Community Corner

MoCo Headlines: MCPS Cuts 'Pink Slime,' Congressman Caught in Controversy

The week's top Montgomery County news headlines.

Catch up on news you may have missed this week including county schools making a decision on the controversial 'pink slime' meat, a manslaughter conviction, a congressman caught up in a divorce controversy and an update on Nick's Organic Farm on Brickyard Road in Potomac.

Montgomery County Public Schools will join many other companies and organizations in ceasing the use of Lean Finely Textured Beef—also known as "pink slime" — in its school lunches for the 2012-13 school year, MCPS spokesman Dana Tofig said. .

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Morris Panner, a father of four children — all enrolled in the county school system, is running for an at-large position on the county school board. “Public education is the glue of democracy. ... [It] enables everyone to have a chance to learn and advance,” Panner said. 

Find out what's happening in Montgomery Villagewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

A Germantown man was convicted of manslaughter Monday after a brawl over a clogged toilet led to the stabbing death of his roommate’s son. James Biddinger, 27, will face a maximum 10-year sentence for the death Kevin Mbayo, 22, on May 3, 2011. Arguments keened on whether Biddinger intended to kill Mbayo or whether he acted in self-defense. Follow the trial's coverage at .

It may be too late for Brickyard, but the Montgomery County Council is working to put a check on County Executive Isiah Leggett's near sole-authority to deal out county-owned assets. 

Sunday will mark the grand re-opening of the Bethesda Central Farm Market in the market's new location at Bethesda Elementary. But some say the move from Elm Street — in part prompted by the pending construction of a major public parking garage in downtown Bethesda — will cut the market off from the heart of the downtown. 

Monday night's Rockville City Council hearing on ’s proposal to build a parking lot in the city's historic West End included nearly two hours of testimony from 40 people and led to a debate that continued online throughout the week. 

The rift between Tamar Epstein and Aharon Friedman over an Orthodox Jewish writ of divorce led to protests of more than 100 people in 2010 outside Friedman’s apartment building on University Boulevard. The controversy continues as Epstein’s supporters ramp up the pressure on a U.S. congressman. 

A Mount Airy-based contractor will begin constructing a new station for Montgomery County Police's 3rd District by mid-May, according to county officials. The new building will be located at the corner of Milestone Drive and New Hampshire Avenue in White Oak and it will replace the existing station in downtown Silver Spring. Completion is expected by late 2013. . 

After 42 years of law enforcement service and five years in Takoma
Park, Police Chief Ronald Ricucci will be retiring July 30. A national executive search is underway to find a replacement. .


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