MCS Staff, Author at The MoCo Show

Remembering Hechinger

Published August 16, 2022 at 5:28PM

Sidney Hechinger opened his first hardware store in Washington D.C. in 1919. In 1953, the company had grown to five stores. Sidney brought in his son, John Hechinger, and his son-in-law, Richard England, as partners. By the early 70s, the company had doubled in size to ten stores. Hechinger and England took the company public in 1972.

John Hechinger Jr. became was named president of the company in 1986. He was the third generation of Hechingers to run the show and reincorporated the company in Delaware the next year. At the time, the company was up to just over 50 stores. By 1995, there were 131 stores in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States. That’s when the competition from Home Depot and Lowe’s forced Hechinger to close almost twenty stores, while reformatting a few others. It was the first major decrease in stores the company had ever seen.

Business

Barnes & Noble Offering 50% Off of Hundreds of Books; Additional Items on Sale

By MCS Staff

Published August 16, 2022 at 4:47PM | Updated August 16, 2022 at 5:13PM

Barnes & Noble has announced the return of their popular Book Haul event. It began on August 12th and will be running through Labor Day weekend. The bookseller again offers book lovers half-off from over 700 Hardcover books. While supplies last, there are books included in every genre and all stores nationwide are participating, as well as online at bn.com/bookhaul. There are Montgomery County Barnes & Noble locations in Gaithersburg’s Rio Lakefront and Rockville’s Congressional Plaza. In addition to books, the sale includes deals on board games, planners, LEGOs, tea, and more.

Per the press release: “This is the biggest Book Haul in our history,” said Jackie De Leo, Chief Merchandising Officer, Barnes & Noble. “With half-off so many exciting and new hardcover titles during Book Haul, it gives our customers a fantastic opportunity to build out their bookshelf. The choice is wider than ever and for those who are quick on their feet into our stores, there are so many brilliant titles to be had.”

Maryland

Over $6 Million in Debt Relief for Past ITT Students From Maryland Who Were Defrauded By The School

By MCS Staff

Published August 16, 2022 at 11:24AM

“Many ITT Tech students were misled, coerced, or victimized by other illegal misconduct. The students incurred thousands of dollars in debt, often for useless degrees or credits,” said Attorney General Frosh. “We are pleased that the Department of Education heeded our recommendation to forgive the federal loans owed by defrauded students.”

ITT’s widespread and pervasive misrepresentation violated state consumer protection laws, including Maryland’s Consumer Protection Act. In 2019, Attorney General Frosh secured a settlement obtaining $6,021,455.80 in debt relief for 582 former ITT Tech students in Maryland as part of a multistate settlement with Student CU Connect CUSO, LLC (CUSO). The attorneys general alleged that ITT pressured and coerced students into accepting loans from CUSO, which often carried interest rates that far exceeded rates for federal loans.

Takoma Park

Adventist HealthCare Urgent Care to Close Takoma Park Location Permanently on August 19

By MCS Staff

Published August 16, 2022 at 9:34AM

Adventist HealthCare Urgent Care, located at 7600 Carroll Ave in Takoma Park, will close permanently to patients on August 19th at 5pm. The health care facility is rerouting anyone in need of urgent care following this date to Patriot Urgent Care in Laurel and White Oak Medical Center in White Oak. According to Adventist HealthCare, “a new Primary Care office will open in September nearby.” It will be located at 7610 Carroll Ave, Suite 410 in Takoma Park. A specific opening date has not yet been provided.

According to the Adventist HealthCare website, the new primary care facility will offer the following:

Education

MCPS Graduates Share Their College Success Stories Through the ACES Program

By MCS Staff

Published August 16, 2022 at 9:18AM

Nearly a decade ago, Montgomery County Public Schools, Montgomery College and the Universities at Shady Grove – with its nine university partners – teamed up to launch a joint program in several high schools across the county to help make the dream of college and attainment of a bachelor’s degree more possible for thousands of students from historically underrepresented demographic groups. That program – ACES, which stands for “Achieving Collegiate Excellence and Success” – has since served more than 7,500 students and in the past few years, some of the first bachelor’s degree graduates have emerged from university programs at USG.

Six of those graduates recently shared some of their perspectives in a series of “My ACES Story” video vignettes. Here are their stories.

Takoma Park

Police Investigate Assault at Takoma Park Sunoco

By MCS Staff

Published August 16, 2022 at 8:48AM

Units arrived to find a victim who had been assaulted by an unknown male subject. The victim stated that while exiting the Metro bus in the area of Larch Avenue and New Hampshire Avenue, he was approached by an unknown male subject last seen wearing a black face mask, black hooded sweatshirt and black pants with colorful shoes. An altercation occurred and the subject hit the victim over the head with an unknown object and then fled on foot in an unknown direction. Officers canvassed the surrounding areas with negative results. The victim was transported to a local hospital to be treated for non-life threatening injuries.

Investigation continues under case #220034810. Anyone with information about this crime is asked to please call us at 301-270-1100.

Education

Montgomery College Ranked The 7th Best Community College in the U.S. in New List

By MCS Staff

Published August 16, 2022 at 7:46AM

With Americans struggling financially due to rising inflation and a year of community college nearly three times less expensive than a year at a public four-year college, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2022’s Best & Worst Community Colleges, coupled with its state-by-state ranking of the Best & Worst Community-College Systems, Montgomery College was ranked 7th out of over 650 community colleges, coming it at 19th in the ‘Career Outcomes’ category, while Maryland was ranked 2nd in “States With the Best Community College System.”

Per the article: “Other than serving as an affordable, and in some cases free, option for education, community colleges have a number of attractive qualities. They often provide more flexible schedules, smaller class sizes and rigorous coursework. Some even go beyond two-year programs to offer four-year bachelor’s degrees. These qualities advantages appeal especially to students who need to balance their studies with other commitments, such as family and work.

Montgomery College

Application Deadline Extended for $500 Tuition Scholarship at Montgomery College

By MCS Staff

Published August 15, 2022 at 8:37PM

Montgomery College offers a $500 tuition scholarship to help 2022 spring Montgomery County high school graduates jump into their academic program in fall 2022. Originally, potential applicants were encouraged to submit applications by August 1st, but since funds are still available the application deadline is extended until August 29.

The $500 scholarship will be applied to fall 2022 tuition and fees at Montgomery College. The program is for spring 2022 Montgomery County high school graduates who are Montgomery County residents who register for and attend at least 6 credit hours at Montgomery College in the fall 2022. The scholarship cannot be used for any other semester.

Business

Silver Spring’s Aziyo Biologics Announces CEO and $25 Million Loan Facility

By MCS Staff

Published August 15, 2022 at 2:44PM

Silver Spring-based Aziyo Biologics (located in Calverton), a commercial-stage regenerative medicine company, announced that Aziyo co-founder C. Randal (Randy) Mills, Ph.D. has assumed the President and Chief Executive Officer role on an on-going basis. Dr. Mills, who is internationally recognized for his contributions to the field of regenerative medicine, has served as the Company’s interim CEO since June 2022. The company also announced that it has entered into a $25 million credit facility from SWK Holdings Corporation.

“Since creating Aziyo in 2015, Randy and I have worked together to build a company where regenerative medicine is used to its full potential,” said Kevin Rakin, co-founder and executive chairman. “Randy is a visionary leader with a track record of creating significant shareholder value in regenerative medicine. The Board and I look forward to partnering with Randy as we make his vision for this company a reality.”

Maryland

Maryland Ranks #17 in 2022 ‘Best States to Live In’ List

By MCS Staff

Published August 15, 2022 at 9:18AM

With around 8.4% of Americans having moved last year, which is a historic low, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2022’s Best States to Live in. To help Americans settle down in the best and most affordable place possible, WalletHub compared the 50 states across 52 key indicators of livability. They range from housing costs and income growth to education rate and quality of hospitals, with Maryland coming in at 17 overall.

Maryland was listed in the top 15 in three categories, which included #2 in ‘% of Population Living in Poverty’ (Maryland has the second lowest %), #12 in ‘Education & Health’ and #13 in ‘Safety.’ Our state didn’t fare as well in three other categories, coming in at #38 in ‘Affordability’, #31 in ‘Economy’, and #31 in ‘Quality of Life.’ Per the article, “If you do the math, some states clearly outshine others in various categories. To find out the best states to live in, WalletHub compared the 50 states based on 52 key indicators of livability. They range from housing costs and income growth to education rate and quality of hospitals.”

Bethesda

Who Am I? MoCo Edition

By MCS Staff

Published August 15, 2022 at 8:52AM | Updated November 23, 2022 at 7:12PM

This comedian (pictured above in the middle with his mother and siblings), born Anthony Reed in Greenville, Mississippi, was seen by millions weekly when he became an original cast member on Fox’s In Living Color. At just 18 months old, he was abandoned in the trash before being rescued by the woman who became his adoptive mother. His parents changed his name to what he’s known by now when they adopted him. His adoptive parents divorced when he was five years old, and his mother and the children moved to Washington, D.C. before later moving to Montgomery County where he lived in Wheaton, the neighborhood of Rosemary Hills in Silver Spring, and then Takoma Park. He attended Rosemary Hills Elementary School, Sligo Middle School, and Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School (with a short amount of time at Mark Twain in Rockville).

After graduating in 1981, he studied communications and interned at the radio station of the University of the District of Columbia for one semester. While in the area he held jobs across MoCo, including in the kitchen of the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, cleaning at Roy Rogers, bussing tables at an IHOP in Wheaton, and working in Prince George’s County at the storeroom of Hechinger in Hyattsville.