CNN host diagnoses an embarrassing Montgomery County Council fiscal problem

CNN host Fareed Zakaria stirred controversy last week when he delivered straight talk on why many jurisdictions like Montgomery County have become simultaneously unaffordable while operating on fiscal thin ice. He mentioned a number of familiar factors, but he articulated a particular problem quite well: The fact that the growth of Montgomery County's budget and spending outstrip every other relevant growth factor from business growth and school enrollment to population growth. We know the County spends way too much, as evidenced by our structural budget deficit and the shocking doubling of the budget's size over just the last decade. But when you compare the lack of growth in these other benchmarks to the steadily ballooning amount of spending, the County Council's reckless budgeting looks truly ridiculous.

For example, looking at the supersizing of the County budget, you would think that Montgomery County was enjoying rapid population growth. But even as the budget has reached one record high after another, MoCo's population has actually been shrinking. The County experienced a net loss of more than 9500 residents between 2020 and 2022, and an additional net domestic migration loss of another 11,153 people between 2022 and 2023. And of course, as we know, the very rich are exiting, and the majority of the people moving in are low-income.

"The arithmetic is brutal," Zakaria said in describing a similar population loss (relative to size) over the same period in New York City. "A larger [tax] bill is divided among fewer payers."

Likewise, the budget of Montgomery County Public Schools has grown to obscene heights, even as enrollment has plummeted this decade. And the more generous the Council is with our taxpayer money toward MCPS, the worse the performance outcomes are. It's literally money flushed down the toilet.

"New York already sits at the extreme end of the American tax spectrum," Zakaria noted. So does Montgomery County, whose residents shoulder the highest total tax and fee burden in the Washington, D.C. region. Incredibly, the County Council is currently proposing to raise property taxes yet again this year, and to massively increase the already-gargantuan real estate recordation tax. Both play a role in the unaffordable housing market. Property taxes have become the equivalent of a second mortgage, and high recordation taxes already dissuade homeowners from selling their properties, reducing supply even further while jacking up prices for struggling buyers. Heckuva job, Brownie!

In Europe, Zakaria adds, the NYC and MoCo-level of extreme taxation earns you perks like "free" healthcare, university education, and "amazing infrastructure." In Montgomery County, you get an unfinished master plan highway system, an unbuilt Potomac River bridge, an unbuilt M-83 Highway, an unbuilt Corridor Cities Transitway rail system, an unbuilt Montrose Parkway East, and no bus service to Damascus on weekends and holidays. Trash collection is down to once a week, and is picked up at the curb, requiring homeowners to do most of the job by hauling bins down to the street and back. Snow from a January storm is still melting on many streets.

Jurisdictions like NYC and Montgomery County, Zakaria concluded, "are out of control, promising more, spending more, delivering less and pushing off the fiscal problems to some future date." And then he dispensed this well-worded diagnosis of a central problem in Montgomery County's "leadership:"

"Unaffordability is what happens when government becomes a machine that grows faster than the society it governs." That is exactly the situation in Montgomery County. In a County that hasn't attracted a single new major corporate headquarters in over 25 years, the only booming growth industry is Montgomery County Government, and the best position to be in is either an elected office chair, or one of the many cronies and crooks in the Montgomery County cartel who receive financial kickbacks of taxpayer funds in the bloated County budget.

Rockville nixes plan to reduce vehicle capacity on Redland Boulevard by 50%

The City of Rockville just did something Montgomery County government never does: admit a War-on-Cars proposal is a bad idea. A plan that would have reduced vehicle capacity by a full 50% on Redland Boulevard in the King Farm area was studied by the City from September 21 to October 17, 2025. The pilot plan turned one lane of Redland in each direction between Gaither Road and Elmcroft Boulevard into full-time parking lanes. Redland Boulevard is part of a major east-west transportation corridor in the County, and carries heavy traffic exiting from I-270 that is headed for MD 355, the Shady Grove Metro station, and the Derwood commercial and industrial areas.

Data collected during the pilot found that vehicle speeds were reduced, and that speed camera citations dropped 98%. However, the loss of 50% of vehicle throughput created significant traffic congestion on eastbound Redland during the peak afternoon/rush hour period. Combined with overwhelming public opposition to the road diet, the City has concluded that the Vision Zero project should not be implemented. Cynics might suggest the City just wants that speed camera money, but Montgomery County regularly ignores public testimony and simply steamrolls ahead with any project that makes driving more painful for their constituents.

Photo courtesy City of Rockville 

AI firm KnowBe4 chooses Virginia over Maryland for D.C.-area office

Maryland Governor Wes Moore has touted artificial intelligence and quantum computing as "lighthouse industries" he wants to develop in the state, but yet another such firm has chosen Northern Virginia over Montgomery County. Florida-based KnowBe4 was seeking a location in the Washington, D.C. area to advance "the company’s continued investment in the public sector and its commitment to helping government organizations address workforce trust management, AI-enabled threats and evolving national security challenges." After an extensive search process, the firm chose Two Liberty Center at 4075 Wilson Boulevard in the Ballston area of Arlington County.

"KnowBe4’s strategic decision to expand its offices into Arlington, VA is a testament to the enduring strength of Arlington as a key destination for companies seeking top talent and a welcoming business climate," Arlington Economic Development Acting Director Kate Ange said in a statement. "KnowBe4 will benefit from a unique and thriving innovation ecosystem of federal cybersecurity policymakers and thought leaders working collaboratively with private enterprises and research institutions, all in Arlington." Meanwhile, Montgomery County and Maryland officials are on the sidelines again, watching helplessly as Virginia continues to eat our lunch just because the radical Marxist totalitarian-left elected officials on our side of the Potomac can't put their ideology aside for the good of their constituents.

Mark Warner, U.S. Senator from Virginia, participated in a ribbon-cutting at the new Arlington office on February 23 (see photo at top). KnowBe4's focus on human and agentic AI risk management is a topic of news headlines on a daily basis at the moment. Economic development in Montgomery County and Maryland is not. MoCo and Maryland haven't attracted a single new major corporate headquarters in over 25 years. Heckuva job, Brownie!

Photo courtesy KnowBe4

Maryland should cut taxes now while socialist Virginia crashes out

Moribund Maryland and Montgomery County have an unexpected opportunity to make up lost ground against dominant rival Virginia. Elected officials should seize it, and cut income, property, and corporate taxes across the board. New Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger had been expected to govern as a pro-business moderate in the mold of her Democratic predecessors Terry McAuliffe and Ralph Northam, who were generally as successful as their Republican counterparts in sustaining the state's strong economic development record. But once sworn in, Spanberger has taken an unexpected radical left turn, and Virginia is suddenly spiraling for the moment.

Spanberger is not discouraging the Democrat controlled Virginia legislature from sending over a dozen tax increases to her desk. She is raising the minimum wage to meet Maryland's $15 mandate (it will still be lower than Montgomery County's, alas). And she is reducing prison sentences for violent felons. Is axing Right-to-Work next?

Boeing has now announced it is relocating its Virginia operations to Missouri. That move was probably in the works for some time, as it was obvious three years ago that Spanberger would win against a weak GOP candidate, but Boeing apparently knew Spanberger's ideological bent better than most political observers.

What better way for Maryland Governor Wes Moore to juice the state's moribund economy, and his re-election campaign, than to call a special session to reduce taxes across the board? The Montgomery County Council will be setting the FY-2027 budget at the same time, and should cut taxes and spending at the County level simultaneously. We could lure the millionaires and billionaires of Great Falls, McLean, Leesburg, and Middleburg to Montgomery County. Remember Council staff member Jacob Sesker's eye-opening presentation that showed what a huge revenue windfall is delivered by just a couple dozen millionaires and billionaires, what a significant percentage of the total annual haul they can account for. And a high-profile tax reform will alert relocating corporations that Maryland is open for business.

Gov. Moore needs to let the education Blueprint go. Tear it up and throw it away. Same with the Red Line project in Baltimore. We don't have the money. But Virginia is giving us a rare chance to get some. Take it!

Maryland law leaves McDonald's large fries lovers holding the bag

Maryland McDonald's customers ordering medium and large french fries are finding out Ronald has a brand new bag. Instead of the iconic red cardboard medium and large fry containers, those orders are now being handed out in paper bags, at least at some Golden Arches locations in Montgomery County. Some customers say the weight and portion size of the bagged fries are less than those served in the cardboard containers. But it's not simply a shrinkflation attempt alone by McDonald's. It turns out that Maryland passed a law in 2024 that mandated the retirement of cardboard fry sleeves forever.

The George "Walter" Taylor act was presented to the public as a bill almost no one would oppose. It would ban the sale and use of firefighting foam that contained "forever chemicals." This would reduce health risks and impacts for firefighters, and who could disagree with that? Well, it turns out another provision was hidden in the bill, one that applied a similar restriction to food packaging. Cardboard fry containers often are lined with a chemical coating that resists grease, and that supposedly contained a forever chemical. Cardboard was out, and the bill was signed into law by former Governor Larry Hogan.

I found the fry transition has been underway in a few other nanny states for at least a couple of years. Like so many nutty laws paased by the Maryland legislature and Montgomery County Council, this was yet another plagiarized from the great state of California. Now, thanks to both local legislative bodies, we not only have paper straws that melt and ruin the taste of your drink, but potentially smaller fry portions for the same high price.

McDonald's swears that the portion size is the same. Fast food packaging experts have noted that the shape difference, and dimensions of the opening of the new bag, together make it more difficult to stuff the same amount of fries into the bag as filled the cardboard. The jury is out. Your mileage may vary. And it will be something to watch in the coming weeks and months - please share your experience in the comments below.

A tax-and-spend warning for Maryland as 2030 fiscal disaster looms

A warning about the fiscal ruin that results from aggressive and excessive taxation and spending is coming to Maryland - and its greatest offender, Montgomery County - from a state known for its coffee, grunge music, and Communist autonomous zones. The scariest part is that Maryland and MoCo are further down this road than Washington state. But due to a series of radical left turns, the Evergreen State appears determined to adopt Maryland tax-and-spend policies at an increasing clip. The saga doesn't just remind us that we can't keep going with tape over the Check Engine light on Maryland's fiscal dashboard, but of the proven economic development boost that comes from a competitive tax policy.

"For decades, Washington state's economic advantage was its lack of a personal income tax," Ryan Frost and Mark Harmsworth write in an op-ed in The Washington Post. "Washington built its economy by attracting companies such as Microsoft and Amazon with no income tax." Some elected officials in the state have apparently grown tired of winning, though. "Washington state Democrats, who have largely controlled the state government for 40 years, are now proposing an unconstitutional income tax." Unconstitutional? I like the sound of that. Give Washington's Supreme Court credit for reaffirming that income taxes are illegal and unconstitutional way back in 1933. Where's our William J. Millard?!

Taxes can not only be illegal, but ill-advised. "Seattle recently imposed new payroll taxes, and businesses responded by relocating to neighboring cities," Frost and Harmsworth explain. "An income tax would make that exodus statewide. High earners are already leaving Washington amid the recently enacted taxes, and those moving in earn substantially less than those departing."

Maryland has already seen this happen. Montgomery County dropped off the Forbes Richest Counties in America list many years ago, and watched its vaunted "Montgomery County's Rodeo Drive" in Friendship Heights devolve into vacant storefronts, aging apartments, and smashed-up bus shelters, as the ultra-wealthy fled to lower-tax jurisdictions in the region. Businesses have relocated to Northern Virginia. And, like Washington state, the residents moving into MoCo and Maryland are mostly low-income.

But Washington state isn't just aping our massive tax burden, which is the largest in the D.C. area. They've also got the same crack addiction to spending that our County Council and state legislators have had since 2002. Washington state has a multi-billion dollar budget deficit just one year after the largest tax increase in state history. "The pattern is predictable: increase taxes, allocate the revenue to permanent new obligations and then point to the resulting 'shortfall' as justification for the next tax hike," Frost and Harmsworth summarize in a nutshell. 

Sound familiar? Annapolis started with a "millionaire tax" in 2012. Only two years after that tax hike, there were 1000 less such "millionaires" filing tax returns in Maryland, tanking state revenue. Current Maryland Governor Wes Moore walloped Marylanders with IT taxes and massive fee hikes for vehicle registration last year. The Montgomery County Council kept a disastrous energy tax and absurdist tax on the rain(!!) in place, while adding annual property tax hikes and a gargantuan recordation tax to the burden of homeowners.

And like their fellow spending junkies on the West Coast, the appetite of our elected officials to burn through taxpayer cash has only increased alongside the taxes. The Montgomery County Council has more than doubled the County budget over a mere decade. Their counterparts in Annapolis found a "permanent new obligation" in a reckless waste of money known as the "Blueprint for Maryland's Future," which is really a blueprint for teacher's union endorsements for the legislators who voted for it with the full knowledge that it would bankrupt the state in the next decade.

As Frost and Harmsworth correctly diagnose the illness, "the problem isn't that citizens aren't paying enough. It's that the government has lost the ability to say no." Have voters in Montgomery County and Maryland also lost the ability to say no to our incompetent and corrupt elected officials? Election results so far this century would suggest they have. Is there a breaking point, a level of taxation that's too high, or a realization of impending fiscal doom that can provide a smelling salts moment?

To paraphrase the op-ed authors, "Maryland is no longer a shining example of how to build a prosperous economy. It is a case study of how to dismantle one."

Maryland is 2nd-worst state to start a business, study finds

Maryland is the second-worst state in America in which to start a business, a study by WalletHub found. Rhode Island is rated the worst of all. The latest ignoble recognition for the Old Line State is compounded by other recent rankings showing Maryland is #46 out of 50 in tax competitiveness, according to the Tax Foundation, and is way down at #36 on the list of best states to retire in - also compiled by WalletHub.

Montgomery County has the highest overall tax and fee burden in the region. What else makes Maryland a terrible place to start a business? A poor business environment, WalletHub says. That includes measurements of current small business growth statistics, job growth, variety of industries, startups per capita, five-year business survival rate, share of fast-growing firms, and the entrepreneurship index. 

Another criteria examined was the cost of doing business. Beyond high County and State taxes, that takes into account the cost of living, the cost of office space, labor costs, employer-based health insurance costs, and the corporate tax rate. Not surprisingly, Maryland scores poorly across the board on business costs.

Also considered were access to capital and a skilled workforce. This includes the amount of venture capital being invested in Maryland businesses, rankings of colleges and universities in the state, and growth of the working age population.

Which states are the best to start a business in? According to WalletHub, Florida, Utah, Texas, Oklahoma, Idaho, Mississippi, Georgia, Indiana, Nevada, and California. Better start voting for better-qualified elected officials, or rent a moving truck for your business to relocate to greener pastures.

Imagine if they had factored in the exorbitant cost of energy in Maryland! We might have dropped to dead last. As it is, we're in real trouble, folks. How many more miles can Montgomery County and Maryland go down the road with tape over the Check Engine light on the economic development dashboard? Heckuva job, Brownie!

Montgomery County property taxes now exceed mortgage payments for many

For many years, I have written about the fact that property taxes in Montgomery County have essentially become the equivalent of a second mortgage for many homeowners. If we believe we have honest elections in the County, suffering the highest overall tax and fee burden in the region has yet to spark revolt among County voters. Would property taxes higher than your annual mortgage payment be enough to get taxpayers reaching for their proverbial torches and pitchforks? That's why I was delighted to read Chevy Chase resident Glenn Easton's letter to the editor in the rapidly-shrinking Washington Post.

Easton reported that this shocking event - the Taxological Singularity, if you will - has now taken place. "My property taxes exceed my mortgage payment and threaten my ability - and the ability of many others - to age in place in this state." He noted that the latest tax increase on his property was 13% in 2025, and have been as high as 26%. Easton has challenged assessments of his property each time, and has lost each time. Like me, Easton is "not sure why more homeowners (and voters) are not outraged."

California voters, in a very, very different era in the Golden State, led perhaps the most famous tax revolt in America since 1776. Easton called for a similar revolt and reform to that storied uprising of 1978, which led to property tax increases being capped at 2% annually.

With all County offices on the ballot once again this November, are Montgomery County taxpayers finally ready to revolt?

The County's disastrous fiscal situation indicates that change must come sooner or later, the (somewhat) easy way, or the hard way. Our tax burden must be reduced, and our master plan highway system completed, to attract high-wage jobs and corporations to the County. Montgomery County hasn't attracted a single new major corporate headquarters in over a quarter century. The only growth is in residential housing, and our structural budget deficit confirms that the costs new housing generates far exceed the tax revenue they generate.

Speaking of revenue generation, Council members have delivered multiple tax cuts to their developer sugar daddies, even as they've raised yours every single year except FY-2015 (in which the average homeowner received a whopping $12 tax cut). Perhaps inspired by the $72 million tax cut the Council delivered to developers in White Flint back in 2010, Councilmember Andrew Friedson has successfully pushed through two major tax cuts for developers in recent years. These have created massive exemptions from property taxes for projects at Metro stations and for office-to-housing conversions. The latter law is so permissive, its 20-year full property tax exemption(!!) applies to so many projects that it will blow a massive hole in County tax revenues over the next two decades. Most offensive is that these projects were going forward anyway, with the tax elimination simply an act of profiteering.

When taxes get lighter for real estate developer Friends of the Council, guess who taxes get heavier for? Yep, you the home and business owner. We can't keep shifting the tax burden to homeowners and small businesses, and we can't keep forgoing all of the lost business and commercial revenue we are losing due to our non-competitive tax burden and moribund County economy.

We also can't keep spending the way we are. Where the Council and our equally-corrupt Apple Ballot School Board are satisfied with a generously-funded school system that performs poorly, we instead need an adequately-funded school system that performs exceptionally. And an in-depth reform of profligate spending on Council-connected "non-profits" is long overdue. Many of these have organizational directors and officers who make financial contributions to Councilmember campaigns. Taxpayer money effectively ends up in the pockets of Councilmembers, and provides lucrative careers for the donors. 

The tax policies of Montgomery County are eerily reminiscent of those in Bell, California. Elected officials there ultimately ended up in prison.

Taxation is theft, to begin with. Property taxes by their nature are insidious, particularly at the almost-comically-excessive level charged in Montgomery County. If you don't pay, the government takes your home. Which means that all "private property" is effectively owned by the government, and you are paying government a rent to live there.

Enough is enough. Beyond a stagnant economy, gross incompetence by elected officials, high violent crime, and failing transportation and school systems, is a property tax that exceeds your mortgage payment enough for you to act? We'll find out on Election Night 2026.

To the barricades!

Montgomery County Council seeks to restrict ICE access, ban face masks for law enforcement

Montgomery County Councilmembers Will Jawando (D - At-Large) and Kristin Mink (D - District 5) have introduced two bills aimed at curbing the impact of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) within the county. Flanked by community members, educators, and fellow lawmakers at a joint press conference, they vowed that Montgomery County will not be a silent partner in federal immigration enforcement that relies on "fear, intimidation, or abuse." Mink has directly engaged ICE officers in Maryland, posting video of her encounters that earned TV news coverage. 

The County Values Act (Bill 3-26), led by Councilmember Mink, focuses on restricting ICE's access to and use of county-controlled properties. Key provisions include:

• Requiring a judicial warrant for ICE to enter any areas of county facilities not open to the general public.
• Mandating clear signage in those areas explicitly barring ICE access.
• Providing comprehensive staff training on how to handle such encounters.
• Prohibiting immigration enforcement activities in county parking lots, garages, and vacant lots.
• Requiring county staff to report any observed enforcement activities and to restrict or block access where feasible.
• Directing the county to develop and post a signage template that private businesses can voluntarily adopt.

Mink's bill is cosponsored by Councilmembers Kate Stewart (District 4), Will Jawando, Shebra Evans (At-Large), Andrew Friedson (District 1), Laurie-Anne Sayles (At-Large), Evan Glass (At-Large), and Marilyn Balcombe (District 2). "We cannot make ICE agents operate lawfully, but what we can do is employ the strongest possible protocols at every facility the County owns or operates,” Mink said.

Complementing this effort is the Unmask ICE Act (Bill 5-26), sponsored by Councilmember Jawando. It prohibits masking or facial coverings by all law enforcement officers operating in Montgomery County—including federal agents like ICE—with limited exceptions for public health reasons or specific operational necessities. The goal is to ensure transparency and build trust by allowing residents to clearly identify officers. Cosponsors include Councilmembers Mink, Evans, Stewart, Sayles, and Glass.

Jawando, who is running for County Executive, cast masked law enforcement officials as a horror of America's past. "Throughout history, masks have been used in American law enforcement to shield the wearer from accountability, and used for terror, impunity, and anonymity for violence," he said. "We are seeing that play out again before our eyes, and we cannot accept that as our new reality. As our local law enforcement recognizes, safety requires trust, and trust requires transparency. Our community is calling on us to do more, and we must listen, work together, and move forward with courage to protect our community."

Councilmembers sought to make the human cost of ICE enforcement actions the focal point of a joint press conference held after the bill introductions.

Orchid Dargahi, a teacher at Newport Mill Middle School who had a family member arrested by ICE, described the "trauma" rippling through her school: "Before I can do anything else in my classroom, I need to make sure my students feel safe. But I field questions like, ‘Can ICE just come into school?’ before teaching kids how to write an essay for or against zoos."

Gaby Rivera of the Montgomery County Immigrant Rights Collective (MoCo IRC) shared the story of a 19-year-old forced to raise his younger siblings after both parents were detained. Rivera urged the Council to pass these bills alongside the previously introduced Trust Act, arguing that together, they send a clear message that the County refuses to be complicit in "fear, intimidation, or abuse."

Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich to hold data center community forum Feb. 3

Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich announced today that he will host a community forum on the hot button issue of data centers on Tuesday, February 3, 2026, from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM at the Montgomery County Executive Office Building at 101 Monroe Street in Rockville. The forum will be held in the Auditorium of the building, and will also allow virtual participation online via Microsoft Teams. 

Input collected from the public at the forum will be considered as the County government formulates new legislation, policies, and regulations regarding data centers. The controversial facilities are considered essential, along with ample energy resources, to the development of artificial intelligence and related economic and job growth. But the lack of jobs provided by the facilities themselves, their heavy energy use and cooling needs, imposing size, and noise pollution have generated strong community opposition. Adding to the increasing focus on data centers has been a vigorous attempt by states to divert attention from the impact of their past moves to shutter power plants and force the purchase of wind and solar power, which along with government fees have jacked up energy bills in Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and elsewhere, by placing the blame on data centers.

"Data centers are part of the modern economy, and we need to have an honest conversation about what they mean for Montgomery County," Elrich said in a statement today. "Data centers can bring investment and jobs, but they also place real demands on our power grid, our water supply, and our land use. I want residents, businesses, and environmental advocates at the table, so we need to get this right. The decisions we make now will affect our climate goals, our neighborhoods, and energy costs for years to come. This forum is about listening first and making sure any policy we adopt reflects the values and priorities of the people who live here."

Montgomery County Council President Fani-González (D-Dist. 6) and Councilmembers Balcombe (D-Dist. 2) and Sayles (D-At-Large) have already proposed a zoning text amendment that would limit data center locations to industrially-zoned sections of the county. At-Large Councilmember Evan Glass (D) has introduced his own bill, which would establish a data center task force, if passed.

Chris Burnett, a Republican running for the 6th Congressional District in Maryland, which includes part of Montgomery County, warned against the Council pursuing a "piecemeal" approach to data center regulation. "Whatever the Councilmembers decide should be aligned to a part of a strategic plan. I offer real leadership strategies instead of knee-jerk reactions and band-aid solutions through my Innovation Corridor plan," Burnett, a retired Marine Corps officer and national security lawyer, said in a statement. "The piecemeal approach being proposed is what got Virginia into the mess it's in, and we appear to be wading into the exact same scenario without any long-term solutions. This shortsighted approach that doesn't align with national security strategies will inevitably lead to short-term gains at the expense of local residents without any opportunity for strategic growth."

Maryland's MARC earns F grade in survey of America's commuter rail systems

Trains magazine, a publication that provides in-depth coverage of the passenger and freight railroad industries, recently used federal transit data to rate America's commuter rail systems. Maryland's MARC commuter rail received a failing F grade, ranking it as one of the nation's worst. In contrast, Virginia Railway Express earned a B.

The magazine noted that MARC service expanded during the 1990s, and that the state made great effort to update train equipment during the gubernatorial terms of William Donald Schaefer and Parris Glendening. This century, the picture has turned far bleaker for Maryland rail commuters.

Trains found MARC ridership dropped 64% between 2018 and 2023. MARC now has the worst cost efficiency, and the poorest mechanical reliability record of any medium size commuter railroad in the country. In other words, Maryland is at rock bottom in commuter rail service. The magazine summed up its analysis of MARC by saying, "it's tough to find a silver lining."

Reporter John Friedmann described the criteria and data utilized in the magazine's survey as follows: Each railroad was graded on the same five criteria. Efficiency was calculated by the operating cost per passenger mile. Utilization, or how much do passengers utilize the network, was measured by the number of passenger miles per route mile. Growth was determined by a comparison of 2018 ridership versus 2023 ridership. Relevance was measured by number of rail trips per area resident. And reliability was rated by the number of mechanical failures per train mile.

All data was compiled from the Federal Transit Administration's National Transit Database.

Not surprisingly, the Long Island Railroad and Metro-North Railroad in New York earned an A grade in the survey. So did commuter systems in Salt Lake City and Denver, railroads that aren't discussed as often as their more famous counterparts like the MBTA, Metra, and SEPTA, all of which scored below the Utah and Colorado lines in this survey - but far higher than our beleagured MARC. Can it get any worse for Maryland? Yes! Beyond a massive structural budget deficit forecast, any Purple Line financial losses will siphon even more money from MARC over the coming decades.

Local Taiwanese groups hold flag-raising ceremony in Rockville

Local Taiwanese groups held their annual flag-raising ceremony on New Year's Day at Richard Montgomery High School in Rockville. The event recognizes the many active Republic of China organizations in the Washington, D.C. region, and celebrates the ongoing solidarity between Taiwan and the United States. Taiwan's ambassador to the U.S., Alexander Yui, was among several dignitaries in attendance. The ambassador "emphasized that Taiwan-U.S. relations remain strong and unwavering," the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States said in a statement. Among the groups that assembled for the ceremony were the Alumni Association of the Huangpu Military Academy’s Greater Washington Chapter, the ROC Veterans Association in Washington, D.C., and the Taiwanese Benevolent Association of America’s Greater Washington Chapter (Maryland).

Photos courtesy Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the U.S.

Nathan Landow, developer and philanthropist, dies at 93

 

The Montgomery County business and civic communities lost a giant earlier this week, when real estate developer and philanthropist Nathan Landow passed away on December 30, 2025, at the age of 93. He leaves behind an outsize imprint on the Bethesda skyline. His contributions to the town include his namesake Landow Building office property, and several apartment and condominium towers. Landow went above and beyond design and regulatory requirements, bestowing buildings such as The Seasons, Crescent Plaza, and Fairmont Plaza with resort hotel-style balconies and design features. If you've been inside The Promenade at Pooks Hill, you know it's like being on a luxury ocean liner on land.

Other landmark properties developed by Landow outside of Montgomery County include The Colonnade and The Carlton Towers in Washington, D.C., and Prospect House in Arlington. He was responsible for 17 large-scale residential buildings in total over his career, beyond his commercial and office developments.

Landow's contributions extended outside of improving the architecture of the region. He was a prolific fundraiser and contributor to the Democratic Party at all levels, and even served as Chairman of the Maryland Democratic Party at one point. He was not only a key benefactor of the Mayo Clinic and Charles E. Smith Life Communities, but also made architectural additions to both of their campuses.

Services will be held on Sunday, January 4, at 12:30 p.m. at Washington Hebrew Congregation (3935 Macomb Street NW). Shiva will be observed at the home of Harolyn and Michael Cardozo on Sunday, January 4 at 7 p.m. and on Monday, January 5 at 7 p.m.

Memorial donations may be made to Landow House, c/o Charles E. Smith Life Communities, 6121 Montrose Road, Rockville, MD 20852, or online at www.smithlifecommunities.org/giving.

Italian aerospace firm chooses Virginia for rocket motor manufacturing facility

Were Maryland and Montgomery County even courting global aerospace firm Avio S.p.A in its search for a site to build a $500 million solid rocket motor manufacturing facility? We may never know. But we do know that the Italian firm has selected Virginia as the winner for the high-tech factory. The 860,000-square-foot advanced manufacturing facility will produce solid rocket motors for defense tactical and strategic propulsion, as well as commercial space propulsion sectors. 

“I want to thank Avio USA for choosing Virginia,” Governor Glenn Youngkin said in a statement. “Today’s announcement marks another exciting milestone for our aerospace and defense industry. Avio USA’s decision to build a new rocket motor manufacturing facility here is both an important investment in America’s national security infrastructure and underscores Avio USA’s confidence in Virginia.”

“Avio looks forward to establishing on U.S. soil a solid rocket motor production facility to contribute in strengthening the U.S. industrial base by providing decades of experience in engineering and manufacturing,” Avio S.p.A. CEO Giulio Ranzo said. “In particular, we are thankful for the Commonwealth and local governments’ warm welcome for our project and count on their future support for effective execution.” 

Does Maryland and its counties extend a warm welcome to aerospace firms? Not in this century. The County Council tried to run the last remaining big aerospace firm - Lockheed Martin - out of the county not once, but twice, with radical legislation that made us look like idiots after the bills received national news coverage. "We don't need the Lockheed headquarters," former Councilmember Nancy Floreen declared in the summer of 2010. 

It's no surprise that the County has failed to attract a single major new corporate headquarters in over 25 years. Or that, thanks to the highest personal and corporate tax and fee burden in the Mid-Atlantic region, Montgomery County and Maryland have effectively been in a recession for much of this century. MoCo's crime rate has risen faster and higher than its business and job growth rates as a result. Once the economic engine of the region, Montgomery County is now at or near the bottom across every major economic benchmark tracked by the federal government. Heckuva job, Brownie!

January 1 plastic bag ban looms over Montgomery County

 

The Montgomery County Council is known for doing little beyond raising taxes and the cost of doing business, and banning stuff. Councilmembers were able to do all three in their highest-profile ban of the 2025 legislative session, that of plastic bags. The ban takes effect on January 1, 2026, and impacted businesses across the county are now trying to prepare their customers to buy paper bags (remember how paper bags were causing deforestation, so we were told to use plastic?!) or reusable bags, or - ew! - reuse dirty reusable bags teeming with e coli, salmonella, and God knows what else. Ironically, Safeway, whose customer alert signage is pictured here, got its start as the Sanitary Grocery Company.

Damascus bank branch to be auctioned off

A former Truist bank branch in the center of Damascus is about to be auctioned off. The building and associated structures are located at 9916 Main Street. This is a prime location for business, or for potential redevelopment as residential or mixed-use, with such redevelopment eagerly sought by the Montgomery County cartel, who have been working overtime to urbanize rural Damascus. They also want to jam as many Democrats as possible into the Republican town, before the U.S. Supreme Court declares their gerrymandered legislative and council district maps illegal. The opening bid is a ridiculously low $175,000, according to the online listing.

Heven AeroTech chooses Virginia over Maryland for new corporate HQ

Montgomery County and Maryland have failed yet again to win another corporate headquarters competition. The winner in the contest is a familiar one: Northern Virginia. Heven AeroTech is moving its U.S. headquarters from Miami to Sterling, Virginia. The firm specializes in the design, manufacture, and deployment hydrogen-powered, runway-independent drones around the world. Needless to say, this is a booming field, as drones are the future of warfare, and are also being utilized in a growing number of non-military sectors of the economy.

A quick look at the map shows once again the critical importance of having direct access to Dulles International Airport for economic development. Heven AeroTech's new HQ address, 45240 Business Court, is 4 minutes from the airport. It's also right adjacent to VA 28, in which the state has invested greatly to bring it up to interstate highway standards, by constructing numerous interchanges. That's the same VA 28 that Montgomery County and Maryland could have made a direct highway connection to via a new Potomac River crossing many years ago, but have defiantly chosen not to.

The results continue to speak for themselves. We are falling further and further behind in the game, at an accelerating pace. According to Business Facilities magazine, in Fairfax County alone, 75 of that county's 125 aerospace firms have moved or expanded there in just the last three years. Montgomery County hasn't attracted a single major new corporate headquarters - of any type - in over 25 years. 

Our "leaders" have made the deliberate decision to not give ourselves the Dulles advantage, and to continue to follow a tax-and-spend blueprint that is not only not competitive with rival jurisdictions, but now represents the greatest tax and fee burden in the entire region. Heckuva job, Brownie!

Hunger increases in Montgomery County

An unhoused person sleeps in the 
doorway of the vacant former
Sir Walter Raleigh Inn in Bethesda

Poverty, homelessness, and hunger continue to increase in Montgomery County. A new report released by the Capital Area Food Bank indicates that food insecurity in Montgomery County has increased by 1% in the last year. In contrast, hunger levels dropped in Prince George's County, the City of Alexandria, Arlington County, and Fairfax County. Food insecurity in Washington, D.C. increased by 2%.

The report was based on a survey of Washington Metropolitan Area residents conducted this spring. Most of Montgomery County's population growth in recent years has been in the low-income range. Meanwhile, the County has failed to generate high-wage jobs, and has not attracted a single new major corporate headquarters in over 25 years. The moribund economy and inflated food prices have been a devastating combination for many. Those who once turned to dollar menus at fast food restaurants to get by can no longer do so, as inflation and imposition of high minimum wages in that industry have had the desired effect of those policies' architects, to force low-income and working class residents to turn to government and non-profits for sustenance. 

Montgomery County to deploy 140 more speed cameras, 76 more red light cameras to juice revenue

The Montgomery County Council, in partnership with the County's representatives in the Maryland General Assembly and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, are opening a rich new vein of revenue in their ongoing effort to transfer the tax burden from real estate developers onto County residents. A new state law that will take effect October 1, 2025 will allow the County to greatly expand its speed camera and red light camera programs. With this legislative assistance from Annapolis, the Council plans to deploy 140 more speed cameras, and 76 new red light cameras, countywide starting next month.

While the Council claims the motivation is safety, their own internal numbers show that during the period studied from 2021 to 2022, the total number of injurious and fatal crashes increased despite the mass deployment of such ticketing cameras countywide up to that point. The County's economy has been moribund for most of this century, and the flight of the rich to lower tax jurisdictions in the area has robbed the County's coffers of huge chunks of revenue that it previously enjoyed.

At the same time, the Council has passed numerous tax cuts for the developer sugar daddies who fund their campaigns. This has further reduced County revenues, even as the Council has increased spending each year. The Council has found that, so far, County residents have not rebelled at the ballot box regardless of the number or size of the tax increases passed, or additional taxes levied. 

As a result, since the last decade, the Council has aggressively begun to shift the tax burden from developers onto the shoulders of residents. They have raised property taxes each year with the exception of FY-2015, in which they allowed a "tax cut" of approximately $12 for the average homeowner. A new energy tax, a massive new "recordation tax" on home sellers, and a new "rain tax" were among the new levies added to what was already the highest tax and fee burden in the Washington, D.C. Metro area.

Speed cameras and red light cameras were also deployed in a concerted effort to raise revenues. Having just passed a new tax cut for developers earlier this year that will cost the County's coffers billions of dollars over the next 20 years, it's no surprise that the Council is desperate to shake their constituents upside down even harder with this massive expansion of the camera program.

Using traffic enforcement ticketing as a revenue source has been shown to be one of the most-regressive taxation methods. Such tickets - with ever-increasing fine amounts up to $425 per ticket as of October 1 - can be devastating to those on the lower income end of the scale. That fits in line with the energy, rain, cell phone, and recordation taxes, all of which are also extremely regressive.

This trend will unsurprisingly continue in Montgomery County, as the Council has grown increasingly confident that there are no political consequences to raising taxes on residents by any amount tried so far. Insiders have reported that Council members have privately referred to residents as "losers" and "suckers" whom they can hit up for almost any new tax or tax hike they can imagine. The Council has dropped more and more taxation anvils onto residents in recent years, and no storied "tax revolt" has materialized.

Instead, the Council has found it has a "green light" to use the same sort of tactics that landed elected officials in Bell, California in prison a little over a decade ago. Like Montgomery officials, the Bell officials passed massive property tax hikes on residents (check), engaged in questionable land deals that were money winners for developers but money losers for taxpayers (check), added new levies such as a "sewer tax" (check), and ordered aggressive traffic ticketing (check), while raising their own salaries to outlandish new heights. Four Bell City Councilmembers and one Bell Mayor were sentenced to prison terms, as were the City Manager and Assistant City Manager.

Nextdoor removes Rockville Charlie Kirk prayer vigil post

Nextdoor has removed a post informing users about Montgomery County-area prayer vigils being held for Charlie Kirk, the leader of the conservative organization Turning Point USA, who was assassinated last week in Utah. It included one taking place in Rockville on September 20. The Nextdoor user who posted it sent me a few screen shots of their post, which did not include any political statements, much less any offensive language. Some time later, the user was informed that their post had been hidden, and will ultimately be removed altogether, because a post about a timely event taking place in Rockville is supposedly a "non-local topic outside of a group."

The user has appealed the removal of the post. In contrast, comments promoting violence against Kirk that were posted in response to the vigil announcement have been allowed to remain on Nextdoor.