MoCo's superintendent of schools is telling the Board of Ed that the way to close the budget gap is to fire all the social workers, psychologists, college & career counselors, and a host of other people-- over 400 people-- that support our schools.

Meanwhile, in the richest county in Maryland, the DEMOCRATS on the county council, the party that ought to OWN rather then flee from the "tax and spend" epithet, declined to do something like raise property taxes by less than a percent to cover the shortfall.

I'd rather have taxes raised fairly and spent on worthwhile things, than have taxes cut, unfairly, with services cut that hurt the neediest, only to still spend outrageously on things we don't actually need, like tax breaks for "job creators" and property developers.

#MoCo

GAITHERSBURG, Md. — Montgomery County’s tourism marketing organization told Gaithersburg’s Mayor and City Council Monday that hotel tax collections in the city fell 8 percent through the first six months of fiscal year 2026, as federal workforce changes and spending cutbacks ripple through the regional lodging market — though the agency’s president said preliminary spring data may signal the worst has passed.

#gburg #moco
https://gburgnews.substack.com/p/gaithersburg-hotel-tax-collections

Here’s what to expect at 3 of this year’s most highly-anticipated Maryland restaurants.

A number of highly anticipated restaurants are coming to D.C.’s Maryland suburbs this summer. Over the weekend, I got sneak peaks at the New Kitchens on…
#dining #cooking #diet #food #Italiancooking #Italia #Italian #italiancooking #italiano #italy #moco #montgomerycounty #restaurant
https://www.diningandcooking.com/2619168/heres-what-to-expect-at-3-of-this-years-most-highly-anticipated-maryland-restaurants/

https://montgomeryperspective.com/2026/03/27/developer-asks-to-delay-downtown-bethesda-project-because-of-rent-control/

The headline's sensational, but my gut is telling me that this is not a B.S. press release and that #rentcontrol did contribute to the decision.

I'm not 100% against it (I know @ggwash is in favor), there have instances when it has helped to reduce displacement, but ever since #MoCo became the first local gov. in the #USA to implement a Moderately Priced Dwelling Unit program, IDK if rent control's downside of less #housing construction justifies the benefit

#Maryland

https://directlinenews.substack.com/p/charter-schools-in-montgomery-county

Author here does not address one of the main critiques of charters: if it's easier for charter #schools to expel or suspend students, then they can kick out the students who are doing worst (regardless of whether disciplinary issues are real), and use the leftover students to truthfully make the claim that their average students have high test scores etc., even though their performance doesn't have much to do with how well they're taught.

#education #maryland #MoCo

https://medium.com/@michaelmckee497/montgomery-county-republicans-should-drive-towards-proportional-representation-d95061ecbe77

I have written another long, meandering #blog post, to join two I've written on #ApprovalVoting and #Zoning in #MontgomeryCounty #Maryland . What's this one on, you ask?

The #MoCo #Republicans have an initiative in the works that is basically guaranteed to fail because it would just blatantly give them power. It's also maybe illegal.

However, them having started this discussion offers us a wonderful opportunity to discuss a better system: #ProportionalRepresentation !