Update: Dakota Lilian Nicole Smith has been located safe and unharmed

Per MCPD: Detectives from the Montgomery County Department of Police – Special Victims Investigations Division (SVID) are asking for the public’s assistance in locating Dakota Lilian Nicole Smith, a missing 14-year-old. Smith was last seen on Sunday, March 19, 2023, at approximately 1:20 a.m., in the 20100 block of Loading Rock Place of Montgomery Village. Smith is believed to be in the Germantown area, driving a silver 2011 Chevy Malibu bearing MD tag 5BA4544.


Updated to reflect that the Montgomery Village location is the only Moe’s left in the county, rather than state.

Moe’s Southwest Grill made its triumphant return to MoCo when the fast-casual Mexican restaurant opened in the Wheaton Mall food court in late 2019. That restaurant has now closed permanently, a representative from the Montgomery Village location confirmed for us on Saturday morning.


The Gaithersburg Book Festival has selected the finalists for its 5th annual poetry contest for high school students. More than 150 entries poured in from around the region from students who wrote poems on themes of diversity or inclusion.

The finalists, listed in alphabetical order with the school they attend, city in which they reside and grade, are:


Per MCPD: 18-year-old Demari Brown, of Montgomery Village, along with a 16-year-old suspect, have been arrested and charged in connection with a shooting that occurred in the 18800 block of Walkers Choice Rd., on Tuesday, March 7, 2023.

At approximately 12:26 p.m., 6th District officers responded to the location for multiple reports of shots fired. Upon arrival, officers located two victims; a juvenile male suffering from multiple gunshot wounds, who was transported to area hospital with serious injuries and Brown, suffering from a gunshot wound to the leg.


Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services (MCFRS) responded to scene of a pedestrian who was struck by a MARC train on Thursday morning. The incident occurred on the CSX railroad tracks in the area of Watkins Mill Rd, north of Metropolitan Grove Station, and between Quince Orchard Road and Game Preserve Road.

According to MCFRS Chief Spokesperson Pete Piringer, the pedestrian was declared deceased on arrival and was not transported to the hospital. Rail traffic has been stopped in both directions and the police department is currently on the scene investigating. Approximately 70 train/rail passengers are onboard, all are uninjured. Featured photo courtesy of Google Maps.


In June 2021 we let you know that Lum Thai would be coming to Muddy Branch Square. The Thai restaurant is located in the space previously occupied by Roggenart and Canela Bakery at 806 Muddy Branch Road and is currently hiring for a few positions as it prepares to open very soon in Gaithersburg (exact date not yet available).

According to its website, the restaurant will be open daily from 11am until 9pm. The menu will offer a various appetizers (all priced below $10), soups, salads, entrees/curries/noodles (all priced at $13.95), chef specialities  (going as high as $20), and desserts.


Charley Prime Foods, the new restaurant from Jackie Greenbaum & Gordon Banks (Little Coco’s, El Chucho, Bar Charley, Quarry House Tavern) that will be replacing Tara Thai on the Rio Lakefront boardwalk at 9811 Washington Blvd in Gaithersburg, has announced it plans to open in April.

According to a press release, the Charley Prime team envisions the restaurant as a mature version of their popular DC restaurant Bar Charley, with an expanded menu, but keeping its lively cocktail forward energy. The broader menu will remain steak focused, but will also feature house made pastas (a la Little Coco’s) as well as other items unique to just this location. The group has tapped Editlab@Streetsense to design the space. Explains Greenbaum, “We can’t wait to do our first suburban project and think the timing is perfect. We’ve always done restaurants that are near and dear to our hearts and that we feel are right or needed in the particular neighborhood. My partners both have young families and Rio has been a frequent destination for them for years, as it is for tons of people in north Montgomery county. This is especially true for our chef and partner in this project, Adam Harvey, who lives nearby. We’re really thrilled to bring something unique to the mix out there.” Featured photo shows a photo of food from Bar Charley.


The program will also include a panel discussion with subject experts, and student breakout groups will create public service announcements to raise awareness about the dangers of opioid use. The PSAs will be judged with prizes for the top three winners. Hot 99.5 will award first prize PSA winners with Ed Sheeran tickets for his upcoming concert at FedEx Field this summer. Second & third prize winners will receive free admission tickets to the Water Park & Miniature Golf Course. The top three entries will be shared on the City’s social media platforms.

The event will close with a resource fair featuring support program information and nonprofit groups, including Tree of Hope, Montgomery Goes Purple, The Landing, and the Gaithersburg Police Department. Students attending the event will receive lunch from Subway, a Youth Voice Summit t-shirt, and Student Service Learning (SSL) hours for their participation.


The Gaithersburg Skate Park located at 510 South Frederick Ave opens for the 2023 season on April 1. Addition details courtesy of the City of Gaithersburg: Gaithersburg’s 12,300 square foot skate park is designed for skateboards, inline skates and BMX bikes. The park includes ramps and structures suitable for a wide range of skill levels. Some obstacles include an A-frame ramp and rail, mini-half pipe, 7’6” escalator, stairs, pyramid wedge, fun boxes, wall ride, and several quarters and banks of varying heights. All ramps are constructed with a wood frame and Skatelite surface.

The Skate Park offers a variety of programming options including group lessons and private lessons, summer clinics, rentals for birthday parties and private functions, competitions, demos and other special events. Other amenities include vending machines, helmet, pad and skateboard rentals, and an outdoor stereo system.


The NIST reactor is used for a broad range of research and operates at far lower power, temperature and pressure conditions than utility reactors that generate electricity. The NRC’s extensive review of this incident showed that the public was safe at all times during the event.

“We are extremely pleased to have reached this milestone and to begin our return to normal operations,” said Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology and NIST Director Laurie E. Locascio. “We are committed to ensuring the safe operation of this vital national resource so that it can once again support important advances in medicine, material science, technology and more.”


Pleasants Development/Muddy Branch Investments, LLC  has submitted Sketch Plan application SK-9497-20231, to establish a new sketch plan for approximately 13.71 acres of land at 770 Muddy Branch Road, the former Nike Missile Site, surrounded by the Muddy Branch Shopping Center, Lakelands Ridge, City-owned park land, and Timberbrook Condominium. The Application proposes to create a residential community of up to 380 multifamily units. The Applicant has submitted an application proposing to develop a new multifamily residential community with associated open space and amenities. The development will include up to 380 dwelling units. The Applicant, as part of the application, has submitted a statement of support and justification outlining the purpose of the current request:

According to the Statement, the main purpose of the sketch plan is to redevelop the former Nike missile site into a multifamily residential development that will complement and be compatible with the surrounding Lakelands Ridge, Timberbrook, and Shady Grove Village communities, as well as the Muddy Branch Square Shopping Center. The Application proposes a maximum of 380 multifamily dwelling units, located within four separate development blocks. Individual blocks have been allocated a maximum number of dwelling units out of the overall 380 unit cap. Although the 380 units proposed across the entire 13.71-acre site is significantly less dense (27.7 units per acre) than other recently-approved stand-alone multifamily developments, such as the Fishman Site (109 units on 0.99 acres, or 110.0 units per acre), Kentlands Apartments (365 units on 3.1 acres, or 117.7 units per acre), and Camden at Washingtonian (365 units on 5.86 acres, or 62.3 units per acre), the proposed density is comparable to and compatible with the surrounding Timberbrook Condos (168 units on 9.74 acres, or 17.2 units per acre) and Lakelands Ridge Condos (159 units on 9.39 acres, or 16.9 units per acre).


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