Thursday, January 9, 2020

Ding Tea Rockville sneak peek

The sign is up at Ding Tea, opening soon at 785-C Rockville Pike in the Ritchie Center. In fact, I was there when the sign was being installed last night. They plan to open in mid-January, so stand by for the final opening date.
As you can see, the interior looks ready to go. The "Rockville" signage gives it more of a hometown feel. Ding Tea's owner says the chain's top 10 bestselling drinks are their Signature Milk Tea, Jasmine Green Milk Tea, the very seasonal Winter Melon Milk Tea, Hokkaido Oolong Milk Tea, Matcha Milk Tea, Honey Green Tea, Taro Milk Tea, Lychee Green Tea, Strawberry Yakuit, and Top Fruit Tea.






Wednesday, January 8, 2020

Rockville's Los Primos Tex-Mex & Grill is elite on new Yelp Top 100 list

Rockville is one of only two cities in the Washington, D.C. region to appear on Yelp's new Top 100 Places to Eat in the U.S. for 2020 list. Los Primos Tex Mex & Grill at 12303 Twinbrook Parkway is the only restaurant in the entire state of Maryland to appear on the list. The only other spot in the D.C. area to make the cut is Farmbird, certainly a worthy choice on H Street in the District.

Los Primos also features Salvadoran cuisine, in addition to Tex-Mex. The restaurant opened in November 2018.

Tuesday, January 7, 2020

Boardroom Salon for Men opening Rockville location

Men in the White Flint area will soon have another barbershop and grooming option. Boardroom Salon for Men will be opening a location at Montrose Crossing shopping center. The upscale barbershop has spread to 40 locations in 5 states since it began in Texas. At Montrose Crossing, it will fill the last vacant space in the property's newest Rockville Pike-facing structure between Slapfish and the AT&T Store.
In addition to haircuts and other salon services, you'll find complimentary beverages, chessboards, pool tables, televisions, dark wood paneling and plush leather chairs designed to create an upscale environment. Optional membership programs will give you unlimited haircuts at a discount rate over the life of the term you choose.
“Boardroom is a recognized leader and innovator in quality men’s grooming, with a mission to help men ‘relax, look great, and feel confident’ –they will fill a real niche for Rockville’s dense business and residential communities with their unique take on experiential service, adding to the convenience of Montrose Crossing as a shopping destination,” Federal Realty Director of Asset Management Kari Glinski said Monday.

Monday, January 6, 2020

Democrats propose Netflix tax for Montgomery County

Democratic leaders in the Maryland General Assembly are poised to propose a new tax on the highly popular entertainment streaming services used by most Montgomery County residents. The officials announced the proposed tax quietly in a Friday news dump strategically arranged by The Washington Post, whose reporters were aware of the pending tax earlier in the week, another clear example of coordination between the Montgomery County political cartel and the Post.

Subscribers to Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, Apple TV, and other streaming services could find a hefty tax added to their bill as soon as this year. The Post reports that the new Netflix tax would be one of several new taxes slapped on residents of Montgomery County and the rest of the state to cover a new $6000-per-taxpayer spending hike for public education statewide. Montgomery County is already spending record amounts on public schools, and the County's own recent report shows that the declining school system has only gotten worse for all the high spending.

Now residents' Baby Yoda and You addictions are squarely in the tax crosshairs of the cartel. With property and income taxes at record highs, it is almost impossible for officials to add $6000 in hikes via those taxes. The county is now turning to these sin taxes, similar to those you pay on your cell phone service and the rain that falls in your home's yard, to get the same amount in sneakier ways. You may recall that the County floated a new Trash Tax in 2019, for example.

The Netflix tax will be hard to pass openly, however. Most of their constituents will be furious, and the tax will fall heaviest on young people, the poor and senior citizens - like all of "progressive" Montgomery County's regressive flat taxes.

Friday, January 3, 2020

Destination Maternity closing at Montgomery Mall

Yet another Montgomery County business is closing its doors. Destination Maternity at Westfield Montgomery Mall will close. A closing sale is now underway.

The "Store Closing" and "Nothing Held Back!" signs now ubiquitous across moribund Montgomery County are present here, as well. We're in real trouble, folks.

Thursday, January 2, 2020

MD board: Rockville Planning Commission violated Open Meetings Act

The State of Maryland Open Meetings Compliance Board has found that the Rockville Planning Commission violated the Maryland Open Meetings Act in its two closed sessions on November 5, 2018 and August 7, 2019. Rockville resident and former planning commissioner David Hill brought the matter to the board's attention last year, and their ruling has now been issued. Hill also informed the Mayor and Council of the issues and the ruling at their December 16 meeting.

Both Hill, and the West End Citizens Association, further argue that City staff actions and advice to the Planning Commission in regards to the closed sessions led to the violations, and failed to provide sufficient transparency to the public. WECA had actively participated in the public approval process of a development proposal for 107 W. Jefferson Street. Representatives of WECA were present at commission meetings during that process, in one instance waiting outside of the chambers during a closed session at which commissioners departed the room without returning to open session following their closed discussion.

The Mayor & Council will now discuss the violations and related issues at their January 6, 2020 meeting at 7:00 PM at City Hall. Hill is urging them to take some substantive action rather than let the OMCB's findings simply stand, as that body only determines whether the law was violated, but does not issue penalties. He also is requesting they investigate the actions of City Attorney Debra Yerg Daniel in the matter. "The City Attorney serves at Mayor and Council pleasure," Hill noted in his testimony. "That gives you supervisory responsibility of her conduct. As a citizen of Rockville and former commissioner, I call on you to discover why the law was broken, censure that, and fix it."

WECA is further recommending the Mayor & Council utilize an independent outside counsel to study the matter. The WECA board suggests that the approval of the 107 W. Jefferson Street development also be part of that independent investigation.

Mayor & Council photo via City of Rockville

Tuesday, December 31, 2019

New Audi Rockville showroom opens

The newly-built Audi Rockville showroom is now open for business at 1125 Rockville Pike. For most of the year, the dealership has been handling customers across the Pike at 1190 Rockville Pike. The new building has a German-inspired design.