JK Beer & Wine closes in Rockville

JK Beer & Wine has closed at 800 Rockville Pike, in the Golden Arcade strip mall. Signage has been removed from the storefront (or maybe just covered over, for now). A sign in the window states the space is now available for lease. JK Beer & Wine opened here in November 2021, but is still open at its 331 Kentlands Boulevard location in Gaithersburg.

Rockville Wegmans-anchored Twinbrook Quarter development tops out

Construction of Phase 1 of B.F. Saul's Twinbrook Quarter development has topped out at the corner of Rockville Pike (MD 355) and Halpine Road in Rockville. Clark Construction, the lead contractor on the project, made the announcement this afternoon. Twinbrook Quarter has been the most highly-anticipated development in the city since Rockville Town Square, in no small part because its retail anchor will be a Wegmans grocery store. Clark nodded to that by noting that the amount of concrete it has poured for the 12-story building would fill 29,166 Wegmans shopping carts.

Photo courtesy Clark Construction

Rockville marijuana dispensary seeks parking waiver from City

Peake ReLeaf, a medical marijuana dispensary in the Chapman Center at 2001 Chapman Avenue, is asking the City of Rockville for a waiver from its current parking requirements. Specifically, it would like permission to reduce its parking mandate by 17 spaces. But if it receives the waiver, the number of surface parking spaces will remain the same. Why seek the waiver, then? It's slightly complicated.

The dispensary business is located in a property that received a previous parking waiver in 1982. That waiver allowed the property to be occupied by several tenants, under the condition that a portion of the building would remain vacant. Peak ReLeaf would now like to occupy that unused space with new medical offices, that would complement its existing retail functions. In order to do that, it must now either create 17 new parking spaces, or receive this waiver from the City.

Peake ReLeaf's parking study indicates that even at peak times of the day, only 70% of its surface parking spaces are filled. The Rockville Planning Commission will review the waiver request at its February 15, 2023 meeting. Planning staff are recommending approval of the waiver, citing the property's proximity to bike lanes and the Twinbrook Metro station. The City has not received any feedback from residents on the proposed waiver so far, but the staff report notes that there is no legal requirement to notify the public of parking waiver requests.

Rockville City Council to expand to six seats in 2024 election

Rockville's Mayor and Council voted unanimously Monday night to expand the number of seats on the City Council from four to six in the 2024 city election. The change was one of several recommended by the Rockville Charter Review Commission to increase turnout and participation in City elections. It will officially become part of the City Charter on the 50th day following the vote, unless a petition signed by 20% of voters is presented to the Mayor and Council by the 40th day calling for it to be overturned.

With the Mayor having one vote equal to a City Councilmember vote, this will make a total of seven elected offices representing city residents. A separate question being taken up by the Council that will determine if the city will be separated into Council districts, or continue electing all offices at-large.

Photo courtesy City of Rockville

Assault at Rockville convenience store

Rockville City police responded to a report of a 2nd-degree assault at a convenience store on Rockville Pike early yesterday morning, February 6, 2023. The assault was reported at a store in the 700 block of Rockville Pike at 1:20 AM. In addition to assault, the suspect is also facing a potential charge of trespassing.

Online ads lead Montgomery County police to illegal massage parlor in Rockville

Montgomery County police detectives with the department's Vice and Intelligence unit have arrested and charged a New York woman with prostitution and sex trafficking. Police say online ads featuring photos of "scantily-clad Asian women in lingerie" led them to an unlicensed massage spa in the 14800 block of Physicians Lane in Rockville. Detectives have not publicly identified the name of the spa; there are three spas on that block.

Starting last November, V&I unit detectives began watching the spa, and noted male clients entering and leaving the business. Using evidence gathered, the detectives were able to obtain a search warrant for the spa premises at the end of December. They executed the warrant on January 4, 2023. Inside, they found an alleged sex trafficking victim, who told them that 63-year-old Yang Jiang had allegedly told her she could make extra money by providing sexual services to her massage clients. 

“This arrest is the third incident in recent months involving an illicit spa and human trafficking in Montgomery County.  This underscores the real and rising threat posed by human trafficking in the region,” MCPD Police Chief Marcus Jones said in a statement Monday. “Victims of human trafficking are not always forced into trafficking by brute, physical means. Victims are often coerced into being trafficked over a period of time through deliberate, psychological tactics used by their traffickers, so the signs of trafficking may not always be obvious. There are several ways that victims of trafficking can obtain help and can contact either the police department directly or the Montgomery County Crisis Center.”  

Anyone with information regarding Yang Jiang is asked to contact the Montgomery County Department of Police Vice and Intelligence Unit at 240-773-5958 or contact Crime Solvers of Montgomery County toll-free at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477). Callers may remain anonymous.  

Police urge anyone who is a victim of sex trafficking to contact the Montgomery County Crisis Center. The Crisis Center provides free crisis services 24 hours a day, every day of the year. Services are available to you by telephone (240-777-4000) or in person at 1301 Piccard Drive in Rockville (no appointment needed). Alternatively, you can call 911.

Rockville to hold public hearing tonight on voting age, size of the City Council in future elections

Rockville's Mayor and Council will hold a public hearing on proposed changes to the city's election laws tonight, Monday, February 6, 2023 at 7:00 PM at City Hall. Changes being considered by the elected officials include lowering the voting age from 18 to 16, permitting non-citizens to vote, setting term limits, creating representative districts instead of electing all seats on an at-large basis, creating an administrative process to fill a vacancy on the council, changing election years to coincide with presidential or gubernatorial elections, and implementing ranked-choice voting. The Mayor and Council will consider the public input from tonight's hearing when it discusses the changes at its February 27 meeting, before taking a final vote.

Photo courtesy City of Rockville