September 30th is Census Response Deadline – How Does MoCo Rank in Response Rate?
September 30th, 2020 is the final day that households can respond to the 2020 Census. The Census is a count of the population by the federal government that takes place every ten years. All residents in the United States are counted, including those who are not U.S. citizens.
MoCo Announces 50 Ballot Drop Off Locations for 2020 General Election
Montgomery County officials are looking to think inside the box for the upcoming election. Holding elections during a pandemic was always going to be a tricky undertaking, and many citizens relied on Maryland’s mail-in voting program to cast their votes in the June primary elections. Official ballot drop-boxes are a convenient method for MD voters to cast their ballot without having to put it in the mail.
MoCo Sample Ballots On the Way
The Montgomery County Board of Elections has stated that the Montgomery County Sample Ballots for the upcoming 2020 general election will be arriving to registered voters’ mailboxes this week.
Montgomery County is not currently considering Phase Three according to this afternoon’s media briefing with County Executive Marc Elrich and Heath Officer Travis Gayles.
The briefing also mentioned that positive cases have increased, but that we have not seen a comparable increase in hospitalizations or emergency room utilization and COVID related fatalities.
Unemployment Claims in MoCo Based on Zip Code
Earlier today Montgomery County Councilmember Evan Glass released a map showing unemployment claims in the county by zip code.
Montgomery County will remain in Phase 2 as the State moves to its Phase 3 reopening, which went into effect today at 5 p.m. Montgomery County’s current case count is higher than it was when the County entered Phase 2 several months ago. Daily case counts in late June when the County entered Phase 2 averaged 67 cases per day. The current seven-day average of new confirmed cases is 85.
Venues such as indoor and outdoor restaurants may now include live performances as part of their dining experience. However, establishments are prohibited from allowing dancing or congregating in front of the performers. Individuals present must still wear masks unless they are eating or drinking (and they must be seated while eating and drinking). The new live-music guidelines go into effect immediately. On Wednesday evening, the Governor announced that more activities would be allowed under Phase 3; they are being reviewed to determine if the County could also allow some version of those activities.
MoCo officials officially launched the County’s first four Ride On electric buses with a ceremonial “unplug” event.
Following the event, the media will have an opportunity to speak with the officials and get video inside the buses and at other designated areas of the maintenance and transit operations facility including bus sanitizing demonstrations and sneak peak of new Flash buses.
Today’s announcement that the state is moving to Phase 3 on Friday has again taken us by surprise. Although I want to see our community open as quickly as possible, we must also proceed with care. We will continue to follow the data and science in Montgomery County, as we have done every day throughout the pandemic. We are averaging about 70 cases per day, and yesterday we had 97 cases– those numbers are concerning because they’re higher than they were a few weeks ago. Because we did not receive advance notice of the Governor’s decision, we need to review the Governor’s order to determine the best way forward. We will do this over the next few days to determine the best way to move forward for our residents and businesses while protecting the public health.
MoCo Executive and County Council Issue Joint Statement on Governor Hogan’s Announcement Regarding School Openings The release can be seen below: Montgomery County, like other school districts in the State, […]
Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich, after consultation with County Health Officer Dr. Travis Gayles and based on data from contact tracing, has issued an updated executive order that allows certain […]
The Montgomery County Rental Assistance Program Has Started Accepting Applications
Recognizing that the COVID-19 pandemic is causing an unprecedented financial hardship for many Montgomery County residents, the COVID-19 Rental Assistance Program provides financial assistance in the form of a rent subsidy payment. This program seeks to fill the gaps for those who have lost income during COVID-19.