Arrest made in Montgomery Village 7-Eleven assault

Montgomery County police have arrested a suspect in the August 25, 2025 strong-arm robbery at the 7-Eleven at 19235 Watkins Mill Road, at the Montgomery Village Center. Police were called to the store at 9:07 PM that night, after a suspect allegedly assaulted the female clerk and stole merchandise. Sheldon King, 31, of Montgomery Village has been charged with felony robbery, 2nd-degree assault, and theft. According to Maryland court records, bail has been set at $5000 by Judge Michael O. Glynn III.

Montgomery County police make arrest in Damascus auto theft

A vehicle was stolen from the 26700 block of Ridge Road in Damascus around 9:20 PM on August 25, 2025. It was recovered the same evening by Montgomery County police. John Anthony Torres, 30, of Damascus was arrested the following day, and charged with felony auto theft and misdemeanor rogue and vagabond. He was released on a $400 percentage bond after bail was set at $4000. A trial has been scheduled for October 10 in Montgomery County District Court in Rockville.

Spirit Halloween opens in Gaithersburg

Spirit Halloween is now open in Gaithersburg. Their temporary store location is at 30 Grand Corner Avenue at Rio Lakefront. That was once home to Pier One.  New items for 2025 include an apparent "Giant Rat" trend for 2025 that could get Donald Trump's attention. Also on sale is a Montgomery County Council-inspired Stuffed Dummy Prop. Gardez Bien! Operating hours for the store are 10:00 AM to 9:00 PM Monday through Saturday, and 11:00 AM to 7:00 PM on Sundays.

Claire's closes at Gaithersburg Square

Claire's has closed at 524 N. Frederick Avenue at Gaithersburg Square. The interior has been mostly cleared out, with shelving and other leftover materials stacked up behind the counter. This closure can't be blamed on the moribund Montgomery County economy (though there's something odd about a Claire's in an open-air shopping center instead of an indoor mall). Claire's has filed for bankruptcy, and over 200 locations are closing nationwide.

Rocket Money to flee Montgomery County for Washington, D.C.

The latest economic development defeat for Montgomery County is coming to us from one of the hardest-hit places in MoCo's revenue exodus, downtown Silver Spring. Rocket Money, a fintech startup located at 8455 Colesville Road, is nearing a deal to relocate its headquarters to Washington, D.C., according to a report in the Washington Business Journal. The new Rocket Money HQ is expected to be located in a recently-constructed office building at 1701 Rhode Island Avenue NW. Last home to a WeWork location, the building boasts "a unique facade constructed of pre-aged copper shingles, individually hand treated by an artisan in Italy," in the words of its architectural design firm Hickok Cole.

Silver Spring already sustained one of the biggest body blows to the Montgomery County economy in history, when one of the County's few remaining Fortune 500 companies, Discovery Communications, moved its headquarters to dual facilities in New York City and Tennessee. Infamously, Discovery's suitors quietly closed the deal while the Montgomery County Council was debating a ban on circus animals. The ban passed, but so did the opportunity to retain Discovery.

Of course, Rocket Money is not a Fortune 500 company, and has far fewer employees than Discovery. But it is a prominent fintech in the region, with significant future potential. Its parent company, Rocket Companies, has made the Fortune 500 in the past, but is currently off the list at #619 as of June. Montgomery County hasn't attracted a single new major corporate HQ in over a quarter-century.

Once again, Montgomery County's highest-in-the-region tax and fee burden has bitten the County in the [pocketbook]. Another recent and devastating blow is the new Maryland "tech tax," a 3% levy on all IT services in the state that was championed to passage by Governor Wes Moore, before he left for an Italian vacation at the lake villa of George Clooney. Imagine what that tax would add up to annually for a tech firm like Rocket Money! And that's on top of that already biggest tax burden, courtesy of the County Council and Maryland General Assembly. What company in their right mind would not move if they could? Heckuva job, Brownie!

Patient First building for sale in Germantown

You could become Patient First's landlord if you have $5.5 million burning a hole in your pocket. The building containing the urgent care clinic chain's Milestone Shopping Center location at 21044 Frederick Road in Germantown is now for sale. Built in 1997, the pad site structure was renovated for Patient First in 2019. The asking price for the property is $5,523,810, according to the online sale listing, which is significantly above the assessed value of $2,874,200. It's not clear from the listing if any of the value of the property is derived from potential redevelopment rights.

Sula Latin Market opens in Gaithersburg

Sula Latin Market has opened at 122 E. Diamond Avenue in Olde Towne Gaithersburg. Just ignore the "coming soon" banner on the building. The Latin grocery store is located right across the street from Cancun Mexican Cuisine. Operating hours for the supermarket are 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM, seven days a week.