MoCo

Message from County Executive Marc Elrich

By Patrick Herron

Per Montgomery County:

As we approach the end of another year dealing with the pandemic, we should be proud of our resiliency and efforts to keep each other safe. This week, in an article titled “The Most-Vaccinated Big Counties in America Are Beating the Worst of the Coronavirus,” The Washington Post reported: “Perhaps the most highly vaccinated large County in America, according to New York Times data, is Montgomery County, Md., just outside the District of Columbia. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show 93 percent of those 12 and older there are fully vaccinated, compared to around 70 percent nationally. The number of those dying daily over the past week is eight times as high nationally—3.4 per 1 million—as it is in Montgomery County—0.4 per 1 million—even as Montgomery County is near some virus hotspots.”

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Northwest Class of 2020 Graduates Develop an App to Make Exchanging Contact Information Easier

By Daniela Perez

Yuvan Sundrani (sophomore information science major at UMD), Jason Steinberg (sophomore computer science major at UMD), and Sid Jagtap (sophomore finance major at the University of Michigan) are launching an exciting new app called Soshi. Simply put, the app allows users to share all of their social media and contact information in one place with one tap.

These students were amongst the many seniors to miss out on the end of the year senior fun and started freshman year behind a screen. Quarantine left everyone with a little extra time on their hands. Jason Steinberg and Sid Jagtap founded MoCo Tutors, an affordable digital tutoring service aimed at helping Montgomery County students struggling with virtual instruction. Meanwhile, Yuvan Sundrani gained some experience and insight while interning with the artificial intelligence laboratory at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Gaithersburg as a Data Engineer Intern.

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Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich Recommends Extending Mask Mandate and Requiring Vaccine Passports for Restaurants  

By Patrick Herron

During Wednesday’s weekly COVID-19 briefing, County Executive Marc Elrich recommended that the County Council, acting as the Board of Health, hold off on ending the indoor mask mandate, which is set to rollback when 85% of Montgomery County is vaccinated. This is partly due to the unknowns of the Omicron variant. Right now, the county has about an 81% vaccination rate and is averaging over 100 new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents a day.

The indoor mask mandate most recently went back into effect on November 20.

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Councilmember Nancy Navarro Elected as President of the Corporate Board for the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments

By MCS Staff

Press Release from Montgomery County:

ROCKVILLE, Md., Dec. 8, 2020—Today Councilmember Nancy Navarro was elected unanimously as the new president of the Corporate Board for the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (MWCOG), an organization that connects leaders in local jurisdictions across the Washington metropolitan area.

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Montgomery County Council Enacts Legislation to Revise Council District Boundaries as Recommended by the Montgomery County Commission on Redistricting with Limited Changes Based on Community Input

By Patrick Herron

Per MCPD:

For Immediate Release: Tuesday, December 7, 2021

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New Book by Former MCPS Superintendent, Joshua Starr

By MCS Staff

During his MCPS tenure, Dr. Starr was recognized for his willingness to advocate for teachers and school staff. He was a strong believer in the potential of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) to create meaningful change in public education, and urged state and national leaders to consider a moratorium on accountability systems and evaluations based on out-of-date standardized tests so schools and districts can effectively align their systems, policies, and professional development to the CCSS.

He resigned from the position on February 16, 2015, in what officials said was a mutually agreed upon decision.

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