Speak Out: Clarksburg is ‘Ground Zero’ in Retail Race. Is this Good?

How would you feel if Clarksburg were to become Montgomery County’s “next major shopping destination?"

For Clarksburg residents, the promise of suburban life should include a placeholder for shopping malls. Retail developers are in negotiations to buy 40 acres of Clarksburg land from Adventist HealthCare, news outlets have reported. Or as The Washington Post put it: “The quiet community of Clarksburg has become ground zero in a battle to build Montgomery County’s next major shopping destination.” (And this from The Gazette: “First, Bennigan’s arrived in Clarksburg. Malls may be next.”) Simon Property Group, one of the former owners of Lakeforest Mall in Gaithersburg, would operate the retail complex, according to The Post. Where it gets sticky, according to The Post, is that it could compete with another developer’s 100-acre project planned…

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Bonobos Announces December Closure Of Bethesda Row Store

The Bethesda Lane storefront served as a temporary location for the menswear guideshop, which will re-locate to Washington, DC after the holidays.

As quickly as it came, Bethesda Row’s newest menswear store Bonobos is on its way out. Bonobos opened its guideshop in early November, taking the spot of the recently departed Urban Chic on Bethesda Lane. When it opened, the company intended for the Bethesda Lane storefront to serve as a temporary location for the shop before relocating it to Washington, DC, according to the store’s senior public relations manager, Gina DiPietro. The guideshop will remain in that location for one more month -- until Dec. 25 -- before moving to its new location in DC. “The Bethesda Guideshop will be open through the holidays -- end of December -- and then will relocate to a DC location in January,” DiPietro told Patch in an email. “Exact location is to be …

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Nonprofit Offers Shopping Help For Germantown Seniors

The Senior Connection handles the task of grocery shopping for older residents who have trouble getting around.

Video and Reporting by Amanda Perez | Capital News Service Grocery shopping for many is just another necessary, time-consuming task. But for many seniors who have a little trouble getting around it can be impossible. But one local organization is stepping in to lend a helping hand. --- Related:    Finding the Right Connection (Germantown Patch)  

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Tiffany Arnold

8:50 pm on Saturday, November 24, 2012

Hey Irene, can you email me at germantown@patch.com? I'll send you some details   more ›

National Buy Nothing Day is Today, Nov. 23

Could you go cold turkey on consumerism for 24 hours?

  Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Holiday Weekend Sales, Pre-Christmas Sales, Post-Hanukah Clearance Sales, and Kwanzaa Clearance Events—it’s enough to make you go crazy as a consumer. One organization, AdBusters, has a solution to help you retain your sanity—“Buy Nothing Day.” The group’s website touts that “the journey towards a sane sustainable future begins with a single step” and sees capping your consumption for an entire day as that step. AdBusters, which also publishes a monthly anti-consumerist magazine, is also a proponent of the Occupy movement, and offers online and printable ads to help spread the word. The website also features guides to organized protests like a Credit Card Cut Up, Zombie Walk and Whirl-Mart. AdBusters claims …

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Montgomery County Police Urge Residents to 'Shop With a Cop' This Holiday

An increased police presence will provide extra security and pedestrian safety awareness in some of the county's busiest retail centers.

Do You Plan to Spend More This Holiday Season?

How will your finances affect your holiday spending?

DC Area Walmart Workers to Join Black Friday Strike

Employees of the retail giant hope to take advantage of one of the year's busiest shopping days.

Employees of DC-area Walmart and Sam's Club locations are joining a national strike effort this Black Friday to protest what they view as low wages, poor scheduling practices, and worker intimidation on the part of the retail giant. The campaign, organized by Making Change at Walmart and linked with the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, is planning demonstrations outside dozens of stores nationwide on one of the busiest shopping days of the year. In the DC area, Nov. 23 protests are scheduled for Walmart and Sam's Club locations in Laurel, Hyattsville, Bowie, Gaithersburg, Woodlawn, Severn, Clinton, Abingdon, Alexandria, and Fairfax. (Both chains are owned by parent company Walmart Stores, Inc.) The strike action …

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ciaf

11:31 pm on Thursday, November 15, 2012

US management approach + US union approach sucks the life from business. Toyota and Hyundai -very successful, massively profitable companies- are both very heavily unionized. They aren't having the life sucked out of them by unions. They ate the US OEM's lunch for almost 30 years... with much better process control, and union workers. The too-early move into robotics was (yet another) knee-jerk …   more ›

Ready, Set, Shop! Maryland Tax-Free Shopping Starts Sunday

Check out which items on which you can save 6 percent during Maryland's tax-free shopping week.

You may want to wait a couple more days to buy that new pair of jeans or go back-to-school shopping. Sunday, Aug. 12 through Saturday, Aug. 18, you’ll be able to save 6 percent on some clothing and footwear items during Maryland’s tax-free shopping week.  Items that will be exempt from the 6 percent sales tax include clothing and footwear priced less than $100. Accessories, ranging from bowties and bracelets to purses and watches, are not exempt, according to the comptroller of Maryland. For a full list of taxable and tax-exempt items for the week of Aug. 12-18, check out our attached PDF.  School starts on Aug. 20 for Prince George’s County and Aug. 27 for Montgomery County students, so next week is the perfect time to do all your back-to…

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Patch Picks: Five Local Boutiques

A look at options for fashion-forward locals in North Potomac and Darnestown.

This week for Patch Picks, we took a look at five local boutiques. Whether you're looking for clothes, gifts or accessories, you can find it without traveling too far and support your local entrepreneurs at the same time. 1. Clover: This Kentlands boutique offers the latest fashion in casual wear and accessories. They sell many of the brands you would find at department in a department store, like Citizens of Humanity, Joe's Jeans, BCBG, Nicole Miller and Nanette Lepore, and have frequent seasonal sales. 2. Artisans Gallery and Gifts: Packed with merchandise, this store is truly the best local bet when you are in need of a gift or home accessorie. From bags to jewelry to dishes to decorations, this Potomac Valley store has something for …

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The Local Guide for Last Minute Gifts

Avoid the mall crowds and support the local economy.

With less than a week to go until Christmas, the hunt for last minute gifts has officially begun. For those of you who have stayed away from the mall for fear of crowds and holiday obstacles, we have an alternative. Several shops in our own backyard are offering a range of unique gifts and holiday discounts. Whether you're shopping for the animal lover, fashionista or person that has everything, there is a local store waiting to help you. Here are a few of our favorite gift items from local shops and the inside scoop on their sales. Bark! With its mission to provide healthy, ecologically sustainable and socially responsible pet products, Bark! is the perfect place to shop for your animal needs. You can find organic cat nip, chew toys and …

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