuesday night‘s update. Overall, Blair has received 21,238 mail-in/provisional ballot votes compared to 22,737 for Marc Elrich. Marc Elrich defeated David Blair by just 77 votes in the 2018 Democratic Primary.

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Montgomery College

Montgomery College Foundation Receives Grant to Support STEM Education from PhRMA

By Patrick Herron

Following the announcement, the representatives had the opportunity to observe the College’s Healthcare Heroes Camp and tour the building.

“STEM camps offered over the summer to middle and high school students across the county are designed to develop passions or increase interest in STEM programs,” said Dr. Sanjay Rai, Montgomery College senior vice president for Academic Affairs. “These programs are vital to building a homegrown talent pipeline. These scholarships provide additional benefits to our middle and high school students and will help more students participate each summer.”

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Montgomery College

Montgomery College Welcomes President of Holy Cross Health Network and Former Dual Enrollment Student as Newest Board of Trustees Members

By Patrick Herron

Holy Cross Health Network is Holy Cross Health’s community-based operating division. Holy Cross Health Network operates safety-net health centers and primary care sites; provides more than 200,000 community health encounters annually through programs such as Senior Fit, perinatal education, Chronic Disease Self-Management and community health worker outreach; leads community engagement to promote health equity; oversees Holy Cross Health’s $57 million community benefit program; leads Holy Cross Health’s population health initiatives; and guides the organization’s advocacy initiatives.

Trustee Cody serves as the board chair for Nexus Montgomery Regional Partnership, a joint venture of all six Montgomery County hospitals, focused on reducing avoidable utilization and improving health in our community in ways that no single hospital could accomplish on its own. She is on the Board of Directors of the Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce and is a member of the leadership group of Montgomery Moving Forward, a community collaborative using the collective impact framework to create a better early care and education system for our community.

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Maryland

Attorney General Frosh Announces the Formation of a Nationwide Anti-Robocall Litigation Task Force

By MCS Staff

Maryland Attorney General Brian E. Frosh today announced that Maryland is joining a nationwide Anti-Robocall Litigation Task Force of 50 states to investigate and take legal action against the telecommunications companies responsible for bringing foreign robocalls into the United States. The bipartisan Task Force has one goal: to cut down on illegal robocalls.

“Robocalls are more than an annoyance, they are often schemes by fraudsters and scammers with the purpose of stealing billions of dollars from unsuspecting Americans,” said Attorney General Frosh. According to the National Consumer Law Center and Electronic Privacy Information Center, over 33 million scam robocalls are made to Americans every day. These scam calls include Social Security Administration fraud against seniors, Amazon scams against consumers, and many other scams targeting all consumers, including some of the most vulnerable. In 2021, scammers took $29.8 billion dollars through fraudulent calls, most of which originated overseas.

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Health

Update on Maryland’s Response to Human Monkeypox Outbreak

By Patrick Herron

“Since before our first monkeypox case was identified, the state has been mounting an aggressive response to this outbreak in coordination with local and regional partners,” said Governor Hogan. “While vaccine supply from the federal government is severely limited at this time, anyone who believes that they may need testing or treatment should contact their healthcare provider or local health department immediately. We will keep pressing the federal government to provide more vaccines to the states and do all we can to make resources available to those at risk.”

“We want to emphasize that the goal is limiting the spread of the virus and vaccinating those who may have been exposed in the prior two weeks,” said MDH Deputy Secretary for Public Health Services Dr. Jinlene Chan. “Due to the limited supply of the vaccine from the federal government, the state is working closely with local health partners to make doses available in a manner that focuses on locations that have case counts and higher-risk populations. We plan to expand access to the vaccine as more supply becomes available.”

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MoCo Libraries

Montgomery County’s Long Branch Library to Close Temporarily from Aug. 4-7 for Needed Repairs

By Patrick Herron

The Long Branch Library is located at 8800 Garland Ave. in Silver Spring,

The book drop will remain open for returns while the building is closed. During the closure, Long Branch Library users are encouraged to use other MCPL branches for checking out books and other materials, and using the catalog and internet computers. Nearby branches are the Brigadier General Charles E. McGee in Silver Spring, Wheaton and White Oak libraries.

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Rockville

CVS in Twinbrook Center to Close Permanently at the End of The Month

By MCS Staff

CVS will close its location at the Twinbrook Center (2210 Veirs Mill Rd. in Rockville), according to signage posted inside the store (photo below sent in by Tom Carlson). The store’s closing date is August 29th. The store initially opened back in 1957 as a Drug Fair before becoming a  People’s Drug, the company purchased by CVS back in 1990, decades later.

Late last year CVS announced that it would be closing approximately 900 stores over the next 3 years due to “changes in population, consumer buying patterns and future health needs.” A CVS location on Veirs Mill Rd. closed last November. However, new CVS locations in MoCo were planned for Clarksburg (across the outlets, already opened), Westside at Shady Grove,  and Gaithersburg (Kentlands).

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Rockville

Rockville Mayor and Council Proclaim September as National Recovery Month

By MCS Staff

In their ongoing fight to bring awareness to the national impact of opioid addiction and signal hope for recovery, Rockville’s Mayor and Council proclaimed September as National Recovery Month at their Monday, Aug. 1 meeting. Lights at City Hall, the Rockville City Police Department headquarters and other city and county facilities will once again shine purple throughout the month. The city will hold several events throughout September as part of Rockville Goes Purple, the city’s continuing campaign to highlight the nationwide impact and dangers of opioid addiction.

The theme of the campaign is “Opioids: Let’s Talk About It,” which encourages dialogue about, and openness around, the problems of opioid addiction, and awareness about the dangers of stigmatizing addiction. According to the Opioid Operational Command Center and Maryland Department of Health’s 2021 Second Quarter Report, 1,217 people died from opioid-related overdoses in the state through the second calendar quarter of 2021, a 1.1% increase compared to the first six months of 2020. Opioids were involved in 89.6% of all unintentional intoxication fatalities over that period. The Rockville City Police Department responded to 35 reports of heroin or opioid overdoses in 2021, a 52% increase from 2020, and three reports of heroin or opioid possession, a 66% decrease. There was one report of opioid sales.

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MoCo Government

First Ever Civilian Assistant Police Chief No Longer Employed by Montgomery County

By MCS Staff

Carmen Facciolo, who was appointed as Montgomery County’s first civilian assistant police chief in June 2021, is no longer employed by the Montgomery County government, according to a report by WTOP.  Facciolo was suspended by the Montgomery County Police Department back in June of this year.  At the time, Chief Marcus Jones issued a department-wide email acknowledging the suspension, saying “Effective immediately, all duties and authority vested in the Chief of the Community Resources Bureau are vested in Captain Marc Erme. This will remain in place until further notice.”  No statement was released by MCPD or Montgomery County on why Facciolo was originally suspended, citing that it was a “personnel matter.”

From a June 2021 article: “Assistant Chief Facciolo joins the Montgomery County Police Department from the Bronx District Attorney’s Office where he served as a Deputy Chief overseeing the Strategic Enforcement and Intergovernmental Relations Division. In this role, Assistant Chief Facciolo directed all intelligence and crime strategies efforts, technical investigations including crime scene, photo, cell-site analysis, and digital forensics, forensic science services, strategic technology, the planning and analysis unit, and the alternatives to incarceration bureau.  Assistant Chief Facciolo served as District Attorney Clark’s liaison to federal, state, and local law enforcement, forensics, and intelligence agencies, and managed her relationships with federal and state elected officials, local legislators, The Hill, and stakeholder organizations.  Lastly, Assistant Chief Facciolo coordinated the county’s response to major law enforcement incidents, the opioid epidemic and mental health and crisis intervention services.

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Montgomery Parks

Montgomery Parks Seeks Public Input for New South Silver Spring Park in Downtown Silver Spring

By MCS Staff

Montgomery Parks(opens in a new tab) invites the public to provide input for the first phase of a new, one-acre park in downtown Silver Spring. South Silver Spring Park(opens in a new tab), located at 1110 East-West Highway (the former site of National Tire and Battery) will provide multiple spaces for active recreation, play, and socializing. The park’s first phase is expected to open in 2023.

Montgomery Parks purchased the site of the park at the end of 2021 with the goal of demolishing the existing building and developing the first phase of the park. To provide input on the park’s proposed amenities, please go to the Open Town Hall survey(opens in a new tab).

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Education

Maryland Has the 3rd Best Early Education System in America, According to Study

By MCS Staff

With pre-K enrollment dropping by nearly 300,000 students last year, which hurt educational progress and increased inequality, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2022’s States with the Best & Worst Early Education Systems. Maryland came in at 3rd on the list, behind only Arkansas and Nebraska.

In order to determine the best early education systems in America, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 12 key metrics. The data set ranges from share of school districts that offer a state pre-K program to number of pre-K quality benchmarks met and total reported spending per child enrolled in pre-K.

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