Mayor & Council to hold closed session Thursday morning

Rockville's Mayor and Council have scheduled a closed session for tomorrow morning, April 5, 2018 at 9:00 AM, in the Diamondback Terrapin Conference Room at City Hall. According to the agenda, the meeting is to receive legal advice, and to consider a proposal for a business to locate, expand, or remain in the city. It may also involve discussion of the acquisition of real property with a "public purpose."

The City of Rockville has not been publicly identified as a potential home for Amazon's HQ2, but County officials have not publicly confirmed all of the specific properties they are offering to the company. White Flint has been the area most-discussed in relation to the Amazon search so far.

Thursday's meeting is not open to the public.

Mayor & Council to host Twinbrook neighborhood meeting April 10

Rockville's Mayor and Council will host a neighborhood meeting in the Twinbrook community this coming Tuesday, April 10, 2018 at 7:00 PM. The meeting will be held at the Twinbrook Recreation Center, located at 12920 Twinbrook Parkway, according to the meeting agenda.  Any person with a disability who requires assistance in order to attend this meeting is asked to call the ADA Coordinator at 240-314-8100.

NASA Federal Credit Union opening new Rockville location (Photos)

NASA Federal Credit Union is opening a new location in Rockville. Their branch will now be in Wintergreen Plaza.

The Upper Marlboro-based credit union has previously been found in Rockville next to burger joint Fuddrucker's down the Pike, which is part of the land that will be soon redeveloped by Saul Centers. NASA Federal Credit Union will continue to have the coolest sign of any financial business in Rockville. Now next to Habit Burger Grill, we can say the NASA folks do love their hamburgers.

Financing falls through on Rockville CarMax site apartment project

A project that the City of Rockville annexed land for is now stalled after losing its equity partner. 355 Partners, LLC is now seeking an extension for its approved site plan from the Planning Commission, so it can find a new partner to develop the project. The property is located at 15931 Frederick Road, by the Shady Grove Metro station.

According to a letter to Rockville zoning chief Jim Wasilak from the applicant's attorney, Pat Harris, original equity partner Associated Estates was acquired by development giant Brookfield since the approval and annexation. After reviewing the project, Brookfield decided it didn't like it, and refused to back it.

The 2016 site plan approval expired March 9. 355 Partners is requesting a one-year extension. The Planning Commission will review the request at its April 4 meeting, which will be held at City Hall at 7:00 PM.

Kusshi posts coming soon signage at Pike & Rose (Photos)

Future Japanese restaurant Kusshi has installed "coming soon" window screens at 11826 Trade Street at Pike & Rose. They are now hiring staff, and are scheduled to open this fall.

What Bangkok and Montgomery County nightlife have in common

Who would ever have thought nightlife in Bethesda could be compared to nightlife in Bangkok? Today, both are tanking, as a direct result of terrible government policies. Thailand has a military junta. Bethesda has the Montgomery County Council. Nightlife has declined under each.

"Thailand's military government is crushing the spirit of Bangkok's nightlife," according to the Washington Post. The result, reporter George Styllis wrote, is the closure of many bars and clubs. A whopping 14 nightspots have closed in downtown Bethesda since the failure of Councilmember Hans Riemer's disastrous "nighttime economy" initiative.

Bangkok's after hours businesses are suffering from now-more-vigorously-enforced "arcane regulations." Sound familiar? It does to many Bethesda newcomers who are shocked to find they can't purchase Bud Light or a nice bottle of wine at grocery, drug and convenience stores. Our County government liquor monopoly is also referred to often as "arcane." Riemer claimed he would get government out of the liquor business, then turned 180 degrees, and instead took steps to preserve and strengthen the monopoly.

"Bangkok has become a much less spontaneous city, and in many ways a more boring city than it was five years ago," Bangkok DJ Anders Svensson told Styllis. The quote applies to downtown Bethesda as well. Where crowds swarmed on sidewalks outside clubs like Relic and BlackFinn, streets are instead dark and empty after 9 or 10 PM, even on weekends.

But wait, there's more!

Remember how Riemer's political operative, given a $150,000 County job as a reward for his pre-2010 actions for developers and Riemer, executed Riemer's developer-fueled scheme to destroy the food truck industry in Montgomery County? Trucks were forcibly removed from prime lunch and dinner hour spots to a handful of private property locations far from where most customers were. Within months, 96% of food trucks either went out of business, or retreated into the District.

Thailand's military government followed a Riemer-esque plan, as well. "In many bustling tourist spots," Styllis wrote, "street-food sellers were moved from main roads into side streets or to new parts of the city." Sound familiar?

Of course, this doesn't even include the many late-night retail and pharmacy hours that were cut back or eliminated after the nighttime economy tanked. With most candidates running for office this year still opposing privatization of liquor sales in the County, voters will have to choose wisely on Election Day.

Rockville construction update: The Metropolitan at Rockville Town Center (Photos)

This is the final construction update on Kettler's Metropolitan at Rockville Town Center apartments. Not only is the project finished, but the first residents have moved in. Some of the features new in these photos include the permanent signage, a public art installation, and the landscaped grounds outside the building.