Abby Meyers is Whitman High School’s all-time leading scorer with over 1,700 points and was the Ivy League Player of the Year last year before transferring to the University of Maryland for her senior season. Meyers, who was a captain in her only year with the Terps, was drafted 11th overall in the first round of the WNBA Draft by the Dallas Wings.

In an interview with the Diamondback earlier this year, she credited her  junior and senior years at Walt Whitman High School in Bethesda as helping her evolve as a teammate and leader, playing a big role in being named a captain ahead of her first season at Maryland. ESPN’s post-draft analysis states, “After three seasons at Princeton, Meyers was impressive against upgraded competition in the Big Ten. She averaged 14.3 PPG and routinely made tough shots. Meyers also had career highs in assists and steals, and almost immediately took over as a leader for a Terrapins team that made the Elite Eight. The Wings roster is now ballooning with four players acquired in the first round, but Meyers could slide in as a backup at either guard spot. — Charlie Creme.”


Montgomery County Police are investigating a burglary that occurred on March 4th at Cubano’s in Bethesda. MCPD tweeted the following on Tuesday, April 11: “Detectives from the 2D Patrol Investigations Unit are investigating a theft that occurred on Sat., March 4, at the Cubano’s Restaurant in the 4900 block of Cordell Ave. Detectives are asking for the public’s assistance in identifying the suspect.” Video below.

Cubano’s opened its Bethesda location in February 2020 and has additional locations in Silver Spring (1201 Fidler Ln.) and Fort Lauderdale, FL.


HalfSmoke has closed it’s Westfield Montgomery Mall location. HalfSmoke was located in a kiosk in the mall’s food court/terrace (previously occupied by Coldstone Creamery and Gelato Galaxy) and was the first restaurant/bar to serve alcohol in the food court (nearby restaurants off of the food court served alcohol, ex: Slade’s). The menu consisted of the best selling sausages and sides from its DC location (651 Florida Ave, NW), as well as boozy milkshakes and a funnel cake bar. Earlier today we reported that HalfSmoke’s sister restaurant Butter Me Up had also closed its Montgomery Mall location.

HalfSmoke announced plans to open a Rockville Town Square location at 36A Maryland Ave back in August 2020 but there has been little movement at the site. We were told recently by an employee of HalfSmoke that the Rockville restaurant is still under construction and that there is no timeframe for opening. HalfSmoke DC was the first restaurant of its kind to serve gourmet sausages via an assembly line format and its sausages and toppings can be fully customized to create over 50,000 variations. HalfSmoke has an additional location at 2400 Boston St in Baltimore.


The April 13, 2023, Planning Board work session for the Little Falls Parkway pilot project is postponed due to the unavailability of Planning Board Chair Zyontz. A new date for the work session will be determined soon and details will be announced in a follow-up press release, on Montgomery Parks website, and on social media.

Parks staff presented details about traffic counts on the parkway and a recommendation to make the pilot project permanent at a Planning Board public hearing on March 30, 2023, which was followed by public testimony. The next step is for the Planning Board to reconvene after reviewing the parks department’s recommendation and the public testimony and decide on the future of the project. One week prior to the rescheduled work session, the Parks Department will post a memorandum summarizing and responding to the public testimony.


Butter Me Up has closed its location in Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda. The breakfast restaurant opened in the former Aroma Espresso Bar location on the mall’s lower level in May of last year. Butter Me Up is the sister restaurant of popular DC gourmet sausage restaurant HalfSmoke (651 Florida Ave NW). HalfSmoke opened a location in the Montgomery Mall food terrace back in July 2022 which has also closed.

Butter Me Up featured “instagrammable” decor, offered a menu that consisted of a variety of breakfast sandwiches, toasts, sides, bowls, smoothies, and juices. A Yelp article named Butter Me Up DC’s best breakfast sandwich, as the restaurant’s first location can be found within HalfSmoke in Florida Ave NW.


Rick Ellsley, Dwayne Haskins’ attorney has filed a lawsuit one years after Haskins was tragically killed on April 9th in Broward County, Florida when he was hit by a truck on I-595. Haskins was born and raised in New Jersey, but moved to Gaithersburg while attending The Bullis School in Potomac for high school. The full statement can be seen below:

“Former Pittsburgh Steelers Quarterback Dwayne Haskins, Jr. was tragically killed during the early morning hours of April 9, 2022 on I-595 in Broward County, Florida. The Florida Highway Patrol Traffic Homicide Report shows that Dwayne was only feet away from making it safely across the roadway when he was struck and killed by an old dump truck. This truck was going faster than the speed limit, carrying excessive cargo, had brake system problems, and was traveling on low tread tires with separated sidewalls.


Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services (MCFRS) were called to the 8500 block of Country Club Drive off of Persimmon Tree Rd in Cabin John a little before 10pm on Sunday night. Approximately 75 firefighters were on the scene.

According to MCFRS Chief Spokesperson Pete Piringer, the fire was showing from the center portion of the large, three-story single family home. A passerby called to report it and there was nobody home at the time of the fire– it was knocked out by approximately 10:30pm. The fire started near the floor of the attic, adjacent to the HVAC unit and likely involved electrical cables. Damage total is estimated to be at approximately $2 million, including $1.5M structure and $500K in contents. Two adults, three kids, and pets have been displaced.


Update: The fire started near the floor of the attic, adjacent to HVAC unit and likely involved electrical cables; Damage total ~ $2M, including $1.5M structure, $500K contents. 2 adults/3 kids & pets displaced

Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services (MCFRS) were called to the 8500 block of Country Club Drive off of Persimmon Tree Rd in Cabin John a little before 10pm on Sunday night. Approximately 75 firefighters were on the scene.


The Bethesda Circulator is a free way to get around town in Bethesda. There is now a new app to see the buses on the route. Scan the QR Code below to download the app through RidePingo. You can also go to your smartphone’s app store with the links below to download the app through RidePingo (orange icon with arrow pointing to the right).

1. Open, then Select “Get started”


Kindbody, a technology-driven fertility clinic network and family-building benefits provider for employers, announced the opening of a new clinic– Kindbody Bethesda. The clinic is located at 6000 Executive Blvd in Rockville/N. Bethesda. The announcement comes at a time of extraordinary growth for the company which owns and operates 32 clinics nationwide, including a state-of-the-art fertility clinic and IVF lab conveniently off of Dupont Circle and 19th Street in Washington, D.C. Kindbody Bethesda was built to meet the growing demand for comprehensive fertility and family-building benefits by local employers including Kindbody client GEICO, which is headquartered in Chevy Chase, MD, and employs nearly 7,000 corporate associates in the greater Washington, D.C.metro area. In addition to GEICO, Kindbody serves 21 large employers in the region, covering more than 27,000 lives.

Per the press release: “Since opening our doors in Washington, D.C. last spring, we’ve seen unprecedented demand from local employers who understand the critical role fertility benefits play in attracting and retaining world-class talent and building inclusive workplaces,” said Taryn Branca, Chief Revenue Officer at Kindbody. “Our new Bethesda location allows them to provide a premium fertility benefit with significant cost savings, as a result of working directly with the healthcare provider.”


Montgomery County officials will host a second community meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 20 to provide additional details on plans to open a restoration center on a 25.8-acre county-owned detention facility site at 1451 Seven Locks Road. The meeting will be held at 7 p.m. in the third-floor hearing room of the County Council Office Building at 100 Maryland Ave., Rockville, and will be in person and virtual.

The meeting will provide an update on questions raised at an October meeting related to procedures for individuals brought to the restoration center. The April 20 meeting will have an opportunity for additional community questions. The Mayor and Council oppose Montgomery County’s plans, as currently proposed, to house the restoration center along Seven Locks, and have asked the county for alternative locations.


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