Bethesda Magazine | Bethesda Today

During its first day in action Tuesday in downtown Bethesda, a drone deployed by Montgomery County police responded to three calls for service ranging from a report of a suspicious situation on Wisconsin Avenue to calls about someone who might have a gun in the 5000 block of Hampden Lane, according to police data. The flights signaled the long-awaited expansion of the police department’s Drone as First Responder program into the downtown Bethesda area, following the earlier deployments in the downtowns of Silver Spring, Wheaton and Gaithersburg. On Wednesday, county police officials touted the launch and the importance of the Bethesda drone program during a press briefing at police department headquarters in Gaithersburg. Assistant police Chief David McBain described the Drone as First Responder program as a “game changer,” adding that it was the “most impressive development that the police department has put into place to help fight crime.” All drone flights, including Tuesday’s in downtown Bethesda, are recorded in the program’s Flight Maps and Data?dashboard. Continue reading the story here: https://lnkd.in/eq-wAJ2F ????: Elia Griffin

Find things to do in Montgomery County, from a Beatles tribute concert to a St. Patrick’s Day Parade to a gem show. Read more about what to do here: https://lnkd.in/esNcywmC ??: Josephine Jack

Can you guess which town in Montgomery County had the fastest and the highest home sales? Check your answer at the link below. https://lnkd.in/eibRW6gy ??: Courtesy Joseph Thompson/Montgomery County Council

This spring, The Butterfly Experience in Brookside Gardens (Montgomery Parks) — the seasonal exhibit that introduced Oberle to those little butterflies she saw in Cancun — will be returning to the botanical garden in Wheaton Regional Park for the first time in six years. Tickets are now on sale for the popular event that draws visitors of all ages. The Butterfly Experience, slated to run from April 10 to Sept. 21, provides visitors with an opportunity to see, interact with and learn about hundreds of butterflies from all over the world within the garden’s South Conservatory House. The exhibit, which had been offered annually beginning in 1997, was last held in 2019, Oberle said. Continue reading the story at the link: https://lnkd.in/eAr8UpDe ??: Courtesy Brookside Gardens ??: Ashlyn Campbell

The Golden Bachelorette, which aired last fall on ABC, features Rockville's Joan Vassos, 62. Read about her experience finding love on the show and her life today at the link below. https://lnkd.in/ejbHWQE2 ??: Lisa Helfert ??: Caralee Adams

Looking for things to do in Montgomery County this weekend? Check out these Women’s history month events, musical performances and more. Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/eXC3T9Fv ??: Josephine Jack

Children and parents alike rejoice in the accessibility of multisensory storytelling. Readability, a student-led non-profit, hosts the events so neurodivergent children can process information in different ways. Read about the student volunteers and the families who benefit at the link below. https://lnkd.in/ey-7ZA9h ??: Michael Ventura ??: David Montgomery

Two Montgomery County public schools are slated to lose Title I status for the 2025-2026 school year, while four are expected to gain the designation, as the district embraces a new way to calculate poverty. Meadow Hall Elementary in Rockville and Benjamin Banneker Middle in Burtonsville are slated to lose Title I status, according to the Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) website. Federal funding that comes with Title I status pays for additional educators, summer school and other programs. Letters sent to the school communities by MCPS on Feb. 24 and Feb. 28 said they will continue to receive additional staffing and reduced class sizes funded by the county to ensure a “smooth transition.” Rockville’s Brookhaven, Silver Spring’s Strathmore, Germantown’s Dr. Sally K. Ride and Gaithersburg’s Judith A. Resnik elementary schools will gain the Title I designation for the upcoming school year. Brookhaven and Strathmore were among the four schools that lost Title I status in the 2024-2025 school year. Continue reading the article here: https://lnkd.in/dpfPki5j ??: Elia Griffin ??: Ashlyn Campbell #bethesdatoday #bethesdamagazine #education #schools #titleI #mcps #mocomd

This Gaithersburg veterinarian traveled to Alaska to care for sled dogs in ‘The Last Great Race.’ Head to the link below to learn more about him, the challenges he faced and his new book, “Four Thousand Paws: Caring for the Dogs of the Iditarod.” https://lnkd.in/eMY3MEn7 ??: Courtesy Lee Morgan ??: Julie Rasicot

When junior Alex Acuna walks into John F. Kennedy High School in Silver Spring to start his school day, he feels safe. But in the back of his mind, he says he’s also thinking that walking into the school means it could be his “last day alive.” “I’ve seen people who look like grown adults [come into the school] and they were trying to jump my friends,” Acuna said. After continued concerns for safety and a back-to-back lockdown and shelter-in-place in January, a group of about 25 Kennedy students, staff and families gathered at the school Wednesday night for a session hosted by the PTSA to discuss how to improve safety in the school moving forward. Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) leaders, including Marcus Jones, the former county police chief who now heads the MCPS Department of Security and Compliance, also attended. While the group discussed some changes in the short-term including the addition of four more security staff members in the school, long-term changes may also be on the horizon. Continue reading the article here: https://lnkd.in/ejkjESY5 ????: Ashlyn Campbell