Detectives from the Montgomery County Department of Police – Cold Case/ Missing Persons Unit are asking for the public’s assistance in locating Theodore Latimer, a missing 54-year-old from Gaithersburg.
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Starbucks is coming to the Germantown Square Shopping Center, taking over the space previously occupied by SunTrust/Truist bank at 12605 Wisteria Dr.
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 Maryland-National Capital Park Police, Montgomery County Division, assisted by The Montgomery County Police Department Repeat Offender Unit, arrested Sam Khojasteh, a 19-year-old male from Gaithersburg, MD. The arrest stems from an incident that occurred on April 10, 2024 at South Germantown Recreational Park 18041 Central Park Circle, Boyds, MD.
The City of Rockville is hosting its annual Skate Jam event at the Rockville Skate Park (355 Martins Lane) on Saturday, April 20 from 9am until 5pm.
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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.
Duke’s Grocery, a DC-based, East London-inspired gastropub, has announced it will be opening a location this fall at 10128 River Road in the Potomac Village shopping center. The restaurant will be located in the space previously occupied by Lock 72 Kitchen & Bar, which closed in October 2023.
A group of MCPS students have come together to spread awareness about the impact of bullying, harassment and hate-bias. This student-led video campaign is part of the ongoing work to address and help educate their peers and the school community. Full video below.
The Montgomery County Department of Transportation (MCDOT) has announced that it will offer free rides on Ride On, Ride On extRa, Ride On flex and Flash on Monday, April 22, in support o Earth Day. (more…)
The Rockville City Police Department’s Chief Victor V. Brito recently shared a crime report/data with Rockville Mayor and Council showing reduced crime rates in 2023. According to a press release from the City of Rockville the data “contrasts with that of other municipalities across the country.”
Montgomery County Police are searching for a suspect involved in an auto theft that occurred last month in Rockville. (more…)
Walter Johnson Assistant Football Coach Larry Hurd Sr. will be accepting the John W. Voight Award on April 27th at the Gossett Team House within the University of Maryland College Park Campus. Coach Hurd Sr. is being recognized for his over 40 years of service to the State of Maryland as an assistant coaching football.
Article written by Ben Shlesinger
Somewhat surprisingly, for just $35 you can buy an autographed copy of Katie Ledecky’s upcoming book (the price has since been increased to $49.99), “Just Add Water: My Swimming Life“. The book chronicles Ledecky’s life from her Bethesda roots to her historic Olympic domination.