Turn a Private Perk into a Public Crossing

For the past five years a 35 mile hole has existed in the region’s transportation network. Since White’s Ferry shut down in December 2020, over a landing rights dispute on the Virginia shore, there has been no Potomac River crossing between the American Legion Bridge and Point of Rocks. That single closure ripped out a low cost, transportation efficient, low-carbon link that once carried 600 to 800 vehicles a day including commuters, service workers, cyclists, and weekenders who stitched together the economies of western Montgomery and Loudoun counties.

Now comes an opportunity that is both practical and poetic. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has publicly urged the International Monetary Fund to sell its country club property along River Road, the 285 plus acre Bretton Woods Recreation Center beside the C&O Canal and the Potomac. If the IMF is ready to divest, our region should be ready to negotiate a public- private partnership to provide a public park and to restore a river crossing we control.

Call it the “Bretton Woods Crossing,”  a modest, publicly owned, electric‑powered ferry and multiuse river link built on the Bretton Woods property on the Maryland side, paired with a landing on public land in Virginia where no single private owner can lock the gate. This would not be a Beltway‑scale bridge; it would be a right‑sized crossing designed to do what White’s Ferry did well: move a few hundred vehicles and many more bikes and pedestrians each day, keep trips local, and knit communities and labor markets back together without inviting sprawl.

Montgomery Channel

 MCGOP Central Committee member Stacey Sauter interviews Chairman Reardon Sullivan and civic activist Cary Lamari. 

"21 This Week," is a weekly public affairs program focused on issues in Montgomery County, Maryland — government, business, education, social and hot topic issues. This week the guest moderator was MCGOP Central Committee member, Stacey Sauter. In turn, her Republican guest was MCGOP Chairman, Reardon Sullivan. In this week's show they discussed the arrogance of the County Council when it comes to making major decisions; school board boundaries; and the potential sale of the Bretton Woods Recreation Club in Germantown.

Incoming MFRW President Luanne Ruddell congratulates outgoing President Sharon Carrick on her successful term.

by Amy Waychoff

Thrive Montgomery 2050 is a long-range guide for the development of the county. It was passed unanimously by the Montgomery County Council on 25 October 2022. One of its visions is to focus on infill development along major corridors in the county. The plan also “aims to ensure that exclusively single-family zoning is not a barrier to development in many Montgomery County neighborhoods.” The “growth corridors” affected are:

• Rockville Pike
• Georgia Avenue
• Colesville Road/Columbia Pike (Rt. 29)
• New Hampshire Avenue
• Connecticut Avenue
• University Boulevard
• Veirs Mill Road
• Randolph Road/Old Georgetown Road/Rock Spring Drive between Rock Spring and Columbia Pike; and
• River Road

https://www.senate.gov/senators/senators-contact.htm

They'll Reopen When it Suits Them

By Dennis Brent Melby

Most normal folks, both the public and politicians know it's time to reopen the government. But the far left - which seems to be in total control of the Democrats in the Senate - has decided their best course of action is to hold the government hostage and keep it closed until AFTER the off-year elections. Republicans are notorious for not coming out for off-year elections and the far left feels they’ll win in New York City, Virginia, New Jersey and the redistricting race in California. After that they'll seriously think about paying our soldiers, paying our government workers, and giving food stamps to the people who really need them.

It goes like that all the way down the line, even our local COUNTY government is running a full blown Campaign on Trump hatred, and it seems to work with the far left. Why run on local issues when you can make it all about the White House and your hatred of any Republican that lives there? It seems to work wonders even here, where there is absolutely no Republican elected. Blaming Republicans is the way to the left wing voters hearts. It's amazing.

So once the ballots are counted on Wednesday the Democrats will take what winning they get and spin them amazingly into a tale of how the voters have spoken, they'll say all the voters want the Democrats back in office and let’s finally bite the bullet, do what they've done the past dozen times, join with just enough votes to briefly reopen the government. Crazy. The main stream Press will pick it up and run with it. And probably also the folks that run our local media, both online and local TV. But it won't be true.

Maryland won't join Trump-inspired redistricting push, state Senate leader says | The Banner | Pamela Wood | October 29, 2025, 9:01 am, Updated October 29, 2025 5:00 pm

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 29, 2025

Contact: Carrie Simons-Sparrow, [email protected]

House Republicans Respond to Senate President's Decision Not to Move Forward with Redistricting

Annapolis, MD – House Republicans today issued the following statements regarding Senate President Bill Ferguson’s decision not to move forward with redistricting.

House Minority Leader Jason Buckel:

“Senate President Ferguson has realized what we have known for years: Maryland is already one of the most partisanly gerrymandered states in the U.S., and trying to redistrict even further to wholly eliminate the voices of Republicans and trying to subvert the votes of the Eastern Shore solely in an effort to play D.C. politics is a terrible idea. Legally, we believe Judge Battaglia’s opinion from four years ago would be availing and subject our current congressional map to a much more searching analysis by Maryland’s highest court. Politically, we suspect that existing Democratic members of Congress did not want to see their own gerrymandered districts ‘weakened’ to reflect their true partisan nature. Maryland is not a 7-1 Democratic state by registration, voting history, or geography, and it is surely not an ‘all-Democrat’ state. We commend President Ferguson for recognizing the folly of this type of extremism, and hope this ends the speculation and veiled threats from Governor Moore and other Annapolis Democrats.”

House Minority Whip Jesse Pippy:

“We agree with Senate President Ferguson that for Democratic leaders to gerrymander out the only Republican in our Federal Delegation would be the height of hypocrisy, especially when roughly 40% of Marylanders vote Republican.”

###

MCPD News Releases including Missing Children Reports

Accused MoCo Drug Dealer Faces Multiple Charges: Police | Patch | Deb Belt, Patch Staff | October 28, 2025, 6:13 pm

Dateline NBC to Feature Montgomery County Murder Case Solved After Two Decades | The MoCo Show | Patrick Herron | October 17, 2025, 11:00 am Updated October 17, 2025 2:22 pm

  News & Opinions

______________

A Better Plan for MCPS's Headquarters | Montgomery Perspective | Adam Pagnucco | October 29, 2025

What to know about proposed MCPS programming changes | Bethesda Today | Ashlyn Campbell | October 22, 2025 11:28 am, Updated October 22, 2025 11:59 am

______________

Taylor Offers Reparations for Failed MCPS Graduates | Clean Slate MoCo | Michael Bell | October 21, 2025

 

 

_____________

Why are Marc Elrich and Will Jawando in China? | The Banner | Jack Hogan | October 27, 2025 8:51 pm

_____________

Maryland awards $6 million to small nonprofit with no tax records since 2022| Fox Baltimore | Patrick Hauf | October 24, 2025 5:03 pm, Updated October 24, 2025 6:39 pm

_____________

Unleash Prosperity Hotline Issue #1381 | Stephen Moore | 10/29/2025

By Reardon "Sully" Sullivan

The Empty Politics of Platitudes

It’s election season and if you’re like me, you are getting bombarded with overused platitudes offered as new ideas, wisdom or comfort, but that come across as insincere drivel often gas-lighting voters.

Platitudes sound wise but mean nothing — they’re how politicians avoid hard truths.

I am tired of trite phrases such as: “Hardworking families deserve better.” “We need to come together,” “The system is broken,” “ We need to fix a broken system.” Democrat candidates like Marc Elrich (who has been in local government for 20 years), and Will Jawando and his slate that have been in office for several terms continue to gas light voters with a blow torch. Look in the mirror guys… you created the issues and have no idea how to fix them.

1. Take Wes Moore’s recent announcement that his administration will be laying off over 500+ workers while recently saying that they will be hiring separated federal workers. Does this guy know what he is doing? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bm7A8x1aBmo