Assault in Montgomery County Council building parking garage in Rockville

Rockville City police responded to a report of a 2nd-degree assault in the parking garage at the Montgomery County Council Building at 100 Maryland Avenue Tuesday morning, October 18, 2022. The assault was reported at 10:40 AM Tuesday.

Assault reported in parking garage at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda

Montgomery County police responded to a report of a 2nd-degree assault at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda Tuesday evening, October 18, 2022. The assault was reported in a parking garage at the mall at 6:21 PM. This is the 11th assault reported at the mall since May 18.

Sheepskin Gifts and Alpaca Too opens at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda

Sheepskin Gifts and Alpaca Too has returned to Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda for another winter and holiday shopping season. What is alpaca? According to an explanation on display at the store, "alpaca fiber is warmer, weighs less and is more durable than wool. It is soft like cashmere, but stronger and a highly-natural product. Because alpaca fiber is hypoallergenic, most people [allergic to] wool items can wear alpaca. Alpaca garments...are stain resistant. Precipitation does not readily penetrate an alpaca garment, and they are naturally windproof."

This alpaca apparel from Peru gives a warm feeling, not only against the cold, but also that the holidays are approaching very soon. Look for the alpaca outside their storefront on Level 1, next to Intimissimi.

Pepper spray sales soar along with crime in Montgomery County

Violent crime continues to rise in Montgomery County, with assaults, armed robberies and carjackings regularly making headlines. Now pepper spray sales are also rising. This pepper spray section at Target in downtown Bethesda was virtually cleaned out yesterday. 

Maryland's highly-restrictive gun laws leave residents few options for self-defense beyond staying alert to their surroundings. Others simply may not wish to carry or use a firearm. Whatever the reason, it's clear that pepper spray sales are hot at the moment, reflecting strong concern about the crime situation.

Montgomery County community leaders ask U.S. Department of Justice to place M-NCPPC under receivership

The struggle between Montgomery County residents who are demanding an investigation of scandals within the County Planning Board and Planning Department, and a County Council who want to sweep those scandals under the rug and quickly install five new cronies on the Board, took another turn today with a protest at the Montgomery County Council Building in Rockville. Multiple community and organizational leaders have signed a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice asking federal law enforcement to place the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (the umbrella entity that houses the board and Planning Department) under receivership. They've asked that it remain under receivership until a full, independent investigation of the scandals is completed, and that County Executive Marc Elrich and the County Council be included as targets of the investigation.

"What is essential in this moment is not deliberate speed, but deliberation—with vigorous public input and oversight to ensure that any actor involved in the racism, sexism, corruption, and illegal activities is removed from Montgomery County office and is held responsible to the fullest extent of the law," the letter states. "In conclusion, Parks and Planning is broken. Expecting the County Council and Office of the Executive to solve a problem they had a hand in creating is not an effective solution. M-NCPPC needs fundamental change to address the systemic racism that has been baked into the commission since its inception. Those who are clamoring to fill Planning Board vacancies  must not be allowed to do so within the framework of a demonstratively racist, hostile, and opaque system—that they themselves have supported, condoned, and maintained."

The letter is signed by the Montgomery County Poor People’s Campaign, the USDA Coalition of Minority Employees, the Parents’ Coalition of Montgomery County, the United Front for Justice, the Reverend Segun Adebayo of Macedonia Baptist Church in Bethesda, Empower DC, the Montgomery County Green Party, the Anti-Racist Bethesda Coalition, the Bethesda African Cemetery Coalition, Bethesda resident Mr. James McGee, and Nancy Wallace, the gubernatorial candidate for the Green Party in Maryland. It has also been sent to members of the U.S. Congress, and the County Council.

Rockville auto dealership broken into

Rockville City police responded to a burglar alarm at an auto dealership early yesterday morning, October 18, 2022.  The burglary took place at a dealership in the 1400 block of Rockville Pike at 3:41 AM. Officers arriving at the scene found evidence of forced entry.

Items stolen from vehicles in Fallsgrove area of Rockville

One or more thieves struck several residential parking facilities in the Fallsgrove area of Rockville Sunday evening, October 16, 2022. Items were reported stolen from vehicles in the parking garage at the Axis at Shady Grove apartments, a residential parking lot in the 9400 block of Blackwell Road, and a residential parking lot in the 700 block of Fallsgrove Drive. If you have a vehicle parked in any of those locations, you may want to check if anything is missing, and report it to Montgomery County police to assist in solving this case.