Gaithersburg

Per Montgomery County: Montgomery County’s Department of Alcohol Beverage Services (ABS) will open its new Gaithersburg Square store under its upgraded retail concept, “Oak Barrel & Vine,” at 9:45 a.m. on Thursday, June 15. Elected officials and alcohol industry representatives plan to attend the opening. Walt “The Wizard” Williams, a former basketball star at the University of Maryland who went on to play 11 seasons in the NBA, will be present to sign bottles of his Clutch vodka.

The celebration and ribbon cutting will occur in front of the store, located in the Gaithersburg Square shopping center at 512 N. Frederick Ave. in Gaithersburg. Throughout the weekend of Thursday-Sunday, June 15-18, the store will offer special tastings including those of Maryland-made products, high-end spirits and Juneteenth specials.


Germantown

Alasya Dee Cross has been located safe and unharmed.

Per MCPD: Detectives from the Montgomery County Department of Police – Special Victims Investigations Division (SVID) are asking for the public’s assistance in locating Alasya Dee Cross, a missing 15-year-old from Germantown.   Alasya was last seen on Wednesday, May 31, 2023, at her residence on Circle Gate Drive in Germantown.    Dakota is approximately 5-feet, 1-inch tall and weighs 110 pounds. She has black hair and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing a navy blue t-shirt, dark colored sweat pants and black/white Victoria Secret Pink slides.


MCPD

Per MCPD: Detectives from the Montgomery County Department of Police – Special Victims Investigations Division (SVID) are asking for the public’s assistance in locating Dakota Lillian Nicole Smith, a missing 14-year-old from Montgomery Village.   Dakota was last seen on Saturday, May 27, 2023, at approximately 11 p.m., at her residence on Loading Rock Place in Montgomery Village.    Dakota is approximately 5-feet, 7-inches tall and weighs 156 pounds. She has black hair and brown eyes.

Anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of Dakota Lillian Nicole Smith is asked to call the police non-emergency number at (301) 279-8000 (24-hour line). Callers may remain anonymous.


Highways / Interstates

Per Montgomery County: The Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration will temporarily close the ramp from northbound MD 355 (Rockville Pike) to the outer loop (westbound) of the Capital Beltway (I-495) for several hours a day next week to complete a drainage project. Work will start Monday, June 5, and will be completed by Friday, June 9, weather permitting.

The ramp will be closed weekdays between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. During the work, motorists can expect to be detoured using Grosvenor Lane to Cheshire Drive to MD 187 (Old Georgetown Road) and back to the outer loop of I-495. The detour length is approximately 1.7 miles. The State Highway Administration is asking drivers to reduce speeds approaching, and while in, active work zones. Questions about the project can be directed to the SHA District 3 Office at 301-513-7300. For a look at real-time traffic conditions, go to md511.maryland.gov.


Event

Online event (see link)

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Germantown

Per MCPD: Detectives from the Montgomery County Department of Police – Special Victims Investigations Division (SVID) are asking for the public’s assistance in locating Zamya Santiago, a missing 13-year-old from Germantown.

Zamya was last seen on Tuesday, May 30, 2023, at approximately 12:30 p.m., leaving her residence on Locbury Court in Germantown.  Zamya is approximately 5-feet tall and weighs 110 pounds. She has brown hair and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing a black hooded sweatshirt with black and red pajama bottoms.


Crime

Per MCPD: Kevin Vargas Gomez, age 20, Jose Ingles Mendez, age 30, and Heidy Gomez Rodriguez, age 36, all of Silver Spring have been arrested in connection with the Sunday, August 21, 2022, stabbing that occurred near the intersection of Georgia Avenue and Reedie Drive in Wheaton.

Montgomery County Police – 4th District Patrol Investigations Unit (PIU) learned that Vargas Gomez and Mendez approached the victim in the 2400 block of Reedie Drive and began to punch him repeatedly before hitting him with a bottle causing it to break. They then used the broken bottle to stab the victim repeatedly. The victim was able to get away and ran towards Georgia Avenue. Vargas Gomez and Mendez chased after the victim and continued to punch and kick him in the street. Gomez Rodriguez picked up both Mendez and Vargas Gomez in a vehicle and drove away from the scene of the assault.


Burtonsville

He learned of his big win sitting in his car, only moments after leaving the Montgomery County store. The winner immediately took a photo of his lucky scratch-off and sent the photo to his wife. He and his wife of 10 years plan to use the prize to pay debts. The Hot 777 scratch-off went on sale on April 24 and became one of the hottest games on the market. It’s now the second most popular scratch-off at the Maryland Lottery.


MoCo Government

Per Montgomery County (5.31.23): County Executive Marc Elrich today announced that Montgomery County Government won 13 awards for its operations and innovation in the 2023 National Association of Counties (NACo) Achievement Awards. NACo is a nonprofit organization that provides services to the nation’s 3,069 counties and represents county governments across the United States. The NACo Achievement Awards recognize a county’s outstanding commitment to public service in various categories such as civic education and public information; community and economic development; children and youth; and arts and entertainment.

Since the beginning of the Elrich Administration in 2019, Montgomery County has won 176 NACo Achievement Awards, including four Best in Category awards. In the 2023 awards, Montgomery County won the Best in Category Award in the Parks and Recreation category. The County was recognized for its outdoor fitness equipment program at the Holiday Park Senior Center in Silver Spring.  The center features the first outdoor fitness space in the region expressly geared toward the needs of adults 55 and older.


Education

“Behind each and every one of us, there is a teacher who believed in us and pushed us to succeed,” said Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller. “And the impact of the teachers in this room has undoubtedly shaped the success of countless Marylanders. The Moore-Miller Administration thanks all of you for your work you do to shape Maryland’s future.”

Dewdney, who has taught Pre-K at The Commodore John Rodgers School in Baltimore City for ten years and is a graduate of Johns Hopkins University, is using the latest studies in neuroscience to inform her professional technique. She plans to pursue a doctorate in education.


Gaithersburg

Now through August 31, high school students ages 14-19 can work out for free at all Planet Fitness gyms.  Students can sign up for the free pass at  PlanetFitness.com/SummerPass. Planet Fitness has Montgomery County locations in Gaithersburg, Germantown, Rockville, and Silver Spring. Additional details below:

“Planet Fitness, one of the largest and fastest-growing franchisors and operators of fitness centers with more members than any other fitness brand, officially kicks off its High School Summer PassTM program today, opening its doors to high schoolers ages 14 – 19[1] to work out for free this summer through August 31 at any of the more than 2,400 Planet Fitness locations throughout the United States and Canada. Sign up now at PlanetFitness.com/SummerPass or at any Planet Fitness club. Teens under 18 in the U.S. and under 19 in Canada must register with a parent or guardian online or in-club.


Crime

Per the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Maryland: Denish Sahadevan, a/k/a “Danny Devan,” age 31, of Potomac, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and money laundering, relating to his scheme to defraud lenders and the Small Business Administration (“SBA”) of more than $1.2 million in Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) loans and Economic Injury Disaster Loans (“EIDL”).

According to the plea agreement, beginning in about March 2020, Sahadevan submitted EIDL and PPP application on behalf of four Maryland entities that he controlled, often creating fraudulent and fabricated documents, such as tax forms and bank statements, to be used in the applications.  In addition, Sahadevan used the identifying information belonging to a tax preparer that he knew, without that person’s knowledge or agreement, to legitimize the fabricated tax forms he created and submitted.