Assault at Target in Rockville

Montgomery County police were called to the Target store at 5700 Bou Avenue on Sunday afternoon, March 24, 2024, after a 2nd-degree assault was reported there. The assault was reported at the store at 2:44 PM Sunday. At least one person was also accused of shoplifting in the incident.

Assault at Rockville bus stop

Rockville City police are investigating a 2nd-degree assault at a bus stop in the Rockville Town Center area, which was reported early Monday afternoon, March 25, 2024. The assault was reported at a bus stop in the 300 block of N. Washington Street at 12:14 PM Monday. That's in the vicinity of the Montgomery County Government-operated liquor store.

Armed robbery reported at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda

Montgomery County police responded to a report of an armed robbery at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda late Monday afternoon. The robbery was reported at the mall at 5:04 PM Monday. A knife was the weapon employed in the robbery.

Contents of Rockville restaurant to be auctioned off

A Rockville Chinese buffet restaurant "is shutting its doors and making a complete liquidation," according to Capital Online Auctions. The contents of Bamboo Buffet at 2010 Veirs Mill Road in the Twinbrook Center will be auctioned off online beginning Thursday, March 28, 2024. If you are a current or aspiring restaurateur, just about everything you would need will be available to the highest bidder, from kitchen equipment to buffet tables and seating. Some items, like chairs and tables, are being auctioned off in lots of 2 to 12 pieces, for example. There's even some impressive decor for display in your home or office.

Chili's boarded up on Rockville Pike (Photos)

For the disciplined secret government team in charge of preventing all-American casual restaurant chains from opening in Montgomery County - or pushing them out if they're already here - the mission has its ups and downs. For every Olive Garden or Cracker Barrel blocked from leasing a pad site, for every abandoned bank on River Road that mysteriously can't become a drive-thru Chick-fil-A or Taco Bell cash cow, for every Ruby Tuesday or P.F. Chang's that closes its doors forever, there's a Cheesecake Factory that just keeps chugging along, or a new Outback Steakhouse set to open just when you'd finished smiling about the one in Germantown closing. But, if they take a break from crafting new anti-business legislation or arcane zoning blockades, here's a scene they can enjoy at 11428 Rockville Pike: the Chili's that closed in 2016 has just been boarded up.

Chili's successfully operated this location for 25 years. Let's take a moment to remember the many business deals closed over two Spicy Sauza Jalapeño Margarita lunches, the Gap-dress-code happy hours, and the romantic date night window views of Fitz Auto Mall and gas stations. Even Mike Pence enjoys dining at Chili's. You can't, because there are no more Chili's in Montgomery County, one more ubiquitous brand stunned visitors will incredulously remind you is in every other jurisdiction in America but here.

"Let's go to Olive Garden."

"There is no Olive Garden."

"Whaaaaaaaat??????? You're joking, right? OK, what about Cracker Barrel?"

Police investigating shots-fired incident in Derwood

Montgomery County police are investigating a shots-fired incident that occurred in the 15800 block of Frederick Road in Derwood, near King Farm, on March 14, 2024. Witnesses who heard gunfire around 7:34 PM that evening called police. A suspect in the shooting is described by police only as a Black male of unknown age. Anyone with any information about this incident or suspect is asked to call police at (301) 279-8000.

Ficker: David Trone's racial slur shows word was "on the tip of his tongue"

Maryland U.S. Senate candidate
David Trone (D)

Maryland U.S. Senate candidate David Trone (D), in his current role as representative for the state's 6th Congressional District, used a racial slur when speaking to a Black woman during a committee hearing on Thursday. Trone later issued a statement apologizing for using the word, claiming he had meant to use the term "bugaboo" instead. "That word has a long, dark, terrible history," Trone said of the slur in his statement. "It should never be used any time, anywhere, in any conversation." While Trone characterized his language as a mere gaffe, Republican U.S. Senate candidate Robin Ficker suggested it was more of a Freudian slip.

“I am appalled by David Trone’s use of this vile word, especially when addressing a black woman," Ficker said in a statement Friday. "That terrible word does not simply slip out of someone’s mouth unless it is constantly on the tip of their tongue. Trone’s attempt to pass this off as a harmless mistake is an affront to the voters’ intelligence."

Trone's unforced error couldn't have come at a worse time. Days earlier, a poll showed that former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) was far ahead of Trone and Democratic rival Angela Alsobrooks in the contest for outgoing U.S. Senator Ben Cardin's seat. The poll also showed that despite months of relentless, unskippable YouTube ads, Trone is not a a familiar name to most registered voters statewide.

Yet, the poll had only underlined the fact that the Democratic National Committee badly needs Trone and his personal wealth to defeat Hogan this fall. The entry into the race by popular former governor Hogan, who still enjoys bipartisan support and goodwill, means Republican donations and dark money will be pouring into a state that now represents a flippable seat in the Senate. But by the end of the week, Trone had wounded himself badly with his out-of-left-field use of a racial slur.

Trone now finds himself in a similar predicament as two of his Democratic colleagues in Virginia, as well as former Virginia Gov. George Allen (R). In 2019, then-Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) and then-Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring (D) were revealed to have worn blackface as adults. Northam was also accused of being one of two men in a yearbook photograph, whose identities were hidden by Ku Klux Klan robes and blackface. Northam initially admitted he was one of the two men in the photo, without identifying which one, but later retracted his confession. 

Allen used a racial slur when addressing a tracker from a rival campaign who was videotaping him at a campaign event in 2006. Despite yeoman's work by The Washington Post to revive Northam and Herring's prospects - and Northam's bizarre framing of collective penance by the state for his personal racist acts - Virginia voters had the last word, firing Herring during the 2021 election. The political careers of all three Virginians were ended by the episodes. But they gave voters a window into the world of politicians who profess one thing in daylight, but hold contrasting mores and values privately.

Those lessons show the real political hot water Trone is now in. The woman he was addressing when a racial slur came to his mind was Black. His leading Democratic primary opponent is Black. And Maryland is one of the American states where Black voters have decisive power. No one can win a statewide election here if they are strongly opposed by African-American voters.

Hogan has not yet issued a public statement on Trone's use of the slur. Ficker, in his statement, recapped his political record on civil rights, including his participation in the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. "Aside from marching with Dr. [Martin Luther] King, last year, I was asked to be on the hospitality committee for the 60th Reunion of the March led by Martin Luther King, III," Ficker recounted. "In 1976, I was appointed by Rosa Parks to be the first general counsel for the National Caucus on Black Aging."

"Unlike Congressman Trone, I have a track record of supporting the black community, instead of just giving them lip service," Ficker said. "I’m incredibly proud of my work to advance racial equality, and I will always be a friend to the Black community in the Senate.”