Assault inside Rockville parking garage

Montgomery County police responded to a report of a 2nd-degree assault inside a parking garage at Pike & Rose on Rockville Pike last night, January 23, 2025. The assault was reported at 8:37 PM. Police were called to the Trade Street garage at 11860 Trade Street at the property.

Rockville police apprehend alleged hit-and-run driver who struck 3 pedestrians in 2023

Rockville City police, in cooperation with other local law enforcement agencies, have located and arrested a Gaithersburg man they allege struck 3 pedestrians with his vehicle outside of 199 E. Montgomery Avenue in Rockville on December 14, 2023. The driver of the dark SUV that struck the victims drove away after what detectives determined was a deliberate vehicular attack. Police identified Walter Giovanni Marquez-Aviles, 44, of Gaithersburg as the suspect in the attack.

Yesterday at 10:15 AM, police located and arrested Marquez-Aviles in Hyattsville, Maryland. He has been charged with three counts of attempted murder and three counts of 1st-degree assault.

Rockville police thanked the public for their many tips that assisted with the investigation, and successful apprehension of the suspect. They also thanked the agencies that assisted, including the Montgomery County Police Department Repeat Offender Unit, and the U.S. Marshals Capital Area Regional Task Force.

Bartaco opening Rockville restaurant

Tacos will soon be back on the menu at Pike & Rose on Rockville Pike. Bartaco has just signed to open its first Maryland location in the former Nada space at 11886 Grand Park Avenue, according to signage posted in the windows. The national chain currently has restaurants in our region in Washington, D.C. and Northern Virginia. A mostly-Mexican menu will have a few Korean dishes mixed in.

"With a white-washed interior, wanderlust-inspiring photography on the walls, woven basket light fixtures, and a sprawling bar at the center, [Bartaco] feels like it might belong on a beach in South America," Nashville Lifestyles wrote of its dining experience. The Reston Bartaco has a 4.2 out of 5 stars rating on Yelp, and the Bartaco at The Wharf holds a 3.8 star average.

Maryland legislature blocks public from testifying at hearing on Fairness in Girls' Sports Act

Maryland Del. Kathy Szeliga (R)

When is a public hearing not a public hearing? When the public is not allowed to testify at the hearing. That's going to be the case in Room 130 of the House Office Building in Annapolis on January 29, 2025 at 1:00 PM, when the Maryland House Ways and Means Committee holds a hearing on House Bill HB156, the Fairness in Girls' Sports Act. The hearing is one of several at which the committee has barred the public from being able to offer oral testimony. Only the sponsor of the bill, Del. Kathy Szeliga (R), will be allowed to testify during the hearing.

"I’m disappointed to inform you that the Committee has decided to NOT ALLOW oral testimony from citizens during the hearing," Szeliga wrote in an email to constituents yesterday. "This means I will be the sole voice presenting the overwhelming support this issue has garnered across Maryland. The positive response to my recent op-ed in The Baltimore Sun—spanning all demographics and party lines—demonstrates how much this common-sense legislation resonates with Marylanders."

If passed, HB156 would require "certain interscholastic and intramural junior varsity and varsity athletic teams or sports sponsored by certain schools to be expressly designated based on biological sex; prohibiting certain entities from taking certain adverse actions against a school for maintaining separate interscholastic and intramural junior varsity and varsity athletic teams and sports for students of the female sex; and providing that certain individuals have the right to bring a civil action under certain circumstances."

This proposal might delight or enrage you. Either way, your voice will not be heard during the hearing, 

We've seen in recent years that, as more citizens become engaged on certain issues like zoning and school curriculums, governing bodies put greater and greater restrictions on speech and participation in public hearings. The Montgomery County Council began to place a limit on the number of citizens who could speak during public hearings, for example, when this was never done in the past. In contrast, public hearings before the Washington, D.C. City Council and some jurisdictions in Northern Virginia literally continue into the night, until every person who wished to speak has been heard. Across the country, citizens have been given less time to speak, and even face eviction or arrest if their 1st Amendment-protected speech triggers megalomaniacal elected officials.

Those who wish to submit written testimony on HB156 can still use these instructions, and register to submit their comments, or to simply check a box that indicates support or opposition. But as any experienced activist can tell you, there is no substitute for the power of - and greater public and media attention to - oral testimony at hearings. Which is why your elected officials are trying to silence your voice - literally.

Pelicana Chicken opens in Rockville

The King of Chicken has ascended the throne in Rockville. Pelicana Chicken is now open at 4 N. Washington Street at the Courthouse Center shopping center. The Korean chicken restaurant has already racked up 17 reviews on Google, with a perfect 5-star score. Many reviewers declared this is the best Korean chicken spot in town. Diners also praised the other authentic Korean dishes on the menu, as well as the atmosphere with K-pop music, a photo booth, and ample television screens.

Subway "coming soon" to Montgomery Mall in Bethesda

Subway is "coming soon" to Westfield Montgomery Mall, signage just installed at its future space in the Dining Terrace food court promises. I broke the news that sandwich artists will soon be preparing America's favorite sub sandwiches at the mall back in September 2024. Subway replaces longtime tenant J. Chow in the food court. Construction on the conversion of J. Chow to Subway is now getting started behind the wall, and the signage promises a spring 2025 opening.

Specs New York closes at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda

Specs New York has closed at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda. Signage has been removed from above the storefront. The sunglasses retailer first opened at the mall in 2014. It temporarily closed at least a couple of times in the first four years of its tenancy at the mall, so another return can't entirely be ruled out. Specs appears to be the latest victim of the moribund Montgomery County economy, as this is the only of the chain's locations nationwide to be closing.