Montgomery Community Media

Today is Wednesday, Nov. 25 and here are five things to know in Montgomery County: 1. Thanksgiving is Tomorrow: Turkey Day is almost here! Find out what’s open and what’s closed for the holiday. What’s Open, What’s Not on Thanksgiving Weekend in Montgomery County 2. Weekly COVID-19 Media Briefing: County Executive Marc Elrich, County Health Officer […]

The Montgomery County Council’s Government Operations and Fiscal Policy (GO) committee recommended approval of a bill that would prohibit the county’s Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) from outside employment. This would be the only county employee held to this rule, said County Council Senior Legislative Attorney Robert Drummer during Monday’s committee meeting. The recommendation is related […]

AstraZeneca, a multinational pharmaceutical company with a Gaithersburg campus, announced Monday that its COVID-19 vaccine candidate shows a 70% average efficacy rate. The vaccine candidate AZD1222 was administered in two ways. It showed 90% efficacy when it was given as a half dose and followed by a full dose at least one month later, according […]

Update (Nov. 23, 5:30 p.m.): Gov. Larry Hogan did not announce additional restrictions at his 4 p.m. press conference, however he said Maryland State Police will ramp up its COVID-19 compliance enforcement across the state. When asked about Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich’s call to go back to Phase 1 of reopening, Hogan said Elrich […]

The Smithsonian National Zoo announced Monday that its three-month-old giant panda cub has a name: Xiao Qi Ji. Pronounced SHIAU-chi-ji, the Mandarin Chinese name means “little miracle” in English, according to the zoo. Almost 135,000 people voted on a name during the five-day window between Nov. 16-20. The other contenders were: Fu Zai (福仔): prosperous […]

On Thursday, Montgomery County Health Officer Dr. Travis Gayles asked private schools to consider a return to fully-virtual instruction. In a letter, Gayles said a recent surge in COVID-19 cases in the county will make it hard to maintain the current low rate of transmission in schools. He also cited that as of Tuesday, the […]

After a second letter from Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich, State Superintendent Dr. Karen Salmon approved the county’s initially-rejected request asking to continue relaxed teacher-child ratios in early childcare facilities. “Since your first correspondence, we have seen Maryland reporting a seven-day positivity rate of 6.82% and a case rate of 30.9 per 100K,” Salmon said […]

There have been no issues with Montgomery County’s initiative allowing alcohol in certain parts of nine parks, according to the county parks director. “We got quite a bit of public and media attention when we decided to allow alcohol in these areas. I’m very pleased to report despite a lot of concerns, we have had […]

Montgomery County resident use of domestic and sexual violence victim services under the county Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) nearly doubled this year compared to 2019 data. Intakes for the Victim Assistance and Sexual Assault Program (VASAP) and the Abused Persons Program (APP) were 91% higher between Jan.-June 2020 than they were between […]

On June 15, the Montgomery County Council sent a letter to local leaders asking the county to identify all county-owned streets and public facilities that are currently named after Confederate soldiers “or those who otherwise do not reflect Montgomery County values.” The letter calls for a public process to rename the streets and public facilities […]