Per MCPD: Detectives from the Montgomery County Department of Police – Special Victims Investigations Division (SVID) are asking for the public’s assistance in locating, Isabella Pehoua, a 16-year-old from Burtonsville. Pehoua was last seen on Thursday, January 12, 2023, in the 2900 block of Cabin Creek Drive.
Pehoua is approximately 5-feet, 3-inches tall and weighs 164 pounds. She has auburn hair, brown eyes and a piercing in her nose. It is unknown what clothing she was last seen wearing. Police and family are concerned for her welfare.
Per the Maryland State Police: state Police arrested two suspects in connection with the death of a St. Mary’s County man reported missing last year in December. The accused are identified as Michelina Goodwin, 45 and Larry Murphy, 40, both of Great Mills, Maryland. Goodwin and Murphy are being held without bond at the St. Mary’s County Detention Center.
After consultation with the St. Mary’s County State’s Attorney’s Office, Goodwin was arrested this morning at approximately 3:00 a.m. without incident. She is charged with first- and second-degree murder, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony/crime of violence and improper disposal of a human body.
In November we let you know that longtime MoCo restaurant Amalfi Ristorante Italiano at 12307 Wilkins Ave in Rockville was bought by the owners of Chef Tony’s Restaurant in Bethesda. The restaurant, now known as Chef Tony’s at Amalfi, has “quietly” reopened, according to a social media post by the restaurant.
On Thursday, the restaurant posted the following: “OK EVERYONE…we’re open, quietly, but open.” We are told the menu features a rotation of “Amalfi Classics”, many starters, tapas, salads, and pastas, and a variety of seafood entrees. The promenade location at Pooks Hill in Bethesda is now ‘Chef Tony’s Italian Kitchen’ and most of their seafood menu has moved over to Chef Tony’s at Amalfi. The restaurant is currently only open for dinner service. Additional information can be found via the Facebook page.
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!
Per Montgomery County: The County Council will hold public hearings to receive testimony on new items introduced to the Council as follows:
The Council will receive testimony on the FY24 Capital Budget and amendments to the FY23-28 CIP for County Government, MCPS, Montgomery College, Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, Washington Suburban Transit Commission, Revenue Authority, Housing Opportunities Commission, and municipality and State projects and the FY24-29 CIP for WSSCWater. The Council will also receive testimony on supplemental appropriations to the FY23 Capital Budget as listed below:
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.
Montgomery County Police responded to an armed carjacking last night in Silver Spring. Per MCPD, “At approximately 6:52 p.m., MCP officers responded to the Safeway located in the 900 block of Thayer Ave. for the report of an armed carjacking that just occurred.
Montgomery County has partnered with Habitat for Humanity and AHC to build nearly 200 multi-family homes, located at Randolph Road and Bushey Drive, near Veirs Mill Road, in Silver Spring (Wheaton-Glenmont)– the project broke ground this week. According to Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich, the county was able to leverage the land value, coupled with reduced property taxes, through the County’s PILOT program and a substantial loan from the County’s Housing Initiative Fund, which enabled this construction to move forward despite dramatic increases in both construction costs and interest rates.
“I am thrilled that this will include homeownership options for low-income residents. When we began discussing this project, I pushed for home ownership opportunities, and I am grateful to our partners for making sure that was included. It is an outstanding, innovative project. Because affordable housing is a priority, we must seek out partnerships and ideas like this to spark projects that deliver many deeply affordable units and benefit a broad range of wage earners.” said Elrich.
Sweetgreen will be holding a soft opening for its new Gaithersburg location at 299 Copley Place D100 in Downtown Crown this Friday, January 20 and Saturday, January 21. The official grand opening will be held on Tuesday, January 24. You can register for a free meal at the soft opening or a $5 app credit to use during the grand opening week at this link. The preview takes place from 12pm-6pm.
“We can’t wait to bring sweetgreen to your neighorbood! Join us before we officially open on Tuesday, January 24th to get a sneak peek of our new restaurant, meet the team, and taste our fresh, made-from-scratch menu with a bowl, plate or salad on us.” Sweetgreen currently has three additional MoCo locations, in Bethesda, Downtown Silver Spring, and Pike & Rose. Crown has been without a fast-casual salad restaurant since Chopt closed in early 2020 and has since moved that location to the Kentlands neighborhood. Feature photo courtesy of Sweetgreen on Facebook.
Kayla DiCello, a freshman from Boyds who recently graduated from Northwest High School in Germantown, was recently named the “SEC Specialist of the Week” a week after being named the “SEC Freshman of the Week.” DiCello won the all-around in the quad meet against Ball State, Lindenwood and West Virginia with a top score of 39.475. DiCello’s score was the highest all-around mark among SEC freshmen, second among nation’s freshmen and tied for nation’s 10th highest for the opening weekend.
She is now one of seven Gators to win the all-around in their first meet since 1986. DiCello tied with Trinity Thomas (2019) for Florida’s top all-around in the first collegiate meet. She shared second place on balance beam with teammate Ellie Lazzari at 9.90, and also captured third place on bars (9.925) and floor (9.875). In July DiCello was selected to compete at the upcoming Pan American Championships. In August, DiCello competed at the National Championships. She finished finished fourth in the all-around and third on balance beam.
With a new year comes an opportunity to change things up from what you have come to expect each week. In the video link that is part of our weekly Montgomery Update newsletter, we have a bit of a different approach. This week, County Chief Administration Officer Richard Madaleno and I talk about the just released recommended Fiscal Year 2024 Capital budget.
Dalia’s Falafel is opening its first brick and mortar location at 7750 Old Georgetown Road in Bethesda. Signage on the restaurant is expected to go up this weekend and we’re told the restaurant plans to open within the next two months. Dalia’s opened up as a pop-up restaurant at 4223 Howard Avenue in Kensington back in August 2020. Menu items include falafel pita sandwiches and falafel bowls, both which include falafel patties, tomato, onions, cabbage, pickles, carrots, cucumbers, tahini and spicy schug sauce. The Kensington pop up will close once the Bethesda location opens.
Last year, the local “Yelp MD Burbs” part of Yelp released its list of “Top 25 Places to Eat in MD Burbs” list and 15 of the 25 restaurants on the list are in Montgomery County, including Dalia’s Falafel, which came in at #21. Yelp is a popular company that publishes crowd-sourced reviews about businesses with a major focus on restaurants.
Per Montgomery County: Montgomery County will host its 10th Annual Energy Summit over two days on Tuesday, March 28, and Wednesday, March 29, at the at the Silver Spring Civic Building. The Summit will be presented by the County’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and will focus on preparing the commercial building sector for compliance with the County’s energy benchmarking and building energy performance standards, as well as educating building owners about cost-cutting opportunities and programs. Since 2013, the Summit has offered cutting-edge education and workshops focused on the latest trends in green building, energy efficiency, renewable energy and related commercial, multifamily and residential topics.
New this year will be the featured “Innovation Alley,” a display of innovative products and services available to the commercial and multifamily building sector to aid in building energy efficiency, renewable energy, electrification, building decarbonization, healthy buildings and zero-emission vehicles. Exhibitors interested in participating should submit an expression of interest on the Energy Summit website by Wednesday, Feb. 1.