Forever 21 says "Everything must go!" at Montgomery Mall as closing rumors swirl

Is Forever 21 closing any stores, some stores, or all stores? The apparel chain isn't making any announcements. But its Bethesda store at Westfield Montgomery Mall just put up signs stating "Everything must go!" Another sign says prices are 10% to 40% off. I've never seen an "Everything must go!" sign at a store that wasn't closing. No sign says the store is closing, but the moves align with the report from a Forever 21 location in Woodbridge, New Jersey. 

The Daily Dot reports that a similar sale is now underway at that New Jersey store, where no returns are being accepted on the sale items. When asked why they could not be returned, a Woodbridge store employee reportedly told the customer it was because all Forever 21 stores are closing, and that the discounts will ramp up as the weeks go by toward the eventual closure. The Daily Dot notes that The Wall Street Journal recently reported that the chain is mulling a bankruptcy filing.

Montgomery County, MD man arrested after alleged crime rampage in Pennsylvania

A Damascus resident is behind bars after allegedly going on a crime rampage this past weekend in Pennsylvania. Police in that state claim David Kelpy, 40, robbed a Royal Farms convenience store in Straban Township on Friday. After pocketing a whopping $89.84 from the store's cashier, he allegedly fled in a Dodge Ram pickup truck. 

Early Saturday morning, police in Luzerne County say, Kelpy rammed the Ram truck into a sedan that was already parked in a parking space in West Hazleton, Pennsylvania. Police allege he then got out of the truck, pulled the driver of the car he hit out of the vehicle, and threw them into the road. After assaulting the driver, police say, Kelpy then took the victim's car and ran over the victim while making his getaway.

Kelpy was located and arrested in Pittston Township, Pennsylvania. He was placed in the Luzerne County jail, where his bail has been set at $150,000.

Assault reported at Twinbrook ES in Rockville

Rockville City police responded to a report of a 2nd-degree assault at Twinbrook Elementary School Friday morning, February 14, 2025. The assault was reported to police at the school, which is located at 5911 Ridgway Avenue, at 10:30 AM Friday.

Maryland AG's lawfare case against Rockville gun shop dismissed by judge

Attorney Dan Cox represented the Rockville
gun shop that prevailed in the case

Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown was handed his first loss in his lawfare crusade to bankrupt gun shops in the state yesterday. Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge Ronald B. Rubin dismissed Brown's case against United Gun Shop of Rockville with prejudice. "With prejudice" means that the case is permanently dismissed, and cannot be reopened. Brown's lawfare effort against United Gun Shop and two other Rockville gun stores is a partnership that includes the Attorney General of the District of Columbia, and anti-gun organization Everytown Law, which is backed by billionaire Michael Bloomberg. The unstated goal of this lawfare crusade is to bankrupt all gun stores in Montgomery County - and ultimately, all gun shops statewide - via expensive legal fees to defend themselves.

In his 19-page opinion, Rubin advised the plaintiffs that the gun sales in question were completely legal, and that they would have to seek changes to the existing gun laws if they wanted to prevent such sales. The current Designated Collector statute in Maryland law permitted the purchaser to make repeated purchases of the same gun from United Gun Shop, and the other dealers in Rockville, Rubin wrote.

Attorney Dan Cox represented United Gun Shop in the case, in which he faced off against twenty attorneys well-funded by the multiple plaintiffs. "It was political, and the judge even called that out," Cox said after the dismissal Friday. "We thank God for this victorious outcome," he said in a statement issued by his office. "It sends notice to those wishing to crush innocent Americans with unfounded false accusations that we will not shrink, we will not falter, we will not fail to fight for the truth under law."

Cox is favored by many in the state to be named as the next U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland by President Donald Trump. The U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, Erek L. Barron, resigned on February 12. Cox is also representing the mother of Kayla Hamilton, a 20-year-old Maryland woman murdered by an MS-13 gang member from El Salvador, who was allowed to enter the United States illegally, live in Maryland, and attend public school in Harford County during the Biden adminstration.

Hamilton's mother and Cox joined newly-sworn-in U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi at a press conference on February 12, at which Bondi announced the filing of charges against the State of New York, NY Governor Kathy Hochul, NY Attorney General Letitia James, and NY Department of Motor Vehicles Commissioner Mark Schroeder for issuing driver's licenses to illegal immigrants in the Empire State. In addition to being on Bondi's radar, Cox was previously endorsed by Trump when he ran for Maryland governor in 2022. Cox supporters have started emailing petitions to urge President Trump and the U.S. Department of Justice to consider appointing Cox as the next U.S. Attorney for Maryland.

Valentine's Day specials at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda

Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda is offering several special offers for Valentine's Day 2025.  The mall's AMC Theatres Montgomery 16 cineplex is giving you $2-off tickets for screenings after 4:00 PM today through Sunday, February 16. Use the promo code MONTGOMERY2OFF to redeem the offer. California Pizza Kitchen on Level 2 has a specially-priced 4-course meal for two for Valentine's Day, starting at $55. Love is in the air aboard the Dream Aero Flight Simulator, with 14%-off flights today through Sunday. And today only, Purple is taking an extra 10%-off on any mattress purchase.

Police investigate assault at park in Rockville

Montgomery County police responded to a report of an assault at a park in Rockville late Wednesday afternoon, February 12, 2025. The assault was reported at a park in the 5000 block of Baltic Avenue at 5:00 PM Wednesday. Aspen Hill Local Park is located on that block at 5013 Baltic Avenue.

69% of Montgomery County voters oppose bag tax hike - but County Council passed it anyway

Over two-thirds of registered voters in Montgomery County oppose raising the bag tax to ten cents, a Washington Post/University of Maryland poll found, but the Montgomery County Council unanimously passed it anyway on Tuesday. The poll found that 69% of voters oppose the tax increase on paper bags, and that a minority 47% of voters support the plastic bag ban that was passed alongside it Tuesday. But, as the Council has done increasingly since defeating the Columbia Country Club with its 2009 Purple Line vote that brought no electoral consequences, the Council put its legislative steamroller in gear and floored the accelerator.

Interestingly, the Post declined to print the results of its bag tax/ban poll questions until the day after the Council voted, despite having taken the poll in late January, a clear attempt to tamp down opposition ahead of the Council vote. Tuesday's vote spoke deafening volumes about the deepening radical political trends in Montgomery County, trends that suggest the moribund jurisdiction is on-track for further and accelerating economic decline in the years ahead.

Montgomery County has acquired an international reputation as an anti-business jurisdiction. Not surprisingly, it has failed to attract a major corporate headquarters in over 25 years. Since the last decade, it ranks at or near the bottom by every relevant measure in economic development and job creation in the D.C. region, based on data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. It has long ago fallen out of the Forbes Top Ten Richest Counties in America list, as the wealthy flee to lower-tax jurisdictions in the region. In 2010, stores like Target and Magruder's in Rockville turned their interior lights down, posting apologetic signs explaining it was due to the County's new Energy Tax.

Tuesday's decision won't change the world's perception of us.

According to Wednesday's Post article, Councilmember Marilyn Balcombe (D - District 2) demanded Tuesday that the County begin to go after businesses "more aggressively" if they don't comply with the new ban and tax collection, despite the even-more-complicated regime of mandates imposed by the new law.

Okay, the Council is going to hound your business "more aggressively." But if you're thinking of starting a business, or moving it to Montgomery County, surely you can trust that the local Chamber of Commerce will have your back against the tinfoil dictators of the County Council, right?

Wrong.

The Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce supported the Council's vote. Yes, you read that right. "We worry about Montgomery County being in a position that it's not competitive with surrounding jurisdictions [and] that's not what this bill does," Chamber spokesperson Brian Levine told the Post. 

That's nice, but it's actually false, as Washington, D.C., Arlington County, and Fairfax County do not have bans on plastic bags, and only charge 5 cents per bag, not 10 cents. So putting us in a position that's "not competitive with surrounding jurisdictions" is exactly "what this bill does."

Imagine paying dues to a Chamber that kneecaps you in order to keep political favor with the County Council when the rubber meets the road. This isn't the first time. How many Chamber members wanted this bag law to pass? The Chamber's written testimony goes so far as to declare the organization "applauds the sponsor and co-sponsor for proposing this commonsense policy change." Applauds?! Such kowtowing to an rabidly-anti-business Council is embarrassing for a business organization. Yet again, we cede competitive economic growth territory to Northern Virginia and D.C.

It's bad enough that this is yet another tax hike, at a time when a majority of Montgomery County taxpayers are struggling with already-outrageous grocery prices, and Maryland is about to raise taxes and fees at the state level. But it's also another example of our megalomaniacal elected officials, who have a psychological need to control other people. Council President Kate Stewart (D - District 4) said the new bag law will "change behavior." Voters didn't elect you to "change behavior." They elected you to execute the basic functions of government in a competent manner, foster a favorable climate for business, provide necessary infrastructure and a functioning transportation system, and enforce the laws to protect the safety of the public - - all things this Council hasn't been able to do in this century.