It's curtains for Regal Cinemas as Apex building comes down in Bethesda (Photos)

It's been almost a year since Regal Cinemas Bethesda 10 closed its doors forever in the Apex Building at 7272 Wisconsin Avenue, on December 15, 2016. Better known to longtime residents as "UA," for its original United Artists Bethesda 10 branding, the cineplex is now being torn apart by giant yellow machines working through the night.

What's fascinating at this stage of the demolition for those nostalgic for UA, is that the outer walls are gone at the rear of the building, and the interiors of some of the theater's auditoriums are now visible from the outside. While there's no sign yet of the theater seats, one can see the cutouts in the walls for the projector, the projection room above the rear of the auditorium, empty spaces where speakers were once attached, and - most poignantly - the regal red curtains in each of the exposed auditoriums.

While stadium, reclining, and reserved seating have revolutionized the theater industry, there's still a nostalgia for having side wings of seating, where only at the most popular movies would you have some idiot kicking your seat or spreading the flu he should have had the decency to stay home with.

The regal red curtains in what
I believe was the 2nd largest
auditorium at the rear of the
Regal Bethesda 10 cineplex

Loyal, longtime customers won't soon forget the tuxedoed master of ceremonies who ran a tight ship at UA in the 1990s, or the venerable snack bar manager who never missed a chance to upsell you - or appeal to your charitable senses with a worthy cause before the lights went down..

Yes, the "closets" on the right side of the main corridor were cramped, and occasionally took on the odor of a nearby restroom. Yes, projector operators would sometimes turn the volume knob to 11 at the start of the movie in one of those tiny auditoriums, and proceed to fall asleep. Yes, I can tell you which technical malfunction marred the picture on the big screen at particular movies. Yes, the ushers vanished altogether by the turn of the century. And the old fire-alarm-goes-off-at-the-most-gripping-moment-in-the-film trick - 'nuff said.

The box about halfway up the
right side of this photo is the
projection room

But Bethesda misses its cineplex. Except for the occasional mainstream film at Landmark Bethesda Row, one has to get the car to see a blockbuster. Metro? Good Lord. Restaurant and shop closures have picked up steam, now that thousands are missing from the downtown streets on Friday and Saturday nights. Bethesda needs a new movie theater. But no matter how posh the seats, upscale the snack bar options, and expensive the ticket prices, it won't be "UA." Auditorium 10, please.

Westbard Self Storage opponents launch petition

Residents who oppose the current plans for a new Westbard Self Storage development behind the McDonald's on River Road have launched an online petition. It criticizes the dimensions and appearance of the building, the stormwater management plan, and the width of the planned public path that will provide access to the future Willett Branch greenway between the self-storage facility and the McDonald's. Representatives for the self-storage project have told Montgomery County planners they believe their plan meets or exceeds all architectural, design and environmental requirements.

The Montgomery County Planning Board will take up the matter next Thursday, December 14, 2017, at the Planning Department headquarters, located at 8787 Georgia Avenue in Silver Spring.

Proposed Bethesda residential tower could be tallest in town (Photos)

Developers unveiled plans for a new high-rise in downtown Bethesda, on the site of 7-Eleven and EagleBank, at the corner of Wisconsin and Fairmont Avenues at a public meeting last night. Bethmont, LLC, and Bethesda Land, LLC are partners on the mixed-use project; Design Collective is the architect, and VIKA will handle the engineering aspects.

Attorney Barbara Sears of Linowes & Blocher said the approval process for the 319-unit tower is expected to take twelve to eighteen months. Construction will take two years.

The building will feature 150 underground parking spaces, a lit top and sky lounge, and 8700 SF of retail space around the ground level. At least one resident at last night's meeting wanted 7-Eleven to return in that space, calling the popular convenience store "a valuable community amenity." Sears said a convenience store was not out of the question for the development.

Sears also said they were unable to coordinate a larger project with all of the landowners south of the site on that square block. She said the developers haven't yet determined whether the building will be marketed as rental apartments or condominiums. The tower could rival Carr Properties' 7272 Wisconsin project in height, with 30 stories or 290'.

The primary concern expressed by residents last night was the plan to place all vehicular access - resident garage and loading dock - on the Fairmont Avenue side of the building. Residents noted that most properties along Wisconsin and Woodmont Avenues have vehicular access from those routes, including the new Marriott headquarters and hotel, Flats at 8300 apartments and Fairmont Plaza directly across the street from this proposed project.

MoCo Council president Hans Riemer arrested

A Montgomery County Councilmember who has had trouble obeying the law in the past found himself in handcuffs Wednesday. Council President Hans Riemer was arrested on the steps of the U.S. Capitol by U.S. Capitol Police yesterday, after refusing an order to disperse following an immigration rally.

"I was arrested today," Riemer wrote on Facebook last evening. Riemer has promised to introduce legislation to declare Montgomery County officially a "sanctuary county" for illegal immigrants, according to Gustavo Torres, Executive Director of CASA de Maryland.

Riemer has run afoul of the law in the past, including violating his own Open Data law this past spring, when he directed that a file required to be posted on the County website be removed. In 2014, he appeared to have inside information on illegal activity in the County's Department of Liquor Control, over which he has oversight authority, but waited to report it until after he was safely reelected that November.

Calypso St. Barth to close at Bethesda Row

Calypso St. Barth, an island-themed resortwear and home goods boutique at 4810 Bethesda Avenue, has announced it will close. The shop opened in the former Dunkin' Donuts space in August 2014.

Even large, upscale chains are not immune to the flight of wealth from Montgomery County in recent years, although Bethesda Row's variety and market positioning has kept it from experiencing disaster such as the County's "Rodeo Drive" in Chevy Chase has recently. The latter strip was anchored entirely by shops targeting the ultra-rich, many of whom have fled to Northern Virginia, and Frederick and Howard counties.

The store is holding a going-out-of-business sale, complete with the "nothing held back" and "everything must go!" signs now all too familiar in the windows of moribund Montgomery County's shops. MoCo has lost more than 2000 retail jobs since 2000, according to the Maryland Association of Retailers.

Sign, flagpole installed at new Bethesda 2nd District police station (Photos)

The "police" sign is up on the facade of the new Montgomery County 2nd District police station on Rugby Avenue, and so is the flagpole. The design remains polarizing for many, evoking a prison-bunker aesthetic that is incongruous with the transforming mixed-use neighborhood rising around it.

Riemer seizes Council presidency, declares war on his constituents

A backroom political deal culminated Tuesday with a unanimous vote by the Montgomery County Council naming Councilmember Hans Riemer Council President for the final year of their current term. In a rambling seven minute speech, Riemer took aim at the County's established suburban neighborhoods of "cul-de-sacs," which he described as "appealing, if exclusive, suburban communit[ies]" that are home to "those who already have every advantage."

Delivered with a sneering tone and slight smirk, Riemer's remarks echoed those of his colleague George Leventhal a few years ago. Leventhal declared the suburbs "a mistake," and during the Westbard sector plan battle, told residents angry about the plan to urbanize their neighborhood they should just be glad they were "lucky" enough to live there.

"People used to come here to get away from the city," Riemer said Tuesday, announcing a new "metropolitan" identity for a County where a majority live in leafy, suburban neighborhoods. Riemer appeared delusional when referring to the visceral anger displayed by residents toward the Council in the last several years - a backlash that culminated in the passage of term limits by an overwhelming margin in November 2016. Despite having his own term limited by that vote, in Riemer's world, "emotions in our community are charged" because of Donald Trump, not his own votes for tax hikes and urbanization of existing rural and suburban neighborhoods.

Riemer's Trump-like reputation for falsehoods was on full display in yesterday's speech. Moments before casting a vote to pass the controversial Westbard sector plan in 2016, Riemer claimed the Westbard community was "a mile from two Metros." That was a four-Pinocchio whopper, given that Westbard is at least two miles from any Metro station, nowhere near the quarter-to-half mile distance universally agreed upon for "transit-oriented development."

On Tuesday, Riemer stated that the Purple Line would place the University of Maryland "minutes away" from Montgomery County residents. In reality, the light rail's average speed between Bethesda and College Park will be less than 19 MPH. He came up with a new definition for the County's longstanding achievement gap between white and Asian students, and their black and Latino peers. Stunning observers active on education issues, Riemer falsely described Montgomery County Public Schools' gap as only affecting those between the ages of "zero and five." A clever scheme to absolve failed County officials from any blame, but unfortunately, completely false.

Riemer was more honest about the County's hated government-controlled liquor monopoly, which he took steps to strengthen and preserve during his current term. "We may have a reputation for liquor control," Riemer acknowledged. That control has frustrated restaurant and bar owners, who are forced to pay higher prices while getting poor selection and service from the County. Meanwhile, residents are among the few in America who cannot purchase beer and wine from grocery, drug and chain convenience stores.

Riemer's disdain for his suburban constituents, who represent a majority of County residents, raises questions as to how he intends to get anything done this year. It also brought to mind a quote from chef Anthony Bourdain:

"He’s a classic example of the smirking, contemptuous, privileged guy who lives in a bubble. And he is in no way looking to reach outside, or even look outside, of that bubble, in an empathetic way.”

Despite record tax hikes, bungling Montgomery County Council runs up $120 million shortfall

Montgomery County is facing a $120 million budget shortfall, despite record tax hikes on residents in 2016 and 2017. County Executive Ike Leggett has asked every government department to identify 2% budget cuts, and encouraged the Council to follow suit.

The shortfall seemed to take the Council by surprise, despite projections of a structural deficit as far out as the forecast goes. More knowledgeable observers know exactly why revenues are down - the County's private sector economy has been moribund for some time, and the wealthiest residents are fleeing to lower-tax jurisdictions like Loudoun, Fairfax, Frederick and Howard Counties. Montgomery has dropped far out of the Forbes Richest Counties Top Ten list in 2017.

Add in the heavy debt load councilmembers have run up, and the fiscal scenario worsens still. How much debt is there? If County debt was a department, it would be the third-largest department in Montgomery County government. Yikes.

The spendthrift County Council has also engaged in a hurricane of wasteful spending. In just one example, earlier this year they approved $22000 for a surveillance camera system that, in the real world, can be purchased and installed for under $1000. Importantly: this expenditure was not itemized in public budget documents, instead lumped into a $34500 line item. Multiply this by every budget item, and we could be talking about millions in wasted funds. Don't expect this Council to identify them!

What raised eyebrows among many who follow the County budget closely yesterday was the petulant insistence by some councilmembers that they would not make major budget cuts. Considering that taxes are at a record level, many are wondering what planet these folks are speaking to us from. Leggett warned at an NAACP meeting last week that the Council simply cannot use a tax increase to solve shortfalls in the coming years. He clearly knew then what became public yesterday - we have a $120 million shortfall.

Prediction: The County Council will use another tax increase to close the budget shortfall, as they have every year since 2010. Then they will be voted out of office in November 2018.

Boardwalk Burgers and Fries closes in Bethesda (Photo)

Boardwalk Burgers and Fries has closed in Bethesda. The Ocean City-inspired franchise opened in the Dining Terrace at Westfield Montgomery Mall almost exactly a year ago. A wall has been erected around their space until a new tenant can be signed. Boardwalk rounds out a trifecta of burger joints that failed in this very spot; Kraze Burgers and Burger Venue were the earlier victims.

Walter Johnson student dies

A student at Walter Johnson High School in Bethesda died Saturday, according to an email to parents from Walter Johnson principal Jennifer Baker. The student was the second Bethesda-area high school student to die unexpectedly in the last week.

Vino Volo closes at Bethesda Row

Vino Volo, a restaurant and wine bar that opened in November 2012 at 7247 Woodmont Avenue, has closed. Nightlife has withered in downtown Bethesda since the catastrophic "nighttime economy" initiative of Montgomery County Council Hans Riemer failed disastrously. And the closure of the Regal Cinemas Bethesda 10 cineplex around the corner has removed thousands of diners and shoppers from the downtown Bethesda economy.

The wine bar chain had its own challenges, as well. It has closed other Vino Volo locations here and around the country, including Tysons II, Dulles Airport and Newark International Airport.

ArcLight Cinemas Bethesda gift shop stocked for the holidays (Photos)

For fans of Christmas and superhero movies on your holiday shopping list, you can find some unique gifts in an unlikely place - the local cineplex. The gift shop inside the lobby of ArcLight Cinemas at Westfield Montgomery Mall has a fairly sizable selection of movie-themed merchandise. Familiar faces include Clark Griswold, Buddy the Elf, and an array of Star Wars characters, superheroes and animated buffoons (not including the Montgomery County Council).

Bethesda small business networking event: How to be a U.S. Air Force contractor

A large amount of the money made in the Washington, D.C. region comes from doing business with the U.S. government and military. Now your small business can do the same. The Small Business Action Network of Montgomery County will host a networking event on Wednesday, December 13, 2017 at 7:00 PM, at the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Regional Services Center, located at 4805 Edgemoor Lane in downtown Bethesda.

Their guest speaker will be Joseph McWilliams, Director of the Office of Small Business of the United States Air Force. He will discuss how small companies can do business with the Air Force.

Admission is $15. To RSVP or for further information, email Dolores Newsuan.