Between January 12-14, Takoma Park Police officers responded to six thefts of catalytic converters. More, per Takoma Park Police:
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The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued a Special Weather Statement for parts of Maryland regarding the potential for hazardous commuting conditions on Thursday afternoon. Frederick County, Carroll County, Howard County, and Northwest Montgomery county are among the areas included.
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?”
On Wednesday, Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown filed a lawsuit against RealPage, Inc. and six major landlords in Maryland, alleging they used algorithmic pricing and colluded to inflate rents, worsening the state’s affordable housing crisis and costing tenants millions of dollars.
When I moved back to Northern Virginia after several years in New York, most of my old friends had moved away. I found myself rebuilding a social circle from scratch.
I had plenty of people I could connect with online, but that wasn’t translating into anyone to grab a beer with after work, play trivia with, or text when I wanted to get out of the house. Making new friends as an adult required far more deliberate effort than I remembered.
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We ❤️ Teachers 5K celebrates educators through movement. On race day, runners and walkers across the country will participate in host city races, school celebrations, and virtual events — all in support of teachers and educator wellness. We'll be in beautiful Wheaton Regional Park, Join Us!
Walk it. Run it. Move for the teacher who moved you.
On Tuesday, Governor Wes Moore unveiled a 2025 economic growth agenda combining over $750 million in targeted investments and legislative proposals, aiming to bolster Maryland’s business climate, workforce development, housing affordability, and innovation while promoting equitable and sustainable economic growth. (more…)
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The Montgomery County Office of Consumer Protection (OCP) is urging donors to verify charities and take precautions against scams when contributing to California wildfire relief, emphasizing the importance of trusted organizations, transparency, and secure payment methods to ensure donations effectively support victims. (more…)
The Montgomery County Department of Transportation has released a list of transportation-related holiday schedules for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day on Monday, Jan. 20: (more…)
In 2024, TSA officers intercepted a record 117 firearms at Baltimore/Washington region airport checkpoints—12 more than in 2023—with Baltimore/Washington International topping the list, while nationwide firearm detections slightly declined for the first time since 2020. (more…)
On Tuesday, Governor Wes Moore, in partnership with the University of Maryland and IonQ, announced the “Capital of Quantum” initiative, a public-private partnership aimed at driving $1 billion in investments to establish Maryland as a global leader in quantum technology and innovation. (more…)