Human BioSciences fleeing Montgomery County for West Virginia

The hits just keep on coming for Montgomery County. Its moribund economy took another cannonball to the gut yesterday. Human BioSciences announced it will be the latest company to move its corporate headquarters out of Montgomery County to a lower-tax jurisdiction in the region. It will move its current HQ from 940 Clopper Road in Gaithersburg to wild, wonderful West Virginia. 

The blow is an especially painful one for the County, as the biotech industry is the only bright spot in MoCo's private sector economy. According to the Maryland Department of Labor, all Human BioSciences employees are being offered positions at the new West Virginia facility, meaning that the taxable revenue of any MoCo residents leaving with the company will also be lost to the County's coffers.

It says quite a bit about the state of business in Montgomery County and Maryland that a biotech firm would leave. Remember, the County and State both provide financial incentives and tax breaks to the biotech sector, decisions made decades ago by smarter leaders that allowed for the creation of a strong life sciences presence in the I-270 corridor. In recent years, that strength has begun to weaken. It hasn't been helped when you have the state legislature and Governor Wes Moore wallop firms that are immersed in technology with a new 3% tech tax, as of July 1 this year. 

The tech tax is piled on top of the fact that Montgomery County already suffers from the highest tax and fee burden in the region. We've seen the results over this century, as companies like Discovery Communications have fled. Only a week ago, Rocket Money announced it was moving its HQ from Silver Spring to Washington, D.C. 

Meanwhile, Northern Virginia has been cleaning our clock, Hoovering up the corporate HQs of Northrop Grumman, Amazon HQ 2, Nestle, Corporate Executive Board, Hilton Hotels, Lidl, Gerber, Lego, Intelsat, CoStar, Volkswagen, Blackboard, and General Dynamics. This is the direct result of decisions made by failed leaders who have no clue about the world of international business circa 2025. Heckuva job, Brownie!

Thief trolls for valuables in Rockville parking garage

Rockville City police are on the lookout for a man who allegedly spent the night in a parking garage seeking to steal valuables from inside the vehicles parked there. The suspect was in the garage between 6:45 PM on August 26, 2025, and 7:00 AM the next morning. Surveillance camera footage allegedly shows him checking the door handles of vehicles in the garage, and taking property from inside of them. Some of the vehicles were unlocked.

Police describe the suspect as a Black male of unspecified age, with a medium build, tall, thick hair and a thick goatee. He was wearing black pants, a black shirt, and a green hat, and carrying a black backpack. If you can identify the suspect, or have any other information about this incident, call police at 240-314-8900.

Jaws 50th Anniversary screening at Regal Rockville Center this Saturday

Jaws, the summer blockbuster that created the summer blockbuster, turned 50 this year. To celebrate, many theaters around the country are bringing the Steven Spielberg classic back to the big screen. Regal Cinemas Rockville Center at 199 E. Montgomery Avenue will be screening the film this Saturday, September 13, 2025, at 1:00 PM. Tickets are limited, and available online. I'm not sure I understand why many of these screenings have been scheduled for the fall, though; Jaws was and is very much a summer movie.

Assault at apartment complex in Rockville

Montgomery County police responded to a report of a 2nd-degree assault in the Twinbrook area of Rockville on September 5, 2025. The assault was reported in the 12900 block of Twinbrook Parkway at 4:14 PM last Friday. It took place in the parking lot of a garden apartment complex on that block. 

Montgomery Mall to celebrate the arrival of fall with Fall Fest September 20

Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda is welcoming the fall equinox with a Fall Fest celebration on September 20, 2025 from 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM. The event will feature a "vibrant" artisan market, craft activities, and dance. There will be dance performances, and attendees can participate in interactive salsa lessons. Over 30 local arts and crafts vendors will be spotlighted in the artisan market. Many mall businesses will offer fall season specials and experiences during the Fall Fest hours. The event is free, and you can RSVP online.

Darband Restaurant nears opening in Rockville

Darband Restaurant looks pretty close to opening at 765-H Rockville Pike, at the Ritchie Center in Rockville. The window coverings have been removed. A Pepsi cooler and some shelving have been moved into the dining space. Artwork has been hung on the right wall, and new "Open," "Darband Kabob" and "Persian Restaurant" lighted signs have been installed in the front window. The flatscreens and "100% Fresh Ingredients" and "Halal" signs are holdovers from previous tenant Taste of Kabab. That restaurant's sign is also strangely still up over the storefront.

Gorjana, PacSun, HEYTEA could be in your future at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda

A sharp-eyed reader noticed some new additions to the tenant roster at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda, and snapped a few screenshots (see below) before they were taken down. These "coming soon" listings touted the ultra-popular Chinese beverage cafe HEYTEA, and a return by California-inspired surf and skate-wear retailer PacSun. I also see remnants of those listings in Google search, but the links just take you to the main mall directory now. But the reader said mall management confirmed HEYTEA and PacSun - as well as another California-inspired retailer, jewelry boutique Gorjana - perhaps in time for the holiday shopping season, although there are no official announcements or target opening dates at this time.