Gaithersburg

Montgomery County Man Killed After Lyft Driver Ends Ride on Highway Identified; Remembered As Family Man and Good Person

By MCS Staff

The Montgomery County man killed in a crash after a Lyft driver terminated the ride and stopped in the middle of the southbound lane on Coastal Highway following a disagreement, demanding all passengers exit the vehicle, has been identified by police as 43-year old Sidney Wolf. A GoFundMe has been set up to support the man’s family as they try to move ahead during difficult circumstances.

Wolf, who was initially reported by Delaware State Police as being from Clarksburg, lived in Gaithersburg with his wife and two children. He was also the campaign manager for Montgomery County Councilmember Sidney Katz’ re-election campaign. In an interview with Fox 5, Katz remembered Wolf as “such a nice young man. He was a family guy, somebody who had a good sense of humor, and fun to be around.”  A longtime friend referred to him as selfless and “the nicest guy you’d ever meet…just a good guy.” Wolf’s family also released a statement. “This is an extremely difficult time for our family. The level of shock and pain we feel right now cannot be measured as we continue to grieve. We truly appreciate the outpouring of love and support we’ve received and kindly request that the family’s privacy is respected as we move through this process.” -Wolf/Greenbaum Family

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MoCo Government

David Blair Regains Lead Over Marc Elrich in Latest Democratic Primary Update By State Board of Elections

By MCS Staff

As mail-In/provisional ballots are counted in the Democratic primary for Montgomery County Executive, David Blair has taken the lead over incumbent Marc Elrich by just 134 votes after trailing by 141 votes on Sunday morning, according to the latest update by the Maryland State Board of Elections at 9:16pm on Monday night. David Blair (42,705, 39.33%) holds a lead of 134 votes over Marc Elrich (42,571, 39.20%). David Blair led by 1,191 votes when early voting and Election Day votes were tallied, and has received 13,351 mail-in/provisional ballot votes compared to 14,543 for Marc Elrich. Marc Elrich defeated David Blair by just 77 votes in 2018.

In a presser, @DrZ_ElectionNut
provided some numbers on the count… keep in mind these are all ballots, not just Democratic…
1) 30,218 ballots have been canvassed and sent to state board to post vote results
2) 32,312 mail-in ballots through USPS (more on that in a bit) 🧵

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Restaurant

Miller’s Ale House Closing Date Update (September 25)

By MCS Staff

Last week we spoke with a manager at the restaurant who was able to confirm that Miller’s Ale House will be closing permanently in August, but the date has since been updated to September 25th. The restaurant closes after approximately 10 years at 1471 Rockville Pike in Rockville.

The location was previously home to Hooters before it moved across the Pike (and later closed) and Shakey’s before that. Miller’s Ale House is a Florida-based American restaurant and sports bar chain that was founded in 1988. The restaurant serves steaks, chicken, burgers, salads, seafood, and more. Though most of their locations are in Florida (over 50), there are over 30 other locations open across the east coast. Miller’s Ale House has nearby locations in Hyattsville and Sterling, VA locations.

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Maryland

Mobile Sports Betting Moves One Step Closer in MD

By MCS Staff

The Sports Wagering Application Review Commission (SWARC) voted Wednesday to approve a set of draft regulations and application forms for prospective mobile and Class B facility sportsbook operators, according to a BizJournals report. The drafts will head next to the Maryland General Assembly’s Joint Committee on Administrative, Executive and Legislative Review for emergency approval.

Per Gaming Today, “SWARC hopes to have a decision from the state legislative administrative rules committee by the next scheduled SWARC meeting on Aug. 17. That will start the clock on a public comment period (which is typically 30 days), and move the emergency rules toward final approval. That said, a mobile launch by NFL kickoff on Sept. 8 looks unlikely.”

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MoCo Government

Montgomery County Minority Health Initiatives Seek to Raise Awareness of the Importance of Mental Health Through Storytelling and Community Activities

By Patrick Herron

County residents who identify as Asian American or Pacific Islander, African American/Black or Hispanic are encouraged to share their stories at  Minority Voices- Personal Stories. Multiple languages are available by clicking on the drop-down menu at the top of the page.  The stories will be collected through Aug.19.

The stories will be combined into a report to highlight both similar and unique challenges in mental health across minority groups.

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White Oak

Update: Detectives Investigate New Hampshire Avenue Fatal Collision; Victim’s Name Released

By Patrick Herron

The preliminary investigation by detectives has determined that a white 2006 Chevrolet Express 2500 was traveling on northbound New Hampshire Ave., when for reasons still under investigation, he crossed the median and struck a blue 2008 Toyota Corolla in the southbound lane. The Corolla was then struck by a Metrobus traveling southbound. The driver of the Corolla and the driver of the Metrobus were transported to an area hospital with minor injuries. The driver of the Express 2500, Ovidio Aroldo Gonzalez Cortez, was pronounced dead on scene.

The Montgomery County Department of Police Collision Reconstruction Unit continues to investigate this collision. Anyone with information regarding this collision is asked to contact CRU detectives at 240-773-6620.

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Derwood

Detectives Investigate Armed Robbery of 7-Eleven; Surveillance Video Released

By Patrick Herron

At approximately 3:15 p.m., 1st District officers responded the 15800 block of Frederick Rd.  (Derwood) for the report of an armed robbery that just occurred.

The investigation by detectives determined that the unknown male suspect entered the 7-Eleven, went behind the counter and demanded that the victim give him property. The suspect then charged at the victim with a set of pliers and began to punch the victim. The suspect stole property before running out of the store.

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MoCo Government

David Blair Narrows Marc Elrich’s Lead to 141 Votes in Latest Update By State Board of Elections

By MCS Staff

As mail-In/provisional ballots are counted in the Democratic primary for Montgomery County Executive, David Blair has closed the gap and now trails incumbent Marc Elrich by just 141 votes after tailing by 276 votes on Saturday night, according to the latest update by the Maryland State Board of Elections at 9:39am on Sunday morning.  Marc Elrich (39,117, 39.30%) holds a lead of 276 votes over David Blair (38,976, 39.16%). David Blair led by 1,191 votes when early voting and Election Day votes were tallied, but has received 9,622 mail-in/provisional ballot votes compared to 11,089 for Marc Elrich. Marc Elrich defeated David Blair by just 77 votes in 2018.

Approximately 115,000 mail-in ballots were sent to voters in Montgomery County. According the State Board of Elections, there were 25,453 Democratic mail-in ballots received by the county when polls closed (all ballot drop off boxes were also  locked shut on Tuesday at 8pm). Ballots are still coming in via the mail and will be counted as long as the envelope was postmarked by July 19 and arrives by July 29. A final result could take days due to how close the race is and the amount of ballots left to count.

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MoCoSnow

Slight Risk of Severe Weather as Cold Front Pushes Through Region Monday Evening

By MCS Staff

Coming off of the hottest day of the year, we are experiencing another hot one as the July heat wave ends. Temperatures should reach approximately 90 degrees for most later on Monday afternoon before a cold front brings the chance of sever weather in the form of thunderstorms later this evening. According to the National Weather Service, “A cold front will push through the region today bringing showers and thunderstorms to the region. A few storms may become severe, bringing damaging wind gusts and heavy rainfall.”

As the day goes on, chances of showers increase this evening, with the greater chance for thunderstorms coming this evening around 7pm and into the early night. Highs tomorrow will be in the low 80s, which will be a  welcomed break from the 90+ degree weather for many in the area. Temperatures are expected to remain pleasant and in the 80s for the rest of the week, including the weekend. August looks to be coming in warm, with temperatures approaching 90 degrees, but we are still about a week or so away.

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Education

Maryland Ranks 5th in List of “2022’s Best School Systems”

By MCS Staff

With the gaps in test scores between low-poverty and high-poverty elementary schools growing by 15% to 20% during the COVID-19 pandemic, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2022’s States with the Best & Worst School Systems.  Maryland was ranked 5th overall, including bring ranked 7th in “Quality” and 6th in “Safety”. In order to determine the best school systems in America, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 32 key measures of quality and safety. The data set ranges from pupil-teacher ratio and dropout rate to median standardized-test scores.

Quality & Safety of Schools in Maryland (1=Best; 25=Avg.):

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