The Montgomery County Police Department (MCPD) has has charged 29-year-old Isaac Tomas Pellegrino of Laytonsville, with homicide by motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, in connection with a fatal collision that occurred in July 2024. (more…)
Update: Taylynn Muhammad has been located safe and unharmed.
Detectives from the Montgomery County Department of Police – Special Victims Investigations Division are asking for the public’s assistance in locating Taylynn Muhammad, a missing 13-year-old. (more…)
Talent is one of the most important factors influencing where companies choose to invest, expand, and grow. As competition for skilled workers intensifies, employers are embracing a broader talent strategy: one that leverages partnerships. Last week, almost 120 business leaders, elected officials, and members of Montgomery County’s business community attended the Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation’s (MCEDC) panel, “The Talent Advantage: A Growth Strategy for Companies in Montgomery County, Maryland,” to hear how local businesses are capitalizing on the County’s world-class academic institutions, innovation ecosystem, quality of life, and economic development resources to attract and retain top talent.
Moderated by Dr. Anne Khademian, Executive Director at The Universities at Shady Grove (USG), the panel included executives from businesses and institutions across industries, including Lockheed Martin, TrilliumBIO, Thales Defense & Security, Johns Hopkins, Montgomery College, and AstraZeneca, who discussed their companies’ strategies for developing their workforce.
Talent as a Business Strategy
For companies competing in highly specialized industries like the defense industry, access to talent directly influences where they choose to locate and grow. For Lockheed Martin, which employs nearly 1,000 people in Montgomery County, talent is one of the primary reasons the company chose to be headquartered here.
“Talent is in the top one or two reasons why we are in the County,” said Todd Cohen, Senior Lead of Strategic Workforce Development, Lockheed Martin.
According to Cohen, Lockheed Martin begins working with partners to develop their talent pipeline well before students enter the workforce, including partnering with Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) on programs such as coding challenges. Lockheed Martin also maintains close relationships with local higher education institutions, including the Universities at Shady Grove (USG).
That local talent pipeline is also an important factor for AstraZeneca, which employs more than 5,000 employees and contractors in Montgomery County. According to Tiffany Lukis, Director of STEM and Community Engagement at AstraZeneca, the company often taps into its alumni base from Montgomery College (ranked #26 nationally among community colleges) and USG (which offers nine different public universities onto one campus), and other local institutions to fill highly technical roles.
Local Companies Are Developing Talent and Not Just Finding It
According to the panelists, investing in existing employees is just as important as recruiting new ones.
At Suburban Hospital, workforce development is closely tied to talent retention. The hospital partners with local educational institutions to provide employees with opportunities to gain new skills and advance their careers. Programs include a Certified Nursing Assistant program through Montgomery College and English as a Second Language classes.
“A huge part of our talent strategy is to prioritize holding on to our top tier talent,” said Corey Lewson, MSW, Program Manager, Workforce Development, John Hopkins Medicine.
For smaller companies, developing talent internally can be especially valuable. Lane Edwards, Vice President of Operations, TrilliumBIO, a biomarker discovery company with fewer than 20 employees based in Rockville, described the challenge of balancing the need for highly specialized expertise with the realities of building a team at an early-stage company.
“When it comes to hiring, we have to be very strategic,” Lane said. “Do we have someone who has the expertise or someone that we can build on?”
A 30-year-old Rockville woman, a manager at Silo Falls Restaurant in Brookeville, has been charged with theft and credit card fraud after using a customer’s forgotten credit card, with detectives seeking additional potential victims.
Detectives from the Montgomery County Department of Police – 6th District Investigative Section are asking for the public’s assistance in locating Malik Williams, a missing 18-year-old. (more…)
When I moved back to Northern Virginia after several years in New York, most of my old friends had moved away. I found myself rebuilding a social circle from scratch.
I had plenty of people I could connect with online, but that wasn’t translating into anyone to grab a beer with after work, play trivia with, or text when I wanted to get out of the house. Making new friends as an adult required far more deliberate effort than I remembered.
Bring your family and friends to our free , all-day outdoor Oktoberfest celebration. These will be an outdoor craft fair featuring local artisans and professional woodworkers, a chainsaw carving, woodworking and tool demonstrations by Festool, Montgomery Wood Turners and Carvers. There will also be lots of delicious food provided by El Parente Tacos, El Jeffe Wood-fired pizzas, Bruster's Ice cream and seasonal craft brews from Saints Row Brwsing Company.
On Tuesday, the Montgomery County Council unanimously extended the Minority, Female, and Disabled-Owned Business Purchasing Program through 2029, aiming to address disparities in contracting opportunities as highlighted in the recent Disparity Study. (more…)
The Washington Commanders announced today that they have named safety Jeremy Reaves the winner of the team’s 2024 Ed Block Courage Award. The honor is given annually to a player from each National Football League team who displays extraordinary courage in the face of adversity.
Dr. Joseph Bostic, currently a principal intern at Northwood High School and a former MCPS Teacher of the Year, has been appointed acting principal of Thomas S. Wootton High School effective December 10, 2024. This change follows the administrative leave of Principal Doug Nelson on December 9, after an incident where a racial slur was found written on a student’s desk.
Dr. Peter O. Moran, Chief of Schools for MCPS, shared the following message with the Wootton community:
According to Maryland Lottery and Gaming, Maryland’s sports wagering market generated $11,798,035 in contributions to the state during November 2024, the largest single-month total the program has produced since its launch in December 2021. (more…)
Ledo Pizza has been a staple in Maryland since the original Ledo Restaurant opened in Adelphi , MDN(Prince George’s County) in 1955. They are one of the first restaurants to introduce what we call “Maryland Style Pizza” to the area and recently they made a fun post on social media reminding customers that there’s no S in their name. Nearly 2,000 customers, some who have called the restaurant “Ledo’s” for years, responded on the original post and we have some of the most reacted to comments below:
Paris Baguette at 21030 Frederick Rd in the Milestone Center in Germantown will host its official grand opening event on Saturday, December 14. The celebration includes a free pastry for the first 50 guests in line and a free pastry with purchase for new app users. (more…)
Montgomery County’s Ride On bus system saw a 20% ridership increase over last year, the second-highest growth nationwide for transit systems of its size, with over 18.5 million rides this fiscal year driven by service improvements and infrastructure upgrades. (more…)