Author: MCS Staff

Gaithersburg

Gaithersburg Celebrates Arab American Heritage Month

By MCS Staff

The City celebrates and honors Arab American Heritage Month in April with programs and a proclamation highlighting the culture, heritage, and achievements of our Arab American neighbors. An official proclamation designating April 2023 as “Arab American Heritage Month” in the City of Gaithersburg will be presented at the Mayor and City Council meeting on Monday, April 3 at 7:30 p.m. The public is welcome to attend the meeting at City Hall, watch it live on YouTube or watch it via Zoom by registering here.

Mayor Jud Ashman will present the proclamation to Dr. Shaza M. Ahmed, M.D., a paraeducator with Montgomery County Public Schools who works with children with special needs. Having an autistic child of her own motivated Dr. Ahmed to be more involved and become an advocate for her own child and all students, and their parents, who learn differently. She manages weekly educational sessions for parents on bullying, safety, understanding the system, available resources, and how to be an advocate for themselves and their children.

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Bethesda

Four Separate Crashes Result in Overturned Vehicles Across Montgomery County on Monday

By MCS Staff

Four separate crashes resulted in overturned vehicles across Montgomery County on Monday, March 20, according to various reports by Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services (MCFRS) Chief Spokesperson Pete Piringer.

The first was a single vehicle collision with rollover on I-270 on Monday morning around 9am. According to Chief Spokesperson for MCFRS Pete Piringer, the crash occurred on SB I270 in the HOV/Express Lane between Shady Grove Road and Route 28, prior to Exit 6. There were no injuries reported.

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MCFRS

MCFRS Responds to Crash That Leads to Overturned Vehicle in Olney

By MCS Staff

Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services (MCFRS) responded to a crash that occurred at approximately 3pm on Evangeline Lane and Hines Road in Olney.

According to MCFRS Chief Spokesperson Pete Piringer, the collision caused a vehicle to overturn, trapping one person inside (the person was extricated by rescue crews). Another vehicle that was involved also crashed through a fence and into a tree. One adult was transported to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries and some lanes are blocked.

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North Potomac

Quickway Now Open in Travilah Square

By MCS Staff

Quickway has opened its 7th Montgomery County location right next to Trader Joe’s in the Travilah Square Shopping Center (photos below). The restaurant signed on nearly a year ago, and only recently began and completed construction. Their signature hibachi chicken dish is available for $7.95 and additional meals range in price from $9.95 to $12.75. Bento boxes, beef, shrimp, tofu, salmon, sushi, poke bowls and more are also available.

The regional chain opened its 6th location in Olney last year and and its 5th MoCo location in Stone Mill Square (Korean Korner shopping center) before that. Quickway which can now be found in 10 different counties across the DMV since opening its first location in 2012, will be joining Hangry Joe’s Hot Chicken– another new fast casual restaurant that recently opened in the shopping center.

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MoCo

Find and Tour Cherry Blossoms in MoCo with ‘Cherry Tree Finder Map’ by Montgomery Parks

By MCS Staff

Montgomery Parks is making it easy as pie to find and tour cherry blossoms in parks located throughout the county. Montgomery Parks’ online tree finder map allows cherry tree seekers to easily locate the beautiful blooms; the map features pink dots to represent cherry trees located in parks. According to the National Park Service, peak bloom is expected between March 22-25, 2023.

According to The National Park Service “History of The Cherry Trees” website, “…the planting of cherry trees in Washington D.C. originated in 1912 as a gift of friendship to the People of the United States from the People of Japan.” The first cherry trees were planted in Montgomery County, MD in Chevy Chase as a test to see if the trees would thrive in an environment in the Washington D.C. area.

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Damascus

Damascus Community to Meet Tuesday Night Following Proposed Delay of Major High School Renovation

By MCS Staff

A recent change to the recommendation on the MCPS CIP that would delay the major capital project at Damascus High School by two years has led the Damascus community to call for a meeting that will take place at the high school on Tuesday, March 21 at 7pm.

The major capital project was previously approved to address various building systems and programmatic needs for Damascus High School, located at 25921 Ridge Road. The Board of Education, in the requested FY 2021–2026 CIP, included expenditures in FY 2022 to continue the planning and design of this major capital project with a completion date of August 2025, but the County Council delayed the expenditures by one year. An FY 2023 appropriation was approved to begin the design of this Major Capital project. A FY 2024 appropriation was recommended for construction funds, but that has now changed to “not recommended”, delaying the project for two years.

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Restaurants

New Pizza Hut Now Open in Rockville

By MCS Staff

Pizza Hut has opened its newest Montgomery County location at 842-B Rockville Pike in Rockville, located between Maki and Pho Nom Nom in the space that was previously home to Geico. Pho Nom Nom will be opening a second restaurant at 18509 N Frederick Ave at Gaithersburg S.C. (that’s the name of the shopping center), at the former site of Pho Viet Saigon.

The new Pizza Hut location is a smaller version than traditional Pizza Hut locations of the past– focusing solely on carry out and delivery orders. In September 2021, David Gibbs (CEO of Pizza Hut parent company Yum Brands), told investors, “We closed a lot of the dine-in stores that didn’t belong on the portfolio over the last 18 months in the United States,” according to a transcript on the financial services site Sentieo. “But for the most part, the stores we have in the portfolio now are good, long-term stores.” The new Germantown Pizza Hut location, which opened less than three months ago, follows the model.

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Aspen Hill

MCFRS Respond to House Fire Sunday Afternoon; No Injuries, $275K in Damage

By MCS Staff

Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services (MCFRS) responded to a call for a chimney fire on Rippling Brook Drive in Aspen Hill at approximately 3pm on Sunday afternoon.

According to MCFRS Chief Spokesperson Pete Piringer, a neighbor called 911 to report a chimney fire and crews arrived to fire showing from the roof and attic of the home. The fire started in the attic of the home and is believed to electrical in nature. The sole occupant of the home was able to escape without injury, but there was approximately $275k in damage.

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Gaithersburg

End of an Era: Macy’s Closes Permanently Today in Lakeforest Mall

By MCS Staff

Macy’s will close its doors permanently today, Sunday, March 19 at 6pm. The department store is one of a handful of stores that are open in Lakeforest Mall as the mall prepares to close permanently at the end of this month to allow for planned redevelopment of the area (a few photos accessible below). The Planning Commission gave a recommendation of approval on March 1, 2023. The Gaithersburg Mayor and City Council will have a Policy Discussion April 17, 2023, where a final decision is expected to be made. No public testimony will be taken on April 17.

Additional information by the City of Gaithersburg: The Applicant, WRS, Inc., submitted Zoning Map Amendment application Z-9444-2022 that proposes to rezone the Lakeforest Mall from the current C-2 (general commercial) to the MXD Zone (mixed-use) zone. The application includes a sketch plan requesting up to approximately 1.2 million square feet of non-residential uses and up to 1,600 dwelling units on 102 acres of land in accordance with § 24-160D.9(a) “Application for the MXD Zone and sketch plan approval” of the City Code.

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Aspen Hill

Dishwasher Believed To Be Cause of House Fire That Led to $200K in Damage Saturday Morning

By MCS Staff

Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service (MCFRS) were called to the scene of a fire on the 14400 block of Big Bear Court, off of Bel Pre Road and Layhill Rd, in what is considered Aspen Hill/Silver Spring on Saturday morning.

According to MCFRS Chief Spokesperson Pete Piringer in one of two basement apartments (unoccupied at the time of the fire) of a two-story single family home. Units were able to quickly extinguish the fire after arriving and it is believed that the cause likely involved the dishwasher that was located in the basement kitchen. It extended to nearby cabinets and melted the water line of an unattended ‘de facto’ sprinkler, according to Piringer. One person was displaced and approximately $200k in damage was incurred. Featured photo courtesy of Google Maps.

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Burtonsville

Montgomery County Man Identified As One of Three Victims in Crash Involving Vehicle Reportedly Fleeing From Police

By MCS Staff

United States Park Police (USPP) officers have identified the victims of the crash that occurred on March 15 on Rock Creek Parkway involving a Honda sedan and a Lexus SUV that was reportedly fleeing from police.

Per Park Police, On Wednesday, March 15 at 1:43 a.m., USPP officers were dispatched to a crash on the Rock Creek Parkway near P Street NW. The three occupants in the Honda were pronounced dead on the scene. The deceased were later identified as Mohamed Kamara, 42, of Burtonsville, MD, Jonathan Cabrera Mendez, 23, of Arlington, VA, and Olvin Torres Velasquez, 22, of Arlington, VA.

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