Dirty Dough opens today in Rockville

Signage is up and lit at Dirty Dough at 36-B Maryland Avenue at Rockville Town Square. The new cookie bakery is opening today, Wednesday, December 18, 2024, at 11:00 AM. Enjoy "super-stuffed" soft cookies with fillings and toppings, as well as milkshakes and ice cream. Operating hours for the shop will be 11:00 AM to 9:00 PM Sunday through Thursday, and 11:00 AM to 10:00 PM on Fridays and Saturdays.

Maryland to open new I-95 Express Toll Lanes ahead of holiday travel

The Maryland Transportation Authority announced that it will open a new stretch of Express Toll Lanes on northbound I-95 tomorrow, Wednesday, December 18, 2024. A variable toll charged to drivers who use the lanes will provide a way around traffic congestion, which is expected to be heavy around next week's Christmas and Chanukah holidays. The new Express Toll Lanes run for 6.5 miles along the northbound side of the interstate between White Marsh Boulevard (MD 43) and Mountain Road (MD 152).

Completed Express Toll Lanes all the way to MD 24 (Vietnam Veterans Memorial Highway), along with new ramps connecting I-695 to the northbound ETL, are expected to open to traffic by the end of 2027. The first section of ETL opened in 2014. MDTA recommends obtaining an E-ZPass, to save up to 77% over toll charges you might otherwise receive via Pay-by-Plate or video tolling.

“The northbound I-95 Express Toll Lanes extension project provides travelers with a more reliable travel experience while easing congestion on our highways,” MDTA Executive Director Bruce Gartner said in a statement. “Through innovation and safety, this project represents our commitment to modernize Maryland’s infrastructure and enhance mobility options.”

Rockville church vandal sentenced

A Rockville man pled guilty last Friday to three charges related to vandalism at Faith United Methodist Church earlier this year. The repeated acts of vandalism took place between May 25 and September 6 at the church, which is located at 6810 Montrose Road in Rockville. Under a plea agreement reached with the Montgomery County State's Attorney's office, Joshua Delaney received a suspended jail sentence of one year and five months. 

Because the church asked Montgomery County District Court Judge John C. Moffett to not send Delaney to jail, Moffett instead issued a sentence of three years' probation, 40 hours of community service, and $711 in restitution to the church. The judge also issued protective orders barring Delaney from contacting the church, or trespassing on the church property. Moffett additionally imposed a therapy requirement.

If Delaney meets the other terms of his sentence, his probation will become unsupervised. According to Maryland court records, he pled guilty to malicious destruction of property valued under $1000, race/religious harassment and antagonism toward a religious institution, and theft of property worth less than $100. 

The Faith UMC Church Council announced this morning that it will donate the $711 in restitution it receives from Delaney to Rainbow Place Shelter in Rockville, in support of its work to open a shelter for unhoused LGBTQ youth. Faith UMC celebrated 60 years of worship in Rockville this past September.

Photo courtesy Faith UMC

Rockville delivery driver declares, "I hate the Pope," before assaulting resident

A Rockville delivery driver allegedly made a special delivery of anti-Catholic hate and violence at an apartment building on December 8, 2024. The driver entered a residential building in the 200 block of Monroe Street at 2:01 PM that afternoon. Upon seeing a photograph of the Pope, he allegedly vandalized the photo, and declared, "I hate the Pope." The driver then shoved a cart into a resident of the building, Rockville City police say.

Police describe the suspect as a Black male of 20 to 29 years of age, 6'3" in height, and with an athletic build. He was wearing a black "hair cap," black headphones, a short-sleeved vest, black pants, and light-colored shoes with dark soles. If you can identify the delivery driver, you are asked to call police at 240-314-8900.

Rockville property adjacent to I-270 to be auctioned off

A high-visibility 2.09 acres of land in Rockville, directly wrapped around by an I-270 off-ramp, will be auctioned off in 29 days. The site is best suited for office or corporate use by a tenant who wants their brand logo seen by the 206,882 vehicles that pass by it each day. If you are familiar with using the exit to Redland Boulevard in King Farm, this is the wooded area to your right as you make the curve, with the Sheraton hotel being on your left. 

One question not immediately addressed by the auction listing is where the ingress and egress location(s) for the site will be. If there is no existing easement with property to the south of the parcel, vehicles entering and exiting would have to use the ramp, which is one-way only. That would also present a safety challenge, with traffic rounding a bend that often exceeds the posted speed for the off-ramp. Depending on the structures built, that could remain a blind curve for those exiting I-270. The ingress/egress issues might also limit the site's utility as a small distribution center, or for any business involving high levels of vehicular traffic.

Photos courtesy Transwestern

UNIQLO construction begins at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda

Construction has begun on the interior fit-out of UNIQLO at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda. As you can see in these photos, construction walls have been erected across the future storefront on Level 2 of the mall. It's going to be a large store, as is now made obvious by the sheer length of the walled-off space. Their Pike & Rose location is 8000-square-feet.

Japan-based UNIQLO opened its first store in Hiroshima in 1984. As of today, it has more than 1900 stores in 19 markets around the world, including Japan, Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand, the U.K. and the U.S.

Trenchcoat-wearing flasher strikes in Rockville

A flasher in a trenchcoat? The stereotype became reality in Rockville on December 5, 2024, according to Rockville City police. At 5:30 PM on the pedestrian bridge in the 200 block of Rockville Pike by the Rockville Metro station, an adult male wearing a trenchcoat and a skull cap suddenly grabbed the victim who was passing by, and exposed himself. He then ran away. Police have not released any further description of the suspect as of this writing. If you can identify him, call police at 240-314-8900.