MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MD – Will Jawando has decided not to debate Republican nominee for County Executive, Esther Wells, leaving her frustrated after spending months preparing carefully crafted …

TAKOMA PARK, MD – After years of residents expressing disappointment that new businesses are not the businesses they personally wanted, city officials announced the formation of the Community…

ROCKVILLE, MD – In a unanimous emergency vote Tuesday, the Montgomery County Council officially banned the “Roku City” screensaver after determining its depiction of dense, mixed-…

TAKOMA PARK, MD — Following the city’s decision to double the number of AI-powered stop sign cameras, navigation app Waze announced this week that it has added a new routing option allowing drivers…

WASHINGTON, D.C. – To honor the late Dolly Parton, President Trump announced Wednesday that all female White House staffers will be required to wear their shirts at half-staff through the end…

(This article is a paid partnership with Coffee Card. The jokes are ours. The discounts are theirs.) TAKOMA PARK, MD – Area coffee lovers rejoiced this week after the launch of Coffee Card, a…

TAKOMA PARK, MD – After years of insisting that new housing belongs outside the city limits “somewhere over on University Boulevard,” Takoma Park residents were horrified to learn…

Photo of “Uplifting Staircase” now officially owned and adopted by the Takoma Torch as of today TAKOMA PARK, MD – In response to growing public interest in altering city property …

Photo Credit: Dan Trachtman/Takoma Park Facebook Group TAKOMA PARK, MD – Responding to a recent string of food delivery thefts, the Takoma Park City Council voted unanimously to require resid…

AUGUSTA, ME – After years of constant handwringing and pearl clutching, Republican Senator Susan Collins was reported to be completely free of any concern for the first time in her entire pol…

TAKOMA PARK, MD – Citing dangerously high temperatures, city officials announced this week that Takoma Park’s annual Fourth of July Parade will instead be held on Zoom, allowing residen…

TAKOMA PARK, MD – A coalition of longtime Takoma Park residents is urging the U.S. Supreme Court to rule that babies born within city limits should not automatically qualify as full neighborh…

SILVER SPRING, MD – Within hours of election-night polls showing a comfortable lead in the race for Montgomery County Executive, Will Jawando announced Tuesday night that he will seek the pre…

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MD – As the race for Montgomery County Executive enters its final weeks, a groundbreaking new internal poll has confirmed what political scientists have long suspected: int…

TAKOMA PARK, MD ‐ Local resident and self-described anti-capitalist activist Willow Fernleaf expressed excitement this week after receiving her new “People Over Profits” political yard …

SILVER SPRING, MD – Montgomery County Executive candidate Will Jawando announced a press conference this Wednesday at noon condemning the corrupting influence of PAC money in local politics, …

TAKOMA PARK, MD – Following a week-long repaving project, city officials confirmed that the Junction parking lot will no longer function primarily as a parking lot, but instead as a community…

SILVER SPRING, MD – Panic spread across lower Montgomery County this week amid reports that President Donald Trump is preparing to take over Sligo Creek Golf Course and convert the modest pub…

TAKOMA PARK, MD – The Montgomery County Historic Preservation Commission voted Wednesday to grant full historic designation to longtime elected official Marc Elrich, effectively preventing an…

TAKOMA PARK, MD – The Takoma Foundation announced that it will expand its annual Azalea Awards ceremony to include four new categories, including the recognition of everyone who did not win a…

In Takoma Park, everyone is a winner. But Montgomery Blair High School is not in Takoma Park. Sorry, rules are rules. The winners of 2026 Takoma Torch Satire Writing Contest are as follows: 1st Pla…

We would like to sincerely thank the Montgomery Blair High School’s Silver Chips journalists who participated in our satire contest. We hope everyone enjoyed reading these very funny submissi…

By Daneel Kutsenko Generations have passed down homes and the sacred right to suspicion. In many neighborhoods, including Takoma Park, residents talk about property lines not as boundaries but as b…

By Justin Rosentover Facing an ever growing population of lawyers in the DC area due to the lack of natural predators, the National Park Service has begun a new program to help manage the populatio…

By Zoe Gorbachev [EXTERNAL] Message from Superintendent Thomas W. TaylorGood afternoon MCPS families,Today we started the process of implementing of the Student Pencil Access Protocol (SPAP), an in…

By Ada Schwartz Termination notice for Park Ranger Bear Smith, January 22 2025, Dear Mr Smith, We regret to inform you that we will be letting you go as part of DOGE’s efforts to cut government spe…

By Colm Konyndyk If you’ve been hearing a loud, continuous machine sound recently, that just may be the sound of Montgomery County’s new plans for this upcoming St. Patrick’s day.“We want to celebr…

Fans, As you probably know, the Takoma Torch is a terrible business model: losing money like a Jeff Bezos–funded newspaper. So naturally, we’ve decided the solution is to give away cash. We’re laun…

TAKOMA PARK, MD – Local residents are expressing alarm over a proposal to extend city council terms from two years to four, warning that the change could significantly delay their next chance…

TAKOMA PARK, MD – After successfully installing AI-powered stop sign cameras across town, the City of Takoma Park has unveiled Phase Two: automated detection of residents making “rollin…

TAKOMA PARK, MD – What began as a routine three hour city council meeting reportedly entered hour four Wednesday after audience members were quarantined in their seats amid an aggressive outb…

TAKOMA PARK, MD – Following a decisive 4-3 vote, Takoma Park officially declared itself a “Nuance-Free” zone, ensuring all future debates are conducted without the distraction of …

ROCKVILLE, MD – After more than a week of snow days caused by a single snowstorm, Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) announced Tuesday that it will temporarily redraw school boundaries t…

ROCKVILLE, MD – Citing the unfair burden that unregulated snowfall places on residents, County Executive Marc Elrich and Councilmember Will Jawando announced a bold new proposal this week tha…

TAKOMA PARK, MD – A group of local children building an igloo were issued an immediate stop work order Tuesday after Montgomery County officials responded to anonymous online complaints that …

TAKOMA PARK, MD – In an effort to offer restorative justice after multiple reports of snow shovels being stolen from front porches, city officials announced plans to install Little Free Snow …

TAKOMA PARK, MD – City activists announced plans Sunday night for a candlelight vigil honoring the shattered front window of a Cockerille Avenue home, following what police are calling a comp…

NATIONAL HARBOR, MD – The Takoma Park Silver Spring Co-Op announced this week that it will open a second location inside the proposed “Sphere” at National Harbor, a smaller replica of the Las…

OTTAWA, CA – Canada is demanding the United States stop acting like the neighbor who stores run-down cars on the lawn and insists they’re “projects,” after American behavior in the past year …

As 2026 approaches, the Takoma Torch has once again performed its sacred civic duty: deciding what is in and what is out, with no public input and even less accountability. This list is not advisor…

TAKOMA PARK, MD – Federal immigration authorities confirmed Friday that Santa Claus was detained this morning after entering the a United States without proper documentation According to ICE …