Beyond MoCo

The 2023 season also will see the return of annual, popular events at the park including Grand Carnivale, Halloween Haunt and WinterFest. All events, plus the newly added winter weekends, are included with the purchase of a Kings Dominion season pass, now available for the lowest price of the season.

In 2022, guests were introduced to the park’s newest themed area, Jungle X-pedition, its newest coaster, Tumbili, two re-themed family favorites – Reptilian (formerly Avalanche) and Arachnidia (formerly Scrambler) – as well as new dining experiences and live entertainment.

The National Air and Space Museum at 600 Independence Ave in DC reopens today, October 14, after completing the first phase of renovations which began in 2018.  Full details below courtesy of the Smithsonian:

The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum reopens Friday, Oct. 14, with eight new and renovated galleries in the west wing of its building in Washington, D.C. The planetarium and museum store will also reopen, along with the new Mars Café. The east wing of the museum will remain closed while it is renovated. Free timed-entry passes are required to visit the west wing and can be reserved on the museum’s website.

Anne Arundel Police responded to Arundel Mills Mall (7000 Arundel Mills Cir) in Hanover, MD around 4pm on Saturday, October 1 after reports of shots fired. A preliminary investigation/review of video revealed that a male subject accidentally discharged a firearm in the mall’s food court. There were no injuries reported from the discharge and police are currently on scene investigating.

FOX5 reports that the mall was placed under a lockdown after the incident and has since reopened and resumed normal operations. In a tweet sent out at 4:30pm, the Anne Arundel County Police stressed that nobody was shot inside the mall; “PIO will update staging area once on scene and briefed. AGAIN no one shot!” Arundel Mills is home to Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World, Books-A-Million, Cinemark Egyptian Theatres, Dave & Buster’s, and Medieval Times Dinner.  Maryland Live Casino is located next the mall.

This weekend’s Oceans Calling Festival that was scheduled to take place on the Ocean City Boardwalk from September 30-October 2 has been cancelled due to to the forecast of inclement weather. The three day music and art festival was put together in partnership with Rockville natives O.A.R, who were also scheduled to preform several sets at the event. Rapper Logic, who is from Gaithersburg, was also scheduled to perform.

The members of O.A.R. met each other while attending Wootton High School in Rockville. They would play together at the Grand Marquis in Onley and pass out CDs to other students at school. After high school the band went to Ohio State, using Columbus’ nightlife to build the O.A.R.’s reputation. The band even came back to Wootton High School and played a concert on the football field, back in May of 2001. They achieved their biggest commercial success with the single “Shattered (Turn the Car Around) in 2008.

In March, Great Cats keepers noticed that Naba was chewing in an exaggerated manner and not consuming all of her diet. Naba was trained to voluntarily participate in awake health exams and blood draws. When keepers gave Naba the cue to open her mouth, they observed some dental issues, and blood tests showed chronic renal disease, both of which can be common in older lions. Zoo veterinarians prescribed pain medications to ease Naba’s discomfort, and keepers presented her diet in a variety of ways to encourage her to eat. Zoo veterinarians and an outside veterinary dental specialist treated Naba’s dental disease over the next few months, but despite intermittent improvements in her behavior and appetite, she continued to decline.

During a complete veterinary exam last Friday to identify the cause of her ongoing decline, a new dental concern was addressed, and Naba’s team of keepers and veterinarians were cautiously optimistic she could recover. However, she did not eat well, was not defecating throughout the weekend and her discomfort was noticeable to the team. Concluding that further attempts to investigate Naba’s illness would be invasive and difficult on her, the team made the hard decision to euthanize Naba. Initial necropsy findings showed a large mass in her small intestine and a cystic lesion in her brain. A final pathology report will provide more information in the coming weeks.

“I want to sincerely thank Minister Park for graciously naming me as Korea’s first honorary Minister of Veterans Affairs,” said Governor Hogan. “The First Lady tells every Korean War veteran that she meets that she would not be where she is today if it were not for the dedication and sacrifice of the brave servicemembers who fought for freedom for South Korea. We will continue to stand with and support all of these heroes, whose bravery stands as a reminder of the immeasurable cost of war and the immense cost of freedom.”

Last year, Governor Hogan and First Lady Yumi Hogan joined former Korean President Moon Jae-In at a groundbreaking ceremony for the Wall of Remembrance at  the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. The State of Maryland committed $250,000 to the Korean War Veterans Memorial Foundation to support the ongoing maintenance of the wall.