Armed robbery at Rockville Shell station

Montgomery County police rushed to the scene of an armed robbery at a Rockville Shell gas station this past Saturday afternoon, January 15, 2022. The robbery occurred at the Shell station at 1911 Rockvile Pike at Rollins Avenue at 4:13 PM, according to crime data. MoCo PG News on Twitter reported that the suspect implied that he had a gun, and escaped with $500-600 in cash before police arrived. A resident on a local listserv said that the clerk was able to signal his distress to customer at the station, who then called police.

Photo courtesy Google Street View (gas is about $1 more now)

Pedestrian struck on Rockville Pike

A pedestrian was struck in Rockville at 10:55 AM this morning. The collision occurred at the intersection of Rockville Pike and Thompson Avenue, according to Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson Pete Piringer. There is no word on the condition of the victim at this time.

Image courtesy Google Maps

Developer seeks to convert Rockville office building to residential

The already-weak office market in Montgomery County hasn't been helped by the pandemic. Now a developer is seeking to convert a Rockville office building to residential apartments, and then add 17 townhomes to the surrounding property. A virtual public meeting on the proposal for 22 W. Jefferson Street has been scheduled for January 18, 2022 at 7:00 PM. 

To participate in the event, join the meeting at that time and enter Meeting Number (access code): 2633 580 7334 and Meeting Password: Y6MySgEaZ88. You can also join by phone (or for those joining by computer without a microphone) by dialing +1-408-418-9388 United States Toll, and entering Access Code: 2633 580 7334.

Pupuseria Mama Emilia opening in Rockville

Pupuseria Mama Emilia is coming soon to Rockville. The Salvadoran restaurant will be opening at 785-H Rockville Pike, in the Ritchie Center, where the sign is already up and lit. This space was previously home to Dokiya Ramen. Pupuseria Mama Emilia is a new venture from the owners of Pupuseria La Familia in Beltsville, which also features the recipes of Mama Emilia.

Water main break at New Mark Commons in Rockville

There is a water main break at 138 New Mark Esplanade, in the New Mark Commons community of Rockville. Thirty-five nearby homes will be impacted by water outages during the repairs, which the City of Rockville says are now getting underway. A city public works crew is now on-scene to excavate the water main.

Rockville Planning Commission to review Fortune Terrace development this week

A proposed residential development on Fortune Terrace in Rockville will go before the Planning Commission this Wednesday night, January 12, 2022 at 7:00 PM. Developer EYA has proposed building 99 townhomes, 96 multi-family units and 213 multi-family senior housing units at 11511 Fortune Terrace. An existing office building would be demolished to clear the way for the development if it is approved; 70,000 square foot Lifetime Fitness gym would remain on the site. Planning staff is recommending approval of the plan, with conditions.

MCPS drops 5% threshold for virtual learning

MCPS Interim Superintendent 
Monifa McKnight

Montgomery County Public Schools announced its latest coronavirus policy about-face this afternoon. After starting the spring semester with a 5% threshold for Covid-19 cases that would trigger a school to switch to virtual learning, eleven schools were forced to go online. But when more than 100 schools met the threshold days later, MCPS canceled a scheduled Thursday email update to parents. It then announced in the past hour that it is dropping the 5% threshold for virtual learning.

"Moving forward, MCPS and the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) will examine schools on a case-by-case basis to determine if any particular school needs to transition to virtual learning for a designated period of time," Interim Superintendent of Schools Monifa McKnight and Acting Chief Health Officer James Bridgers wrote in this afternoon's statement. "Factors considered will continue to include the number of students and staff who have tested positive; the number of students in quarantine; the number of staff absent for COVID-related reasons; and the level of spread of the virus in the school."

McKnight and Bridgers cited the fact that the state of Maryland does not call for a specific threshold to suspend in-class learning. Their statement did not explain why the threshold was adopted if not recommended by the state. It said the Thursday emails will resume next week. Take-home rapid test kits will also be distributed to all students and staff next week, the statement added. Students who test positive will have to isolate for 10 days from the date of the positive test.

Photo courtesy MCPS