Industrialist billionaire gives nearly $2 billion to Glenstone Foundation
Mitchell Rales, a billionaire from Bethesda who founded the Glenstone art museum in Potomac is 2006, recently gave $1.9 billion to the Glenstone Foundation, one of the largest-ever gift to the arts.
The museum contains modern art from Cy Twombly, Robert Gober, Charles Ray, Brice Marden, and others, and has become a cultural institution in the greater Washington, D.C., area.
Glenstone has seen increased popularity compared to the initial years of the museum, growing from about 10,000 visitors annually in its first seven years of operation to more than 100,000 visitors in 2022.
Admission to the Glenstone Foundation is free, although an appointment is typically needed. [Bloomberg News]
Three Bethesda sisters launch website to encourage women to pursue infrastructure careers
Emmie, Kenzie, and Sammi Goldsteen—three sisters from Bethesda—have created a website encouraging more women to enter fields related to infrastructure.
Emmie, 13, Kenzie, 15, and Sammi, 17, said they noticed the issue of not enough women being in architecture, construction and engineering fields when they interned with a construction company that was working on the Golden Gate Bridge during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Their website, buildgirls.org, offers several components to make it happen, including information sessions and competitions. In one, participants are asked to incorporate the concept of a bridge while using Taylor Swift music. The winning entry will win tickets to a Taylor Swift concert in Philadelphia in May. [WUSA9]
Drop in public food assistance benefits impacts county residents
A sharp decrease in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits will hit lower-income residents hard, according to local officials who work in food relief.
As of March 1, the SNAP benefit for one Rockville resident will drop from $281 month to just $23 a month. The increases began during the coronavirus pandemic, and ended Wednesday.
Just under 65,000 county residents receive SNAP benefits, officials said. The average resident will lose $82 a month, but others, including seniors, will be hit harder, they added. [Montgomery Community Media]
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