A Montgomery County Resident is $1,000,000 richer after claiming a winning lottery ticket she purchased back in April from the 7-Eleven at 12405 Georgia Ave in Wheaton-Glenmont. Full story below courtesy of MD Lottery:

“Although she was chasing a Mega Millions jackpot, a Silver Spring woman is happy to join the game’s millionaires’ club after winning a $1 million second-tier prize in an April drawing. The Montgomery County resident, who said she has chased the jackpot her entire life, gave herself the nickname “Lady Jackpot Chaser” to tell the story of her April 18 Lottery win.


Per Montgomery County: The Wheaton Arts & Entertainment District has teamed up with the iconic Chuck Levin’s Washington Music Center for this year’s TGIF Summer Concert Series, offering after-work celebrations on Friday evenings. The weekly series, which will start July 7, will feature bands ranging from Black Masala to Jah Works, live artist demonstrations and beverages from Twin Valley Distillers.

The concerts will be at the Marian Fryer Town Plaza, adjacent to the Wheaton Business Triangle and near the Wheaton Metro Station.


Per MCPD: Detectives from the Montgomery County Department of Police – 4th District Investigative Section are investing a shed burglary that occurred on Tuesday, June 6, 2023, in the 12300 block of Atherton Dr. in Silver Spring. Detectives have released photos of the suspect and are asking for the public’s assistance in identifying him.

At approximately 6:25 p.m., 4th District officers responded to the location for the report of a burglary that just occurred. The investigation by detectives determined that the unknown male suspect went into the victim’s shed and placed stolen tools in a black backpack. As the suspect was walking away from the scene, the adult male victim confronted him and pulled on the backpack, causing the stolen tools to fall. The suspect walked away from the scene without any stolen property.


Mid-County Sparkles, one of Montgomery County’s Independence Day celebrations, will take place on Saturday, July 1st. Live music begins at 6 pm and fireworks begin at 9:15 pm. No alcohol or pets are permitted. Time is approximate and may change due to weather and additional information will be available closer to the event date. This event will be held at Newport Mill Local Park.

Westfield Wheaton Mall will be offering complimentary parking and round trip shuttle bus transportation from the mall parking lots to Albert Einstein High School (11135 Newport Mill Rd, Kensington, MD) starting at 5:30pm on Saturday, July 1 (Westfield Wheaton Mall,11160 Veirs Mill Rd, Wheaton, MD) for the region’s popular, annual firework and live music festival.


Coming soon signage is up for Wiseguy Pizza in the Wheaton Mall food court. The restaurant will be located in the space that was previously occupied by Angel’s Pizza.  Wiseguy serves stone-deck oven baked pizza by the slice that’s made with imported ingredients from Italy, homemade sauces, and dough using a special water filtration system. Pizza options include Cheese, Pepperoni, Paneer Tikki (House Masala, Paneer, Mozzarella, Onions, Tomato, Green & Chili Peppers, Cilantro, Jalapeño Sauce), Nashville Hot Chicken, Chicken Parmesan, and Whitestone (Garlic, Ricotta, Mozzarella, Parmigiano, Oregano, Oil from Tuscany Italy.)

 


Planet Fitness has announced it will be opening new locations at 6881 New Hampshire Ave. in Takoma Park and 2201 Randolph Rd. in Wheaton (Glenmont). Construction is scheduled to begin soon and both locations are expected to open by the end of the year. The Glenmont location will be next to the existing Lidl.

According to Planet Fitness, “Both locations will offer state-of-the-art cardio machines and strength equipment, a 30-Minute Express Circuit, fully equipped locker rooms and numerous flat screen televisions. They also will feature a PF Black Card® Spa area with HydroMassage beds, massage chairs, tanning, a RelaxSpace Wellness Pod (where members can relax, reset and focus on their mental health for up to 15 minutes) and a Recovery Lounge offering a multi-sensory experience combining hot, cold and compression therapy.


Schools may have just ended, but anyone looking to put the finishing touches on their summer plans may be interested in knowing about the Back-to-School Fair scheduled for Saturday, August 26th.

Per Montgomery County Public Schools: All MCPS students and families are invited to kick off the 2023-2024 school year at the MCPS Back-to-School Fair on Saturday, Aug. 26 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Westfield Wheaton mall.


Per Montgomery County: The Wheaton and White Oak libraries of Montgomery County Public Libraries (MCPL) will offer several free animation, graphic novel and mini comic book programs for ages 10 to 50-and-over in July and August. The animation workshops explore the history, science and creative possibilities of animation. Participants will create three optical toys: a thaumatrope, a zoetrope strip and a flip-book.

The graphic novel classes teach participants to create a graphic novel page using all the conventions of graphic novel storytelling: narration, dialogue, character design, dynamic page layouts and cinematic techniques. The mini comic book workshops teach participants to write and illustrate a brief fictional, factual or a combination of both that will become six-to-eight-page narratives using one folded sheet of paper.


Per Montgomery County: The poster for the seventh annual Wheaton Arts Parade & Festival will be based on a design submitted by Fernando Santiago, a Silver Spring artist and resident. As the winner of poster contest, he will receive a cash prize of $500 donated by IHOP Wheaton. The poster contest was open to all residents of Montgomery County. After Mr. Santiago’s artwork was selected, Wheaton Arts Parade designer Josue Martinez of Corinto Gallery incorporated it into the design for the poster and T-shirt. It will be featured in all promotional materials leading up to the parade.

More than 50 festival tents are available in the 2023 festival for artists to rent to exhibit and sell their original artwork and for arts organizations and community organizations to promote their work. The day is inspired by the parade and the closure of roads so that people can pull giant floats and show off their art, play music and dance,


Mi Mariachi Bar & Grill will take over the space that was recently home to Nava Thai and previously home to Sir Walter Raleigh at 11301 Fern St in Wheaton. Nava Thai closed in February after approximately 16 years at the location.

It is unclear at this time if this version of Mi Mariachi is related to the Mi Mariachi that was previously in Wheaton at 2715 University Blvd W. This version of the restaurant incorporated in April 2023 and has an Alcoholic Beverage Services (ABS) hearing for its alcohol and liquor license on Thursday, June 15th at 1pm. We’ll have additional information as it becomes available. Featured photo courtesy of Google Maps.


Per the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Maryland: Chief U.S. District Judge James K. Bredar sentenced El Salvadoran national Jose Lopez Rivera, age 27, of Elmont, New York, formerly residing in Maryland, to 26 years in federal prison for a racketeering conspiracy involving a violent murder connected to his participation in La Mara Salvatrucha, a transnational criminal enterprise also known as MS-13, and for possession with intent to distribute cocaine, possession of a firearm and ammunition by an illegal alien, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

MS-13 is a national and international gang composed primarily of immigrants or descendants from El Salvador and other central American countries.  Branches or “cliques” of MS-13, one of the largest street gangs in the United States, operate throughout Frederick County, Anne Arundel County, Prince George’s County, and Montgomery County, Maryland.  Since at least 2015, Lopez Rivera was a member of the Fulton Locos Salvatruchas (“FLS”) MS-13 clique.


View More Stories