Gaithersburg

The new MegaMart at 33 Dalamar St. in Gaithersburg is currently scheduled to open this Saturday, September 9 at noon. The grocery store is located at the former site of iconic MoCo restaurant, The Golden Bull. The Golden Bull closed its doors on February 17th, 2017. In 2019, construction crews began the demolition of the building to make room for the new 26,600 SF Megamart. The exiting MegaMart located across the street at 401 N Frederick Ave in the Hudson Trail Center will remain open for two more weeks. The Mega Bakery at 405 N Frederick Ave will also be closing and relocating to the new site.

Megamart is a regional grocery chain specializing in Latin items with about a dozen locations in the DMV. Some Megamart stores have additional services, such as gold sales, mobile phone repair, and sporting goods.  One major change for the new Gaithersburg store is that it will have its own dedicated parking lot– taking care of the parking issue that has often been brought up regarding the location across the street.


Crime

Per MCPD: Detectives from the Montgomery County Department of Police – Major Crimes Division have arrested and charged 22-year-old Vincent Adeniyi Oyegbami with an armed carjacking that occurred on Sunday, August 6, 2023, in the 8300 block of Georgia Avenue in Silver Spring.

At approximately 5:39 a.m., 3rd District officers responded to the location for the report of an armed carjacking. The investigation has revealed that Oyegbami, armed with a black handgun, stole a white 2017 Mercedes E300 from a male victim and left the scene.  Through the course of the investigation, Oyegbami was identified as the suspect.


Glenmont

Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services (MCFRS) are on the scene of a collision that occurred Thursday morning in Wheaton-Glenmont. According to Montgomery County Police, the collision involved six vehicles, one of which is a school bus. Three adult females were transported to area hospitals with non-life threatening injuries. There were no students on the bus at the time of the collision.

Montgomery County Police tweeted the following at 8:35am: “TRAFFIC ADVISORY: A traffic collision has eastbound Randolph Rd. closed at Glenallen Ave. Expect significant delays. Drivers are advised to seek an alternate route.”  We will provide an update if additional information becomes available. Featured image courtesy of @mixedqt on Instagram. 


Health

Per MCPS: Extreme heat conditions continue today, Thursday, September 7, with the local heat index forecast to exceed 100 degrees Fahrenheit in the afternoon. School-based outdoor activities such as recess should be moved indoors after 12pm; if morning activities are held outdoors, adequate rest and water breaks should be permitted. Marching band and athletics programs will follow guidance in accordance with the MCPS Athletics Heat Safety plan.  The National Weather Serviceprovides hourly heat index information.

Community members are encouraged to stay well hydrated, limit outdoor activities if necessary, and review the information below on extreme heat safety. MCPS will continue to monitor conditions and communicate any changes as necessary.


Event

Join Kaiser Permanente for Healthy at the Harbor, a free community health and wellness event taking place Saturday, June 6, from 11 am to 4 pm at National Harbor in Prince George’s County, Maryland. Bring your family and friends for free full day of fun, fitness, and preventive care along the waterfront.

Throughout the day, Kaiser Permanente nurses and physicians will offer no-cost health screenings, alongside a health and wellness expo focused on preventive care education. A lively Kids’ Zone will keep children active and entertained with spin-art bikes, face painting, balloon art, games, and more.


Gaithersburg

Permanent signage is up at Chopin Noodle House at 12123 Darnestown Rd in the Shops of Potomac Valley shopping center. It will take over the location that was home to Pho City for 15 years until the restaurant closed at the end of July.

Chopin Noodle House offers a variety of hand pulled noodle soups, including Lanzhou beef noodle soup, traditional beef noodle soup, crispy fish noodle soup, cold noodles, and many others. The menu will also offer appetizers such as cucumber salad, chili oil cabbage, mutton chops and more. A variety of milk teas and iced tea/lemonades will also be available. An opening date for the restaurant is not yet available, but the restaurant has recently opened its first location in Catonsville.


Arts

For the 2023–2024 school year, Glenstone Museum has launched a new booking page that will make scheduling an on-site, guided visit more seamless for educators. This system provides real-time availability to schedule guided visits between Sept. 1 and Jan. 26, 2024.

The Potomac museum provides opportunities for middle and high school students to learn in an environment that encourages direct connection with art, architecture and nature. Glenstone offers guided on-site visits and virtual engagement options. The school program is intended for a broad range of curriculum and grade levels and uses interactive exercises to encourage direct engagement. In conjunction with Glenstone’s temporary exhibit, Ellsworth Kelly at 100, school visits have been expanded to include Kelly’s important contributions to the contemporary art world. To learn more about school visits, visit the website.


Crime

Per the Maryland Attorney General’s Office: As part of a 54-state and territory bipartisan coalition, Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown joined a letter urging Congress to study how artificial intelligence (AI) can and is being used to exploit children through child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and to propose legislation to protect children from those abuses. The danger of AI as it relates to CSAM is in three main categories: the likeness of a real child, who has not been physically abused, being digitally altered to depict abuse; a real child who has been physically abused being digitally recreated in other depictions of abuse; and a fictitious child being digitally created in a depiction of abuse that feeds the market for CSAM.

“The terrifying truth is that for all its potential benefits, artificial intelligence can also be used to hurt children and perpetrate child sexual abuse. With support from states, Congress must act now to get ahead of this manipulation of AI that could have such tragic consequences,” said Attorney General Brown. “We must work together to eradicate the use of this technology to exploit and harm kids.”


Rockville

The City of Rockville will proclaim September 15th-October 15th as Hispanic Heritage Month. According to the City of Rockville, the 2023 Hispanic Heritage Month Theme has been selected. This year’s theme is: “Latinos: Driving Prosperity, Power, and Progress in America.”

Per the City of Rockville: Hispanic Heritage Month originally started with one week of commemoration when it was first introduced by Congressman George E. Brown in June 1968. With the civil rights movement, the need to recognize the contributions of the Latin community gained traction in the 1960s. Awareness of the multicultural groups living in the United States was also gradually growing. Two heavily Latinx and Hispanic populated areas, the San Gabriel Valley, and East Los Angeles, were represented by Brown. His aim was to recognize the integral roles of these communities in American history. Observation of Hispanic Heritage Week started in 1968 under President Lyndon B. Johnson and was later extended to a 30-day celebration by President Ronald Reagan, starting on September 15 and ending on October 15. It was enacted into law via approval of Public Law 100-402 on August 17, 1988.


Gaithersburg

At Tuesday night’s Mayor and City Council meeting, the City of Gaithersburg proclaimed that September 15th-October 15h will be Hispanic Heritage Month. Per the City of Gaithersburg, “the National Hispanic Heritage Month began in 1968 as Hispanic Heritage Week under President Lyndon Johnson. In 1988, President Ronald Reagan changed the designation to a 30-day time covering the dates of September 15 to October 15. The date of September 15 is historically significant as it marks the anniversary of independence of five Latin American countries: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. The designation period also includes Mexico and Chile, which celebrate their independence on September 16 and 18, respectively. According to the U.S. Census, Hispanic Americans are identified by the parts of the world that they or their ancestors came from, including Puerto Rico, Cuba, Mexico, Spain, and the countries of Central and South America.”

City programming in recognition of Hispanic Heritage Month:


Uncategorized

Following the football game between Bethesda-Chevy Chase and Walter Johnson High Schools, a physical altercation near the Bethesda Metro Station resulted in multiple student injuries. Montgomery County Public Schools and Montgomery County Police immediately began a collaborative conversation.

The primary goal of this work is to determine precisely what occurred and to ensure that students involved will be held accountable. The memorandum of understanding with all community police partners very specifically outlines what actions may be addressed through school-based discipline and what is considered criminal activity.