Maryland

Less Than a Year Left to Get Your REAL ID

By MCS Staff

If you haven’t gotten your REAL ID yet, you have less than a year as enforcement of the REAL ID Act at the card level begins on May 3, 2023​ (Maryland has been Real ID compliant since 2011). On May 3, 2023, U.S. travelers must be REAL ID compliant to board domestic flights and access certain federal facilities.

The REAL ID Act is a federal law passed by Congress after Sept. 11, 2001, that establishes specific minimum federal standards for state-issued driver’s licenses and ID cards to be accepted for certain federal purposes, like entering a federal building or boarding a domestic commercial flight.

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Downtown Silver Spring

Pride in the Plaza to Take Place the Week of June 20th

By MCS Staff

Pride in the Plaza will take place the week of June 20th in Downtown Silver Spring and beyond. Per the event listing, it is a “week-long celebration of Montgomery County’s beautiful, diverse LGBTQ+ communities.” All events are free of charge unless a suggested donation is indicated. Some are listed below and the rest can be found on the Pride in the Plaza website.

Pride on the Field Friday, June 24, 2022 | 12:00 PM – 4:30 PM at the White Oak Recreation Center

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MoCo History

Honoring my heritage: How Montgomery Planning’s Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Project brought me closer to my family

By MCS Staff

Montgomery County’s first AAPI Heritage Project is examining the history of AAPI county residents as early as the 1900s By Karen Yee, published on MontgomeryPlanning’s Department Blog

Of the 86,000 sites listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the nation’s repository of historic structures, sites, buildings, districts and objects that are deemed significant to American history, less than 8% relate to Asian Americans and other underrepresented communities. In Montgomery County, where 15% of residents are Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI), there is only one locally designated resource associated with AAPI heritage, the Pao-Chi and Yu Ming Pien House. Even this house was only recently recognized—it is located within the Potomac Overlook Historic District, designated in April 2022. In order to address this disparity, Montgomery Planning’s Historic Preservation Office applied for and was awarded a non-capital grant by the Maryland Historical Trust in 2021 to identify historical and cultural resources associated with AAPI communities in Montgomery County.

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MoCoSnow

Beautiful Week Ahead After Cold and Rainy Weekend

By MCS Staff

Coming off of a weekend of high temperatures in the low 50s, a steady and chilly rain, and Flood Warnings, many of us will appreciate today’s 65° and sunny more than usual. While we’ll still be about 10° cooler than our average high in the month of May, today will feel a lot warmer than the last two days did with the “RealFeel” at about 73°. Temperatures are expected to climb throughout the week with no rain currently in the forecast until next weekend aside from a slight chance on Thursday or Friday.

Tuesday is expected to be another pleasant day with temperatures reaching the upper 60s and feeling like the mid 70s. Wednesday should bring high temps back into the low 70s with the “RealFeel”pushing 80°. Thursday and Friday should be a couple degrees warmer with a slightly elevated chance or rain (about 25% as of now) and more rain seems to be in the forecast this upcoming weekend, but temperatures arguing to be 20-25° warmer than this past weekend so it won’t be as miserable.

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Gaithersburg

Family Hoping for Mother’s Day Miracle Searching for Their Daughter and Sister After Nearly 7 Years

By MCS Staff

In August of 2015, Kathy Pereira was enjoying a busy summer. The 15-year-old girl had just returned home to Gaithersburg, Maryland after spending the season visiting her grandparents in Lisbon, Portugal. Shortly after her return stateside, Kathy and her family took a trip down to Virginia Beach to spend time together on the shore.

“We came back from the beach and she was talking about all these goals, about going to college and what she wanted to study,” said Lillian Pereira, Kathy’s mother. “She wanted to study Business, and get her Masters in Portugal.”

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Silver Spring

‘Feeding Our Community: How Shepherd’s Table Provides Over 100,000 Meals A Year’ Will Be Focus of Virtual Forum on Monday, May 9

By Patrick Herron

The forum is being presented by Silver Spring Town Center, Inc. To view the forum, go to Meeting Registration – Zoom.

The mission of Shepherd’s Table’s is to improve quality of life, create a pathway toward self-sufficiency and inspire hope for the most vulnerable experiencing food insecurity, homelessness and poverty. It provides meals and access to social services, provided with compassion and respect.

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Restaurant

MCFRS Respond to Fire at Rockville Restaurant Sunday Morning

By Patrick Herron

Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services responded to a fire at Eerkin’s Uyghur Cuisine at 1701 Rockville Pike # B1 in Rockville on Sunday morning around around 10am.  First responders arrived to the sprinkler/warer flow alarm going off and smoke coming from building.  According to Chief Spokesperson for MCFRS, the fire was located in the kitchen and has been put out. There were no injures reported and the building inspector and health department have been requested.

Update – Rockville Pike, commercial restaurant, fire in kitchen of restaurant, fire knocked down, checking for extension, @mcfrs E723, AT723, PE703B, PE721, PE726, E705, AT703, RS703, A723, BC702, BC704, RS742, AT718, M723, PE720, SA700, C703G/H on scene https://t.co/QT2ZO9YkdZ

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North Bethesda

Two MoCo Restaurants Top Eater’s ’15 Hottest New Restaurants Around D.C.’ List (May Edition)

By MCS Staff

Two Montgomery County restaurants (the only ones on the list) took the #1 and #2 spots in the latest Eater DC list, for the second month in a row. The “15 Hottest New Restaurants Around D.C.” points diners toward the 15 most intriguing or otherwise buzzworthy new restaurants in the D.C. area. Last month two Montgomery County restaurants topped the list, EKO House (Rockville) and Planta (Bethesda). This month, EKO House remains ranked #1 on the list and Hello Betty (Pike & Rose) joins the list at #2. Below you’ll see the description for each:

EKO House (150 Gibbs St Rockville)

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MDLottery

Plenty of MD Lottery Winners in MoCo the Last Couple Weeks

By MCS Staff

Each week, Maryland Lottery releases the locations and amounts of “big winners” in the state. Below you’ll see the Montgomery County winners of various games offered through MD Lottery in the last couple weeks.

A Gaithersburg Man Won $100,000 On Scratch-Off Ticket He Bought in Poolesville. The fun story behind that can be seen here.

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Takoma Park

Man Takes a Day Off Work, Wins $100,000 on Scratch-Off He Bought In MoCo

By MCS Staff

Also celebrating in this win is the lucky retailer located at 7669 New Hampshire Avenue in Montgomery County. For selling the $100,000 top prize-winning Power 10s instant ticket, TJ Beer, Wine & Liquor will receive a $1,000 bonus from the Lottery.

Featured photo courtesy of Google Maps.

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Crime

MS-13 Gang Member Sentenced to Life in Prison for Racketeering Conspiracy Involving Multiple Murders

By MCS Staff

Per the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Maryland: Chief U.S. District Judge James K. Bredar today sentenced Oscar Armando Sorto Romero, a/k/a “Lobo,” age 23, to life in federal prison for a racketeering conspiracy and for racketeering, as well as related violent crimes in aid of racketeering, including two murders, connected to his participation in La Mara Salvatrucha, a transnational criminal enterprise also known as MS-13.  On January 24, 2022, a federal jury convicted Sorto Romero of the racketeering charges, along with co-defendants Jose Joya Parada, a/k/a “Calmado,” age 21, Milton Portillo-Rodriguez, a/k/a “Little Gangster,” age 26; and Juan Carlos Sandoval-Rodriguez, a/k/a “Picaro,” age 24, after a three-month trial.  Portillo-Rodriguez and Sandoval-Rodriguez were also convicted of multiple counts of murder in aid of racketeering.

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; Acting Special Agent in Charge Selwyn Smith of Homeland Security Investigations, Baltimore Office; Chief Jason Lando of the Frederick City Police Department; Frederick County Sheriff Charles A. “Chuck” Jenkins; Frederick County State’s Attorney J. Charles Smith, III; Chief Amal E. Awad of the Anne Arundel County Police Department; Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney Anne Colt Leitess; Chief Malik Aziz of the Prince George’s County Police Department; Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Aisha Braveboy; Chief Marcus Jones of the Montgomery County Police Department; and Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy.

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