Voters in Rockville’s November 2023 election will have the opportunity to vote for seven members of the city’s elected body, following a unanimous vote Monday by the Mayor and Council on a resolution to add two seats to the council. The Mayor and Council adopted a resolution that will amend the city’s charter to increase the number of elected councilmembers from four to six, one of the recommendations to come from a review of Rockville’s charter by the Charter Review Commission.
The amendment will formally become part of the city charter on the 50th day following the Feb. 6 vote, unless a petition signed by 20% or more registered Rockville voters is presented to the Mayor and Council by day 40. (The petition must meet requirements prescribed in Article V, Section 2 of the charter.) The city’s Charter Review Commission has made several recommendations that could change the city’s voting age, the size of the Mayor and Council, and other elements of city elections.
The Board of Education approved the following administrative appointments:
• Dr. Tamitha E. Campbell, currently Acting Director, Office of School Support and Well-Being, Office of the Deputy Superintendent, as Director, Office of School Support and Well-Being, Office of the Deputy Superintendent
Almost four years after we first reported that CVS would be taking over the old Tommy Joe’s/O’Donnell’s location in the Kentlands (311 Kentlands Blvd), the store has set an opening date. The grand opening will take place on Sunday, February 19 at 8am, according to a sign on the door (pictured below).
In 2021 CVS announced that it would be closing approximately 900 stores over the next 3 years due to “changes in population, consumer buying patterns and future health needs.” A CVS location on Veirs Mill Rd. closed last November, Rockville Town Square CVS closed in April, and the Twinbrook CVS closed in August. New CVS locations are still opening, however, with a new store in Clarksburg and one coming soon near the Shady Grove Metro station.
Summer fun starts at Good Counsel! Our Summer Camps are packed with exciting activities, sports, creativity, adventure, and unforgettable memories for campers of all ages. From the field to the classroom and everywhere in between, there’s something for everyone at Good Counsel’s Summer Camps!
Spend your summer learning, laughing, and making new friends with the Good Counsel community. Spots are filling fast so be sure to register today!
A Powerball ticket sold at Gourmet Beer & Wine at 11530 Rockville Pike in Rockville was among three $50,000 winning tickets sold in the state of Maryland for the February 6 drawing. The top prize of $754.6 million was won by a person in the state of Washington. Additional details below courtesy of the Maryland Lottery:
“Check your Powerball tickets, everyone! Although the $754.6 million jackpot was hit in the state of Washington, Maryland retailers sold three tickets in Monday’s drawing that are each worth $50,000. Also sold were 38,426 other winning tickets with prizes ranging from $4 to $200 with the Power Play multiplier.
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.
A representative from the Germantown Bed Bath & Beyond location at 12940 Middlebrook in the Germantown Commons shopping center has confirmed that the store will be closing permanently. “Store Closing” signage was recently placed on the store windows, though the store wasn’t initially included on the list of 87 upcoming closures across the country for the company.
Bed Bath & Beyond last week announced that it will be closing Maryland locations in Annapolis, Ocean City, and Westminster, but the two existing Montgomery County locations were not on the list. Today, the company announced that an additional 150 stores will be closing. A list of the impending closures is not yet available, but the representative from the Germantown location told us that the nearby Rockville and Frederick stores would remain open.
Sweetgreen has reopened its Bethesda location at 4831 Bethesda Ave. The restaurant has been closed for renovations the past several months. Sweetgreen opened its new Gaithersburg location at 299 Copley Place D100 in Downtown Crown back on January 24. Additional information on the Bethesda reopening below:
“To celebrate the reopening and the return to sweetgreen’s origin city of D.C., the Bethesda location will be hosting a party on Friday, February 10! Guests can stop by and enjoy a succulent bar by The Sill, greeting cards by Right Place Studio (the artist behind the stores Source Board!), music by DJ Louie Flaco and sweetgreen swag by Junes Bags. All of these giveaways, including some surprise sweet treats, will be available while supplies last.
Coming Soon signage is up at TaKorean, a Korean taco grill that is taking over the recently-closed Nalley Fresh location at 261 Kentlands Blvd in Gaithersburg. The restaurant offers Korean style tacos and bowls. This will be opening its first location outside of D.C and is advertising a spring opening.
Last April, Montgomery Parks opened the Josiah Henson Museum and Park, a 3.34-acre park located at 11420 Old Georgetown Road in the Luxmanor Community of North Bethesda. The museum and park is dedicated to telling the story of resilience and perseverance in overcoming slavery, based on the detailed words and experiences of Josiah Henson – enslaved in Montgomery County for much of his life.
The Josiah Henson Museum and Park tells the inspirational life story of Reverend Josiah Henson, who was born into slavery yet defied the odds to become an influential author, abolitionist, minister, public speaker, and a world-renowned figure. One of Henson’s many accomplishments was his 1849 autobiography, The Life of Josiah Henson, Formerly a Slave, Now an Inhabitant of Canada, which inspired Harriet Beecher Stowe’s landmark anti-slavery novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin.
Construction has begun at both Brio’s Chicken and Neal’s Bagels in Gaithersburg. Both restaurants will be located in the Kentlands paseo, next to Burtons and across from RanKen Noodle House and My Big Finds.
Signage for Brio’s Chicken first went up at the location back in 2020 but the restaurant was delayed several years due to issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. No opening date for the Peruvian chicken restaurant has been announced. Brio’s Chicken previously had a location in Aspen Hill in the Aspen Manor shopping center, where Outback is located, but that location is under new ownership and is now known as Gio’s Chicken.
AMC Theaters, the largest theatrical exhibitor in the United States and the world, announced Sightline at AMC – a ticket pricing initiative based on seat location within each auditorium. AMC describes this as giving moviegoers multiple options to meet their viewing preferences. “With Sightline at AMC, moviegoers now have the option to pay less, or more, for a movie ticket based on their seat selection. The initiative has already rolled out to select AMC locations and will be expanded to all domestic AMC and AMC DINE-IN locations by the end of the year.” Montgomery County has three AMC locations– Montgomery Mall in Bethesda, Rio Lakefront in Gaithersburg, and Wheaton Mall in Wheaton.
Additional information per AMC: Sightline at AMC more closely aligns AMC’s approach to seat pricing with the experience-based options offered by other entertainment and event venues, and offers three different seat-pricing options:
The Board of Education will hold its business meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023. Closed session will begin at 9:00 a.m. Public agenda items will begin at 11:00 a.m. The meeting will be cablecast live on Comcast Channel 34 (HD 1071), Verizon Channel 36, RCN channel 89, and the MCPS website
