DMV

Over the bridge and through the tunnel, trains on the Yellow Line are ready to go. Service resumed on Sunday, May 7, Yellow Line across the Potomac River, following an eight-month, on-time and anticipated to be under budget rehabilitation project to repair the deteriorating 1970’s tunnel and bridge. The reopening, announced last month, will provide a faster, more direct connection for customers between Virginia and downtown DC, including travel to/from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

Per WMATA: Yellow Line trains will initially operate every eight minutes weekdays from 6 a.m. until 9 p.m. for the first month between Huntington and Mount Vernon Square, and every 12 minutes all other times and on weekends, a 60 percent increase in train service than before the closure last fall. In June service will improve to eight minutes all day, seven days a week.


Gaithersburg

Vine Alley, located at 114 Market St. in Gaithersburg’s Kentlands neighborhood, has reopened after a very brief closure (video below). The wine bar and restaurant has added new partners Ken and Rebecca Smondrowski to the original restaurant group, which is the same one that owns Brew & Barrels (also located in Kentlands), Royal Tandoor (820 Muddy Branch Rd, Gaithersburg),  and Creek Lodge Bar & Grill in Rockville.

Vine Alley originally opened in February 2022 in the location that was home to Wine Harvest, which closed in June of 2019 after 23 years. The Park Potomac Wine Harvest closed back in November 2020. The menu has been updated with a variety of wine and full bar, as well as small bites that can be seen in the video from this weekend’s grand reopening:


Ashton

Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services (MCFRS) responded to a collision in the area of New Hampshire Avenue and Ashton Road in Ashton-Sandy Spring at approximately 4:15am on Sunday morning.

According to MCFRS Chief Spokesperson Pete Piringer, the vehicle went off the road in front of the Exxon station at 17840 New Hampshire Ave and overturned. A patient was extricated from the vehicle and transported to the hospital. There is currently no word on the cause of the crash or the condition of the patient.


Sponsored

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…)


Rockville

Back in February, Clark Construction announced that it topped out (bringing the project to full height) Twinbrook Quarter, a 12-story mixed-use tower in Rockville, that will be the home of an 80,000 foot Wegmans store. Once complete, the transit-oriented project will feature 452 residential units, approximately 30,000 square feet of retail space, in addition to the grocery store. A recent update, per Twinbrook Quarter, is available below:

We have started work on the building façade. Constructing the façade is done in layers, starting with steel framing, followed by blueboard sheeting, black weatherproofing and window frames. The crew will start laying the exterior brickwork in a few more weeks, beginning with the portion of the building that will face the extended Chapman Avenue. This phase is a big step forward in the construction process that will make the structure come “alive.” Approximately 400 crew-members are working on site.


Event

Historic Indigenous Recognition Event to Take Place in Montgomery County, Maryland

The Taino American Indigenous National Organization (T.A.I.N.O.) proudly announces its upcoming signature public event,


Restaurants

Japong Bakery, which opened at 785 Rockville Pike in the Ritchie Center nearly five years ago in October 2018, closed temporarily on April 17th with a plan to reopen  approximately three weeks later at its new location at 765 A Rockville Pike within the same shopping center. The reopening has been delayed until June 1st “due to unforeseen circumstances.”

The original message read, “Dear Japong Customers, We will be moving to our new and improved location, to better serve you in the future! Please excuse our closing from 4/17/2023 to 5/09/2023, as we transition our operations to the new storefront. We thank you for your continuous support and understanding, and we look forward to seeing you again soon for our grand reopening! Let’s Japong! 765 A Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20785.” The following update has since been provided via social media:


Bethesda

Just days after the Nike store in Georgetown closed its doors,  a new Nike store put up signage in January at 7117 Arlington Rd in Bethesda– the former home of Amazon Books. “Nike By Bethesda” has now set a tentative opening date for the 6,063 SF store– Thursday, May 25th. Though Google lists this as the opening date, the recent Silver Spring Nike Unite store pushed the date back a few times before actually opening on February 23.

In addition to the Silver Spring Nike Unite store, Nike operates a Factory Store at the Clarksburg Premium Outlets. The Bethesda store will be a retail store. Nike retail stores offer shoes and apparel that are new and come directly from the warehouse. They are generally priced at the normal retail price. This is different than a Nike Factory store, which sell products made specifically for the retail outlet or outlet out-of-season discounted goods.


MCPD

Cassamajor was last seen on Saturday, May 6, 2023, at his residence on Fairland Park Drive in Silver Spring.

Cassamajor is approximately 5-feet, 2-inches tall and weighs 110 pounds. He has black hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing glasses, a grey jacket, black pants and black Nike shoes with red swoop.


Cabin John

Capo Italian Deli is now open in Cabin John Village, taking over the location that was previously home to Goldberg’s New York Bagels, which closed last year, at 7731 Tuckerman Lane. The menu includes Italian classics like Chicken Parmigiano, Hot Italian Beef, Prosciutto & Provolone, and more.

The Italian delicatessen was previously available for carryout and delivery in Montgomery County out of sister restaurant Brickside Food & Drink (4866 Cordell Ave) in Bethesda. The deli’s first location opened at 715 Florida Ave in NW, DC.  Using a a prohibition style speakeasy gimmick, the deli used their old school Italian deli as a “front” to it’s back bar. Capo gained attention in the area in the summer of 2020 for their popular “Fauci Pouchy” carryout cocktails. The deli has since opened a Western Market location and has a Tyson’s Corner location coming soon.


Clarksburg

Carmen’s Italian Ice opens today at the Clarksburg Market at 23329 Frederick Rd. The market will have two walk up windows and several outdoor tables. According to Carmen’s owner Jason Mandler, the market will have two custard machines and 8-10 Italian ice flavors and the menu will consist primarily of ices, custards, gelatis, and shakes. Hours of operation today will be 2pm-9pm. The Clarksburg Market is a gas station/convenience store that also serves breakfast, hot and cold deli sandwiches, as well as pupusas and tacos. Carmen’s Italian Ice has locations in Rockville and Olney.

About Carmen’s: It started with a simple idea. Introduce homemade gourmet Italian Ice to the Washington DC area. Jason Mandler – a native of Parsippany, New Jersey – opened Carmen’s Italian Ice & Cafe in Rockville, MD in 2001. Tracing its roots back to Philly and South Jersey where this dessert has been a mainstay for years, Carmen’s offers homemade, gourmet Italian Ice in over 60 flavors. It also now offers frozen custard, shakes, and a toppings bar.


Education

County Council Education and Culture Committee Reduces MCPS Operating Budget Request: The Montgomery County Council’s Education and Culture Committee today unanimously took several actions on the Board of Education’s requested budget. First, the Council reduced the school district’s budget by $22.3M, on top of the $7.4M by which the County Executive reduced the district’s request in his recommended budget. Second, the committee divided the school district’s remaining $200.7M funding request into two categories of ‘high priority’ ($156.1M) and ‘priority’ ($44.6M).  This action now moves the final decision on MCPS funding to the entire County Council. In February, the Board of Education budget requested $230.7M from the County Council.

This action places the district in a seriously difficult position in trying to address the academic, social, and emotional priorities coming off a historic period of time in our nation as a result of the pandemic. The most significant concern is essentially the jeopardy in which this places the key investments that were specifically designed to fully staff our schools and address disparities in literacy and math, close opportunity gaps, and create greater equity across the district, especially among our black and brown students, and students receiving special education, language, and meals services.


East County

Non-profit organization Samaritan’s Feet, in partnership with Elevation Outreach, will be providing new socks and shoes to children in the White Oak Middle School community. Approximately 200 Sixth Grade Students and K-5th-grade students that attend OR will attend White Oak Middle School will have the opportunity to receive new sneakers and socks. 200 additional pairs of shoes for students that have not pre-registered will be available first come, first served!

This takes place today, Saturday, May 6, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at White Oak Middle School (12201 New Hampshire Ave., Silver Spring, MD 20904). Volunteers will fit students for new shoes and socks. They will also provide a Hope Tote“, which is an orange drawstring book bag that also contains a Hope Note” with an encouraging message submitted by Samaritans Feet supporters. In addition, families can participate in fun activities at the event.