Author: MCS Staff

Beyond MoCo

126,000 SF Indoor Water Park Opens Today in Maryland

By MCS Staff

Great Wolf Lodge in Perryville, MD, officially opens at 10am today, Wednesday, June 14th. Great Wolf Lodge Maryland will be the company’s 20th resort in North America, and their largest. It will offer 700 family-friendly suites, a 126,000-square-foot indoor water park, a 57,000 square-foot entertainment center, and 12,000 square-feet of conference space. Perryville is about 70 miles and a little less than an hour and a half away from most parts of MoCo.

Per Great Wolf Lodge: Careening down slides, jumping over waves, floating down a lazy river, and getting drenched by a thousand gallons of water cascading from a giant tipping bucket are a few of the water-filled adventures families will discover at the all-new Great Wolf Lodge Maryland. The indoor water park is the marquee attraction at Great Wolf Lodge, and the water park planned for the company’s Maryland resort will be the largest Great Wolf Lodge has ever built. The water park at Great Wolf Lodge Maryland will offer more than 128,000 square feet of enclosed fun with slides, pools and water play for all ages, and a cozy 84-degree temperature year-round.

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North Bethesda

New 28,500 SF Indoor Pickleball Venue is Coming to MoCo

By MCS Staff

Dill Dinkers, the first dedicated indoor pickleball facility in Maryland, has announced that it will be bringing an indoor Pickleball venue to Montgomery County with the hopes to open by Mid-July. According to BizJournals, the facility will located at 4542 Boiling Brook Parkway in the Randolph Hills neighborhood of North Bethesda/Rockville. Dill Dinkers will be taking over the space that was previously home to Launch Trampoline Park, which closed in 2021.

The other Dill Dinkers locations (Columbia in Howard County and Finksburg in Carroll County) offer a wide array of options for getting out on the courts to play, including court reservations for members and non-members, clinics, leagues, and lessons for new and experienced players looking to improve their game. Dill Dinkers will also offer advertising opportunities within the facility for businesses and organizations looking to reach a large, active audience focused on healthy living. Memberships vary in price from $40 monthly to $115 monthly for families. Members and non-members can also reserve courts and play at a rate of $6.25-$12.50 with minimums of $25 and $50 per day.

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Kensington

Removal of Linden Oak, Largest White Oak Tree in MoCo, Postponed

By MCS Staff

Ailing historic tree expected to come down later this summer. Montgomery Parks has postponed plans to remove the historic Linden White Oak tree until later this summer. The removal is on hold pending a Historic Area Work Permit.

The Linden Oak is estimated to be more than 300 years old. It is listed in the Master Plan for Historic Preservation for Montgomery County and is located at the intersection of Rockville Pike, Beach Drive and Grosvenor Lane.  

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DMV

Scotland’s Juneteenth Festival Presents Wyclef, Many Others; Freedom Concert Moves to Anthem in DC 

By MCS Staff

Organizers of the widely expanded Scotland Juneteenth Heritage Festival will hold a final press conference on Wednesday, June 14, at the Bethesda Blues & Jazz Club at 7719 Wisconsin Ave to showcase the more than 20 performing acts that will appear across four main venues on June 17th and the 19th. Those performances include: 1) the opening-night Motown and Oldies Concert and Dance Party beginning at 7 p.m. at the Bethesda Blues & Jazz Club; 2) Juneteenth’s Got Talent music and dance performances at the Cabin John Village in Potomac from 9 a.m.-4 p.m.; 3) the Children’s Stage at the Cabin John Regional Park at Potomac from 11 a.m.-4 p.m.; and the Freedom Day Concert at the Anthem theater at the Wharf in DC.

Freedom Day Concert co-headliner Tarrus Riley will appear at the press conference via ZOOM, while internaTonal superstar Wyclef Jean will be issuing an exclusive video statement about why he is lending his name and talents to this fesTval in honor of the Black communities of Montgomery County in Maryland. Other musicians expected to abend in person include Daryl Davis, the nationally renowned keyboard player who will serve as the music director for the festival’s opening-night. Bill Wax, a master of ceremonies for that same event, will also abend the press conference, as will Montgomery County elected officials.

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Bethesda

Bethesda’s Eastern Union Closes $75 Million in Financing Within A 40-Day Period

By MCS Staff

Based in Bethesda, MD, the Eastern Union’s Mid-Atlantic Group secured more than $75 million in commercial financing within a 40-day period over May and June. Financing was delivered within the multifamily, single-family rental, retail, and industrial asset classes. Eastern Union is one of the country’s largest commercial real estate brokerage firms.

The largest transaction closed by the Mid-Atlantic office during this time span was a $49.5-millionconstruction loan provided to New York-based Hillcrest Acquisitions in support of a planned 288-unit multifamily property in Madison, AL, a submarket of Huntsville. The complex, called The Gabriel, will consist of ten three-story buildings and is scheduled for completion in July 2024. The financing, carrying a 36-month term, was provided by 3650 REIT.

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Business

Gaithersburg’s Novavax Announces Deal With Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

By MCS Staff

Gaithersburg’s Novavax, a global company advancing protein-based vaccines with its novel Matrix-MTM adjuvant, has signed a three-year agreement with the Bill & Melinda Gates Medical Research Institute to provide its adjuvant for use in preclinical vaccine research. “We are excited to partner with the Bill & Melinda Gates Medical Research Institute to include our unique technology in their public health-focused vaccine research efforts,” said John C. Jacobs, President and Chief Executive Officer, Novavax. “Our Matrix-MTM adjuvant is proven to enhance and broaden the immune system response when included in vaccines and is already a key component of COVID and malaria vaccines on the market today. We look forward to partnering more broadly with a variety of organizations so that our technology can benefit vaccine development across many disease areas.”

“The Bill & Melinda Gates Medical Research Institute is committed to developing biomedical interventions that address global health concerns for those in the greatest need,” said Emilio Emini, PhD, chief executive officer of the Bill & Melinda Gates Medical Research Institute. “We look forward to working with Novavax’s Matrix-MTM adjuvant in some of our early-stage vaccine programs.” The Matrix-M adjuvant is a key component of Novavax’s COVID vaccine and its development-stage vaccines including influenza and COVID and influenza combined. In addition, the adjuvant is being used through partnerships in clinical and preclinical programs across the world for the development of both human and animal vaccines.

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Potomac

Black Bear Spotted in Rockville Tuesday Morning

By MCS Staff

Yesterday we received two reports of a black bear that was spotted in the Rockville area. This morning at 6:15, a Rockville resident spotted a black bear in a tree in a Rockville neighborhood near Horizon Hills park. A black bear was also spotted around 7:50am a couple miles away in nearby Willerburn Acres in Potomac, but it is not clear if it’s the same bear. The Rockville City Police Department tweeted the following on Tuesday morning: “Community Alert – Black Bear Sighting – In the area of W. Kersey Ln, Sunrise Dr & Bent Pine Ct at 6:00 am today. RCPD is working with DNR to alert of sightings. Please call RCPD at 240-314-8900 if you see the bear. Stay alert, calm & do not approach or attempt to capture.” According to neighbors, animal control is now on the scene.

Last week a black bear was spotted in Burtonsville and last month there were multiple bear sightings in Chevy Chase, Kensington, and Rockville, with one bear that was trapped and relocated by the Rockville City Police Department and the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) on May 8th.

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Rockville

Concern for Missing Rockville Teen

By MCS Staff

Arguetta Alvarez is 5’2, 97lbs, short black hair, brown eyes, wearing a black “Puma” sweatshirt. Arguetta Alvarez is believed to be in the company of a a juvenile female, who has also been reported missing from another area of the County. Anyone with information about Arguetta Alvarez whereabouts is asked to call the Rockville City Police non-emergency line at 240-314-8900 (24-hour line) or 911.

 

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Beyond MoCo

Montgomery County Firefighter Struck and Dragged By Passing Vehicle While Responding to Collision in Frederick County

By MCS Staff

While directing traffic on scene of collision on Monday afternoon, a Montgomery County firefighter who was wearing protective safety equipment in a high visibility traffic vest was struck and dragged before the driver/car came to a stop, according to Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services Chief (MCFRS) Spokesperson Pete Piringer.

The injured firefighter was transported to the hospital, where he treated for non-life threatening injuries and released. The incident occurred on the 10000 block of Lewisdale Rd, near Urbana Rd, in Ijamsville. ‘It could have been worse, much worse,’ the injured firefighter said in a Firehouse News article.

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Rockville

Rockville Asks Residents to “Propose A Project”

By MCS Staff

The City of Rockville is seeking input from community members about Rockville’s Capital Improvements Program (CIP) for Fiscal Year 2025-2029. The CIP lays out how Rockville plans to invest funding over a five-year period for capital projects such as parks, roads, buildings and other infrastructure. As Rockville begins preparations for the budget process for Fiscal Year 2025, which begins July 1, 2024, residents are encouraged to tell the city about the condition of streets and parks and help plan new facilities or infrastructure upgrades to meet community needs.

To tell the city what capital projects are needed in your neighborhood, complete and submit the form at www.rockvillemd.gov/Propose-a-Project by Friday, Sept. 15. Proposals cannot serve a private purpose or be located on private property and should have an equal, accessible benefit to all community members. If submitted on behalf of a neighborhood group, the proposal should be discussed and agreed upon by the neighborhood group before submission.

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Events

Juneteenth Celebration to Take Place in Germantown on Saturday, June 17

By MCS Staff

Montgomery County will celebrate Juneteenth at a special event featuring live music, food, art, films and awards from 12-10 p.m. Saturday, June 17, 2023 at the BlackRock Center for the Arts. The Montgomery County Office of Human Rights coordinates the program, which also features the Living Legends Awards honoring county residents who have helped shape the cultural heritage of the African American community. Look for a City of Rockville table and city representatives at the celebration.

The Juneteenth holiday commemorates June 19, 1865, when the Union army arrived in Texas bearing federal orders proclaiming the end of slavery. The orders arrived nearly two-and-a-half years after President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation declared that enslaved people living in the secessionist Confederate states were now free.

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