Make sure to read the FAQ on the website for important information regarding accessibility, clothing and shoe requirements, and parking and weather advisories. You can also buy tickets on there, of course. Also, if you are a traditional hayride fanatic, be forewarned that the separate Haunted Hayride attraction is not simply a standard hayride. You will explore the haunted Leech cemetery on foot, in between your rides out and back from that burial plot. There are fire pits in the village over which you can keep warm, and/or heat up s'mores from kits you can buy. In past years, there have been fortune tellers, merch to immortalize your survival, carnival games, axe throwing, and more in that spooky yet quaint village area. And there are plenty of "characters" to keep you diverted while you wait to enter the trail.
The founders of this attraction have wisely grounded the haunts in a chilling story inspired by the original inhabitants of the property, the Leech family, who met a grisly demise at the hands of truly demented people...or something else...during the brutal Maryland winter of 1804. Suffice it to say, there's enough negative energy on-site to overload your ghost radar and EMF meter. No wonder so many who have survived their trek on the Leech Woods Haunted Trail have reported getting quite a scare in their 5-star Yelp, and 4.7-star Google reviews.
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| An unhoused person sleeps in the doorway of the vacant former Sir Walter Raleigh Inn in Bethesda |
The report was based on a survey of Washington Metropolitan Area residents conducted this spring. Most of Montgomery County's population growth in recent years has been in the low-income range. Meanwhile, the County has failed to generate high-wage jobs, and has not attracted a single new major corporate headquarters in over 25 years. The moribund economy and inflated food prices have been a devastating combination for many. Those who once turned to dollar menus at fast food restaurants to get by can no longer do so, as inflation and imposition of high minimum wages in that industry have had the desired effect of those policies' architects, to force low-income and working class residents to turn to government and non-profits for sustenance.
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| The old location right next door at 8525 Georgia Avenue |
While the Council claims the motivation is safety, their own internal numbers show that during the period studied from 2021 to 2022, the total number of injurious and fatal crashes increased despite the mass deployment of such ticketing cameras countywide up to that point. The County's economy has been moribund for most of this century, and the flight of the rich to lower tax jurisdictions in the area has robbed the County's coffers of huge chunks of revenue that it previously enjoyed.
At the same time, the Council has passed numerous tax cuts for the developer sugar daddies who fund their campaigns. This has further reduced County revenues, even as the Council has increased spending each year. The Council has found that, so far, County residents have not rebelled at the ballot box regardless of the number or size of the tax increases passed, or additional taxes levied.
As a result, since the last decade, the Council has aggressively begun to shift the tax burden from developers onto the shoulders of residents. They have raised property taxes each year with the exception of FY-2015, in which they allowed a "tax cut" of approximately $12 for the average homeowner. A new energy tax, a massive new "recordation tax" on home sellers, and a new "rain tax" were among the new levies added to what was already the highest tax and fee burden in the Washington, D.C. Metro area.
Speed cameras and red light cameras were also deployed in a concerted effort to raise revenues. Having just passed a new tax cut for developers earlier this year that will cost the County's coffers billions of dollars over the next 20 years, it's no surprise that the Council is desperate to shake their constituents upside down even harder with this massive expansion of the camera program.
Using traffic enforcement ticketing as a revenue source has been shown to be one of the most-regressive taxation methods. Such tickets - with ever-increasing fine amounts up to $425 per ticket as of October 1 - can be devastating to those on the lower income end of the scale. That fits in line with the energy, rain, cell phone, and recordation taxes, all of which are also extremely regressive.
This trend will unsurprisingly continue in Montgomery County, as the Council has grown increasingly confident that there are no political consequences to raising taxes on residents by any amount tried so far. Insiders have reported that Council members have privately referred to residents as "losers" and "suckers" whom they can hit up for almost any new tax or tax hike they can imagine. The Council has dropped more and more taxation anvils onto residents in recent years, and no storied "tax revolt" has materialized.
Instead, the Council has found it has a "green light" to use the same sort of tactics that landed elected officials in Bell, California in prison a little over a decade ago. Like Montgomery officials, the Bell officials passed massive property tax hikes on residents (check), engaged in questionable land deals that were money winners for developers but money losers for taxpayers (check), added new levies such as a "sewer tax" (check), and ordered aggressive traffic ticketing (check), while raising their own salaries to outlandish new heights. Four Bell City Councilmembers and one Bell Mayor were sentenced to prison terms, as were the City Manager and Assistant City Manager.
Harbor Bank has operated branches in the Baltimore area since 1982. One of its foundational missions was to provide services to Black communities that its founders felt were being underserved by the existing banks in Charm City. Harbor Bank is a Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)-designated Minority Depository Institution, and is a minority-owned community bank.
Police describe the suspects only as two Hispanic males in their early twenties. If you can identify either suspect, or have any information that can assist detectives in solving this case, call police at (301) 279-8000.
Two days later, in the early morning hours of September 6, a single male suspect approached an adult male near the intersection of Hewitt and Georgia Avenue. The suspect displayed a weapon, police say, and took property from the victim. Police describe that suspect only as "male."
If you have any information related to these incidents, or can identify any of the suspects, call police at (301) 279-8000.
Kimmel has long been a pugnacious and vitriolic critic of President Donald Trump and his MAGA movement, devoting many minutes of his program to attacks on both nightly. But he has never faced any serious consequences until now, and parent company Disney seemed quite content with Kimmel's shift from a late night comedy show to a hardcore political broadcast that trashed half of his potential viewing audience. What changed?
Nexstar hopes to successfully pull off a merger with Tysons-based Tegna, which would bring more local TV stations into its nationwide portfolio, including local CBS affiliate WUSA 9. Disney and Sinclair may also have potential tie-ups down the road, which would similarly need the approval of a Trump or future GOP administration. As a result, this time they had to show some action on Kimmel's controversial remarks.
Whether Kimmel will actually be canceled by ABC remains to be seen, but his return would certainly risk the ire of Trump. Disney will have to decide if defending the declining career of Kimmel would be worth potentially-major financial consequences for the entertainment giant in the future. Kimmel's ratings have plunged 11% as of the last reporting period, dropping him to third place in his time slot.
The ABC 7 Kirk tribute will be only one of the local events remembering the slain TPUSA founder this weekend. A candlelight prayer vigil for Kirk in Montgomery County is set for this Saturday night in Rockville.
Photo courtesy Salem Media Group
Through investigative efforts, detectives identified Amilio Xavier Hernandez, 18, as one of the suspects. They then obtained an arrest warrant against Hernandez, charging him with armed carjacking and related charges. On Wednesday, September 10, Hernandez was arrested in Hyattsville and transported to the Montgomery County Central Processing Unit, where he is being held without bond.
Anyone with information regarding this crime or the other suspects involved is asked to visit the Crime Solvers of Montgomery County, MD website at www.crimesolversmcmd.org, click on the “Submit a Tip” link, or call 1-866-411-8477. Tips leading to an arrest may be eligible for a reward ranging from $250 to $10,000.
The suspects then attempted to use the keys to steal the victim's vehicle, but were unsuccessful. Police did not indicate what prevented them from taking the car. The suspects then fled the scene.
Police describe the suspects only as three Black males of unknown age. If you have any information that can assist detectives in closing this case, or can identify any of the three suspects, call police at (301) 279-8000.
The victim somehow avoided injury, but his vehicle was struck several times. Detectives obtained an arrest warrant against Osborne, charging him with attempted first-degree murder and related charges.
Osborne is considered armed and dangerous. Police warn that if you see him, you should not attempt to approach or engage him, but to call 911 immediately. Anyone with information regarding this suspect or crime is asked to visit the Crime Solvers of Montgomery County, MD website at www.crimesolversmcmd.org, click on the “Submit a Tip” link, or call 1-866-411-8477. Tips leading to an arrest may be eligible for a reward ranging from $250 to $10,000.
The Oak Barrel & Vine store concept features a large tasting room and event space, a handpicked selection of items with an emphasis on locally-produced products, an improved selection of small format items, a dedicated non-alcoholic products section, queue lines for faster checkout, wayfinding signage, and "enhanced customer accessibility." This new format is designed to rebrand the County's government liquor sales monopoly through the aesthetics of private retail businesses like Total Wine & More, which are banned from operating in Montgomery County.
