Montgomery County’s Department of Permitting Services (DPS) conducted a “sign sweep” on Thursday, Aug. 4, to remove signs illegally placed in public rights-of-way throughout the County. Those signs included campaign signs that were placed leading up to the July 19 Maryland gubernatorial primary election. The “sign sweep” was conducted on County-maintained roads.

DPS Zoning and Code Compliance Manager Greg Nichols said inspectors formed teams to target assigned areas around the County. He said the teams removed any type of sign—not just campaign signs—that were placed illegally in the public right-of-way. DPS staff delivered the signs to the Shady Grove Processing Facility and Transfer Station in Derwood for recycling and disposal.


Canvassing of mail-in and provisional ballots continues on Friday after a day off on Thursday. The current remaining canvass days are scheduled for Friday, August 5th and Sunday, August 6th (staring at 10am), with additional dates to be added should they be needed, according to the Montgomery County Board of Elections. The latest update by the Maryland State Board of Elections in the Democratic primary for Montgomery County Executive  (9:51pm, 8/3) shows that incumbent Marc Elrich (51,883, 39.28%) has maintained his lead over David Blair (51,729, 39.16%), going from a lead of 173 votes after Tuesday night’s tabulations to 154 votes in Wednesday night’s update.

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, increased it by 53 additional votes in Tuesday night‘s update, with David Blair cutting the lead by 19 in the Wednesday night update. Overall, Blair has received 22,375 mail-in/provisional ballot votes compared to 23,885 for Marc Elrich. Marc Elrich defeated David Blair by just 77 votes in the 2018 Democratic Primary.


As of Aug. 4, there are 6,617 confirmed MPX cases in the United States and 157 cases in Maryland.

“We know that residents are concerned about MPX, and we continue to support the Maryland Department of Health’s effort to receive more vaccine supply from the federal government,” said Dr. James Bridgers, acting County Health Officer.  “As with the early days of the COVID-19 vaccination campaign, there is more demand for vaccination than there is supply.  The preregistration system will help us identify those who are eligible for vaccination and provides us a way to contact them when vaccine doses are available.”


The program ran for four weeks, from July 5-29. Each student had a minimum of 50 hours of either in-person, virtual or a combination of the two experiences.

Among the experiences RISE participants were exposed to this summer were:


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 (9:51pm, 8/3) shows that incumbent Marc Elrich (51,883, 39.28%) has maintained his lead over David Blair (51,729, 39.16%), going from a lead of 173 votes to 154 votes in Wednesday night’s update.

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, increased it by 53 additional votes in Tuesday night‘s update, with David Blair cutting the lead by 19 in the Wednesday night update. Overall, Blair has received 22,375 mail-in/provisional ballot votes compared to 23,885 for Marc Elrich. Marc Elrich defeated David Blair by just 77 votes in the 2018 Democratic Primary.


Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich, Maryland House Majority Leader Eric Luedtke, and State Delegate Ariana Kelly announced Wednesday that they sent letters to the leaders of 10 major companies to invite them to relocate to Montgomery County. Each of these companies are located in states with laws that outlaw abortion services. Five of these companies have reaffirmed their commitment to the health of their employees by offering to cover the cost associated with the interstate travel necessary to receive these vital procedures. These companies are:

Recognizing that abortion care is an essential component of healthcare, the following healthcare companies headquartered in these prohibition states were contacted:


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.


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.


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 (9:08pm, 8/1) shows that incumbent Marc Elrich (49,804, 39.29%) has regained the lead over David Blair (49,684, 39.20%) by 120 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 has now taken the lead on the first day of August. Overall, Blair has received 20,330 mail-in/provisional ballot votes compared to 21,776 for Marc Elrich. Marc Elrich defeated David Blair by just 77 votes in the 2018 Democratic Primary.


The “sign sweep” will take place on County-maintained roads and at intersections with State highways. DPS will not be removing signs from private property.

DPS Zoning and Code Compliance Manager Greg Nichols said inspectors will be forming teams to target assigned areas around the County.


The Montgomery County Animal Services and Adoption Center (7315 Muncaster Mill Road, Derwood) is waiving adoption fees for all animals from Aug. 1 – Aug. 31 as part of their annual participation in the  Clear the Shelters event. Full details below from the MCASAC:

Montgomery County Animal Services and Adoption Center (MCASAC) is once again teaming up with NBC, Telemundo, and animal shelters across the country to find loving homes for pets in need! All adoption fees will be waived for all animals from August 1st through August 31st, 2022 during the annual Clear The Shelters adoption event!


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