Bethesda

MoCo native Katie Ledecky’s gold medal in the women‘s 800m has given her the most career individual swimming world titles of all time, with 16 overall.  She has surpassed fellow Marylander Michael Phelps, who previously held the record with 15.

Ledecky won the 800m freestyle race on Saturday with a time of 8 minutes and 8.87 seconds. She now holds the 29 fastest times in history in the event and also became the first swimmer to win any event six times at worlds. She has never lost since winning her first 800m back in 2012 when she was just 12 years old. Ledecky finished the world championships in took gold in the 800m and 1500m frees along with two silvers.


DMV

A severe thunderstorm that rolled into the late afternoon on Saturday, July 29th has caused damage in several parts of Montgomery County (a thunderstorm caused severe damage on Friday, July 28 as well). There are power outages across the county. Reminder: Treat traffic lights without a signal as four-way stops. Incidents reported and photos below:

• 12200 Braxfield Court near Academy Way, Rockville, large tree down, no injuries, tree landed in front of four-story apartment building


Darnestown

Pho City, which has been located at The Shops of Potomac Valley shopping center at 12123 Darnestown Rd. in Gaithersburg for approximately 15 years, is closing permanently today the store confirmed on the phone.

We are told that the restaurant has been sold to a restaurant that plans to offer Chinese-style beef noodle soup, but there is no current timeframe for when the new restaurant will open.  The shopping center has also recently lost Neal’s Bagels, which recently moved to a nearby Kentlands location. and there hasn’t much movement at the Wayback Burgers restaurant that installed permanent signage about one year ago. Isaac’s Poultry Market opened in the shopping center earlier this year. Featured photo courtesy of Google Maps.


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Bethesda

Trader’s Joe’s has removed a broccoli cheddar soup and falafel from its shelves after learning that the products were possibly contaminated with foreign objects. The grocery store is telling its customers that they should return the items to any Trader Joe’s location for a full refund.  The company issued the following two announcements:

Last week Trader Joe’s recalled its Almond Windmill and Dark Chocolate Chunk & Almond Cookies due to the possibility that the products were also contaminated with rocks. Trader Joe’s has MoCo locations Bethesda, Rockville, and Silver Spring.


MCPD

Montgomery County Police are investigating a fatal collision that occurred this morning, Saturday, July 29, 2023. According to MCPD, “At approximately 5:49 a.m., 1st District officers and Montgomery County Fire Rescue personnel responded to the area of Veirs Mill Road and Twinbrook Parkway for the report of a single vehicle traffic collision.

The preliminary investigation revealed that a black Honda Civic was traveling eastbound on Veirs Mill Road when, for reasons unknown it left the roadway and collided with a guardrail. The adult male driver was transported to an area hospital where he was pronounced dead. Two passengers were transported to area hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries. 


MDLottery

Per Mega Millions: “For the fifth time in its history, Mega Millions® will offer a jackpot in excess of a billion dollars! After no ticket matched all six numbers drawn Friday night – the white balls 5, 10, 28, 52 and 63, plus the gold Mega Ball 18 – the estimated jackpot grows to $1.05 billion ($527.9 million cash) for the next drawing on Tuesday, August 1. That prize would equal the fourth-largest Mega Millions jackpot to date. The jackpot has been rolling since it was last won in New York on April 18, and Tuesday’s drawing will be the 30th in this current run.

With excitement over the rising jackpot, the number of prizes won across the other eight prize tiers keeps growing. In the July 28 drawing, there were a total of 3,157,597 winning tickets across all tiers. Of those, 586,903 included the optional Megaplier (available in most states with an extra $1 purchase), which multiplies all standard non-jackpot prizes by a factor of 2x to 5x; Friday night’s Megaplier was 5x. In the current Mega Millions matrix and Megaplier configuration, which has been in place since October 28, 2017, there has never been a Megaplier of 5x drawn at this extraordinary jackpot level. That means a lot of prizes in other tiers have been multiplied by a factor of five!


Beyond MoCo

We learned the child had been inside the car for several hours while her mother was visiting at a home nearby. The 29-year-old mother from Glen Burnie, MD, will be criminally charged with Neglect of a Minor, Unattended Child Left Confined in a Vehicle and Reckless Endangerment.

Child Protective Services has been notified, per Maryland law, to investigate and determine if the family can benefit from other services. It’s never ok to leave a young child unattended but it is particularly dangerous to do so in a vehicle when there is a heat advisory. Even with a window partially down, temperatures rise quickly and can become deadly. Children, dependent adults and even pets should simply never be left alone in a vehicle during extreme temperatures. We’re heartened that someone saw something and said something and are thankful for a community that looks out for each other!”


DMV

An Excessive Heat Warning is in effect for half the county with a Heat Advisory in effect for the other half until 8pm Saturday night. The National Weather Service warns of “Dangerous heat index values of 100-110 are forecast for much of the area again today. Scattered to numerous showers and thunderstorms are expected, especially this afternoon and evening. Some storms may be severe and produce locally damaging winds.”

A “cold front” will move in tomorrow with temperatures in the mid/upper 80s and a heat index in the lower 90s, which will still feel hot, but about 15° cooler than the last couple days have felt. The upcoming week will bring temperatures in the mid 80s, which will give us a little break from the recent extreme heat.


Downtown Silver Spring

Back in March we let you know that Outback Steakhouse will be opening its third Montgomery County location. The Australian-themed casual dining chain will open in the space that was previously home to Not Your Average Joe’s  at 8661 Colesville Rd at Ellsworth Place in Downtown Silver Spring. Construction is currently ongoing and the restaurant has its hearing with Montgomery County’s Alcoholic Beverage Services (ABS) for a New Class B, Beer, Wine & Liquor License, On-Sale Only, license at 11:30am on Thursday, August 3rd (reported first by Source of the Spring). An opening timeframe is not yet available, but it will be the chain’s third Montgomery County location, joining existing restaurants in Aspen Hill and Germantown.

While Outback Steakhouse is an international chain, one of the founders has strong local ties. Chris T. Sullivan, one of the founders of Outback Steakhouse, is a Blair High School alumnus. Sullivan attended the school, and Takoma Park Middle School before that, in the 60s before heading to the University of Kentucky to study business and economics.


Bethesda

Wagshal’s Market and BBQ at Bonfield’s is now open, offering quality produce, a meat and seafood market, and Pitmaster’s Back Alley BBQ at 6124 MacArthur Blvd. in Bethesda.

In operation for over 90 years, Wagshal’s has been one of Washington, DC’s premier delicatessen and gourmet market. “We take pride in purchasing the finest ingredients from LOCAL farmers, some of whom our relationships go back more than 25 years.” Wagshal’s Pitmaster’s Back Alley BBQ uses tried and true recipes from across the nation. Offering specialties from Ibérico de Bellota Costilla (Spanish pork ribs) to Pitmasters Chickpit Sandwich.


MoCo

A severe thunderstorm that rolled into the area around 7pm on Friday, July 28 has caused damage in several parts of Montgomery County. According to Chief Spokesperson for Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service (MCFRS) Pete Priniger, MCFRS Emergency Communications Center (ECC) is currently on ‘CONDITION RED’ due to heavy call volume. Reminder: Treat traffic lights without a signal as four-way stops.

Incidents reported include: