Author: MCS Staff

Business

Deka Biosciences Breaks Ground on New Facility in Germantown

By MCS Staff

Deka Biosciences announced that it is breaking ground on a 14,000 square foot office and lab in Germantown which will house a state of the art Research and Development, Process Development, and Manufacturing facility to further develop their novel cytokine therapies. This will be the first facility to house a dual targeted cytokine development lab in the DC/Maryland/Virginia region and the only company in the US developing a therapeutic of its kind. The new headquarters will be located at 20380 Seneca Meadows Parkway in Germantown, Maryland and Deka anticipates the move to be completed in the first quarter of 2023.

Per the press release: “Our new facility will provide us with essential space to expand our research, development and manufacturing efforts, allowing us to continue to successfully develop our Diakine™ therapies, using single use technology to scale both quickly and economically,” Dr. John Mumm, CEO of Deka Biosciences shared. “This is an exciting new chapter for our company and I believe the expansion will provide a work environment that will amplify a strong culture of innovation and collaboration as Deka seeks to deliver on our mission to bring life-changing therapies to patients with cancer and inflammatory diseases.”

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Bethesda

Annual Monitoring Report for Bethesda Downtown Plan Presented to the Planning Board

By MCS Staff

The Montgomery County Planning Department briefed the Montgomery County Planning Board on the update to the implementation of the 2017 Bethesda Downtown Sector Plan at their meeting on July 28, 2022. The 2022 Annual Monitoring Report details the plan’s progress between May 2021 and May 2022 on school capacity, new parks and open spaces and transportation adequacy. The report also presents information on recent development activity in downtown Bethesda and the status of the Bethesda Overlay Zone (BOZ).

View the 2022 Bethesda Monitoring Report.

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Crime

50 Year Sentence for Co-Defendant in Gang Related Murder

By MCS Staff

Today Judge Jeannie Cho, in the Circuit Court for Montgomery County, MD, sentenced defendant, Jordan Ryan Moreno, 23, of Washington D.C. to 50 years in prison, according to the Montgomery County State’s Attorney Office. Moreno pleaded guilty on June 29th, 2022 to first-degree murder for the death of Sara Gutierrez-Villatoro in 2019. He also has federal charges pending. Moreno is one of four co-defendants in this case, which also includes:

• Defendant, Rigoberto Machado A.K.A. “Crazy,” 18, of Washington, D.C. previously pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and was sentenced to 50 years in prison.

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Crime

25 Years with No Parole for Carjacking Defendant Caught on Camera

By MCS Staff

Today in the Circuit Court for Montgomery County, MD, Judge David Lease sentenced defendant, Leslie J. Lee, 37, to twenty-five years in prison with no parole. Lee pleaded guilty on June 22, 2022, to charges of armed carjacking, carjacking and first-degree assault. The first two charges stem from carjacking incidents in November of 2021. The assault charge is connected to an unrelated domestic violence incident. Details on the carjacking cases:

In the first incident on Nov. 7th, Lee noticed a 68-year-old woman alone in a vehicle parked at the Exxon along the 3000 block of Briggs Chaney Rd. while her daughter was inside the store. He got into the driver’s seat and ordered her out, then took off with the car and the victims’ belongings inside. It happened in broad daylight.

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MoCo Government

Montgomery County Officials Address Discrepancy Between County and CDC Covid Transmission Risk Levels

By MCS Staff

Earlier this week, Montgomery County’s Community Covid-19 Level was back up to ‘High’, according to the county’s Covid-19 surveillance dashboard. The CDC, however, still had Montgomery County at the ‘Medium’ level. The community levels are based on metrics released by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on February 25, 2022, enabling communities and individuals to make better decisions based on their local context and unique needs.

After many publicly questioned the discrepancy between Montgomery County’s numbers and the CDC’s numbers for the county, the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services tweeted the following:

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WMATA

More Trains, Shorter Waits Coming to Blue, Orange and Silver Line Customers Beginning August 1

By MCS Staff

Per WMATA: Welcome news for customers who ride the Blue, Orange and Silver lines. As of Aug 1, trains will arrive every 15 minutes on weekdays, matching service on the Green and Yellow lines. For most customers, the wait for a train will be no longer than 5-8 minutes, as most stations are served by at least two if not all three lines.

“Improving service for customers is how we will restore the confidence of the National Capital Region,” said Randy Clarke, Metro general manager and chief executive officer. “Restoring 7K service frequency and providing even more improvements is my focus.”

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Rockville

A Rockville Community is Offering A $1,000 Reward in Animal Cruelty Case

By MCS Staff

The Lake New Mark Commons community in Rockville has raised reward funds in hopes of closing an animal cruelty case involving Canada Geese, according to the Rockville Police Department. A $1,000 reward is being offered. Full flyer from the community can be seen below:

“Lake New Mark, a private lake in New Mark Commons (an HOA community in Rockville) has served as home to a beloved Canada Goose family peacefully for several years. Canada Geese are protected by Federal and State laws.

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Education

Video Recap of MCPS Summer 2022 Safety Summit

By MCS Staff

MCPS hosted the Summer 2022 Safety Summit at Walter Johnson High School bringing together school leaders and community safety partners for discussions and training. The conference provided information and clarity around the new memorandum of understanding between MCPS and police. A video recap of the Safety Summit is available below:

https://youtu.be/hQWN0pyGw9U

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Bethesda

District Falafel to Open in Old Fu Shing Cafe Location Next to Montgomery Mall

By MCS Staff

District Falafel will be taking over the location that was most recently home to The Wok Chinese Kitchen and previously home to longtime favorite Fu Shing Cafe at 10315 Westlake Drive in the Westlake Crossing shopping center, located next to Montgomery Mall in Bethesda. The restaurant hopes to open by the end of September.

Fu Shing Cafe closed permanently in Westlake Crossing in July of 2019. Soon after Soy Kitchen was announced as the restaurant that would be taking its place, with signage going up, but that signage was replace with signage for The Wok about a year later. The Wok opened in November 2020. A menu for District Falafel’s food truck, and a couple photo of menu items, can be seen below:

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Events

Montgomery Parks Announces August Events Across MoCo

By MCS Staff

Montgomery Parks has announced its August lineup of special events, including Salsa in the Park and this year’s Parks Playhouse/Parks Playhouse Junior series. Summer’s almost halfway over, but there’s still so much fun to be had at Montgomery Parks! August Events at Montgomery Parks Include:

Salsa in the Park | August 4 | Wheaton Local Forest Park

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MCPS

MCPS Community Message on COVID-19 Community Risk Level Change

By MCS Staff

On Tuesday, July 26, Montgomery County moved into a high COVID-19 community risk level based on COVID-19Community Level measures as outlined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This combined risk metric helps people better understand what is happening in their community by considering community transmission levels and the current impact of COVID-19 on the health care system.

Montgomery County Public Schools continues to closely monitor available local data with support from our county and regional public health authorities to inform and enhance community prevention strategies.To reduce the impact of COVID-19 in our schools and community at this elevated risk level, at this time MCPS strongly recommends:

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