Thursday, June 19, 2025

Squatter takes up residence in Rockville home


A squatter took up residence in a Rockville home for three days last weekend, before Rockville City police were called to the property. The suspect, whom police said is homeless, was inside a vacant home in the 300 block of Howard Avenue from 4:30 PM on June 13, 2025 to 4:00 PM on June 16. New attention is being paid to the phenomenon of squatting across Maryland in recent weeks, as the activity has spiked in Baltimore and other parts of the state. In some cases, people in genuine need of shelter are taking the initiative on their own, but many recent cases in the Baltimore area have involved organized squatting networks operating online, who are taking money from the squatters in exchange for house keys and falsified documents.

Maryland Governor Wes Moore (D) told WBFF Fox 45 TV in Baltimore that his administration is "taking immediate action" on the issue. Maryland Delegate Ryan Nowrocki (R) disputed the governor's claim. "We have done nothing at the state level to address squatting in Maryland," Nowrocki responded in an interview with Fox 45. "I understand that the governor is making all kinds of claims about this issue, but at the end of the day, the governor is certainly entitled to his own opinion on the matter, but not entitled to his own set of facts. The facts are that squatting is out of control, and frankly, we have no law-and-order in this state right now, and that is partly the governor’s fault."

Wednesday, June 18, 2025

Foot Locker to relocate inside Montgomery Mall in Bethesda


Foot Locker
will be relocating into a new space at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda this year. Four vacant storefronts will be consolidated into one larger space for the sporting goods store, which will have the brand's latest interior design scheme. Kids Foot Locker will also be moved into the new space along with Foot Locker. Construction is anticipated to begin this summer. 

Montgomery County Council wants to ban bamboo


The few among the public who even know what the Montgomery County Council is, or what it does, would tell you it primarily raises taxes, provides reckless zoning and giveaways of taxpayer money and public land to its developer sugar daddies, and "bans stuff." It's a lazy summer for the very part-time Council, but it has just announced the latest thing it wants to ban: bamboo. If Bill 26-25 passes later this year, perhaps after the Council's long summer vacation, there would also be a new nanny state requirement that at least 50% of the landscaping in any new development be comprised of native plants, although this provision appears only in the Council press release and not in the current language of the bill.

The bill would prohibit the sale of invasive bamboo, which is a rapidly-spreading plant. It would also establish penalties for doing so. A public hearing on the bill has been scheduled for July 22, 2025 at 1:30 PM at the County Council chambers.

Most people would probably agree that bamboo is an aggressively invasive plant. Maybe it should be banned, or maybe it should have been banned a long time ago. But one can't help but notice the many crises the County is facing, and wonder why bamboo is the top priority of the County Council. The current Council hasn't passed a single bill to address our moribund economy or sustained violent crime wave. Montgomery County hasn't attracted a single major corporate headquarters in over 25 years. And we are currently facing fiscal oblivion in the coming years, regarding the County's structural budget deficit and debt. This is a part-time Council that is absurdly unserious in its legislative pursuits. We can't go on like this.

Tuesday, June 17, 2025

Construction advancing on Rockville's tallest senior housing project (Photos)


Here's a look at the latest progress on The Pinnacle, a senior housing project that is located at 11565 Old Georgetown Road, about a block west from Rockville Pike and a future north entrance to the White Flint Metro station. It is across the street from Pike & Rose. The 17-story building will house 113 independent living apartments, 40 assisted-living units, and 48 units reserved for memory care and early-stage-dementia Bridge patients. It will have its own 15,000-square-feet of restaurant and retail space, and will appear outwardly as a luxury apartment building, rather than a retirement or nursing facility. Developer Silverstone Senior Living anticipates a Q2 2026 delivery for the project.














Monday, June 16, 2025

Early morning assault in Rockville


Rockville City police responded to a report of an aggravated assault yesterday morning, June 15, 2025. The assault was reported in the 100 block of Talbott Street at 4:30 AM Sunday. It was reported along the street, which runs from Rockville Pike past the Talbott Center and several apartment complexes.

Sunday, June 15, 2025

Trader Joe's opens in Rockville (Photos)


Trader Joe's
fans lined up as far as the eye could see Thursday at the grocery chain's newest Rockville location at 225 N. Washington Street at The Square. A temporary power outage delayed the grand opening ceremonies about two-and-half hours, but did not deter the folks who were lined up all the way down Gibbs Street, toward E. Middle Lane. Once electricity was restored by Pepco, Rockville Mayor Monique Ashton presented Morguard Associate Vice-President Joshua Nolan with a proclamation from the Mayor and Council. Morguard North American Residential Real Estate Investment Trust is the new owner of the development, and recently rebranded it from Rockville Town Square. Morguard Corporation is the management firm for the property.

Morguard AVP Joshua Nolan and
Rockville Mayor Monique Ashton

Rockville Town Square had its struggles over the last two decades, but had never had a true grocery store in the anchor space until now. That has given Morguard confidence that the development can start fresh, with the popular grocer to draw the kind of foot traffic that this corner space had been intended to generate from the beginning. The property hadn't seen the kind of enthusiasm and excitement on display Thursday since the early days of its debut in the summer of 2007.


"This opening reflects Morguard's commitment to creating spaces that enrich local communities," Morguard President and Chief Operating Officer Angela Sahi said in a statement. "The Square is a prime example of how thoughtful reinvestment can spark neighborhood revitalization." Morguard's home run swing in landing Trader Joe's has impressed many local commercial real estate observers, as it immediately solves one of the fundamental flaws that had been a drag on the property, and a source of frustration for City officials.

"We're excited to welcome Trader Joe's and continue expanding the experiences offered at The Square," Nolan said Thursday. "Working with the city and Mayor Monique Ashton, we continue to focus on bringing people together and supporting our community."

Photos courtesy Morguard Corporation

Saturday, June 14, 2025

Police scuffle with suspicious man outside of Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School in Rockville


Montgomery County police, on heightened alert after an antisemitic firebombing attack in Boulder, Colorado two weeks ago, observed a man circling the parking lot at Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School in Rockville at 2:54 PM on Thursday, June 12, 2025. Officers noticed the man's vehicle did not have a student pickup pass displayed. The officers, who were off-duty and assigned to security at the school, directed the driver to exit the parking lot. However, the man then drove back into the lot.

According to police, the officers ordered the man to stop. The man allegedly ignored the officers, and drove through cones into the student pickup line, toward oncoming cars. He then stopped the vehicle, but refused to get out of the car when ordered to by the officers. The man declined to answer questions about his identity, or what his purpose was in being on school property. 

Officers then attempted to forcibly remove him from the vehicle. He allegedly resisted, and then became combative. Officers struggled to subdue him, and noticed a pocket knife fall out of the man's clothing. After a brief scuffle, in which two officers suffered minor injuries, they arrested the man.

Joseph Amr Khairy Abdalla, 38, of Germantown has been charged with multiple counts of assault, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. He is being held without bond at the County jail. Yesterday, the court called for Abdalla to undergo a Maryland Department of Health inpatient competency examination. This is typically ordered to determine if a defendant is competent to stand trial. A trial has been scheduled for July 29, 2025 in Montgomery County District Court in Rockville.

Police say that at this stage of the investigation, they have not yet found evidence that Abdalla intended to harm anyone at the school, but did not elaborate on the findings that led to that conclusion. Montgomery County Police Chief Marc Yamada praised his officers for their vigilance and quick action at the school on Thursday. “The actions of these officers shows our heightened efforts to protect our community and the courage of officers to take decisive action for the safety of all,” Yamada said in a statement.