Silver Spring construction update: Solaire 8250 Georgia Avenue (Photos)

The Solaire 8250 Georgia Avenue apartment building project  hasn't made all that much noticeable progress since my update last month. Mostly, there is more Tyvek around the lower and middle floors. There's also more definition of the ground floor level of the Washington Property Company development. Perhaps the recent weeks of heavy rains have impacted the pace of the construction.

With a height of 20 stories, the Solaire 8250 will hold 338 apartments and 15000 SF of retail space, including outdoor seating for dining. Parking will be located in a three-level underground garage. Amenities will include a resort-style rooftop swimming pool and deck, cyber cafe, private courtyard, fitness center, and a club room complete with kitchen, library, flatscreen TV, fireplace and game room. Apartments will be a mix of studios and 1-and-2 bedroom units.

Lendlease is the contractor for the project, Design Collective of Baltimore is the architecture firm, and leasing of the street-level retail and restaurant space will be handled by Streetsense. Delivery is expected in Spring 2019.

Purple Line noise ahead in Lyttonsville, Silver Spring, Long Branch

Blasting for the Plymouth Street tunnel is now scheduled to begin tomorrow, according to Purple Line Transit Partners. Dynamiting of rock underground will continue sporadically on weekdays throughout August, between the hours of 7:00 AM to 9:00 PM.

A different Purple Line-related loud noise will be coming from pile driving at the Lyttonsville Place Bridge. That work will begin "on or about" August 13, and continue through September 7. Pile driving will occur between the hours of 7:00 AM and 5:00 PM.

12-year-old girl allegedly raped by MCPS school bus driver in Silver Spring

Another day, another sex offense arrest of a Montgomery County Public Schools employee. As the school system's scandalous and sordid child abuse saga continues to unfold, and MCPS "leadership" and the County Council cover-up and hide, parents are left seeking answers. In the latest incident, MCPS bus driver Etienne K. Kabongo, 62, of the 7800 block of Mineral Springs Drive in Gaithersburg was arrested on August 5 and charged with second-degree rape, third-degree sexual offense and the sexual abuse of a minor.

The arrest came after an investigation of an alleged incident aboard Kabongo's bus on July 31, around 12:30 PM. His bus, transporting special education students, stopped at Yates Road in Silver Spring to drop off a student. While a second MCPS bus attendant was off the bus assisting the student being dropped off, Kabongo allegedly raped another 12-year-old female student aboard the bus.

Detectives with the Montgomery County police Special Victims Investigations unit say they are concerned that Kabongo, known to students as "Mr. Steve," may have other victims. Their concerns are multiplied by the fact that "Mr. Steve" has worked since 2006 as a bus operator, primarily driving for students receiving special needs education, at multiple schools across the County. Anyone who is concerned that a child has been victimized by Kabongo is asked to call detectives at 240-773-5400.

Astro Lab Brewing logo painted on (Photos)

The logo sign for Astro Lab Brewing was being painted on the front of the building Sunday. Expected to open by the end of summer, Astro Lab is located at 8216 Georgia Avenue.

TPB grant to fund design of new Forest Glen sidewalk

A long-missing piece of pedestrian infrastructure in Forest Glen is a step closer to being filled in, thanks to a grant provided by the Transportation Planning Board of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments. The $248,000 grant will fund an preliminary engineering design for the 2700' long sidewalk, on the north side of Forest Glen Road. It will link pedestrians on that side of Forest Glen Road with Woodland Drive and Sligo Creek Parkway, providing additional access to Forest Glen Metro Station, Forest Glen Medical Center, Holy Cross Hospital, Sligo Creek Stream Valley Park and the Sligo Creek Trail. The grant was approved for the Montgomery County Department of Transportation.

Silver Spring construction update: Astro Lab Brewing (Video+Photos)

Here's the latest progress at future Silver Spring brewery Astro Lab Brewing - and there's been a lot. You can see they now have a front patio, and what appears to be a garage-style door on the front facade. Astro Lab is located at 8216 Georgia Avenue in downtown Silver Spring.

Montgomery County murders, gang-related crime spiking again in 2018

Massive 72% surge

in violent

gang-related crime;

"Most alarming"

53% jump in 

rape cases

Montgomery County's soft-on-crime County Council continues to have real consequences for victims of crime and gangs in our community. The latest statistics show that, after a 31% spike in murders last year, there have already been more homicides in 2018 than at this time of the year in 2017. That represents a 10% increase in murders this year on top of the 31% increase last year.

COUNTY COUNCIL

Gang related robberies have increased by 36% in 2018, and gang-related assaults have shot up 43% this year. There have been 247 reported cases of rape as of June 30, compared to only 161 by the same point in 2017 - a shocking 53% increase, which Montgomery County Police Chief Tom Manger called "most alarming" in his testimony before the Council Public Safety Committee on July 23.

Despite recent passage of "common sense gun laws" in Maryland, weapons violations are up 6% in 2018. And even after the Council loosened marijuana laws in 2014, marijuana violations are up 11% this year. Drug offenses are up 7.4% overall so far this year. There has also been an increase in human trafficking and kidnappings.

Assaults are up 3.3% in 2018. That increase was driven by an "uptick in gang activity," Assistant Police Chief Russ Hamill told the committee. The department released a list of unsurprising hot spots of gang activity in the County, with Gaithersburg and Montgomery Village being the hardest hit areas. Cider Mill and Lakeforest Mall are being worked overtime by MS-13, and the Hittsquad and L3 gangs.

MS-13 continues to dominate in the Wheaton and Piney Branch areas of the County; an MS-13 "destroyer house" was discovered on University Boulevard last year. "One Way Hustle" is now the dominant gang in Germantown, and Silver Spring is beset by multiple gangs, according to the Council staff report.

Violent gang-related crime is up an astonishing 72% in 2018, a clear failure of the County Council's weak 2017 anti-gang initiative.