East MoCo
Aspen Hill • Bel Pre • Burtonsville • Connecticut Avenue Estates • Four Corners • Glenmont • Hillandale • Kemp Mill • Langley Crossroads • Leisure World • Long Branch • Silver Spring • Wheaton • White Oak • Woodmoor • Takoma Park
Tuesday, August 12, 2025
Assault at Weller Road Elementary School in Silver Spring
Montgomery County police were called to Weller Road Elementary School at 3301 Weller Road in Silver Spring on the evening of August 8, 2025, after someone reported having been the victim of a 2nd-degree assault there. The assault was reported at 7:22 PM last Friday night. It occurred in the parking lot outside the school building.
Monday, August 11, 2025
Montgomery County Council votes to increase impervious surfaces days after new flood risk was revealed
The Montgomery County Council speaks loudly and often about climate change and the environment, but their warmed-over Reaganomics policies betray their true values. This has been revealed once again as the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments has commissioned new flood zone maps that show much more of Montgomery County's land area to be at risk of flash flooding than the standard U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) maps. Several of the areas highlighted on the new maps experienced significant flooding during an unusually-heavy rain event last month. But just four days after MWCOG released its new flood danger maps to elected officials in MoCo and elsewhere in the region, the Montgomery County Council went ahead and approved new zoning rules that will increase the amount of impervious surface area in many of the very neighborhoods identified as now being at high risk of flash flooding.
Under the Reaganesque Thrive 2050/"More Housing N.O.W." zoning text amendment approved by a majority of the Council on July 22, 2025, the allowed increase in impervious surfaces are almost entirely permitted in the downcounty areas like Bethesda and Silver Spring. That is where the greatest flooding risks are located. Despite having access to this new flood danger report and maps on four days earlier on July 18, our "green" County Council bulldozed ahead, and voted to approve a massive increase in impervious surfaces in the very areas at highest risk. Single-family home neighborhoods where houses are currently surrounded by soil and grass lawns will now be open to four-story apartment buildings.
Just in the River Road corridor of Bethesda alone, the properties where the greater impervious surfaces will be allowed are within the flood zones of at least three major streams. Of course, the increased flooding we have already been experiencing in Montgomery County over the last decade is in large part due to the massive development approved this century by the County Council. This is the same reason we have an overpopulation of deer and even wandering bears in the downcounty, as these animals have been forced out of their forests that have fallen to the chainsaws and bulldozers of our supply-side, trickle-down, voodoo economics County Council. The same Council that swears by the Laffer Curve - but only when it applies to their developer sugar daddies.
The reckless decision by the Council could have ramifications in the 2026 elections. Councilmembers Evan Glass and Andrew Friedson voted for the ZTA to increase impervious surfaces in flood danger zones, and they are both running for County Executive. One of their opponents in the Democratic primary is their colleague, Councilmember Will Jawando, who did not vote for the ZTA. Jawando could now use this scandal as another point to differentiate himself from his Reagan Democrat rivals. And Councilmembers running for reelection will have to answer to voters who might raise the topic on the campaign trail, to explain why they voted to put their current and future constituents at greater risk of flood damage and death. Heckuva job, Brownie!
Sunday, August 10, 2025
Purple Line downtown Silver Spring construction update (Video + Photos)
Reporting live from the hellscape of the Purple Line construction zone in downtown Silver Spring. Someday we'll all be aboard the train and saying it was worth it. Right? But for now, here's what Bonifant Street and the area around the Silver Spring Library look like at the moment. You'll also see the library's Purple Line station continuing to take shape.
Saturday, August 9, 2025
Five Guys, Oak Barrel & Vine, Wetzel's Pretzels "coming soon" to Wheaton Plaza
Westfield's Wheaton Plaza mall has posted "coming soon" signage for three of the businesses expected to open in the coming months. The Costco wing has storefront-size signs for expensive burger joint Five Guys, Wetzel's Pretzels, and Montgomery County government liquor monopoly store Oak Barrel & Vine. Don't forget that Burger King is also under construction nearby in the food court.
Friday, August 8, 2025
Charleys Cheesesteaks opening in Four Corners in Silver Spring
Charleys Cheesesteaks and Wings is coming to Four Corners in Silver Spring. The Ohio-based Philly cheesesteak chain is opening a new store at 10125 Colesville Road, at the Woodmoor Shopping Center. That space was previously home to The UPS Store. Construction is anticipated to begin in the coming weeks. This sounds like it will be a popular spot for students at Montgomery Blair High School across the road, and the wings are a bonus, as not every Charleys location offers them.
Thursday, August 7, 2025
Cafe via Roma forced to temporarily close due to Silver Spring Purple Line construction
Cafe via Roma at 911 Bonifant Street in downtown Silver Spring has temporarily closed due to the disruption of the Purple Line light rail construction outside of its doors. The restaurant will be closed until further notice, according to a sign posted in the window, which identifies that construction as the reason for the closure. Businesses in that area between Georgia Avenue and the Silver Spring Library have been among those hit hardest by the barricades and heavy construction activity. Both of the Yelp reviews posted for the restaurant prior to the closure noted the difficulty those patrons had in locating the restaurant, and in finding a nearby parking space, as did six of the twenty-seven Google reviews posted.
Wednesday, August 6, 2025
Who is stealing the motorcycles of Aspen Hill?
If you have a motorcycle in the Aspen Hill area, make sure it's locked down tight. One or more thieves appear to be targeting the two-wheeled vehicles there. One was stolen from the 3000 block of Bel Pre Road between 11:00 PM on July 19, 2025 and 11:00 AM on July 20. Two motorcycles were stolen from the same home in the 4500 block of Falcon Street at 11:50 AM on July 20. Montgomery County police say they recovered one of those bikes on July 22, but did not identify the jurisdiction or location where it was found. If you have information that could assist police, or notice any suspicious activity, call police at (301) 279-8000 - or 911 if it is an emergency.
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