MoCo Headlines: Downcounty Crime, Legislative News

With more than a dozen websites across Montgomery County, Patch brings you news from every corner of our community. Catch up on headlines you have missed this week, including downcounty robberies and the start of the legislative session.

Montgomery County police are continuing to investigate a Bethesda home invasion robbery during which a mother, her teenage son and a housekeeper were bound. The housekeeper, according to police, was sexually assaulted. Police have released a photo of the suspect, who they say is also linked to a home invasion robbery in Wheaton. Read more on Bethesda Patch.



State Sen. Jamie Raskin of Montgomery County was chosen as the new majority whip for the Maryland State Senate. Raskin (D-Dist. 20), who lives in Takoma Park, will share the duties with Sen. Lisa Gladden (D-Dist 41). .



District 18 Del. Ana Sol Gutiérrez will battle in the Maryland General Assembly this winter to reinstate her proposal for a Hispanic sub-district in District 18, following the decision by Gov. Martin O’Malley to leave the sub-district out of the proposed redistricting map. .



Montgomery County Public Schools has chosen to redo its site selection for a controversial new Bethesda-Chevy Chase cluster middle school. An MCPS committee has eliminated 13 possible sites for the school, but many public parks are still under consideration. .

Some students in Montgomery County traded classroom instruction for standardized testing as schools gave the High School Assessment (HSA). The HSAs, one of the state's graduation requirements, are given three times a year in three subjects: Algebra, English and Biology. . 

The Brickyard Road controversy in Potomac heated up this week, as details of the Montgomery County Board of Education settlement terms were released. In exchange for dismissing the case in front of the Montgomery County Circuit Court, the BOE agreed to pay court costs up to $10,000 in a settlement with Nick Maravell of Nick's Organic Farm. Montgomery County also agreed to extend Maravell's license to farm at the Brickyard property to August 2012. 



As Johns Hopkins University and the heirs to the Belward Farm estate continue to battle over plans to develop a 4.6 million-square-foot “Science City” on the property, members of the community surrounding the farm continue to voice their displeasure with the university’s plans. .

Wheaton’s library advisory committee and its supporters are hoping that the fiscal 2013 capital budget, which County Executive Isiah Leggett will release Tuesday, includes design phase funding for the combined renovation of the Wheaton Library and the neighborhood recreation cente on Georgia Avenue. Councilman Hans Riemer toured the library on Monday and promised his support in upcoming budget negotiations.

will not be able to construct a parking lot next to its location in Rockville’s historic West End after the City Council on Monday reversed the previous council’s decision granting a modification to the city’s zoning laws. The council will hold a public hearing on the change on Jan. 23, followed by a final vote to adopt the change. Read more on Rockville Patch.