Judge orders Maryland to hand over Montgomery County voter data in voter fraud investigation

MoCo has more names registered to

vote than citizens eligible to vote

A federal judge has ruled that the Maryland must hand over the voting registration data of Montgomery County voters to Judicial Watch, a right-wing government watchdog organization. Judicial Watch filed the suit several years ago when a review of public data revealed that there are more names registered to vote in Montgomery County than there are citizens eligible to vote.

The Maryland Board of Elections refused to hand over the voter data after earlier legal action. Elections Administrator Linda Lamone went as far as to delete the voter birthdate box on the registration form. That action was one that U.S. District Court Judge Ellen Hollander seized upon in her ruling for Judicial Watch.

Judge Hollander stated in her opinion that:

"Judicial Watch need not demonstrate its need for birth date information in order to facilitate its effort to ensure that the voter rolls are properly maintained. Nevertheless, it has put forward reasonable justifications for requiring birth date information, including using birth dates to find duplicate registrations and searching for voters who remain on the rolls despite 'improbable' age."

"Because full voter birth dates appear on completed voter registration applications, the Administrator may not bypass the Act by unilaterally revising the Application."

Judicial Watch had stated its intention to sue Maryland over the issues with the Montgomery County voter rolls in 2017, if the state did not remove names of ineligible voters, or of those who had passed away or moved out of the county. A man noted on Twitter in a post just last week that voting records showed his mother continuing to "vote" in Montgomery County elections for a full decade after her death.

Maryland and Montgomery County rebuffed Judicial Watch at the time. The organization filed suit over Montgomery County's "impossibly high registration rate – over 100 percent of its age-eligible citizenry" later that year.

“Maryland politicians fought us tooth and nail to keep Judicial Watch from uncovering the full truth about their dirty election rolls,” Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said in a statement yesterday. “This latest court victory will allow Judicial Watch to ensure Maryland and Montgomery County are removing voters who have moved or died long ago.”

Gilead's Remdesivir effective in Rockville study of monkeys with coronavirus covid-19

A study at the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases {(NIAID) in Rockville has shown that pharmaceutical firm Gilead's experimental Remdesivir anti-viral treatment slowed the progression of the covid-19 coronavirus in monkeys infected with the virus. It also reduced lung damage.

Early administration of the drug made it more effective, according to a report on the study by HospiMedica.com. The drug did not reduce the monkey's shedding of the virus while infected, however, which means they would remain contagious even while on Remdesivir, if this study's finding holds in further clinical testing.

The NIAID is at 5601 Fishers Lane in the Twinbrook area of Rockville.

First Watch temporarily closed in Rockville due to coronavirus pandemic

First Watch at Rockville Town Square has temporarily closed due to the coronavirus pandemic. CEO Chris Tomasso said it was a "difficult decision," but that he decided to close all of the chain's locations to protect employees from contracting covid-19. He also announced that First Watch employees will receive medical coverage and additional health benefits related to coronavirus. First Watch is located at 100-D Gibbs Street.

Maryland State Police shut down Flagship Car Wash in Rockville

Longtime car cleaning business

asks for customers' help

WJLA ABC7 reporter Kevin Lewis witnessed Maryland State Police drive up and blockade the Flagship Car Wash on Chapman Avenue near the Rockville Target store early Sunday afternoon. The company confirmed to Lewis that MSP officers had shut down four Flagship locations across Montgomery County Sunday. Flagship also has locations in the District and Virginia.

Flagship's owner told Lewis that the services her business was providing were compliant with a written directive from the state regarding which "essential" auto maintenance services could be offered during the statewide coronavirus shutdown. I can confirm this is true, because Flagship had announced way back on March 25 that they were limiting services in Rockville to exterior cleaning only,  with machine-operated automatics, self-service and vacuums to be open 24 hours. Exterior cleaning by employees was not even listed for the other two upcounty, just the automatic and self-serve options.

Later Sunday, Flagship asked its customers on Facebook to share the ABC7 story to support their business. MSP told Lewis that car washes are not an essential service, and that the Flagship location in MoCo should remain closed.

Car stolen in Rockville Town Center

A car was stolen in Rockville Town Center on April 15. According to crime data, the car was parked on the street on Courthouse Square when it was reported stolen around 8:11 PM that evening.

Masks mandatory on Ride On buses starting today

The Montgomery County Department of Transportation has mandated that all Ride On bus passengers must wear masks or face coverings starting today. Riders not in compliance will be asked not to board, or to disembark if they remove their mask while aboard. A similar rule will take effect statewide on Saturday, April 18, 2020.

Sneak peek: Watkins Mill interchange highway signs (Photos)

Well, look what I found up the road in Gaithersburg. The interstate-standard highway signs for the Watkins Mill interchange at I-270. Aside from Watkins Mill Road, the signs direct drivers to Montgomery Village, Seneca Creek State Park, NIST and the MARC station. Not shown, thanks to the Montgomery County Council defiantly refusing to build the master plan M-83 Highway, are directions to Germantown, Clarksburg and Damascus.