Rockville Man, 2 Teens Among 6 Charged in North Potomac Heists

Burglars stole $100,000 worth of goods from 30 homes, according to Montgomery County Police.

Two Rockville teens and a 21-year-old Rockville man were among six people charged in a North Potomac burglary spree that netted more than $100,000 worth of items, Montgomery County Police said Thursday. According to District Court records accessed online, Tita Ntemgwa Fontava, 21, of the 14000 block of Pellita Terrace, has been charged with 56 counts of burglary, theft, property destruction and related conspiracy charges. Fontava is being held on $20,000 bail and is awaiting a March 1 court hearing. His bail was initially $85,000, the court records show. A 16-year-old male and a 17-year-old male were charged with numerous counts of first-degree burglary, fourth-degree burglary, conspiracy, malicious destruction of property and the …

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Snow Scene: Photos from Around the County

What did you see outside your window Wednesday morning? Share your snow photos with Patch.

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Delaney Unseats Bartlett In Maryland's 6th District

Democratic challenger John Delaney defeats incumbent U.S. Rep. Roscoe Bartlett for Maryland's 6th Congressional District.

(Update, 10:45 p.m.) Maryland 5th District Rep. and Democratic WHIP Steny Hoyer introduced the state's new 6th District Rep. John Delaney at approximately 10:20 p.m. Delaney thanked Maryland's 6th District constituents and said his campaign was about standing together and working for the common good of the country. "I promise to work as hard as I can to make differences in your lives, pursue opportunities, and help overcome challenges," Delaney said in his acceptance speech to supporters at the Bolger Conference Center in Potomac. The newly elected Congressman thanked his family, staff, supporters and Rep. Roscoe Bartlett for his 20 years of service. Bartlett, 86, issued a statement after falling short in his attempt for an 11th term: It …

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Hopkins, Former Heirs, File Cross-Motions for Judgment on Belward Farm

Both Hopkins and Tim Newell, the lead plaintiff and spokesperson for the donor family, file motions for summary judgment in lawsuit against the university.

Both sides in a dispute over control of Belward Farm have cross-filed motions asking the court to rule in their favor and immediately end litigation over whether Johns Hopkins University may build a mega commercial research center on the property. Attorneys for Johns Hopkins maintain the school's plan is well within the scope of an agreement signed in 1989 that transferred the property from then-owner Elizabeth Banks to the school. In his cross-motion, however, Tim Newell, representing the family, contends the farm was specifically donated for the school to use it for academic purposes -- not a commercial enterprise. The family's lawsuit seeks to prevent the university from building a 4.7 million-square-foot commercial science park on the …

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Donna Baron (Scale-it-back.com)

9:02 am on Thursday, September 27, 2012

According to the master plan, only 40% of the development on Belward Farm is required to be "science-related". If the farm is covered with buildings up to 14-stories high, and 60% of the companies are non-science related, it will not be a park of any sort and certainly not a science park. It will be exactly what Johns Hopkins proposes it will be…a huge money-making commercial real estate venture…   more ›

New Fire Station Coming To Darnestown Road, Shady Grove Intersection

Montgomery County officials broke ground Thursday on the new Travilah Fire Station, according to a report by WAMU.

Montgomery County officials broke ground Thursday on a new fire station at the corner of Shady Grove Road and Darnestown Road, WAMU reported. The Travilah Fire Station will serve the Gaithersburg-Rockville-North Potomac region which has grown rapidly since a temporary station was opened decades ago, fire chief Richard Bowers told WAMU. "We used to call it the little green house on the prairie, because the only thing that was here was the fire station," says Bowers. "There was nothing behind us." The Travilah station will sit across from the University of Maryland, Shady Grove campus, with the county's Life Sciences Center and Shady Grove Adventist Hospital nearby. The new station is approximately 4 miles west of Rockville Volunteer Fire …

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Locals Voice Displeasure With Hopkins' Plan for Belward

North Potomac residents say Hopkins never planned to honor the wishes of Elizabeth Banks for Belward Farm.

As Johns Hopkins University and the heirs to the former owner's Belward Farm estate continue to battle over plans to develop a 4.6 million square foot “Science City” on the property, members of the community surrounding the farm continue to voice their displeasure with the university’s plans. In 2009, North Potomac resident Donna Baron started Scale-It-Back.com, a website advocating the reduction of JHU’s plans to develop Belward Farm. Since then, Baron’s site has accumulated nearly 500 followers who have asked to be updated on Belward on a regular basis, she said, adding all of whom are against the university’s current plans. One of Baron’s biggest problems with Hopkins’ plans to build a commercialized “Science City” dates back to how the…

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Donna Baron (Scale-it-back.com)

8:37 am on Tuesday, January 17, 2012

There is a hearing scheduled for February 1 but there is always the hope that the current officials at Johns Hopkins will have a moment of integrity and admit that their plans for Belward Farm are misguided and not in line with the intentions of Elizabeth Banks. Ms. Banks' nephew, Tim Newell, wrote that John Dearden, who worked for 12 years at JHU and served as its Director of Sponsored Projects …   more ›