At approximately 12:16 am early Sunday morning (March 31, 2024) Virginia State Police troopers were alerted to two vehicles attempting to race along I-395 southbound in Fairfax County. The driver of one of the two vehicles is 19-year-old Kennedy W. Mejia Medina, 19, of Silver Spring, who attempted to flee and crashed into two other vehicles while doing so.
On Friday, we reported that the Popeyes location inside of the Westfield Wheaton Mall food court (11160 Veirs Mill Rd) had gone dark. (more…)
Talent is one of the most important factors influencing where companies choose to invest, expand, and grow. As competition for skilled workers intensifies, employers are embracing a broader talent strategy: one that leverages partnerships. Last week, almost 120 business leaders, elected officials, and members of Montgomery County’s business community attended the Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation’s (MCEDC) panel, “The Talent Advantage: A Growth Strategy for Companies in Montgomery County, Maryland,” to hear how local businesses are capitalizing on the County’s world-class academic institutions, innovation ecosystem, quality of life, and economic development resources to attract and retain top talent.
Moderated by Dr. Anne Khademian, Executive Director at The Universities at Shady Grove (USG), the panel included executives from businesses and institutions across industries, including Lockheed Martin, TrilliumBIO, Thales Defense & Security, Johns Hopkins, Montgomery College, and AstraZeneca, who discussed their companies’ strategies for developing their workforce.
Talent as a Business Strategy
For companies competing in highly specialized industries like the defense industry, access to talent directly influences where they choose to locate and grow. For Lockheed Martin, which employs nearly 1,000 people in Montgomery County, talent is one of the primary reasons the company chose to be headquartered here.
“Talent is in the top one or two reasons why we are in the County,” said Todd Cohen, Senior Lead of Strategic Workforce Development, Lockheed Martin.
According to Cohen, Lockheed Martin begins working with partners to develop their talent pipeline well before students enter the workforce, including partnering with Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) on programs such as coding challenges. Lockheed Martin also maintains close relationships with local higher education institutions, including the Universities at Shady Grove (USG).
That local talent pipeline is also an important factor for AstraZeneca, which employs more than 5,000 employees and contractors in Montgomery County. According to Tiffany Lukis, Director of STEM and Community Engagement at AstraZeneca, the company often taps into its alumni base from Montgomery College (ranked #26 nationally among community colleges) and USG (which offers nine different public universities onto one campus), and other local institutions to fill highly technical roles.
Local Companies Are Developing Talent and Not Just Finding It
According to the panelists, investing in existing employees is just as important as recruiting new ones.
At Suburban Hospital, workforce development is closely tied to talent retention. The hospital partners with local educational institutions to provide employees with opportunities to gain new skills and advance their careers. Programs include a Certified Nursing Assistant program through Montgomery College and English as a Second Language classes.
“A huge part of our talent strategy is to prioritize holding on to our top tier talent,” said Corey Lewson, MSW, Program Manager, Workforce Development, John Hopkins Medicine.
For smaller companies, developing talent internally can be especially valuable. Lane Edwards, Vice President of Operations, TrilliumBIO, a biomarker discovery company with fewer than 20 employees based in Rockville, described the challenge of balancing the need for highly specialized expertise with the realities of building a team at an early-stage company.
“When it comes to hiring, we have to be very strategic,” Lane said. “Do we have someone who has the expertise or someone that we can build on?”
With more than 7 in 10 U.S. adults being overweight and health care costs rising, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2024’s Healthiest Cities in America, as well as expert commentary, to show where people are saving and costing themselves the most money. Washington D.C., the nearest of the 180 cities compared, came in fifth in the nation.
The Clarks Lodge Bar & Grill at 12011 Snowden Farm Pkwy in Clarksburg opens on Monday, April 1 at 3pm. (more…)
BETHESDA, YOUR SATURDAY MORNING PLANS JUST GOT MORE CREATIVE.
Join Craft Cart at Coffee Republic on Saturday, September 26, from 11:00 AM–1:00 PM for a beginner-friendly faux stained glass experience filled with creativity, coffee and connection.
Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services (MCFRS) responded to a fire alarm at Paint Branch High School on Sunday at approximately 4pm, according to a Monday morning update by Chief spokesperson Pete Piringer.
The Captain of the Port (COTP) is preparing to establish a temporary alternate channel on the northeast side of the main channel in the vicinity of the Francis Scott Key Bridge for commercially essential vessels.
Superbowl Noodle House, located at 785 Rockville Pike Suite in the Ritchie Center, will be closing permanently on Sunday, March 31st according to a sign in the window of the restaurant (photo below).
A driver has crashed into a utility pole on Amherst Ave and University Blvd W in Wheaton a little after 6pm on Sunday evening. Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services have responded and are on the scene. We will update this story as we receive additional information. Photos below.
Detectives from the Montgomery County Department of Police – Special Victims Investigations Division are asking for the public’s assistance in locating Lidia Mohemy Guerero Rivas, a missing 12-year-old from Silver Spring. (more…)
The Maryland Attorney General’s Office issued the following news release on Wednesday, March 27: (more…)