MoCo

Per Montgomery County: Montgomery County this week released its annual report for the Vision Zero Initiative to end serious and fatal crashes on roadways by 2030. The Fiscal Year 2022 report details progress made on 114 tasks and projects that were undertaken during the year. The report was released at a ribbon cutting for Phase 1 of the Bethesda Bikeway at Woodmont Avenue. The bikeway has pavement separated from the roadway which will make that section of Bethesda safer for bicyclists. The complete FY22 Vision Zero annual report can be found on the County’s Vision Zero website.

“We need our streets to work for everyone whether walking, biking, using an assistive device or driving. That is why I have continued to increase funding for our traffic safety projects,” said County Executive Marc Elrich. “In FY22, we spent $101.5 million on Vision Zero and this year I have increased the budget by 23 percent to $123.1 million. We can make our Vision Zero goal a reality through these projects, campaigns and with your help. Keep yourself and everyone on the road safe by putting your phone away while driving, obeying the speed limit, buckling up for every trip and every seat and never drive impaired.”

Per Montgomery County: The Montgomery County Council voted unanimously today to pass Bill 13-22, Buildings – Comprehensive Building Decarbonization, which will require the County Executive to issue all-electric building standards for new construction by Dec. 31, 2026.  The legislation, introduced by Councilmember Hans Riemer and cosponsored by Councilmember Will Jawando, is the first of its kind in Maryland. 

“This legislation, combined with cleaning up the electricity grid and retrofitting existing buildings, will bend the curve on emissions from our building sector, which produce over 50 percent of our total emissions,” said Councilmember Riemer. “Fully electric buildings are less costly to operate over the life cycle of the building and healthier for indoor air quality since they do not produce carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxide as byproducts, pollutants that have been shown to contribute to asthma in children and disproportionately affect communities of color. Montgomery County will now be a national leader in the push for electrification as a solution for climate change.”

Per Montgomery County: Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich, the County’s regional services offices and community partners are hosting hybrid forums in November and December to seek input on the Fiscal Year 2024 Operating Budget. The next forum, emphasizing priorities of the senior community, will be conducted from 2-3:30 p.m. TODAY, Monday, Nov. 28, at Leisure World in Silver Spring. The forum at Leisure World is open in-person only to Leisure World residents. However, it can be viewed by anyone who registers for internet viewing. In addition, there will be a live, in-person satellite broadcast shown at the North Potomac Senior Center, which is located at 13850 Travilah Rd. in Rockville. Residents can attend most forums in person or view them via the internet.

The forum scheduled for 7-8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 29, at the Chinese Culture and Community Service Center, Inc. in Gaithersburg will be conducted in Chinese. The County is in the early stages of formulating the FY24 operating budget. County Executive Elrich is required to submit a recommended budget to the County Council by March 15. The Council will then have two months to review the budget. It must adopt a final budget no later than June 1. The FY24 operating budget will go into effect on July 1.

A full list of upcoming public hearings is available at https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/council/calendar.html.

Additional documents are available at www.montgomerycountymd.gov/council.

Per Montgomery County: Montgomery County’s Asian American Health Initiative(AAHI), one of the three minority health initiatives that are part of the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services, has awarded 10 local organizations a total of $830,000 from their Healthy Communities Fund. The funding will be used to develop new and sustain existing culturally and linguistically appropriate programs and services in behavioral health, senior wellness and health and social support services for the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities.

 AAPI communities are very diverse and have unique challenges collectively and individually. With 15 different Asian American subgroups in the community, and unique needs in each subgroup, programing must be tailored for each subgroup with consideration to the language and culture of the population being served.