Good morning, Gaithersburg.

Campestre Chicken has reopened at 11400 Cherry Hill Road after a kitchen fire forced a temporary closure in January.

Olney Baptist Church will host a free Community Fall Dance on Sept. 26 (6:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.) featuring music, food and dancing for all ages.

Mi Casa Taqueria is now open at 9017 Gaither Road offering a soft opening discount of 15% off food from Saturday to next week — the eatery serves tacos, burritos and quesadillas in the space that once housed Zam Zam Market next to The Melting Pot.

The Gaithersburg Book Festival is accepting submissions for the 2027 High School Poetry Contest, open to students in grades 9 to 12 from Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C.

The contest offers cash prizes and will run until midnight on Feb. 19 with winners announced at the festival on May 15.

Montgomery County Public Schools reported a $3B deferred maintenance backlog for 211 facilities covering 26.5M sqft of classroom space.

District leaders presented the FY 2027 Comprehensive Maintenance and Operations Plan on Aug. 22 to detail proactive repairs and energy upgrades (aimed at boosting safety).

Councilmember Laurie-Anne Sayles spoke at the 2026 National Economic Mobility and Opportunity Conference in Washington, D.C. to highlight county housing efforts with state and local leaders using a new zoning amendment and a $100 million Housing Production Fund that may produce about 6,000 homes + 1,800 affordable units.

Gaithersburg officials reopened the public file on the Rio Washingtonian Center development this summer, pausing plans for up to 500 apartments and 43,000 sqft of commercial space so Peterson Companies can revise proposals based on resident feedback (some want to keep the open spaces) and prepare a new public hearing.