 County Executive Marc Elrich this week provides details on another County effort to expand affordable housing with an initiative that involved the Westchester West apartments in Aspen Hill. He also talks about the new Development Review Working Group that will create steps to make the development process in the County smoother. And he introduces his two latest appointees to key County positions, with James Bridgers becoming the director of the Department of Health and Human Services and Jon Monger taking over as director of the Department of Environmental Protection.
 Montgomery County “Heritage Days,” an annual free, countywide festival highlighting historic, cultural and outdoor recreation sites that offer special programs including exhibits and demonstrations, return for the 24th year on Saturday-Sunday, June 24-25. More than 30 sites will have live music and activities for all ages. Heritage Days present the opportunity to enjoy many small sites that are not regularly open to the public.
 As residents take on spring and summer cleaning, the Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is urging residents to be responsible when disposing of batteries to prevent fire hazards. Improper battery disposal has led to several recent incidents of fires.
The Wheaton and White Oak libraries of Montgomery County Public Libraries (MCPL) will offer several free animation, graphic novel and mini comic book programs for ages 10 to 50-and-over in July and August.
 Food lovers of all interests are sure to find something fitting their tastes this summer and fall as Montgomery Parks will host its “Foodie Fridays” speaker series this summer at Josiah Henson Museum and Park in Bethesda. The series will be held on the fourth Friday of each month, with the series opening at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, June 23.
The Montgomery County Department of Transportation (MCDOT) and Federal Realty Investment Trust (NYSE: FRT) this week unveiled two new public art installations on a County-operated public parking garage in downtown Bethesda.
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 The salsa and Latin jazz sounds of Son Horizonte will be featured at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 27, in the “Summer Twilight Concert Series” at Brookside Gardens in Wheaton. The series is sponsored by Montgomery Parks.
 The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA, or Metro) will begin offering reduced fares to low-income riders through its new “Metro Lift” program, which launched on June 20. The program offers a 50 percent discount for travel on Metrorail and Metrobus for customers in Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia who are enrolled in the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP).
With drought conditions affecting even the taste of local drinking water, what is the status of the Washington area’s water supply? In ‘Drinking Water in the DC Area: Past, Present and Future,’ Michael Nardolilli, the executive director of the Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin, traces the history of providing drinking water to the DC area, the current system, and the outlook for the future.
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The Montgomery County Department of Transportation (MCDOT) is asking residents to donate extra or unused bicycles in good condition to the County’s BikeMatchMoCo program.
The “Silver Spring Swings” long-running free summer concert series with groups that inspire the audience to get up and dance will feature the Latin sounds of Sol y Rumba at 7 p.m. on Thursday, June 29, at Veterans Plaza in Downtown Silver Spring.
 Gaithersburg’s popular Summer Outdoor Concert Series has returned to the City Hall Concert Pavilion. Free, family-friendly concerts take place in June, July and August. The Thursday series will become a country and western evening at 6:30 p.m. on June 29 with Kiti Gartner and the Drifting Valentines.
 Montgomery County-operated garages, parking lots and street meters in Downtown Bethesda and Silver Spring will begin charging for Saturday parking beginning on Saturday, July 8. The Saturday hours and rates will be the same as the existing weekday schedules. Sundays will remain free. Drivers will be able to purchase monthly parking passes valid for mornings, evenings and weekends.
 Montgomery County will host two free Independence Day fireworks displays this year, one on Saturday, July 1, and the other on Tuesday, July 4.
 The Montgomery County Revenue Authority and its Needwood Golf Course in Derwood this week formally opened its “Grass Roots Initiative.” The exhibit was created to explain the benefits, history and uses of turfgrass. The exhibit at Needwood is the first expansion of this initiative at a golf course.
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