It’s that time of year when you think you can focus on those newly minted resolutions, but you really need to be focused on summer camp registration. That’s right, it’s already here.

Rockville lawyer pleads guilty to financial schemes that took millions

Montgomery County saw a slight increase in homicides, traffic deaths in 2025

I had a hoodie that I used to wear that said spread kindness. I think I bought it as a sort of mantra to take into 2024. Just saw a wonderful photo of my uncle with a choose kindness hoodie. I guess it’s in our DNA. Anyway, the world is bleak and sometimes terrible. Choose kindness.

Hiring sputtered. The unemployment rate rose. 2025 put a decisive end to the hottest job market in a generation. Charts tell the story.

WSJ investigation: In the past 6 months ICE agents have fired at vehicles 13 times, leading to: * 8 people shot * 5 of which were U.S. citizens * 2 died * no victims drew a weapon The playbook: Agents box in a vehicle, block attempts to flee, then fire www.wsj.com/us-news/vide...

There’s a pattern of false or incorrect statements from ICE that deflect blame for violent encounters. Specifically incidents in which a vehicle is involved. This shooting in Glen Burnie sounds a lot like Minnesota, where the basic facts come into question.

The Chesapeake Center shutters amid family feuding, debt and a privacy breach

In a district of more than 156,000 students, just 56 families asked Montgomery County school leaders to excuse their children from reading books that conflict with their religious beliefs. Many of the disputed titles had LGBTQ characters. Search the full list here: www.thebanner.com/education/k-...

Montgomery County had its second homicide recorded last night. A 43-year-old Beltsville man.

‘Anguish into action’: Dozens in Silver Spring protest ICE agent’s killing of Minnesota woman

The woman who helped create a movement for sober drinking hails from North Bethesda. For all my friends participating in DryJanuary.

Tough news. The media biz is hard.

@rondez.bsky.social on the scene www.thebanner.com/video/2026/0...

An unfortunate update from my colleague @invisibae.bsky.social. Maryland lost about 10,000 jobs in October, according to new BLS data. Federal cuts have been devastating.

AI-powered traffic enforcement may be coming to more Maryland jurisdictions. Takoma Park tells us why.

When the Trump admin was in the midst of DOGEing the federal government and taking a chainsaw to the local economy, there was a clear increase in mental health calls and other indicators. More Montgomery County residents are struggling with anxiety, depression and other mental illnesses.

Do you know what a semiquincentennial is? Montgomery County is loading up on events to celebrate.

Reaction from Maryland leaders on Venezuela. No surprises here, but good for the record.

The potential for this to go terribly, horribly wrong is high. Very high. www.nytimes.com/live/2026/01...

Another remarkable moment in this presidency.

The world has come a long way since the days of “All the President’s Men” and “Spotlight,” movies that favorably portrayed journalists knocking on doors and trying to reach sources to tell important stories. Now Trump officials vilify such efforts. My column on the moment we’re in.

We taste-tested 9 bagels across Montgomery County and found the best one

The largest union for Maryland state government workers (AFSCME Maryland Council 3) filed three Unfair Labor Practices against Gov. Wes Moore's administration, as tensions continue over staffing and pay. www.thebanner.com/politics-pow...

This is delightful. Our reporters @hannahyasharoff.bsky.social and Hau Chu, doing serious and very important work, taste test all the spice levels at Dave's Hot Chicken. From Hannah, after eating the "hot" level spice: I’m officially chickening out.

MCPS requested a 5% increase to its budget, which would bring it to $3.8 billion. The increase would mostly address salary bumps. But some cuts are expected too. Of course, this comes as enrollment is declining and fewer people have jobs in the county. Lots of economic pressure bubbling up here.

With personalization like this, how do you review for accuracy when you’re scaling (hopefully) to tens of thousands of users? The technical difficulty is high, and getting it right is impressive, but having a check on these systems is critical to building and maintaining trust.

CASA’s incoming executive director is ready to pivot from being a reactive immigrant advocacy organization to one that is on the offensive, including holding the government accountable for its immigration policies. This is a revealing back and forth with my colleague Antonio Planas.

NEW: Trump’s DOJ Pressured Lawyers to “Find” Evidence That UCLA Had Illegally Tolerated Antisemitism An investigation by ProPublica and @chronicle.com reveals how the U.S. government ignored due process to gin up its attack on the University of California.

ProPublica spoke to about 150 people who had lived in homeless encampments when cities cleared them out in “sweeps.” We distributed notecards so people could tell us about the toll in their own words. ➡️ This is what they wrote: https://propub.li/3MTlm33

NEW: Entrepreneur David Trone wants his seat back – in the U.S. House of Representatives that is – and plans to challenge U.S. Rep. April McClain Delaney in the 2026 Democratic primary, according to his campaign. www.thebanner.com/politics-pow...

Coming up on Tuesday, we'll be holding a community listening session in Rockville. We're interested in hearing from Montgomery County residents about what they think is important and where we should be putting our attention. You can register for free here.

Concerning.

Next week, the @bannermoco.bsky.social team will be in Rockville for a community listening session. This will be your opportunity to connect with our reporters and editors and help us focus on the issues of most importance. Register for free here.

My font nerds will appreciate this article. Or abhor it. (Gift link)

My colleague Talia Richman has been all over the struggles of Montgomery County's only charter school. Now, the superintendent is pushing for its closure.

Just in: Former school board president Shebra Evans to replace Gabe Albornoz on the Montgomery County Council.

The Diddy doc was some great journalism. It brought together the evidence that he was involved in the death of Tupac AND how is actions contributed to Biggie’s death. It also laid out explicitly his violence toward women, his drug abuse, and his habit of screwing people over. Worth the watch.

NEW: The Republican National Committee and the Maryland GOP are suing Maryland election officials, claiming the state has failed to properly maintain its voter rolls. tinyurl.com/mucyrjw8 A separate lawsuit filed by the Justice Department Monday wants Maryland to hand over unredacted voter rolls.

Update: Maryland Office of the Public Defender says incarcerated children are still “trapped in freezing rooms” at the Youth Detention Center, which is without heat but “operating at 105% capacity.”

I try and keep up with the governor’s media appearances. Here he is on Higher Learning, which dropped this morning.

A 17-year-old with a gun.

With Adrienne Jones stepping down as Maryland's House speaker, it's anybody's guess who gets elevated next. But we have a pretty good idea of who, thanks to @pwoodreporter.bsky.social's reporting, could be in the running. And four hail from Montgomery County.

The shine of food TV is wearing off. My colleague @hannahyasharoff.bsky.social talks to Montgomery County area chefs who've appeared on major shows and competitions (and won!), but didn't see a boom in business.

Officials introduce bill they hope will stifle ICE in Montgomery County

My colleague Talia Richman has been monitoring the struggles of Montgomery County's only charter school. She obtained a letter from Superintendent Thomas Taylor, who wrote that he can no longer “support or continue to endorse the mismanagement” of the school.

Yes, it is.

Here’s a new podcast worth following from the @sfstandard.com. This is great reporting and storytelling. open.spotify.com/episode/4zh7...

EXPLAINER: Natali Fani-González will serve as the Montgomery County Council’s next president, as councilmembers unanimously voted in her favor Tuesday.

POLITICO poll: People are more worried about being able to afford their groceries than the rising cost of housing or health care, and 55% of them blame the current administration — including 20% of 2024 Trump voters.