The Montgomery County Planning Department presented the preliminary recommendations of the Great Seneca Plan: Connecting Life and Science to the Montgomery County Planning Board at its December 7, 2023 meeting.

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Montgomery Planning’s Great Seneca Plan: Connecting Life and Science team held two community meetings on October 23 and October 25. “It was great to share the first look at the plan’s preliminary recommendations and get feedback.” At the meetings, preliminary recommendations were shared for each of the plan’s distinct geographic enclaves including:

If you couldn’t make it to the October 23 and 25 meetings, here is a guide to the preliminary recommendations, which the Great Seneca plan team will be finalizing over the coming weeks as it prepares to present them to the Planning Board on December 7.


Everyone has had their share of terrible experiences in MoCo parking lots, and while there are more than 25 “bad” parking lots, we’ve narrowed down a list (in no particular order) of what may be the worst based on our experiences and comments left by readers throughout the years.

Featured image courtesy of Google Maps. 


Montgomery Planning staff will present recommendations for the plan during an online meeting October 23 and an in-person meeting October 25

The Montgomery County Planning Department will host an online-only community meeting for the Great Seneca Plan: Connecting Life and Science on Monday, October 23 at 7 p.m. and an in-person community meeting on Wednesday, October 25 at 7 p.m. At both meetings, Montgomery Planning staff will provide an overview of the plan including its organization and preliminary recommendations for the built, social, natural, and economic environment, as well as recommendations for implementing the plan. The department’s plan team will also take in public feedback on the plan and its preliminary recommendations at the meetings.


Dunkin’ has been making a big push lately in Montgomery County, with new locations at the Layhill Center (14328 Layhill Rd) in Silver Spring and in the Goshen Crossing Shopping Center in Gaithersburg/Montgomery Village, where it has taken over the former Capital One Bank building at 20000 Goshen Rd.  Last December, we let you know that Dunkin’ is continuing its massive expansion across the country and within MoCo, and there are currently four locations in the works:

Dunkin’ will be taking over 1,500 SF in the back half of the building that was previously home to Capital One Bank building at 9761 Traville Gateway Drive in Rockville. The location will also have a drive-thru. 1,700 SF on the front side of the building is still available to lease and has also received a facelift since its days as a bank. Crews have been working on both the interior and exterior of the space, with a projected opening timeframe of late 2023/early 2024.


Stone Mill Elementary School has been selected a 2023 National Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education (USDE). The winners were announced on Sept. 19.

Per the MCPS press release: Stone Mill is the 43rd MCPS school to be named a National Blue Ribbon winner. The school was among 313 public and 40 private schools being recognized this year. It is one of six schools in Maryland to win the honor. The others are: Church Hill Elementary School and Matapeake Elementary School in Queen Anne’s County, Northeast Elementary School in Allegany County, Oakdale High School in Frederick County and Smithsburg Middle School in Washington County.


This year represents the 40th anniversary of the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program. Congratulations to the more than 9,000 awardees recognized since 1983. Six schools in Maryland (one in Montgomery County) have been recognized in 2023– they are listed below.

The National Blue Ribbon Schools (NBRS) Program is one of the U.S. Department of Education’s longest-running recognition programs. NBRS recognizes outstanding public and non-public elementary, middle, and high schools based on their overall high academic achievement or success in closing the achievement gap among diverse groups of students.  Since its inception, the goals of the program are to shine a spotlight on the best schools in the United States and to share best practices of outstanding schools across the country.


After 9 years in the Travilah Square Shopping Center, Title Boxing has made the decision to move around the corner to the Traville Village shopping center. Title Boxing will be taking over the space that was home to Anytime Fitness (9725 Traville Gateway) until December 2022, next to the Traville Barber Shop.

The goal is to make it happen by the end of the year, but with only a few days of closure from the time the current location in Travilah Square closes to the time the upcoming location opens. Title Boxing owner John Sahakian tells us he is excited for the parking situation in the new space, as there will be ample parking for all guests. We’ll provide an update as things progress with the move.


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