Park Potomac Yoga coming in July
Yoga instructor Debi Schenk spent years teaching private classes in her North Bethesda basement, but now she’s opening up her own studio in the Potomac area.
Park Potomac Yoga will open in the former Barre Belle space at 12500 Park Potomac Ave. on July 1. The studio will have classes for all levels, but Schenk said she’s wants to have plenty of beginner classes to ease newcomers into the discipline.
“So many people are terrified of doing yoga,” Schenk said. “They don’t know what they’re doing, they don’t want to go to a group class and be embarrassed.”
Classes will average around $17. The studio will also have workshops and free meditation sessions. Schenk will be adding teachers throughout the summer.
Schenk said the location is between other local spots such as Village Yoga and Thrive Location, giving patrons another option.
Schenk added that her dream would be to open multiple locations, though the logical next step if Park Potomac is successful would be to move to a bigger space.
Silver Spring social services group names new leader
Manuel Hidalgo will take over as executive director of Shepherd’s Table on July 8, following the resignation of longtime leader Jacki Coyle.
Hidalgo, a Silver Spring resident, has two decades of experience in the field and has previously served as executive director of the Latino Economic Development Center in Washington, D.C., and as director of the Office of Economic Opportunity of the U.S. Small Business Administration.
“The Board and the entire community look forward to working with Manny to keep strengthening our service to people experiencing homelessness and hunger in Silver Spring and surrounding communities,” Board Chair Susan Collet said in a statement.
Coyle served as executive director for 15 years before announcing she would be stepping down earlier this year.
Shepherd’s Table provides meals to the homeless residents of the county on a daily basis. The organization was founded in 1983 and has since served more than 1.5 million meals to the community. Shepherd’s Table also provides clothes, toiletries and other essential items.
Montgomery College to add $40 million life sciences building
The Pinkney Innovation Complex for Science and Technology, the college’s Germantown campus, reached an agreement with a developer to build the facility last week.
Rockville-based South Duvall and Germantown-based Minkoff Development will join forces to construct the 120,000-square-foot building at at 19710 Observation Drive.
“We are so excited to have aligned with such an experienced team to continue to build out our vision for the Germantown Campus,” said PIC MC Executive Director Martha Schoonmaker said in a statement. “This new life sciences building will allow us to offer our students real-world access through partnerships and internships.”
The building will feature a lab, office, manufacturing and distribution space, designed to attract biotech and cybersecurity companies.
The building will be leased by Rockville-based Scheer Partners.
Total jobs decline across state in May
Maryland’s total jobs fell by 1,200 last month, according to data from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics released Friday.
Despite the dip, jobs for 2019 through May are still up 15,000 compared to the same time period in 2018.
The state unemployment rate remained at 3.8%.
The education and health services sector experienced the most growth in May, netting 600 jobs, mostly due to an 1,000-job increase in the health care and social assistance sector, according to department data.
The information sector fell 200 jobs, while the leisure and hospitality sector lost 1,000 jobs from the arts, entertainment and recreation and accommodation and food services sectors.
Charlie Wright can be reached at charlie.wright@moco360.media
