The Department of Public Works is looking to create Trail Improvements at Blohm Park, which is located on Watkins Mill Rd in Gaithersburg next to the Montgomery Meadows neighborhood. The City is looking to add a boardwalk and raised overlook as part of the project.
Alert Montgomery has issued a ‘Severe Traffic Alert’ for emergency utility work that closes both directions of Layhill Rd (MD 182) between Marymont Rd and Chapel Hill Rd.
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?”
Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services (MCFRS) and Gaithersburg Police are on the scene of a collision involving a driver crashing into a building at 20 South Frederick Ave, Chelsea Park Apartments, in Gaithersburg. According to Tim Pruss (@MyDronePro on Twitter/X), at least one person was trapped inside the vehicle. There is no word at this time on the cause of the crash.
Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services responded to the scene of a crash on Sandy Spring Road at McKnew Road in Burtonsville on Sunday afternoon. Based on aerial visuals by Tim Pruss (@MyDronePro), the crash involves at least two vehicles and multiple patients being evaluated by EMS. Part of the intersection remains closed as of 7:25pm.
7:54pm update: Three people were transported with non-life threatening injuries, per MCFRS Chief Spokesperson Pete Piringer
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.
Bring your family and friends to our free , all-day outdoor Oktoberfest celebration. These will be an outdoor craft fair featuring local artisans and professional woodworkers, a chainsaw carving, woodworking and tool demonstrations by Festool, Montgomery Wood Turners and Carvers. There will also be lots of delicious food provided by El Parente Tacos, El Jeffe Wood-fired pizzas, Bruster's Ice cream and seasonal craft brews from Saints Row Brwsing Company.
Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services (MCFRS) responded to a collision involving a Montgomery County Police vehicle on Sunday afternoon in Gaithersburg.
Joan Jett, the woman many refer to as the Queen of Rock & Roll, spent almost a decade of her life growing up in Randolph Hills and attended Wheaton High School (she left the area before graduating). She will be returning to Maryland for the Orioles game against the Texas Rangers on June 28th as the “guest splasher” in the team’s “Splash Zone” in left field, where fans are sprayed with a hose in celebration after big plays
Signage is up for Charleys Cheesesteaks & Wings at 9721 Frederick Rd. (previous home of the standalone Verizon store) in the Fox Chapel shopping center.
On Friday, June 14th, FOX 5 will bring its Zip Trip to Montgomery County for the only time this season as they make it over to the Rio Lakefront boardwalk behind Silver Diner at 9811 Washingtonian Blvd Suite l-10, Gaithersburg, MD.
The City of Rockville has announced that all Rockville streets now have speed limits of 35 mph or less after recent speed limit reduction at Gude Drive and Wootton Parkway.
Jinlan Dumplings is coming to 11620-A Rockville Pike, next to Tropical Smoothie Cafe in the White Flint Station shopping center.