Montgomery County Animal Services shelter reaches critical capacity for large dogs

The Montgomery County Animal Services and Adoption Center (MCASAC) is issuing an urgent appeal for community support as the shelter faces an unprecedented space crisis. In a span of just three days—from March 4 to March 6—the facility took in 29 dogs, pushing the total canine population over 100 and exceeding the shelter’s capacity for care. The situation has reached a tipping point, threatening the shelter's long-standing commitment to animal welfare, and avoidance of euthanasia based solely on space limitations.

With dogs arriving faster than staff and volunteers can safely place them, available kennels have become extremely limited. MCASAC is calling on residents who are able to adopt a large dog to visit the shelter as soon as possible. Adoptions are completed on a first-come, first-served basis, and interested individuals should be prepared to take their new pet home the same day. Visitors are asked to bring a leash and collar to facilitate the process.

If you can take a big dog in for a short stay until the crisis is over, residents can join the MCASAC temporary foster program at no cost. The shelter provides all necessary supplies to those willing to open their homes to a large dog temporarily.

Visiting hours at the shelter are 12:00 PM to 7:00 PM Tuesday through Friday, and 12:00 PM to 5:00 PM on Saturdays and Sundays. The shelter is closed on Mondays. MCASAC is located at 7315 Muncaster Mill Road in Derwood.

Operated by the Office of Animal Services, MCASAC is Montgomery County’s only open-admission municipal shelter. It provides 24-hour emergency response and promotes responsible pet care through education and outreach. For more information on the adoption process or to view available animals, visit www.montgomerycountymd.gov/animalservices.

Montgomery County starting work on Hoyles Mill MARC station project in Boyds

The Montgomery County Department of Transportation is making final preparations to begin work on the Hoyles Mill MARC station project. Utilizing land around the Boyds MARC commuter rail station, including the Anderson property the County acquired for this purpose, several upgrades and amenities will be added to the station. These include construction of a new parking lot, a new Ride On bus loop, sidewalks, a shared-use path, and restrooms for bus drivers. The current parking lot has only 15 spaces that typically fill up fast in the morning; the new lot will provide 55 spaces for commuters, as well as new bicycle parking spots.

In addition to the station improvements, the historic Hoyles Mill structure will be stabilized. It is essentially a ruin, but stabilization is needed to insure it doesn't collapse. Montgomery County has received a total of $590,000 in grants from state agencies for this purpose. According to the Library of Congress, much of the mill's sheathing and internal machinery remain intact, and it is one of a few timber-frame mills that remain standing in Montgomery County.

Overall, the goal of the project is to encourage more ridership for MARC from the Germantown and Clarksburg areas. Massive development was allowed in both, but the County Council engaged in a rug pull with new homebuyers who had expected to commute via a new Corridor Cities Transitway rail line, and M-83 Highway. After they purchased their homes, the Council pulled the plug on both projects. The Hoyles Mill MARC station project was approved in 2019, and is only now moving forward.

Maryland Governor candidate Dan Cox proposes property tax limit

Dan Cox, a Republican candidate for Maryland Governor, has proposed placing a limit on property taxes in the state. The proposal would prevent the assessed property value calculated by the state from increasing above the price the current homeowner paid for the house at the time of purchase. Cox's running mate, Rob Krop, announced the platform plank on social media yesterday. "We need to stop taxing families out of their homes," Krop said. 

Three car crash kills one in Damascus

A three-car collision claimed the life of one driver and seriously injured another in Damascus Monday night, March 2, 2026. According to police, the driver of a Toyota Camry was traveling northbound on Ridge Road (Route 27) at a high rate of speed. Just past Sweepstakes Drive, he allegedly struck a Lexus NX350, and was ejected onto the roadway. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The Lexus driver was transported to a local hospital with serious injuries that were not believed to be life-threatening. She was trapped in her vehicle and had to be extricated by first responders. A Ford Fusion was also involved in the collision. Police did not specify the manner in which it became involved, but confirmed that the Fusion driver was uninjured. Another tragic reminder that Montgomery County has failed to build the Damascus Bypass.

CNN host diagnoses an embarrassing Montgomery County Council fiscal problem

CNN host Fareed Zakaria stirred controversy last week when he delivered straight talk on why many jurisdictions like Montgomery County have become simultaneously unaffordable while operating on fiscal thin ice. He mentioned a number of familiar factors, but he articulated a particular problem quite well: The fact that the growth of Montgomery County's budget and spending outstrip every other relevant growth factor from business growth and school enrollment to population growth. We know the County spends way too much, as evidenced by our structural budget deficit and the shocking doubling of the budget's size over just the last decade. But when you compare the lack of growth in these other benchmarks to the steadily ballooning amount of spending, the County Council's reckless budgeting looks truly ridiculous.

For example, looking at the supersizing of the County budget, you would think that Montgomery County was enjoying rapid population growth. But even as the budget has reached one record high after another, MoCo's population has actually been shrinking. The County experienced a net loss of more than 9500 residents between 2020 and 2022, and an additional net domestic migration loss of another 11,153 people between 2022 and 2023. And of course, as we know, the very rich are exiting, and the majority of the people moving in are low-income.

"The arithmetic is brutal," Zakaria said in describing a similar population loss (relative to size) over the same period in New York City. "A larger [tax] bill is divided among fewer payers."

Likewise, the budget of Montgomery County Public Schools has grown to obscene heights, even as enrollment has plummeted this decade. And the more generous the Council is with our taxpayer money toward MCPS, the worse the performance outcomes are. It's literally money flushed down the toilet.

"New York already sits at the extreme end of the American tax spectrum," Zakaria noted. So does Montgomery County, whose residents shoulder the highest total tax and fee burden in the Washington, D.C. region. Incredibly, the County Council is currently proposing to raise property taxes yet again this year, and to massively increase the already-gargantuan real estate recordation tax. Both play a role in the unaffordable housing market. Property taxes have become the equivalent of a second mortgage, and high recordation taxes already dissuade homeowners from selling their properties, reducing supply even further while jacking up prices for struggling buyers. Heckuva job, Brownie!

In Europe, Zakaria adds, the NYC and MoCo-level of extreme taxation earns you perks like "free" healthcare, university education, and "amazing infrastructure." In Montgomery County, you get an unfinished master plan highway system, an unbuilt Potomac River bridge, an unbuilt M-83 Highway, an unbuilt Corridor Cities Transitway rail system, an unbuilt Montrose Parkway East, and no bus service to Damascus on weekends and holidays. Trash collection is down to once a week, and is picked up at the curb, requiring homeowners to do most of the job by hauling bins down to the street and back. Snow from a January storm is still melting on many streets.

Jurisdictions like NYC and Montgomery County, Zakaria concluded, "are out of control, promising more, spending more, delivering less and pushing off the fiscal problems to some future date." And then he dispensed this well-worded diagnosis of a central problem in Montgomery County's "leadership:"

"Unaffordability is what happens when government becomes a machine that grows faster than the society it governs." That is exactly the situation in Montgomery County. In a County that hasn't attracted a single new major corporate headquarters in over 25 years, the only booming growth industry is Montgomery County Government, and the best position to be in is either an elected office chair, or one of the many cronies and crooks in the Montgomery County cartel who receive financial kickbacks of taxpayer funds in the bloated County budget.

Motorcycle stolen from home in Germantown

Montgomery County police responded to a report of a stolen motorcycle in Germantown on February 20, 2026. The motorcycle was stolen from a residential parking lot in the 18200 block of Smoke House Court sometime between 10:00 PM on February 19, and 4:20 AM on February 20, police believe. That is at the Pleasant Fields townhome community off of Mateny Road.

Police say they have no suspect descriptions at this time, and have not released a description of the stolen motorcycle. If you have any information about this incident that could assist detectives in closing this case, call police at (301) 279-8000.

AI firm KnowBe4 chooses Virginia over Maryland for D.C.-area office

Maryland Governor Wes Moore has touted artificial intelligence and quantum computing as "lighthouse industries" he wants to develop in the state, but yet another such firm has chosen Northern Virginia over Montgomery County. Florida-based KnowBe4 was seeking a location in the Washington, D.C. area to advance "the company’s continued investment in the public sector and its commitment to helping government organizations address workforce trust management, AI-enabled threats and evolving national security challenges." After an extensive search process, the firm chose Two Liberty Center at 4075 Wilson Boulevard in the Ballston area of Arlington County.

"KnowBe4’s strategic decision to expand its offices into Arlington, VA is a testament to the enduring strength of Arlington as a key destination for companies seeking top talent and a welcoming business climate," Arlington Economic Development Acting Director Kate Ange said in a statement. "KnowBe4 will benefit from a unique and thriving innovation ecosystem of federal cybersecurity policymakers and thought leaders working collaboratively with private enterprises and research institutions, all in Arlington." Meanwhile, Montgomery County and Maryland officials are on the sidelines again, watching helplessly as Virginia continues to eat our lunch just because the radical Marxist totalitarian-left elected officials on our side of the Potomac can't put their ideology aside for the good of their constituents.

Mark Warner, U.S. Senator from Virginia, participated in a ribbon-cutting at the new Arlington office on February 23 (see photo at top). KnowBe4's focus on human and agentic AI risk management is a topic of news headlines on a daily basis at the moment. Economic development in Montgomery County and Maryland is not. MoCo and Maryland haven't attracted a single new major corporate headquarters in over 25 years. Heckuva job, Brownie!

Photo courtesy KnowBe4

Police called after assault at school in Clarksburg

Montgomery County police were called to a school in Clarksburg Tuesday afternoon, February 24, 2026, after a 2nd-degree assault was reported there. The assault was reported at a school in the 22400 block of Brick Haven Way at 2:55 PM Tuesday. Rocky Hill Middle School is located at 22401 Brick Haven Way.

Maryland should cut taxes now while socialist Virginia crashes out

Moribund Maryland and Montgomery County have an unexpected opportunity to make up lost ground against dominant rival Virginia. Elected officials should seize it, and cut income, property, and corporate taxes across the board. New Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger had been expected to govern as a pro-business moderate in the mold of her Democratic predecessors Terry McAuliffe and Ralph Northam, who were generally as successful as their Republican counterparts in sustaining the state's strong economic development record. But once sworn in, Spanberger has taken an unexpected radical left turn, and Virginia is suddenly spiraling for the moment.

Spanberger is not discouraging the Democrat controlled Virginia legislature from sending over a dozen tax increases to her desk. She is raising the minimum wage to meet Maryland's $15 mandate (it will still be lower than Montgomery County's, alas). And she is reducing prison sentences for violent felons. Is axing Right-to-Work next?

Boeing has now announced it is relocating its Virginia operations to Missouri. That move was probably in the works for some time, as it was obvious three years ago that Spanberger would win against a weak GOP candidate, but Boeing apparently knew Spanberger's ideological bent better than most political observers.

What better way for Maryland Governor Wes Moore to juice the state's moribund economy, and his re-election campaign, than to call a special session to reduce taxes across the board? The Montgomery County Council will be setting the FY-2027 budget at the same time, and should cut taxes and spending at the County level simultaneously. We could lure the millionaires and billionaires of Great Falls, McLean, Leesburg, and Middleburg to Montgomery County. Remember Council staff member Jacob Sesker's eye-opening presentation that showed what a huge revenue windfall is delivered by just a couple dozen millionaires and billionaires, what a significant percentage of the total annual haul they can account for. And a high-profile tax reform will alert relocating corporations that Maryland is open for business.

Gov. Moore needs to let the education Blueprint go. Tear it up and throw it away. Same with the Red Line project in Baltimore. We don't have the money. But Virginia is giving us a rare chance to get some. Take it!

Burlington sets opening date for Montgomery Village store

We now have an opening date for the new Burlington store at 19142 Montgomery Village Avenue at the Montgomery Village Center. The store is now scheduled to open on April 24, 2026, just in time to shop for your summer wardrobe. Burlington is replacing Big Lots at the center. I was sad about the closure of Big Lots, but Burlington is an excellent replacement, and better than I expected.

Indecent exposure in Montgomery Village

Montgomery County police responded to a report of indecent exposure in Montgomery Village early Sunday morning, February 22, 2026. The incident was reported in the 20000 block of Goshen Road at 12:01 AM Sunday. An individual was also accused of assault in the same incident.

Maryland law leaves McDonald's large fries lovers holding the bag

Maryland McDonald's customers ordering medium and large french fries are finding out Ronald has a brand new bag. Instead of the iconic red cardboard medium and large fry containers, those orders are now being handed out in paper bags, at least at some Golden Arches locations in Montgomery County. Some customers say the weight and portion size of the bagged fries are less than those served in the cardboard containers. But it's not simply a shrinkflation attempt alone by McDonald's. It turns out that Maryland passed a law in 2024 that mandated the retirement of cardboard fry sleeves forever.

The George "Walter" Taylor act was presented to the public as a bill almost no one would oppose. It would ban the sale and use of firefighting foam that contained "forever chemicals." This would reduce health risks and impacts for firefighters, and who could disagree with that? Well, it turns out another provision was hidden in the bill, one that applied a similar restriction to food packaging. Cardboard fry containers often are lined with a chemical coating that resists grease, and that supposedly contained a forever chemical. Cardboard was out, and the bill was signed into law by former Governor Larry Hogan.

I found the fry transition has been underway in a few other nanny states for at least a couple of years. Like so many nutty laws paased by the Maryland legislature and Montgomery County Council, this was yet another plagiarized from the great state of California. Now, thanks to both local legislative bodies, we not only have paper straws that melt and ruin the taste of your drink, but potentially smaller fry portions for the same high price.

McDonald's swears that the portion size is the same. Fast food packaging experts have noted that the shape difference, and dimensions of the opening of the new bag, together make it more difficult to stuff the same amount of fries into the bag as filled the cardboard. The jury is out. Your mileage may vary. And it will be something to watch in the coming weeks and months - please share your experience in the comments below.

Quincy's Golf & Social Gaithersburg update

The sign is up at Quincy's Golf & Social at 245 Kentlands Boulevard in Gaithersburg. There is now a separate website for the business, which promises a February opening date. It does not yet include a menu. Outside, a patio seating area has been delineated with barricades on the sidewalk. 

Assault at apartment complex in Germantown

Montgomery County police responded to a report of a 2nd-degree assault at an apartment complex in Germantown on February 14, 2026. The assault was reported in the 12900 block of Falling Water Circle at 7:49 AM. It took place in the parking lot. That is the location of the Acclaim at Germantown apartments.

Clarksburg Banana Republic employee accused of videotaping women in dressing rooms

An employee of the Banana Republic Factory Store at the Clarksburg Premium Outlets mall has been arrested after several women reported seeing a cell phone video recording them in the dressing rooms of the store. Police say Fabio Delrio, 19, of Clarksburg was identified as the suspect after officers reviewed surveillance camera footage from the store, and discovered images of women in dressing rooms on his phone. Delrio also took pictures of women as they shopped in the store, police allege. They report that he is no longer employed at the store at this time.

Delrio has been charged with four counts of peeping Tom, four counts of visual surveillance with prurient intent in a private area, and other related charges. He is free on $5000 bond.

The known peeping Tom incidents were recorded in the store's dressing rooms between May and August of 2025. Detectives believe there may be additional victims. They are asking anyone who shopped at the Banana Republic Factory Store between May 2025 and August 2025 and may have been a victim of Fabio Delrio to call the 4th District Investigative Section at (240) 773-5530, or to visit the Crime Solvers of Montgomery County, MD website at www.crimesolversmcmd.org and click on the “www.p3tips.com” link at the top of the page or call 1-866-411-8477.

T.J. MAXX shoplifting attempt goes sideways in Germantown

An alleged attempt to steal merchandise from T.J. MAXX in Germantown went sideways on February 4, 2026, according to Montgomery County police. The male suspect attempted to leave the store at the Milestone Shopping Center with merchandise he hadn't paid for, police say, but was taken into custody by an officer. He was found to also be in possession of a loaded firearm.

Ian Morgan, 21, of Germantown, has been charged with theft, obstruction, loaded handgun on person, possession of an unregistered rifle/shotgun, and possession of an assault weapon with the intent to sell it. He is being held without bond pending a March trial.

FineWine in Gaithersburg holding major auction

FineWine at 20-A Grand Corner Avenue at Rio Lakefront in Gaithersburg will be holding a major auction on February 19, 2026. The auction is not of fine vintages, but of shelving, display cases, signage, refrigerators, printers, wine glasses, seating, a sound system, office equipment...basically everything in the store. However, the auction listing does not say the store is closing.

A tax-and-spend warning for Maryland as 2030 fiscal disaster looms

 

A warning about the fiscal ruin that results from aggressive and excessive taxation and spending is coming to Maryland - and its greatest offender, Montgomery County - from a state known for its coffee, grunge music, and Communist autonomous zones. The scariest part is that Maryland and MoCo are further down this road than Washington state. But due to a series of radical left turns, the Evergreen State appears determined to adopt Maryland tax-and-spend policies at an increasing clip. The saga doesn't just remind us that we can't keep going with tape over the Check Engine light on Maryland's fiscal dashboard, but of the proven economic development boost that comes from a competitive tax policy.

"For decades, Washington state's economic advantage was its lack of a personal income tax," Ryan Frost and Mark Harmsworth write in an op-ed in The Washington Post. "Washington built its economy by attracting companies such as Microsoft and Amazon with no income tax." Some elected officials in the state have apparently grown tired of winning, though. "Washington state Democrats, who have largely controlled the state government for 40 years, are now proposing an unconstitutional income tax." Unconstitutional? I like the sound of that. Give Washington's Supreme Court credit for reaffirming that income taxes are illegal and unconstitutional way back in 1933. Where's our William J. Millard?!

Taxes can not only be illegal, but ill-advised. "Seattle recently imposed new payroll taxes, and businesses responded by relocating to neighboring cities," Frost and Harmsworth explain. "An income tax would make that exodus statewide. High earners are already leaving Washington amid the recently enacted taxes, and those moving in earn substantially less than those departing."

Maryland has already seen this happen. Montgomery County dropped off the Forbes Richest Counties in America list many years ago, and watched its vaunted "Montgomery County's Rodeo Drive" in Friendship Heights devolve into vacant storefronts, aging apartments, and smashed-up bus shelters, as the ultra-wealthy fled to lower-tax jurisdictions in the region. Businesses have relocated to Northern Virginia. And, like Washington state, the residents moving into MoCo and Maryland are mostly low-income.

But Washington state isn't just aping our massive tax burden, which is the largest in the D.C. area. They've also got the same crack addiction to spending that our County Council and state legislators have had since 2002. Washington state has a multi-billion dollar budget deficit just one year after the largest tax increase in state history. "The pattern is predictable: increase taxes, allocate the revenue to permanent new obligations and then point to the resulting 'shortfall' as justification for the next tax hike," Frost and Harmsworth summarize in a nutshell. 

Sound familiar? Annapolis started with a "millionaire tax" in 2012. Only two years after that tax hike, there were 1000 less such "millionaires" filing tax returns in Maryland, tanking state revenue. Current Maryland Governor Wes Moore walloped Marylanders with IT taxes and massive fee hikes for vehicle registration last year. The Montgomery County Council kept a disastrous energy tax and absurdist tax on the rain(!!) in place, while adding annual property tax hikes and a gargantuan recordation tax to the burden of homeowners.

And like their fellow spending junkies on the West Coast, the appetite of our elected officials to burn through taxpayer cash has only increased alongside the taxes. The Montgomery County Council has more than doubled the County budget over a mere decade. Their counterparts in Annapolis found a "permanent new obligation" in a reckless waste of money known as the "Blueprint for Maryland's Future," which is really a blueprint for teacher's union endorsements for the legislators who voted for it with the full knowledge that it would bankrupt the state in the next decade.

As Frost and Harmsworth correctly diagnose the illness, "the problem isn't that citizens aren't paying enough. It's that the government has lost the ability to say no." Have voters in Montgomery County and Maryland also lost the ability to say no to our incompetent and corrupt elected officials? Election results so far this century would suggest they have. Is there a breaking point, a level of taxation that's too high, or a realization of impending fiscal doom that can provide a smelling salts moment?

To paraphrase the op-ed authors, "Maryland is no longer a shining example of how to build a prosperous economy. It is a case study of how to dismantle one."

Saks Off 5th closing in Clarksburg

Saks Off 5th is permanently closing at the Clarksburg Premium Outlets. The store is expected to close by the end of April 2026. It is one of more than 55 Saks Off 5th locations closing nationwide, and one of two in Montgomery County. Saks Off 5th opened here in 2016, suggesting that a ten-year lease might be expiring.

Maryland is 2nd-worst state to start a business, study finds

 

Maryland is the second-worst state in America in which to start a business, a study by WalletHub found. Rhode Island is rated the worst of all. The latest ignoble recognition for the Old Line State is compounded by other recent rankings showing Maryland is #46 out of 50 in tax competitiveness, according to the Tax Foundation, and is way down at #36 on the list of best states to retire in - also compiled by WalletHub.

Montgomery County has the highest overall tax and fee burden in the region. What else makes Maryland a terrible place to start a business? A poor business environment, WalletHub says. That includes measurements of current small business growth statistics, job growth, variety of industries, startups per capita, five-year business survival rate, share of fast-growing firms, and the entrepreneurship index. 

Another criteria examined was the cost of doing business. Beyond high County and State taxes, that takes into account the cost of living, the cost of office space, labor costs, employer-based health insurance costs, and the corporate tax rate. Not surprisingly, Maryland scores poorly across the board on business costs.

Also considered were access to capital and a skilled workforce. This includes the amount of venture capital being invested in Maryland businesses, rankings of colleges and universities in the state, and growth of the working age population.

Which states are the best to start a business in? According to WalletHub, Florida, Utah, Texas, Oklahoma, Idaho, Mississippi, Georgia, Indiana, Nevada, and California. Better start voting for better-qualified elected officials, or rent a moving truck for your business to relocate to greener pastures.

Imagine if they had factored in the exorbitant cost of energy in Maryland! We might have dropped to dead last. As it is, we're in real trouble, folks. How many more miles can Montgomery County and Maryland go down the road with tape over the Check Engine light on the economic development dashboard? Heckuva job, Brownie!

Montgomery County's first Hobby Lobby store construction update (Photos)

Here's a look at the construction progress on Montgomery County's first Hobby Lobby store, at 15750 Shady Grove Road in the 270 Center, on the border of Gaithersburg and Rockville. While the interior fit-out is currently hidden behind a construction wall, you can see the modifications being made to the exterior of the former Best Buy starting to take shape. The arts and crafts megastore is highly anticipated, as not only has the chain never had a location here, but smaller competitor JOANN Fabrics and Crafts recently closed all of its stores, including the one in Gaithersburg. Hobby Lobby's main competition here will be Michaels.

Pickpocket strikes at gym in Gaithersburg

Watch your wallet while working out in Gaithersburg! Gaithersburg City police were called to a fitness center in the 10100 block of Washingtonian Boulevard at 9:24 PM Saturday night, after someone's wallet was allegedly pilfered by a pickpocket. Police have not yet identified the gym, but Life Time is located at 10121 Washingtonian Boulevard.

Sex offense against child reported at park in Gaithersburg

Montgomery County police responded to a report of a sex offense allegedly committed against a child at a park in Gaithersburg on February 3, 2026. A child was allegedly fondled in the assault at a park in the 900 block of Beacon Square Court at 1:11 PM Tuesday. That is at the Beacon Place apartment complex in the Kentlands area.

Montgomery County property taxes now exceed mortgage payments for many

For many years, I have written about the fact that property taxes in Montgomery County have essentially become the equivalent of a second mortgage for many homeowners. If we believe we have honest elections in the County, suffering the highest overall tax and fee burden in the region has yet to spark revolt among County voters. Would property taxes higher than your annual mortgage payment be enough to get taxpayers reaching for their proverbial torches and pitchforks? That's why I was delighted to read Chevy Chase resident Glenn Easton's letter to the editor in the rapidly-shrinking Washington Post.

Easton reported that this shocking event - the Taxological Singularity, if you will - has now taken place. "My property taxes exceed my mortgage payment and threaten my ability - and the ability of many others - to age in place in this state." He noted that the latest tax increase on his property was 13% in 2025, and have been as high as 26%. Easton has challenged assessments of his property each time, and has lost each time. Like me, Easton is "not sure why more homeowners (and voters) are not outraged."

California voters, in a very, very different era in the Golden State, led perhaps the most famous tax revolt in America since 1776. Easton called for a similar revolt and reform to that storied uprising of 1978, which led to property tax increases being capped at 2% annually.

With all County offices on the ballot once again this November, are Montgomery County taxpayers finally ready to revolt?

The County's disastrous fiscal situation indicates that change must come sooner or later, the (somewhat) easy way, or the hard way. Our tax burden must be reduced, and our master plan highway system completed, to attract high-wage jobs and corporations to the County. Montgomery County hasn't attracted a single new major corporate headquarters in over a quarter century. The only growth is in residential housing, and our structural budget deficit confirms that the costs new housing generates far exceed the tax revenue they generate.

Speaking of revenue generation, Council members have delivered multiple tax cuts to their developer sugar daddies, even as they've raised yours every single year except FY-2015 (in which the average homeowner received a whopping $12 tax cut). Perhaps inspired by the $72 million tax cut the Council delivered to developers in White Flint back in 2010, Councilmember Andrew Friedson has successfully pushed through two major tax cuts for developers in recent years. These have created massive exemptions from property taxes for projects at Metro stations and for office-to-housing conversions. The latter law is so permissive, its 20-year full property tax exemption(!!) applies to so many projects that it will blow a massive hole in County tax revenues over the next two decades. Most offensive is that these projects were going forward anyway, with the tax elimination simply an act of profiteering.

When taxes get lighter for real estate developer Friends of the Council, guess who taxes get heavier for? Yep, you the home and business owner. We can't keep shifting the tax burden to homeowners and small businesses, and we can't keep forgoing all of the lost business and commercial revenue we are losing due to our non-competitive tax burden and moribund County economy.

We also can't keep spending the way we are. Where the Council and our equally-corrupt Apple Ballot School Board are satisfied with a generously-funded school system that performs poorly, we instead need an adequately-funded school system that performs exceptionally. And an in-depth reform of profligate spending on Council-connected "non-profits" is long overdue. Many of these have organizational directors and officers who make financial contributions to Councilmember campaigns. Taxpayer money effectively ends up in the pockets of Councilmembers, and provides lucrative careers for the donors. 

The tax policies of Montgomery County are eerily reminiscent of those in Bell, California. Elected officials there ultimately ended up in prison.

Taxation is theft, to begin with. Property taxes by their nature are insidious, particularly at the almost-comically-excessive level charged in Montgomery County. If you don't pay, the government takes your home. Which means that all "private property" is effectively owned by the government, and you are paying government a rent to live there.

Enough is enough. Beyond a stagnant economy, gross incompetence by elected officials, high violent crime, and failing transportation and school systems, is a property tax that exceeds your mortgage payment enough for you to act? We'll find out on Election Night 2026.

To the barricades!

Koi Sushi opens in Gaithersburg

Koi Sushi is now open at 201 Boardwalk Place at Rio Lakefront in Gaithersburg. Look for it next to Mason's Famous Lobster Rolls. It has already racked up a perfect 5-star rating on Google Reviews. The opening of Koi Sushi was first reported by The MoCo Show.

Aggravated assault with firearm in Olde Towne Gaithersburg

Gaithersburg City police responded to a report of an aggravated assault with a firearm in the Olde Towne area on January 31, 2026. The assault was reported in the 300 block of E. Diamond Avenue at 12:50 PM. That's about a block from the train station.

Clarksburg equipment rental business burglarized

Montgomery County police responded to a burglar alarm at a Clarksburg equipment rental business in the early morning hours of January 22, 2026. The burglary was at Rentals Unlimited at 24000 Frederick Road. Officers responding to the scene found evidence of forced entry at the business. They determined property had been stolen from inside the facility, which supplies rental equipment for landscaping and construction work, and is highly-rated in online reviews.

Police describe the suspects only as three Black males of unknown age. If you have any information that could assist detectives in closing this case, call police at (301) 279-8000.

Amazon Fresh closing in Gaithersburg

The Amazon Fresh grocery store at 15790 Shady Grove Road in Gaithersburg will permanently close this Sunday, February 1, 2026. Amazon is closing all of its Amazon Fresh and Go grocery stores across the country, as a very expensive experiment with Amazon-branded physical grocery stores by the retail giant concludes. In Montgomery County, that means the losses of Amazon Fresh stores at Chevy Chase Lake, Friendship Heights, Shady Grove Road on the border of Rockville and Gaithersburg, and White Oak. It's an especially raw deal for all involved at the Chevy Chase locations, as residents of Chevy Chase Lake had expected to have an on-site grocery store, Friendship Heights residents will now have only the hipster house brands of Trader Joe's and Whole Foods Market as full-size supermarkets within walking distance, and the Chevy Chase Land Company was counting on both to anchor their respective developments of Chevy Chase Lake and the Collection at Chevy Chase.

Update on Koi Sushi in Gaithersburg (Photos + Menu)

The sign is up at Koi Sushi, opening soon at 201 Boardwalk Place at Rio Lakefront in Gaithersburg. Here's a sneak peek at the interior design, and at all pages of the restaurant menu. Koi Sushi will be located next to Mason's Famous Lobster Rolls. Stay tuned for an opening date.