Week in Review: Bank Robbery, Burning Bus and Blazing Heat

The week began with a blazing school bus--and ended with blazing temps. In between were a bank robbery, a contentious county council vote, and increased rewards for information in recent hate vandalisms.

Monday started with a morning school bus fire on I-270, which generated plumes of black smoke, slowed traffic and closed all southbound express lanes at the Montrose Road exit. The school bus was being driven in for repair work and the driver was the only person on the bus, according to Montgomery County Fire and Rescue. The fire is thought to have started in the engine. No injuries were reported.

On Tuesday, the Montgomery County Council unanimously voted to do away with "effects bargaining" for county police officers--a move opposed by the Fraternal Order of Police. As , "the legislation eliminates the collective bargaining process between the county and the Fraternal Order of Police on [some] management decisions." The contentious issue also generated a storm of comments in Parsons on Politics.

Last weekend's break in the hot weather relief seemed a but faint memory by late week, when dangerous heat moved into the region generating three days of Excessive Heat Warnings from the National Weather Service.

The extreme heat apparently didn't deter a bank robber, who robbed a SunTrust bank at gunpoint on Thursday morning. Montgomery County Police and the FBI are investigating the armed robbery, which took place at the bank's Potomac Place Shopping Center location on Falls Road. A reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest or indictment of the man responsible for the bank robbery.

Meanwhile, on Friday the reward was increased by Montgomery County Police for information on three recent hate vandalism crimes. The crimes include the incidents at and where an ethnically-offensive word was found in graffiti and on one of several vandalized cars. Police are investigating possible link with a July 13 incident in Spencerville in which 20 cars were vandalized, two with hate-related graffiti.

Also on Friday, Gov. Martin O'Malley announced plans to introduce legislation supporting gay marriage in the 2012 legislative session. A bill introduced earlier this year passed in the Maryland Senate, but stalled in the House when supporters were not sure they had enough votes to pass the measure.

In other Potomac news, residential robberies led the list of crimes reported by Montgomery County Police for mid-July; and media mogul and sports team owner Ted Leonsis is Potomac's newest celebrity neighbor and has now moved into Marwood Estate, as confirmed in the Patch story.

Stay tuned to Patch this week for more news. Enjoy your week!