Lucy Ethiopian Restaurant closed in Silver Spring

Lucy Ethiopian Restaurant has closed at 8301 Georgia Avenue in downtown Silver Spring. The windows are papered over, but there is no message posted for customers. Google states that the restaurant is "temporarily closed." The restaurant's website is currently down, however.

Mount Zion Methodist Episcopal Cemetery remembered in Silver Spring

A banner has been placed at a former car wash site to remind the public that there was a church at this location in the Montgomery Hills area of Silver Spring - and that many of its members remain interred beneath more recent buildings and asphalt today. Mount Zion Methodist Episcopal Church was a landmark at Georgia Avenue and Seminary Road from 1825 to 1964. The church was sold in 1964, but the burial ground associated with it was somehow allowed to be built over by Montgomery County. This was hardly an unusual abomination in the County during the 1960s, tragically.

The good news is that the descendants of some of those buried here are on the case now. Ground penetrating radar has identified over 100 confirmed or potential graves. Some may even be beneath Georgia Avenue itself. The descendants are asking the Maryland State Highway Administration to exhume remains from graves under Georgia Avenue, and reinter them within the burial ground, and return the properties associated with the cemetery to a memorial park use.

It's heartening to see the tragedy of Moses African Cemetery in Bethesda lead to a reexamination of similar travesties countywide. The fascinating part is that the political cartel that runs the County behind the curtain loudly declares its purported belief that "Black Lives Matter," but pushes back with every ounce of strength against actual Black people advocating for the poor souls whose eternal rest has been - and still is - threatened by the rapacious real estate development that is The Only Thing That Matters to the Montgomery County cartel.

Monarch butterfly tagged in Sandy Spring arrives in Mexico

A migrating monarch butterfly tagged in Sandy Spring last September was found in Mexico earlier this year. The monarch successfully traveled 1,934 miles from Maryland to the El Rosario butterfly sanctuary in Michoacán, Mexico. It was among the monarchs tagged by residents of Friends House, a retirement community on Quaker Lane in Sandy Spring, last fall. Less than one-half of a percent of tagged monarchs are recaptured at the end of their journey south of the border.

The tiny tag on the Sandy Spring monarch indicated it had been tagged in the Friends House flower garden on September 27. Researchers at El Rosario recaptured and identified the butterfly on February 4. The tagging program is a volunteer effort coordinated by Monarch Watch to map the annual migration and population of the species.

Purple Line catenary poles popping up all over Silver Spring

Green poles for the Purple Line light rail system are popping up all along its route through Silver Spring. The catenary poles can be seen downtown, where the trains will run along the street, at the Silver Spring Transit Center where there will be a Purple Line station, and in the Long Branch area, among others. These poles are part of the overhead wiring that will power the trains. The Purple Line will run from Bethesda to New Carrollton. As of today, it is scheduled to begin operation in late 2027 or early 2028.

Auto thieves return to Bel Pre Road in Aspen Hill

Lock those vehicles on Bel Pre Road! Auto thieves are returning yet again to one of their favorite haunts in Montgomery County. Montgomery County police report that a vehicle was reported stolen yesterday in the 3800 block of Bel Pre at 5:04 AM. It was taken from a residential parking lot.

Montgomery County government vehicle stolen in Silver Spring

Even the government of Montgomery County is not immune from being victimized by the County's six-year crime wave. A County government vehicle is among the latest stolen by auto thieves. County police report that a Montgomery County Fire Marshal vehicle was stolen from a parking lot in the 3300 block of Gateshead Manor Way in the Fairland area of Silver Spring. 

The theft was discovered yesterday afternoon, and police believe the vehicle was stolen sometime between 2:30 PM on April 29, 2026 and 3:12 PM Monday. Police did not identify the specific address of the parking lot, but the East County Community Center is located at 3310 Gateshead Manor Way.

Royal Farms postpones opening in Silver Spring

UPDATE - May 5, 2026, 5:18 PM: Royal Farms has postponed the opening to June 1. 

The Force is with Royal Farms. Maryland's homegrown mega gas station and convenience store chain opened its newest location this morning at 9475 Georgia Avenue, in the Montgomery Hills area of Silver Spring. It's just south of the interchange with the Capital Beltway. Open 24 hours a day, the station boasts 8 gas pumps and the store serves the chain's famous fried chicken. Now you can stock up on both before you hit the highway to Ocean City this summer.

"Royal Farms has been a Maryland staple since 1959, and opening this Silver Spring location allows us to deepen our connection to our home state," Royal Farms District Leader Steve Rymer said in a statement. "We take great pride in serving our neighbors, and we’re eager to bring our signature fresh-food experience to the Georgia Avenue corridor."