A wave of restaurant and cafe openings has been drawing serious attention across Montgomery County, with concepts ranging from regional names making their local debut to homegrown brands leveling up. Here’s a look at 12 of the newest spots creating a buzz on social media, listed alphabetically.
Detectives from the Montgomery County Department of Police – 6th District Investigative Section are asking for the public’s assistance in locating Brenton Edward Hayes, a missing 33-year-old.
DC Water provided an update on February 23, outlining expanded repair and cleanup efforts at the site of the Potomac Interceptor that collapsed on January 19 along Clara Barton Parkway near I-495 and the C&O Canal. The collapse released an estimated 243.5 million gallons of wastewater and was described by the University of Maryland as one of the largest sewage spills in U.S. history. (more…)
Montgomery County, MD is commonly known as being a suburb of the nation’s capital, but what might surprise some is that it is also home to a thriving biotech ecosystem. With over 350 life sciences companies, including global brands like AstraZeneca, United Therapeutics, and Novavax, Montgomery County anchors the third largest biophama hub in the U.S., behind only Boston and San Francisco.
Running annually in Washington D.C. for over 25 years, World Vaccine Congress attracts an international audience from over 80 countries and convenes more than 3,000 people to learn about the latest trends, research, and technologies in the vaccine industry. This year, Montgomery County took center stage, with a featured session on the extensive Biologics Value Chain in the County, as well as a session during which County Executive Marc Elrich spoke about the extensive resources available to companies here, and an exhibit space showcasing these resources.
A Complete Biologics Value Chain in One Region
One of the defining strengths of Montgomery County is its ability to support the full lifecycle of biologics, all the way from early research to large-scale manufacturing. During the panel discussion, moderated by Dr. Stefanie Trop, Director of Life Sciences at the Maryland Department of Commerce, local leaders emphasized that the region’s strength lies in its network of partners who work collaboratively across discovery, development, testing, and production. Panelists from companies in all stages of the value chain spectrum included Dr. Andrew Lees, Founder of Fina Biosolutions, Benjamin Moutier, Senior Vice-President, Vaccines and Immune Therapies at AstraZeneca, Dr. Helen Sabzevari President & CEO of Precigen, and Dr. Frederick Holtsberg, Chief Scientific Officer of Integrated BioTherapeutics.
This end-to-end capability in close geographical proximity gives companies a unique advantage and is rare to find in other markets, even established ones like San Francisco and Boston. In fact, only a handful of places worldwide offer the combination of infrastructure, expertise, and collaboration found in Montgomery County and if diversity, education and population density are taken into consideration – then Montgomery County standouts even more.
“Gaithersburg is one of the six places in the world where we can do what we’re doing,” explained Benjamin Moutier, Senior Vice-President, Vaccines and Immune Therapies, AstraZeneca. “We have the right partners at every step of the value chain [in Montgomery County].”
A Strong Partnership Network
Biotech breakthroughs rarely happen in isolation. They depend on strong partnerships between private companies, local and state governments, academic institutions, and workforce training organizations. Montgomery County has intentionally cultivated these connections, making collaboration and coordination defining characteristics of its life sciences ecosystem.
Dr. Frederick Holtsberg, Chief Scientific Officer at IBT Bioservices, a full service CRO offering clinical & preclinical contract research services, says the company’s close partnerships between them and local stakeholders have been crucial to its success. “As a Rockville-based company, we’re grateful for the partnership and support from city, County, and state leaders,” explained Dr. Holtsberg. “These programs have helped fuel our growth, and we’re excited about the continued momentum of our community.” (more…)
An Extreme Cold Alert has been issued for Montgomery County, Maryland until Wednesday, February 25 at 9am due to wind chill values expected to fall below 32 degrees Fahrenheit. Officials are urging residents to wear layers, limit time outdoors when possible, and take extra precautions if spending extended time outside. (more…)
Beautiful venue; great art, gifts and hand-crafted items; refreshments; and meet the award-winning painters, photographers, mixed media artists, ceramicists, fiber artists, and more – some 40 artists in all. It’s an extraordinary array of framed wall works, 3-d media including sculpture, ceramics, jewelry, and fiber pieces, and unframed prints.
Among them, you’ll see:
Bob’s Bethesda is moving closer to opening at 7776 Norfolk Ave., the former home of Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza. The restaurant will be owned and operated by the original owner of Bob’s Shanghai 66 in Rockville but will not be affiliated with the current Bob’s Shanghai 66 location operating there today.
This past summer, the Washington Post asked, “What’s the best sandwich in DC?” and broke the results into eleven categories. In the popular Philly cheesesteak category, the winner came from Maryland, specifically right here in Montgomery County. Soko Butcher in Takoma Park topped the list. Now, Soko is expanding across the river.
The National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center has included most of Maryland in a “Slight Risk of Heavy Snow” zone for the period of March 2nd through March 8th, putting early March on the radar for potential winter weather.That outlook, however, is being met with some skepticism locally.
Montgomery County police are asking for the public’s help in identifying suspects involved in a street takeover that led to damage of marked patrol vehicles in Chevy Chase early Sunday morning.
Montgomery County is reviewing how it manages trash and recycling as part of a broader effort to modernize its solid waste system and meet long-term environmental and operational goals.
Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown has filed a lawsuit seeking to block the federal government’s plan to convert a large warehouse near Williamsport in Washington County into an immigration detention center.
Montgomery County Public Schools’ request for a waiver from the Maryland State Department of Education following weather-related closures from the previous storm was denied. Since then, an additional day has been added to extend the school year for students to Friday, June 26th.