The Montgomery County Board of Education will hold its business meeting on Thursday, September 21, 2023. Closed session will begin at 12:00 p.m. Public agenda items will begin at 3:30 p.m. The meeting will be cablecast live on Comcast Channel 34 (HD 1071), Verizon Channel 36, RCN Channel 89 and the MCPS website.
The agenda, with related materials attached, can be found on the Board of Education’s BoardDocs site:
Let us know in the comments for any missing scores.
Tacos El Pariente has announced it will be holding the grand opening of its brick and mortar location at 7889 Cessna Ave. in Gaithersburg, in the space previously occupied by Daytime Eats. Daytime Eats closed this past spring.
Tacos El Pariente also has food trucks at 20220 Frederick Rd in Germantown (the original truck) and at 18000 Georgia Ave in Olney. Their menu items include birria tacos with consome (their specialty), tortas, burritos, enchiladas, esquite, and more. For its grand opening, the restaurant in Gaithersburg will be open from 9am until 9pm and offer breakfast options at 50% off from 9am-10am and free tacos (maximum of three) from 3pm-4pm.
Montgomery County, MD is commonly known as being a suburb of the nation’s capital, but what might surprise some is that it is also home to a thriving biotech ecosystem. With over 350 life sciences companies, including global brands like AstraZeneca, United Therapeutics, and Novavax, Montgomery County anchors the third largest biophama hub in the U.S., behind only Boston and San Francisco.
Running annually in Washington D.C. for over 25 years, World Vaccine Congress attracts an international audience from over 80 countries and convenes more than 3,000 people to learn about the latest trends, research, and technologies in the vaccine industry. This year, Montgomery County took center stage, with a featured session on the extensive Biologics Value Chain in the County, as well as a session during which County Executive Marc Elrich spoke about the extensive resources available to companies here, and an exhibit space showcasing these resources.
A Complete Biologics Value Chain in One Region
One of the defining strengths of Montgomery County is its ability to support the full lifecycle of biologics, all the way from early research to large-scale manufacturing. During the panel discussion, moderated by Dr. Stefanie Trop, Director of Life Sciences at the Maryland Department of Commerce, local leaders emphasized that the region’s strength lies in its network of partners who work collaboratively across discovery, development, testing, and production. Panelists from companies in all stages of the value chain spectrum included Dr. Andrew Lees, Founder of Fina Biosolutions, Benjamin Moutier, Senior Vice-President, Vaccines and Immune Therapies at AstraZeneca, Dr. Helen Sabzevari President & CEO of Precigen, and Dr. Frederick Holtsberg, Chief Scientific Officer of Integrated BioTherapeutics.
This end-to-end capability in close geographical proximity gives companies a unique advantage and is rare to find in other markets, even established ones like San Francisco and Boston. In fact, only a handful of places worldwide offer the combination of infrastructure, expertise, and collaboration found in Montgomery County and if diversity, education and population density are taken into consideration – then Montgomery County standouts even more.
“Gaithersburg is one of the six places in the world where we can do what we’re doing,” explained Benjamin Moutier, Senior Vice-President, Vaccines and Immune Therapies, AstraZeneca. “We have the right partners at every step of the value chain [in Montgomery County].”
A Strong Partnership Network
Biotech breakthroughs rarely happen in isolation. They depend on strong partnerships between private companies, local and state governments, academic institutions, and workforce training organizations. Montgomery County has intentionally cultivated these connections, making collaboration and coordination defining characteristics of its life sciences ecosystem.
Dr. Frederick Holtsberg, Chief Scientific Officer at IBT Bioservices, a full service CRO offering clinical & preclinical contract research services, says the company’s close partnerships between them and local stakeholders have been crucial to its success. “As a Rockville-based company, we’re grateful for the partnership and support from city, County, and state leaders,” explained Dr. Holtsberg. “These programs have helped fuel our growth, and we’re excited about the continued momentum of our community.” (more…)
Per Montgomery County: Montgomery County’s Department of Health and Human Services and the Office of Community Partnerships today announced the winners of this year’s Show Your Pride! LGBTQ+ decal contest, which was open for submissions in early June. Bethesda resident Vinnie Yankowski was named winner of the youth category and former Silver Spring resident David Spengeler won the adult category.
“Anti-LGBTQ+ bias is surging across the U.S.,” said County Executive Marc Elrich. “It’s more critical than ever for Montgomery County to stand behind our diverse LGBTQ+ communities. These decals are a symbol of who we are as a county—everyone is welcome here, and this is no place for hate.”
Join Kaiser Permanente for Healthy at the Harbor, a free community health and wellness event taking place Saturday, June 6, from 11 am to 4 pm at National Harbor in Prince George’s County, Maryland. Bring your family and friends for free full day of fun, fitness, and preventive care along the waterfront.
Throughout the day, Kaiser Permanente nurses and physicians will offer no-cost health screenings, alongside a health and wellness expo focused on preventive care education. A lively Kids’ Zone will keep children active and entertained with spin-art bikes, face painting, balloon art, games, and more.
Stone Mill Elementary School has been selected a 2023 National Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education (USDE). The winners were announced on Sept. 19.
Per the MCPS press release: Stone Mill is the 43rd MCPS school to be named a National Blue Ribbon winner. The school was among 313 public and 40 private schools being recognized this year. It is one of six schools in Maryland to win the honor. The others are: Church Hill Elementary School and Matapeake Elementary School in Queen Anne’s County, Northeast Elementary School in Allegany County, Oakdale High School in Frederick County and Smithsburg Middle School in Washington County.
According to the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office, “This afternoon, in the Circuit Court for Montgomery County, MD, before the Honorable John Maloney, a jury convicted defendant, David Lee Brown III, 29, of Washington D.C. on charges of attempted voluntary manslaughter, first-degree assault, and use of a handgun. He faces up to 55 years in prison when he is sentenced on November 20th, 2023.
This stems from an incident at the Clyde’s Restaurant in Chevy Chase on November 14th, 2022, that began as an altercation between Brown and a woman. Several people came to the woman’s defense and a physical altercation ensued. Brown pistol-whipped one male victim and shot another man. The shooting took place outdoors, but the fight then continued inside of the establishment sending employees running for cover.”
Detectives from the Montgomery County Department of Police – Special Victims Investigations Division (SVID) are asking for the public’s assistance in locating Karen Cruz Garza, a missing 15-year-old. Garza was last seen on Saturday, September 16, 2023, around 11:30 p.m., in the 13100 block of Ideal Drive in Glenmont. She is 4’10″, 130 lbs., with black hair, brown eyes, and was last seen wearing a white t-shirt and black ripped jeans with white sneakers.
Anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of Karen Cruz Garza is asked to call Montgomery County Police Non-Emergency (301) 279-8000 (24-hour line).
Update: This event has been postponed due to weather. The new date will be Saturday, October 28th from 12pm-3pm.
The Germantown Volunteer Fire Department and Montgomery County Police Department District 5 will be holding a joint event on Saturday, September 23 from 12pm-3pm at 20001 Crystal Rock Drive in Germantown.
Per the United States Department of Justice: A Maryland man has been arrested on felony and misdemeanor charges, including assaulting law enforcement, related to his actions during the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. His actions and the actions of others disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress convened to ascertain and count the electoral votes related to the 2020 presidential election.
Steven Patrick Cook, 24, of Bethesda, Maryland, is charged in a criminal complaint filed in the District of Columbia with two felony offenses of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers and obstruction of law enforcement during civil disorder. In addition to the felonies, Cook is charged with several misdemeanors, including entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, and engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds. Cook was arrested in Virginia on Saturday, Sept. 16, 2023, and made his initial appearance today in the District of Columbia.
Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services (MCFRS) responded to a fire on Wednesday afternoon in the 19000 blk of Montgomery Village Ave, near Centerway Rd. According to Chief Spokesperson for MCFRS Pete Piringer, there was a small insulation fire on the roof of the upcoming Baskin Robbins in the Montgomery Village Shopping Center. The fire is out and there were no injuries reported.
We will provide an update if additional information becomes available.
Per Montgomery County: Committees will review the Spending Affordability Guidelines for the FY25 Capital Budget and the FY25-FY30 Capital Improvements Program and review Montgomery County Public Schools FY23 End of Year Categorical Transfers; receive an update on adult education efforts from Montgomery College and the Montgomery Coalition for Adult English Literacy
The Education and Culture (EC) Committee will meet on Thursday, Sept. 21 at 1:30 p.m. to review Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) categorical transfers and receive an update from Montgomery College and the Montgomery Coalition for Adult English Literacy (MCAEL) about their adult education efforts.