Per Montgomery County: The tenth annual Montgomery County “Friendship Picnic” will again bring people of diverse cultures and faiths together to make new friends and discuss ways to build a stronger community. The free picnic will be held from noon-5 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 24, at Wheaton Regional Park. Wheaton Regional Park is located at located at 2000 Shorefield Rd. in Wheaton. A free satellite parking shuttle service to and from the Wheaton Ice Rink and athletic fields will be available.
ActiveMONTGOMERY is the registration and reservation system used to request permits, register for activities, reserve public spaces, and pay online for various classes, camps, and facility rentals throughout the county. While many athletic fields can be reserved online through ActiveMONTGOMER Y, synthetic turf fields can only be reserved by direct communication with a Community Use of Public Facilities (CUPF) or Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission – Montgomery Parks (Parks) employee. Once a synthetic turf field reservation has been processed by a CUPF or Parks employee, the reservation and permit are listed under the applicable ActiveMONTGOMERY account.
The investigation revealed that in 2022 and 2023, the subject employee intentionally misled staff from CUPF and Parks to believe they were requesting reservations for athletic fields on the Council’s behalf when in fact they were doing so for the benefit of their spouse. In total, field use permits in the amount of $19,190 ($11,490 of which was reserved under the council’s ActiveMONTGOMERY account) were obtained by the employee and never paid for. Attempts by Parks staff to obtain outstanding payments were ignored, and at times the employee made reference to their position at the County Council. During the investigation, the employee also intentionally made false statements to OIG investigators in an effort to conceal their misconduct.
Per MCDOT: The Montgomery County Department of Transportation (MCDOT) today announced a “fare-free day” in support of Car Free Day on Friday, Sept. 22. All Ride On buses will waive the one-dollar fare to encourage the use of public transportation. The announcement was made in coordination with the Maryland Transit Authority, which is offering free fare throughout the weekend on all MTA-operated transit. Regular fares will be required on Metrobus.
Residents can also take the regional pledge online to participate in Car-Free Day and be entered into a raffle for prizes such as gift cards, an annual Capital Bikeshare membership and a pre-funded SmartTrip card. Duplicate entries will be disqualified. Participants can take the pledge at carfreemetrodc.org/pledge-page.
Per Montgomery County (9.14.23) A new COVID-19 vaccine will soon be available. Earlier this week, the Food and Drug Administration approved a new vaccine and the advisory committee of the Centers for Disease Control recommended that anyone age 6 months and older get vaccinated. The new vaccines are a much closer match to currently circulating variants. They are updated versions of the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines.
There will be a limited number of County-sponsored clinics distributing the new vaccines, but they will be for residents who are uninsured. Information about those clinics will be available when vaccine is available.
National Cheeseburger Day falls on Monday, September 18, and restaurants across the country are offering big discounts for the “holiday.” Below you’ll find a list of participating restaurants, as well as information on some of Montgomery County’s most famous burgers. Note: This listing will be updated when we hear of additional restaurant promotions.
Back in June, the Washington Post released its “10 Best Burgers in the D.C. Area” list and Montgomery County’s very own Steeze Burger was ranked the #1 burger in the area. Laytonsville resident Hunter Karametos, owner of Steeze Burger, started the pop-up burger business in 2022 after spending the better part of a year consuming over 150 different burgers for research. According the article, “Topped with steamed onions, pickles and American cheese, it’s a burger that sends your needle into the red zone on first bite. Your brain cannot begin to process the experience, so it just goes along for the ride — delirious over this buttery and rewarding burger, the best around these parts.” Burgers from Soko Butcher (Takoma Park) and Quarry House Tavern (Silver Spring) were also listed in the article as “honorable mentions.” You can read the full top ten at www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/best-burgers-washington-dc. Follow @SteezeBurger on Instagram to find out where he’ll be popping up next.
Per Montgomery County: The County Council will hold public hearings to receive testimony on new items introduced to the Council as follows:
A full list of upcoming public hearings is available on the Council Calendar. Review the public hearing frequently asked questions for additional information.
Per Montgomery County: The joint Transportation and Environment (TE) and Public Safety (PS) Committee will meet on Monday, Sept. 18 at 9:30 a.m. to receive a briefing on safety while traveling by transit. The members of the TE Committee include Chair Evan Glass and Councilmembers Marilyn Balcombe and Kate Stewart. The TE Committee will meet at 10:30 a.m. to continue review of the Planning Board draft of the Pedestrian Master Plan. The members of the PS Committee include Chair Sidney Katz and Councilmembers Dawn Luedtke and Kristin Mink.
The Planning, Housing and Parks (PHP) Committee will meet at 1:30 p.m. to review Zoning Text Amendment (ZTA) 23-05, Vehicle Parking Design Standards – Commercial Vehicle Parking for Properties with a Residential Use. The Committee also will receive an update from the Department of Housing and Community Affairs (DHCA) on first time homebuyer programs and receive a briefing on the Bethesda Overlay Zone Annual Monitoring Report.
Per MCPD: Detectives from the 2nd District – Patrol Investigations Unit and 5th District officers are looking for five suspects who allegedly stole from several stores in the Montgomery County area and region. Detectives have obtained surveillance photos of the suspects and are asking for the public’s assistance in identifying them.
Detectives have obtained surveillance photos of the suspects and have identified a silver sedan as the suspect vehicle.
Last March, Bill No. 1-22 Healthy Meals for Children, which requires restaurants in Montgomery County that offer a children’s meal to provide a healthy option (meal and drink) for their youngest customers, was passed. The first phase (healthy beverage option) went into effect in March, and the second phase (healthy meal option) goes into effect this Friday, September 15. This is the first bill of this nature to be fully implemented in the country. It should be noted that while a healthy option must be presented, customers are not limited in selecting any menu item of their choice. According to the bill, the healthy meals must be under 600 calories and include the following:
On Thursday, county leaders held a press conference at the Silver Diner (12276 Rockville Pike) in Rockville. Per the restaurant, “Silver Diner made it clear today that it supports Montgomery County, Maryland’s new legislation, “Healthy Meals for Children” Bill. (Bill 1-22) that goes into effect on Friday, Sept. 15. The legislation requires food and restaurant facilities offering children’s meals to include healthy food and beverage options, something Silver Diner has been doing for more than 10 years.
Let us know in the comments for any missing scores.
Gaithersburg Mayor Jud Ashman tweeted a new video of the young man who was seen being attacked in a viral video from earlier this month– this video showed the Quince Orchard High School student running out with the football team ahead of its Thursday night game, holding a banner with the message ‘forgive’ written on it. The video and a photo tweeted by Quince Orchard High School principal Beth Thomas can be seen below.
The father of the student who was attacked in the original video spoke out in an interview with FOX5’s Shomari Stone. The victim’s father told FOX 5 that he believes his son was targeted. He says his son is on the autism spectrum. “I’m obviously distraught, especially after seeing the video, or videos that have been, I guess leaked or put on social media. It hurts to see your child hit numerous times by a bully.” he said.