You're invited to celebrate the opening of the newest 7-Eleven in Gaithersburg this Friday, April 17, 2026 from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. The new store is located at 10003 Fields Road, near Sam Eig Highway and Rio Lakefront. Guests will enjoy exclusive deals, giveaways, and more. Celebrate finishing your taxes with a Big Gulp and a Big Bite Hot Dog with everything on it...if you have any money left after Wednesday.
It's shameful what Montgomery County officials and later owners of the property allowed to happen to Lakeforest Mall this century. It was an upscale mall when it opened, and - much like White Flint Mall - to see it being demolished even before the older and less-fancy malls in Bethesda and Wheaton is a sheer travesty. You have to be truly bad at governing to be this good at destroying communities and their crown jewels like this.
Pour out an Orange Julius for Lakeforest Mall. It was too good for us. We didn't deserve it, after repeatedly electing people who allowed the mall and surrounding area to become overridden by crime. And in terms of what mall owners could control, it was clear that the most recent set of landlords were determined to tear down the mall to reap maximum real estate transaction profit, the community be damned.
Today begins a new chapter for the property. The developer has many challenges ahead, including the aforementioned neighborhood crime, and to deliver a water feature that is as well-integrated and successful as the one at well-ensconced competitor Rio Lakefront. "This is more than just a construction project; it is the rebirth of a community anchor," WRS Inc. Principal Kevin Rogers said in a statement this afternoon. "We aren't just building buildings; we are creating a destination where people can live, work, and thrive without being dependent on their cars. We are proud to deliver a project that honors the legacy of Lakeforest while looking firmly toward the future of Gaithersburg."
Photo courtesy WRS Inc.
This is arguably the most-anticipated retail opening of 2026 in Montgomery County. There is pent-up demand among MoCo residents who have never had a local Hobby Lobby store to shop at. But there is also the vacuum left by the closure of local JOANN Fabrics and Crafts stores, including the Gaithersburg location. Construction continues on the Gaithersburg Hobby Lobby, but completion is now within sight.
Matan Companies broke ground on the latest addition to its commercial development on the former Leidos site at the corner of MD 355 and Montgomery Village Avenue in Gaithersburg today. Construction will now commence on a 10175-square-foot strip mall at 715 Progress Way. It will join two fully-leased 198,000-square-foot Class A buildings, also developed by Matan Companies, whose tenants include AstraZeneca, Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS), and Daikin Comfort Technologies Distribution, Inc., and two pad sites occupied by Chick-fil-A and Sheetz. The latter two have drawn tremendous traffic to the property, and corporate officials at Sheetz have publicly expressed their satisfaction with the success of their first Montgomery County location here.
Three pad sites remain available, along with the inline spaces available in the future strip mall. "We’re excited to continue expanding this dynamic destination in Gaithersburg," said James Matan, Director of Leasing for the Matan Companies, said in a statement this morning. "With strong existing traffic generated by Chick-fil-A and Sheetz, along with excellent accessibility, this site offers an ideal opportunity for retailers."
The sign is up at Koi Sushi, opening soon at 201 Boardwalk Place at Rio Lakefront in Gaithersburg. Here's a sneak peek at the interior design, and at all pages of the restaurant menu. Koi Sushi will be located next to Mason's Famous Lobster Rolls. Stay tuned for an opening date.
Here's how events unfolded, according to the timeline released by detectives:
It started on Christmas Eve—December 24, 2025, around 3:46 a.m. A woman inside her home in the 8300 block of McCullough Lane in Gaithersburg looked toward her sliding glass door and saw Adams exposing himself right there, staring in at her. He fled into the night, leaving her shaken.
Then, on January 7, 2026, he struck twice in the same area. At about 6:40 p.m., another woman in the 8300 block of McCullough Lane spotted a shadow at her window. She pulled back the blinds—and there was Adams. He took off when confronted.
Later that same night, around 10:30 p.m., a neighbor in the 17700 block of Silkcotton Way saw Adams shining a flashlight through the sliding glass door of a home, peering inside before vanishing.
The escalation came on January 15, 2026, about 7:05 p.m. A man in the 8300 block of McCullough Lane got a motion alert from his patio security camera. He went outside to check—and confronted Adams face-to-face. That's when Adams allegedly pulled a knife and swung it at the victim before running off. This wasn't just voyeurism anymore. This was a dangerous assault.
Investigators dug in. They identified Adams as the suspect and discovered he had a prior arrest for peeping tom incidents back in 2022. With that history staring them in the face, detectives secured an arrest warrant.
The takedown came on January 20, 2026, around 7:30 p.m. Detectives spotted Adams heading to the rear of a multi-level apartment complex in the 8000 block of Gramercy Boulevard in Derwood. Using the department's Air Support Unit drone, they watched from a safe distance as Adams moved from window to window and door to door, looking in and exposing himself again.
When officers from the 1st, 5th, and 6th District Special Assignment Teams moved in to make the arrest, Adams bolted. But it was a short chase. They caught him, cuffed him, and took him straight to the Montgomery County Central Processing Unit.
Police believe Steven Jarezz Adams has violated others who haven't come forward. Take a look at his photo. Does this man look familiar? Did you see him lurking around your neighborhood?
If you were a victim of indecent exposure by this man, or have any information that could assist detectives, you are asked to call police at 240-773-5770, or visit the Crime Solvers of Montgomery County, MD website at www.crimesolversmcmd.org and click on the “www.p3tips.com” link at the top of the page or call 1-866-411-8477. Tips with information leading to an arrest may be eligible for a reward from $250 up to $10,000. Tipsters may remain anonymous.
Police refer to there being multiple suspects in the shooting, who fled the scene and remain at large. Anyone with information related to this incident is urged to contact the Gaithersburg Police Department Investigative Section at 301-258-6400. Those wishing to remain anonymous may call the Gaithersburg Tip Line at 301-330-4471.
Unlike traditional AI, agentic systems don't just provide information; they take actions. They can navigate software environments, manage files, or even interact with physical infrastructure. While this autonomy promises a massive leap in productivity, it also introduces a new "attack surface" that goes beyond traditional software vulnerabilities.
The RFI highlights that while agents share some common risks with standard software (like memory leaks or authentication bugs), they also face unique AI-driven threats:
Indirect Prompt Injection: Where an agent processes data from the web or an email that contains hidden instructions, tricking the agent into performing unauthorized actions.
Data Poisoning: Using insecure or manipulated models that have been "trained" to behave maliciously under specific conditions.
Alignment Risks: "Specification gaming," where a model achieves its goal in a way that is technically correct, but is at the same time harmful or dangerous to the computer network or software system it is working within.
NIST is looking for data and insights across several topics:
Threat Landscape: How do agent-specific threats evolve over time?
Development Best Practices: How can we build security into the agent's "brain" from day one?
Cybersecurity Gaps: Where do current security protocols fall short when applied to autonomous agents?
Measurement & Monitoring: How do we quantify the "safety" of an agent before it's deployed?
Guardrails: What interventions can limit an agent’s access to sensitive environments?
The responses NIST receives from industry leaders, researchers, and developers will directly inform voluntary guidelines and best practices used by organizations worldwide. As these systems become integrated into national security and public safety infrastructure, establishing a baseline for "what good looks like" is essential. "The security challenges not only hinder adoption today but may also pose risks for public safety and national security as AI agent systems become more widely deployed," NIST/CAISI warned in a press release announcing the RFI this week.
If you are a developer, security researcher, or deployer of AI systems, NIST wants your case studies, actionable recommendations, and technical insights. The submission deadline is March 9, 2026, at 11:59 PM ET. To submit any materials in response to this RFI, go to www.regulations.gov and search for docket no. NIST-2025-0035.
Kentlands Market Square has filed an application with the City of Gaithersburg requesting an amendment to its August 2020 site plan approval for signage at the property. Kimco Realty, Inc., the property owner, is seeking permission to enlarge wall signs bearing the development name beyond the dimensions allowed under City code. If approved, the wall signage could increase beyond the existing zoning allowance of 13.5-square-feet to 40 SF.
The Gaithersburg Planning Commission will review the request at its January 21, 2026 meeting at 7:30 PM. City planning staff are recommending approval of the amendment.
