LebTav opens at Congressional Plaza in Rockville

Lebanese Taverna has opened its downsized restaurant at Congressional Plaza, rebranded as LebTav after moving next to Modern Market from its old location in the other wing of the shopping center. As I reported several weeks ago, the menu was downsized along with the space. Here is a picture of the official menu:

Rockville police assist U.S. marshals in arresting two at Montgomery County Circuit Courthouse

City of Rockville police assisted U.S. marshals and Montgomery County Sheriff's deputies in apprehending two men at the Montgomery County Circuit Courthouse this week, the Sheriff's Office reports. Deputies assigned to a courtroom for security in another case recognized two individuals wanted on federal charges of possession of a dangerous controlled substance, with intent to distribute.

The deputies alerted the U.S. Marshal Service and Rockville police. Personnel from both agencies responded to the scene, and the deputies then moved to successfully take both suspects into custody without incident, the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office says. The Rockville officers and marshals then transported the suspects to the federal court in Greenbelt.

Rockville narrows finalists for vacant Council seat to 3

The Mayor and Council of Rockville reduced the number of applicants vying for the vacant seat on the City Council to three Wednesday, following interviews with five candidates the night before. The three finalists will now be interviewed again by the Mayor and Council on Wednesday, March 20, 2019.

Those finalists are Monique Ashton, James J. Hedrick, and Robert J. Wright. The applicant chosen for the seat will serve until the Mayor & Council elections this November.

Construction underway on new Pike & Rose office building

Construction has begun on a new Class A office building at Pike & Rose, known as 909 Rose Avenue. Although the office market in moribund Montgomery County is weak, with no major corporate headquarters locating here in two decades, property owner Federal Realty is making a similar move to rival JBG Smith - moving their own headquarters from up Rockville Pike into this building, just as JBG will relocate its Chevy Chase HQ to 4747 Bethesda Avenue.

Federal is marketing the rest of the available space in 909 Rose with an emphasis on the amenities found in the Pike & Rose development, which now boasts arguably the best one-stop dining collection in Montgomery County. And the AMP concert venue and iPic Theater. The building itself will have a rooftop lounge and outdoor deck. Federal Realty is also promoting the idea that, with its HQ on-premises, tenants will have a better experience compared to a "remote landlord."

Fallsgrove Sunday Safeway bank robber strikes again - and gets away again

Encore! Encore!

The same suspect returned to the scene of his alleged past crimes this past Sunday at the Fallsgrove Safeway at 14939 Shady Grove Road. As he has done each month so far this year, he passed a note to the teller at the in-store SunTrust Bank, obtained cash, and fled. He even came around the exact same time as he did last month. What's astonishing is that no one was prepared for him by now, and that some of the basic anti-robbery strategies appear to not be employed by SunTrust.

No exploding dye pack? No marked bills? Or other similar tactics to lead police to the perpetrator after a getaway? You would think the bank would be expecting the guy at this point, and that police would be staking out the bank on Sundays.

Instead, we have another photo of the suspect pulling off his latest alleged heist. It's no wonder he's often shown on his phone while at the store. "I can't believe how easy it is to rob a bank in Montgomery County - thank God for our soft-on-crime County Council," he must be saying to disbelieving friends. It's SunTrust customers in Rockville and elsewhere who have to pay ever-higher banking fees to make up for the cash that people like this guy get away with.

Anyone with information about the suspect or these bank robberies is asked to contact the Montgomery County Department of Police – Major Crimes Division at 240-773-5100. To be eligible for a reward, tipsters may call Crime Solvers of Montgomery County toll-free at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477). Crime Solvers will pay a cash reward of up to $10,000 for information provided to them that leads to the arrest and/or indictment of this suspect. Tipsters may remain anonymous.

Rockville City Council vacant seat down to 5 finalists

Will developers have reason
to celebrate the closed process
to fill this Council vacancy?

Rockville's Mayor and Council interviewed twenty-one applicants for the vacant seat on the City Council on Saturday, March 2, 2019. They have now reduced the list of potential replacements for former councilmember Julie Palakovich Carr to five. Those five will be interviewed again on Tuesday, March 5 at 7:00 PM. The interviews will be broadcast live on Channel 11 and streamed live on the City website.

The five finalists are (click on name to read their application):

Monique Ashton - a  PTA cluster coordinator for the Richard Montgomery cluster in Montgomery County Public Schools, and a senior vice-president at Ogilvy.

Cynthia Cotte Griffiths - Richard Montgomery High School's Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA) President and editor of the former Rockville Central blog and Facebook page. With an extensive professional background in non-profits, she is currently Executive Director of
DC-MD Justice For Our Neighbors in Rockville.

James J. Hedrick - Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) employee who currently serves on the Executive Committee of the Twinbrook Community Association (TCA), and on the board of Rockville Housing Enterprises.

Eugene M. Thirolf - retired Director of the Office of Consumer Litigation (OCL) in the Department of
Justice, with 20 years volunteer experience in the Richard Montgomery cluster that included being president of the PTSA at three schools in the cluster. He also was head of the Montgomery County Liquor Board, and a five year commissioner for the Rockville Ethics Commission, in addition to being a volunteer in youth sports.

Robert J. Wright - a former Senior Advisor with the U.S. Department of Energy, Wright served on the Rockville City Council for three terms beginning in 1995. He was defeated by Larry Giammo in the 2001 Rockville mayoral race, after some memorable rhetorical showdowns during the old Citizens' Forum segment of Mayor and Council meetings. A majority of residents sought a more responsible and lower-density development policy that year, among other concerns. Wright is promising not to run again in November if he is chosen to fill the vacancy now.

One thing clear so far in this process: the city needs a special election to fill vacancies like this, so that residents have a chance to fully interrogate the candidates in debates and forums on the critical issues like growth, development, and adequate public facilities. A second thing we know for sure is that this will be a somewhat-dramatic selection, as the Mayor and Council are split into two factions of two apiece. Someone will have to flip sides to anoint the winner here. Finally, residents will probably find time spent on recruiting and supporting five responsible-growth candidates for the real election this fall more effective than time spent worrying about who serves out the remaining months of this term.

Residents can ostensibly start weighing in on the finalists during the Community Forum at tonight's Mayor and Council meeting at 7:00 PM at City Hall. That meeting will follow a closed session, as the City is apparently facing a lawsuit that the Mayor and Council will discuss privately.

Future storefronts unveiled at Pike & Rose (Photos)

Construction walls have come down at three future additions to Grand Park Avenue at Pike & Rose. Unveiled on the Federal Realty development's main street are the facade designs of BurgerFi, Sweetgreen and Sunday Morning Bakehouse.

Burger Fi has an angled Dodge Neon Green arch across the top of their facade. It looks like some equipment, including a beverage refrigerator, are already in place inside.

Sweetgreen also looks far along inside, and their main and pedestrian-facing blade signs are already lit. The other two businesses are still awaiting installation of their signs.

Sunday Morning Bakehouse is still in the drywall stage inside. They are now hiring employees, and plan to open this summer. If you can't wait until then, chef-owner Caroline Yi has recently started a delivery service with a 30 mile radius. She also is vendor at the Pike Central farm market at Pike & Rose, which will resume this spring.