Montgomery County cooling centers open 11 AM to 7 PM on July 4

Montgomery County will be operating cooling centers open to the public who lack air conditioning on Independence Day, Saturday, July 4, 2026. There are six cooling centers, and they will be open from 11:00 AM to 7:00 PM. Though, frankly, they should be open longer hours than that, given the lack of relief after dark or in the morning. Note that services and amenities typically available at these facilities may not be available while they are in use as cooling centers. I wish all my readers a great July 4th! Stay hydrated and stay safe!

July 4th sundae special at Max's Best Ice Cream in Bethesda

July 4th is going to be a hot one this year, with a forecasted high of 101° in Bethesda tomorrow. And there will be many a boom in the air, from thunderstorms and fireworks at Congressional Country Club and down in Washington, D.C. But you'll have a chance to cool off while staying in full 250-years-of-America celebration mode at Max's Best Ice Cream at 7770 Woodmont Avenue in downtown Bethesda. The ice cream parlor will be open from noon to 11:00 PM on July 4th, and they'll be featuring a special Red, White & Boom Sundae. The sundae features a blue frosted cupcake topped with Vanderwende's vanilla ice cream, strawberry and blue raspberry sauces, star spangled sprinkles, strawberry and blue raspberry Pop Rocks® and finished with a star lollipop. 

Bethesda test drive turns into armed carjacking in broad daylight

The 2026 trend of violent crime occurring more often in daylight hours took another shocking turn in downtown Bethesda Monday morning, June 29, 2026. At 9:50 AM, a man entered an auto dealership in the 7000 block of Arlington Road and asked to test drive a gray Audi. During the test drive on Bethesda Avenue, the man allegedly pulled out a handgun and ordered the car salesperson out of the vehicle. He then drove off.

@TheDMVLive was first to report the incident, which the community was unaware of for hours due to encryption of police radios in Montgomery County. He also identified the stolen car as an Audi with dealer tags attached. Police have not released a description of the carjacker, and have not identified the dealership. Audi Bethesda is located on that block, but so is EuroMotorcars, which frequently has pre-owned Audis in stock.

Second assault in 8 days at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda

Montgomery County police responded to a report of a 2nd-degree assault at Westfield Montgomery Mall Sunday night, June 28, 2026. The assault was reported at 7:51 PM. This was the second assault to take place at the retail center in eight days, with the last having occurred on June 20. Six assaults have been reported at the mall so far this year, a pace on par with last year's grand total of twelve. 2024 saw eleven assaults, and 2022 brought twelve. A low of five assaults was recorded in 2023, when the police department opened a "resource room" at the mall.

Zbounce closes at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda

Zbounce has closed at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda. Signage has been removed from their space next to Hallmark. The children's moon bounce and play center first opened at the mall in the fall of 2016, so this could be a ten-year lease ending. Or an unannounced move within the mall, but Zbounce has not posted any message to customers regarding such plans.

The Food Market restaurant opens in Bethesda

The Food Market is now open at 4720 Hampden Lane, in the ground floor of the Hampden House apartment tower in downtown Bethesda. Serving American cuisine, The Food Market is one of the most anticipated restaurants openings of the year in Bethesda. This is the third Food Market to open in Maryland. The other two are in Baltimore and Columbia.

What's on the menu? That's a surprise when you enter the restaurant, as the menu has not yet been posted on the website. But here is a sneak peek at the decor:

Kenwood Club fireworks 2026

Expectations have been set super-high for the official July 4 fireworks in Washington, D.C. this year, which are expected to set records for length of display and number of fireworks deployed. We shall see. But the best fireworks in the DMV have historically been those of the Kenwood Golf and Country Club at 5601 River Road in Bethesda (Chevy Chase, officially). The club and its property are private, so don't trespass on their property. But the fireworks can be seen from nearby church and retail parking lots such as the Fourth Presbyterian Church, which has been the most-popular viewing spot in past years, as it is directly across the street. If you are lucky enough to have a backyard in line-of-sight to the club, or an apartment or condo facing the club's direction, it's also a chance to play Jay Gatsby and have a spectacular fireworks display to cap off your Independence Day party.

This year's Kenwood fireworks are scheduled for tomorrow night, Tuesday, June 30, 2026. Expect the show to start around 9:30 PM. The fireworks will be very loud, so you may want to consider having hearing protection like earplugs on hand. If you are in the vicinity and have a dog, make sure the animal is indoors before the show starts. Should inclement weather occur, Kenwood has scheduled a rain date for July 1, 2026.

WMATA restores Bethesda Metro station pylon

WMATA has restored the Bethesda Metro station pylon sign on the Woodmont Avenue side of the Bethesda Metro Center. The iconic monolith was stripped down to its skeletal inner framework about a week ago. What's different about the restored pylon? You'll notice the red stripe that was missing from the pylon installed in August 2025 has been added back below the "M" and above "Bethesda Station." It has retained the new circular "RD" badge from last year's version.

El Pike Diamante reopens in Bethesda

El Pike Diamante reopened Friday night after a brief closure, in which the restaurant was locked out of the premises by the landlord. Whatever the dispute was appears to have been resolved, and the no-trespassing and warnings-to-locksmiths signs have been removed from the windows. The listing advertising the space as available for "immediate" lease remains active, however. This is the first time since I started this blog that I've seen a business reopen after being locked out, so this is one for the record books in Bethesda. El Pike Diamante is located at 4906 St. Elmo Avenue in downtown Bethesda.