Armed robbery at Derwood gas station

Montgomery County police responded to a report of an armed robbery at a gas station in Derwood on Tuesday evening. The robbery was reported at a gas station in the 15800 block of Frederick Road around 6:08 PM, according to crime data. A weapon other than a firearm was employed in the robbery.

Maryland earthquake felt in Rockville, across DC region

UPDATE - 3:00 AM, August 4, 2021: The USGS now reports that the earthquake occurred at a depth of 3.4 kilometers. Latest USGS map pinpoints Clarksville, MD as epicenter, although it has not been officially named as such yet.

A 2.1 magnitude earthquake was felt in Bethesda, Rockville, Silver Spring, Derwood, and other parts of Montgomery County; Prince George's County, and Howard County at 2:11 AM this morning. The sound was audible here in Montgomery County, and was more noticeable than the shaking of the ground. According to the United States Geological Survey, the epicenter of the earthquake was 3 km from Highland, Maryland.

News Corp acquiring Rockville-based OPIS

News Corp is acquiring the Rockville-based Oil Price Information Service, the company announced yesterday. OPIS, a subscription-based energy pricing and analytics service, was founded in 1977. News Corp, which is paying $1.150 billion for the service, plans to fold it into its Dow Jones Professional Information Business unit.

“OPIS will be the cornerstone for a rising commodities, energy and renewables digital business that we are convinced will have a positive impact on Dow Jones and News Corp,” News Corp Chief Executive Robert Thomson said in a statement Monday. “We certainly believe OPIS and Dow Jones will be more than the sum of their valuable parts." OPIS is located at 2099 Gaither Road, in the King Farm area of Rockville.

Rockville Amazon Fresh grocery store update (Photos)

Conversion of the Office Depot store into an Amazon Fresh supermarket continues at the 270 Center on Shady Grove Road. The experience of the now-completed Chevy Chase location shows that it is a time-intensive process. 

For starters, plumbing hookups and employee spaces are much more complicated in a grocery store than in an office supply store. But due to the extensive proprietary tech utilized for monitoring and automatic checkout functions, installing all of the wiring for this alone took a major chunk of time at the Chevy Chase store. So this will be a longer job than converting a Shoppers to a Lidl, for example.

Gelato Galaxy coming to Montgomery Mall

Gelato Galaxy is coming to Bethesda. The space-themed frozen treat kiosk will be in the Dining Terrace food court at Westfield Montgomery Mall. In addition to gelato, they will also have soft serve custard and Italian ice. There is also a purple alien mascot ready to bring the flavors of the galaxy to the mall food court. Harry Reid has been fully briefed on this UFO sighting by Luis Elizondo.

Frank Pepe's Pizzeria back on at Montgomery Mall

Is Frank Pepe's Pizzeria Napoletana still coming to Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda? That's been one of the most frequently-asked questions since the pandemic threw the Connecticut-based pizza chain a curve ball in 2020. While construction has yet to begin inside the pizza parlor's future space on Level 1 at the mall, what I can tell you is that Frank Pepe has applied for a liquor license from Montgomery County. A hearing on the application is scheduled for September 2, 2021.

Gutted interior of the future
Frank Pepe's Pizzeria space

Rockville construction update: Ansel Apartments (Photos)

Here's the latest look at the progress on the Ansel Apartments across from Regal Row in Rockville Town Center. Developed by Duball, LLC, the building will be managed by Bozzuto. Delivery is scheduled for this fall. I've heard that the leasing office may open as soon as next week.