VA named State of the Year by corporate relocation mag, MoCo loser in Halo Labs HQ move

This is another humiliating week for the Montgomery County political cartel. Just as the latest statistics show office vacancies rising higher in Montgomery, Business Facilities magazine named Virginia "State of the Year" for corporate relocations and economic development. Amazon announced that the first several hundred employees are being hired for their HQ 2 in Crystal City, one of the deals that helped Virginia win the award. Virginia also won the contest for the first U.S. manufacturing facility for Canada's Flow Alkaline Spring Water, which will bring a $15.5 million investment in the state. And just yesterday, Halo Labs announced they are relocating their corporate headquarters from Philadelphia to Burlingame, California, skipping over moribund Montgomery County.

Once again, MoCo officials were caught asleep at the switch in the competition for Halo Labs. The company should have been a natural fit, as Montgomery County's biotech sector is the only bright spot in the County's moribund economy - Halo Labs is a life sciences instrumentation company. Their Horizon system allows subvisible particle analysis for pharmaceutical research. How Montgomery officials could have slept through such an opportunity is beyond imagination.

“Virginia snared more than $5.5 billion in capital investment for its top two projects, and its top five job-creation efforts netted nearly 28,000 new jobs in a diverse and well-executed growth strategy that has made VA a high-tech force to be reckoned with,” Business Facilities Editor-in-Chief Jack Rogers said Wednesday. Rogers declared that Virginia isn't just a top player in the tech sector, but is "dominating the field." Montgomery County hasn't even made it out of the locker room. They're too busy getting stuffed into a locker by Ralph Northam.

Virginia has shown it can not only soundly beat Montgomery County in the region's traditional sectors, but also quickly conquer new frontiers. In fact, it is already on the verge of erasing Montgomery's thin advantage in MoCo's only successful sector, biotech. Virginia "can walk and chew gum at the same time—which in this case means they’re upgrading traditional industries while accelerating emerging growth sectors,” Rogers said yesterday.

One of the least-discussed of Virginia's many advantages in attracting Amazon was its cutting-edge efforts in the exploding field of unmanned aerial vehicles, one of great interest to Amazon's CEO Jeff Bezos. Just days ago, it was announced that Virginia will be the first state in the nation where drones will deliver packages, as the FAA cleared Wing to operate a pilot program in Blacksburg.

No wonder Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan is spending his week tilting at presidential windmills, and signing hundreds of radical far-left socialist bills into law in Annapolis. He has no economic development news to tout. Montgomery's elected officials spent the week arguing about whether taxpayers should give County government employees a 6% or 9% raise, after raising Council salaries to $137,000 and promising you a 4.8% property tax hike to pay for all that - but continue to take no action on our economic development and traffic congestion crises. Heckuva job, Brownie!

Update on Commonwealth Indian restaurant in Rockville

Another of the most-asked-about restaurants by readers is the long-delayed Commonwealth Indian at Pike & Rose. There has now been much progress on the construction inside, lighting fixtures and some furniture are in place, a counter is taking shape, and signage and other design accents have been installed outside.

Commonwealth Indian is located at 11610 Old Georgetown Road, which was previously home to La Madeleine, one of many restaurant chains destroyed by the anti-business Montgomery County Council. Stay tuned for an opening date.

Montgomery County police respond to call for more security at mosques during Ramadan

Montgomery County Councilmember Will Jawando released a letter to acting Montgomery County Police Chief Russ Hamill Monday, in which he requested the department "increase security" at mosques in the county during the holy month of Ramadan. Ramadan begins the evening of Sunday, May 5, and ends the morning of Wednesday, June 5. The department last night issued a statement saying they have received Jawando's letter, and many inquiries about it from unidentified individuals.

In the statement, MCPD says they will continue to work closely with faith communities in the county, but will not ever publicly announce or disclose specific security plans. A public discussion of strategies and tactics "may diminish – not enhance –  the safety of our residents," MCPD says.

Crown Dental is first retail tenant at Escher in Rockville

Escher, the new apartment building that opened last June, has finally gotten a retail tenant for its ground floor. Crown Dental will be the first business to lease space at the building, located at 1900 Chapman Avenue in Rockville.

More Montgomery County headlines:

Poke Dojo closer to opening at Bethesda Row

Gaithersburg leaders discuss potential bikeshare stations, dockless e-bikes

Carter's to open store at Wheaton Plaza

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Construction underway at Cooper's Hawk Winery & Restaurant in Rockville

Cooper's Hawk Winery & Restaurant is now under construction at the Research Row shopping center in Rockville. Part of the parking lot in front of the future restaurant's space has been closed off for construction vehicles.

While a substantial amount of work has been done inside, it is still in the earliest phase of construction. This will be a nice sit-down dining addition to Research Row, and the second Cooper's Hawk location in Maryland. Cooper's Hawk is expected to open this summer.

Windsor posts Coming Soon signage at Montgomery Mall

Windsor, a women's fashion boutique, has posted some "Coming Soon" signage on their future space at Westfield Montgomery Mall. The company began in 1937 as a lingerie and hosiery store owned by two brothers. Now best known for their special occasion dress line, Windsor boasts 200 stores nationwide.

The company is now hiring staff for the new Montgomery Mall store. Their space is located on Level 1 by GNC. Windsor will open this spring.

Olio Nails & Spa opens in Rockville

Olio Nails & Spa is now open at the Research Row shopping center in Rockville at 1403 Research Boulevard, Unit 102. They are easiest to find if you enter the shopping center from the W. Montgomery Avenue entrance, as they are on the back side of the building that Robeks Juice will be in, a side you can't see from the center's most-popular businesses Chick-fil-A and Onelife Fitness.