Barnes & Noble has announced the return of their popular Book Haul event. It began on August 12th and will be running through Labor Day weekend.  The bookseller again offers book lovers half-off from over 700 Hardcover books. While supplies last, there are books included in every genre and all stores nationwide are participating, as well as online at bn.com/bookhaul. There are Montgomery County Barnes & Noble locations in Gaithersburg’s Rio Lakefront and Rockville’s Congressional Plaza. In addition to books, the sale includes deals on board games, planners, LEGOs, tea, and more.

Per the press release: “This is the biggest Book Haul in our history,” said Jackie De Leo, Chief Merchandising Officer, Barnes & Noble.  “With half-off so many exciting and new hardcover titles during Book Haul, it gives our customers a fantastic opportunity to build out their bookshelf. The choice is wider than ever and for those who are quick on their feet into our stores, there are so many brilliant titles to be had.”


Zion Allen was last seen on Sunday, August 14, 2022, at approximately 9 p.m. in the 10000 block of Polk Square Court.

Allen is approximately 5-feet, 8-inches tall and weighs 170 pounds. He has dark brown hair, that he wears in locks and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a black Nike jacket, white shorts, and red headphones. He was carrying a multi-colored, “Jordan” backpack and was riding a blue and white bicycle.


Construction began this past winter on a 244 unit multi-family building with amenity space and internal courtyards at 333 Ellington Blvd in Downtown Crown (photos and renderings below). This will also include the expansion of the existing parking garage on Copley Place. The Planning Commission approved the Final Site Plan application back on June 16, 2021. The Property is comprised of 76,894 sq. ft. (approximately 1.765 acres), located in the City of Gaithersburg. We don’t expect completion until 2023. Additional information and renderings can be seen below, courtesy of the City of Gaithersburg:

The site is the last multi-family redevelopment site in Neighborhood 1 of Downtown Crown and, upon its construction, Neighborhood 1 will be largely built-out in its contribution to the overall vision established by the Sketch Plan and the Schematic Development Plan (defined and discussed in further detail below) for this community.


A power outage on Sunday, August 14th temporarily affected Gaithersburg’s Downtown Crown, which led to some businesses closing for the day. The power came back later in the evening, and many businesses reopened, but a few remained closed until their regularly scheduled Monday morning opening.

One of the businesses that closed for the day was Starbucks, which notified customers with a sign on the door stating they were closed for the rest of the day due to the outage. A second sign, which was sent in to us by multiple readers, has caused a little confusion that was cleared up by a store representative Monday morning (photos of both signs available below). The sign states “OUR STORE WILL BE CLOSING Tuesday, August 16th, at 3:30pm” with an apology and a note that says “We are working to re-open our store as quickly as possible.” The representative made it clear that the store is only closing for the rest of Tuesday for a meeting that will take place at the store and that it will be reopening on Wednesday, August 17th.


Duck Donuts has closed its Gaithersburg location after operating for just over five years. This morning we were informed by reader Emily Siok that the store was closed with everything (including store hours, etc.) removed form the door. While a direct link to the Gaithersburg store is still available on the Duck Donuts website, it no longer shows up in location searches within the website. A call to the Rockville location confirmed that the store has closed permanently.

Duck Donuts opened in April 2017 at 511 Quince Orchard Rd in Gaithersburg. It was the second Montgomery County location, opening a little more than a year after the Rockville location opened in early 2016 at 1327 Rockville Pike. We are told there are no plans to close the Rockville location.


OmniFun Indoor Play Center at 831 Russell Ave Gaithersburg has announced it will be reopening.  In an email sent to customers that was shared with us by Empowering You, the company said, “Get ready for the new excitement! We will reopen! OmniFun has partnered with Me Land to bring back the indoor playground that you loved. The soft opening date will be announced soon!” Me Land is an indoor playground located in Frederick, MD. that opened in 2020.

OmniFun closed its doors back on May 23 of this year. At the time, OmniFun’s owner Mike Tian said the business could not recover after the coronavirus pandemic brought business to a standstill. “The business was a success on the first day we were open.  It served as a sweet spot for kids to socialize with others and for parents to relax and have a chat. We were very well received and recognized by the community. We had parents traveling hours to OmniFun every weekend. Our birthday parties were fully booked every weekend.”


Briana has worked in luxury retail for nearly 10 years, first starting in corporate but soon transitioning back to the intimate small-business setting that she missed most. Briana’s passion for childrenswear grew long before her professional career began. Her family owned several luxury children’s clothing boutiques and a children’s shoe store throughout the DMV. She regularly visited all stores, helping out on weekends and developing back of house skills from a very young age. Briana resides in the area with her family and their sweet Cavapoo, Rue!

Maddie has worked with small businesses locally and nationwide as a Marketing and PR Director. With her extensive knowledge in ecommerce, advertising, social media strategy and more, she has aided in such companies’ exponential growth. On a personal note, Maddie is familiar with the hard work it takes to run a successful small business as her husband is a fourth generation jeweler, with a store in Potomac, Maryland. Together they reside in the Lakelands community with their rescue dog, Moo, and their two young daughters, Rosie and Lucy.


Friday, August 12th is the first day of the 2022 Montgomery County Agricultural Fair. The fair takes place August 12-20 at the Montgomery County Fairgrounds (501 Perry Parkway, Gaithersburg). Sitting on 62 acres, the Fair has more than 50 buildings that are filled with more than 5,000 animals every year. The Fair has animals, entertainment, food, commercial, home arts, arts and crafts exhibits, free entertainment, and much more for the whole family to enjoy. Visit www.mcagfair.com to purchase tickets. General Admission tickets are $12 online vs. $15 at the gate and children 11 and under don’t pay for fair admission. Additional information below, Per Montgomery County:

The annual Montgomery County Agricultural Fair will be held over nine days for Aug. 12-20 at the Montgomery County Agricultural Center fairgrounds in Gaithersburg. The fair is operated by the Montgomery County Agricultural Center Inc., which was formed as a privately operated 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization in 1949. The fairgrounds are located at 501 Perry Parkway in Gaithersburg. General admission is $15 onsite and $12 online. Children 11-and-under are free. Parking on the fairgrounds site is $10. Free parking with shuttle bus service to the fairgrounds is available from nearby Lakeforest Mall at Lost Knife Road and Odenhal Ave. Special admission days will be Senior Day on Tuesday, Aug. 16, with free admission for attendees 62-and-over from 10 a.m.-5 p.m., and Military Day on Thursday, Aug. 18, with free admission all day for active military in uniform or with a valid military ID from 10 a.m.-5 p.m.


In June 2017, on the eve of their graduation from Northwest High School, Shadi Ali Najjar, 17, and Artem Ziberov, 18, were ambushed and shot multiple times while they sat in a parked car in Montgomery Village. The Maryland Court of Appeals released its opinion today, affirming the second-degree murder convictions of Roger Garcia, 24, of Germantown, for his involvement in their deaths.  Garcia will continue serving his 100-year prison sentence.

Garcia was one of three men convicted in the murders. Co-defendants, Jose Canales-Yanez, and Edgar Garcia-Gaona, were each found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. The Maryland Court of Appeals reinstated the murder conviction for co-defendant, Rony Galicia, on June 27th, 2022. He is also serving a life sentence without parole.


The Certificate of Achievement is the highest form of recognition in the area of governmental accounting and financial reporting, and its attainment represents a significant accomplishment by a government and its management.

“The residents of our community deserve the highest level of service we can offer, and this award demonstrates that our commitment to transparency and excellence is recognized on a national level,” said City Manager Tanisha Briley. “This award also reflects the tremendous efforts of the dedicated staff in our Department of Finance and Administration.”


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