Gaithersburg

“We are excited to begin the Hummingbird trial to study Nuvaxovid’s efficacy in children as young as six months through age 11,” said Stanley C. Erck, President and Chief Executive Officer, Novavax. “With a successful trial, we may have the opportunity to offer our COVID-19 vaccine to all age groups aged six months and older for protection against this ongoing pandemic.”

The trial will assess the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine in infants (six through 23 months of age), toddlers (two through five years) and children (six through 11 years). The trial is an age de-escalation trial and age groups will be tested sequentially. Participants have begun dosing in the six to 11-year-old age group. The trial will also have sentinel cohorts in each age group and cohort progression and age-de-escalation will occur after safety review.


Aspen Hill

On Friday, July 29, 2022, at approximately 4:06 p.m., 4th District officers responded to the location for the report of a theft. Initial investigation revealed that at approximately 4:37 a.m., two suspects arrived in an unknown vehicle. The suspects used a jack and a power tool to remove the catalytic converter from the victim’s vehicle before leaving the scene.

The first suspect is described as a White male, approximately 20-years-old, with brown hair, wearing a black shirt and dark shorts. The second suspect is described as an unknown race male, wearing khaki pants and white shoes.


Rockville

Work continues on Phase One of Twinbrook Quarter, the upcoming development located on the southwest corner of the property at Rockville Pike and Halpine Road. It includes residential, office and commercial space, and will include Montgomery County’s second Wegmans.

The framework is now two stories above ground level on the side facing the Metro parking garage (photo below). Though progress continues to be made, construction on the actual Wegmans grocery store isn’t expected to begin for at least another year, according to a representative from the Germantown location. The following update was provided by Reimagine Twinbrook, prior to some of the progress, last month:


Colesville

Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services responded a house fire on the 100blk of Carlisle Dr. in Coleville on Friday morning around 1am. The fire began in the attic and is believed to have been caused by a lightning strike. According to Chief Spokesperson for MCFRS, around 60 firefighters responded to the scene of the fire at the two-story home.

Update – 100blk Carlisle Dr, Colesville, 2-sty single-family house, lightning strike, fire in attic, no injuries, 2 adults & 3 children displaced, total damage ~$200K (~$100k structure & ~$100K contents), ~60 @mcfrs FFs responded @MontgomeryCoMD https://t.co/QpOEuDpxcc


Maryland

From the Office of Governor Larry Hogan: Governor Larry Hogan today issued the following statement and sent a letter calling on President Biden and U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg to immediately reverse the acting federal highway administrator’s decision to overrule the agency’s professional staff and delay the State of Maryland’s Traffic Relief Plan for the American Legion Bridge and the Capital Beltway:

“President Biden and Secretary Buttigieg pledged to support the states’ most critical infrastructure projects to create jobs and improve the quality of life in our communities. I united governors from both parties around an infrastructure plan, and held a summit in Annapolis to help pass the bipartisan infrastructure law.


Rockville

Update: Mr. Clukey has been located safe and unharmed.

The Rockville City Police Department is asking for the public’s assistance in locating a missing Rockville man. Dale Calvin Clukey, age 70, of College Parkway, was last seen several days ago. He does not drive, suffers from dementia and other medical issues. Police are concerned for his welfare.


Business

Senseonics Holdings, Inc. (NYSE American: SENS) a medical technology company based in Germantown that focuses on the development and manufacturing of long-term, implantable continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) systems for people with diabetes, announced that Anthem is providing coverage for implantable CGM, which includes the Eversense CGM System. Anthem’s decision will add more than 45 million covered lives for the long-term implantable CGM system to help manage their diabetes. This recent coverage decision adds to the growing number of payers who are writing Eversense into their CGM coverage policies that now benefit approximately 250 million covered lives, as well as paying for the healthcare provider’s time for the in-office sensor insertion. This allows Ascensia Diabetes Care, Senseonics’ global commercial partner, to introduce the Eversense CGM System to more people living with diabetes.

Per the press release: Anthem (now Elevance Health) is the second largest health insurance company in the U.S. and a leading health company dedicated to improving lives and communities, and making healthcare simpler. Through its affiliated companies, Anthem serves people across 14 states, including more than 45 million within its family of health plans. This most recent coverage decision, in addition to Cigna, Aetna, Humana, HCSC Blue Cross Blue Shield and other health insurance providers, demonstrates broad-based coverage across the United States from the majority of commercial payers, enabling their members to access the benefits of the long-term Eversense CGM System.


DMV

New Maryland Men’s Basketball head coach Kevin Willard, and his wife Julie, have purchased a home in Montgomery County. The custom home constructed and designed by PKK Builders and GTM Architects is in Potomac and sold for $4.9 million in July, according to public record (photo below). Kevin Willard was named the new head coach of the Maryland Men’s Basketball program in March. Willard recently coached Seton Hall to its fifth NCAA Tournament appearance in the last six years the tournament was held, having won a regular-season conference championship, conference tournament championship and earning conference coach of the year, Willard is one of 10 active head coaches in the Power 6 conferences to achieve each of the accomplishments in the last six seasons.

The home is described as a “six-bedroom, seven-and-a-half bathroom stunner features over 11,000 square feet of thoughtful design and resort-styled landscaping with manicured backyard.” It was built in 2014 and boasts palatial front doors, wide plank oak hardwoods, a gourmet kitchen, stone patio with a complete and covered outdoor kitchen, waterfall, three-level elevator, his and her offices, heated master bathroom floors, and a lot more, according to the listing by Washington Fine Properties.


Business

A press release sent out by The Teamsters announced that more than 17,000 Costco Teamsters are currently working under an expired contract and that workers are “planning job actions across the country to send message to the company.” The release noted that the Costco Teamsters are “one step closer to a nationwide work stoppage” as they negotiate for a new national contract. There are two Costco locations in Montgomery County- Gaithersburg and Wheaton. The full press release can be seen below:

Costco Teamsters are one step closer to a nationwide work stoppage following another day of contentious negotiations for a new national contract. The Teamsters are bargaining with the company this week for the first time since members overwhelmingly rejected Costco’s “last, best and final” contract offer in June. “Our members at Costco will stand up for their rights and withhold their labor if necessary,” said Sean M. O’Brien, Teamsters General President. “As always, if our members decide to act, they will have the backing of the 1.2-million member International Brotherhood of Teamsters behind them.”


MoCo History

“A Pictorial History of Rockville” will be the focus of a free online presentation of Montgomery History at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 9. Ralph Buglass will lead the discussion. The presentation will draw extensively on vintage photos from “Rockville: Images of America,” a book produced by Peerless Rockville and coauthored by Mr. Buglass. It will cover the 250-year history of Rockville and will look at how Rockville grew from a tiny crossroads community to the bustling government center of Montgomery County—and one of the nation’s most diverse cities.

Mr. Buglass often speaks about many aspects of Montgomery County history. He has a bachelor’s degree in American history from Cornell University and a master’s in journalism from American University. To register for the presentation, go to https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_8accXj9CRD6PytAnLLnpbA. “Drawing extensively on vintage photos from a book produced by Peerless Rockville, this talk covers the 250-year history of Rockville from a tiny crossroads community to the bustling government center of Montgomery County—and one of the nation’s most diverse cities. Rockville not only has a fascinating history all its own, but also exemplifies our county’s history in many ways—and has ties to significant national events and figures. The speaker co-authored the book for Peerless Rockville.”


MoCo

Montgomery County’s Department of Permitting Services (DPS) conducted a “sign sweep” on Thursday, Aug. 4, to remove signs illegally placed in public rights-of-way throughout the County. Those signs included campaign signs that were placed leading up to the July 19 Maryland gubernatorial primary election. The “sign sweep” was conducted on County-maintained roads.

DPS Zoning and Code Compliance Manager Greg Nichols said inspectors formed teams to target assigned areas around the County. He said the teams removed any type of sign—not just campaign signs—that were placed illegally in the public right-of-way. DPS staff delivered the signs to the Shady Grove Processing Facility and Transfer Station in Derwood for recycling and disposal.