Baltimore businessman Ed Hale has picked up the endorsement of several prominent Maryland Republicans as the June 23 primary election rapidly approaches. Delegate Kathy Szeliga (R - District 7a) and her district colleague Ryan Nawrocki (R) announced they are backing Hale at a press conference. Nawrocki picked up on one of Hale's signature issues, lowering utility bills, by noting that Governor Wes Moore's electric bill relief plan provides less than $13 a month to ratepayers. "Not even the price of a gumball," Nawrocki said.
Hale has also pulled off something of a coup in earning the endorsement of his biggest primary rival's own 2022 running mate. Gordana Schifanelli ran for lieutenant governor that year on a ticket with Dan Cox, who is running again this year with a different running mate, Rob Krop. Schifanelli not only isn't running alongside Cox this time, but has come out in support of Hale. An attorney from Queen Anne's County, Schifanelli retains a significant statewide following from that high-profile 2022 race and her own independent activism.
At a separate press conference, Schifanelli touted Hale's "wisdom, his experience, his knowledge in business." Referring to Hale's rags-to-riches success story, and the moribund state of the Maryland economy, Schifanelli responded to the biggest critique of Hale by his primary opponents: his recent party switch from Democrat to Republican. "I don't care if he was a Democrat, or if he's a Martian, for that matter, if he has experience to fix this economic disaster," she said. Szeliga also took that attack line head-on, recalling that Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump were once Democrats.
Police are still looking for the other two juveniles, who remain at-large. They are described only as two Black males aged 13-14. Yet another violent crime taking place in broad daylight in Montgomery County, a disturbing recent trend.
Rendering courtesy Branham Sign
The sign is up at Montgomery County's first Hobby Lobby store at 15750 Shady Grove Road at the 270 Center, on the border of Gaithersburg with Rockville. And the window coverings are down, and you know what that means: It's sneak peek time, for our first look at the interior of the County's first Hobby Lobby. All of the shelving and display stands appear to be in place, as well as wayfaring signage. I can see signs at the back wall of the store denoting the adult long sleeve shirts section.
Cash registers are in place and plugged in at the checkouts. They are currently set to Training Mode, as the newly-hired employees prepare for the June 1, 2026 opening date. The big sign above the storefront has only increased the excitement level about Hobby Lobby's imminent arrival. Readers of this blog have known about it since I first broke the story way back last August. But now the many people who don't follow any local news websites are seeing this sign as they drive past. They're pulling into the 270 Center parking lot just to take a closer look. Even the other tenants here are pumped up, as you can imagine the increase in foot traffic Hobby Lobby is going to bring to the 270 Center.
The Montgomery County Council is dropping the hammer on middle class residents in its massive $7.9 billion tax-and-fee-hike FY-2027 budget, which was approved in a 9-2 vote yesterday. Councilmembers Andrew Friedson and Dawn Luedtke were the only two opposed. Facing an ongoing structural budget deficit of its own design, the Council did what it always does - reward its cartel political patrons with taxpayer largesse, protect and preserve reckless spending, raise fees, and deliver a property tax hike. But they weren't done yet! The Council added a massive income tax increase for "rich" residents making...$1 million? $2 million? Billions? No! The new wealth tax will be paid by every County resident making (in Dr. Evil voice) $150,000 or more.
If you are making $150,000 and live in Montgomery County in the year 2026, you are squarely middle class. If you are making $75,000 (the Council's laughably-outdated measure of a Joe Six Pack), you're effectively poor, and maybe getting by paycheck-to-paycheck - if you're lucky. Interestingly, no one in the local press besides me is pointing this reality out. But that's par for the course for our media Fifth Column of fellow travelers.
Affordability? Hah! The Council, which draws itself a $168,000 salary at taxpayer expense each year for their part-time Council "jobs," is once again laughing at you. Yes, this is the same Council who insiders say refer to you, the taxpayers, behind closed doors as "losers" and "suckers." Well, you lost again yesterday, your bank account will lose even more, and you'll be a sucker for sure if you vote to re-elect these incompetent criminals this November.
You're paying double what you were for groceries just six years ago, gas prices are skyrocketing, cars are priced as luxury items now, utility bills are crushing you monthly, and insurance companies are price-gouging you with impunity. What does the Council do to address the affordability crisis? Raise your income tax, raise your property tax, raise the fees you pay, and - get this - eliminate the Income Tax Offset Credit that homeowners were eligible for. That makes two property tax hikes in one budget!
Now, the Council provided its farcical definition of "rich" as those of you making $150,000 and up. Do you know what they consider a lavish mansion? Homes worth $800,000 and up. It's not just their policies that are stuck in the Woodstock era, but their entire grasp on economics. Then again, nobody on the Council went to Yale or Harvard exactly. $800,000 and up? That's basically any home inside the Beltway that's not an as-is fixer-upper, and a huge percentage of homes outside the Beltway.
Think about the federal government workers the Council claimed they were so worried about. A large percentage of those workers are making $150,000 and up. Now they're getting slammed with a double property tax increase, and an income tax hike. You can see that the Council doesn't give a damn about you or your struggles, or about the rest of us private sector taxpayers.
Who does the Council give a damn about?
The Montgomery County cartel that gets them elected, and from whom they take their marching orders. That's the real estate developer oligarchs, the Council-connected "non-profits" who funnel taxpayer funding they receive back to the campaign accounts of councilmembers, and certain labor unions. All got fully funded in this budget. Montgomery County Public Schools got a massive increase in funding, while their enrollment of actual students is dwindling by the year. Make it make sense.
When you think of these synthetic-left councilmembers raising taxes on hardworking middle class residents at a time of financial struggle, think of the oligarchy. Think of the 20-year property tax exemption that the Council provided for their millionaire and billionaire oligarch developer sugar daddies just months ago. It applies to nearly every apartment development, and therefore is robbing the County coffers of billions in revenue. That fiscal impact was already felt this year. Billions going into the pockets of billionaires, instead of schools, police officer hiring, infrastructure, libraries and parks, for at least the next twenty years.
Who will make up for all that lost revenue, and the structural budget deficit the Council itself created earlier this century? Once again, the Council made clear: You, the taxpayer. You, the homeowner. You, the small business owner. You are the loser they mock. And the cartel oligarchs are once again the winners they reward - with your hard-earned income, and your equity and security in the home that was the biggest investment of your life. It turns out the government owned it all along!
Taxes going up, government and elected official salaries going up, traffic camera ticketing going up, and friends of the Council getting rich at the expense of taxpayers - all this happened in Bell, California, and elected officials there went to prison. All this is happening in Montgomery County right now. The County where oligarchs get richer, and their puppets on the Council drop an anvil on the middle class to make sure the numbers work out.
Photo courtesy Whip Clean Car Wash
Montgomery County police responded to a report of an armed robbery at a CVS Pharmacy in Derwood yesterday, May 12, 2026. The robbery took place at the CVS at 17651 Redland Road at 5:35 PM Tuesday. According to police, three suspects entered the store and attempted to shoplift merchandise. When the store manager confronted them, one of the suspects drew a knife and told the manager they would kill him. The three suspects then successfully fled the store with stolen merchandise.
Police have not released descriptions of the suspects. They did not indicate how the three avoided appearing on the many surveillance cameras inside the CVS. This was - yet again - another violent crime taking place during daylight hours, the latest trend in the six year Montgomery County crime wave.
The Tyvek is off the facade at what will soon be Montgomery County's first Hobby Lobby store at 15750 Shady Grove Road on the border of Gaithersburg with Rockville. In its place are red brick and concrete facade treatments. Glass has also been installed, but the new vestibule lobby makes it difficult to see the interior at the moment. The store is scheduled to open on June 1, ten months after I broke the news that MoCo was finally going to get a Hobby Lobby. Let's hope Olive Garden, Texas Roadhouse, Cracker Barrel, and Waffle House can break through the truly-weird Montgomery County Council's obstacles next!
Photo courtesy Exclusive Sports Group
The two suspects then attempted to escape by boarding a Ride On bus. However, the bus was stopped and not immediately departing. The botched escape gave police time to catch up and arrest the two suspects.
I think of this neighborhood as a townhome community without individual driveways, so I am somewhat puzzled by the description of "driveway." Police say the Collision Reconstruction Unit is conducting a full investigation of the incident. The identity of the decedent is being withheld until his relatives have been notified by police.
"WBAL-TV 11 Sports Director is a position defined by history and prestige, and I am deeply honored to step into this role," Gilbert said in a statement this afternoon. "I am especially grateful to [outgoing Sports Director] Gerry Sandusky for his mentorship over the past three decades. From the Ravens and the Orioles to college and high school athletics, sports have a unique way of bringing our communities together. It’s a privilege to share those stories with our viewers every day."
Police have not released a description of the suspect. If you have any information that could assist detectives in closing this case, call police at (301) 279-8000.
The late frost earlier this week that impacted agricultural businesses across several states on the eastern seaboard did not spare Windridge Vineyards in Montgomery County. Windridge announced today that it "suffered one of the most devastating frost events that we have experienced in our history." Temperatures at the Darnestown vineyard dropped to 26 degrees at one point, and were below freezing for over four hours. Despite taking several high-tech measures to reduce the impact on vines, the crop sustained significant frost damage.
Windridge prepared for such an event in advance. Not only in measures to combat the cold, but also for the worst case scenario. To the latter end, the vineyard will fall back on its inventory of library wines to continue to serve customers during the affected period. It does remind one just how precarious life was when our ancestors' food supply could be reduced by the whims of weather and nature. There were no grocery stores or food stamps; your crop was it for the season.
Police have no suspect descriptions at this time. They did not explain how the suspect managed to evade multiple surveillance cameras during the incident. If you have any information that could assist detectives in closing this case, call (301) 279-8000.
The convenience store building at the future Sheetz at 733 S. Frederick Avenue at the Walnut Hill Shopping Center in Gaithersburg is looking a lot closer to a finished product since my last update - at least on the outside. Brick and stone facade treatments are in place where Tyvek was previously. Gaping squares and rectangles are now filled with window glass and doors, the latter already sporting Sheetz logos. And construction is now underway on the canopy that will protect the gas pumps and those pumping them from the elements.
Police describe the suspects only as a male and a female. If you have any information about this incident, call police at (301) 279-8000.
