Report: Bombing Suspect Called Montgomery Village Uncle, Asked For Forgiveness

USA Today: Tamerlan Tsarnaev, the 26-year-old identified by police as the dead Boston bombing suspect, called his uncle Thursday night and asked for forgiveness.

One of the suspects in the Boston Marathon bombings called one of his uncles in Montgomery Village on Thursday night to ask forgiveness, USA Today reported. Tamerlan Tsarnaev—the 26-year-old identified by police as the dead Boston bombing suspect—spoke with his uncle, Alvi Tsarni, for the first time in more than two years, according to the report. "He said, 'I love you and forgive me,'" Alvi Tsarni said, according to the report. On Friday morning, FBI agents and Montgomery County police went to the Montgomery Village home of Ruslan Tsarni, another uncle of the suspects. Ruslan Tsarni urged his surviving nephew to surrender to police and ask for forgiveness. He said he had not been in touch with the suspect's family for many years. Read …

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Former Kentlands Home Design Store Reopens In Potomac

JT Interiors, a home décor and gift store and interior design studio, opened a new location along River Road, the Town Courier reported.

JT Interiors closed the retail side of its Kentlands business in 2010, yielding its space along Main Street for Pritchard Music Academy. Now, after opening other successful retail stores — Savannah’s Home Décor and Gifts along with Downs & Co. — in Leesburg, VA, JT Interiors owner Terri Downs is returning to Montgomery County, The Town Courier reported. JT Interiors, a home décor and gift store and interior design studio, reopened in a renovated historic house at 9906 River Road in Potomac, according to the report. The business originally opened in Kentlands in 2004 and was featured in Bethesda Magazine's “Top 50 Stores We Love” in Montgomery County in 2008. “Many of our Kentlands and Lakelands clients followed us to Leesburg,” Downs told …

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Snow Scene: Photos from Around the County

What did you see outside your window Wednesday morning? Share your snow photos with Patch.

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Report: Study Shows ICC Speed Limit Can Safely Increase To 60 MPH

Highway officials will analyze crash data on the Intercounty Connector before increasing the speed limit, The Baltimore Sun reported.

Those clamoring for an increase in the Intercounter Connector's 55 mph speed limit may have some positive news on the horizon. An engineering study of the ICC has concluded that the speed of the highway can safely be raised to 60 mph, pending an analysis of crash data, The Baltimore Sun reported Thursday. The accident review of the toll road is expected to be completed by the end of February, at which point the Maryland Transportation Authority will make a decision on the speed limit, according to the report. The highway — designed for speeds up to 60 mph — has yet to see a fatality and MdTA Police have recorded just 20 single-vehicle accidents, according to the report. Earlier in December, Montgomery County Council Member Phil Andrews …

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Top Headlines: Montgomery College Crisis Averted, Sex Abuse Trial, Brickyard Controversy and More

A roundup of the top headlines in Montgomery County this past week.

  UPDATE: Police: Witness Said Montgomery College Student Told Them He Was 'Going to Shoot Everyone' ROCKVILLE—A 19-year-old Montgomery College student was taken into custody by Rockville city police on Monday afternoon after fellow students said the man told them he—in his words—“felt like shooting people just for fun,” a college spokeswoman said. Read more on Rockville Patch. Sex Abuse Trial Involving Germantown Middle School Teacher Continues GERMANTOWN—The trial of a Germantown middle school teacher accused of sexually abusing one of his students began in Montgomery County Circuit Court on Tuesday. Cuyler Jay Cornell, 51, Germantown, was indicted on charges of sexual abuse of a minor and sexual offense. The trial was expected to reach …

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Delaney Unseats Bartlett In Maryland's 6th District

Democratic challenger John Delaney defeats incumbent U.S. Rep. Roscoe Bartlett for Maryland's 6th Congressional District.

(Update, 10:45 p.m.) Maryland 5th District Rep. and Democratic WHIP Steny Hoyer introduced the state's new 6th District Rep. John Delaney at approximately 10:20 p.m. Delaney thanked Maryland's 6th District constituents and said his campaign was about standing together and working for the common good of the country. "I promise to work as hard as I can to make differences in your lives, pursue opportunities, and help overcome challenges," Delaney said in his acceptance speech to supporters at the Bolger Conference Center in Potomac. The newly elected Congressman thanked his family, staff, supporters and Rep. Roscoe Bartlett for his 20 years of service. Bartlett, 86, issued a statement after falling short in his attempt for an 11th term: It …

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Judge to Weigh Resolution of Long Dispute Over Belward Farm

A Montgomery County Judge will preside over a summary judgment hearing in a dispute regarding how land can be used that was sold to Johns Hopkins at a fraction of its value.

The longstanding dispute over the future development of Belward Farm could come to a close as early as Friday. Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge Ronald B. Rubin will preside over the summary judgment hearing in a lawsuit brought by the successors of Belward Farm against Johns Hopkins University. The family's lawsuit — led by Tim Newell, the nephew of former Belward owner Elizabeth Beall Banks — seeks to prevent the university from building a 4.7 million-square-foot commercial science park on the property. Newell and others contend that when his aunt sold 108-acre Belward Farm to Hopkins in 1989 for $5 million, which was far less than the estimated $50 million market value of the property, the university agreed to build a low-rise, …

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Donna Baron (Scale-it-back.com)

8:51 am on Thursday, October 25, 2012

For additional information on the Belward Farm / Johns Hopkins debacle, please see my blog, Johns Hopkins, Seriously, Are You Freaking Kidding Me? at http://northpotomac.patch.com/blog_posts/johns-hopkins-seriously-are-you-freaking-kidding-me. All the news and legal documents can be found at www.scale-it-back.com   more ›

PHOTOS: Manna Food Center Debuts New Trucks

County officials joined Manna Food Center in Gaithersburg for the unveiling of three new food trucks.

Manna Food Center debuted its new trucks Wednesday evening. Trucks measure almost twice the size of some of Manna’s older fleet and have the ability to keep the refrigeration running while the engine is off, saving gas and reducing pollution as the trucks make stops across the county. Josh Rales, of the RFI Foundation, who created the truck challenge last year, told attendees to “be the spark” in the community and help neighbors succeed, Manna spokeswoman Allison Anderson told Patch. Read the full story on Manna's new trucks.

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Manna Food Center to Unveil New Trucks Wednesday

Manna will debut its three new food trucks Wednesday evening. The new trucks measure almost twice the size of some of Manna’s older fleet.

Gaithersburg's Manna Food Center, the largest food bank in Montgomery County, has three new ways to keep the food coming. Manna will debut its three new food trucks Wednesday evening. The new trucks measure almost twice the size of some of Manna’s older fleet, according to a news release. “The amount of food distributed each year has grown substantially, and our smaller trucks just couldn’t keep up. We needed a way to bring in more food more efficiently,” former Manna Food Center Executive Director Kim Damion said in a statement. The large, diesel vehicles have the ability to keep the refrigeration running while the engine is off, saving gas and reducing pollution as the trucks make stops across the county, according to Manna. Manna's …

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Report: Montgomery Umbrella Burglar Sentenced to 75 Years

Paul Jerome Holt, 34, was responsible for at least nine burglaries, and took over $80,000 worth of equipment, WUSA 9 reported.

A man responsible for breaking into businesses from Gaithersburg to Silver Spring and taking laptops, iPads and other electronics has been sentenced to 75 years in prison, WUSA 9 reported. Paul Jerome Holt, 34, was responsible for at least nine burglaries, and took over $80,000 worth of equipment, according to the report. Holt was caught on surveillance video during one of the burglaries using an umbrella to conceal his face. "From Urban Nation to Mars Symbioscience to a dentist office, Mr. Holt preyed upon unsuspecting people who thought their personal or business property to be safe," John J. McCarthy, State's Attorney for Montgomery County, said in a press release. Holt also "stole from a church and a funeral home in the same day," …

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Gus Fring

5:19 pm on Thursday, October 4, 2012

Sounds like Mommy didn't breastfeed YOU, jnrentz1. You sound bitter and disagreeable. Stop sucking.   more ›