Saydam has organized the sale every few months since March, and it has quickly grown into more than an easy way to clean out your garage.

When people gather in the parking lot of Rachel Carson Elementary School on Tschiffely Square Road in Gaithersburg Nov. 30 with cars full of unwanted treasures, they won’t just be exchanging goods; they will be building community.

“What it has turned into is this magical moment of community,” Saydam said. “It’s become something where people look forward to it. They’re excited. They feel so alive that they’re able to easily get rid of these things that are often weighing them down.”

The rules are simple. Vendors should arrive 15 minutes before the sale begins. Absolutely no shopping until the event officially starts at 9 a.m. Most importantly, no haggling–everything is free.

Saydam said making everything free helps people remember what their time is worth. She said time is better invested in meaningful moments, not standing around arguing over $2.

Hosting the yard sale helped open Saydam’s eyes to the financial issues in her own community.

“I didn’t realize how much people were struggling, and I think that’s only going to get more pronounced as time goes on,” she said. “People are losing their SNAP benefits; people are out of work — how many more paychecks can they lose?”

Saydam said hundreds of people from the D.C. region come to shop at each sale. Nothing lasts on the lot for more than 30 minutes.

Anthropologist Gretchen Hermann said garage sales bring people together by forging face-to-face connections. While shoppers pick up new belongings, people who are giving things away get to know their once-loved items are going to a good home.

That sense of community has hooked June Jimenez, a nonprofit consultant who lives in Montgomery County. She said she has been attending the yard sale since it began in March and keeps coming back for human connections.

“You get to have really interesting conversations with people in the community. In this moment in time, when there’s a lot of fear and a lot of isolation, people of all different types are at this event and you’re able to bond with them over some stories,” she said.

Jimenez said communities can solve their own problems by helping each other, and the yard sale is an example of that.

Local dog trainer Cheryl Mathews-White said it is a stressful time in Montgomery County amid the federal government shutdown, officially the longest in history, and the yard sale is a good place to find things you want or need.

Best of all, there’s no need to worry about the presentation.

“It doesn’t have to be organized. It doesn’t have to be pretty,” Mathews-White said. “At yard sales, a lot of people set stuff up to be pretty or attractive. You don’t have to do that. You put it on the ground, you stand there, you talk to people.”

Montgomery County resident Deborah Pollack said she has handed off several big-ticket items at previous sales, like a designer jacket. As she gears up for the November sale, she said she is looking forward to making more connections and bringing a smile to someone’s face.

She said she hopes local municipal agencies will take notice of the good work Saydam is doing and follow in her footsteps by starting more local, free swaps for people in need.

“Things are dark in this world right now and challenging, but you can continue to show up for your neighbors,” Pollack said. “It’s a very moving effect when you see the kinds of needs and you see likeminded people caring about other people.”

The post Free yard sale in Montgomery County builds a sense of community first appeared on 91����.

Many school buildings across the county are over capacity. The district is opening three new high schools in 2027 to address overcrowding, which means the county needs a new school-boundary map.

The school system unveiled multiple proposals for earlier this month, revised from those originally proposed in June. Parents say the new boundaries backstep promises to diversify schools.

“These proposals are no longer driven by data or MCPS’s stated priorities. They are being driven by politics,” Victoria Hougham, a parent of a middle school student, said at a Board of Education meeting Oct. 16. “Equity cannot be achieved through words alone. It requires courageous action–a willingness to correct patterns of exclusion, not reinforce them.”

The board must adopt new boundaries by March 2026 for changes to be implemented by the 2027-2028 school year, when the new schools are slated to open. Board of Education member Karla Silvestre said at the October meeting the boundary changes are an important decision and she wants more community engagement before any choices are finalized.

Under the new proposal, schools in the richest parts of the county, like Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School, would keep their current boundaries. But schools in less-affluent areas would have new designations.

Hougham said the board is favoring the rich by pushing “disruption and instability” on families that don’t even live close to the new schools.

Darren Vieira, a parent of a first grader, said at the October board meeting the original proposals would have made schools’ student bodies more racially and economically balanced. But, he said the current maps appear to strategically concentrate low-income and minority students into a few schools.

Students at Woodlin Elementary in Silver Spring could face a particularly convoluted path. Under all four of the new proposals, Woodlin will start feeding into Silver Spring International Middle School, but that won’t happen right away.

During the transition, students will go from Woodlin to Sligo Middle School. Then, they will be phased into Silver Spring International.

That building is set to close in 2031, pushing some students back to Sligo and others to Eastern Middle School.

“That’s bonkers,” said Chris Rutledge, whose children graduated from Montgomery County Public Schools a few years ago. “You’re jerking families around.”

Rutledge said the idea for the boundary change is good, but the execution is poor.

At the October board meeting, Woodlin parent Mikey Franklin echoed that sentiment.

He said several initial proposals would have ensured integrated education and more diversity for students. But those proposals didn’t stand the test of time because the affluent areas of the county weren’t happy.

“Those wealthiest in our county mobilized to hoard their resources and to demand that their schools remain enclaves of privilege. And it appears as though you, board members, are backing down in the face of their pressure,” Franklin said.

Franklin told the board his family has seen firsthand the importance of diversity. His kids have benefited deeply by knowing not every child is as privileged as they are, he said.

He also said diversity doesn’t just enhance academic learning, but the development of empathy and creativity.

“Making an affirmative decision to desegregate and diversify our wealthiest schools will be hard. The backlash may yet be fierce. Be strong, and of good courage, and do it anyway,” he urged the board.

Grace Rivera-Oven, a member of the board of education, thanked parents at the board meeting for advocating diversity and equity across the county.

“We need to ensure that every child has access to the programs we offer in this county. I just want to say thank you for the care that you show our children,” Rivera-Oven said.

The board will host engagement sessions for the boundary study throughout the rest of October and November. The next session is scheduled for 7 p.m. Oct. 30 at John F. Kennedy High School.

More information on upcoming sessions can be found on

Montgomery County Public Schools did not answer questions about the boundary study.

The post MoCo Parents push back on proposed school boundaries first appeared on 91����.

Montgomery County is in the process of updating its Friendship Heights Sector Plan, an outline that serves as a blueprint for development in the area. The officials at the Montgomery County Planning department have said they are reworking some of the plan to account for the new space and possible sale of the former GEICO property.

According to the , the sector plan aims to provide more housing, more environmental design, walkways/bike paths, more green spaces, and even a public library.

In early 2025, GEICO announced it was moving its headquarters to Bethesda by early 2026.

Elza Hisel-McCoy, the West County Planning Division chief for Montgomery County Planning, said that GEICO’s move will bring a big change to Friendship Heights. Hisel-McCoy said the Planning Division did an urban design study Friendship Heights, which opened the conversation about GEICO’s site and how it fit in the neighborhood.

“We learned in the urban design study that on weekends neighborhood folks use the green space for recreation. Folks have learned how to drive in the parking lot. So, it’s definitely been a part of the community for a long time,” Hisel-McCoy said.

Hisel-McCoy said residents of Friendship Heights are excited about parks and some are concerned about potential redevelopment of the site, especially since it is 26 acres. Hisel-McCoy said the site likely will be developed through phases over a long period of time.

“The sector plan right now is in the visioning stage,” he said.

, a “property owner collaborative focused on the transformation of Friendship Heights,” said it helps to give voice to residents of Friendship Heights and makes residents aware of what is happening in their neighborhood.

Alliance Executive Director Natalie Avery in a statement said the group is sorry to see the headquarters move but the site presents the neighborhood with many opportunities.

“Transforming surface parking into housing, green space, and welcoming gathering places will create a more connected and vibrant urban environment. With better walkability, active public spaces, and new homes, the site can help strengthen social connections and support the long-term vitality of Friendship Heights,” Avery said.

Avery said GEICO was an important neighbor in the Friendship Heights neighborhood that brought thousands of jobs. She said the company supported the neighborhood for years.

Roberta Avila, a resident of Friendship Heights, said the neighborhood has a lot of older people. Avila said that, although she does not see many young people, there is still a lot of people in the neighborhood.

“I love being here, very safe, quiet, and we have wonderful neighbors, very polite,” Avila said about Friendship Heights.

According to the the last time sector plans were updated was 1998. The scope said the plan envisioned a “mixed-use” concept that had office buildings, residential development, and green spaces, although, nothing has been done to further the developments.

In a statement to 91����, GEICO said, “We continue to work closely with Montgomery County, Village of Friendship Heights and other relevant state and local officials regarding the future redevelopment of this property. We are also working closely with the Friendship Heights Alliance and local community members throughout this process.”

The parking lot outside the former headquarters was nearly deserted, showing the large-scale site that will be left behind. At the main entrance to former headquarters there is sign showing information on the plan and where to find more .

While there is nothing set in stone, Hisel-McCoy said he believes GEICO will sell the former headquarters property.

The post Future of GEICO headquarters under discussion first appeared on 91����.

As the county prepares its next budget, which outlines spending for July 2026 – June 2027, the Bethesda community is pushing a recreation center as a priority.

The Montgomery County Planning Department predicts downtown Bethesda’s 2050 population will be more than double the 2020 population. As the area grows, so will the need for county services, like parks and recreation.

The planning department called out the need for a dedicated recreation center back in the 2017 Bethesda Downtown Sector Plan. There’s been little progress.

“There isn’t a timeline. When the stars are aligned then things can happen,” said Elza Hisel-McCoy, west county planning chief. “I definitely would not say it’s stalled. A free-standing Recreation Center on a piece of property somewhere in the county is a complex undertaking.”

In a written statement to the county government submitted Oct. 8, Kristen Nelson, chair of the Western Montgomery County Citizens Advisory Board, said Bethesda doesn’t have equitable access to recreation spaces.

On behalf of the advisory board, Nelson urged government leaders to take meaningful steps towards a recreation center.

“Bethesda’s continued success depends on ensuring residents – and businesses — have access to the same community infrastructure found elsewhere in the county,” Nelson said.

“A civic and recreation center would improve public health, expand equity, and reinforce downtown Bethesda’s role as a connected, inclusive, and vibrant place to live, work and gather.”

Rec center ‘long time coming’

Montgomery County has 22 recreation centers, eight senior centers, five indoor aquatic centers and seven outdoors pools maintained by the recreation department.

Monika Hammer, recreation department spokesperson, said it’s important people have access to adequate resources to exercise to stay health and active.

“There’s a lot of different factors that are taken into consideration when it comes to locations of centers. That can include center usage, population, looking at things with the racial equity and social justice lens,” she said. “We want to be accessible to everyone in the county.”

There’s a lot of moving parts to decide where a new recreation facility will go, Hammer said.

At least four different county agencies are involved in planning and execution, Hammer said. Plus, capital projects like recreation centers are expensive.

Downtown Bethesda hasn’t seen any new parkland or recreation spaces since the passage of the 2017 plan. Other priorities in the plan, like economic growth through new development, have seen major progress.

The area has seen over 3.8 million square feet of new development. The county has already approved 3.6 million more.

Amanda Farber, a Bethesda resident, said downtown needs more parks and recreation spaces. But finding a location is hard.

“The recreation center has been a long time coming,” she said. “There was a point in time where the county really was investing a lot in these sorts of amenities in downtown Bethesda.”

Then, she said, the county shifted focus towards private development to support public spaces.

What’s next?

Montgomery County is exploring public-private partnerships to get the recreation center off the ground.

“There was a general feeling that the amenities were a little bit slower in coming than everybody would have preferred,” Hisle-McCoy said.

Working off that feeling, the county adopted an updated plan in May 2025 with incentives to entice developers to partner with the county and make the recreation center a reality.

Developers who take up the offer could get a tax break and approval to build a taller facility than regular zoning laws would allow.

Hisle-McCoy said the incentives will help everything “get into the right alignment” to deliver the recreation center.

The public-private model worked in Silver Spring.

A partnership between the county and an affordable housing provider made way for the Silver Spring Recreation and Aquatic Center, which opened last February.

The $72 million facility offers a variety of free programming, like dance and fitness classes, recreational sports, water aerobics and more. Attached to the facility is a 15-story affordable housing building for seniors.

“I call it the Ritz Carlton of rec centers,” Farber said. “They included everything. It’s amazing.”

To see the same success in Bethesda, the county government has to decide what it wants to see in a recreation center.

Multiple community organizations, including the Western Montgomery County Citizens Advisory Board, have asked the county council to fund a Program of Requirements Study, which would define physical requirements for the space and operational goals for the center.

The county is hosting public input sessions on the upcoming budget throughout October and November. The budget must be set by June 1, 2026

The post Bethesda needs a recreation center. Can it get one? first appeared on 91����.

Montgomery County Renter’s Alliance and Montgomery Community Media co-sponsored a county executive candidate debate forum Wednesday night.

Mithun Banerjee, a county executive candidate, wasn’t allowed to participate. He is seeking $870,170 in punitive damages in Montgomery County Circuit Court.

Banerjee’s lawsuit alleged possible election interference. The filing also said the nonprofit organizations violated rules that govern their tax-exempt status by getting involved in political campaigns.

Banerjee told 91���� that, by excluding candidates from the forum, the organizations will make it harder for other candidates to win the upcoming primary.

“That itself is a corrupt system,” he said. “I’d given them emails notifying them they are violating law. I asked them to do corrective action. They decided not to.”

Rental Alliance: The lawsuit is frivolous.

In a written statement, Rental Alliance Executive Director Matt Losak said all Democratic primary candidates were invited to the forum. But, to participate, candidates had to meet the requirements for public matching funds or have raised more than $250,000 in campaign contributions.

The statement said the Renter’s Alliance made a good faith effort to explain the eligibility rules to Banerjee.

The alliance called the lawsuit frivolous.

“The Renter’s Alliance and [Montgomery Community Media] are Section 501-c-3 nonprofit organizations. Neither organization endorses any political party of candidate. The forum was provided as a service to educate and inform the public on the candidates’ views on housing policy,” the statement said.

Banerjee said his campaign is publicly financed and approved by the Maryland State Board of Elections, but he still wasn’t allowed to attend the forum.

He told 91���� he also filed a complaint with the Maryland governor’s office, U.S. Department of Justice and the Maryland State Board of Elections.

Montgomery Community Media Executive Director Jasmine White said in a written statement to 91���� that the media outlet did not select the participants from the forum and any views expressed at the event do not represent the organization’s views.

Montgomery Community Media remains committed to facilitating free speech, supporting open access to media and connecting people through shared information and community dialogue, the statement said.

Banerjee said his exclusion from the forum was “a shame to journalism.”

“Montgomery Community Media said they give voice to all people. That’s their commitment,” he said. “Did they give voice to me yesterday night? They didn’t.”

The case is Banerjee v. Losak, et. al, No. C-15-CV-25-005578, Montgomery County Circuit Court.

The post Montgomery County executive candidate sues forum organizers over exclusion first appeared on 91����.

They swayed their hips and snapped their fingers in downtown Bethesda as the queens sang “The Hips on the Drag Queen Go Swish, Swish, Swish,” to the familiar tune of “The Wheels on the Bus.”

performed with glowing smiles and carved cheekbones. For them, drag is a safe space.

“Drag, it is theater. It is political. It is comedy. It is very joyful,” Vettick said.

Jazz agreed, saying that performing is a “special moment” that lights up the room.

“With these difficult moments that we’re living, bringing joy to the people is something very important.”

Saturday’s Drag Story Hour is the first of many that will be held in the event space of the new , which opened its first physical location at the end of August.

More space, more programs

The center has offered satellite programs since its founding in 2017. Having a dedicated space has let the event calendar expand “exponentially,” said Maddie Roepe, program director at the new Bethesda location.

“We can’t count on institutions to look out for us or take care of us when things are hard,” she said. “We need a level of support that sometimes our government and our larger cultural institutions are not willing to provide for us. We will provide for each other.”

She said having a physical space will help expand access to support for the queer community. MoCo Pride Center is the first Pride center in Montgomery County.

LGBTQ+ people are at higher risk for mental health challenges and sexually transmitted infections, according to the

They are also more likely to experience housing instability or homelessness, according to a 2020 study from the .

While the Pride center is a place to foster community, MoCo Pride Center CEO Phillip Alexander Downie said, it’s also a hub that connects people with necessary services, like health care navigation and STI testing.

The center also hosts various peer support groups, including for people who are sober and families of LGBTQ+ people.

There are multiple community spaces in the center, like a coworking room and LGBTQ+ library and archive, open for drop-in use seven days a week.

Downie said services will expand as community needs evolve, with legal and mental health clinics already planned.

He said the physical space will help create “consistent” access to services that make navigating queer life easier.

Without reliable access to educational services, like a Pride center or inclusive school club, young LGBTQ+ people may turn to the internet to learn — which puts them at risk of relying on misinformation, said Erin Gill, a researcher who focuses on education policy’s effect on queer students’ wellbeing.

Pride centers serve the same purpose for communities as gender and sexuality alliances do for students, she said. Having those designated spaces makes it easier for young people to feel a sense of belonging.

Students in schools with inclusive curriculum, gender and sexuality alliances, and culturally informed educators feel safer, more connected to school, face lower rates of bullying and report better mental health than peers in schools without those supports, Gill said.

In communities with Pride centers, Gill said, young people report lower instances of bullying, harassment and violence. They also report better mental health than people in communities who don’t have access to safe spaces.

‘Vital’ to MoCo

As the MoCo Pride Center grows, so will its financial need.

As a nonprofit organization, Downie said all donations and grants given to the center go toward paying staff and funding programs.

He said Montgomery County government is the largest benefactor, having allocated $515,000 to the Pride center this year.

Downie said he hopes as the center grows, county investment will too.

Councilmember Evan Glass, the first openly gay person to serve on Montgomery County Council, said the Pride center is vital to the wellbeing of the county.

Glass is campaigning for the 2026 County Executive election and said he will do everything he can to support and enhance the center in years to come.

He said it is vital the center has the support it needs to fight against the rhetoric of President Donald Trump’s administration.

“Trump is trying to destroy everything we believe here in Montgomery County. A cornerstone of that is our beautiful diversity in making sure everybody feels safe and welcome,” Glass said. “We need to double down on our commitment to our diversity and the Pride center is a foundation of that.”

Trump has signed multiple executive orders since the start of his second term that scale back protections for LGBTQ+ people, particularly the trans community, by banning transgender people from serving in the military and limiting access to gender affirming care.

‘A game changer’ for queer youth

When looking to the future, Glass said it’s inspiring to reflect on how far support for LGBTQ+ people has come. He said there were no spaces like the Pride center when he was growing up.

Without that solid educational support system, Glass said he didn’t have a place to explore his identity.

“There was no built-in community that I could reach out to. That is what the Pride Center is now — a place for people of all ages to get the help, love and support that they need,” he said. “It would have been a game changer for me, and I hope that it will be a game changer for other young people.”

The MoCo Pride Center is filling a long-neglected gap by bringing services to the LGBTQ+ community.

Wing, a small business owner who asked to only be identified by their chosen first name, was born and raised in the county.

They recently opened their own small business, , which makes sustainable upcycled and vegan art. They set up Saturday a booth at the MoCo Pride Center’s first Wellness Weekend, which is a vendor fair that also connects people with services.

Wing said they first started questioning their sexuality in middle school but didn’t have anywhere to turn to for support.

The Pride center is a resource they wished they could have had growing up, Wing said.

Queer space ’empowers people’

Vettick said it is refreshing to see times grow and change to offer more accessible resources to the queer community.

Growing up in Puerto Rico, she said she was left to her own devices to navigate being queer.

“There was a lot of questions that I had that I was not able to get answers to. Having these kind of queer spaces that are open for everybody with so much resources that are educational, you’re able to get your answers and be represented,” she said. “We didn’t have that back then, and it’s so important right now.”

Vettick encouraged Jazz to pursue their drag dreams, Jazz said.

In a time where queer safe space was hard to come by, the duo created their own.

Jazz said the Pride center will make it easier for future generations to explore their own identifies.

“All of us should have a place where we feel safe, we feel love, and we feel empowered to be ourselves, which is I believe the purpose of life,” Jazz said.

“Creating safe spaces empowers people to live their truly best.”

The post ‘It is political:’ Creating queer safe spaces in Montgomery County first appeared on 91����.

The Bethesda African Cemetery Coalition filed a lawsuit in August 2024 to bar developers 1784 Capital Holdings LLC from building on property the coalition says could have hundreds of enslaved people’s bones. Montgomery County Circuit Judge Carlos Acosta ruled in late August that the coalition has until February to finish discovery so court hearings can proceed on schedule.

“This, just like every case that comes here, is an important case. It’s not just important to the parties involved. It’s important to a lot of people in the community,” Acosta said at an August court hearing.

Acosta denied a motion by the Arizona-based developers to dismiss the lawsuit, calling it “premature.”

The developers maintain there is no evidence of human remains on the property.

“It’s just rhetoric,” said Jarvis Stewart, who owns a communications firm that represents 1784.

“It’s just vicious, calling my client the most horrible names – racists and bigots – with no proof.”

Stewart said the company recovered multiple bone fragments during the excavation process, but archeologists they hired determined they were animal bones.

The discoveries were removed from the site, stored for over one year, then tested for human DNA multiple times, Stewart said.

During the DNA testing process, the bones were destroyed.

To test for human DNA, according to a court affidavit, a forensic analyst smashed the bones “into a fine powder.”

Marsha Coleman-Adebayo, who founded the Bethesda African Cemetery Coalition, called the removal and subsequent destruction of the bones “one of the crimes of the century.”

She said the bones are human and belong to Bethesda’s African ancestors.

“That was their only means of communicating with future generations, with their bones. Those bones would have told the story of what happened to them,” she told 91����.

“When you assume the arrogance of destroying someone’s ability to tell their story, that is vile and despicable.”

Bethesda’s African history

In the early 1800s, nearly 50% of the people in Montgomery County were enslaved African Americans, Bethesda historian Hank Levine said.

After the U.S. emancipated slaves, many African Americans left Bethesda.

Some stuck around.

“After the Civil War, free Black people were able to purchase land in some areas, including along River Road. That becomes a Black neighbor,” Levine said. “They built a church. It’s still there.”

That church is Macedonia Baptist Church. It is the only remaining building from the Black neighborhood on River Road.

Coleman-Adebayo’s husband is the pastor. She said that’s how she first learned of Moses African Cemetery.

One of the congregation members, Harvey Matthews, said he used to play at the cemetery as a little boy in the 1950s.

The developers don’t argue that the cemetery existed, but there is debate over where the boundary is.

Developers discover bones on property

The developer 1784 originally bought multiple adjacent parcels of land for $11 million in 2017, according to Montgomery County land records.

In the early stages of construction, the company found “artifacts” and other things “related to early 1900s grave sites” on one parcel, Stewart said.

The company deeded that land back to the county.

Construction continued on the adjacent section of property and is ongoing today. That’s the piece of land where 1784 recovered what company officials said were “animal bones.”

Boyd Sipe is an archeologist at Wetland Studies and Solutions Inc., the company 1784 hired to oversee the archeological excavation on site.

In a sworn court affidavit, he said “no human remains or funerary objects were found on the property.”

Multiple archeologists have examined the recovered bones.

In an email to Sipe, Towson University professor Dana Kollmann, a forensic archeologist, said she could not conclude that recovered bone fragments were “conclusively non-human” without DNA testing.

Coleman-Adebayo said that is important evidence that points to needing more conclusive examination.

After that email, 76 of the 132 recovered bones fragments were tested for human DNA.

Of the 76 bone samples tested, 74 had DNA levels “below the limit of detection,” according to court fillings from March.

Of the remaining two samples, only one showed evidence of human DNA, according to a report from Benetta George, the DNA analyst who did the testing. She attributed the trace amounts of human DNA to possible contamination during the transportation and testing process.

That’s not conclusive for Coleman-Adebayo. The recovered bones are likely human, she said.

So far, experts paid by the developers have done all the DNA testing on recovered artifacts. Court filings said 1784 spent $331,058 on archeologic services from Wetland Studies.

Coleman-Adebayo said the coalition needs access to what is left of the recovered bones so they can perform their own analysis.

She said there might be a different kind of test that can produce conclusive results with the trace amounts of DNA left on the bone fragments.

The land being built on had the perfect conditions to be a mass grave, Coleman-Adebayo said.

“That was swamp. It was just an incredible amount of water. Because it was agriculturally unproductive, it was environmentally perfect to be used as a mass burial because you couldn’t do anything else with it,” she said.

She said the bodies of Africans who were kidnapped and brought to the U.S. to be slaves were likely thrown in that mass grave.

The coalition recovered over 30 “funerary artifacts” from construction site dirt, Coleman-Adebayo said, which builders dumped at a landfill.

Those artifacts include scraps of fabric and bottles, which Coleman-Adebayo said points to funeral activity because African cultures often place bottles on grave sites to protect the spirit of the dead.

Tammy Hilburn, a cultural property crime expert, volunteered to monitor the construction site with the Bethesda African Cemetery Coalition. During those observations, she said there was minimal oversight from the developers’ archeologists.

She observed an object on top of a “freshly excavated” pile of dirt and took a photo. Later, when reviewing her pictures, she said “it was evident … that object was a tombstone,” according to court documents filed by the coalition.

Stewart said anything recovered from the site is normal waste from “people living their lives,” not an indication of funeral activities.

“The property we are currently building on does not have any artifacts or any tombstones and all this other stuff that the coalition is suggesting,” he said.

What happens next?

Although the judge granted Bethesda African Cemetery Coalition until February to prove there are human remains on the development site, construction doesn’t have to stop.

Stewart said the projected completion date of the project is Spring 2026.

The company recently filed a countersuit in Montgomery County Circuit Court against the coalition to stop the group from interfering with construction. Judge Acosta postponed that ruling until after discovery is finished.

Stewart said the company recognizes Montgomery County’s history of “highly regarded, highly respected African American communities.” That’s why 1784 promised $250,000 to paint a mural honoring Bethesda’s African American population on a retaining wall near the storage facility.

The coalition isn’t interested in compromise, Stewart said.

“They want the land. They’ve wanted the land from the very beginning,” he said.

Coleman-Adebayo said winning the court battle would “stop the ongoing desecration” of Moses African Cemetery.

To prove the land is part of the cemetery, the coalition will hire its own experts to survey the property and examine any recovered artifacts. That will include DNA testing of the bones 1784 recovered from the site, Coleman-Adebayo said.

Ideally, she said, the coalition and Macedonia Baptist Church would partner to control the land and build a museum telling the history of the River Road community.

“We’d like to turn that area into a sacred space where people from all over the world can come, not to store their refrigerators and couches, but to understand the horror of what we call European barbarism,” Coleman-Adebayo said.

The post Activists have 5 months to prove Bethesda development sits on historic cemetery first appeared on 91����.

Then things changed in Paris when she stepped onto the triple jump runway for her native country, the Commonwealth of Dominica. 

“I told myself that your body knows what to do, trust it. And I did my hop, I did my step, and in that step, I felt like I had so much speed and was covering so much ground, and I heard the crowd freak out before I even hit the sand,” LaFond told 91����.

“I was in the air, and I could hear the stadium scream, and I hit the sand, hopped out of the pit, and everyone’s going crazy. I see team Dominica in the stands with the flags, wailing, and tears coming down people’s faces. My husband is standing there with his hands up in the air, like, look at the greatness of this moment,” she said. 

She recounts how she looked up at the screen to see 15.02 meters (49.27 feet) and her mind going blank with amazement.  

“I let out the biggest scream. I think it was like all the downfalls, the hard times, the sacrifices. This day, Dominica got its first-ever Olympic medal, and it just so happens to be gold,” she said. 

A prodigy of Montgomery County, Thea LaFond immigrated to the United States as a child with her parents from the Commonwealth of Dominica, a Caribbean country with a population of about 73,000. 

LaFond has three siblings, including a brother at the Naval Academy who went on social media when he found out his sister won gold.  

During an interview with 91����, she recounted her years as an athlete at John F. Kennedy High School in Silver Spring, Maryland where she returned years later to teach special education. 

“All my friends were joining the track team, and so they talked me into joining with them,” she said.  

LaFond had set her sights on distance running until her coach unknown to her at the time changed the trajectory of her life. 

“Halfway through the workout, my head coach, Kevin Monroe, pulled me aside, and he was like, listen, I’m not trying to say that you can’t run far. Well, you’re from the Caribbean, and most Caribbean athletes are pretty explosive, so let’s try you in hurdles,” she said.  

“And so I did hurdles, and then I did sprints, and then I did long jump, high jump, and last was triple jump,” she told 91����. 

LaFond, who studied international studies with a minor in public health at the University of Maryland, started training with a triple jump group in the area upon graduation. 

At her first Olympics outing in Rio, she finished last, hereby spurring her to find a new coach on her return home. A friend who was also a triple jumper turned coach, here in Montgomery County, Muhammad Halim introduced LaFond to her now coach, Aaron Gadson. 

“Within six months of working together, I jumped over half a meter further, which was unheard of in our world. And then we qualified for our first Olympics together,” she said. 

Next up was the Tokyo Olympics and Covid had just hit, so the event got pushed to 2021. 

Though she qualified for the finals. She got overwhelmed fouling a massive jump that she said would probably have given her a silver medal. 

“One of my last jumps, I kind of just ran through the board. I was just so like, mentally all over the place, and I think it was too much pressure I’d put on myself, but I really struggled afterward to be okay,” she said. 

LaFond, who now advocates for mental health, said it took about a month for her to admit that she was actually struggling mentally and emotionally with what had happened in Tokyo.  

“And so I got a great sports psychologist, and over the next couple years, we worked to just building that self-confidence, getting rid of those nerves, getting rid of jumping scared and fear of disappointing myself or others again. And this year, 2024 I just let go of it, and I told myself that I’ve already experienced failure. I no longer fear it, so let’s just go get success,” she said. 

 Speaking on why she represented her country of birth, the Commonwealth of Dominica as against the United States where she grew up, LaFond said it was never in doubt. 

“It was always going to be my home country. I always view myself as a Dominican very proudly. My parents never let me forget where I came from, and we frequented Dominica as much as we could during my childhood, there was always a connection there,” she said. 

She takes pride in her dual citizenship as well. 

“Montgomery County is my home. My non-biological family, majority of it comes from this county,” she said.

Part of that non-biological family is her husband/gold-winning coach Aaron Gadson.

Speaking on the reception, Dominica gave her on her return, she said it was unbelievable.

“The way the country responded, the way the people responded. We did a motorcade through half the country, and everyone was on the street, flags everywhere. For such a small nation, we tend to be so politically divided. And it was the first time I really saw Dominicans unite under the flag,” she said. 

LaFond, who’s currently recuperating from injuries, is now giving back in Montgomery County. 

“So right now, I do kind of extend my leadership programs more. Especially back to John Kennedy High School where I graduated from. Going back there and letting them hold the medal and talking to the kids, kind of bridging that gap between where you are and where you want to be,” she said. 

Speaking on what she would like her legacy to be, she said she just wants to make Dominica proud. 

“I want the Commonwealth of Dominica to be truly known to the world that we are not the Dominican Republic, that we are this fabulous place with amazing people, with a gorgeous culture, phenomenal food, and hospitality like no other. It truly is an amazing special place,” she said. 

“I also want people to see and remember a story of resilience that this dream of mine essentially took me 17 years from when I started to achieve it. And I want people to know that the road to success is not always straight,” LaFond told 91����. 

The post Local prodigy turned national icon first appeared on 91����.

The home is situated at the vertex of a pointed street, around where Whites Ferry and Darnestown Road converge. On Tuesday afternoon, a portion of the wall on the second floor of the building was charred and belongings lay splayed on the lawn, including a blackened mattress and broken furniture.

Neighbors and friends identified the building’s occupant as Helen White, a homebody and animal lover they estimated was in her 60’s. They said she worked closely with local rescues and nursed several animals from illness to health in her lifetime.

Catherine Sutton, a friend and neighbor who lives just behind the victim, said White lived in the home with her Siberian Husky, Happy, and a longhaired cat.

She remembered her neighbor as a deeply generous person who often brought her thoughtful gifts including a favorite dessert of Sutton’s, rosemary shortbread, from a nearby bakery. White planned on making it from scratch for her next time, Sutton said.

“She was a sweet person,” Sutton said, adding that, when she learned of her neighbor’s death on Tuesday “my heart broke for her.”

Sutton displayed a tiny bouquet of red and blue flowers and a pine tree sprig in a small vase in her kitchen. She said the flowers were picked and gifted to her by her now deceased neighbor who also made sure Sutton had flowers when her birthday rolled around in September.

“She said something like, ‘a girl has to have flowers on her birthday,’” Sutton recalled.

Crews responded around midnight after getting the call about the blaze on the 16600 block of Whites Ferry Road in Boyds, said Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson David Pazos.

91���� 75 firefighters responded to the scene, Pazos said. They found the fire on the second floor of the home and attempted to get in through the doors but “heavy storage” inhibited their ability to get inside, Pazos said, so crews propped up a ladder and entered through the window.

Once in the home, firefighters discovered the body of a woman.

Police declined to confirm the name or age of the victim.

Around midnight, Edin Pass, who lives around the corner, heard the sound of sirens and saw flames down the block and immediately knew which house they were likely coming from. He said he tried to make his way to the building, but the street was blocked off.

“I’m thinking, ‘it’s her house because she have too many thing I think around the house,’” Pass said.

He didn’t know his neighbor well, but he works as a roofer in the area and had done an inspection on her roof after a recent hail storm. He said she was always kind and friendly.

“It’s hard to now understand she’s dead,” Pass said, adding he stayed home from work Tuesday as he processed the news. “I can’t believe.”

“She was a good, good person,” Sutton said. “Good, generous, kind, big heart – I will miss her very much.”

Update (12/3 midnite) 16600 White’s Ferry Rd, fatal house fire; victim located on 2nd fl; dog got out; fire originated on 1st fl w/ multiple competent ignition sources, none of which could be ruled out; Cause, accidental, under investigation; Damage $300K structure/$100K contents

— Pete Piringer (@mcfrsPIO)

The post Montgomery County woman found dead during house fire – remembered as animal lover and thoughtful neighbor first appeared on 91����.

As part of an initiative that aims to give parents more autonomy in their child’s education, Trump has promised to sign an executive order that would cut federal funding for schools that incorporate critical race theory, gender ideology or other “inappropriate racial, sexual or political content” in curricula. 

Armed with the support of his secretary of education pick, Linda McMahon, he has said he intends to sign an executive order to reinstate “The 1776 Commission,” an advisory commission made up of 20 members appointed by Trump that enforces the incorporation of “patriotic” values in the classroom. 

Among his biggest campaign platforms, however, has been his calls to dismantle the Department of Education as a way to “end education coming out of Washington, D.C.” and “send all education work and needs back to the States,” as his campaign website states. 

“On top of regular educators and paraeducators, we have a lot of staff that are solely here to support very specific students,” said Alessandra Portillo, administrative secretary and financial specialist at Diamond Elementary School in Gaithersburg, Maryland. “They know that in cases like this, their programs are the first ones cut, which is really unfortunate.” 

Diamond Elementary School is a Montgomery County public school that hosts a nationally recognized support program for children on the autism spectrum among its standard course offerings. Portillo said that the school relies heavily on funding allocated by the Department of Education and federal grants to keep critical resources and programming available for children with special needs. 

“A lot of these parents that send their kids here don’t have the specialized skills, training, or knowledge to be able to care for their kids [in] the way that they need,” Portillo said. 

According to Portillo, the tone at most schools in the Washington region hosting specialized education programs has been one of anxiety, shock, and apprehension. Many are experiencing uncertainty about whether the changes Trump has promised on a federal level may influence them on a local level. 

Not all educators are worried about potential changes, particularly those in states with greater local autonomy.

Donna Norton is an 8th grade English teacher at Bonny Eagle Middle School in Scarborough, Maine. She’s not particularly worried about incoming changes at the federal level, and added that neither is the administrative body at her school. 

“Everybody always just says, ‘Oh my god, I’m so glad I don’t teach in Florida,’ or ‘I’m so glad I don’t teach in Texas.’ That’s more what the feeling is,” Norton said. “For me personally, I don’t know how much would be affected at the state level, or even at our local level, because a lot is done at our [local level]. … So I’m not hugely worried.” 

In contrast to Portillo’s concerns, Norton said that she was doubtful anything would be affected at Bonny Eagle, even if Trump was able to get Congress to enact legislation shuttering the Education Department. 

Norton added that after the Common Core Learning Results were implemented under President Ronald Reagan and further developed under President Barack Obama, they were “kind of done away with” in Maine on a district-by-district basis.

“I think everybody’s just about providing a good education,” Norton said. “I know in Maryland, [curriculum is determined] by county, but a lot of people don’t even have faith in the public school system there. I don’t think that’s because of [anything at] the national level. I think that’s because the districts are so huge, they’re just absolutely difficult to manage.” 

Christina Cropper is a school counselor at Dunbar High School in Baltimore, Maryland. Similarly to Norton, she is skeptical about whether Trump’s promises will be fully carried out in schools when so many decisions around education happen at the state and local levels. 

“I’m really not worried about the Department of Education closing,” said Cropper. “What worries me is the shift in rhetoric that will then actually affect policy on a state and local level.”  

School administrators sent out resources for teachers to help them navigate the intricacies of politically charged discussions among students, including guidance on when to intervene and shut conversation down if it became too combative. 

Other than mitigating the immediate emotional impact on students, however, Cropper said that the school administration at Dunbar High School has largely been waiting to see what comes of Trump’s promises.

“He’s not in office yet. The impact’s not quite there yet,” Cropper said. “This might just be me personally, but I think we’re all kind of waiting just to see what’s going to happen, what he’s actually going to be able to accomplish,” she said.

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