Mind Games opening at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda

Another toy store is coming to Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda. Mind Games will be a bit more on the Smart Toys side of the spectrum than a Toys R Us or KB Toys model. The Toronto-based retailer sells books, educational toys, and games alongside the conventional popular toys. It also has its own house-brand products. Familiar toy brands stocked include Lego, Funko, Mattel, and Maisto.

Mind Games is now hiring for all positions, including store manager, assistant manager, key holders, and part-time associates. When the games begin, look for Mind Games on Level 1 of the mall, next to Build-A-Bear Workshop. Which coincidentally puts Mind Games a few doors down from another Lego retailer - Lego itself. 

The store brings some Canadian sensibilities with it, too. Boxing Day gets a big push on its social media accounts, for example. And holiday sale door busters are "door crashers," eh?

Derwood students are 2nd-place winners in Montgomery County DOT "Paint the Plow" contest

Top winners from Westland MS in Bethesda

This winter, Montgomery County residents may see one or more of the County snowplows decorated by Montgomery County Public Schools students during the County Department of Transportation's "Paint the Plow" contest. Teams from 16 middle schools in the MCPS system participated. MCDOT provided the snowplows and paint materials, and each team had four days to name and decorate their plow. The plows were displayed at MCDOT's annual Truck Day on June 1, and attendees voted for the top three winning plows.

Redland MS in Derwood

Bethesda's Westland Middle School team won the top prize of $500 for its Road Runner "Beep Beep" and Pokemon Squirtle design. Redland Middle School in Derwood took second, with a prize of $300, for their team's Snoopy-inspired "Scoopy" plow. Coming in third for $200 was the team from Roberto Clemente MS in Germantown, who went full zombie with their plow's Zombinator theme.

Roberto Clemente MS in Germantown

“The annual Truck Day and Paint the Plow contest lets us showcase the vital role public works employees play in contributing to and enhancing our quality of life,” MCDOT Director Chris Conklin said in a statement. “Public works employees are on the front lines during emergency conditions, including winter weather events, and these snowplows will serve as a reminder of the valuable work they do.” 

County Executive Marc Elrich

Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich praised the student winners and the County's public works employees, including snowplow drivers. “I want to thank MCPS and the participating students and teachers for helping us recognize the hard work and dedication of our public works employees. From keeping our streets clear of snow and ice, paving our roads and collecting yard debris, to maintaining our vital sanitary and storm sewer systems, their efforts keep our County safe, clean and thriving.” 

Soma closes at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda

Soma has closed at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda. The women's lingerie boutique brand was recently acquired by a private equity firm, which makes the closure less surprising. Having said that, I do not see news stories about specific Soma locations closing in other areas of the country at this time, so perhaps Montgomery County's infamously-moribund economy is to blame in this case. Soma was launched by Chico's FAS twenty years ago, and claims to have over 250 stores today.

Mía Cane Juicery and Açaí Bar opening in Rockville

Mía Cane Juicery and Açaí Bar is coming soon to Rockville. It will bring the newest beverage trend of sugarcane juice alongside smoothies, açaí bowls and Vietnamese coffee to 785-I Rockville Pike at the Ritchie Center. This was Japong Bakery's original spot before it moved to 765-A at the center. 

This will be Mía Cane Juicery and Açaí Bar's third U.S. location, and their first in the Washington, D.C. area. Their first two are in New England: Worcester, Massachusetts, and the soon-to-open store in Providence, Rhode Island. Coming-soon signage is now up at the Rockvile location.

Sherwin-Williams building up for sale in Rockville

A commercial building in a high-visibility location is now on the market in Rockville. 856 Rockville Pike is being offered at the asking price of $4,075,000. It is not only on the very busy commuter route of MD 355, with an average of 62,800 vehicles passing it per day, but is also across from Wintergreen Plaza. The current tenant is Sherwin-Williams Paints, which has 10 years remaining on its lease, with 2 5-year extension options. Built in 1970, the building was renovated in 2020, according to the online listing.

Black cemetery advocates raise Juneteenth flag at Jamie Raskin's office

Leaders and members of the Bethesda African Cemetery Coalition traveled to Congressman Jamie Raskin's office last week, to protest Raskin's "continued refusal to take congressional action on the desecration, flooding, pouring of concrete on our ancestors, and cover-up of crimes against African people in Moses African Cemetery." Raskin previously visited the site of the burial ground, which is located under Montgomery County government-owned parcels of land on the Westwood Tower property, and directly across the Willett Branch stream from the rear parking lot of Westwood Tower. However, he has refused to meet with the group since or take action at the federal level on the cemetery issues, BACC says.

At Raskin's office last week, the group raised the Juneteenth flag in honor of Pvt. William H.H. Brown, who served with the United States Colored Troops who fought for the Union side in the U.S. Civil War. Brown is among the many former slaves buried in Moses African Cemetery. BACC has also created a video with a Civil War reenactor playing Pvt. Brown. "We told the White Union officers, if they would give us the gun, we would free ourselves," the actor portraying Brown says in the video. "We won our freedom. Now Montgomery County, Maryland is desecrating our sacred remains."

The BACC has called on the public to boycott all official Montgomery County government-sponsored Juneteenth events, in light of our elected officials' inaction on the cemetery matters. It has planned a full program of alternative Juneteenth events it encourages residents to attend instead. See the event announcements below for full details:

NIST begins joint research on Secure Digital ID for public benefits

The U.S. Department of Commerce's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Gaithersburg has embarked on a collaborative project to adapt NIST's digital identity guidelines to the administration of public benefits programs. These include programs that help beneficiaries pay for food, housing, medical and other living expenses. The initiative gained momentum due to large-scale fraud related to COVID-19 pandemic benefits.

NIST is teaming up with the Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation at Georgetown University, and the nonprofit Center for Democracy & Technology, on the project. The partners are attempting to balance security concerns with potential impacts on privacy, "due process," and "potential biases in systems that disproportionately impact communities of color and marginalized groups."

"To improve benefits delivery to the U.S. public, it is vital that agencies balance access and security," Undersecretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology and NIST Director Laurie E. Locascio said in a statement this morning. "Different populations have different needs, barriers and circumstances that must be considered, and this collaboration will bring together a diverse set of communities to do just that."