Education

As 2022 ends, we’re sharing a few of our most-read stories of the year, from September: Niche, a rankings and review resource that provides information on K-12 schools, colleges, cities, neighborhoods, and companies across the United States, has just published its new 2023 Best Schools and Districts rankings. Now in its ninth year, the rankings include updated data for 92,743 public schools, 30,112 private schools, and 11,820 school districts nationwide. 7 of the top 10 public high schools in Maryland are located in Montgomery County, with Poolesville High School earning the top spot (All MCPS schools listed can be seen below and there are 282 public high schools in the state).

Per Niche: “While traditional rankings rely almost exclusively on metrics like test scores and academic performance, Niche’s rankings combine user input — ratings from current students, alumni, and parents — with quantitative data from sources like the U.S. Department of Education to evaluate teachers, resources and facilities, extracurricular activity opportunities and more. The 2023 Best Schools rankings include 2,906 newly ranked public schools, 1,018 newly ranked private schools, and 547 newly ranked school districts across the country.


Gaithersburg

At the beginning of December we let you know that Torrid, “the destination for Trendy Plus-size fashion and accessories”, will close its Rio location. The store, located at 35 Grand Corner Ave in Gaithersburg, has set a closing date of Monday, January 23rd, according to an assistant manager at the store. There is currently no update on closing sales. It took over the space that was previously home to Ono-Asia Pacific, a restaurant that served various Asian and Hawaiian cuisine, about a decade ago. There is no word on what the replacement will be at this time.

Torrid is an American women’s retail chain formerly owned by Hot Topic. While it is still owned by Sycamore Partners, owners of Hot Topic, in 2015, the company branched off to become Torrid, LLC. The store offers plus-size clothing and accessories for women size 10-30. Torrid began operations in April 2001. The first location opened in the Brea Mall in Brea, California. As of 2020, Torrid has over 600 stores in operation across 36 states in the United States. Torrid opened its first store in 2001, and an international store in Canada (Toronto) in August 2015. In July 2021, the company went public on the New York Stock Exchange, under the symbol CURV.


Montgomery Village

Coming soon signage is up and construction has begun at the upcoming Dunkin’ location in the Goshen Crossing Shopping Center in Gaithersburg/Montgomery Village. Dunkin’ is taking over the former Capital One Bank building at 20000 Goshen Rd. Click here to see to see a list of businesses opening soon in Montgomery Village.   Dunkin’ has additional MoCo location currently under construction at the Layhill Center (14328 Layhill Rd) in Silver Spring as well as an upcoming location coming to the Traville Village Center in Rockville.

Since Inspire Brands acquired Dunkin’ and Baskin Robbins in late 2020 for $11.3 billion, the company has been opening in former bank locations that allow for easy installation of a drive-thru window. Dunkin has also aimed for non-traditional development that includes opening in airports and on college campuses, including the University of Maryland.


Rockville

On Wednesday, November 16, at approximately 12:15 a.m., 4th District officers responded to the Exon gas station for the report of a commercial burglary that just occurred. On Tuesday, November 29, at approximately 6 a.m., 4th District officers responded to the Village Beer and Wine store for the report of a commercial burglary. The investigation by detectives has determined that the same suspect forcibly entered the businesses, allegedly stole an undisclosed amount of money and merchandise and left the store.


Bethesda

As 2022 ends, we’re sharing a few of our most-read stories of the year, from April 2022: In March of 2021, it was reported  that Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW) planned to sell all of it’s US holdings in 2022. This would include Montgomery Mall and Wheaton Mall (Westfield Montgomery and Westfield Wheaton), both located in Montgomery County. Chief Executive Jean-Marie Tritant told investors last week that Unibail wants to shed most of its U.S. properties by the end of 2023, according to a Wall Street Journal report, which pushes things back about a year.

Shopping malls, which were already hurting due to the rise of online shopping, were hit especially hard during the COVID-19 pandemic. Per the report, “Unibail’s exit from the U.S. after only four years shows that executives have concluded that even high-quality, marquee American malls aren’t worth holding on to as the Paris-based company works to slash its debt and to refocus on its flagship properties in Europe.” With White Flint gone and Lakeforest on its last legs, Montgomery, Wheaton and Ellsworth Place malls are the last three remaining in Montgomery County.


Business

As 2022 ends, we’re sharing a few of our most-read stories of the year, from September 2022: Morguard North American Residential REIT announced earlier this week that it has acquired the retail portion of Rockville Town Square. Having purchased Fenestra Apartments in 2017, this acquisition of the remaining retail in this mixed-use asset expands Morguard’s investment in the City of Rockville. The transaction closed at a purchase price of US$33.0 million, excluding closing costs. The news was brought to our attention by The MoCo Source earlier this month.

Per the press release: “Morguard is pleased to expand our investment in Rockville, Maryland by acquiring the retail space,” said K. Rai Sahi, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Morguard North American Residential REIT. “This acquisition along with our ownership and management of Fenestra Apartments gives Morguard the opportunity to better execute on our long-term vision.” Connected to Morguard’s Fenestra apartments, Rockville Town Square at 30 Maryland Avenue encompasses 183,000 square feet of retail, dining, and municipal and financial services. The mixed-use pedestrian-friendly location offers public gathering areas, entertainment events, and serves as a neighbourhood hub in the affluent Montgomery County. A short drive from Washington D.C., Rockville Town Squarefeatures spaces to live, work and shop including:


Events

Montgomery Parks has a varied lineup of special events and programs in January, including New Year’s hikes, Three Kings Day celebration, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day volunteer opportunities and lots of outdoor adventures. It’s a new year and there’s always fun to be had and new things to learn at Montgomery Parks.

January events in Montgomery Parks include: 


North Bethesda

A few days back, a change.org petition was started to remove the bike lanes that were recently added to Old Georgetown Road (MD187) in North Bethesda. Now a counter-petition that shows support for the bike lanes has been started. MDOT converted one travel lane in each direction of the road, between south of I-495 and north of Nicholson Lane, to a buffered bicycle lane that include flex posts and green pavement.  The remaining 11-foot travel lanes were also narrowed to 10.5 and 10 feet.

Per the petition, “Show support to the State Highway Administration’s decision to enact a road diet when replacing a portion of Old Georgetown Road. Any action that reduces vehicle miles traveled is a net good for our county and the DMV. This change make being a pedestrian safer, makes being a bicyclist safer, and reduces car speeds and therefore makes being a motorist safer. We should applaud the action and support further action in more state highways in Maryland. The opposition wants these safety measures removed. They want to be able to drive faster and more recklessly down this road. Do your part and support the new bike lanes and encourage the SHA to continue to make changes to make our county and state a safe place to get around with or without a car.”


MoCo Government

Per Montgomery County: The Policing Advisory Commission (PAC) of Montgomery County is holding a virtual public forum on Jan. 9, 2023, to solicit community testimony and feedback on traffic enforcement in the County by the Montgomery County Police Department (MCPD). Other police departments — municipalities, park police, state police, etc. — are not under the PAC’s purview. Community members are invited to register to provide live testimony during the public hearing or to submit written, audio, or video testimony. Community members are asked to limit their live testimony to no more than three minutes and to one speaker per organization (if applicable). Written, audio, and visual testimony submitted prior to the public hearing may be longer, if needed. The deadline to register to speak at the public hearing is 4 p.m. on Jan. 9, 2023.

The PAC believes that traffic enforcement practices in the County do not meet basic tests of effectiveness, efficiency, and equal enforcement, and that a change in mission, focus, and strategy is necessary. The PAC’s report on traffic enforcement, including recommendations, can be found here. The PAC is very interested in hearing from the Montgomery County community regarding their experience with traffic enforcement, and what changes or improvements they would like to see.


Gaithersburg

As 2022 ends, we’re sharing a few of our most-read stories of the year, from August 2022: Royal Farms has opened, Wawa is on the way, and many have been waiting for the trifecta to be complete with the Sheetz announcement. Good news for the lovers of the convenience store/gast station, as Sheetz, Inc., has submitted Final Site Plan application, SP-9217-2022, requesting approval for a 6,139 square foot convenience retail store with drive-through and automobile filling station at 751 Progress Way, located off of N. Frederick Rd (355) in Gaithersburg.

Sheetz will be part of the new Progress Labs development, which is very visible from the corner of Montgomery Village Avenue and 355. Progress Labs at Progress Way in Gaithersburg, MD is a two-building approximately 495,000 SF development situated on 44 acres with I-270 visibility and access off of exit 11 Montgomery Village Avenue. Construction commenced at Progress Labs at 700 N. Frederick Avenue in Gaithersburg, MD back in October, and according to the video below (posted by Progress Labs on Monday, July 18th), is scheduled to be delivered in Q4 of 2022.


Beyond MoCo

Per the Maryland State Police: With New Year’s Eve coming up on Saturday, Maryland State Police are urging those who plan to celebrate with alcohol to be safe and smart and avoid impaired, distracted and aggressive driving. With an increase in impaired drivers expected throughout the state this weekend, state police will be conducting saturation patrols at each of the 23 barracks focusing on impaired, aggressive and distracted driving. Enforcement will be bolstered by impaired driving saturation patrol funds from the Maryland Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Administration’s Highway Safety Office.

The initiatives, which will take place on various days through New Year’s, include saturation patrols in areas known to have a higher number of DUI crashes or arrests. These efforts in many cases will include partnering with allied law enforcement and other state agencies to both enforce the law and offer outreach to the community through social media and electronic billboards.