Author: Patrick Herron

Health

Statement From Attorney General Anthony Brown on Fifth Circuit Ruling on Medication Abortion

By Patrick Herron

Per the Maryland Attorney General’s Office:   Attorney General Anthony G. Brown issued the following the statement after Wednesday’s ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirming portions of a district court’s order limiting access to mifepristone, a drug which is widely used for medication abortion:

“Mifepristone has been a safe and effective tool in safeguarding people’s reproductive rights for over two decades. Any attempt to limit the availability of this crucial abortion medication undermines the rights and health of people across our nation. The court ruling retains unnecessary restrictions which make mifepristone less accessible, disregarding the importance of ensuring safe and timely access to reproductive healthcare. We will continue our fight against those restrictions, which are stayed by the Supreme Court. Medication abortion has allowed countless individuals to exercise their autonomy and make personal decisions about their own bodies. The court’s decision to curtail its availability threatens to push people towards riskier alternatives and diminishes their ability to make their own informed choices.

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Restaurant

True Respite Brewing Company to Close

By Patrick Herron

True Respite Brewing Company at 7301 Calhoun Place Suite 600 in Rockville has announced it will be closing on Saturday, September 2. True Respite owners Brendan and Bailey O’Leary opened up shop in 2018 and the brewery made a name for itself in the local beer community by winning multiple Maryland Craft Beer Awards and hosting community events. In June, we reported that the brewery’s location had been made available to lease.

True Respite posted the following message on their social media accounts on Thursday afternoon:

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Bethesda

Fall Cleaning of Montgomery County Public Parking Garages in Bethesda, Silver Spring and Wheaton to Begin on Monday, Sept. 11

By Patrick Herron

Per MCDOT: Starting on Monday, Sept. 11, the Montgomery County Department of Transportation (MCDOT) will begin its semi-annual interior washdown to degrease and clean 21 County-owned parking garages in Bethesda, Silver Spring and Wheaton. The cleanings will occur on nights and weekends starting with Bethesda garages in September and concluding with Silver Spring garages on Saturday, Nov. 4. Some garages will experience partial closures during the cleanings, including select entrance/exit areas and ramps. The full schedule of garage cleanings can be viewed here.

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Crime

Dashboard and Body-Worn Camera Footage from July 22 Fatal Police Involved Shooting Released

By Patrick Herron

Per the Maryland Attorney General’s Office: The Independent Investigations Division (IID) of the Office of the Attorney General today released the dashboard and body-worn camera footage from the fatal police-involved shooting that occurred on July 22, 2023, in Montgomery County.

 

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Crime

Montgomery County Woman Arrested for Auto Theft

By Patrick Herron

Per MCPD: Detectives from the Montgomery County Department of Police – Auto Crime Enforcement Section (ACES) have arrested and charged 29-year-old Victoria Sok of Silver Spring with auto theft.  On Wednesday, August 9, 2023, at approximately 4:30 p.m., detectives were proactively patrolling a neighborhood in Silver Spring when they located the suspect inside of a vehicle, that was reported stolen in Washington, D.C.

Detectives also determined that Sok has an outstanding out-of-state warrant. SOK was arrested and transported to the Montgomery County Central Processing Unit, where she was charged with auto theft related charges. She is being held without bond.

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Bethesda

Swarovski Now Open at Montgomery Mall

By Patrick Herron

Swarovski has reopened in a new location on the upper level of Westfield Montgomery Mall (7101 Democracy Blvd) in Bethesda. Swarovski closed its previous location this past spring to make room for a new Rolex storefront at Liljenquist & Beckstead, which is taking over the former Swarovski space. Swarovski is an Australian based company that specializes in jewelry, watches, and crystal decorations.

In other Westfield Montgomery news, VinoRita Wine Slushies is now open mall’s food court, taking over the kiosk space that was previously home to HalfSmoke, Gelato Galax, and Coldstone Creamery. Alcohol infused slushie flavors include the best selling “Black San,” which is a Blackberry Sangria, Peach Frose, Strawberry Daquiri, and Blueberry Pomegranate. Non-alcoholic options include Blue Raspberry and Lemonade.

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Arts

Founding Artistic Director at Imagination Stage Announces Departure after 30 Years

By Patrick Herron

In a letter to friends and colleagues, Stanford expressed gratitude to the hundreds of dedicated and talented colleagues, staff, board members, fellow artists, and supporters that she has had the opportunity to work with. “A commitment to youth is the North Star that draws us all,” she writes. “Together, we have done much in four decades to bring the arts to more than a million young people, and to nurture them with the “slow food” that only live theatre can provide.”

Since joining the company in 1993, Stanford has produced 160 shows, directed 55, written 9, commissioned 50 new works, and introduced innovative educational programs that prioritize social justice and finding a young person’s unique identity or “voice” through theatre arts. She has long been a leader in promoting equity, diversity and inclusion: by establishing the ‘Youth Speaks to Age Series’ in the 1990’s that brought a dozen new scripts by BIPOC playwrights to the field; by featuring Deaf actors and actors with physical and cognitive disabilities in 9 mainstage productions; and by casting diverse actors in everything so that ALL children see themselves in the stories on stage.

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North Bethesda

No Regrets Pizza Co. Coming to North Bethesda

By Patrick Herron

Signage is up for No Regrets Pizza Co. at 5454 Nicholson Lane in North Bethesda. The pizzeria/bar will be located on the lower level of the Harwood Flats apartment building. An opening date has not yet been set and we will update with additional information (menu, etc.) when it becomes available. The news of No Regrets Pizza Co. was first reported by Robert Dyer.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cu8ApTIRfgf/

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North Bethesda

Coming Soon Signage Up at Chuck E. Cheese in White Flint Plaza; New Location Will Have Trampoline Zone

By Patrick Herron

Coming soon signage is up at the upcoming Chuck E. Cheese at 5238 Nicholson Ln in North Bethesda/Rockville. Chuck E. Cheese will be moving from its current Rockville location at 5270 Randolph Rd in Loehmann’s Plaza (10,500 SF) to the new, larger location (16,331 SF) in White Flint Plaza, taking over the space that was previously home to Retro Fitness. According to a representative at the Randolph Rd Chuck E. Cheese, the new location will feature a trampoline zone and is projecting a September opening. Images of a Chuck E. Cheese trampoline zone below, courtesy of @atlanticterminal on Instagram.

Chuck E. Cheese has an additional Montgomery County location at 1127 University Blvd E in Takoma Park. The children’s indoor entertainment arcade also had a location in Gaithersburg that closed in 2020 after being in business at Gaithersburg Square for over 30 years. Per the Biz Journals report, the new location will “feature a 17-foot digital wall and other technological advances over the older locations. There will still be some Chuck E. Cheese mainstays, including things like skee-ball, air hockey, and, of course, pizza.” The Rockville location has also matched pre-2019 numbers this year, hosting 289 birthday parties.

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MCPD

Police and Family Searching for 18-Year-Old Missing Since June 14

By Patrick Herron

Detectives from the Montgomery County Department of Police- Missing Persons/Cold Case Unit are asking for the public’s assistance in locating Juan Machado, a missing 18-year-old. Machado was last seen on Wednesday, June 14, 2023, in the 1700 block of Mt. Pisgah Lane in Silver Spring. He is 5’6″, 180 lbs., with shoulder length brown hair and brown eyes.

Anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of Juan Machado is asked to call Montgomery County Police Non Emergency (301) 279-8000 (24-hour line).

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Uncategorized

Maryland Receives Nearly $24 Million in 2023 Payments from Distributors and Johnson & Johnson Opioids Settlements

By Patrick Herron

Per the Maryland Attorney General’s Office: Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown announced today that the State of Maryland and its subdivisions recently received nearly $24 million as the 2023 installments of payments due under consent judgments that the Office of the Attorney General entered into last year with the three largest pharmaceutical distributors in the United States – McKesson, Cardinal Health, and Amerisource Bergen – and the pharmaceutical manufacturer Johnson & Johnson. The payments are the most recent installments of approximately $395 million that Maryland and its subdivisions will receive from the settlements over the course of 18 years.

The settlements, entered into in 2022, resolved the companies’ liability to the State for illegally marketing and distributing opioids before the settlements’ effective dates. Subdivisions will receive a total of more than $13.6 million from the settlements, including more than $4.8 million in direct payments already distributed and nearly $8.8 million in targeted abatement grants from the State that will be distributed once processed. All funding is committed to abating the opioid crisis. To date, the State and its subdivisions have received more than $84 million in total from the settlements.

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