Five Below to expand in Aspen Hill

Five Below will get bigger by next year at 13661 Connecticut Avenue at the Aspen Hill Shopping Center. The discount store plans to expand into a vacant adjacent storefront in the coming months. This is not surprising, as Five Below has benefited from its market position as inflation squeezes businesses and consumers alike - so far.

Unlike dollar stores, Five Below is already operating at a modestly higher price point. That has meant it hasn't had to take as big of a loss on its profit margins, or irk customers by suddenly trying to charge above the price limit in its name, like its dollar store competitors. In fact, Five Below has announced an ambitious growth plan that will triple its store count by the end of this decade. 

But there are signs that persistent inflation may be finally catching up to the company. Five Below has announced plans to launch a separate store concept called Five Beyond, with items above $5. It says that a majority of its existing Five Below stores will eventually become Five Beyond stores. At higher price points, it will have to start competing more directly with Walmart and Target.

Some observers are skeptical about Five Below's plans. Consumer spending is trending downward in recent months, and the chain's earnings didn't match expectations in the last quarter. 

Strong-arm robbery at Wheaton Metro station

Montgomery County police responded to a report of a strong-arm robbery at the Wheaton Metro station this past Saturday night. The robbery was reported at the station at 10:26 PM.

Bullet fired into Takoma Park home

Takoma Park City police responded to a report of shots fired on October 29, 2022 at 11:52 PM in the 6400 block of 4th Avenue. Officers searching the scene found several shell casings, indicating a weapons discharge. One resident told police that at least one bullet was fired into their home. A previous incident on the same street in mid-October centered around a vacant home, where shell casings were also found on the property.

Anyone who has any video surveillance for any of these incidents is asked to call Takoma Park police with contact information. If you hear what sounds like shots fired please call 911 if you have an emergency or the non-emergency number of 301-270-1100. This investigation is ongoing.  If you have any information, please contact police at 301-270-1100.

Five Below opening store at Wheaton Plaza

Five Below is opening a store at Westfield's Wheaton Plaza mall. The chain is in a better position than dollar stores to weather the staggering inflation wracking the country, so it is understandably in an expansion mode. When it opens, Five Below will be next to Verified Sneaker Store.

Montgomery County police investigate burglary and theft at Silver Spring home (Video + Photo)

Montgomery County police are investigating a burglary at a home in Silver Spring, and the theft of items from the residence. Police say they responded to a call from a home in the 600 block of Deerfield Avenue at 5:00 PM on September 15, 2022. Officers found that a suspect had gained entry to the house, and had gotten away with multiple items, including cash and credit cards.

An individual was later caught on surveillance video making unauthorized purchases with one of the stolen credit cards at a Walmart in Northwest Washington, D.C. They have released that video, and are asking for the public's help in identifying this person, and for any other information you can provide them about this incident.

Anyone with information regarding the suspect or this crime is asked to call the 3rd District Investigative Section at 240-773-6870. Callers may remain anonymous.  

New entrance opens at Wheaton Plaza Target (Photos)

The new exterior entrance is now open at Target at Wheaton Plaza. A reconfigured checkout area is also open. The new exterior doors are part of a major renovation at the store over the past year, and now allow customers to enter and exit Target without going into the mall itself.

Montgomery County Council unanimously passes controversial Thrive 2050 plan

The Montgomery County Council voted unanimously to pass the controversial Thrive 2050 growth master plan this morning. A carbon copy of a plan being pushed nationwide by developers, Thrive 2050 will allow multifamily housing to be built in neighborhoods that are currently zoned for single-family homes over most of the county. The Council voted to approve the plan despite just having announced it had no confidence in, and demanding the resignations of, the five Planning Board commissioners who formulated and edited the plan.

Zillow home values for Minneapolis 2013-2022;
"Minneapolis 2040" (sound familiar?) was passed by
the Minneapolis City Council in 2018, and you can
see that prices have only surged further upward

Many residents expressed opposition to the plan, which will change the character of existing neighborhoods drastically. Among the concerns raised by residents were increased noise, loss of green space and tree canopy, insufficent street parking, school overcrowding, and gentrification that will force retired and lower-income homeowners out of their neighborhoods. The new housing allowed by Thrive 2050 will be luxury housing, not affordable housing. Rents and home values have only continued to rise in the few jurisdictions that have adopted the radical Thrive model, such as Minneapolis.

The Council was criticized for not only failing to reach out to people of color, but for ignoring their own diversity consulting firm, who had urged the Council not to rush to approve Thrive 2050 at the cost of equity for all residents. It was equally criticized in recent days for ramming the plan through before having an independent investigation of the many scandals surfacing in the planning apparatus that birthed it. On that front, the Council has so far received a free pass from local media, with The Washington Post editorial board going so far as to endorse the rushed passage of Thrive 2050. Surely, the money the Post receives from developers for real estate advertising played no role in that endorsement.

Some on the Council are term-limited. For those seeking office in the future, their vote for Thrive 2050 may come back to haunt them, once the impacts of the plan begin to be felt. A majority of residents are unaware of the plan, and have no idea what is happening. Thrive 2050 was largely rushed through during an international pandemic emergency that has tried the patience and mental health of people around the world. Virtually no one besides the Planning Board, the County Planning Department, the County Council, and their sugar daddies in the development community, was paying attention to land use and zoning issues at a time like this.

Today's vote will likely be looked back upon with regret. But it will also be remembered as the greatest victory of the Montgomery County cartel to date. The machine recognized that once they could beat the Columbia Country Club on the Purple Line, they could beat anybody, and they've certainly taken that realization to heart. They now control every elected office in the County, with the exception of County Executive. They control the local media. All opposition was utterly steamrolled by the Planning Board and County Council. That steamroller is now going to roll into neighborhoods across Montgomery County, demolishing homes, along with the suburban lifestyle our radical elected officials despise so much.