 County Executive Marc Elrich this week enthusiastically talks about new and improved opportunities to help businesses succeed in Montgomery County—and makes it well known that the County is welcoming new businesses. He discusses the County’s new “Business Center” and his upcoming economic development trip to Taiwan. He provides more depth on his recommended $6.8 billion Fiscal Year 2024 Operating Budget that is being reviewed by the County Council. And he addresses the importance of the Tree Montgomery program, which recently planted its 10,000th tree.
 Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich will hold six “community conversations” at sites around the County in April and May to talk about long-term priorities and how he will address the Fiscal Year 2025 Capital Improvements Program (CIP) budget. The first event will be from 7-8:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 12, at the White Oak Community Recreation Center in Silver Spring.
Information, including traffic data and a recommendation, related to the Little Falls Parkway pilot project, will be presented by Montgomery Parks to the County Planning Board at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 30. After the briefing, the Planning Board will hold a public hearing on the project.
 The Montgomery County Department of Transportation (MCDOT) on Monday, April 10, will begin its semi-annual interior washdown to degrease and clean 21 County-owned parking garages in Bethesda, Silver Spring and Wheaton. The spring cleanings will start with the Bethesda garages and are scheduled to conclude with the Silver Spring garages on Saturday, June 3. Cleanings will be done on nights and weekends.
Residents Asked to Participate in Survey on How to Expand and Improve Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure and Will Offer Webinars on April 13-14
Montgomery County’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is asking residents to participate in a survey on how the County could expand and improve charging infrastructure for electric vehicles (EVs). As part of the initiative, DEP will hold webinars on Thursday, April 13, and Friday, April 14, to share details about the planning process and collect more input.
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 Holly Jamesen Carr, director of the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon, DOE Building Technologies Office, and journalist Aman Azhar of Inside Climate News and will be among the speakers at the 10th Annual Montgomery County Energy Summit on Tuesday, March 28, and Wednesday, March 29 at the Silver Spring Civic Building. The summit will focus on preparing the commercial building community for compliance with energy benchmarking, building energy performance standards and emerging building codes.
Noted authors will be featured in March and April in the continuing free Virtual Talk Series presented by Montgomery County Public Libraries (MCPL). The series hosts best-selling, award-winning and highly acclaimed authors from around the world. The next talk, at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 28, will have Pam Jenoff of New York Times. She is the author of the Orphan’s Tale and The Lost Girls of Paris.
 Montgomery Parks is hosting a busy lineup of special events and programs in March, including a variety of hikes and birdwatching.
 For many people, attending an Indian wedding is quite an experience in almost every way. Just trying to keep up with the dancing is something special—and so much fun. For those who want to know more about “How to Dance at an Indian Wedding,” the SAPAN Institute will lead a festive class of Bhangra Bollywood-style dance as part of the Silver Spring Town Center, Inc. Around the World Bazaar from 7-8:30 p.m. on Friday, March 31, at the Silver Spring Civic Building.
 Montgomery County teens have an opportunity to win some great prizes by producing peer videos promoting the importance of focusing on their surroundings, instead of their phones, while driving and walking. The County Department of Transportation’s “Heads Up, Phones Down” high school video contest will be accepting entries of 30-second Public Service Announcements (PSAs) through March 31.
 A week of fun camps and activities for the first week of April, coinciding with Montgomery County Public Schools spring break, will be held by Montgomery Parks.
 The Bread & Puppet Theater, one of the oldest, nonprofit, political theatre companies in the country, will bring its 60th anniversary tour to Albert Einstein High School in Kensington for a free performance at 4 p.m. on Saturday, April 8. The performance will be hosted by the Wheaton Arts Parade.
 The results of the 2022 Montgomery County “Urban Heat Island Mapping Campaign” document that neighborhoods with less green infrastructure and more concrete experienced temperatures up to 10 degrees higher than nearby cooler areas. The County’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) released the results of the campaign in partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Climate Adaptation Planning and Analyst.
WSSC Water’s is now accepting applications for its 2023 Commissioners Engineering Scholarships for undergraduate or graduate engineering students. Graduating high school seniors accepted into a collegiate engineering program also are eligible to apply. Winners of the scholarships receive $2,000 per year and up to $8,000 over four consecutive years.
 Montgomery County Recreation is hiring part-time seasonal employees to work during the 2023 summer season. Available positions include lifeguards, camp counselors, camp directors and more.
 National Bike to Work Day will be held on Friday, May 19, and the Montgomery County Department of Transportation (MCDOT) will sponsor seven pit stops throughout the County as part of the Washington Region’s participation in the event. Registration for the free event is now open. The first 15,000 bicyclists to register and participate will get a free t-shirt and will be automatically entered into a raffle for a chance to win a new bike.
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