Friday, November 30, 2018

Dr. Bear making house calls at Congressional Plaza this holiday season

The doctor is in at Congressional Plaza in Rockville. Dr. Bear has appeared at the shopping center for the holiday season. When you make a donation to Children's Hospital, Dr. Bear lights up, filling passersby with holiday cheer. Text LIGHT25 to 50555 (see photo below to double-check) to donate $10 to Children's Hospital, and light up Dr. Bear.



Thursday, November 29, 2018

5.11 tactical gear store opening in Rockville

5.11, a tactical gear retail store aimed at law enforcement professionals and preppers - but now expanding into the outdoor and fitness retail markets, is opening soon at 12212 Rockville Pike. The store will be located next to Men's Wearhouse.
Parent company 5.11 Tactical began as a pants supplier to the FBI training program in 1992. That evolved into a larger retail line of products marketed to the law enforcement community. 5.11 is now broadening its reach into bricks-and-mortar sales with 11 new stores opening nationwide, including this one in Rockville.
Given that another soft-on-crime Montgomery County Council was just elected, despite surging violent crime, 5.11's motto of "Always be ready" may be a timely and appealing one to County residents.


Wednesday, November 28, 2018

Pour Vino n' Hops opens in Rockville

Pour Vino n' Hops is now open at 42 Maryland Avenue, in the ground floor of the Upton apartments in Rockville Town Center. Try and buy hundreds of hand-selected fine wines from here and around the world, and choose from a selection of local and imported craft beers. They also offer charcuterie and cheese pairings for your selections.

Tuesday, November 27, 2018

Escapology to open escape room in Rockville

Escape rooms are continuing to pop up around Montgomery County, but Escapology will be the first to open at a new, "town center" development. Pike & Rose will be the first such development to lease to an escape room in the County. Escapology will be located on Old Georgetown Road, next to the NAVA Health & Vitality Center.
Escapology's escape room games will host up to eight players at once. The first game being offered at the Pike & Rose location is Antidote. Set in 2015 in the Nevada desert, the game challenges you and your teammates to find the antidote to a biological weapon virus that has infected everyone inside a secret facility - after a clumsy member of your team accidentally releases it. Locked inside the contaminated facility, you must locate the antidote and escape before the facility self-destructs.

Photos courtesy Escapology

Monday, November 26, 2018

Derwood hit-and-run victim dies

Montgomery County police announced that one of the victims of a suspected hit-and-run collision in Derwood on November 18 has died. Oscar Eduardo Rivas-Macal, 23, of Gaithersburg was thrown from the 2006 Chevrolet Cobalt in which he had been a passenger that night. The car left the roadway and rolled over on an embankment off Muncaster Road. Rivas-Macal died Friday at a local hospital, police revealed over the weekend.

The driver of the Cobalt remains in stable condition. Police are still looking for a dark-colored Ford Mustang, which they believe may have been involved in the accident. However, detectives have released no tag number, model year(s) or other identifying information about the Mustang, making this a needle-in-a-haystack search covering cars from the 1964 to the 2019 model year.

Anyone with information about this accident is asked to call the Collision Reconstruction Unit at 240-773-6620.

Friday, November 23, 2018

GSK Biopharm seeking "best and brightest" for its Rockville expansion

Rockville pharmaceutical manufacturer GSK Biopharm is recruiting new employees for its expanded facility. The firm held an informational reception for potential employees at True Respite Brewery last week. Biotech is one of the few bright spots in an otherwise-moribund Montgomery County economy, and GSK is in the process of a $139 million expansion.

“Working at GSK Rockville has been an extremely rewarding experience for me," GSK Supply Chain Logistics Specialist Andrew Buscemi told BioBuzz, an online publication about the regional biotech industry. "The work we do here is very engaging and truly makes a difference in people’s lives,” said Buscemi, "The opportunity to provide life-changing medicines to people is further enhanced by the people and positive culture here at Rockville.  Site leaders are very purposeful in cultivating a sustainable work-life integration, which is one reason I hope to stay with GSK for a long time to come.”

Prospective employees can fill out a Recruitment Survey form online.

Wednesday, November 21, 2018

Rockville Town Square Christmas decorations (Photos)

The Christmas tree was lit last Friday at Rockville Town Square. Here are some photos of that, and other holiday lights around the development.




Tuesday, November 20, 2018

Rockville Pike Craft Beer & Wine opens (Photos)

Rockville Pike Craft Beer & Wine has opened at 1800-D Rockville Pike, in the ground floor of The Galvan apartments near the Twinbrook Metro station. The interior looks modern and sleek, and they have a nice bar and tasting area in the front part of the store. Certainly a much-appreciated addition for residents of the building.

Monday, November 19, 2018

Pho 95 reopens in Rockville (Menu+Photos)

Pho 95 has reopened under new management after a renovation of the restaurant, which is located in the Ritchie Center on Rockville Pike. The menu looks good. Pho 95 is next to the new Japong Bakery in the shopping center.




Montgomery County embezzlement covered up until after Election Day

Officials were told
$6.7 million stolen in
April 2017 by IRS;
plea deal was in works
long before Election Day

Montgomery County elected officials withheld the fact that a County employee had embezzled nearly $7 million in taxpayer funds until after Election Day on November 6. The case and the cover-up again prove that the local media, including the Washington Post, are not actively investigating corruption in County government. And that there's no low our elected officials won't stoop to in protecting themselves and their allies in the Montgomery County political cartel.

Media reports show little questioning of officials in all three branches of Montgomery County government, two of which - the Executive and County Council - had direct oversight of Byung Ill "Peter" Bang, who allegedly embezzled over $6.7 million while serving as chief operating officer of the Department of Economic Development.

The press apparently believes it is credible to assert that neither the Executive branch nor the Council noticed $7 million unaccounted for, over a seven year period. To show how obsequious the press is toward Montgomery County officials, the same Washington Post that sent three reporters to Tallahassee to investigate Andrew Gillum's developer scandal and Judge Roy Moore's prowling of local malls in Alabama, supposedly never caught one sniff of the Bang case brought to County Executive Ike Leggett's attention by the IRS in April of 2017?

Unreal.

According to Leggett himself, entire new divisions and units were created in the Executive branch, a new contractor was procured and funded (by the Council, which must make all such disbursements), and every single manager in County government was specially retrained - all since April 2017. Yet none of these transactions were noticed, and not a single employee leaked the story to the Post or any other media outlet?

Please.

Consider how bad the story makes reporter and Democrat County Council uber-fan Jennifer Barrios of the Post and others look. Journalism 101 would suggest a quick review of campaign finance and judicial records for the suspect. Yet no story I could find about the Bang scandal mentions two cases easily found in Maryland court records - a foreclosure of a Gaithersburg property owned by a Byung Ill Bang in 2007, and a tax lien judgement entered against a Byung Ill Bang less than three months ago in Montgomery County Circuit Court, for failure to pay state taxes. Both closed cases should be highly relevant to a financial fraud news story, wouldn't you agree?

Montgomery County elected officials failed to notice incredible sums of missing money, clearly indicating that - unless they were in on the action - they never audited Mr. Bang's department over the entire last decade. Remember when a nonprofit politically-connected to the Council "lost" hundreds of thousands of dollars of taxpayer funds it couldn't account for a decade ago? The press not only didn't "follow the money," but stopped asking about the missing money altogether. Voters who just wanted 9 Democrats on the County Council - literally no matter what - went ahead and reelected the same old crooks again - hey, what's a few hundred thousand dollars, right?

There's a price to be paid for such ignorance - $6.7 million, in this latest instance alone. That's how much taxpayers are out thanks to corrupt and inept elected officials, "journalists" who are in the tank for the local political cartel, and the low-information lemmings who make up a sizable chunk of the Montgomery County electorate.

It's beyond credibility to suggest that the timing of Mr. Bang's dual court appearances Friday - not only a week after Election Day, but the traditional day when anyone who has bad news releases it to get lost on the weekend - was not politically-coordinated at all levels to protect Montgomery County Democrat elected officials. The same officials who facilitated and enabled Bang to allegedly pull off a $7 million heist in the first place.

It's outrageous.

Friday, November 16, 2018

MOD Pizza to open Rockville location

The new addition at the Montrose Crossing shopping center just inked its final tenant. Seattle-based MOD Pizza will take the last open space between Five Guys and the new AT&T Store facing Rockville Pike.

MOD already has a Silver Spring location, arriving in Montgomery County during that initial wave of "fast-fired" personal pizza chains a few years back. But it's a pretty strong addition in this spot, because it will be the only pizzeria at Montrose Crossing, and there isn't much fast casual pizza competition within walking distance besides &pizza at Pike & Rose.

Expect a thin crust due to the fast baking time in the 800 degree pizza oven, but also expect to pay one flat price for unlimited toppings of your choice, always a good deal. You can also get milkshakes at MOD, fairly unusual for a pizza joint. The chain is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year.

Thursday, November 15, 2018

No, losing Amazon HQ2 is not a win for Montgomery County or Maryland

We've all been hearing and reading delusional comments by our inept elected officials regarding Montgomery County's defeat in the national sweepstakes to win the Amazon HQ2. A largely-obsequious press corps in indulging them in their delusion. But at some point, they must remove their rose-colored distortion lenses, and accept the truth: This was a loss, and a damning indictment of our business climate, poor transportation infrastructure, and bumbling economic development "leadership."

And now, as the great Paul Harvey used to say, "the rest of the story."

Reality check: All Amazon benefits accrue to Virginia, and specifically, Arlington County. Aside from Montgomery County residents who end up employed by Amazon, we will be getting only the negative impacts of the HQ2.

Here are the real winners and losers in the Crystal City Amazon victory:

WINNERS

Northern Virginia

Our biggest rival in the regional economic development arena never seems to leave the Winner's Circle. They got Hilton Hotels, Intelsat, Volkswagen, Northrop, Nestle and Gerber in the headquarters relocation wars. Amazon's supposed 25,000 jobs will only be the jewel in the Old Dominion's crown. Virginia gets all the revenue, and all the halo effect. Only a delusional person believes that other tech companies will say, "Amazon is in Crystal City, and we want to be near Amazon, so we're going to locate in...Montgomery County?"

Remember, pre-Amazon, literally no major corporation wanted to be in Montgomery County. We haven't attracted a single major corporate headquarters in two decades. Nothing has changed at all in the post-Amazon era. We have the same high local and state taxes, the same hostile business climate, and a large number of low-information lemming voters just elected another 9 anti-business Democrats to the County Council who will vote exactly the same way as their predecessors. Heckuva job, Brownie!

Virginia's last two governors were frequently caught by reporters laughing and mocking Montgomery County and Maryland's high-tax and anti-business climate, which has been so fruitful for their state. Rest assured that there are many chuckles ahead from Ralph Northam at our expense.

Amazon

Amazon brilliantly collected reams of confidential data from desperate localities across America in its "reality-show-style" search. It has gleaned tremendous intelligence it can use for years to come. Expect more corporations to conduct similar beauty pageants, now that they've seen how profitable it can be. While New York and Virginia will receive the benefits of victory, Amazon has also extracted highly favorable incentives and cost-savings from each.

JBG Smith

Imagine you bought a junkyard, only to one day learn there was oil and a gold mine under it. That's the delightful position developer JBG Smith finds itself in with its Crystal City properties. An afterthought of vacant office suites amidst a traffic maze no one wants to walk or drive through just became a regional and national destination and landmark.

Robert Dyer

Once again, I was proven correct. I've been saying for years that we need to build a new Potomac River crossing to Dulles Airport. That project is opposed by all of the Councilmembers and Executive just elected last week. Turns out, Amazon wanted - get this - easy airport access, and specifically balked at the idea of a 30-35 minute airport trip from Montgomery County. They're even building a pedestrian bridge to National Airport, for God's sake. They're a logistics company, folks. Had people listened to me in 2010, we could have completed construction of the new crossing to Dulles by the time Amazon was HQ-shopping.

I've also said we need to improve our business climate, and have taxation and regulation schemes that are actually competitive with our rivals in the region. Instead, a majority of voters (who actually knew on Election Day that we had lost the HQ2 contest) elected nine anti-business Councilmembers, who this week are already preparing for yet another tax hike to deal with our...yep, structural budget deficit.

Who knew?

I did.

Montgomery County Cartel

The Montgomery County Cartel, in the smoke-filled back rooms, are quietly toasting to the Amazon defeat. Now all that land that would have gone to high-wage jobs is once again left open for more luxury apartments. With the now full-throated, open retirement of the county from any serious regional economic development competition, the developers, certain unions, and community organizations can continue to get all the money from taxpayers through their puppets on the County Council. Hans Riemer can finally be open about his belief that the future of economic development is farmers markets 15 and 20 MPH speed limits, and a two-lane Georgia Avenue with maximum room for his developer sugar daddies to build in Montgomery Hills, Aspen Hill and Forest Glen.

LOSERS

Montgomery County

This was Montgomery County's biggest economic development defeat in history. No firms are coming here because Amazon is in Crystal City. Schools and urban centers in Northern Virginia are as good or better than what Amazon employees would find in Montgomery County. Beyond employees who already live here, few will have the desire to deal with the daily torture of commuting to Virginia from Montgomery County.

To top it off, as the rich exit Montgomery while the poor flood in, the victims of Amazon gentrification will cross the river to seek the generous services and public education in Montgomery County, further overcrowding classrooms and busting our already-busted budget.

White Flint/Pike District

Remember when the County Council loudly canceled the Montrose Parkway East with the irresponsible belief that Larry Hogan would pay for it when we got HQ2? Well, we didn't get HQ2, and now we are that much further behind in providing the infrastructure needed for White Flint.

White Flint was touted as the "new Tysons," but has been an utter failure in attracting major employers, much less corporate headquarters. Meanwhile, Tysons already had the jobs; now Tysons is adding residential and even more jobs, and Crystal City is about to become a boomtown.

Montgomery County Council + Taxpayers

The Council just make a shocking confession this week: While foolishly trying to tout their record 2016 tax hikes as a smart decision, they ended up exposing again that they had lied to taxpayers about it. At the time, they described it as an unnecessary tax hike that was employed to make an investment in schools. They called the record tax hike budget an "education budget."

But this week, Council staff said the money was used to balance the budget (because of that pesky - yep - structural deficit I kept warning you about all of this decade). So now we know the money went to the Silver Spring Transit Center debacle, and to balance the budget (rather than cut the Council's outrageous spending). Not education. Wow. It's a good thing the majority of voters like paying taxes - they're going to be paying plenty more, especially with the loss of 25000-50000 Amazon jobs from the bottom line.

Gov. Larry Hogan

Let's face it - Larry Hogan's top priority is Larry Hogan. A one-man party who threw his fellow Republicans under the bus, he'll have a devil of a time attracting any major corporate headquarters to Maryland by cutting tolls on the Bay Bridge. Hogan came up with a winning incentive package for Amazon, but ultimately was powerless to overcome his state's horrifically-high personal and corporate taxes, and hostile business climate. Like the Montgomery County Council, Hogan - who also bizarrely opposes a new Potomac River crossing - needed Amazon desperately. The loss is that much more devastating.

Wednesday, November 14, 2018

Nada to open November 19 at Pike & Rose

Nada, a Mexican tacos and cocktails restaurant, will open this coming Monday, Novermber 19, 2018 at Pike & Rose. The 6300 SF eatery, located in the ground floor of The Henri apartments, will be the Ohio-based chain's first East Coast location.

With seating for 140, and 50 more on the outdoor patio, Nada will serve lunch, dinner and weekend brunch. Nada’s hours will be 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and 10:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday. Brunch will be served Saturday and Sunday 10 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Photo courtesy Nada

Mayor & Council moving ahead with Rockville Town Center suggestions

Rockville's Mayor and Council approved a set of recommendations to address the growing crisis in the city's Town Center at a City Hall worksession last night. Topics most urgently to be addressed, based on the discussion, are parking, creating a new City position that would be an active point person for Town Center issues, and the impending development moratorium that will be triggered by overcrowding at Richard Montgomery High School in 2020.

Parking was by far the highest priority item for the Mayor & Council. Solutions boiled down to the desire to have up to 3 hours of free parking at Rockville Town Square, a potential parking district that were create more uniform parking policies around the entire Town Center neighborhood, and issuing warnings for a first parking violation instead of the current $40 fine that has angered many a visitor.

Mayor Bridget Donnell Newton and a majority of the Council agreed that a new City position that would create a contact person for all Town Center stakeholders is necessary. Newton and Councilmembers Beryl Feinberg and Virginia Onley supported having the position be under the city government rather than Rockville Economic Development Inc. However, Newton said that strategies for improving economic development should be developed under the auspices of REDI, rather than by City officials who lack their expertise and specialization in that field.

The new point person on City staff would not hold a desk job, but a shoe leather position that would center on engagement with stakeholders and all interests. A "diplomatic" position, "not a gotcha position," City Manager Rob DiSpirito assured the Mayor & Council. The new staff member would walk Town Center streets daily, meet business owners while making the rounds, note code enforcement and infrastructure problems, and report back to the appropriate departments and officials, DiSpirito suggested.

Councilmember Mark Pierzchala said the crisis in Town Center has been a long time coming, and that a major factor is the lack of sufficient residential development in the neighborhood. He urged loosening of caps on classroom overcrowding and traffic congestion, to allow more density and growth in the Town Center. Pierzchala specifically sounded the alarm that Rockville is facing a development moratorium in as few as two years, due to overcrowding at Richard Montgomery. He suggested "targeted" APFO and APFS waivers for the areas around the Twinbrook and Rockville Metro stations.

Pierzchala undercut his argument for allowing more school overcrowding by citing the inaction of Montgomery County Public Schools in addressing the RM situation. It was only a few years ago that Pierzchala and others on the Council, in tandem with developers, argued that accepting the looser MCPS overcrowding standards would bring long-overdue school construction funds and projects to the City.

Now, despite a Council majority passing that unpopular adequate public facilities change, MCPS is doing nothing more than it was when the City had the tougher standards. That does not make for a very convincing case to further weaken school overcrowding limits.

Eliminating the 2-hour parking validation requirement at Rockville Town Square was expected to cost $290,000 a year, Feinberg noted. But DiSpirito advised against using that number in decision-making. He said property owner Federal Realty is currently conducting its own parking study, and that it should produce a more accurate and timely cost estimate for such a parking change.

Pierzchala warned that the total costs of all of the recommendations were likely to "blow up the budget" in the coming years, and undercut other priorities. He urged a greater role for the private sector in solving Town Center's problems.

Tuesday, November 13, 2018

Rockville Town Square tree lighting this Friday night

The annual Christmas tree lighting at Rockville Town Square is scheduled for this Friday evening, November 16, 2018, from 6:00-9:00 PM. Join Santa Claus for live music and entertainment, ice skating, merchant specials, and a special performance by students from Dawn Crafton Dance Connection.

Monday, November 12, 2018

Olive & Loom to open first bricks-and-mortar location in Rockville

This Larissa throw is the bestselling
product for Olive & Loom this month
Olive & Loom, a retailer of home, lifestyle and gift items from around the world, will open at Pike & Rose in the spring of 2019. The store will be located at 11815 Grand Park Avenue, between Stella Barra pizzeria and Francesca's.

The company is owned by the owner of Sabun Home at Bethesda Row. Olive & Loom has sold its products online, in retail stores, and at Sabun Home since 2016. The 765 SF Pike & Rose location will be its first standalone bricks-and-mortar location.

Photo via Olive & Loom Instagram

Friday, November 9, 2018

Los Primos Tex-Mex & Grill soft opening underway

Los Primos Tex-Mex is having a soft opening all this week. The new restaurant is located at 12303 Twinbrook Parkway, next to Peak ReLeaf. Although the cuisine leans Mexican, pupusas are on the menu. Other dishes include Caldo Ranchero short ribs, Sopa de Mondongo, and Pollo Relleno con Espinaca. They've also got the big games on TV. A nice addition to a block that has been dead for a while.

Thursday, November 8, 2018

Public hearing set for North Stonestreet Avenue master plan amendment

The Rockville Planning Commission will hear public testimony regarding an amendment to the North Stonestreet Avenue master plan on Wednesday, November 14, 2018 at 7:00 PM at City Hall. If passed, the amendment will affect properties along North Stonestreet Avenue between Spring Avenue to the north, and Howard Avenue to the south. That area is currently occupied by Montgomery
County Public Schools and Crusader Baptist Church, in the historic former Lincoln High School.

You can read the hearing draft of the amendment online here.

Wednesday, November 7, 2018

Sneak peek at the new Rockville AT&T Store (Photos)

The AT&T Store looks close to finished at the Montrose Crossing shopping center on Rockville Pike at the Montrose Parkway. They are also currently hiring part-time employees. The storefront has a very slick and modern appearance.



Tuesday, November 6, 2018

Rockville construction update: Julii (Photos)

Here's a sneak peek at the progress inside Julii, the latest restaurant concept from the owners of CAVA coming to Rose Park at Pike & Rose. Wall and floor tiling is in place, as are lighting fixtures.

Please get out and vote today to end
our County's archaic government
liquor monopoly!
Elect
Robert Dyer




Monday, November 5, 2018

Riemer charged taxpayers for private meetings with donors, violated ex parte communications rules

Developers had projects
before Council in Westbard,
Bethesda Downtown 
sector plans

Exclusive investigative report

Montgomery County Council President Hans Riemer has met privately with developers who donated to his Council campaigns, and charged taxpayers for his travel costs to those private meetings, according to Montgomery County Council reimbursement records. Riemer also did not disclose these private, ex parte communications at the next Council meeting, as he is required to do. Like all Council members, Riemer sits as a land-use commissioner when the Council votes on land-use and zoning issues as the "District Council."
Riemer meets Westbard developer privately
at La Madeleine, who then donates money
to Riemer's campaign, and Riemer then
charges taxpayers for his gas money to and from
the meeting, Council records show
Riemer met with Evan Goldman of EYA privately at La Madeleine restaurant in downtown Bethesda on October 21, 2016. On January 8, 2018, Goldman made a $150 contribution to Riemer's Council campaign. Riemer was an outspoken supporter of EYA's Westbard project, and of the Westbard sector plan that was overwhelmingly opposed by residents, which financially benefited EYA and partner Regency Centers.

Riemer met with Larry Walker of The Walker Group privately at Clyde's Tower Oaks restaurant on October 31, 2016. Walker has contributed $2400 to Riemer's campaigns, including $100 in May 2017.
Riemer demands reimbursement from
taxpayers for his private meeting with
downtown Bethesda developer who had
given him almost $1000
Riemer met with Charles Nulsen of Washington Property Company privately at WPC's headquarters in Bethesda on March 8, 2017. Nulsen has donated at least $970.70 to Riemer's campaigns.

Riemer requested reimbursement from taxpayers for all three private meetings with his donors, according to Council records.

It's no secret Hans Riemer is cozy with developers, as his voting record and campaign finance reports clearly show. But even an ethically-corrupt politician like Riemer cannot be allowed to charge taxpayers for private meetings with his campaign donors, nor to violate ex parte communications rules. Private meetings with donors can only be paid for with political campaign funds, not taxpayer funds.

Local media, including The Washington Post, have refused to report on this late-breaking scandal I uncovered. In fact, the Post's Montgomery County political reporter Jennifer Barrios hasn't written a single sentence about the County Council At-Large general election race. Intriguingly, while the Post has declined to investigate any of the scandals I've forwarded to Barrios and reporter Robert McCartney throughout the election, it dispatched a reporter at the 11th hour to write a hit piece on a Republican in Anne Arundel County regarding a...developer scandal (which is a nothingburger compared to the scandals of Riemer, others on the Council, and the Planning Board).

The question is, why does the Post not want you to know about the questionable activities of Hans Riemer and other Montgomery County officials? This is a question that must be answered, regardless of the outcome of Tuesday's election. Secondly, the State Board of Elections and Montgomery County Office of the Inspector General should investigate Riemer's activities, which appear to be violations of both ethics rules and campaign finance laws.

Third, it's time for voters to oust Riemer on Tuesday, and his cartel-funded running mates Gabe Albornoz, Evan Glass and Will Jawando, who each have received thousands of dollars from developers.