Rockville police looking for knife-wielding man "wearing only brown pants"

Rockville City police are seeking the public's help in finding a man who tried to stab an acquaintance during a dispute on August 27, 2024. The suspect and the potential victim were arguing about borrowing a cell phone in the 800 block of Rockville Pike at 11:55 AM. Police say the suspect then produced a knife and unsuccessfully attempted to stab the intended victim. 

The suspect is described by police as a Black male, 50 to 59 years of age, "possibly named 'John,' [and] wearing only brown pants." If you can identify this suspect, or have any information about this incident, call police at 240-314-8900.

Dispute about public urination leads to assault in Rockville

Rockville City police responded to a report of an assault in the 800 block of Rockville Pike on August 26, 2024. Police say two suspects got into an argument about public urination with employees of a business on that block around 7:31 PM. The two suspects allegedly proceeded to assault the employees, and fled.

Police describe one of the suspects as a Black male, 20 to 29 years of age, with a medium build. He is approximately 5 feet, 11 inches tall, weighing about 170 pounds. The suspect has brown eyes and "black dreads." No description of the second suspect has been released. If you can identify either suspect, or have any information about this incident, call police at 240-314-8900.

Indecent exposure on residential street in Rockville

Rockville City police responded to a report of indecent exposure in the Twinbrook neighborhood on September 4, 2024. The incident was reported in the 5900 block of Halpine Road at 8:40 PM Wednesday. That is a residential section of Halpine east of the CSX/Metro tracks.

Attempted break-in at Rockville gun store

Montgomery County police are investigating an attempted burglary at a gun store in Rockville. A suspect attempted to gain entry to Atlantic Guns at 15813 Frederick Road at 10:03 PM on August 18, 2024, but was unsuccessful. Police describe the suspect only as "male." If you have any information about this incident, call police at (301) 279-8000. 

Buffalo Wild Wings GO coming soon to Rockville

Buffalo Wild Wings GO is coming soon to Rockville. It will be located at 16256 Frederick Road at the Rock Grove shopping center, at the southwest corner of MD 355 and Shady Grove Road. Buffalo Wild Wings' "GO" concept took off during the pandemic, when the chicken wings chain sought to capitalize on an explosion in demand for takeout orders, as well as a chance to muscle in on carryout-focused competitors like Wingstop. Rockville and Gaithersburg both have traditional, full-scale Buffalo Wild Wings restaurants, which are more like sports bars, competing with sit-down competitors like Hooters.

You'll find a slimmed-down menu at Buffalo Wild Wings GO, comprised of some of BWW's customer favorites. An "innovative cooking process" is able to churn out the same crispy wings you find at a regular BWW at a speedier pace, the company says. The interior set-up is designed to get customers in and out of the smaller-scale GO store as quickly as possible, especially when ordering ahead. GO also has some exclusive flavors not found at the full-size BWW.

One of the exclusive flavors at GO locations

Watching Wingstop's tremendous success surely has BWW concentrating even more on growing the number of GO locations around the country. CNBC reported just last week that the preference of sports television viewers for wings while watching the game has allowed Wingstop to avoid the recent sales downturn experienced by McDonald's and Starbucks. Sports fans don't favor the latter two for their game day smorgasboards, the network found, and Wingstop has kept its prices relatively low while McDonald's customers have been ravaged by the Hamburglar's inflation-jacked price hikes.

It's interesting that Rock Grove also has a Dunkin' Donuts/Baskin Robbins store, as those brands are also in BWW parent company Inspire Brands' portfolio. That might have played a role in the development scoring another popular brand. Buffalo Wild Wings GO will be next to Qdoba Mexican Eats at the property. Construction on the Rock Grove location is expected to begin early this fall, so we might expect a winter opening. Just in time for the Super Bowl!

Photo 1 & 3 courtesy Inspire Brands

Finder's keepers: Rockville criminal takes lost debit card on shopping spree

An unidentified suspect stumbled across a lost debit card in the Rockville Town Center area, and decided to take it on a spontaneous shopping spree, Rockville City police report. The suspect recovered the lost card in the 300 block of N. Washington Street on August 25, 2024 around 4:30 PM, and proceeded to make $557 in purchases from nearby businesses in the Town Center. No description or photo of the suspect has been released as of this writing. If you have any information regarding this incident, contact police at 240-314-8900.

Larry Hogan is the "un-Trump Republican," his 1st Maryland U.S. Senate TV ad of fall declares

"Never Backs Down" isn't the most original slogan to be employed by former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan in his current campaign for U.S. Senate, as Ron DeSantis would likely agree. But Hogan's first TV spot for the fall campaign season does manage to come up with a more unique qualifier for an anti-Trump candidate like himself: "The un-Trump Republican." It's not all that new or original, either (the ad cites The Washington Post, and the phrase has been employed by outlets as diverse as Al Jazeera and The New York Times, among others), but is far less often invoked than "Never-Trump Republican." The latter term has failed to convert many mega-MAGA "irredeemables" back to the Bush Republican fold so far.

Using the phrase makes clear that voters in Hillary Clinton's fabled basket of deplorables are not the target audience for this ad. The spot plays up examples of "Hogan's radically normal model for the GOP," such as blocking tax increases every year he was the executive of Maryland, lowering tolls on state bridges, and leaving a large budget surplus for his successor Wes Moore. Major challenges Hogan faced while in office are also highlighted, ranging from the pandemic and Baltimore riots that followed the death of Freddy Gray, to his own personal cancer diagnosis and recovery.

"Now more than ever, we need strong independent leadership in Washington who will never back down to the extremes and the party bosses," Hogan tweeted in introducing the ad Tuesday. "That’s exactly what I did as your Governor, and that is exactly what I will do in the United States Senate." 

Hogan's Democratic opponent, Prince George's County Executive Angela Alsobrooks, has already begun an ad blitz worthy of the deep-pocketed primary opponent she vanquished earlier this year. Prior to his defeat, David Trone was an inescapable presence not only on TV screens, but in his relentless, un-skippable YouTube ads. Alsobrooks' ad focuses on her central message to juice turnout in a majority-Democrat state: that the winner of the Alsobrooks-Hogan contest may determine which party controls the U.S. Senate this coming January.