Shady Grove Metro station to reopen in January

WMATA announced that the extended closure of two Metro stations that has extremely inconvenienced commuters in Rockville, Gaithersburg, Germantown, Clarksburg and Damascus for months will end in January. The Shady Grove and Rockville Metro Red Line stations are now scheduled to reopen for service on January 16, 2022. Free parking and free shuttle bus service will continue to be offered at both stations until the reopening date.

Burger King construction update (Photos)

There's still no reopening date for the Burger King at 16004 Shady Grove Road, on the border of Rockville and Gaithersburg. A few minor signs of progress since my last report: They've painted the formerly red southwestern corner wall. A final layer of material was applied to the fake tower atop the front of the building. And resurfacing and striping of the parking lot has been completed.

Those weird 1000-lunch-bags window coverings are still up. It looks like canopies over the drive-thru windows may yet have to be installed. This is the best-rated Burger King of those that remain in Montgomery County. I hope they reopen soon, because I've missed about 15 limited-time Burger King menu items during the renovation, between the pandemic and the closure.

Gaithersburg Amazon Fresh construction update (Photos)

If you're just looking from the outside, nothing much appears to have been done at the future Amazon Fresh at the 270 Center on Shady Grove Road in recent weeks. The most visible change is fresh asphalt and line striping on the parking lot in front of the store. But inside, installation of complex wiring, cameras and sensor equipment is being performed, a process that is quite time-consuming for an Amazon grocery store with automatic checkout functions. It can't even be ruled out that they might employ Just Walk Out technology at this store, as they mean for that checkout system to replace the Dash Cart across all Amazon Fresh locations eventually. In addition to the Friendship Heights store, another Montgomery County Amazon Fresh has been confirmed for the Chevy Chase Lake development.

Strong-arm rape reported in Clarksburg

Montgomery County police responded to a report of a strong-arm rape in a rural area of Clarksburg on Saturday afternoon. The sexual assault was reported in the 14700 block of Comus Road at 5:17 PM, according to crime data. No further information about the incident has been released by the police department as of this time.

Signage installed at Royal Farms in Gaithersburg (Photos)

Here is the latest update from the future Royal Farms at the Spectrum development at the Watkins Mill Road I-270 interchange in Gaithersburg. Most notably, the logo signage has finally gone up on the convenience store and the gas pump canopy. Glass and roof materials have been installed on the car wash structure, and an enclosure for trash dumpsters has been erected. The parking lot has been paved and some striping laid down. 

Harris elected VP of Gaithersburg City Council

Gaithersburg City Councilmember Neil Harris has been chosen by his colleagues to serve a one year term as Vice-President of the City Council. Harris has served on the Council since 2014. The software/IT executive will act as president if the Mayor cannot be present at a proceeding.

First look: Gaithersburg Square renovations (Photos)

Here's a look at some of the completed renovations at the Gaithersburg Square shopping center at 524 N. Frederick Road. First of all, the parking lot has been repaved. There is new lighting in place. Additional outdoor seating has been created. The high point of the new seating is around an electric "fire pit" that has a star-shaped heating element. A great spot to enjoy that Hot Chocolate from Panera Bread!