Nighttime noise ahead on Aqueduct Road in Rockville

WSSC water tank on Aqueduct Rd.
in Rockville

The WSSC will be upgrading its water mains along Aqueduct Road in Rockville between Chilham Place and Old Canal Road this winter. To reduce the impact of water loss on residents, the utility will be performing the work at night, between 9:00 PM and 5:00 AM.

The project will take several nights to complete, and will take place this month or possibly into March, depending on weather conditions. As you may know, the WSSC has a large standpipe water tank on the next block, at 8505 Aqueduct Road, so these are likely large and important water connections underneath the road.

Rockville bank robbery suspect photos released in search

Montgomery County police have identified a suspect in the January 27, 2019 SunTrust Bank robbery inside the Shady Grove Road Safeway store around 4:05 PM that afternoon. Detectives have released surveillance camera photos of the suspect, and are seeking your help in identifying and locating him.

Anyone with information about the suspect or this bank robbery is asked to contact the Montgomery County Department of Police – Major Crimes Division at 240-773-5100.  To be eligible for a reward, tipsters may call Crime Solvers of Montgomery County toll-free at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477).  Crime Solvers will pay a cash reward of up to $10,000 for information provided to them that leads to the arrest and/or indictment of this suspect.  Tipsters will remain anonymous.

6th Congressional District gerrymandering commission public hearing TONIGHT at Montgomery College in Rockville

Gov. Larry Hogan's Emergency Commission on Sixth Congressional District Gerrymandering will hold a public hearing tonight, Thursday, January 31, 2019 at 7:00 PM at the Theatre Arts Center building in the center of the Rockville Campus. This is your chance to weigh in on a potential redistricting that affects not only the voters who live in the 6th district, but also the 8th district. There's been much said about making the 6th more competitive for Republicans, but very little about how that is achieved without making the 8th an even-more-gerrymandered district for Democrats than it is already.

Rockville Target store updating electronics, entertainment departments

One whole department is cleared out at the Target store in Rockville, and other shelves are bare or sparsely-stocked. While these signs often precede yet another business closure in moribund Montgomery County, that's not the case here.

Target is updating its electronics and entertainment departments. The amount of floor space dedicated to physical media like music CDs, movies and video games is being reduced. However, the changes are described by Target as "upgrades." One thing they could definitely upgrade is their weak magazine section.

Rockville Council tables proposal to allow more school overcrowding until next week

There's still no compromise solution with majority support on the proposal to allow more overcrowding at Montgomery County Public Schools in Rockville. A majority of the City Council voted to table the discussion last night, when the body had been expected to vote on the matter. Developer B.F. Saul had warned that if the city failed to loosen its Adequate Public Facility Standards to avoid a development moratorium, it is possible that their Twinbrook Quarter anchor tenant Wegmans could back out of the project.

B.F. Saul had said if the vote was postponed beyond last night, the Wegmans deal could be in jeopardy. The Mayor and Council will take up the matter again at their February 4 meeting, postponing a high-stakes, election-year "Wegmans vs. schools" vote by seven days.

AutoZone coming to Rockville

AutoZone Auto Parts is coming to Rockville. They will be opening in the former Patio.com store space at 824 Rockville Pike. Renovation of the building for the new store is now underway. Currently, the closest AutoZone is in Aspen Hill.

Montgomery College-Rockville water main break closes several campus buildings

A water main break this morning at the Rockville campus of Montgomery College has shuttered several buildings, and forced the cancellation of some classes today. The Counseling and Advising (CB), Music (MU), South Campus Instruction Building (SCIB), Parilla Performing Arts Center (PAC), and Art (ART) buildings are closed. All classes and activities in those buildings are canceled today, the college has announced.

Parking Lot 11 is also closed, which should make parking even more difficult in other lots later this morning.