Ay! Mama Taqueria opens at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda

Ay! Mama Taqueria has officially opened at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda. You can check out the menu in the photos below. If you are shaken up by $20 burritos, you'll be relieved that Ay! Mama's burritos are $13-14. Look for Ay! Mama in the Dining Terrace food court, next to Chick-Fil-A.

Taiwan's MedVoyage Global chooses Virginia over Maryland for U.S. headquarters

Is Northern Virginia tired of winning yet? No! And fortunately for them, Montgomery County and Maryland elected officials aren't tired of losing. Thus it is that the Taiwanese firm MedVoyage Global has chosen Virginia, not Maryland, for its U.S. headquarters. The MedVoyage HQ will be at 10300 Eaton Place, at the Mason Enterprise Center (MEC) in Fairfax City. MedVoyage is a leading firm in the future of healthcare, using a low-Earth-orbit satellite network to deliver telehealth and pharmacy services to remote areas in 40 countries, to ships at sea, and to over 80 bricks-and-mortar medical centers across the globe, as well as connecting these remote customers with emergency response units.

Now MedVoyage is expanding into the North American healthcare market, and has chosen Northern Virginia as its base to scale up system and sales operations, as well as to navigate federal regulatory red tape. "Over the next two years, the company plans to scale its local workforce with systems engineers, clinical compliance specialists, and commercial sales executives," the Fairfax City Economic Development corporation said in a statement this morning. FCED added that this latest victory "further strengthens Fairfax City’s role within Northern Virginia’s innovation economy."

"Selecting Fairfax City for our U.S. headquarters is a foundational step in our global scaling strategy," MedVoyage Global CEO Nemo Teng said in a statement. "MEC Fairfax offers the ideal soft-landing environment and unparalleled access to the Northern Virginia tech ecosystem, placing us minutes away from critical federal and defense stakeholders such as the U.S. Coast Guard, Department of Health and Human Services, and the Department of Defense. This facility allows us to rapidly build strategic U.S. partnerships, access premier regional engineering talent, and deploy our emergency and maritime telehealth solutions across North America."

Anyone familiar with local geography will realize that Montgomery County is also in close proximity to these same federal and defense stakeholders. So, why does Northern Virginia keep winning, and Montgomery County keep losing?

You can look at the most obvious difference, which is the low tax environment of Virginia versus Montgomery County, which weighs down its residents and businesses with the highest total tax and fee burden in the region. But let's again go a step further, and see how once again Northern Virginia's superior infrastructure triumphs over Montgomery County's incomplete master plan highway system and poor airport access.

MedVoyage Global's new U.S. HQ will sit right beside an on-ramp to Interstate 66, and directly adjacent to U.S. Route 50. That will give MedVoyage a straight shot to Dulles International Airport via Route 50, or even faster with tolls via I-66. In contrast, Montgomery County and Maryland elected officials continue to block construction of the long-delayed new Potomac River crossing of I-370 from Gaithersburg to Dulles. 

As much as Northern Virginia enjoys winning, so do corporations that need to make something called profits. Winning is contagious. And winners like to have direct access to the only airport in the region with the frequency and variety of flights to international destinations that international businesspeople require to compete - Dulles International Airport. Thanks to our anti-business, Marxist "leadership," Montgomery County continues to lack that strategic advantage - by choice!!

In another delicious coincidence, did you know that Montgomery County's unfinished master plan highway system would have also extended I-66 access into Bethesda? The unbuilt Northwest Freeway, which would have paralleled Wisconsin Avenue through Bethesda, Friendship Heights and Tenleytown, would have crossed the Potomac on the also-unbuilt Three Sisters Bridge and (surprise!) also-unbuilt I-266 near Georgetown University. And you wonder where Montgomery County got all that land for tiny parks and big parking garages between Wisconsin Avenue and the Town of Chevy Chase!

By learning to love losing.

Montgomery County Council seeks to remove neighborhood veto power on "benefit performances"

The Montgomery County Council is proposing to strip residents of their existing veto power over "benefit performances" staged in their residential neighborhoods. Currently, entities and organizations - with a few exceptions, such as fire departments and religious institutions - who propose to hold a live music event, carnival, festival, or other performance to raise charitable funds must obtain consent from 75% of residents whose homes are within 600 feet of the performance site. Zoning Text Amendment (ZTA) 26-11: Temporary Uses - Benefit Performances would entirely eliminate this veto authority from neighbors. If passed, the ZTA would merely require that those residents be notified that they are going to be treated to a benefit performance, whether they like it or not. The performances could last as long as 15 days(!!).

I would venture to say that few Montgomery County residents are even aware that they currently possess this veto authority, much less that the Council is conniving to relieve them of it. The move continues a trend for the Council - when they're not banning stuff or raising taxes, they're systematically removing residents' ability to express objection or input on controversial matters they want to ram through, from development and road diets to bike lanes, bus depots, landfills and jails. A public hearing on the ZTA is scheduled for Tuesday, September 15, 2026, from 1:30 PM to 3:30 PM.

Potbelly closes at Gaithersburg Square

Potbelly has closed at 544 N. Frederick Avenue at Gaithersburg Square. Signage has been ripped off the storefront, and the interior appears to have been cleared out. The sandwich chain is actually in an expansion mode of significant growth, only closing low performing stores. Once again, the anti-business policies of the Montgomery County Council - and the resulting moribund economy - claim another victim.

Fugitive alleged thieves found at Motel 6 in Gaithersburg

Two men accused of multiple thefts from vehicles in Bethesda were located at one of my favorite hotels in Montgomery County, the Motel 6 at 497 Quince Orchard Road in Gaithersburg. Say what you will, but these two fellas have got great taste when it comes to lodging. Craig Pendergrass, 30, of Silver Spring and Antonio Gordon, 38, of Frederick may have been expecting Tom Bodett when they heard a knock on their door, but it turned out to be Montgomery's Finest. 

Police claim numerous stolen items, including electronics and other property linked to the Bethesda thefts, were found in their hotel room. Two firearms previously reported stolen in a separate Montgomery County case were also recovered. Pendergrass and Gordon were arrested and charged with multiple counts of theft: $1,500 to under $25,000, rogue and vagabond and related charges. They are being held without bond. 

Photo courtesy Montgomery County Police Department 

Watkins Mill Town Center: Promises made, promises broken

Montgomery County taxpayers, and early homebuyers, were sold a vision of the Watkins Mill Town Center shortly after the Montgomery County cartel seized a majority of the seats on the County Council in 2002. Over twenty years later - like the similarly promoted Clarksburg Town Center - the Watkins Mill Town Center remains an empty field. Nowhere to be found are the promised shops, restaurants, and movie theater with a special liquor license that predated the lobby bars that would pop up in County cinemas a decade later. And no Corridor Cities Transitway light rail connects Watkins Mill to the Shady Grove Metro station - or anything else for that matter.

Like Clarksburg, all of the highly-profitable residential housing was built at Watkins Mill. But the less profitable commercial construction and amenities? You're on your own, baby, the Council and City of Gaithersburg told residents. Hey, you got a mega gas station and Starbucks on the other side of the highway, so shut up and quit your complaining.

Taxpayers who picked up the tab for new services and classrooms will well remember that the developers involved helped get favored County and City officials elected. Their campaign signs were even erected on the property. They got elected, and prospered. The developers prospered. You, the taxpayer? Not so much. 

It follows the Montgomery County cartel model we've seen everywhere from Westbard to downtown Bethesda and White Oak. Developers and their planning and legislative puppets promise the world. They get their approvals. Then they take the money and run - for the hills, or for re-election. Amenities are deleted. Master plans ignored. Commercial land gets rezoned for more and more housing. 

Watkins Mill Town Center. Promises made. Promises broken.

Model homes open at Watkins Mill Station in Gaithersburg

Model homes are now open to tour at Pulte Homes' Watkins Mill Station development at 506 Parkview Avenue in Gaithersburg. The development features stacked 2-level townhome-style condos, which start at $584,990. When completed, the property will offer a Clubhouse with a fitness room, an outdoor swimming pool, a pavilion, a tot lot, and two pocket parks. What's most interesting is how close it is to the actual train station that inspired its name. You are literally steps away from the platform at the Metropolitan Grove MARC commuter rail station. This could be a real boon for the person who works in downtown Silver Spring, or near Union Station in Washington, D.C., or for train buffs who want a front row seat to the Amtrak, CSX, and MARC Brunswick Line trains passing through this station.

Arby's coming soon to Derwood

Derwood will soon "have the meats." Arby's has leased the building formerly home to McDonald's at 7200 Muncaster Mill Road at the Red Mill Shops shopping center. The McDonald's closed here this past March. It will be an ironic transformation, as an Arby's restaurant on Rockville Pike was recently converted into a McDonald's. Now Arby's will return the favor in Derwood.

Amid skyrocketing electric bills, they're now stealing solar panels in Rockville

Maryland electric bills have soared to record heights, thanks to elected officials forcing the closure of 8 power plants statewide, and implementing clean power mandates. Now we're seeing a new sign of growing desperation in Montgomery County. Rockville City police recently responded to a report of a solar panel having been wrenched off of a home in the 1700 block of Henry Road in the Rockcrest neighborhood on July 11, 2026. Police believe the solar panel was spirited away sometime between 11:44 PM the night before, and 1:23 AM on July 11. No description of the suspect(s) has been released.

Maryland has 2nd-worst economy in America, CNBC finds

Maryland has the second-worst economy in the U.S., CNBC found in its 2026 Worst State Economies in America survey, the results of which were released today. "Economic growth and job growth nearly flatlined in Maryland over the past year," the cable TV business channel noted in its analysis. "[H]igh costs, unpredictable taxes, and growing regulatory burdens," are each a drag on the state's economy, as is an over-reliance on government jobs and federal funds. A new IT services tax walloped businesses, sending many firms packing for greener pastures in other states. Especially hard hit by the IT tax were government contractors, a painful irony in a state where little beyond government has been growing this century.

Some factors in CNBC's criteria certainly hit Maryland where it hurts. These included job growth, economic growth, and the number of major companies headquartered in the state. The first two "flatlined" over the last 12 months, in CNBC's own word, and Maryland hasn't attracted a single new major corporate headquarters this century. In fact, the story has been the number of companies leaving the state. "Budget situation" isn't a category any Maryland elected official would want to delve into publicly. Debt? Maryland and Montgomery County are both in deadly serious trouble on that front, as well.

"Small business survival rates?" Ho ho. The ubiquitous "Going Out of Business" and "Everything must go!!!" signs in Montgomery County storefront windows tell a most tragic story indeed.

"Maryland finds itself in a deep hole in 2026, with no easy way out of it," CNBC concluded. But the picture is even bleaker than the one painted by the already-stinging rebuke of a friendly, liberal news outlet. They didn't even mention the budget apocalypse currently forecast for the state in 2030. 

Can we continue to whistle past the graveyard, raising taxes and instituting new ones? Refusing for radical ideological reasons to construct the long-delayed new Potomac River crossing to the Dulles area? Continuing to block completion of our master plan highway system? Keep on losing, and often hardly trying, in the corporate HQ relocation sweepstakes?

We could. And we just might end up topping CNBC's worst list in the future. It's one of the few things within easy reach for the buffoonish incompetents currently running Montgomery County and Maryland. After all, "We're number two - we try harder."

Montgomery County homeowners slammed as property tax bills arrive

Montgomery County homeowners are receiving their property tax bills in the mail, and jaws are crashing to the floor countywide. A super double-whammy budget by the County Council in May not only hiked property taxes yet again, but also eliminated the Income Tax Offset Credit that a vast majority of homeowners were previously eligible for. The end result has been, among homeowners I've spoken to around the county, property tax bills anywhere from 17% to 25% higher than last year. Be sure to thank your representative comrades on the Montgomery Commie Council.

Predictably, the hardest-hit areas are downcounty, in Bethesda, Rockville, and Silver Spring. Many Rockville residents are looking at $12,000 tax bills. "It was about $12,000 last year," lamented a Bethesda homeowner holding a tax bill for more than $15,000. As I have noted for many years now, Montgomery County property taxes have increasingly become a second mortgage for homeowners. It's simply incredible that the Council would slam homeowners with tax increases this high in the middle of an affordability crisis. Most of this money ends up in the pockets of the Montgomery County cartel, the puppeteers behind our Marxist County Council.

Don't forget, in May the Council also added a new wealth tax on the "rich," whom our stuck-in-the-1960s Council defines as (in Dr. Evil "one million dollars" voice) anyone making over $150,000. That's only $18,000 higher than the median income of $132,450 in Montgomery County! $150,000 is just squeaking by and surviving, especially with a County Council of overpaid, underworked oligarchs who draw an annual salary of $167,172 from you, the taxpayer, for a few hours of "work" per week. One of the best kept secrets of the Council is that many members over the years have used the lax Council schedule, and their overinflated salaries, to put themselves through graduate or law school at your expense. If only you were as criminally street smart as the County Council, you might throw the bums out on Election Day!

Maryland could face blackouts in 2027, utility CEO warns

The CEO of Exelon, parent company of Pepco and BGE, is warning that Maryland and other Northeast U.S. customers may be facing blackouts next year "due to a shortage of power plants," the Financial Times reports. "We came very close this past winter to having to curtail power for about 400,000 customers on some of the coldest days of the year," Calvin Butler told the FT. "And it's only getting worse." 

Electrical grid operator PJM, which supplies power to Pepco and BGE customers, reported a 6.5 gigawatt deficit last December. That deficit is anticipated to increase tenfold over the next decade, if more generation capacity is not added to the system.

Among the obvious causes of the failure to generate adequate power was Maryland elected officials' radical forced shutdown of 8 power plants statewide. But Butler brought up another devastating critique of Maryland legislators in his interview with the FT. It turns out that Exelon actually wants to construct new power plants in Maryland, but is being actively blocked from doing so by the state's limits on power plant ownership by utilities. In fact, legislators allowed two bills that would have allowed Exelon to move forward on new plants to die in committee.

Butler told the FT that legislators seem to be living in a different reality from the energy crisis Maryland is experiencing right now. "[R]ight now they don't perceive it as a crisis," Butler lamented. He said he is more optimistic that Delaware and New Jersey will update their rules on power plant ownership.

Man shouts antisemitic statements outside synagogue in Rockville

Police responded to a hate speech incident outside a synagogue in Rockville Wednesday afternoon, July 8, 2026. According to Montgomery County police, a man shouted antisemitic statements at a person standing outside of Tikvat Israel Congregation at 2200 Baltimore Road at 4:44 PM Wednesday. He then walked away. 

Police have not released a description of the suspect. If you have any information about this incident, call Rockville City police at 240-314-8900.

Maryland drops to 36 on CNBC Top States for Business 2026 list, Virginia is #3

Maryland has become an even worse state to do business in over the last year, according to CNBC's Top States for Business 2026 list, which the cable TV business channel unveiled today. Moribund Maryland dropped four spots to #36 this year based on CNBC's criteria, which examine each state's infrastructure, economy, workforce, quality of life, cost of doing business, and technology and innovation. Virginia, by contrast, moved up to #3, and is perennially in the top 5 on this list.

Why is Maryland once again a bottom dweller, and sinking? The primary new factors are the state's IT tax, which has not only massively increased IT costs (including my own) for Maryland businesses, but has only increased the exodus of companies from the state. Maryland's highest profile infrastructure project, the Key Bridge replacement, has stalled out. That missing highway link not only remains a logistical nightmare for businesses large and small that relied on it, but only adds to Maryland's national notoriety as a state with inadequate infrastructure, and an ideological hostility to road construction. And after Maryland Governor Wes Moore and the state legislature used Zohran Mamdani slight-of-hand tactics to raid precious funds for a desperation one-year budget fix, S&P downgraded Maryland's long-term outstanding debt outlook from stable to negative.

Continuing to plague our state are our own elected officials. For another year, Montgomery County and Maryland officials failed to take any steps toward construction of the long-delayed new Potomac River crossing, which would give us the critically-needed direct access to Dulles International Airport that corporate executives demand (and currently get in Northern Virginia). In fact, our leaders proudly stand against the new bridge, which was supposed to have been constructed 50 years ago. Multiple highways planned to handle explosive housing growth that has already taken place over decades in Montgomery County not only remain unbuilt, but have been criminally removed from the master plan, a blatant dereliction of duty by our elected officials.

Electricity costs continue to skyrocket, again the direct result of actions by our elected officials. They forced the closure of 8 power plants statewide, and implemented clean power mandates. These buffoonish diktats brought us where we are now: not only unable to provide cheap and abundant energy for business, but unable to even provide sufficient electricity capacity to meet existing demand. This has required Maryland to import electricity at inflated boardwalk prices from out of state.

Maryland has only increased the tax burden on business, when our corporate tax rate was already not competitive for business. The Montgomery County Council not only implemented multiple tax hikes this year, including yet another property tax increase, but actually created new taxes amid an affordability crisis. And despite their minimum wage increases having been an utter catastrophe, ushering in the age of restaurants using touchscreens and fewer employees, the Marxist radicals on the Council are now poised to join the national bankruptcy movement that is calling for a $30 minimum wage. 

Yet another chance to change direction is quickly slipping through the fingers of MoCo and Maryland voters. Turnout in last month's primary election was humiliatingly small. The Banner, whose billionaire oligarch owner puts his news behind a paywall(!!) and is a well-known Democratic operative, actually posted a story on Facebook claiming Democratic Montgomery County Executive nominee Will Jawando "is expected to be sworn in as the next Montgomery County executive in December." In fact, The Banner wrote, Jawando "will almost certainly be sworn in as the next Montgomery County executive in December." 

The November general election hasn't even taken place, folks. This is classic voter suppression by The Banner: make voters feel hopeless. Why bother to vote when The Banner has told you the outcome is already known? "Democracy," right? At The Banner, democracy dies in a $50 million grant from the billionaire Democratic operative owner to run that propaganda outlet, which was warmly welcomed in Montgomery County by the very politicians who would fear a true journalistic examination of their true crimes and corruption. Fortunately, the Montgomery County and Maryland cartels don't control CNBC, and the results truly speak for themselves.

Man vandalizes multiple A/C units during heat wave in Rockville

Rockville City police are looking for a man who vandalized multiple air-conditioning units early yesterday morning, July 6, 2026. According to police, the man damaged at least six A/C units in the 600 block of Mount Vernon Place around 2:00 AM Monday morning. Police describe the suspect as Black male with a stocky build, and shoulder-length dreadlocks. He was wearing white shorts and a dark-colored shirt. If you have any information about this incident, or have discovered your unit was damaged as well, call police at 240-314-8900.

Rockville fireworks delayed until 9:45 PM

The City of Rockville announced last-minute changes to its official July 4th program tonight at Mattie J.T. Stepanek Park at 1800 Piccard Drive in the King Farm neighborhood. Activities scheduled through 9:15 PM have been canceled. The fireworks display is still on, but has been delayed until 9:45 PM tonight. Severe weather was cited as the reason for the changes.

Orange Pocket opening at Rio Lakefront in Gaithersburg

Orange Pocket is coming to Gaithersburg later this summer. The Asian variety store chain has leased a space at 30 Grand Corner Avenue at Rio Lakefront. Specializing in products imported from, or inspired by, Japan and South Korea, you might expect this to be a China-based chain like competitors who have recently arrived in Montgomery County. But Orange Pocket is actually based in Texas, like many other smart companies these days.

What does "Orange Pocket" mean? The company only describes it as "a small space packed with big finds." Those finds include blind boxes, Labubu toys, anime figurines, plush toys, sought-after Japanese and South Korean cosmetics and beauty products, house and kitchen wares, stationary, pet products, and Asian snacks. Customers can also pass the time playing the claw and Bandai Gashapon machines. Orange Pocket is currently promising an August opening.

Pepco tells Maryland customers, "It's not us"

The most recent two U.S. presidents have had to get used to having their likeness slapped onto gas pumps via "I did that!" stickers, when their policy decisions have led to rising gas prices. Less eager to take credit for exploding electricity bills is Pepco, which is once again taking pains to inform customers that government is indeed the problem. "Higher energy bills can be challenging, and we want you to understand what's driving those changes," the Exelon-owned utility explained in a message to ratepayers with this month's bill. And explain they do, but not as extensively as they should, requiring us to employ the Annapolis Anger Translator (AAT) for full disclosure.

First culprit on the list is the regional grid operator PJM. Pepco notes that PJM "is increasing electricity supply prices for our area. Pepco does not generate electricity or set these prices — we pass these charges through directly to customers with no markup. These increases are due to factors such as higher demand and tight energy supply."

Using the AAT, we can expand on this to learn that the actual electricity rates paid by consumers in Maryland are set by the Maryland Public Service Commission, a body appointed by...whoops!...the governor of Maryland, and approved by the Democratic-controlled Maryland State Senate. 

Why is there a "tight energy supply?" Perhaps because Maryland elected officials forced the closure of 8 power plants across the state. As a result, Maryland itself can no longer generate enough power to supply the demands of residents and businesses, and is now forced to import electricity from out-of-state at inflated boardwalk prices.

Pepco also highlights the EmPOWER MD surcharge that appears on your monthly bill. Like many other "sneak taxes," elected officials hope that you will assume these taxes, fees, and surcharges are being levied by the service provider, not your corrupt leaders. The reality is that this surcharge was levied by the Maryland General Assembly in Annapolis. It is a Karl Marxian Communist initiative of the highest order. Your hard-earned money goes into a slush fund used to pay for "green" upgrades to poor people's homes. From each according to his abilities...well, you get the idea.

Not mentioned is the latest hoax: data centers, the latest pass-the-buck punching bag for politicians trying to divert public attention from their direct role in the affordability crisis. No, data centers in Maryland are not the reason your Pepco bill keeps going up. It's a boogeyman far more familiar to you: your unfriendly neighborhood elected official. The call is indeed coming from inside the house.