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Homelessness drops 26% from 2025 to 2026 in Montgomery County
▲ 34 r/MontgomeryCountyMD

Homelessness drops 26% from 2025 to 2026 in Montgomery County

The number of people experiencing homelessness in Montgomery County dropped by 26% compared to the same time last year, according to a regional homelessness report released Wednesday by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments.

“This year, we clearly could see we made progress in housing families,” Christine Hong, chief of the county’s Services to End and Prevent Homelessness, told Bethesda Today on Wednesday. According to the report, the county saw a 47% reduction in the number of people in families experiencing homelessness.

From 2025 to 2026, the number of reported unhoused people decreased by 390 people from 1,510 to 1,120, according to the report, the largest recorded drop in the region. Other neighboring jurisdictions, including the District of Columbia, Loudoun County in Virginia and Prince George’s County, reported increases of 4%, 25% and 29%, respectively, from 2025 to 2026, according to the report.

Data analyzed in the report was collected by the Council of Governments as part of the county’s annual point-in-time homelessness survey on Feb. 4. The survey, which aims to provide a snapshot of the number of people experiencing homelessness on one given night, is typically scheduled for the last week in January. The survey was delayed this year following winter storm Fern, which dropped about a foot of snow and a thick layer of ice across the region, creating hazardous travel conditions, the report said.

Continue reading the article here.

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u/Bethesda_Magazine — 8 days ago
▲ 30 r/MontgomeryCountyMD

Police prepared to ramp up summer patrols at Wheaton mall after stabbing, assault

Following two high-profile incidents at Westfield Wheaton mall involving groups of teenagers, Montgomery County police in the Wheaton area are prepared to increase high-visibility patrols at the mall through the summer when needed, according to Fourth District Commander David Smith.

“We’re always aware that this is a high-impact location. There’s a lot of youth that like to congregate” at the mall, Smith said. “Sometimes that leads to different events, so we want to make sure we get out in front of it.”

Smith noted that his police team’s presence is generally “pretty robust” at the mall, but if they see an increased need or similar incidents, the team would adjust resources. Each week, Smith’s police team examines crime trends and cases to determine where to deploy additional patrol or use other resources. He said his team plans to keep an eye on any similar crime trends when students are out for the summer.

County police confirmed to Bethesda Today last week that 12 teenagers have been arrested in connection with the Feb. 4 stabbing of one teen and the March 16 assault of another.

Continue reading the article here.

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u/Bethesda_Magazine — 10 days ago
▲ 30 r/MontgomeryCountyMD

‘Please don’t do this’: MCPS chief outlines potential position cuts

In an email to Montgomery County Council members Tuesday morning, Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) Superintendent Thomas Taylor outlined potential position cuts – amounting to at least 263 full-time equivalent potential reductions – if the council doesn’t provide the full budget proposal from the Montgomery County school board. 

“I implore – please don’t do this,” Taylor said in the email to County Council, school board and union officials that was provided to Bethesda Today. “Not only will significant reductions negatively impact hundreds of County employees who live, work, and pay taxes here, but significant reductions to our funding request will have a substantial impact on the services that those hard working teammates provide. … This will take years to repair.”  

The email to councilmembers comes after a May 6 council meeting where Taylor said that the district would likely have to reopen union contract negotiations or cut positions if the council does not provide the full amount of money the school board requested.  

“Can the school system live without 900 or 1,000 employees and still provide the services that it provides today? Most certainly not,” Taylor said at the meeting. “So that would be forcing the hand of the Board of Education to examine reopening employee agreements with our labor associations.”  

Continue reading the article here.

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u/Bethesda_Magazine — 10 days ago
▲ 6 r/MontgomeryCountyMD

From pupusas to coffee flights, 24 eateries offer deals during Wheaton-Kensington Restaurant Week

Twenty-four restaurants showcasing a diverse range of cuisines from countries including El Salvador, Nicaragua, Mexico, Haiti, Nepal and Italy, are participating in the Wheaton-Kensington Restaurant Week, which runs through Sunday.

“This is where culture and community come alive,” County Council President Natali Fani-González said in a county news release promoting the event. Fani-González and the Wheaton Urban District Advisory Committee are hosting the event for the second year. The eateries will offer prix fixe menus and promotions throughout the week, according to the news release.

Fani-González said the event aims to promote support for the area’s small businesses and encouraged residents to participate and explore new eateries and cuisines.

“When you dine here, you’re investing in our community,” Fani-González added.

Continue reading the article at the link.

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u/Bethesda_Magazine — 11 days ago
▲ 38 r/MontgomeryCountyMD

In straw vote, divided County Council supports progressive income tax structure

The Montgomery County Council appears inclined to adopt a progressive income tax structure for next fiscal year, forgoing revenue it plans to offset by eliminating a $692 tax credit against some homeowners’ property tax bills. 

In a 6-5 straw vote on Friday, Council President Natali Fani-González (D-Dist. 6), Vice President Marilyn Balcombe (D-Dist. 2) and Councilmembers Sidney Katz (D-Dist. 3), Kate Stewart (D-Dist. 4), Dawn Luedtke (D-Dist. 7) and Shebra Evans (D-At-large) supported a proposal to raise the income tax rate for those making more than $150,001 annually. 

The straw vote comes as the council continues to tinker with County Executive Marc Elrich’s proposed operating budget for fiscal year 2027, which councilmembers have broadly criticized for its reliance on tax increases and use of reserves to fund expenses. 

Currently, the county has a uniform income tax rate of 3.2%. Elrich (D) in March proposed increasing the rate to 3.3% — the maximum allowed under state law. Elrich also proposed a 6% increase to the property tax rate, which most councilmembers have now indicated they will not support. 

Continue reading the article here.

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u/Bethesda_Magazine — 14 days ago
▲ 19 r/MontgomeryCountyMD

The Supreme Court of Maryland has found Montgomery County does not have the authority under state law to prohibit wear-and-carry permit holders from bringing guns within 100 yards of certain public places, according to an April 28 opinion. 

The case before the state’s highest court, Engage Armament LLC, et al. v. Montgomery County, Maryland, centered on a series of county law changes aimed at cracking down on gun violence. It now heads back to the Montgomery County Circuit Court in Rockville for further proceedings in accordance with the state Supreme Court’s opinion. 

Mark Pennak, president and counsel for the gun rights group Maryland Shall Issue, told Bethesda Today in a Friday interview that the county law changes at issue in the case created thousands of de-facto gun-free zones that “basically made it impossible to carry in the county, because you couldn’t move around with a firearm.” 

“The county has been given authority to do some of that, but they went and way overstepped it, as the court held,” said Pennak, who represented the lead plaintiff before the Maryland Supreme Court. “We regard the opinion basically as a win.” 

Continue reading the article here.

u/Bethesda_Magazine — 17 days ago
▲ 7 r/MontgomeryCountyMD

It’s 10 a.m. inside Commas Food Hall in downtown Silver Spring, but the owners of Tato’s are already thinking beyond the lunch rush—and beyond a single location.

Cristian Saucedo and Victor Nava, co-founders of the fast-casual concept built around loaded baked potatoes, saw opportunity in a model that has reshaped how restaurants are launched, tested and scaled. What began as an idea for a food truck has quickly grown into something larger: two locations in less than a year, with plans for more.

“I was just here, walking in the mall, and saw the space was getting new tenants. We decided to give it a shot,” Saucedo told Bethesda Today in a April 21interview about their entry into the food hall that opened in late September in downtown Silver Spring’s Ellsworth Place mall.

The gamble has paid off. Tato’s now operates a second location at Westfield Montgomery mall in Bethesda, which opened just two and a half months ago—an expansion made possible, the founders say, by the flexibility and lower barriers of the food hall model.

Continue reading the article here.

u/Bethesda_Magazine — 17 days ago
▲ 39 r/MontgomeryCountyMD

Susan Limb, co-owner of Praline Bakery & Bistro in Bethesda, says she was used to dismissing scam phone calls, but the call that purportedly came from her bank on April 16 felt different. 

So she responded – and ultimately ended up losing $24,000 of the bakery’s funds to a sophisticated phone “spoofing” scam.

“For a small business like this, $24,000 is huge,” Limb told Bethesda Today in a Friday phone interview. “We’re already dealing with rising costs. This just made everything harder.”

The loss of the money used for payroll has created a financial hardship – and resulted in an outpouring of public support for the bakery, which has operated at 4611 Sangamore Road for 20 years. A GoFundMe campaign launched by Limb’s daughter to help offset the loss had raised more than $21,800 as of Friday afternoon.

Limb said she initially dismissed the call allegedly from her bank as just another scam attempt. But this time felt different. The caller ID matched her bank’s official number, and the person on the line spoke confidently, guiding her step by step through the bank’s website to “verify” his legitimacy.

Continue reading the article here.

u/Bethesda_Magazine — 18 days ago
▲ 1 r/MontgomeryCountyMD

The Montgomery County school board voted on Thursday to add instructional days in November and December during the 2026-2027 academic year after a community survey indicated that the alternative—starting the calendar five days earlier—was a less popular choice. 

“There’s no perfect calendar,” Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) Superintendent Thomas Taylor told the board at the Thursday meeting. “One of the things that surfaced in feedback was the idea of looking at an earlier start, but not one with such short notice. … We agree that that that it’s a little too late to make those kind of changes.” 

The 2026-2027 school year is set to begin Aug. 25 with a transition day on Aug. 24, aligning with a previous December decision to begin the school year on Aug. 25. The last day of school is schedule to be an early release day on June 11.  

The district will add three instructional days – Nov. 9, which was a non-instructional day in observance of Diwali; an early release day on Nov. 25, which was previously a school closure prior to Thanksgiving; and an early release day on Dec. 23, another previously scheduled closure due to winter break. 

Continue reading the article here.

u/Bethesda_Magazine — 18 days ago
▲ 33 r/MontgomeryCountyMD

A man is dead after a Friday morning collision between a vehicle and an empty Ride On bus in Gaithersburg, which resulted in the closure of Midcounty Highway and Goshen Road, according to Montgomery County police.  

Officers and Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service (MCFRS) crews were dispatched to the area near the intersection of Midcounty Highway and Goshen Road in Gaithersburg at about 4:45 a.m. Friday morning for the report of a collision with a vehicle and Ride On bus, police said Friday. 

When responders arrived, they found a man who was pronounced dead on scene. The driver of the Ride On bus, which had no passengers, didn’t report any injuries and remained on scene, police said. MCFRS spokesperson Pete Piringer said on social media that the collision involved entrapment.  

County police told Bethesda Today over email Thursday that the man who died was the driver of the vehicle and there was an additional passenger in the car who was transported to a local hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.  

Continue reading the story here.

u/Bethesda_Magazine — 21 days ago