Pet of the Week: “Choop is a cat that likes to be wherever you are.”

“Choop is a cat that likes to be wherever you are. She loves to nap with her human parents, play hide and seek, seize hair ties mid-flight, swat at soap bubbles, jump and bury herself into (boxes, bags, drawers, and the refrigerator…if she can find a way), and seems content with life when a Muddy Waters record is playing. She sneezes when she’s happy, silently meows at birds when she sees them outside, loves to scratch the curtains to let her human parents know it’s time to wake up in the morning, and is overall a really wonderful and highly charactered cat. She is more than a cat though, she is our little heart.”

New Purple Line Utility Work to Begin Monday in Silver Spring

Purple Line contractors plan to begin two additional utility relocation projects in Silver Spring on Monday, Dec. 21, weather permitting, according to the Maryland Transit Administration. The first involves relocating both underground and overhead utilities along a stretch of 16th Street. The project will start at Lyttonsville Road, just south of Second Avenue, and go to Spring Street.

Council Extends Deadline to Apply for Charter Review Commission

The County Council has extended the deadline to apply for a seat on the Charter Review Commission until Wednesday, Dec. 23. No more than six members from the same party can sit on the commission, so the council is seeking Republicans, unaffiliated people or members of another party recognized by the Board of Elections, as long as it’s not the Democratic Party.

Missing Silver Spring Mother Now Charged with Parental Abduction

A Silver Spring mother who, together with her child, were part of a missing persons case earlier this year is now wanted in a criminal case, according to county police. Ashley Spicer, age 35, has been charged with parental abduction of her nine-year-old daughter Israel “Kali” Burk; there is a now a warrant out for Spicer’s arrest.

Nail Salon Will Open in Next Day Blinds Space in the Spring

Ultra Nail Bar will open next spring in the space vacated by Next Day Blinds, according to Laurie Yankowski, regional director, marketing for Peterson Cos. “It will offer an upscale nail spa experience with luxurious manicures and pedicures,” Yankowski said in an email to the Source.  

DOT Cautions Residents, Businesses Pandemic Restrictions Could Affect Storm Operations

The county’s Department of Transportation is cautioning residents and businesses that pandemic-related restrictions on personnel could slow the department’s response in areas affected by a winter storm. Crews began arriving Tuesday to pretreat area roads with salt brine to prevent frost and ice from forming, making snow removal easier. The county policy is to start clearing about 5,200 miles of county-maintained roads when the snow reaches three inches in depth.