Rockville speed camera lit on fire

A Montgomery County speed camera that issues tickets to drivers was vandalized and lit on fire on July 17, 2020, Montgomery County Fire and Rescue spokesperson Pete Piringer said today. Anti-law-enforcement words were spray painted on the camera, the lenses were covered, and then the camera unit was lit ablaze.

The camera was located in the 400 block of Hurley Avenue, near Wootton Mill Park, in Rockville. Piringer asked that anyone with information related to this incident contact the MCFRS Arson Hotline at 240-777-2263.

Photo via Pete Piringer/MCFRS

7-Eleven opens at Montgomery Mall

7-Eleven has opened at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda. The store is located at the entrance to the Dining Terrace on Level 2.

Richard Montgomery football coach, others speak out on MCPS cancelling fall, winter sports

Montgomery County Public Schools announced Tuesday that all sports for fall and winter have been cancelled, due to the coronavirus pandemic. The announcement was one line in a larger announcement that no on-site instruction will take place in MCPS for the fall semester. Many coaches and athletes' reactions ranged from resigned disappointment to devastation and anger.

One common theme among those opposed to cancelling sports was to question why fall and winter sports could not be either postponed or rescheduled for a different part of the school year, rather than have a lost season. Randy Thompson, head coach for the Richard Montgomery High School varsity football team, summed up these matters - and the short-shrift the sports decision was given in the MCPS statement - in one tweet.

"The announcement from MCPS to cancel fall and winter sports instead of to postpone and reevaluate, seems unjust to our student athletes, certainly given the fashion in which it passed over in a single sentence," Thompson tweeted. "Why not [reevaluate] 1 month from now, two months from now?," tweeted Quince Orchard High School head football coach John Kelley.

An online petition has been started to play fall and winter sports in the spring. At the same time, some MCPS parents expressed relief at the announcement, believing that having students gathering for practices and games would have put the larger community at risk for Covid-19 transmission.

Thompson, Albert Einstein High School football defensive coordinator Joe Bruneel, and other MCPS coaches vowed to do what they could to salvage some benefit for their student athletes this coming school year. Bruneel proposed football coaches across the system organize for a spring football season. Thompson said he would try to get his players on film to showcase their talents for colleges.

Outdoor seating at Silver Diner in Rockville

The outdoor seating at Silver Diner at 12276 Rockville Pike at Federal Plaza is among the most upscale in Montgomery County. Compared to scattered tables - sometimes with umbrellas - plunked down in parking spaces at other shopping centers, Silver Diner's is more like a garden party. A full-size tent covers the outdoor seating, and it even includes plants for decoration.

Barnes & Noble sets opening date for Congressional Plaza store in Rockville

Books arriving on shelves

at relocating store

Last week the Nook e-readers arrived at the new Barnes & Noble at Congressional Plaza on Rockville Pike. This weekend, books began being put on the shelves. The Starbucks BN Cafe is ready, and now I have the opening date for the store: Wednesday, August 5, 2020. Barnes & Noble is relocating here from Montrose Crossing down the Pike.

BN Cafe completed, Nook readers arrive at Barnes & Noble at Congressional Plaza

The Starbucks BN Cafe at the future Barnes & Noble bookstore at Congressional Plaza is complete, minus potential wall artwork. It's sure to stir cafe-envy in Bethesda residents stuck with the small and cafe-less Amazon Books as replacement for the shuttered Barnes & Noble at Bethesda Row.

First to hit the shelves at this relocating Rockville location? Nook e-readers. I'll take a hard copy book over one of those any day of the week, though.

Crumbl Cookies opening in Rockville

A cookie shop? This brings back memories of an age when Mrs. Field's was a ubiquitous mall tenant like Auntie Anne's and Cinnabon. Let's pretend to return to a golden age of warm cookies when Crumbl Cookies opens later this year at Federal Plaza.

This will be the first northeast location of Crumbl Cookies, which also sells ice cream. They've chosen a good location on busy Rockville Pike, and which is also walking distance from Pike & Rose, another Federal Realty property.

They've started construction inside. But the signs are already up outside. I'm a little bit triggered by the name of the Utah-based company, though - fresh, soft cookies shouldn't crumble!