Montgomery County Council rams through ZTA to upzone SFH neighborhoods

The Montgomery County Council took the first major step toward realization of its radical, warmed-over Reaganomics "Thrive 2050" plan yesterday, by approving construction of duplexes, triplexes, quadplexes, and apartment buildings up to four stories tall on lots currently restricted to single-family homes along multiple commuter corridors. True to its form of recent years, the Council simply blew off community opposition, and a crowded hearing room of angry residents. Taunting the crowd at times, the Council's sense of invincibility was hard to hide in both their microexpressions and tone of voice. The "More Housing N.O.W." zoning text amendment - like Thrive 2050 - had no grassroots support, and overwhelming opposition among residents.

Steamrolling ahead, the Council's willingness to outright lie about the intention of the ZTA was astonishing. From the beginning, they have attempted to sell Thrive and this ZTA as addressing housing affordability issues. Councilmember Andrew Friedson specifically cited middle-income "teachers, firefighters, police officers and nurses" as being able to afford the $2 million duplexes and $1 million apartments that the ZTA will produce. This is nothing more than pure, unadulterated malarkey. Incredibly, the reporter from The Washington Post accepted this farcical statement at face value, declining to fact check Friedson, ask tough follow-up questions, or outright declare Friedson's statements as false, as the paper regularly does for Donald Trump. The Post even used the term "missing middle," which doesn't remotely apply to the multimillion-dollar units that will be constructed under this ZTA. 

Eligible properties (in pink and yellow) in
Aspen Hill, Glenmont, and Wheaton

All this ZTA will do is increase the cost of housing in Montgomery County. If the townhome right next to the parking garage with no backyard at Westbard Square is $1.x million, then the future duplex with half a backyard and half a front yard in Springfield has to go for $2.x million. Now the colonial with the full front yard and backyard and Whitman school district is suddenly $3.x million, and the new-construction McMansion is $4.x million. Heckuva job, Brownie!

Urbanization of the suburbs is the primary goal of the ZTA. For example, the map of eligible properties shows how this ZTA is advancing the plan to urbanize River Road between the D.C. line and the Capital Beltway, which I have warned you about for many years. You can see the many churches, schools, country clubs, and other large properties the Council and their developer sugar daddies imagine will be demolished in the coming years. The speed limit on River Road has already been improperly reduced to 35 MPH, the exact opposite of sound traffic engineering, as the road is designed for speeds up to 55 MPH. Eventually, under the urbanization plan, River Road will be reduced to one lane in each direction, with bus/bike-only lanes seizing the other travel lanes heading east and west. A Purple Line extension to Westbard will be planned to juice density even further. As tall apartment buildings rise along the sides of River Road, the speed limit will drop to 25 MPH. Similar plans are in the works for Georgia Avenue between Olney and downtown Silver Spring, Old Georgetown Road, Veirs Mill Road, Route 29, MD 355, and other major commuter routes countywide.

Here is how each Councilmember voted on the ZTA yesterday. The names under "YES" are the people you will be voting AGAINST on your 2026 ballot, and the names under "NO" are the people you will be voting FOR in the 2026 Democratic primary election.

YES - to approve the ZTA

Gabe Albornoz

Marilyn Balcombe

Natali Fani-Gonzalez

Andrew Friedson

Evan Glass

Dawn Luedtke

Laurie-Anne Sayles

Kate Stewart

NO - to oppose the ZTA

Will Jawando

Sidney Katz

Kristin Mink

Did you bake the Lakeforest Mall 10th Anniversary Cake Mix?

A 10th Anniversary celebration of the September 12, 1978 opening of Lakeforest Mall in Gaithersburg was held in 1988. Along with a $10,000 gift certificate giveaway, a balloon drop, and even a trio of mimes, the then-safe-and-upscale mall had another special take-home prize for attendees. A pyramid of boxes was stacked outside of Johnston & Murphy. Each one was filled with "our special anniversary cake mix." Those upon whom this gift was bestowed were exhorted to "bake the cake and share it with your family and friends." 

Now that corporate greed and the Montgomery County cartel's anti-business, pro-crime policies have led to the closure of the once-popular shopping and leisure destination, we can only look back at a simpler and better time with nostalgia. Were you one of the lucky few to obtain a box of the cake mix? Did you bake the cake? What did it taste like?

Is Marlo Furniture on the way out in Rockville? (Photos)

Marlo Furniture has been a landmark presence on Rockville Pike since 1995. A new real estate listing suggests that, 30 years later, that could be changing. Several spaces in Marlo's custom-built warehouse showroom at 725 Rockville Pike are being offered for lease, including an 89,100-square-foot space that will become available on "January 01, 2026." Marketing materials prepared by Transwestern show renderings of "Your Sign Here" where the current, large "Marlo" signs are attached to the front and side facades of the building. The listing brochure states that prospective tenants will be joining Goodwill and Movement Rockville, with no mention of Marlo.

Images courtesy Transwestern

RNC demands Maryland "clean up voter rolls"

Republican National Committee Chair Michael Whatley

The Republican National Committee has sent a letter to the Maryland State Board of Elections demanding it "clean up voter rolls." RNC Chair Michael Whatley said the notice letter informs the SBE that it is "violating federal law" in failing to do so previously. It's unclear what will happen if the SBE ignores the letter. A previous attempt by the conservative organization Judicial Watch to purge the names of dead or out-of-state voters from the Maryland rolls was unsuccessful. Judicial Watch's analysis at the time found there were more names registered to vote than actual voters in Maryland.

"Maryland is failing to maintain accurate and up-to-date voter rolls, in clear violation of federal law," Whatley said in a statement. "Citizens deserve to know their vote isn't being canceled out by duplicate or ineligible voters."

No Republican has won any office in Montgomery County since Maryland switched from punch card voting to electronic voting in 2006. Only four years earlier, County Republicans held at least two seats on the Montgomery County Council, several seats in the state legislature, and at least one Congressional seat. 

Kirk Cousins' favorite hair salon is coming to Rockville

Great Clips is "coming soon" to Rockville Pike, according to signage posted in the windows of its future storefront. The hair salon will be located at 835-H Rockville Pike at Wintergreen Plaza in Rockville, and it will be Great Clips' first Montgomery County shop. Based in Minnesota, the haircut chain is best known for its convenient appointment scheduling using its Online Check-in. 

Great Clips was memorably endorsed by NFL quarterback Kirk Cousins, who said he relies on the national chain to provide a predictable haircut regardless of what city he is in. The chain's "Clip Notes" feature helps provide that reliability. "Everybody needs a little rush in their lives. I get mine when I go to Great Clips to get my hair cut," Cousins told USA Today earlier this month. Cousins' original endorsement was genuine, as he was not a paid spokesperson, but Great Clips later provided him with a VIP free haircut card after learning of his praise.

Rockville Hallmark store under new ownership

The Hallmark Gold Crown store at 1663 Rockville Pike at Congressional Plaza in Rockville is under new ownership. Previously known as "Banner's Hallmark," the greeting card, ornament, stationary and gift shop has been acquired by Norman's Hallmark. Norman's is the nation's largest independent owner of Hallmark Gold Crown stores. The Bethesda Hallmark store was also recently acquired by Norman's. Hallmark's big season begins in mid-summer, with the rollout of its annual keepsake Christmas ornaments, so the timing of the ownership change makes sense.

Banner's is a local company, headquartered in Gaithersburg, while Norman's is based in Newtown, Pennsylvania. Banner's region has been Maryland, Virginia, and the Carolinas. Norman's has been focused in the Keystone State and New Jersey, but seems to be slowly expanding southward into Maryland. Norman's takes the prize for longevity; Banner's has been around since the 1970s, while Norman's was founded in 1939.

Mystery vehicle runs wild on front lawn of Rockville home

A vehicular rampage in the front yard of a Rockville home brought new meaning to the phrase, "Get off my lawn!" on July 9, 2025. Shortly after 6:00 PM that evening, an unknown suspect driving what Rockville City police only describe as "a white vehicle" proceeded to drive onto the front lawn of a home in the 13200 block of Midway Avenue in Twinbrook. The mystery vehicle left damage behind in its wake, striking a tree and the front steps of the house. If you have any information about this incident, call police at 240-314-8900.