Tuesday, August 10, 2021

Hummer EV now available for pre-order at King GMC Buick in Rockville


The highly-anticipated Hummer EV electric truck is now available for pre-order at King GMC Buick, located at 16200 Frederick Road. It features a 300-350 mile range, depending on which model you choose. Advanced features include Ultravision navigation cameras, a power swing gate, and the ability for the truck to drive diagonally like a crab. The pickup model goes 0-60 in three seconds; the SUV version takes a half-second longer. 





Monday, August 9, 2021

Indecent exposure at Rockville grocery store


City of Rockville police responded to a report of indecent exposure at a grocery store on Rockville Pike yesterday morning, August 8, 2021. The incident was reported at a supermarket in the 1800 block of Rockville Pike around 10:15 AM, according to crime data. There is a Safeway store on that block.

Friday, August 6, 2021

Rockville tackling trash, noise issues at Fireside Apartments


The City of Rockville is responding to complaints from the neighborhood around Fireside Park about trash and noise generated by the apartment complex. Rockville owns the affordable apartment development through the independent entity Rockville Housing Enterprises. Recently, there have been complaints about overflowing dumpsters at the complex, litter being tossed and dumped beyond the property lines, and excessive noise. One nearby resident, Max Bliss, forwarded a comprehensive list of the problems - and photographic evidence - to city officials.

About a week later, Community Support Advocate Melissa Wiak from the City Manager's office responded with a list of actions the city intends to take immediately to resolve the issues. The trash and construction debris were carted away. Winn Residential, the property manager, has adjusted the bulk pickup schedule in a way it believes will be more effective in removing such items, Wiak wrote. Winn will also reach out to Fireside residents, to notify them of the rules regarding trash disposal.


One of the sources of the trash has been the construction taking place at the complex. Wiak said the city has advised the construction contractor that all such debris must be removed daily.

Fireside will now have a staff person on duty Saturdays - in tandem with a new Saturday bulk pickup day - to specifically monitor trash. Staff will also check the dumpsters on-site daily.

To deal with noise issues, City of Rockville police units have been notified about noise complaints at the complex. Wiak wrote that officers will increase patrols through and around the complex.

Photos by Max Bliss

Thursday, August 5, 2021

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.

Wednesday, August 4, 2021

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.

Tuesday, August 3, 2021

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.

Monday, August 2, 2021

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.