Business

United Therapeutics, a public benefit corporation headquartered in Silver Spring, announced that the company has been named on Newsweek’s list of America’s Most Responsible Companies 2023. This award is presented by Newsweek and Statista Inc., the world-leading statistics portal and industry ranking provider. The list of awards was announced on December 7, 2022, is available on Newsweek’s website, and recognizes the top 500 most responsible companies in the United States, spanning 14 industries.

Per the press release: America’s Most Responsible Companies were selected based on publicly available key performance indicators derived from Corporate Social Responsibility Reports and Sustainability Reports, as well as an independent survey asking U.S. citizens about their perception of company activities related to corporate social responsibility. The key performance indicators focused on company performance in the environmental, social, and corporate governance areas, while the independent survey asked U.S. citizens about their perception of company activities related to corporate social responsibility. United Therapeutics’ 2022 Corporate Responsibility and Public Benefit Report can be found at corporateresponsibility.unither.com.


Arts

Kamie Crawford, a 2010 graduate of Churchill High School, has just announced that she’ll be the host of the latest season of Are You The One?, which will air exclusively on Paramount+ after 8 seasons on MTV and a 3 year break. Crawford is no stranger to MTV, as she she served as part of a panel of rotating hosts for the second part of season 7 of the television series Catfish after Max Joseph’s departure from the series. In 2020, she became the permanent co-host of the MTV series.

On July 24, 2010, just weeks after graduating from Churchill High School in Potomac, Crawford represented Maryland in the Miss Teen USA 2010 pageant where she made history by being the first contestant from Maryland to win the title. While at Churchill, Crawford was the captain of the Varsity cheerleading team. She was selected into the medical program for the Congressional Student Leadership Conference at Georgetown University. In September 2010, Crawford enrolled in classes at the New York Film Academy while taking some core classes at a local college. She graduated from Fordham University in 2015 with a degree in communications and media and began a career in television and hosting.


Gaithersburg

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.


Events

Rio Lakefront in Gaithersburg will hold a ‘Holiday Street Fest’ that will include a fireworks presentation on Saturday, December 10th. The fun begins with a market during the day from 1pm-5pm, a DJ playing music from 5pm-7pm and fireworks at 6:45pm. Additional details, per Rio, below:


Silver Spring

Per MCPD: Detectives from the Montgomery County Department of Police – Major Crimes Division have arrested and charged 31-year-old Torrey Moore of Silver Spring, with a homicide that occurred on Thursday, December 8, 2022, in the 11100 block of New Hampshire Ave.

At approximately 3:03 p.m., 3rd District officers and Montgomery County Fire Rescue responded to a Shell Station (Dash In Convenience Store) in the 11100 block of New Hampshire Ave. for the report of a shooting that just occurred.Upon arrival, officers located an adult male victim, later identified as 61-year-old, Ayalew Wondimu of Silver Spring, suffering from an apparent gunshot wound. Wondimu, an employee of the Dash In Convenience Store, was pronounced dead on scene.


MDLottery

Everything came together for him at 7-Eleven #11716 in Adelphi. “I was on my way home from work when the jackpot stuff popped in my head.” Not quite remembering which of the multistate, big jackpot games everyone was talking about, he bought a ticket for both. “Just to be sure, I got a Mega Millions and Powerball ticket.”

Maryland’s new Lottery millionaire admits being “freaked out” when he scanned his Mega Millions quick-pick ticket for the Nov. 8 drawing a few days later. “Man, all those zeros!” he said. Suddenly nervous, he left the store and headed home. “I kept telling myself that I’d seen $100,000 on the screen, that I had imagined that last zero.”


Silver Spring

Ortega is described as approximately 5-feet, 10-inches tall and weighs 270 pounds. It is unknown what he was last seen wearing. Police and family are concerned for his welfare.

Anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of Jose David Ortega is asked to call the 3rd District Investigative Section at (240) 773- 6870 or the police non-emergency number at (301) 279- 8000 (24-hour line). Callers may remain anonymous.


Crime

Per the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Maryland – U.S. District Judge Peter J. Messitte today sentenced Christopher Michael Cline, a/k/a “Carisa Cline,” age 46, of Gaithersburg, Maryland, to 24 years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, after the defendant pleaded guilty to bank robbery.  The defendant also admitted violating two terms of supervised release for previous federal bank robbery convictions.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Sobocinski of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; Chief Marcus Jones of the Montgomery County Police Department; and Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy.


White Oak

Montgomery County Police have announced that an arrest has been made in connection to yesterday’s shooting death of a Shell Station employee at 11500 New Hampshire Ave. According to MCPD, “Chief Marcus Jones will address the media regarding the arrest of a suspect involved in the shooting death of a gas station employee on Thursday, December 8. Chief Jones and representatives from the Major Crimes Division will provide details surrounding the arrest of the suspect.”

Per MCPD: On Thursday, December 8, 2022, at approximately 3:03 p.m., 3rd District officers and Montgomery County Fire Rescue responded to a Shell Station in the 11100 block of New Hampshire Avenue for the report of a shooting that just occurred.  Upon arrival, officers located an adult male victim suffering from an apparent gunshot wound. The victim, who was an employee of the business, was pronounced dead on scene.


MoCo Government

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.


Silver Spring

Per MCPD: Detectives from the Montgomery County Department of Police – 4th District Investigative Section are asking for the public’s assistance in locating a missing 61-year-old man from Silver Spring. Manuel DeJesus Aguilar was last seen by family on Wednesday, December 7, 2022, at approximately 7 a.m., in the 3900 block of Bel Pre Rd.

Aguilar is described as approximately 6-feet tall and weighs 165 pounds. He has brown eyes and short black hair. Aguilar may be wearing a black leather jacket and white sneakers.  Police and family are concerned for his welfare.