 Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich talks about celebrating today, April 22, as Earth Day—while also reflecting that, if not for the COVID-19 health crisis, climate change would have been the natural disaster headline of the year, decade and century. He also offers his views on the long-term impact of the guilty verdict for a police officer in the death of George Floyd and provides an update on COVID-19 vaccinations.
An amended Montgomery County Board of Health regulation to provide guidance for public and private school graduation ceremonies was unanimously approved this week by the County Council. The regulation applies to ceremonies for high school, middle school, elementary school and kindergarten graduations.
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 The battle against COVID-19 neared a positive milestone this week as Maryland statistics show that as of today, Thursday, April 22, about half of all Montgomery County residents have received at least one COVID-19 vaccine. The County has continued to vaccinate a large number of residents each day, even though a pause on issuing Johnson & Johnson vaccines reduced the number of vaccines the County expected to have for distribution over the past two weeks.
Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich today unveiled his climate legislative agenda for the upcoming year and discussed the County’s climate accomplishments and initiatives at an event in Silver Spring that was part of the County’s celebration of the 51st anniversary of Earth Day. The Earth Day event was held at the Glen Manor Condominium in Silver Spring.
The COVID-19 health crisis has made the past 13 months difficult for residents and businesses of all kinds in Montgomery County. Particularly impacted have been the County’s restaurants. Now, as more people become vaccinated and restrictions are eased, Visit Montgomery and the County’s Department of Alcohol Beverage Services are unveiling the MoCo Eats Week campaign that will be Montgomery County’s first-ever countywide restaurant week.
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 Montgomery County’s COVID-19 Information Portal provides a variety of breakdowns on how the virus has impacted the County. The statistics are updated to reflect the most recent reports during the health crisis. Among the information available is how many positive cases have been reported in each zip code in the County. New to the dashboard is how many vaccinations have been given by zip code.
 Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich, County Council President Tom Hucker and Council Vice President Gabe Albornoz at a recent event joined to announce that COVID-19 Rent Relief Phase 3 is open for applications from County residents. There is $59 million available to help tenants who are behind on rent.
 Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich has announced his full support for the actions authorized by the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors to support the reopening of a Potomac River ferry as a critical interstate transportation connection between Loudoun County, Va., and Montgomery County.
Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich has released the 2020 Economic Development Fund Annual Report, which outlines how the County’s Economic Development Fund (EDF) was used throughout the year. Created in 1995, the EDF was designed to generate economic development activity that would not have occurred without assistance from the public sector.
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Montgomery County’s annual GreenFest—a celebration of the environment—is continuing its celebration of April as Earth Month with free online and in-person events. Among the events coming are “Become a Community Scientist in Your Own Backyard – Join the City Nature Challenge” and the DC Environmental Film Festival.
The Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), together with the Chesapeake Bay Trust, has announced that more than $640,000 in grant funding has been awarded to 15 projects throughout Montgomery County. The projects are part of the Montgomery County Watershed Restoration and Outreach Grant Program that funds public outreach and stewardship projects, community-based restoration water quality implementation projects and litter reduction projects in the Anacostia River Watershed.
 Montgomery County’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the U.S. Green Building Council National Capital Region, co-hosts of the 2021 Montgomery County Energy Summit, have announced the opening plenary speaker lineup and keynote panel for the event. Now in its eighth year, the green building event will be held virtually this year due to the COVID-19 health crisis from Tuesday, May 4, through Thursday, May 6.
The lead artists of the public art installation “Meet Me at the Triangles,” located at Marian Fryer Plaza in Downtown Wheaton, will discuss the design process, from conception to completion, in a virtual event starting at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 28. The presentation of the work is part of the inaugural event for the “Curated Conversations” series presented by the Wheaton Arts and Entertainment District.
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 Josiah Henson Museum and Park, which tells the inspirational life story of the man who was born into slavery and defied the odds to become an influential author, abolitionist, minister, public speaker and world-renowned figure, will be dedicated on Friday, April 23, in North Bethesda. The museum and park are located at 11410 Old Georgetown Rd.—the site of the former plantation where Henson was enslaved from 1795-1830.
 Michelle Singletary, a prize-winning journalist and nationally syndicated personal finance columnist for The Washington Post, will participate in Montgomery County Public Libraries’ (MCPL) virtual “Contemporary Conversations” series at 7 p.m. on Saturday, April 24. She will discuss the “Five Steps to Thrive During a Financial Crisis and Beyond,” providing information about how to understand personal finances.
 The Gaithersburg Book Festival, which has grown in short time to become one of the Washington area’s top book festivals, will be a virtual event for the second straight year due to the COVID-19 health crisis. However, the online event will again be filled with written words covering a wide range of categories. In addition, the Festival will offer a variety of free workshops for readers and writers of all ages.
Construction of a project by Avocet Towers Investors, LLC will close down two lanes of traffic five nights each week on Montgomery Avenue between Wisconsin Avenue and Waverly Street in Bethesda through mid-summer. The road closure will occur near the future building located at 7373 Wisconsin Ave.
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