Maryland

With Americans having increased their collective credit card debt by a record $179.4 billion last year, and the grand total at over $1.1 trillion, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on the States with the Highest & Lowest Credit Card Debts, with Maryland coming in ranked 18th highest among all states.

WalletHub drew upon data from TransUnion, the Federal Reserve, the U.S. Census Bureau and WalletHub’s proprietary credit card payoff calculator to determine the cost and time required to repay the median credit card balance in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Below, you can find a handful of highlights from the report. Credit Card Debt in Maryland (1st Rank = Least Sustainable):


Montgomery Planning

The Montgomery County Planning Department presented the 2023 Travel Monitoring Report to the Montgomery County Planning Board at their meeting on July 20. The biennial report provides insight into how well the county is meeting its transportation goals, objectives, and metrics defined in Thrive Montgomery 2050, Montgomery County’s General Plan, and Functional Plans. The report serves as a compendium of the Planning Department’s Transportation monitoring efforts and is produced by the Countywide Planning and Policy Division’s Travel Forecasting and Travel Monitoring Group (TFTMG). View 2023 Travel Monitoring Report.

This year’s report focuses on recent travel trends, performance measures suggested in Thrive Montgomery 2050 , and metrics defined in the current draft Pedestrian Master Plan and adopted Bicycle Master Plan. Also included are aspects of the Complete Streets Design Guidelines and a series of Thrive Montgomery 2050 Growth Corridor Profiles. Although previous editions of the TMR focused on data and less on recommendations, this edition of the TMR includes recommendations to address areas that may need attention based on findings in the report.


Gaithersburg

Tom Sietsema, The Washington Post’s food critic since 2000, has just released the latest version of his “6 Favorite Places to Eat Right Now” and the list features one of Montgomery County’s newest restaurants– Charley Prime. “The menu casts a wide net without going all Cheesecake Factory on its audience.” Sietsema wrote.

Charley Prime opened in Gaithersburg’s Rio Lakefront in May and has been generally well-received by the community. The new restaurant from Jackie Greenbaum & Gordon Banks (Little Coco’s, El Chucho, Bar Charley, Quarry House Tavern) replaced Tara Thai on the Rio Lakefront boardwalk at 9811 Washington Blvd. It features an extensive steak menu that includes filet mignon, New York strip, and a 36oz Tomahawk ribeye, as well as house made pastas and sandwiches like the Roasted Lamb French Dip.


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MoCo Government

Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich signed the newly-passed rent stabilization bill into law on Monday. Last week the Montgomery County Council voted (7-4) today to enact Bill 15-23, Rent Stabilization, which establishes maximum allowable rent increases to the lesser of the local annual Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) plus three percent or six percent of the base rent.

Per Montgomery County: The legislation, sponsored by Councilmembers Natali Fani-González and Sidney Katz, takes a balanced approach by stabilizing rents in Montgomery County while also ensuring landlords can earn a fair return on their investment. Keeping in mind the County’s need to build 31,000 housing units by 2030, the legislation exempts newly built units for 23 years.


MoCo Government

Per Montgomery County: Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich and the Montgomery County Council have announced that $1 million in grants is available through the new Community Projects Fund to assist small, emerging and volunteer-led nonprofits in implementing community focused projects, initiatives and events. The first round of grants, totaling $250,000, is open now. The opportunity will be reopened later in Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24) with at least $250,000 available in each quarter to support new community needs and opportunities.

Awards will be prioritized to nonprofit organizations with fewer than three employees and annual budgets of $250,000 or less. Nonprofits do not need to be based in Montgomery County to apply, but all projects must occur within the County or be exclusively focused on County residents.


WMATA

Per WMATA: Metro has begun installing new higher, stronger faregates at Fort Totten Station as part of a systemwide rollout. The design improves upon the original prototype door following months of testing and modifications. The new doors are now 55-inches tall, twice as strong, and more resilient.

The installation at Fort Totten is expected to be completed overnight, followed by Pentagon City. The faregate modifications will be installed in phases with plans to retrofit faregates throughout the system over the next year. The first 10 stations are expected to be completed by early fall.


Damascus

Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services (MCFRS) responded to a collision involving a motorcycle and a dump truck on Monday, July 24 around 4:30pm. According to Chief Spokesperson for MCFRS Pete Piringer, the collision occurred on Ridge Rd and Hawkes Rd in Damascus, close to Cedar Grove Elementary School, and involved one person trapped under the truck. EMS evaluated one adult with Priority 2 trauma.

According to MCPD, “Ridge Rd. is closed at Hawkes Rd. as the result of a traffic collision. Drivers are advised to seek an alternate route. Expect significant delays.” We will post an update when additional information becomes available.


Beyond MoCo

Per MCPD: Detectives from the Montgomery County Department of Police – Major Crimes Division have arrested and charged 25-year-old Jerald McCalla, of Clarksburg, with auto theft related charges.

In July 2023, detectives from the Auto Crime Enforcement Section began an investigation into a Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT that was stolen in May 2023 through fraudulent means from a car dealership in Farmington, Missouri.  During the investigation, detectives identified McCalla as the suspect.


Crime

Per the Maryland Attorney General’s Office: The Independent Investigations Division of the Maryland Office of the Attorney General has identified the decedent and involved officer in the fatal shooting that occurred on July 22, 2023, in Montgomery County. The decedent has been identified as 19-year-old Franklin Castro Ordonez of Gaithersburg, Maryland.

The involved Montgomery County Police Officer has been identified as Officer Justin Lee. Officer Lee has been with the department for one-and-a-half years and is assigned to the Patrol Services Bureau. Per MCPD:


DC Sports

When the sale of the Commanders was finalized last week to a  group led by Montgomery County native Josh Harris, we let you know that the group will have some decisions to make regarding the future of the franchise, including a possible “complete rebranding of the team.” According to a tweet by Bleacher Report, ESPN senior writer Don Van Natta Jr. stated on the Rich Eisen Show that “There’s a ‘pretty good chance’ the new ownership of the Washington Commanders will change the franchise name and have a ‘complete re-branding’ of the team.”

Betting website BetOnline.AG has released odds on if the Commanders will change its name again and the odds on several choices for the team’s new name. They can be seen below:


Maryland

Maryland’s Community Parks & Playgrounds Program invests in the future of Maryland’s established communities by developing and revitalizing parks and playgrounds statewide. Another $2.5 million in Community Parks & Playgrounds grant funds is also available for 20 projects statewide to rehabilitate, expand, or improve existing parks; create new parks; or purchase and install playground equipment. To date, more than $87 million in grant funding has been approved for more than 852 park and playground projects.

The following Community Parks and Playgrounds projects received funding in the FY24 budget: