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Comings & Goings

Ezrin honored at ASID Awards gala

Published

3 years ago

October 20, 2022

Todd Howard Ezrin

The Comings & Goings column is about sharing the professional successes of our community. We want to recognize those landing new jobs, new clients for their business, joining boards of organizations and other achievements. Please share your successes with us at: [email protected].

Congratulations to Todd Howard Ezrin, ASID, NCIDQ, LEED AP for his TOBE DesignGroup garnering two honors at the annual ASID Washington Metro Chapter’s Design Excellence Awards Gala in September. The awards were bestowed in recognition of design excellence for environments in public living and environments in retail space. TOBE DesignGroup won in each category for the interior design of Towson Town Place Apartments/Hirschfeld Properties, and Cookies Maywood/Cookies Creative, a global cannabis retailer. Ezrin was joined at the event by two of his staff, Bailey Ewing and Moira Ruth, designer, and intern respectively.

On accepting the awards, Ezrin said, “I am beyond pleased to be recognized by peers around the country for two of our projects. The recognition is even sweeter given the fact that this is the first time I’ve ever submitted a project for an award.”

Ezrin founded the group in 2011 and it is based in North Bethesda. They manage and design new construction and renovation projects ranging in size from 1,500-20,000 square feet and with budgets from $25,000 to $3,000,000. Prior to that he was with Kimball Office in D.C., and before that was with WDG Interior Architecture. He was with Hartman Design Group, Inc., Rockville, for nine years as a designer/project Manager.

Ezrin was listed in “Portfolio Top 100 Designers,” Home & Design Magazine, 2022; and featured in an issue of Local Living, The Washington Post. He’s a board member of VisArts and was board president of Transformations of Montgomery County, 2018-2021.

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Virginia

VIDEO: LGBTQ groups march in Va. inaugural parade

Abigail Spanberger took office on Saturday

Published

12 hours ago

January 17, 2026

Michael Key

Diversity Richmond and the Virginia Pride project of Diversity Richmond march in the 2026 Inauguration Parade on the grounds of the state capitol in Richmond, Va. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

The inaugural ceremonies for Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger were held in Richmond, Va. on Saturday. Among the groups marching in the parade were Diversity Richmond and the Virginia Pride project of Diversity Richmond.

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*The LGBTQ contingent in the inaugural parade in Richmond, Va. pass by the review stand on Jan. 17, 2026. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)*

Virginia

Va. Senate approves referendum to repeal marriage amendment

Outgoing state Sen. Adam Ebbin introduced SJ3

Published

20 hours ago

January 17, 2026

Staff reports

(Bigstock photo)

The Virginia Senate on Friday by a 26-13 vote margin approved a resolution that seeks to repeal a state constitutional amendment that defines marriage as between a man and a woman.

Outgoing state Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-Alexandria) introduced SJ3. The Senate Privileges and Elections Committee on Wednesday approved it by a 10-4 vote margin.

Same-sex couples have been able to legally marry in Virginia since 2014. Outgoing Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin in 2024 signed a bill that codified marriage equality in state law.

A resolution that seeks to repeal the Marshall-Newman Amendment passed in the General Assembly in 2021. The resolution passed again in 2025.

Two successive legislatures must approve the resolution before it can go to the ballot. Democrats in the Virginia House of Delegates have said the resolution’s passage is among their 2026 legislative priorities.

“It’s time for Virginia’s Constitution to reflect the law of the land and the values of today,” said Ebbin after Friday’s vote. “This amendment, if approved by voters, would affirm the dignity of all committed couples and protects marriage equality for future generations.”

Maryland

Layoffs and confusion at Pride Center of Maryland after federal grants cut, reinstated

Trump administration move panicked addiction and mental health programs

Published

2 days ago

January 16, 2026

Baltimore Banner

Merrick Moses, a violence prevention coordinator, works at the Pride Center of Maryland in Baltimore. (Photo by Ulysses Muñoz for the Baltimore Banner)

By ALISSA ZHU | After learning it had abruptly lost $2 million in federal funding, the Pride Center of Maryland moved to lay off a dozen employees, or about a third of its workforce, the Baltimore nonprofit’s leader said Thursday.

The group is one of thousands nationwide that reportedly received letters late Tuesday from the Trump administration. Their mental health and addiction grants had been terminated, effective immediately, the letters said.

By Wednesday night, federal officials moved to reverse the funding cuts by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, estimated to total $2 billion, according to national media reports. But the Pride Center of Maryland’s CEO Cleo Manago said as of Thursday morning he had not heard anything from the federal government confirming those reports.

The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.