Saturday, April 13, 2013

WATCH THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER SEASON FINALE TONIGHT AT HOOTERS OF ROCKVILLE

Team Jones takes on Team Sonnen in the season finale of The Ultimate Fighter, at 9:00 PM tonight, at Hooters of Rockville.

This event is leading up to UFC 159, the World Heavyweight Championship bout of Jones vs. Sonnen on April 27.

Friday, April 12, 2013

LOS LOBOS BURRITOS CART TO OFFICIALLY DEBUT AT ROCKVILLE TOWN CENTER TONIGHT

Authentic Northern Mexican burritos are coming to Montgomery County tonight at 6:00 PM at Rockville Town Center.

Los Lobos Northern Mexican Burritos won't be selling the type of burrito you are used to from Taco Bell or Patio in the frozen food aisle.

Instead of fillings like guacamole, sour cream and other ingredients that can overwhelm the meat, Pamela Ramos is bringing the original burrito concept from her hometown of Ciudad Juarez to Rockville. That means a hand-rolled tortilla, a swipe of beans, potatoes, and plenty of intensely-flavored chicken and beef in a special-recipe sauce.

How authentic is Los Lobos? The name comes from Ramos' grandfather's ranch, and the cart's logo reproduces one of his actual cattle brands.

Stop by the cart at the Rockville Town Square plaza tonight between 6:00-9:00 PM, for new and authentic Mexican flavors you likely haven't had before.

Los Lobos will also be near the Regal Theater for lunch on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM.

Thursday, April 11, 2013

ROCKVILLE PLANNING COMMISSION BRIEFED ON MONTGOMERY COUNTY BRT PLAN

Montgomery County Planning Department Master Planner Larry Cole told the Rockville Planning Commission last night that a bus rapid transit line along MD Route 355 would take "13-21%" of its ridership from Metro.

Why is this important?

For two reasons. First, it highlights the duplication of existing subway service by BRT. In fact, Commissioner David Hill questioned Cole on that very point at last night's briefing at Rockville City Hall.

Secondly, it confirms my argument from the beginning of this sham of a process regarding BRT:  the duplicative service will attract mostly those who already use transit. In the process, it will slash the already insufficient revenue of the Metro system.

Where will that shortfall be recovered from? From you and I, the taxpayers. And again from you and I, in the form of future Metro fare increases.

It begs the question again - if the county has a magic $5 billion in extra revenue to pay for the BRT system, wouldn't that money be better spent on projects that will actually reduce congestion? These would include M-83 Midcounty Highway Extended, the Rockville Freeway, a new Potomac River bridge, expanded MARC service, the Purple Line and an extension of Metro to Gaithersburg and Germantown.

In contrast to those projects, the ridership, density and demand numbers for BRT simply don't add up.  With no solid evidence that drivers will "get out of their cars," it's safe to assume Metro ridership will be the target audience for the Emperor's New Bus, thereby providing no congestion relief.

What could ultimately end up happening, is a small BRT ridership, taken in even greater numbers from Metro than Cole's projections suggest, riding $5 billion buses along a now even-more-congested Route 355. And Metro in even worse financial straits than ever.

Rockville Planning Commissioners were understandably skeptical of Cole's presentation.

Commissioner Jack Leiderman asked Cole if he was attempting to "punish" drivers by removing 2 car lanes from 355 for BRT. Cole arrogantly responded that drivers "don't own" those lanes.

Mr. Cole, those of us who live in Maryland not only own those lanes, but we paid for their construction, and continue to pay for their maintenance.

Cole made the mistake of comparing the seizure of 2 lanes for BRT to HOV Lanes on I-270. Anyone who actually drives on 270 knows that the HOV idea was a complete failure, and does continue only as a punishment for drivers. The HOV lane is that one which you turn to the left and see hardly anybody in, while you're crawling or at a complete stop on 270. Not only is traffic still jammed, but you're moving even slower, thanks to the loss of 25% of capacity in the Express lanes.  And during rush hour, many HOV drivers are using the lane illegally.

Cole wasn't done making odd comparisons.

When a skeptical Commissioner Dion Trahan quizzed Cole as to how losing already-jammed lanes would reduce gridlock, Cole referred to Ballston in Arlington.

Cole repeated a popular urban myth among "smart" growth advocates, that traffic on Wilson Boulevard in Ballston and Clarendon has actually decreased, despite massive, dense redevelopment.

This is an apples to oranges comparison, and complete bunk. First, the "less traffic" argument is hardly accurate as it relates to Arlington.

But, more importantly, there is no comparison whatsoever between Wilson Boulevard and 355.

The daily traffic count on Wilson is around 15,000 vehicles.

The daily traffic count on Rockville Pike is 43,000 to 46,000 cars.

Wilson is a lower-capacity road than 355.

And Wilson is not an arterial road of the scope of 355.  355 carries heavy traffic from Washington, Frederick, Carroll and Montgomery counties along a corridor that has only one alternative, 270.

In contrast, drivers traveling west-east into Washington through Arlington have many parallel routes to choose from.  Rockville Pike is not Wilson Boulevard, and you can't make it so just to satisfy ideology or developers.

Speaking of which, Cole seems to favor both. Cole's recent suggestion to kill the grade-separated Montrose Parkway certainly revealed an anti-highway, pro-developer bias. That's not a good starting point for a planning department that is supposed to ensure adequate mobility of citizens via a multimodal transportation system.

But there's more ideological dreaming, "behavior-modification" scheming, and development cheerleading going on than planning in Cole's department.

Asked by the commission's chair, Jerry Callistein, why no planning has been done for BRT parking, environmental studies, BRT-Metro transfers, BRT vehicle storage, etc., Cole essentially responded that the dog ate his homework. It's hard enough to get the BRT plan passed without worrying about those little details, Cole suggested.

Unsatisfactory answers were the rule in a presentation on an unsatisfactory boondoggle of a BRT proposal.

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

SPICE XING HAPPY HOUR MENU (PHOTO)

Enjoy the fine food and adult beverages of Spice Xing at a great price, during the Rockville Town Square restaurant's weekday Happy Hour.

Click on the photo to enlarge the complete Happy Hour menu:

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

NEW FLATBREAD SANDWICH AT WENDY'S IN ROCKVILLE (VIDEO)

Here's something new to try for dinner tonight: Wendy's new Asiago Ranch Grilled Chicken Flatbread sandwich. I stopped by the Wendy's on Rockville Pike last night to try it out myself.

Here's my review, including a zoomed-in closeup of all the fillings in the sandwich: lettuce, salad greens, bacon, tomatoes, grilled chicken breast, Asiago cheese and ranch dressing.

Don't forget the artisan bread, which is one of the strong points in Wendy's attempt to challenge upscale competitors like Panera Bread.

Monday, April 8, 2013

ROCKVILLE HS STUDENT MICHELLE MILLER DIED IN MURDER-SUICIDE, POLICE ALLEGE

Montgomery County Police say the death of Rockville High School senior Michelle Miller was the result of a murder-suicide.

Police identified the alleged killer as Adam Anthony Arndt, age 31, of the 12900 block of Pinnacle Drive in Germantown. Arndt also died in the alleged incident.

Miller, age 17, of the 5100 block of Russett Road in Rockville, knew Arndt due to Arndt’s assignment as a Staff Sergeant in the U.S. Army, and Miller’s plans to enlist in the U.S. Army Reserves following her graduation, police say.

ROCKVILLE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT FOUND DEAD IN GERMANTOWN

Montgomery County Police report finding the body of 17-year-old Michelle Miller in Germantown this morning. Police say this, and the death of a 31-year-old man also found in the 12900 block of Pinnacle Drive, at about 8:45 a.m., are suspicious.  And that a firearm was found at the location.

Police report only that the man lived at the location, and was a US Army veteran. Miller was reported to be a senior at Rockville High School in Rockville.