Meanwhile, the proliferation of gadget repair shops threatens to dethrone candy stores as the hot retail trend in Montgomery County. The Fix is in. Or it will be in, when The Fix opens soon on Level 2, in the Macy's wing of the mall. The Fix also offers "fashion" accessories for your devices, and assistance in integrating them in your home.
One other thing you might notice soon at Montgomery Mall, is a new set of advertising screens now being installed. The ones that are activated currently are running a "beta testing" set of messages, and promise to showcase advertising on the Westfield Network.
Finally, part of the mall's parking garage is cordoned off inside, with no signage offering an explanation.
98 comments:
You missed that the bouncy-house place (2nd floor outside Macy's Home) was shut down by the MoCoPoPo b/c they opened without any permits. Dastardly bouncy-house people.
Bill Turque's article "The Coming Ghosts of Downtown Bethesda" was excellent. Five links to Bethesda Beat and none to Robert Dyer.
I guess Turque got fed up with Dyer constantly distorting his "moribund" quote.
6:21: Those were 5 gratuitous links to Bethesda Beef, to articles that were PLAGIARIZED from my content and original reporting. Just posted on Twitter about that a little while ago.
By the way, how many articles about "Bethesda changing" now refer to the carpetbaggers at Bethesda Magazine, but don't quote or link to the lifelong resident with the most popular Bethesda news site, Robert Dyer?
Give me a break, but I understand the absurdly strong political effort to keep my name out of the Post and Washingtonian, as well as the backroom deal both publications have with the small and slightly-failing mag to give gratuitous and frequent mentions of Bethesda Beef.
These are the tactics the little men of the MoCo political cartel use. Sad!
Speaking of the parking garage, anyone else notice that they took about 50 spaces away for Valet Parking? It's the lower level garage, one level below the food court; and also about 2/3rd of the surface lot spaces next to it, right across from Bobby's Burger Palace.
Not only does this make it more difficult to find parking, but why do they block these spaces even at times when the valet isn't offered, like weekday afternoons?
6:32: Parking is a mess ever since the other parking deck was demolished and never replaced. I usually park over by Sears, but that's not exactly convenient to most restaurants and ArcLight. I suspect the valet space idea was supposed to address that, but may have now caused other problems such as those you mention.
You keep claiming that you are "the most popular Bethesda news site", yet have never, ever provided any numbers to support this. And the numbers that are actually out there, suggest the exact opposite?
Why should anyone take you seriously anymore?
Dyer just admitted that he too parks in the moribund Sears lot. LOL
6:43: The "numbers that are actually out there" are fake. Take off the clickbait Google News traffic from outside the DC area for my competitor's non-Bethesda stories on "Donald Trump," "13 Reasons Why" suicide tv show, and "Jimmy Kimmell," and the numbers aren't quite so rosy.
Then look at the percentages of each site's traffic that is actually from Bethesda, the length of time they stay on the site, and how far they click through the site, and you'll quickly find that I am the top Bethesda news site.
That's why.
6:51: If I'm not going just to a restaurant or a movie, isn't it smart to park where there is plenty of parking?
Instead of telling your readers to do all of the work to try and support your claims, maybe you should provide includes or include numbers? Just a suggestion since I have been trying to do this and it looks like you are getting crushed. That's not a bad thing since you do report on different stories, but Everytime you double down on Bethesda magazine being run by the cartel, I distrust your work more and more and tend to just read it for updates and ignore anything with council in it.
It's not about proof, it's about power. That's why it's always a dodge when it comes to credible proof.
Which of the stories that mentioned "Donald Trump" not local news stories?
How did you hear Jimmy Kimmel praising NIH, Bethesda's largest employer, because of his son's heart issues, and somehow turn that into "Jimmy Kimmel Love Child"?
#DEADMALL
Well, since Dyer won't accept any "third party analytics" other than the ones which he has never published which he claims support him, then how about another measure?
Followers of their respective Twitter feeds seems like an objective statistic:
Bethesda Magazine
-following: 2,159
-followers: 9,944
Robert Dyer
-following: 1,304
-followers: 4,138
The difference isn't quite as sharp as for website visits/visitors, but it's still crystal-clear.
9:57: Twitter following isn't crystal clear. Bethesda Magazine buys followers, including buying over 10K outright from the old BethesdaNow verified Twitter account for the @BethesdaBeef account. The Arlington-based owner of that account paid Twitter about $13,000 for the verified blue check mark to give BethesdaNow instant fake "authority," in a bid to wipe me out. After spending over $100,000, he declared the site a failure and folded it. Bethesda Magazine then acquired that account, and transferred all of its followers against their will to the BethesdaBeef account, a violation of the verified account rules.
So the story of Twitter actually shows I'm number one - I've got over 4000 followers WITHOUT SPENDING A ****ING DIME BUYING THEM VIA PAID PLACEMENT OR VERIFIED $13000 BLUE CHECK MARK.
Anybody who doesn't believe me? Try starting a Twitter account today under the new algorithms that favor users who pay Twitter over users like me, who don't. Don't pay Twitter any money. You'll find you can't get more than a few hundred followers, tops.
Making my 4000+ followers a hugely impressive accomplishment of blood and sweat, not MoCo cartel dark money.
#DodgingDyer
7:36: None of 'em. Just clickbait for Google Adwords "Donald Trump," "13 Reasons Why, " "Jimmy Kimmel" - whatever's trending, they post a cheap clickbait story about it to get fake traffic.
"Bethesda Magazine buys followers, including buying over 10K outright from the old BethesdaNow verified Twitter account for the @BethesdaBeef account."
They merged. Why shouldn't the Twitter followers of both sites carry over? It's not like individual followers who had followed both sites prior to the meger, will be counted as two followers of the merged site. I don't understand what you are trying to argue, at all.
Robert is great at reporting news, but really has a victim complex with everything he does.
I'm laughing at Dyer's image of all of the Twitter followers of Bethesda Now being dragged kicking and screaming to the Bethesda Magazine Twitter account.
If any didn't like that, they would already have unfollowed by now.
Thank you for bringing back the Crime Report section. This is probably my favorite section you do. I do enjoy how you listen to your readers and brought back the section. I see you are getting attacked quite a bit on here and I wanted to say that even if they have more readers than you allegedly, I am still very happy with the work that I find on here. Thank you so much for your hard work and service to the community.
Although the Post only publishes the local crime reports once a week, they covered all of the days that Dyer missed during the last three weeks.
Most people don't know who Dyer is. He's a small time blogger with a relatively small following. Bethesda Magazine is a known commodity.
Dyer is a joke.
Saying dyer is as popular/successful as Bethesda Magazine is like saying Dyer is on the Council...Which as we all know isn't the case as Hans whooped him. False facts and Dyer analytics. Haha.
Duh. The Post is a highly staffed, robust news medium. Dyer has a hobby page that largely just airs his anger at various parties (in my opinion).
18 negative comments about Dyer, 2 positive or neutral comments (by my count). Yikes. For a guy who thinks he has a popular blog, I'm beginning to think people simply come to this site to voice their displeasure with Dyer's blog. Dunno...not exactly basing this on science, just counting comments.
Reporting is typically done sans objectivity...
You can buy Twitter followers.. hardly the best metric.
The Post published their bi-annual article on Downtown Bethesda. Great, but nothing new and doesn't have the detail Dyer has on those storylines.
With the Gazette closed, we need Robert's daily reporting on Bethesda now more than ever.
The fact that an "anonymous" man continues to troll here is sad. He's never moved on.
Interesting that Bethesda Magazine admits they had to purchase BethesdaNOW's social followers to inflate their numbers.
I guess that's one way to try and look popular.
I wish they would have kept Joe Hawkins on when they shut down BethesdaNOW. The Magazine desperately needs more diverse voices.
12:11pm the Post may be staffing up, but not in covering local news. They closed the Gazette for peetes sake.
Did the Magazine really cover Kimmel and 13 Reasons? Lol...
The disgruntled, unpaid interns strike again.
Look, your comment above is fair that we need local news. I'll give you that. What dyer offers isn't the news. They are biased, opinion pieces. It isn't news. It isn't objective. This is a hobbyist maintaining opinion pieces on a blog. Are some of the reports on restaurants welcome? Sure, but I could just as easy seem them an hour before or after on bethesda Magazine and not have to see Dyer berating folks who ask questions/point out that he's making alternative facts up on occassion.
All the support for Dyer came in a 10 minute span...
Very interesting that the atta-boys all come out at the same time and disappear at the same time.
Completely disagree with the above comment. Dyer's "reporting" is of no way, shape, or form a service to Bethesda. It's a platform for Dyer to push his own agenda. What's more, it's a platform for many untruths. I truly think we'd be better off with just Bethesda Magazine reporting objectively - whether they pay for their followers or not.
What if, wait for it, Dyer pays for followers thinking Bethesda Magazine does and in reality they don't. Then Dyer is paying and still losing.
Dyer doesn't have enough revenue to pay for viewers. If he did, he wouldn't have a little blog that a grade schooler could design. I could see dyer doing something like that but don't think he's successful enough to pull it off.
12:55pm Say what you want about Bethesda Magazine, but they're closely aligned with the status quo and backers of several current Councilmembers.
Definitely read the Magazine if you want the official talking points.
Come here once you realize how unsatistying that is.
Lots of issues around the Westbard Plan and Dyer is on top of them for us.
There is room for both: MoCo talking points from the Magazine and an independent voice like Robert Dyer.
1:31pm here we go again..arguing about blog templates. Google vs. your WordPress template.
Lol...at the end of the day, it's irrelevant which you template you use vs. what Dyer uses.
So, the Post regurgitates what Dyer reported over a month ago. How is that a win for The Post? Am I missing something?
Better because it was printed on paper in a newspaper?
The Post quoted Bethesda Magazine. The Post is one of the biggest papers in the country. If you believe Dyer on this one, you might be certifiable. If the Post took something from Dyer they'd cite him. They have nothing against him. He's a small time blogger that isn't on their playing field.
2:14pm Dyer broke the Tastee Diner sale story. The Magazine and now The Post reported it later. How is that a win for either legacy publication?
Seems like it validates Dyer, his great sources and reporting.
I'm the one who first mentioned the Post's article. I did not read that article on paper, I read it on my tablet. Your fixation on "paper" is very strange.
Excuse me, but who uses "a WordPress template"?
Dyer broke Tastee Diner sale...never forget.
What if this was the 1810s when you had to own property to vote. Poor Dyer would be stuck, either have to move out of his Mom's house, or go to the slums somewhere where he could afford to live.
2:47 pm = Haters gonna hate.
I literally come to the blog to see the fighting in the comments. It is really amusing. Seeing all of this analytics makes me wonder how much his numbers are pumped up with comment readers like me as well as Bethesda magazine.
2:59 - Actually Dyer hasn't posted any numbers from his "analytics".
Recapping: So far, we've learned that:
1. The Post is excellent in their coverage of Bethesda because they published an article with info Dyer published a month ago.
2. The Post didn't credit Dyer nor did they interview him. That somehow makes their incomplete story better.
3. WordPress templates are the bestest.
Did I miss anything?
1:55, 3:51 - Who uses WordPress?
My guess is also that most people (like me as well) come for the comments, vice whatever Dyer's "big scoops" are. I mean his "exposes" aren't exactly making CNN and the NYT
Dyer is well established in covering local stories and issues that Bethesda residents care deeply about.
If you want international news, then please also go to CNN and NY Times in addition to Dyer's sites.
5:47 is sposored content.
7:40 PM = Unpaid intern from Bumfuck U. completing his homework assignment for tonight.
8:20 PM You go to blog written by unpaid interns instead of Dyer, who is well established?
Makes no sense.
Remember, they don't even pay their interns. These aren't the best and brightest.
You're actually coming here for Dyer's news reporting because you can't find it elsewhere. And then, you throw a tantrum in the comments.
50+ comments later and 8:20PM comes full circle, back to promoting his competing blog. Unbelievable. What a waste of his time trolling all day here. Why is he so insecure about his blog that he believes competes with Dyer?
When do respected publications (whether digital or print) badmouth and
compare themselves to other publications?
Never.
Respected publications don't plagiarize stories about the Tastee Diner without attribution. The Washington Post article about Bethesda was a total victory for me, because it proved that I AM the news in Bethesda.
I broke the story about the Tastee Diner reaching agreement for $7 million, yet the Post and Bethesda Magazine are so petrified to give my popular ideas and website any publicity, that they had to link to multiple Bethesda Magazine articles plagiarized from my original scoop instead of to my authoritative piece that broke the story.
The Post even cited my $7 million figure, for which there is no other source, yet could not cite He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, a.k.a. Robert Dyer. Hysterical.
Total victory.
There I was sitting with Robert Costa for Washington Week and all he could talk about was how to screw-over Robert Dyer.
The Post is working with the other publications and the county council to cheat Robert Dyer. They meet weekly to discuss strategy.
5:10: Nobody said they're having meetings, just that they have a hard-and-fast policy of not giving me any exposure. The Bethesda article just showed how hardcore they are about it. They used my $7 million figure, but didn't cite me. They talked about the Tastee Diner story I broke, which no one would even have known about if I hadn't gotten the scoop, but instead linked to articles that plagiarized my original scoop!
What does Robert Dyer have against Anna's perfectly straight comments??????
This is censorship to the extreme.
5:35: Her comment is right up there above yours. Do you have a compulsive disorder or something, that you keep posting this comment?
"Try starting a Twitter account today under the new algorithms that favor users who pay Twitter over users like me, who don't. Don't pay Twitter any money. You'll find you can't get more than a few hundred followers, tops."
Here ya go, started January 2017, unverified, 83.4K followers:
https://twitter.com/RogueSNRadvisor
5:55: Sorry, ones promoted by national media don't count. I mean a nobody like you, starting a Twitter account, with no media blitz and no payment to Twitter for followers or blue check marks. You would have no more than a few hundred followers. Trust me, I know this, because my other Twitter accounts are all locked in at those low numbers under the new algorithms.
5:59: I only lost the election because the cemetery precincts came in strong for Hans Riemer, and the media refused to cover the debates. We just saw again this weekend how the Post has a policy of not printing my name in the newspaper. Sad!
Just from this thread. The words of Robert Dyer.
1) Yet the Post and Bethesda Magazine are so petrified to give my popular ideas and website any publicity,
2) I understand the absurdly strong political effort to keep my name out of the Post and Washingtonian, as well as the backroom deal both publications have with the small and slightly-failing mag to give gratuitous and frequent mentions of Bethesda Beef.
These are the tactics the little men of the MoCo political cartel use. Sad!
3) The "numbers that are actually out there" are fake
4) they have a hard-and-fast policy of not giving me any exposure.
5) I only lost the election because the cemetery precincts came in strong for Hans Riemer, and the media refused to cover the debates
6:21/6:23: I stand by all of those comments. They are absolutely correct. I will debate anybody anywhere on any one of those issues, and crush them just like I crushed Helpless Hans Riemer & Co. in the debates.
Hey, maybe you did beat Hans in a debate. But both he and a republican destroyed you. If "Helpless Hans" beat you, what's the make you "Useless Dyer," or just loser?
Dyer has a right to defend himself if another site is plagiarizing his stories and not giving credit or even a hat tip. Full stop.
The ARLNow guy went nuclear when a local TV station stole his "Rosslyn phantom dog pooper" story a few months ago.
6:56 AM Is the MyMCMedia debate still up on YouTube? Fast forward to the end when Reimer pees his pants.
6:56: The Republican "beating me" was another Washington Post "Editorial Board Gone Wild" stunt with their endorsement, which totally mis-characterized that candidate's platform. As far as Hans, the cemetery precincts came in strong for him. Totally unfair, but now the state of Maryland is facing a lawsuit from Judicial Watch as a result.
6:58: Yep, it's still up there. Enjoy!
There's nothing for JW to find.
@AGSchneiderman New York Atty General:
"My office found zero substantiated claims of voter fraud in New York last year.
The issue isn’t voter fraud. It’s voter suppression."
Brian Frosh, MD Atty General:
“While the process by which the State Board of Elections identifies voting irregularities from the 2016 Presidential General Election remains ongoing, its experience with prior elections suggests that the number of
confirmed instances of voter fraud will be miniscule.”
6:58 - Fast forward a little more to when Riemer ass-whupped Dyer in the general election.
I'll be in touch with people at the Post today.
Who should I talk with to confirm verify the "hard and fast policy" and the "backroom deal" against you?
Give me some time to get up to speed and research your claims and accusations with the various parties involved.
Then we can debate.
And Bethesda Beat just linked to The Washington Post's article. LOL
"The Republican "beating me" was another Washington Post "Editorial Board Gone Wild" stunt with their endorsement, which totally mis-characterized that candidate's platform."
All of Dyer's failures are someone else's fault.
I wonder if Dyer will delete Anna's comment again and pretend like it never existed and we are all crazy.
8:12am almost 100 comments of bile and hatred towards Robert Dyer...yes, you are crazy.
Get outside for a bit and enjoy the weather. You're spending too much energy and time hating Dyer.
Apparently Dyer does not consider the Purple Line or Jamie Raskin to be local news.
7:39: Yep, just as their secret agreement specifies. Even when it means tarnishing the reputation of both news outlets, by plagiarizing my Tastee Diner scoop. Sad!
8"03: Not all, but those ones sure were. False endorsement editorials and the cemetery precincts coming in strong for Riemer.
7:17: Oh, man, you couldn't be more wrong. The analysis showed that more people are registered to vote in MoCo than there are eligible voters. Oops! Bigtime voter fraud. "Pues....ah...Soy John Smith de 1234 Chevy Chase Lane. Quiero votar por Hans Riemer!!!!"
8:56: You mean Bethesda Magazine and Brian Frosh trashing a "so-called judge" a la Donald Trump? I try not to promote that kind of bad behavior. It's called the judicial system, and it's pretty shocking to hear Hogan, BM and Mr. Frosh going off the rails attacking judges over private profit for developers who own land along the Purple Line. Too bad there isn't this passion for justice for the girl in the Rockville rape case, who was totally trashed by the rape culture of Montgomery County's elected officials. Dirty money vs. a child. It's sick which one our MoCo political cartel prioritizes over the other. Sad!
I think Jamie Raskin's bill speaks for itself. In any other county, he would be laughed out of the room. And it has ZERO to do with Bethesda, unlike the news I'm reporting every day. Let's stick to real Bethesda news, not more "Donald Trump" "Jimmy Kimmel" "13 Reasons Why" clickbait from the small and slightly-failing magazine.
9:06 AM Interesting point. Yes, we have all recently been told not to criticize judges.
I don't believe there is rampant voter fraud. It's really not feasible. I'm afraid Judicial Watch is over-reaching again, and we'll be spending money better used for other purposes.
We'll have to agree to disagree on this issue.
And as far as the Rockville High case, you need to answer to your exploitation of the girl and the situation. Your insinuations were and are despicable. As you said, Let's stick to Bethesda news.
15) ""Donald Trump" "Jimmy Kimmel" "13 Reasons Why" clickbait"
Why isn't this Bethesda-worthy?
MCPS is warning parents about 13 Reason Why.
They are doing screenings and discussions.
It's something happening in Bethesda schools.
Or are you in favor of teen suicide?
"I think Jamie Raskin's bill speaks for itself. In any other county, he would be laughed out of the room. And it has ZERO to do with Bethesda"
First, you just insulted everyone in Montgomery County. Maybe that's why you keep losing elections.
Second, the bill already had 20 other co-sponsors, so there are at least 20 other counties where this bill would not be "laughed out of the room".
Finally, Raskin is Bethesda's Representative in Congress. So this story certainly relates to Bethesda.
Raskin is one of the most available politicians we have in Maryland. He listens to his constituents' concerns.
Dyer only reports what he is paid to report.
10:54: If so, why has he spent his first four months in office hosting rallies and marches, and introducing the "I think the Prez is nuts" bill?
Dyer @ 9:10 PM - Maybe because that is what his constituents want?
9:10PM - He's done so much more than that. I'm with him on the bill, as are at least 20 other reps.
John McCain probably revealed less to the KGB in 5+ years of torture at the
Hanoi Hilton than Trump did in 5 minutes in the Oval.
4:31: What else did he do? Is there a Raskin bill that passed I haven't heard about?
Is he a licensed mental health professional? If not, what are his credentials to declare someone insane? Sounds like a third-world dictatorship, where political opponents can be declared insane and locked up.
Judges in the USA every day declare people to be incompetent, and they are neither "licensed mental health professionals" nor "in the third world".
No need to be nasty.
It's a bill to establish an independent commission. There are 20 co-sponsors. Section 4 of the Amendment 25 allows for such a commission, and his bill establishes it.
He's involved and busy in his 1st term. It's not like Congress is passing bills right and left.
He listens and responds to his constituents. He's been working on things that are important to me: Lowering Rx prices, LGBT rights, getting the USDA information back on a website, climate change.
It is evident that Dyer has not read the bill proposed by Jamie Raskin to effectively realize the promise of the 25th Amendment. However, how this thin understanding of the Bill allows him to suggest that Jamie Raskin would be given the authority to declare a President insane is a truly insane reading of the facts.
Dyer's case against Jamie Rasking: (i). he is a Democrat; (ii) graduated from Harvard College (magna cum laude) in 1983, and from Harvard Law School (magna cum laude) in 1987. And, was editor of the Harvard Law Review. (iii). He is arguably the most popular political figure in Montgomery County; (iv). He not only got elected to the MD State House, he did an amazing job; (v). He is now a US Senator.
Now Robert's CV reads: self-published a heavy metal album 17-years-ago; was graduated from the University of Maryland with a major in Latin American History; started the "Suburban News Network" with a total unique readership of around 4200 visitors per month.
12:35PM - Psst. He's in the House, he's a US Representative. Good analysis though.
@12:35 PM -- Thank you. I was thinking ahead. My bad.
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