With demand for monkeypox vaccine exceeding supply, Montgomery County officials are appealing to Gov. Larry Hogan to provide more doses.

The county has received about 850 vaccine doses and asked the state to provide 2,000 more.

“Gov. Hogan, we need more Monkey Pox vaccinations. Residents are anxious and frustrated, and we need you to do the right thing and provide us more doses,” said Montgomery County Council Vice President Evan Glass.

The County Council unanimously passed legislation Tuesday that requires county buildings and some businesses to have gender-inclusive restrooms. Council Vice President Evan Glass and Council Member Sidney Katz were the lead sponsors.

Glass — who identifies as gay and is poised to become the council’s first openly gay council president later this year — said before Tuesday’s vote that the bill was meant to help everybody in the community. It’s a local example of “what has been a national conversation in making sure everyone feels welcome and safe in their communities,” he said.

It has been almost two years since the tragic death of George Floyd. In the aftermath, Montgomery County and local communities across the country have made significant efforts to reimagine public safety and support policies that improve racial equity and social justice.

One of the most important areas of this work has focused on police reform and ensuring that every resident — regardless of race, immigration status or Zip code — feels safe in the community.

In Wheaton, Maryland, county and state lawmakers gathered at the site on Veirs Mill Road where a 59-year-old woman was struck and killed by a vehicle as she was crossing the street in January. They hope to bring attention to the rising number of pedestrian deaths taking place in the region.

Last year, Montgomery County saw 40 pedestrian and bicyclist incidents. Only six weeks into 2022, and the county has already seen 50 incidents and two deaths.

“In 2022, we’ve already had two people killed and 50 incidents, just six weeks into this new year,” said Montgomery County Council Vice President Evan Glass, who holds these events annually to highlight the importance of “Vision Zero” programs to reduce roadway injuries and deaths.

The D.C. region is struggling with a Metro system that is experiencing reduced ridership as the result of pandemic-related workplace changes and a series of safety problems that have affected rider confidence. But often overlooked in our conversations about public transportation is the fact that our regional buses continue operating and performing better than Metrorail. Our robust bus network is proving to be more important than ever.

For months, Hameedullah Rokhan fought alongside NATO troops in Afghanistan, trying to keep the Taliban at bay. As the war-torn country’s government started to collapse, he fled his homeland.

Rokhan finally received a visa for refugees and moved his family to Montgomery County, Maryland.

He was a guest speaker at a rally Thursday to support Afghan refugees and families like his.

Montgomery County’s roughly 147,000 tons of annual food waste could soon be put to good use.

Instead of most waste being burned at an incinerator in Dickerson, it can now be used as a new option for mulching and composting on farmland.

The Montgomery County Council unanimously approved a zoning amendment to allow mulching and composting as accessory uses to farming if no more than 50% of the material comes in from off-site.

This year, for the first time, Maryland’s most populous jurisdiction formally recognized June as Pride Month — an effort spearheaded by Evan Glass, the first openly gay member of the Montgomery County Council.

At events, Glass, 42, posed with drag queens and marched triumphantly through town centers holding his husband’s hand. Behind the scenes, however, the at-large Democrat was battling a deluge of hate-filled messages.

On my first day as a Montgomery County Council member, I took two buses to get from my house in Silver Spring to the Stella B. Werner Council Office Building in Rockville. The total time was 80 minutes. The total cost was $2. That might not seem like much, but it adds up. That’s $4 a day, $20 a week, $80 a month, $960 a year — just counting weekdays.

Applicants for Montgomery County government jobs will no longer face questions about their past earnings, if new legislation passed unanimously by the county council becomes law.

Tuesday morning, all nine council members approved a bill introduced by Council member Evan Glass called the “Pay Equity” act. The bill has received an endorsement from Democratic County Executive Marc Elrich, who is expected to sign it.