Some Montgomery County voters haven't received their mail-in ballots

Some Montgomery County voters are hitting the panic button as the mail-in ballots they requested weeks or months ago have not yet arrived. The panic is not only due to the high anxiety about election fraud this year, but more so because these voters have seen friends' and family members' ballots arrive, while theirs haven't - even though in many cases the requests were mailed the same day, or even together.

The Montgomery County Board of Elections told one voter who requested his ballot over a month ago that, if he doesn't receive it by the end of this week, to request a "second-issue ballot." This can be done by visiting the Board of Elections in person (Monday-Friday, 8:30am-5pm) at 18753 N. Frederick Avenue., Suite 210, in Gaithersburg; emailing your name, date-of-birth, address, mailing address (if needed), and second ballot issue request to absentee@montgomerycountymd.gov; or by reapplying online by texting VBM to 77788 or using this form.

Another big question for some voters is why their ballot isn't shown as received days after mailing it back, or placing it into a dropbox. BOE says that it can take up to two weeks for a ballot to be collected and processed.

Voters are correct to be concerned. I lost my voting rights in the primary earlier this year when my completed ballot was "lost in the mail" on its way back to the BOE, making it the first election I ever missed participating in since I was old enough to register. I personally have received my mail-in ballot. But I will be using a dropbox to return it this time.

CM Chicken opening Rockville location (Photos)

CM Chicken, short for Choong Man Chicken, is coming to Rockville. The restaurant is putting the finishing construction touches on its future space at the Ritchie Center on Rockville Pike. It's a Korean concept, and some online reviews are calling it even better than Bonchon.

Specialties at CM Chicken include its signature Snow Onion Chicken and Tikkudak chicken. Snow Onion Chicken is fried chicken topped with a copious amount of mayonnaise and raw onions. Tikkudak chicken varieties all benefit from being baked in an oven after frying for extra crunch. Spice levels range from mild to super hot.

Next Level Studio opening new studio in Derwood

Next Level Studio, a dance studio with a competitive dance program and a variety of classes, will open a new facility at 15811 Frederick Road in Derwood, across from King Farm. Classes are currently being held in a space at the rear of the building, while construction on the new studio is being completed at the front.

Rockville Ourisman Mazda construction update (Photos)

Here's a look at the progress on the new Ourisman Mazda dealership facility at 801 Rockville Pike. The dealership remains open during the construction.

Gold's Gym renewing lease at Rockville Town Square

Rockville Town Square has suffered another round of business closures over the last year, but the development is going to hold on to one of its biggest tenants. Gold's Gym is going to renew its lease at the Federal Realty property, according to an agenda item for the October 5 meeting of the Mayor and Council. 

This is good news for several reasons. First, it is one of the largest spaces at the development. Second, it is a major traffic generator for the other businesses in the Town Square. And it is an important amenity for residents in the Town Square and immediate area around it, where there is not a huge number of other gym options.

Rockville to replace Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples' Day

Days before Columbus Day 2020, the City of Rockville will give Cristóbal Colón the boot. Tonight, the Mayor and Council will officially proclaim October 12 as "Indigenous Peoples' Day," replacing the city's celebration of Columbus Day. According to the agenda item about the proclamation that will be read near the beginning of tonight's meeting, the change will "avoid celebrating Columbus and the European colonization of the Americas."

Image via U.S. Library of Congress

President Trump taken to Walter Reed less than 24 hours after testing positive for coronavirus (Video+Photos)

President Donald Trump was taken by helicopter to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda tonight, less than twenty-four hours after he tested positive for the coronavirus. White House representatives had maintained through the day Friday that Trump's Covid-19 symptoms were mild. 

Many observed on social media that Trump was not posting on Twitter on Friday since his virus announcement tweets. Trump did enter the hospital under his own power upon arriving from the White House. Curious observers joined a rapid media deployment across MD 355 from Walter Reed. 

Some Trump supporters - including a pickup truck flying a Trump flag - tried to be visible to the president as he disembarked from Marine One. Traffic was stopped in both directions on 355 throughout the president's arrival, and while Marine One took off again.

Trump supporters drive past
Walter Reed as president disembarks
from Marine One

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Trump will be admitted to Walter Reed for at least several days. No medical details about why the president is being moved there have been released, but McEnany said it was under the advice of White House physicians that Trump would transfer his work to offices available for presidential use at the hospital.