Pinnacle Pictures, Luxury Beauty & Nails open at Montgomery Mall; EJJI Ramen, UASIS close

EJJI Ramen closure official,

Luxury Beauty & Nails and

Pinnacle Pictures open

Two spas played musical chairs over the weekend at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda. When the music stopped, one no longer has a spot. And a third spa opened. UASIS Day Spa has closed permanently. However, I'm told that the stylists at UASIS have moved to UA Salon and Day Spa, Ricky Alessandro Salon, and Avalon Lifestyle Nail Salon & Spa, all of which are located in Montgomery Mall.

Infinite Beauty closed on Level 2. But Infinite Beauty has another location by Nordstrom, Boutique Spa by Infinite Beauty.

Infinite Beauty's alternative
location - Boutique Spa by Nordstrom

Can't find your old stylist or technician at the new locations? Find someone new at the brand-new Luxury Beauty and Nails, in between Jamba Juice and Candy World.

Luxury Beauty and Nails
just opened

Finally, there's more bad news on the closing front at the mall. The closure of EJJI Ramen became official this weekend, when Westfield erected a wall around their former space in the Dining Terrace.

Can we end with some good business news, often in short supply thanks to our anti-business Montgomery County Council? Pinnacle Pictures has opened at the mall. Annoy our corrupt County Council by supporting local business and dropping a few bills on photo products here.

Da Yu Hot Pot opening Rockville location

Da Yu Hot Pot, a Chinese restaurant chain with over 300 location in China is now expanding to our side of the Pacific Ocean. Rockville, New York and Boston are the first cities to experience the Chongqing cuisine of this company founded at the turn of the century.

New York's Da Yu opened first last September, and has earned a 4-star average rating on Yelp from Manhattan diners. Construction is underway now at 1701 Rockville Pike. Da Yu will be in the vacant REI space, a few doors down from the EVEN Hotel. Have we now officially topped Annandale as the top Asian dining destination in the DC region? The case can be made.

Rockville native receives posthumous honor from CT governor

Television news anchor Denise D’Ascenzo grew up in Rockville, but is most prominently known as a news anchor in Cleveland and in the Hartford-New Haven market in Connecticut for the last several decades. D’Ascenzo passed away suddenly last month, from what her station WFSB 3 called "a massive heart attack." She was 61.

Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont (D) declared Thursday to be Denise D'Ascenzo Day in Connecticut, in honor of her longtime work and service there. A public memorial service was held the previous day in Hartford. “For more than thirty years, Denise D’Ascenzo entered millions of homes through her news broadcasts, becoming an extended member of each of our families,” Governor Lamont said in a statement yesterday. “On behalf of the entire state, our hearts remain with Denise’s family, friends, and colleagues at WFSB.”

MSNBC anchor Hallie Jackson
tweets about D'Ascenzo's passing

In Rockville, D'Ascenzo attended Rockville High School (Class of 1976), and was editor-in-chief of her high school newspaper. She also worked for The Sentinel, which ceases publication this week, in a sad coincidence.

Rockville Mayor & Council to consider amending city travel policy

The City of Rockville's government travel policy could be amended soon. A discussion of possible amendments will be held by the Mayor and Council at their meeting Monday night, February 3, 2020 at 7:00 PM. Mayor Bridget Donnell Newton and City Council members, along with members of the City's Compensation Commission, will take part in Travel Policy Training tomorrow, January 31, ahead of Monday's discussion.

In a report, the Compensation Commission revived a recommendation by a prior commission that the Mayor and Council be able to receive reimbursement for travel expenses the same as City staff. They said this would eliminate any murkiness on what travel can be reimbursed for elected officials by providing a precise framework. The commission also recommended giving each Councilmember and the Mayor a separate $5000 travel budget apiece. By FY2024, the allowance would increase to $6000 annually. The travel issue is part of a larger discussion of boosting compensation for the Mayor and Council. 

Travel policy abuse is not rare in our area; Montgomery County Councilmember Hans Riemer was found to have received compensation for travel to private meetings with his campaign donors, and requested - and received - compensation from taxpayers for a campaign-style website, despite already having a County Council website for official business. No one, including the Council, ethics oversight bodies, nor the local media (those aware included The Washington Post) besides this website, has investigated nor addressed that inappropriate use of taxpayer funds by Riemer to date.

Photo courtesy City of Rockville

Rockville law firm partner to headline MCGOP Lunar New Year celebration

Christina E. Shin (Sohn) will be the headlining speaker at the Montgomery County Republican Party's 2020 Lunar New Year Celebration on February 7, 2020 at 7:00 PM at New Fortune Chinese Restaurant, located at 16515 S. Frederick Avenue in Gaithersburg. Shin is a founding partner of Rowe, Weinstein & Sohn, PLLC and Quantum Title Corporation in Rockville. She is also the President of the Korean American Republican Party of Virginia.

Guests will enjoy a 7-course meal of Fried Shrimp Balls, Seafood Tofu Soup, Roasted Chicken Cantonese, Walnut Shrimp, Mushrooms with Vegetables, Chow Foon with Vegetables, Sweet 'n Sour Pork Chop, Young Chow Fried Rice, Oranges/Fortune Cookie, Soft Drinks, and Tea (vegetarian options available). Adult beverages will be available at a cash bar.

Tickets are $40.00 if purchased by Feb. 2, 2020, or you can pay $45 at the door. Payment can be made online, by credit card, or by check; cash will not be accepted for this event. Sponsors can buy a table for 10 for $400, and will be recognized at the event - but must buy tables by January 31.

Make Checks Payable to MCGOP: 15833 Crabbs Branch Way Rockville, Maryland 20855.

Rockville cancels Lunar New Year celebration due to coronavirus fears

Fears of an escalating coronavirus pandemic are growing in China and abroad. Student trips at local universities have been canceled in some cases, and Chinese celebrations of the Year of the Rat have been severely curtailed by quarantines. In this climate, the City of Rockville has decided to cancel its planned Lunar New Year celebration that had been scheduled for this Saturday, February 1, 2020 at Rockville High School.

A statement released by the City Monday stated that "[t]he decision to cancel the event was made out of an abundance of caution in response to concerns about the coronavirus that have arisen from community members, event participants and the city’s Asian Pacific American Task Force, which partners with the city to organize the annual celebration."

The event will not be rescheduled, the statement added. A growing number of suspected coronavirus cases in the Washington D.C. region, including Maryland and Virginia, have increased concerns in recent days. The City noted that it is far from the only jurisdiction to cancel planned Chinese New Year festivities this week.

Graphics via CDC.gov

Bar Louie closes Rockville, Wheaton Plaza locations

Just as nightlife in booming Washington, D.C. expands into new corners of the District, it continues to tank spectacularly in moribund Montgomery County. Bar Louie has closed in Rockville Town Square. As if that wasn't enough, Bar Louie also closed its newer location at Wheaton Plaza, which was in a very modern and new structure with prime proximity to the AMC Wheaton 9 cineplex. "Thanks for all the memories," read signs in the windows.

Having been at Rockville Town Square for many years, the closure reflects the drastic downturn the county has taken over the past decade, as the Montgomery County political cartel has seized all nine seats on the County Council. The fact that the Wheaton location exited the same weekend indicates that this was more than just the ongoing struggles at Federal Realty's Rockville Town Square, which has seen a mass exodus of many of its key tenants in recent years.

Montgomery County is in real trouble, folks. County revenue, not surprisingly, is severely declining with the failing economy and flight of the rich to lower-tax jurisdictions in the region. Nightlife took a catastrophic blow from the Council's disastrous "nighttime economy task force" debacle, which resulted in the closure of 18 nightspots in Bethesda alone, and was capped by several new Council policies that hit the bottom line of hospitality businesses hard. Not to mention the Council preserving and beefing up the County government liquor monopoly, instead of ending it as bar and restaurant owners have begged them to do for years.

More liquor money for Virginia and D.C. We're being led by very stupid people, folks.