MoCo Sports

MSI Announces Participation in MLS GO to Enhance Youth Soccer Development in Montgomery County

By Patrick Herron

Per MSI: Montgomery Soccer Inc (MSI), a premier youth soccer organization in Montgomery County, Maryland has signed on as an official league operator of MLS GO. Powered by Major League Soccer, MLS GO, is a recreational soccer program designed to increase participation and access for boys and girls outside of the existing soccer ecosystem. This initiative is poised to revolutionize youth soccer development and extend its benefits to all communities within the county.

In addition to offering state-of-the-art soccer training resources, MSI will introduce MLS GO via their comprehensive after-school programs for all children. These programs will not only impart soccer skills but will also promote character development, teamwork, and life skills, using soccer as a vehicle for personal growth. The program will be implemented with support from RCX Sports, the leaders in youth sports experiences, who have partnered with MLS to operate and manage MLS GO.

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Business

Germantown’s Deka Biosciences Closes $20 Million in Series B2 Financing

By MCS Staff

Germantown, Maryland-based biotech company Deka Biosciences (“Deka”) announced that it has successfully closed a USD $20 Million Series B2 financing with a syndicate of life science investors led by MPM BioImpact. The proceeds of the financing will support the advancement of Deka’s pipeline and drug product manufacturing as they continue clinical trials following the receipt of a notice to proceed letter from the FDA for their investigational new drug (IND) application to evaluate DK210 (EGFR). Additionally, Detlev Biniszkiewicz, Ph.D. of MPM-BioImpact, will join the Deka board. Deka Biosciences is located on the Montgomery College Germantown campus at 20378 Seneca Meadows Pkwy. Full press release below:

“This financing round is a significant milestone. We appear to be the only company that has dissociated IL-2 potency from toxicity,” said Dr. John Mumm, CEO of Deka. “It is gratifying to be supported by investors who recognize the potential of our innovative science to radically improve immunotherapy treatments by evaluating each patient’s immune system and combining biology with the power of precision medicine. We have only raised $55 million to date and are already proceeding to dose our third cohort in our Phase 1 clinical trial. Thus far, we have established safety and clear signs of immune activation in our first 2 cohorts. We are encouraged by these results and believe that this combined approach will result in safer, more efficacious, and cost-effective immunotherapies.”

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Damascus

MCPS To Pay $9.7 Million in Damascus Sex Assault Case Settlement

By MCS Staff

Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) is paying $9.7 million to settle the lawsuits against the Montgomery County Board of Education, former Damascus High School principal Casey Crouse, former football coaches Vincent Colbert and Eric Wallich, and former athletic director Joseph Doody, stemming from the sexual assault in the boy’s locker room at Damascus High School in October of 2019.

In a FOX 5 report, the victim’s attorneys shared that they believe this is the largest settlement of its kind in Maryland history. “The Board Of Education has agreed to pay these four young men who were sexually assaulted at Damascus High School a total of $9.7 million dollars, and that appears to be appears to a record settlement in the State of Maryland,” said attorney Timothy Maloney.” MCPS wrote in a statement to FOX 5, that they have “taken extensive measures to prevent such incidents from happening in the future. This is protocol rooted in an increase in monitoring and oversight of all locker rooms across our school district.“

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Beyond MoCo

Howard County Sheriff’s Office Mourns the Loss of Deputy Ryan Demby

By MCS Staff

The Howard County Sheriff’s Office is mourning the loss of one of its own after Deputy Ryan Demby was shot and killed Thursday night following an altercation at a Baltimore bar. The Sheriff’s Office released the following statement on Friday:

“The Howard County Sheriff’s Office is mourning the shocking and tragic loss of an off-duty deputy who was shot and killed in Baltimore last night. Deputy Ryan Demby was in a bar around midnight when a verbal argument broke out between other patrons. During the altercation, shots were fired and Deputy Demby was struck. The Baltimore Police Department is actively investigating the incident. Our hearts are broken for the Demby family, Ryan’s friends and colleagues, and our entire sheriff’s office family. We will continue to keep our community updated and are grateful for your support during this difficult time.”

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East County

“White Oak’s Back” White Oak Bowling Lanes Reopen Today After Two Year Closure

By MCS Staff

White Oak Duckpin Lanes at 11207 New Hampshire Ave, which opened in 1959, is officially reopening today (Saturday, September 30). The bowling alley has been closed since September 2021 due to flooding and a subsequent dispute with the building’s landlord. A video hyping the return of the MoCo institution can be seen below.

A GoFundMe created for the business in December, 2021 has raised over $27,000.  White Oak Lanes announced it would be returning back in February of this year: “As you are probably aware, White Oak Lanes experienced a really bad flooding incident back in September of 2021. This incident caused substantial damage to our lanes. Even though we are going to be sad to see the old lanes leave, we will definitely be excited to see the new lanes when they are completed! When you come back, White Oak will have new lanes, approaches, and pin decks! Hope everyone is as excited about that as we are!”

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MoCo Government

Montgomery County Council to Hold Committee Meetings on Oct. 2, 2023

By Patrick Herron

Per Montgomery County: The Public Safety (PS) Committee will meet on Monday, Oct. 2 at 9:30 a.m. to receive a briefing on Montgomery County Police Department (MCPD) staffing changes for the cities of Rockville and Gaithersburg. In addition, the committee will review Bill 32-23, Police – Policing Advisory Commission – Amendments. 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 receive a briefing from representatives of the Department of Housing and Community Affairs (DHCA) on code enforcement and troubled properties. The members of the PHP Committee include Chair Andrew Friedson and Councilmembers Natali Fani-González and Will Jawando.

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Gaithersburg

Local Brewery to Host Mac & Cheese Cookoff

By Patrick Herron

Saints Row Brewing will be holding a mac & cheese cook-off at its brewery/taproom at 15 Fulks Corner Avenue Suite 101-102 in Gaithersburg on Sunday, October 29 from 12-4pm. The brewery started “A very spooky Mac and Cheese cook-off” in the fall of 2018 along with the now-defunct True Respite Brewing Company. The event was done across both breweries with participants being shuttled back and forth between the breweries so guests could sample all the offerings. True Respite permanently closed earlier this month and Saints Row owner Tony Prebula  tells us he spoke with Brendan and Bailey from True Respite and got the go ahead to keep the tradition going. 

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cxnto8vgIgo/

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Boyds

Collision Closes Southbound I-270 After Clarksburg Rd on Friday Night

By Patrick Herron

A collision with rollover that occurred Friday night on southbound I-270 between Rt121 and Rt27 has closed all lanes after Clarksburg Rd. The Montgomery County Office of Emergency Management & Homeland Security (OEMHS) tweeted the following at 8:45: “Traffic incident closes SB I-270 after Clarksburg Rd (MD121). Expect significant delays and seek alternate route.”

We will provide an update when additional information becomes available. Featured image courtesy of @crystalyu_ on Instagram.

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MCPS

2023 Week 5 MCPS High School Football Scores

By Damon Anderson

Below you’ll see the most recent updates or final scores of the 2023 week 5 MCPS football games. The scores will be updated as we receive them. If a score isn’t listed, it’s because we haven’t yet received a report from the game that we can confirm. An ‘F’ signifies the score is confirmed as being final.

Thursday Games

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