Purse snatcher at Germantown grocery store

A purse snatching was reported to Montgomery County police in Germantown on Wednesday. The victim's purse was snatched at a grocery store in the 19700 block of Germantown Road around 8:50 PM. There is a Safeway on that block.

Outdoor diners return in Gaithersburg

Outdoor diners are returning after a coronavirus - and winter - hiatus in Gaithersburg. A good size number of people were dining outside in the Kentlands. Lines have returned to their usual length at the popular summer destination of Bruster's Real Ice Cream at 18519 N. Frederick Avenue.

Lakeforest Mall to begin Phase 1 of reopening

Fans of Lakeforest Mall got welcome news from the shuttered Gaithersburg retail destination on Tuesday. The mall was the first in Montgomery County to announce it will begin reopening next Monday, June 15, 2020. Restaurants will be the first tenants to reopen. Outdoor dining will be available Mondays-Saturdays 11:30 AM to 6:30 PM and Sundays 11:30 AM to 5:30 PM.

Lil' Cakes and Creamery reopening today in Gaithersburg

Lil' Cakes and Creamery returns from a coronavirus pandemic hiatus at 488 N. Frederick Avenue in Gaithersburg today. The ice cream and cupcake shop opened last October.

Montgomery County Council's progressive credentials on the line in Defund the Police debate

Day 1 of the Montgomery County Council tackling the nationwide call of progressive activists to Defund the Police found the Council looking out of touch with the moment to some observers. Shortly after Councilmember Andrew Friedson (D - District 1) became the first elected official to publicly state he was reviewing correspondence on the topic, the Council released a public statement about their plans regarding police reform. Their specific 3-point platform of "set a higher standard for use of force by police, outlaw certain deadly tactics such as chokeholds, and require police officers to intervene if a fellow officer is committing a crime or violating department policy," fell flat with many of their progressive constituents.

For a Council that touts itself on the cutting edge of progressive policy, many saw the proposal as being years behind the current hot topic that has arisen out of the nationwide protests in the wake of the George Floyd murder case: defunding or abolishing the police. A Zoom meeting held by several councilmembers later Monday evening was criticized by some for having the formal announced panel dominated by elected and appointed public officials. Meanwhile, residents opposed to defunding the police warned of crime surges, chaos, higher gun sales, and the prospect of fleeing Montgomery County altogether if the Council were to defund the police.

Monday was also a day that some high-level Democrats nationwide began to express second thoughts about the Defund the Police slogan. "Joe Biden does not believe that police should be defunded," a Biden campaign spokesperson said in a statement. Prominent progressives countered that phrases once considered extreme have become mainstream in a short time. "Not long ago, 'Black Lives Matter' was *also* a rallying cry for justice that politicians worried polled too poorly, was too 'divisive' & required 'too much explanation,'" U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D - NY-14) tweeted. "Now Mitt Romney is saying it. Progress is a process. It’s normal to work through discomfort along the way."

It will be interesting to see which way the Council breaks on the issue. Montgomery County has clearly broken far to the left of establishment Democrats like Joe Biden in recent elections. Twitter was not low-volume in providing feedback to the Council on Day 1.

Montgomery County Council weighs defunding the police

A day after the Minneapolis City Council vowed to dissolve its police department, the Montgomery County Council is now examining whether it should "defund the police." Councilmember Andrew Friedson (D - District 1) says the Council has received almost 700 emails from constituents "advocating for defunding police, reforming police, reallocating resources to mental health services, housing initiatives, restorative justice, and more." The Councilman said on Facebook that "[w]e have many important conversations ahead."

The all-Democrat Council has been mostly silent on the nationwide issues of dissolving the police or defunding the police to this point. Progressives in Minneapolis quickly turned against very progressive Mayor Jacob Frey, who has pressed through radical reforms like ending single-family-home neighborhood zoning, when he declined to support the City Council plan to abolish its police department Saturday. With Montgomery County and Maryland veering sharply left in the last decade, it will be interesting to see how the County Council addresses these issues with progressive voters, who are now the decisive factor in Democratic primaries.

First walk across the new Watkins Mill Bridge in Gaithersburg, opening June 10 (Video+Photos)

The brand-new Watkins Mill Bridge over I-270 in Gaithersburg is not yet open to vehicular traffic. But there's nothing stopping pedestrians from using it right now - so I did, and captured this video of the views from Montgomery County's newest bridge! The bridge is expected to officially open on June 10.