 Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich this week provides details on how an experimental drone program being used by the County Police Department has already made an impact. He also talks about new approaches that will utilize public health resources to address youth violence and drug overdoses. And he shares his enthusiasm for the Great Seneca Transit Network that will improve mobility between the Shady Grove Metrorail Station, the Universities at Shady Grove and the emerging life sciences corridor of Rockville.
Stories in this issue include:
 Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich, County Council President Evan Glass and the County Department of Transportation this week announced the beginning of Phase 1 of the Great Seneca Transit Network at a ceremonial “groundpainting” of dedicated bus lanes at the Traville Parkway Transit Center in Rockville.
The Montgomery County Animal Services and Adoption Center in Derwood will be waiving adoption fees for all animals until further notice. The shelter is full and adopters are urgently needed. All types of animals are available for adoption including dogs, cats, guinea pigs, rabbits and reptiles.
The feeling of celebrating a holiday on a farm will be the theme on Saturday-Sunday, Dec. 2-3, at the annual “Christmas on the Farm” event at the Montgomery Agricultural History Farm Park in Derwood. Among the highlights will be the opportunity to see farm animals up close, to visit the park’s tool museum and to enjoy free cookies and cider.
Montgomery County’s Alcohol Beverage Services (ABS) will open registration on Sunday, Dec. 3, for limited availability whiskey lotteries that provide opportunities to purchase highly sought spirits. These lotteries will be open only to Montgomery County residents and licensees. ABS expects to release more than 400 bottles for purchase in the lotteries.
Plans for the proposed Carroll Avenue Separated Bike Lanes project in the Takoma/Langley Crossroads area of Silver Spring will be discussed at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 5, as the Montgomery County Department of Transportation (MCDOT) meets with residents at New Hampshire Estates Elementary School. The project is currently at 35 percent completion in the design stage.
The ‘Garden Railway Exhibit’ at Brookside Gardens in Wheaton, winter shows at the Cabin John and Wheaton ice rinks, the annual urban wood sale in Gaithersburg and the Garden of Lights at Brookside are among the highlights of the special programs and events being offered by Montgomery Parks in December.
 Metro will begin a two-week construction project on the Red Line, starting Monday, Dec. 18, to perform critical safety repairs to the tunnel and track infrastructure, upgrade signal and communications systems, and install new platform edge lights. During construction, Red Line service will be unavailable at Farragut North, Metro Center and Gallery Place stations.
 Holiday markets, performances by the Maryland Youth Ballet, holiday concerts, jewelry making, Santa and the Grinch will be among the highlights in December on the event-packed calendar events in the Silver Spring Arts and Entertainment District.
Jeanne Gartner, Barry Gartner and Sarah Hedlund, the creators of Montgomery History’s exhibit “Montgomery County, Then and Now: Photography of Lewis Reed and Barry Gartner,” will lead a free, live online presentation at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 5, discussing the fascinating process of recreating historical photographs from the early 1900s. The presentation will be sponsored by Montgomery History.
What is the secret to your Italian grandmother's spaghetti sauce? What exactly are tapas? How does your family make shashlik or pelmeni? Do they really eat fermented shark, sheep's head and sour ram testicles in Iceland? These long-held cooking traditions will be the focus of a diverse by at 7 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 11, as Silver Spring Town Center, Inc. presents “Culinary Traditions of Europe.”
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 Information about proposed improvements and renovations to Rosemary Hills-Lyttonsville Local Park in Silver Spring will be the focus of a hybrid community meeting hosted by Montgomery Parks at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 13. The meeting will be held at Gwendolyn E. Coffield Community Center in Silver Spring, with residents also able to participate via Zoom.
The Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration has started a project to maintain pavement and improve ride quality on I-495 (the Capital Beltway) that will impact Montgomery County drivers through the end of the year. The work will be done five nights a week between MD 191 (Bradley Boulevard) and east of Linden Lane and between east of Northwest Branch Anacostia River and US 29 (Colesville Road).
 Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich, along with the County’s regional services offices and community partners, is hosting a series of 10 “Community Conversations” to seek input on the Fiscal Year 2025 Operating Budget. The last conversation, from 2-3:30 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 11, will be a hybrid meeting that will focus on issues important to senior residents.
 A Stakeholders Forum, hosted by the Montgomery County Department of Permitting Services, will be held from 8:30 a.m.-noon on Wednesday, Dec. 6, in the second-floor auditorium of the Wheaton headquarters of the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission. The forum is designed for architects, builders, contractors, designers, developers, engineers, land use attorneys, permit expediters and other professionals.
 The Montgomery County Committee Against Hate Violence of the County Office of Human Rights, at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 6, will sponsor a “Federal Hate Crimes” Training Seminar focusing on the Federal civil rights laws pertaining to Hate/Bias/Violence. The program will be held at the Rockville Memorial Library.
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