A new urgent care facility, Innovative Urgent Care, is coming to 9809 Main St. in the space that was home to Pet Valu in the Damascus Center until late 2020. A $500K permit has been issued for the interior work to begin.
Maryland State Police are investigating an attempted robbery and assault of a flower vendor that occurred on Sunday, August 18. (more…)
Talent is one of the most important factors influencing where companies choose to invest, expand, and grow. As competition for skilled workers intensifies, employers are embracing a broader talent strategy: one that leverages partnerships. Last week, almost 120 business leaders, elected officials, and members of Montgomery County’s business community attended the Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation’s (MCEDC) panel, “The Talent Advantage: A Growth Strategy for Companies in Montgomery County, Maryland,” to hear how local businesses are capitalizing on the County’s world-class academic institutions, innovation ecosystem, quality of life, and economic development resources to attract and retain top talent.
Moderated by Dr. Anne Khademian, Executive Director at The Universities at Shady Grove (USG), the panel included executives from businesses and institutions across industries, including Lockheed Martin, TrilliumBIO, Thales Defense & Security, Johns Hopkins, Montgomery College, and AstraZeneca, who discussed their companies’ strategies for developing their workforce.
Talent as a Business Strategy
For companies competing in highly specialized industries like the defense industry, access to talent directly influences where they choose to locate and grow. For Lockheed Martin, which employs nearly 1,000 people in Montgomery County, talent is one of the primary reasons the company chose to be headquartered here.
“Talent is in the top one or two reasons why we are in the County,” said Todd Cohen, Senior Lead of Strategic Workforce Development, Lockheed Martin.
According to Cohen, Lockheed Martin begins working with partners to develop their talent pipeline well before students enter the workforce, including partnering with Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) on programs such as coding challenges. Lockheed Martin also maintains close relationships with local higher education institutions, including the Universities at Shady Grove (USG).
That local talent pipeline is also an important factor for AstraZeneca, which employs more than 5,000 employees and contractors in Montgomery County. According to Tiffany Lukis, Director of STEM and Community Engagement at AstraZeneca, the company often taps into its alumni base from Montgomery College (ranked #26 nationally among community colleges) and USG (which offers nine different public universities onto one campus), and other local institutions to fill highly technical roles.
Local Companies Are Developing Talent and Not Just Finding It
According to the panelists, investing in existing employees is just as important as recruiting new ones.
At Suburban Hospital, workforce development is closely tied to talent retention. The hospital partners with local educational institutions to provide employees with opportunities to gain new skills and advance their careers. Programs include a Certified Nursing Assistant program through Montgomery College and English as a Second Language classes.
“A huge part of our talent strategy is to prioritize holding on to our top tier talent,” said Corey Lewson, MSW, Program Manager, Workforce Development, John Hopkins Medicine.
For smaller companies, developing talent internally can be especially valuable. Lane Edwards, Vice President of Operations, TrilliumBIO, a biomarker discovery company with fewer than 20 employees based in Rockville, described the challenge of balancing the need for highly specialized expertise with the realities of building a team at an early-stage company.
“When it comes to hiring, we have to be very strategic,” Lane said. “Do we have someone who has the expertise or someone that we can build on?”
The Montgomery County Department of Police – 5th District Investigative Section are asking for the public’s assistance in locating Desteni Taliaferro, a missing 25-year-old from Germantown. (more…)
When I moved back to Northern Virginia after several years in New York, most of my old friends had moved away. I found myself rebuilding a social circle from scratch.
I had plenty of people I could connect with online, but that wasn’t translating into anyone to grab a beer with after work, play trivia with, or text when I wanted to get out of the house. Making new friends as an adult required far more deliberate effort than I remembered.
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Come enjoy the day at our annual Washington Grove Arts and Craft Festival in a beautiful outdoor setting. This festival highlights local artisans including wood creations, pottery, visual art, household products and so much more. We also have food trucks from El Parente Tacos, El Jeffe Wood-fired pizzas, Bruster’s Ice Cream and beverages from Saints Row Brewery. Bring the whole family because we have a kids activity area too. Pets on a leash are welcome too!
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Olubowale Victor Akintimehin, better known as Wale, was born in Northwest, Washington, D.C. and raised in various parts of the DMV (graduating from Quince Orchard High School). Now, he and Nike are collaborating for a DMV version of a shoe many say the area is responsible for putting on the map– the Air Foamposite One (video available below).
Montgomery County will hold a remembrance ceremony and candlelight vigil on Thursday, August 29, in Downtown Rockville to honor lives lost to substance use and launch National Recovery Month. (more…)
On August 16, at approximately 9:07 pm, Takoma Park Police responded to the 7900 block of New Hamsphire Avenue for a report of an armed robbery that had occurred earlier in a different location (1000 block of University Blvd, Cash Depot).
Construction is ongoing for Bouboulina, the upcoming full-service American grill influenced by Mediterranean cuisine at 915 Meeting St. at Pike & Rose. The restaurant, which is being opened by the founders of CAVA, has a hearing for its liquor license with Montgomery County’s Alcoholic Beverage Services (ABS) on Thursday, September 5th at 11:30am.
The City of Gaithersburg and the Gaithersburg-Washington Grove Fire Department celebrate the unofficial end of summer with the 86th Annual Labor Day Parade on Monday, September 2, 2024, at its new start time at 10 a.m.
To over 16 million followers, Keith Lee is a very familiar face. Known for reviewing food from mom and pop or family-owned restaurants while sitting in his car and providing pinpoint ratings like 8.6/10 for French fries, or 7.1/10 for chocolate cake, the MMA fighter has become one of the most influential social media personalities in the country when it comes to food and restaurants. His reviews have changed the fortune of many restaurants—some that were barely surviving went to to long lines out the door for several weeks or months after his visit. Now, he’s coming to the DMV, according to his latest social media post on Sunday night (seen below).