Montgomery Community Media

September is National Preparedness Month and Montgomery County’s Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security is urging residents to prepare for the possibility of a second coronavirus wave. It was only a couple of months ago that people around Montgomery County were struggling to find basic household items like toilet, paper towels, bleach, and more. […]

On Tuesday the Montgomery County Council approved $10 million in appropriations for Montgomery County hospitals to help address COVID-19 emergency measures, according to a press release from the council. In order to prepare for additional COVID-19 cases in Montgomery County as well as in the state of Maryland, local hospitals need to increase the number […]

Report Storm Damage Online to Montgomery County’s Damage Assessment Portal Flooding from last Monday’s storm caused damage to numerous homes and businesses in Montgomery County. Now, the county is asking residents and businesses to report their storm damage. Thursday, the county provided an online damage assessment portal for residents and businesses to submit a report […]

Grants totaling $200,000 have been approved for security purposes at some local faith-based facilities throughout Montgomery County, according to officials. Director of the Montgomery County Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security, Earl Stoddard, said the funding will go toward those who have experienced hate crimes, or who are at risk of becoming possible targets. […]

As Hurricane Irma lumbers through Florida, Montgomery County emergency officials are watching its track and thinking about how it could affect the region. “It’s traveling fairly slow. It’s churning across for a long period of time now so we’ve had a long period of time to watch and pay attention,” said Earl Stoddard, director of […]

The tragic loss of seven lives in Silver Spring  continues to teach Montgomery County officials lessons about what to do when a catastrophe strikes. An auditor’s report in February made 14 recommendations based on what was learned from the deadly natural gas explosion last August 10 at the Flower Branch Apartments. MyMCMedia’s Phyllis Armstrong reports […]

The bombing at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester brought home a central lesson about security that reaches across the Atlantic to Montgomery County: “We can build concentric circles around our soft targets, our airports … and at some point, the security barriers end.” Those are the words of Dr. Earl Stoddard, ‎director of the […]