MoCo Government

Rockville, Md., August 24, 2022 — David Blair released the following statement on the 2022 Montgomery County Executive Democratic primary election:

”Today, the Board of Elections certified the recount results of the primary election and my bid for County Executive came up 32 votes short. Earlier today, I called Marc Elrich to wish him the best over the next four years.


Restaurants

According to a representative from the restaurant, Copper Canyon Grill at 928 Ellsworth Dr in Silver Spring has recently begun renovations after a kitchen fire closed the location on July 12.  No official reopening date has been announced. Copper Canyon has additional an MoCo location in Gaithersburg (Rio) and it’s sister restaurant the Stanford Grill has a location in Rockville.

Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services responded to a fire at the restaurant on July 12,  around 8:45am. According to Chief Spokesperson for MCFRS Pete Piringer,  the fire was located in the duct work of the restaurant and there was smoke coming from the roof of the building, above the kitchen.  Around 65 firefighters have responded to the scene. The restaurant posted the following on their Instagram page shortly after the incident:


Education

Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) and the Montgomery County Education Association (MCEA) have both sent emails to employees and members notifying them of an agreement reached on Special Education Incentives. Below is the message from MCPS:

“Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) has been working to ensure that it is fully staffed for the first day of school on Monday, Aug. 29. One of the most significant hiring challenges has been for those who work in special education. Today, the district is announcing that it has reached an agreement with the Montgomery County Education Association (MCEA) on incentives for special education teachers. This agreement was ratified and signed by both parties on Wednesday, Aug. 24.


Gaithersburg

Per the City of Gaithersburg: As part of its strategic plan to enhance environmental sustainability and improve public safety, the City of Gaithersburg has developed a five year project to convert all City-owned street lights from the current high-pressure sodium (HPS) fixtures to the more energy efficient light emitting diode or (LED) fixtures.

LEDs require less maintenance and are more energy efficient, which contributes to a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emission associated with their use. Streetlights are important to the safety of our City, and in addition to being more efficient, LEDs also create a more even spread of light, minimizing bright and dark spots. The light appears brighter and whiter, making it easier than traditional yellow looking HPS lights to identify what’s illuminated below. All the fixtures have a color temperature of no more than 3000k. This reduces the sharpness of the light and is deemed best practice by both the International Dark Sky Association and the American Medical Association. The new light fixture will be similar in style to the existing fixtures.


Bethesda

MacGuffins Bar opened earlier this month inside of AMC Theaters at Montgomery Mall (7101 Democracy Blvd, Bethesda). MacGuffins is AMC’s in-house bar that offers beer, wine, and mixed drinks to moviegoers. According to AMC, “the term “macguffin,” coined by Alfred Hitchcock, refers to a plot device that propels a movie forward. Our specialty cocktails, craft beers and premium wines will be just the thing to turn this movie experience into a story worth remembering.”

Now pouring. Order from MacGuffins Bar in #AMCTheatres and enjoy! pic.twitter.com/AY6cxIolTK


Gaithersburg

“My wife’s winnings were enough for me to buy a game that I had tried a few times with pretty good success,” the 47 year-old construction worker explained to lottery officials. Jose told us that he buys a ticket just about every day when he picks up his wife from work. “It was the VIP CLUB game I had my eye on.  It has a $2 million top prize!”

Scratching his ticket, Jose saw what he thought was a $50 match. “I scanned it, just to be sure and right away saw the $50 prize, followed by a bunch of zeros. It was confusing at first, until I realized that I’d won $50,000.” The Montgomery County couple refused to believe what they were seeing until the clerk confirmed it, which he quickly did. “My wife shouted and jumped up in the air.”


Events

Per Montgomery County Police: President Joe Biden and Dr. Jill Biden are scheduled to visit Richard Montgomery High School on Thursday, August 25, from 4-8 p.m., for a grassroots event. In preparation for the event, please note the following:


Gaithersburg

“We were excited. We were happy and we cried,” she said, recalling that the family members surrounded her after the win. The Montgomery County resident is an online sales associate and her husband is a construction worker. She wants to use the money to start her own business. Her adult daughter works at a hair salon and the “Double Winners” might help the daughter start her own salon. “I plan to help family with this money,” she said. “We might take a few vacations, too.”

Some players might stop playing after winning $1 million, but “Double Winners” said she will continue to seek another trip to the Winner’s Circle at Lottery headquarters. “I will continue to buy scratch-offs,” she said.


Germantown

Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services responded to a fire at the Shisha Lounge (13063 Wisteria Dr.) in Germantown on Tuesday night around 8:45pm.  According to Chief Spokesperson for MCFRS Pete Piringer, Fire Investigators determined that the fire originated in an employee area of lounge where smoking devices and tobacco is cleaned/changed out. A probable cause of the fire is improperly discarded smoking materials.

No injuries were reported and the fire was not large enough to activate sprinkler. Damages are estimated to be around $85K. The business is currently listed as “temporarily closed” on Google and we will post and update when more information becomes available.


Clarksburg

UPDATE: The Clarksburg shows have been postponed indefinitely.

Paranormal Cirque is coming to the Clarksburg Premium Outlets (22705 Clarksburg Rd) from September 8-18th. Paranormal Cirque previously ran at the Montgomery County Fairgrounds in Gaithersburg this past spring.  According to the event’s website, Paranormal Cirque is “a crazy yet fun fusion between Circus, theatre, and cabaret in perfect harmony with the evolution of a show that brings you back to when we dream .….. and when we had nightmares and fantasies. Scare, encompass, amuse and surprise are the ingredients for a mixture of emotions impossible to forget. This is truly a Paranormal experience like no other.” Tickets can be purchased at www.paranormalcirque.com Note: No-one under the age of 13 will be admitted to the show. Guests aged 13 – 17 must be accompanied by an adult.