Montgomery Village Car Wash burglarized twice in one week

Montgomery Village Car Wash at 19604 Club House Road was burglarized twice in four days' time earlier this month, Montgomery County police report. The first burglary took place in the "early morning hours" of March 4, police say, and the second around the same time four days later on March 8. Officers responding to the scene in both cases found evidence of forced entry at the car wash. Money and property were stolen from the business. 

Police describe the suspect in each break-in only as a Black male of undetermined age. If you have any information that could assist police in closing these cases, call (301) 279-8000.

You could be 7-Eleven's landlord in Germantown

If you have $4 million burning a hole in your pocket, you could take a Big Bite out of Germantown real estate. The land underneath the 7-Eleven convenience store and gas station at 12861 Clopper Road has hit the market for sale. You would become the landlord for 7-Eleven under this triple net lease (NNN) arrangement. The online sale listing offers some interesting facts about this 7-Eleven, such as its status in the 91st-percentile of customer traffic for the brand among all 7-Eleven stores in the United States, that 321,000 customers have patronized this 7-Eleven in the last 12 months, and that the store has about 5.5 years left on its current lease.

Virginia beats Maryland in January job growth

Virginia hammered Maryland in job growth once again in January 2025. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Virginia added 7,100 jobs in January, while Maryland only created 4,900. The BLS also revised Virginia's numbers from December upward, with the Old Dominion's jobs-added figure rising from 4,900 to 14,200. Maryland had infamously only gained a paltry 200 jobs in December.

“More Virginians are working than ever in the Commonwealth as jobs and opportunity continue to expand in Virginia,” Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin said in a statement Tuesday. “In January, the Commonwealth added 7,100 nonfarm jobs, building on the upwardly revised job gains in December. This performance underscores the success of our pro-business policies and our ongoing focus on workforce development, which are providing Virginia companies the talent they need to grow and Virginians with the opportunities to succeed.” 

Regal Cinemas Germantown building for sale

You could own your very own cineplex in Montgomery County. CBRE is now marketing the vacant Regal Cinemas at 20000 Century Boulevard in Germantown for sale. While the signage posted on the theater building is pushing a retail use, the online sale listing notes that the 14-screen cineplex inside remains intact. That means this could be essentially a turnkey operation to reopen the theater for a smart cineplex chain, or a wealthy movie buff. Financing is being offered on the listing page, but the asking price for the property - which includes a large surface parking lot - is not provided. Good luck, and until next time, the balcony is closed!

If Maryland loses FBI HQ, Gov. Wes Moore may have only himself to blame

If Maryland loses the FBI headquarters it thought it won in a beauty contest during the Biden administration, Governor Wes Moore may have only himself - and his devotees in the press - to blame. Moore lashed out at President Donald Trump after Trump declared the FBI would be staying in D.C. during a speech at the Department of Justice last week. He called Trump's statement political - and he was right, but not in the way he thought. It was Moore who played politics badly almost a month ago.

Moore initially took a more measured approach after Trump's victory last November. It appeared their relationship was off to a promising start when Trump appointed Moore to the bipartisan Council of Governors last month. But then Moore attended a meeting of governors from across the country at The White House, and went on a press tour to say that Trump had gone "off the rails" at the event. Eager to champion any Democrat who will forcefully take on Trump, and overeager to bolster Moore's bid for the presidency in 2028, the media began publishing reports and encouraging Moore to boost his attacks.

"Maryland Governor Wes Moore appears to have dismissed any possibility of working with President Donald Trump," Maryland Matters reported. "Any possibility?" Does that sound like a wise position to take when the state depends on the federal government in so many ways?

Moore told reporters that he supported Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown's lawsuits against the Trump administration. He said he was "deeply underwhelmed" and "troubled" by Trump. Moore described Trump's speech as "an hour-long diatribe of conspiracy theories and attacks." The Baltimore Sun said Moore was "more determined to push back" against the President. Many Democrats and journalists were positively giddy about Moore's rants against Trump, despite a replacement Key Bridge and the FBI HQ being just two major projects hanging in the balance.

Imagine if Moore had taken a different approach, especially knowing that other politicians have followed a rather simple strategy to forge a successful relationship with Trump. Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has met privately with Trump for dialogue outside of the public view, rather than fire invective through the press. She has acceded to several Trump priorities over the last few months, either by verbal intent, or by action, such as the removal of Black Lives Matter Plaza. As a result, a major cut to the D.C. budget was overturned by the Republican-controlled U.S. Senate at the 11th hour, and Trump has so far not followed through on his threats to intervene in city affairs. 

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, off to a rocky start at home, put on a master class in Trump diplomacy during his White House visit. With a flourish, out came an invitation to visit King Charles, a clear play on Trump's oft-stated affection for the British Royal Family. And the contrasting approaches of Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin and former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan toward Trump have had predictably-opposite outcomes. All three of those who established a successful rapport with Trump used a combination of flattery and pragmatism, while holding firm on certain principles that were cast as furthering Trump's objectives. Those who simply attacked ended up empty handed.

It's no surprise, then, that Trump would not hesitate to pull back the FBI headquarters after a barrage of attacks from Moore through the media. In a state that has failed to score any big economic development wins in the private sector for decades, fumbling the rare infusion of government largess the FBI HQ represented was an unforced error by Moore.

Rendering via Prince George's County 

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore's poll numbers drop as he pushes unpopular tax, fee hikes

Maryland Governor Wes Moore (D) received more bad news from poll results this week, as his highly-unpopular plan to raise multiple taxes and fees - and introduce new ones - is tanking his approval rating across the state. 55% of registered voters approve of the governor, down from 61% in January, according to the Gonzales Poll released Wednesday. 50% of those polled said they believe the state is heading in the wrong direction. 58% labeled Maryland's economy as "fair or poor" - that has risen by 4 points since the University of Maryland Baltimore County poll in late February.

The combination of Maryland's moribund economy, Moore's tax hike plan, his proposed 75-cent tax on all Amazon and food deliveries from firms like DoorDash and Uber Eats, his EmPOWER MD fee that caused electricity rates to skyrocket this winter, and his squandering of a $5.5 billion surplus left by his predecessor, Republican Larry Hogan, is leading some to ask if Moore is up to the job of leading the state. That's quite a change from the beginning of his term, when the primary question was how long he would serve before running for the White House. 

Moore's stellar resume suggested he would lead with strength and competence in all relevant areas. The promised business acumen has yet to emerge, his handling of Maryland's finances has paled next to Hogan's tax-hike-free eight years of fiscal stability, and the state's long-moribund economy has made Moore's plans for massive new spending on social programs and education a difficult-to-impossible mission.

"No Moore" campaign posts video critiquing governor

Contributing to the public's attention to Moore's struggles was a decision by the Maryland Democratic Party to begin attacking an anonymously-led campaign called "No Moore." But in demanding the State Board of Elections unmask the group, and investigate it for unsubstantiated violations of election law, the party wound up elevating public awareness of No Moore - along with the number of its followers on social media. Moore's office distanced itself from that effort. No Moore wasted no time in leveraging its newfound support, posting a video critiquing Moore on X yesterday morning.

Assault reported at school in Germantown

A 2nd-degree assault was reported to Montgomery County police at a school in Germantown yesterday morning, March 12, 2025. The assault was reported at Great Seneca Creek Elementary School at 9:15 AM Wednesday. However, it appears the reported incident had taken place a day earlier, at 3:25 PM Tuesday afternoon.