PatchCast March 31: Parking Fees, Police Misconduct and Cherry Blossoms

Here's what happened in the towns around you over the last 24 hours. Brought to you by our team of editors, reporters, photographers and videographers.

• : Parking in Bethesda’s lots and garages may no longer be free on Saturdays if a council resolution, introduced Monday, is passed. Some in the business community are raising concerns that the proposed new fees may Pdeter shoppers and diners from visiting Bethesda, and compound traffic and parking woes expected with the impending and

• : D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray approved an expanded fuel surcharge for taxicabs. Last week Gray approved a $1 fuel surcharge for taxicab rides that both originated and ended in the District. Wednesday, Gray expanded the fee to also cover trips that begin in the District and end in other jurisdictions.

• : Wheaton's diversity is well-known, but that diversity also extends to the faith communities that worship in the area. On Wednesday, Wheaton Patch began a new series, Portraits of Faith, with a conversation with Pastor Doug Bratt, who leads Silver Spring Christian Reformed Church.

• : Gaithersburg Police Chief Mark P. Sroka announced Wednesday that two Gaithersburg Police officers were suspended with pay and one officer was fired for their involvement in "their involvement in serious, unrelated allegations of misconduct," he said. But he would not reveal what the offenses were.

• : Kenwood’s famous cherry blossom trees are just starting to bloom; around half of the neighborhood’s estimated 1,200 Yoshino trees (the same type that circle D.C.’s Tidal Basin) are blossoming in the quiet Chevy Chase neighborhood — and the quiet won’t last much longer.