Burtonsville Day returns for 2021

After a pandemic cancellation in 2020, Burtonsville Day is returning for 2021. The popular annual parade and event is now set for Saturday, September 25, 2021. You can see a full list of all of the festival events and attractions here. Having been in the parade myself in 2018, I can say you are in for a treat. According to the countdown clock as I write this, there are only 57 days, 23 hours and 0 minutes until Burtonsville Day 2021!

Strong-arm robbery in Connecticut Avenue Estates

Montgomery County police responded to a report of a strong-arm robbery in the Connecticut Avenue Estates neighborhood of Silver Spring Monday night. The robbery was reported in the 3500 block of Edwin Street around 9:33 PM, according to crime data.

Car Wash Coffee shop becoming office space in Kensington

Here's something you rarely hear in moribund Montgomery County, which has been at rock bottom in the region in job creation over the last decade - a property being converted to office space, rather than office space being converted to residential. It's going to happen in the former Car Wash Coffee shop space at 10700 Connecticut Avenue in Kensington. 

No structural changes to the building will be needed for the planned conversion. Car Wash Coffee closed after the start of the pandemic, and did not reopen. Longtime residents will recall this building once having been a Roy Rogers fast food restaurant.

New crosswalk in Wheaton Triangle (Photos)

A new crosswalk with flashing signal posts has been added to Grandview Avenue alongside the new Montgomery County government office building, which has its entrance at 2425 Reedie Drive. The lights appear to be still under wraps, but the crosswalk is open with signage, pedestrian-activated switch, ADA-compliant ramps, and bollards in the center of Grandview. The crosswalk should get a lot of use, as it provides access to and from local businesses, the office building, the public parking garage, the Wheaton Metro station, and the new Wheaton town square event space.

Battlestar airsoft shooting range opens at Wheaton Plaza

Battlestar, an airsoft indoor shooting range, has opened at Westfield's Wheaton Plaza mall. A similar attraction was briefly a tenant at Westfield sister property Montgomery Mall in Bethesda in 2019. Aim Point proved controversial among gun control activists, and departed the mall after only two months in business. Battlestar features a sci-fi space theme, without the overt military and automatic weapon images that were found on the interior of Aim Point.

Police investigate prostitution at Silver Spring residence

Montgomery County police responded to a call regarding possible prostitution-related activities at a Silver Spring apartment early Wednesday morning. Police were summoned to a building in the 10800 block of Georgia Avenue - just south of Wheaton - around 4:34 AM Wednesday morning, crime data indicates.

Shalom Kosher drops Ben & Jerry's ice cream after company's Israeli settlements announcement

Shalom Kosher supermarket at 1361 Lamberton Drive in the Kemp Mill Center has announced it is dropping all Ben & Jerry's products, after the frozen dessert company announced it would no longer sell its ice cream "in the Occupied Palestinian Territory." The Ben & Jerry's decision targeted Israeli settlements, and has triggered a firestorm of blowback for the politically-engaged company, and the company may now be in violation of recent state and local laws that penalize entities that cut financial ties with Israeli settlements. Even its parent company, Unilever, is distancing itself from the ice cream maker.

But local businesses like Shalom Kosher are taking more immediate action. "Due to the recent announcement by Ben & Jerry's, Shalom Kosher has removed all of the Ben & Jerry's products from our store, and will no longer sell their products effective immediately," the store said in a statement, adding, "We stand with Israel!"