Per the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Maryland: A federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging four defendants with theft of mail matter and the unlawful possession of postal service keys.  The indictment was returned on July 21, 2022 and unsealed today upon the defendant’s arrests.  Charged in the indictment are:

• Eyalan Owona, age 21, of Upper Malboro, Maryland;


The Montgomery County Planning Department briefed the Montgomery County Planning Board on the update to the implementation of the 2017 Bethesda Downtown Sector Plan at their meeting on July 28, 2022. The 2022 Annual Monitoring Report details the plan’s progress between May 2021 and May 2022 on school capacity, new parks and open spaces and transportation adequacy. The report also presents information on recent development activity in downtown Bethesda and the status of the Bethesda Overlay Zone (BOZ).

View the 2022 Bethesda Monitoring Report.


District Falafel will be taking over the location that was most recently home to The Wok Chinese Kitchen and previously home to longtime favorite Fu Shing Cafe at 10315 Westlake Drive in the Westlake Crossing shopping center, located next to Montgomery Mall in Bethesda. The restaurant hopes to open by the end of September.

Fu Shing Cafe closed permanently in Westlake Crossing in July of 2019. Soon after Soy Kitchen was announced as the restaurant that would be taking its place, with signage going up, but that signage was replace with signage for The Wok about a year later. The Wok opened in November 2020. A menu for District Falafel’s food truck, and a couple photo of menu items, can be seen below:


Created in conjunction with Strathmore and Woolly Mammoth’s co-presentation of Octavia E. Butler’s Parable of the Sower by Toshi Reagon and Bernice Johnson Reagon, the fellowship engaged eight high school fellows in six months of study, discussions, and creation at the intersection of arts and social change.

Their research and reflection covered Butler’s Parable novels, as well as many other works and creators including Audre Lorde, Sonic Youth, Terence Trent D’Arby, Danez Smith, Robin DiAngelo, Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw, the film “Sorry to Bother You,” the TV show “American Gods,” and more.


Former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson’s cannabis brand, Tyson 2.0, announced its launch in four additional markets: Arizona, Maryland, Ohio and Pennsylvania with Columbia Care. The expansion into Maryland will include two Montgomery County locations– in Chevy Chase and Rockville. Mike Tyson previously lived in Montgomery County, where his former home at Congressional Country Club sold last summer.

Per the press release: Columbia Care is Tyson 2.0’s exclusive national cultivation, manufacturing and distribution partner in the markets where it operates. The partnership was first announced in October of 2021, with products hitting shelves in November of 2021. Tyson 2.0 is now available in nine Columbia Care markets, with more planned in the coming months.


Nearly 3,200 restaurants around the world, including five right here in Montgomery County (listed below), have earned honors for their ambitious wine programs, bolstering their lists and cellars now that dining out has resumed. “After two challenging years, during which many customers took a long hiatus from dining out, restaurants are developing innovative ways to attract diners back, no matter their preferences. From wine flights to creative, quality “mocktails” and more, restaurants around the world are pulling out all the stops with their beverage programs to enhance the full dining experience, giving all wine lovers a reason to be excited about going out again.”

This year’s winning restaurants, each offering outstanding wine programs, hail from all 50 states and more than 70 countries and territories. The five from Montgomery County are:


Back in late February Baskin Robbins closed its doors at Cabin John Village, announcing plans to return to nearby Potomac Woods Plaza in the spring (it will be replaced by The Scoop). Many fans of the 31 flavors were disappointed that there was no word of a return well into the summer, but Baskin Robbins will be coming to 1079 Seven Locks Rd, in the space that’s currently home to Ibhana Creations.

According to a Store Reporter report, “Ibhana owner Meena Tharmaratnam, who has signed a new lease across from Panera on the back side of Rockville’s Federal Plaza. She hopes to vacate her current space on Aug. 9 and reopen in Rockville by the 15th.” Construction at Baskin Robbins is expected to begin immediately following Ibhana’s exit, but an opening timeframe is not yet available.


HalfSmoke is now open in Montgomery Mall. The restaurant is located in a kiosk in the food terrace that was the former home of Coldstone Creamery and more recently Gelato Galaxy. Though there have been separate restaurants off of the food court that served alcohol (ex: Slade’s), this is the first restaurant/bar that’s actually located in the food court to serve alcohol.

The menu consists of the best selling sausages and sides from their DC location, as well as boozy milkshakes and a funnel cake bar. HalfSmokes sister restaurant Butter Me Up opened its Montgomery Mall location in May.


MoCo native Katie Ledecky won ESPN ESPYs (Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Awards) for “Best Athlete-Women’s Sports” and the “Best Olympian-Women’s Sports” at last night’s annual award show.  Ledecky has won 7 Olympic gold medals and 22 world championship gold medals, the most in history for a female swimmer. She is also the world record holder in the women’s 400-, 800-, and 1500-meter freestyle (long course), and holds the fastest-ever times in the women’s 500-, 1000-, 1500-, and 1650-yard freestyle events.

Ledecky attended Little Flower School through eighth grade and graduated from Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart in 2015. Ledecky’s current home base is in in Gainesville, Florida. You can view a Ledecky’s acceptance speech below:


Lazzaro’s confirmed its closing on Sunday morning when owner Larry Lazarro wrote the following in response to a post on the Support MoCo FB page: “Thank you for all you and everyone has done on this page. Business was great and so was the feedback. It was a personal family health matter. But this is not the end I’m looking to move into a brick/ mortar. This place fell into my lap. Goin into the mall was never my first choice. lol Thank you to everyone we’ll miss seeing your beautiful faces every day! We love you and appreciate what everyone has done for us in this group! And the family is doing fine now.” The restaurant featured imported cold cuts that are cut fresh daily, homemade meatballs, cannolis, and more. Owner Larry Lazzaro told us his family owned Lucia’s Deli on University Blvd in Wheaton back in the 80’s. The business was eventually sold and the company became what is now Mamma Lucia.

The menu consists of the best selling sausages and sides from their DC location, as well as boozy milkshakes and a funnel cake bar. HalfSmokes sister restaurant Butter Me Up opened its Montgomery Mall location last week. Butter Me Up is located in the old Aroma Espresso Bar location, which is downstairs near the Old Navy entrance and features “instagrammable” decor, will offer a menu that consists of a variety of breakfast sandwiches, toasts, sides, bowls, smoothies, and juices.


View More Stories