"This product supports genocide" stickers appear on products at Rockville store

Rockville City police were called to a store in the King Farm area, after stickers reading "This product supports genocide" were placed on products there on October 6, 2024. The store was in the 400 block of Redland Boulevard, but was not identified by police. Around 7:00 AM that morning, police say, one or more individuals affixed the stickers to packages of "wafers" at the store. The action took place a day before the one-year anniversary of the Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel, in which 1,200 people died, and more than 200 were taken hostage.

Similar stickers have been seen worldwide in recent months, and in some cases, have led to supermarket chains apologizing to customers. They are posted by activists supporting Palestinians in the war in Gaza that followed the October 7, 2023 attacks, in which 41,900 Palestinians have died so far, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The stickers have been placed on products that are either imported from Israel, or items like Pampers diapers, Sabra hummus, and Coffee Mate, produced by companies that have been accused - sometimes erroneously - of financially supporting Israel in one form or another. 

The stickers are part of the larger Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign that has been waged against Israel long before 2023. Many opponents of the BDS effort say it is anti-semitic, and that such stickers qualify as hate speech, which is likely why the police became involved here.

Kelly's Cajun Grill opens at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda

Kelly's Cajun Grill has opened in the Dining Terrace food court at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda. The fast-casual chain was founded in 1991, and is best known as the Home of the Famous Bourbon Chicken. Other popular dishes on the menu includes Lemon Chicken, Steak and Shrimp, and Shrimp Etouffee. The chain says that its streamlined menu allows for very fresh ingredients, and an efficient kitchen operation.

Westfield has a wonderful description of the new food court tenant. "The menu at Kelly’s Cajun Grill is based on a very old concept of cooking that originated in southern France. This distinct cooking style made its way from France to Nova Scotia, eventually settling in Louisiana. As the menu traveled further south to the state of Louisiana, flavors were enhanced and spices were added, making it a more local cooking style for Cajun people. For many years it remained a specialty of the Louisiana Bayou country -- until the rest of the world discovered it." I gar-on-tee!!

Rockville police seeking this suspect in Barnes & Noble thefts

Can you identify this suspect in a series of thefts from Barnes & Noble at 1603 Rockville Pike at Congressional Plaza? Rockville City police released these photos today in an effort to identify and locate the alleged shoplifter. Anyone with information about the suspect, or these incidents, is asked to contact Cpl. Jessica Rogers at 240-314-8940, or at JRogers@RockvilleMD.Gov.

UNIQLO opening at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda

UNIQLO is coming to Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda. The Japanese casual wear retailer will be located on Level 2, in the space just vacated by Express and Express Men. That's quite an upgrade, in my opinion. UNIQLO will probably join J.Crew as the most productive apparel-shopping destinations at the mall - for men, at least - along with Macy's and Nordstrom. Will UNIQLO open in time for Black Friday? Stay tuned!

Montgomery County Council pushing plastic bag ban

The Montgomery County Council has only done three things this century: raise taxes, drive business away from and out of the county, and ban stuff. You won't be surprised to hear that they are at it again, with another new law that will do all three. As a body that only copies legislation from other jurisdictions around the country, they're actually a bit late to the table on this one, but they're going to try and ban plastic bags. That goes for grocery stores, and restaurant takeout.

The ban also includes a new tax. There's already a tax on each bag you receive at a business. The deceptively-titled Bring Your Own Bag Bill will ban plastic bags altogether, and place a 10-cent tax on paper bags. They'll say you won't have to pay it, if you remember to bring your stained and germ-ridden reusable shopping bags with you. The press release falsely claims that the bill will create "a more sustainable future for the County," and "improve the effectiveness of the carryout bag tax law." 

If you ask yourself - or anyone outside of the small world of the Montgomery County cartel - to name one thing the Council has done to improve the quality of life since 2000, good luck getting an answer. They haven't. They've just raised taxes, driven business away, and banned stuff. To be fair, they've also jacked up your health insurance premiums with the ambulance fee, and your auto insurance premiums by defunding the police, leading to skyrocketing auto theft and stolen auto parts. Heckuva job, Brownie!

The faces change, but the Council stays the same since the cartel seized control of it in 2002. Smug, arrogant, and corrupt, with delusions of innovation, while plagiarizing the dumbest legislation from Eugene, Oregon to Sacramento, California. Your taxes go up, and so do their salaries, just like Bell, California. They said a bag tax would save the environment, just like they claimed natural gas was the solution to global warming. Lies, all lies, that evaporated as quickly as the Council-mandated paper straw does in your iced coffee. Incompetence combined with autocratic power is a recipe for failure, which is all we've seen in Montgomery County this century. 

But this is what a majority of Montgomery County voters continue to vote for, and they're getting exactly what they wanted. As the writer from another Maryland jurisdiction where voters don't have the heart to punish the elected officials who reliably fail them once wrote, “Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want and deserve to get it good and hard.”

Rockville police release first photo of suspect in double stabbing

Rockville City police have released the first image of the suspect in the October 13 double stabbing near the Twinbrook Metro station. Detectives acknowledge the photo is blurry, and are still working to obtain clearer pictures and videos of the suspect from nearby surveillance cameras. Shortly before 5:30 PM on the 13th, police responded to a report of a stabbing at the Metro station. A separate call then came in for another stabbing victim in the nearby 1500 block of Rockville Pike. Both adult male victims were transported to local hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries.

Police describe the suspect whom they are searching for as a Black male wearing all black clothing. The community is urged to remain aware of their surroundings while the suspect remains at large, and to call 911 if they see the suspect or observe any suspicious activity. Rockville police are expected to step up patrols in that area of the city as the search continues, the department said in a statement after Sunday's stabbing.

If anyone was in the area of the Twinbrook Metro station - or in the area of the 1500 block of Rockville Pike - Sunday evening and recalls seeing anyone matching this description, they are asked to contact RCPD criminal investigators at 240-314-8900 or at Detectives@RockvilleMD.Gov with any information, photos, or videos they can provide. Callers may elect to remain anonymous. Rockville detectives are coordinating their investigation with Metro Transit Police. 

Montgomery County's second Sheetz store nears approval

The Final Site Plan for the second Gaithersburg location of Sheetz will go before the city's Planning Commission this Wednesday night, October 16, 2024 for possible approval. Proposed for the parking lot of the Walnut Hill Shopping Center at 16529 S. Frederick Avenue are a 4959-square-foot Sheetz convenience store, with six, double-sided gasoline filling stations. The plan also includes new east and west sidewalk connections to increase pedestrian access to the site, a new retaining wall and fence to be constructed to the east of the site, and a new trash enclosure facing South Westland Drive. Planning staff are recommending approval of the site plan with conditions, including correction of minor drafting errors on the Final Site and Forest Conservation plans, and revision of the recently-approved comprehensive sign plan for the shopping center to include the new Sheetz signage.