1. Quince Orchard 14-0The Cougars defeated Flowers from PG county, in the 4A State title game, 32-7.  RB Iverson Howard had 195 yards rushing and 2 TDs and DE Jaylen Harvey 6 tackles, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble & a blocked punt, in the win.  QO won their 5th overall State Championship and their 3rd in 5 years. With the victory Head Coach John Kelley earned his 100th victory.  

2. Damascus 13-1The Swarmin’ Hornets beat Oakdale from Frederick county, in the 3A State title game  21-14. RB Dillion Dunathan had 228 yards rushing and 2 TDs and DT Will Terry had 6 tackles and 1 sack in the win. Damascus won their 12th State championship, tying Seneca Valley & Dunbar for the most all time in Maryland.      


Earlier this year, the local “Yelp MD Burbs” part of Yelp released its list of “Top 25 Places to Eat in MD Burbs” list and 15 of the 25 restaurants on the list are in Montgomery County, including four of the top five. Yelp is a popular company that publishes crowd-sourced reviews about businesses with a major focus on restaurants. The Montgomery County restaurants that made the list can be seen below (most pictures courtesy of Taste MoCo):

25. Trattoria Da Lina (7000 Carroll Ave, Takoma Park)


Review: The Council will continue its review of the remaining local and bi-county bills for the upcoming 2023 Maryland General Assembly and may choose to take a position on each bill. On Nov. 28, 2022, the 19th Council held a briefing and reviewed 15 local and bi-county bills. The newly inaugurated 20th Council continued its review of local and bi-county bills on Dec. 6, 2022. The legislation under consideration will cover topics including voting methods, special taxing districts, parking, mass transit, speed monitoring, alcoholic beverage licensing and collective bargaining agreements. The Maryland State Delegation conducted a public hearing about local and bi-county bills on Dec. 8, with additional public hearings scheduled on Dec. 15, 2022.


Shortly before kickoff of Thursday night’s Maryland 4A state championship football game at Navy-Marine Corps Stadium in Annapolis, Gaithersburg Mayor Jud Ashman noticed that he’d received a text message from former Quince Orchard High School football star Johnny Hodges. “He wants to know where he can get a livestream of the game,” said Ashman to his companions at the 50-yard-line as they prepared to watch QO defend its state title against C.H. Flowers High School of Prince Georges County. 

That Hodges, a 2019 QO graduate and cocaptain of the 2018 championship team, would still want to watch a team of players who weren’t even at QO when he played, isn’t all that remarkable when you think about it. Hodges’ loyalty to his former coaches and the QO football program runs deep. Neither is the fact that of all the people he might contact to find out where to find a livestream, he’d choose the Mayor of Gaithersburg. Ashman’s love of QO football as a parent of two QO alums, including a former football player, is well known throughout the community.


The PAB is responsible for meeting with directors of the law enforcement agencies in the County, receiving public complaints of police misconduct and forwarding them to the appropriate law enforcement agency; advising the County Executive and the County Council on policing matters; and reviewing the outcomes of disciplinary matters considered by the ACC.


A letter (available below) was sent home to the Silver Spring International Middle School community on Thursday, December 8th, detailing an incident involving a BB gun accidentally discharging and striking a student in the leg during the school day.

According to the letter, a 7th grade student showed a BB gun to a friend when it accidentally discharged and struck her friend in the upper thigh. There were no injuries, as the student was examined by the school nurse following the incident, and the BB gun was confiscated by school security. Montgomery County Police and Montgomery County Public School Systemwide Safety reported to the school to investigate the incident. Full letter below:


Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich, the County’s regional services offices and community partners are hosting hybrid forums to seek input on the Fiscal Year 2024 Operating Budget. The next forum, emphasizing priorities of the senior community, will be conducted from 7-8:30 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 12, at the BlackRock Center for the Arts in Germantown. Residents can attend most forums in person or view them via the internet.

The County is in the early stages of formulating the FY24 operating budget. County Executive Elrich is required to submit a recommended budget to the County Council by March 15. The Council will then have two months to review the budget. It must adopt a final budget no later than June 1. The FY24 operating budget will go into effect on July 1. “The budget is a primary indicator of the priorities of any jurisdiction,” said County Executive Elrich. “This is why community and resident involvement is essential to the process of developing a budget that reflects our values and goals. The objective is the make these forums accessible and interactive. I encourage residents to participate in the discussions because they are for you. No matter where you live or your age, I want to hear from as many people as possible. We were fortunate to maintain a very strong financial position throughout the pandemic, which enabled us to continue to support programs and services that are important to residents. Now we are looking ahead to the many ways we can make this a better place to live for everyone.”


4:11pm Update per MCPD: MCPD PIO is en route to a confirmed homicide in the 1100 block of New Hampshire Ave. 

Montgomery County Police is investigating a shooting at the Shell gas station in the 11100 block of New Hampshire Ave. According to our public safety reporter Cordell Pugh, the shooting occurred at approximately 3PM on Thursday at the White Oak Shell/Dash In gas station/convenience store on the corner of New Hampshire Avenue and Lockwood Drive in White Oak, MD (Montgomery County). The victim was shot and critically injured. This story will be updated with additional information as it becomes available. Featured photo courtesy of Google Maps.


Per Montgomery County: The Montgomery County Office of Human Rights and M&T Bank are partnering for the second year to offer a free 10-week “Small Business Accelerator Program” to assist small businesses—both emerging ones and those trying to rebuild from the impacts the COVID health crisis. The program will teach early-stage and minority entrepreneurs the essentials of business planning, operations, credit building, digital communication and financial management. It also could provide access to capital.

Applications are now being accepted to join the program, which will run from Jan. 10 through March 14. There is no limit on the number of programs that can participate, but the deadline to apply is Friday, Dec. 23. The first year of the program was an overwhelming success. More than 200 businesses pursued the opportunity to learn how to build their businesses. To register for the program, go to Qualtrics Survey | Qualtrics Experience Management


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