Elected Officials Send Letter to Governor to Address Availability, Racial Equity Issues with Vaccines

Two groups of local elected officials have written to Gov. Larry Hogan (R) urging him to address availability and racial equity issues with the COVID-19 vaccines in Montgomery County. All nine County Council members signed on to a letter sent Wednesday asking the governor to specifically address racial inequity in both the vaccine distribution and the pre-registration system.

Recreation Department to Reopen Eight Centers on Limited Schedule

The county’s Recreation department plans to reopen eight community recreation centers for limited, scheduled activities on Monday, March 1, officials announced. Individuals or households will be able to schedule a time to use the fitness room, gymnasiums, and other rooms without attending a class, as was necessary when the department opened RecFit programs two weeks ago.

Report: Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Against County’s Indoor Dining Ban

The county judge in a lawsuit fighting the recent indoor dining ban has agreed to dismiss the suit, according to a report in Bethesda Beat. Judge James Bonifant dismissed the case after the plaintiffs, which included the Restaurant Association of Maryland and more than 30 county restaurateurs, and the county agreed the lawsuit now was moot.

Rec Department to Offer Limited Indoor, In-Person Activities

Montgomery County Recreation will offer a limited number of indoor, instructor-led sports and fitness activities at four community rec centers beginning Tuesday, Feb. 16, the department announced. The program, RecFit-Limited, is the first in-person recreation program offered at community recreation facilities since last March when the facilities closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.