The new park features a dog park, picnic shelter, and shared pickleball and tennis courts.
Montgomery Parks, part of The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, announces the opening of Piedmont Woods Local Park, located at 12835 Snowden Farm Parkway in Clarksburg. The 65-acre park provides opportunities for recreation, social gatherings, and contemplative reflection. It features a variety of amenities, including:
Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services responded to a fire at the Shisha Lounge (13063 Wisteria Dr.) in Germantown on Tuesday night around 8:45pm. According to Chief Spokesperson for MCFRS Pete Piringer, Fire Investigators determined that the fire originated in an employee area of lounge where smoking devices and tobacco is cleaned/changed out. A probable cause of the fire is improperly discarded smoking materials.
No injuries were reported and the fire was not large enough to activate sprinkler. Damages are estimated to be around $85K. The business is currently listed as “temporarily closed” on Google and we will post and update when more information becomes available.
UPDATE: The Clarksburg shows have been postponed indefinitely.
Paranormal Cirque is coming to the Clarksburg Premium Outlets (22705 Clarksburg Rd) from September 8-18th. Paranormal Cirque previously ran at the Montgomery County Fairgrounds in Gaithersburg this past spring. According to the event’s website, Paranormal Cirque is “a crazy yet fun fusion between Circus, theatre, and cabaret in perfect harmony with the evolution of a show that brings you back to when we dream .….. and when we had nightmares and fantasies. Scare, encompass, amuse and surprise are the ingredients for a mixture of emotions impossible to forget. This is truly a Paranormal experience like no other.” Tickets can be purchased at www.paranormalcirque.com Note: No-one under the age of 13 will be admitted to the show. Guests aged 13 – 17 must be accompanied by an adult.
KPot Korean BBQ & Hot Pot will be opening a second MoCo location in Germantown following the 2018 opening of its Rockville location (the Rockville location is not associated with the Germantown location). KPot will take over the space previously occupied by Honey Pig at 19727 Frederick Rd #1337. Honey Pig closed permanently in November of 2021 after five years at the location. Kpot did not have an expected opening timeframe for us, but did let us know of a nearby Laurel location coming soon.
According to KPot, the restaurant was started by four friends from different backgrounds who decided to share their mixed cuisine over the same table. KPot combines traditional Asian hot pot with Korean BBQ flavors. Hot pot, also known as “soup-food” or “steamboat,” is a communal pot of simmering broth that is stuffed with raw ingredients like meat and vegetables to cook in the pot.
Fresh Baguette was founded in 2013 in Bethesda by Florent de Felcourt, a former French naval officer. Since opening the Bethesda location, Fresh Baguette has expanded with bakeries across the DMV located in Rockville, Georgetown, Alexandria, and McLean opening soon. Soon, the bakery will move its primary production facility to a recently leased building at 19548 Amaranth Drive, off of Middlebrook Rd. in Germantown. The bakery will still keep its present facility at its Rockville location at 804 Hungerford Drive, according to Maryland Newsletters.
Their kitchens feature a stone oven imported from France and, with a cold dough process and homemade “levain,” yields “a baguette that is light, airy, with just the right crunch,”according to the company. Per the Maryland Newsletters article, “Opportunities Inc. sold the building on 19548 Amaranth Drive in Germantown to investment group Sun Peak Partners for $5.325 million, but signed a leaseback deal for a smaller portion of it. Sun Peak also brought in Fresh Baguette, which will first move into the remaining space and then gradually occupy all of it.“
Per UFCW Local 400: Today, workers at Zen Leaf cannabis dispensary in Germantown, Md. announced they have officially unionized with United Food & Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 400.
“The biggest driving factor for us was that management always said the cannabis industry is a new and better world and we’re building it from the ground up, but we didn’t see any of that improvement happening for the workers,” said Ginko Spinel, a patient care advisor who has worked at Zen Leaf for a year and a half. “Now that we have a union, we have a voice on the job and we can contribute to making that vision a reality. I couldn’t be more excited for us to negotiate our first union contract.”
CNN’s “Reliable Sources with Brian Stelter” came to an end on Sunday night after the company announced Thursday that it is ending the media analysis show that has aired in various iterations for 30 years (Stelter has hosted for nine years). Stelter is a native of Damascus, MD, where he was born and raised, graduating from Damascus High School in 2003.
After graduating from college in May 2007, Stelter joined The New York Times as a media reporter at the age of 22, making him one of the youngest staff members at the time. In November 2013, he became the new host of CNN’s Reliable Sources and also chief media correspondent.
Charley’s Cheesesteaks and Wings is coming to 19877 Century Blvd in Germantown. It will be taking over the location that was previously home to Roll by Goodyear and Yogi Castle in the Shops at Town Center & Century Station shopping center.
Charley’s now has over 600 stores nationwide. Newer locations have adopted a new menu concept, offering chicken wings and tenders alongside its Philly cheesesteaks, which this location will have. This Germantown location and the upcoming Gaithersburg location will both have the updated menu. “Tossed-to-order, the wings are made with 10 chef-inspired flavors ranging from Angry Ghost and Nashville Hot to milder options like Zesty Lemon-Lime Rub and Sweet Teriyaki. Customers can order classic or boneless wings and choose from sides including celery sticks, coleslaw, baked beans or Texas toast.”
Assistant State’s Attorney Gordon King prosecuted this case. Jones and an accomplice broke into home in Germantown and robbed and assaulted the homeowner. Jones was linked to the crime by DNA evidence inside latex gloves found tossed near the scene. On July 5th, 2022, co-defendant Andrew Miller was sentenced to 10 years in prison and 5 years supervised probation upon release. Jones is already serving two consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole and an additional 30 years for a double murder. The robbery/home invasion was unrelated to the murders and predated that incident by several months. Details regarding the double murder below:
On February 15, 2018, the bodies of Joshua Frazier and Ashley Dickinson, both Virginia residents, were discovered in Ms. Dickinson’s running 2013 Audi SUV at a home on Aldora Circle in the Briggs Chaney area of Burtonsville, Montgomery County, Maryland. Both had been shot once in the back of the head from the back seat of the vehicle. Police located two 9mm shell casings in the car, as well as a projectile on a sidewalk near the vehicle.
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.
A joint-venture between Minkoff Development and South Duvall has signed a lease with Hughes Network Systems, LLC (HUGHES) to build a 140,000 square foot build-to-suit project on Montgomery College’s Germantown Campus. The campus currently is home to the Pinkney Innovation Complex for Science and Technology at Montgomery College (PIC MC) with Holy Cross Germantown Hospital as its anchor tenant. Located at 19710 Observation Drive in Germantown, Maryland, adjacent to the Hughes headquarters complex (11717 Exploration Lane), the new high-tech manufacturing building will house production of Hughes satellite broadband and networking equipment. Full press release below:
“This new facility reflects our long-standing commitment to Montgomery County, as a local employer and business leader for more than 50 years and will help Hughes advance our mission of connecting the unconnected around the world with innovative satellite and networking solutions,” said Jim Muir, III, vice president, corporate real estate at Hughes. “We look forward to inviting students from PIC MC to learn and grow with us and continuing to engage with the community where so many of our employees live and work.”