Sign installed at Pet Parents in Bethesda (Photos)

Tbe permanent sign is up at Pet Parents, the new upscale pet store at 4907 Fairmont Avenue, in the ground floor of the Bainbridge Bethesda apartment tower. Pet Parents is scheduled for an early fall opening.

Bethesda crime update

Here's a roundup of crimes reported across Bethesda on September 3, according to crime data:

Mental illness - emergency petition. Holly Leaf Lane at 7:23 PM.

Trespassing. Westfield Montgomery Mall.

Residential property damaged. Driveway on Magic Mountain Court.

Business property damaged. River Road in Potomac.

Ficker blasts County Executive debate hosts for inviting only Democrats, charging $70 for tickets

Montgomery County Executive candidate
Robin Ficker is mobbed by supporters
after speaking at County Council building
earlier this year

Update - 10:50 AM: The debate is now open to the public with no charge. However, Republican Robin Ficker remains excluded from the debate as of this hour.

Republican Montgomery County Executive candidate Robin Ficker strongly criticized news that he has been excluded from a November 15 debate hosted by the Greater Bethesda Chamber of Commerce and Bethesda Magazine. Only the three Democrats who have filed for the office so far - Roger Berliner, Marc Elrich and George Leventhal - are invited to participate. Ficker said that, in contrast, the Montgomery County Muslim Council has asked him to be part of their September 23 County Executive candidate forum at the Potomac Community Center on Falls Road at 10:30 AM.

Ficker and County Republican Party Chairman Dick Jurgena questioned the non-partisan status of the hosts in a statement released this morning by the Ficker campaign. "Is this just a dog and pony (or should I say circus animals) show to help the Democrat particpants to energize their base?" Jurgena asked. Ficker charged that the Chamber enjoys non-profit tax status, but is displaying favor toward one political party.

"Obviously there is a quid pro quo between the council member-county executive candidates and the Chamber," Ficker alleged.  "By promoting their candidacies, the Chamber is not only taking advantage of these public office positions to collect $70 a head, but the council members must have promised the Chamber something in return for holding this campaign forum. What is the quid pro quo?"

Both men also questioned the admission price of $70 for non-Chamber members. "If [County] residents want to hear only one side of the issues, they can go to the Montgomery County Council meetings and listen to the term-limited Democrats, and they can save the cost of the $70.00 ticket fee for admission," Jurgena said. Chamber President and CEO Ginanne Italiano said the high price is due to the debate's inclusion in the Chamber's annual legislative event, and that ticketholders would have access to an open bar cocktail reception afterward.

Ficker took a shot at the three Democrats invited, noting that all are barred from running for their current Council seats, due to voters overwhelmingly approving Ficker's term limits ballot question last November. "If these Term Limited County Executive candidates want to hold a forum hosted by a political party club, exclude me and charge party members $1,000 to attend, that is fine with me," he said. "But when a nonprofit Chamber of Commerce holds a County Executive forum, they should invite candidates of both parties and should accommodate Montgomery Countians to listen for free."

Marriott posts banner at future Bethesda HQ site (Photos)

Marriott International has posted a banner at the former site of the Connor Building touting its future headquarters project. The Connor Building was demolished several months ago; other adjacent buildings - including the Bethesda Court hotel and the Blackwell building - will be razed eventually to clear the way for the headquarters and a new Marriott hotel.

Marriott construction fencing
leads up to the Bethesda Court Hotel

Site of the demolished
Connor Building

Xcape Alive escape room coming to Westwood Center II

The escape room craze is coming to west Bethesda, as Xcape Alive has just leased space at the Westwood Center II mall at 5110 Ridgefield Road. Escape rooms, which are live-action puzzle-solving challenges in a themed setting, have become popular around the world in this decade.

Also called "panic rooms," they were inspired by video games in which puzzles must be solved to escape a room or game level. CNN just reported that escape rooms are now ranked the "number one local activity" in several cities around the globe by TripAdvisor. Xcape Alive is expected to offer more than one room challenge at this location.

Republic Foods' old
lettering is still visible
on their longtime office door

A bit of trivia for longtime residents: Xcape Alive has leased the former office suite of Republic Foods, which had the distinction of operating Burger King franchises even as Bethesda had no stand-alone Burger King restaurants. Eventually, even the lunch-oriented Burger King at the Bethesda Metro Center and the Montgomery Mall location closed, leaving Bethesda Whopper-free.

Assault on Westlake Dr., theft from vehicle on Woodglen Dr. - Bethesda crime update

Here's a roundup of crimes reported across Bethesda on September 1-2, according to Montgomery County crime data:

September 2

Theft from vehicle. Woodglen Drive.

September 1

2nd degree assault,  Westlake Drive at 10:41 PM

Hurricane Harvey hikes Bethesda gas prices

The price of regular gas is nearing $3 a gallon in Bethesda, and higher grades are well over $3, due to the impact of Hurricane Harvey on the oil industry in Texas - or at least, that's the excuse. A little-known fact among the general public is that big Wall Street banks like Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and J.P. Morgan actually own commodities like oil.

But not stopping there, some have been caught trying to control supplies of those commodities in order to affect their market prices. When you fill up this week, pay no attention to that crony globalist behind the curtain. Don't expect the Montgomery County Council to help - Councilmember Hans Riemer has reeled in tens of thousands of dollars in bizarre and unexplained out-of-state donations from Wall Street crooks and their K Street lobbyists. Shameful.

Coco LaRue opens at Westfield Montgomery Mall, signs/menus installed at Gusto (Photos)

CoCo LaRue, a retailer of luxury hair extensions made with real human hair from around the world, has opened at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda. They also offer a selection of wigs and accessories. CoCo LaRue had previously been scheduled to open in June.

The sign and menus are now up at Gusto Farm to Street in the mall's Dining Terrace. Gusto will host a soft opening today, with free meals between 5:00 and 8:00 PM this evening. The official Grand Opening will be on Tuesday.

Finally, the location of the future Kung Fu Tea bubble tea kiosk is now known. It will be in the spot where the crepes kiosk was in the Dining Terrace. They are currently hiring staff; email the address in the photo at bottom to inquire.

Sexual assault on Wisconsin Ave., busted for pot at Montgomery Mall + more - Bethesda crime update

Here's a roundup of crimes reported across Bethesda on September 1, according to crime data:

Sexual assault. "Doctor/dentist/vet office" on Wisconsin Avenue.

Theft. Bethesda Metro Center parking garage.

Forgery. Wisconsin Avenue.

Theft from vehicle. N. Park Avenue.

Theft from vehicle. Newdale Road.

Shoplifting. Westfield Montgomery Mall.

Possession of marijuana. Westfield Montgomery Mall.

Possession of marijuana. Boiling Brook Parkway (Randolph Hills).

"False pretenses/swindle/confidence game." Great Arbor Drive.

Bethesda Row Arts Festival set for October 14-15, 2017

Save the date: One of the top fine arts festivals in America will return to Bethesda Row this fall, on October 14 and 15, 2017. More than 190 artists will converge on the streets around Bethesda Row, with works in a variety of mediums: ceramics, drawings, fabrics, glass, graphics, jewelry, metalwork, paintings, pastels, photography, printmaking, sculpture, wood, and 2D and 3D mixed media.

The festival will be held rain or shine from 11:00 AM - 6:00 PM on Saturday, October 14, and from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM on Sunday, October 15. There is no charge for admission, but artists' works will be available for sale. For full details, and information about parking, etc., visit the official festival website.

Xbox One Minecraft Special Edition console available for pre-order at Microsoft Store in Bethesda (Photos)

The latest advance display sample at the Microsoft Store at Westfield Montgomery Mall is the coveted Minecraft Special Edition Xbox One bundle.

It includes a 1 TB Xbox One console and controller branded with Minecraft artwork, and the special Xbox One edition of the game. They are taking pre-orders "while supplies last." The Microsoft Store is on Level 2 near Starbucks.

Silent cemetery protest scheduled for HOC meeting Sept. 6 at 4:00 PM

Showing Up for Racial Justice - Montgomery County is organizing a protest at the Montgomery County Housing Opportunities Commission meeting on Wednesday, September 6, 2017 at 4:00 PM, at the commission's headquarters, located at 10400 Detrick Avenue in Kensington. The protest is in regard to the HOC's plan with partner Regency Centers to build a parking garage on a historic African-American cemetery behind Westwood Tower on Westbard Avenue.

SURJ, Macedonia Baptist Church, descendants of those buried in the cemetery, and their supporters in the community are asking the HOC to allow the church to conduct a valid archaeological study of the burial site, and to publicly acknowledge that the sacred nature of it outweighs their development plans.

Participants in the silent protest should bring signs to hold. Suggested messages include:

DON'T PARK ON ME, HOC (my personal favorite)
BLACK LIVES MATTER IN LIFE AND IN DEATH
BLACK ANCESTORS MATTER
BLACK BURIAL PLACES MATTER
NO PARKING GARAGE OVER CEMETERY
AFFORDABLE HOUSING--YES! CEMETERY DESECRATION--NO!

Be forewarned that parking is very limited, as all of the parking lots are hogged by HOC, despite all we the taxpayers contribute to the HOC. There are some street parking spaces, and the surrounding residential neighborhood has permit parking restrictions. For that reason, carpool if you can.

Bethesda construction update: The Rugby (Photos)

The second 18-story mixed-use tower of Donhoe's Woodmont Central project, code-named The Rugby, is mostly one story above Rugby Avenue now, but two stories near sister building Gallery Bethesda. Both buildings will share the plaza currently in front of the Gallery, with retail and restaurant space in the ground floor of the Rugby designed to activate that public space.

Gusto free soft opening Monday, Wilsons Leather closed + new art exhibit at Westfield Montgomery Mall (Photos)

Gusto Farm to Street will host a soft opening of their newest location, the dining terrace at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda, this coming Monday, September 4, from 5:00-8:00 PM. Dinner will be FREE, but the restaurant will be accepting donations to local charity Nourish Now, which works to reduce hunger and food waste from restaurants. They collect leftover food from dining establishments, and donate directly to families in need.

Gusto workers training
this week at new
Westfield Montgomery Mall location

Workers are being trained at Gusto this week. The new chain has existing locations in downtown Bethesda and downtown Silver Spring. No menus or signs were installed yet when these photos were taken.

Wilsons Leather closed and
stripped of signage

In other mall news, Wilsons Leather has finally closed following a going-out-of-business sale. But, wait, there's more:

Finally, Westfield has a new art exhibit on display from Laurel-based non-profit ManneqART, which is helping promote the Refashion the Future campaign. ManneqART seeks to bring "wearable art" to the attention of the American public, through education that inspires creativity, teaches problem-solving skills, and recognizes excellence in sculpture depicting the human form.

Refashion the Future is a Westfield program designed to reduce the amount of textiles that ends up in landfills by helping recycle your dry clean clothing items and shoes. All of the items on display in the art exhibit are made from recycled materials like CDs.

KEO Designs Hair Salon & Spa moving in Bethesda (Photos)

KEO Designs Hair Salon & Spa is relocating from Montgomery Lane to a new space at 4811 Cheltenham Drive (which Google Maps calls Norfolk Avenue on the map, be forewarned), across from the Tastee Diner. This used to be home to Golden Crown Hair Design. Workers were painting last evening.

First sign of the Purple Line in downtown Bethesda (Photo)

Maryland officials continue their public campaign to demonstrate that Purple Line construction is underway. A sign appeared on the plaza at the intersection of Bethesda Avenue and Woodmont Avenue, near the future terminus of the tail tracks of the light rail route (at least until it is extended to Westbard and Sangamore Road). It refers to the "Purple Line light rail transit project," and sports the name of Governor Larry Hogan and the agencies involved.

Another sign Leland St. is just a little bit more important than the rest of us (Photos)

Montgomery County elected officials continue to go overboard to satisfy their wealthy patron(s) on Leland Street, after the County's scheme to illegally close the road to traffic at Woodmont Avenue was exposed, and the road reopened. A few days ago, an electronic sign was summoned to duplicate what the existing sign at the corner already says about turn restrictions. Yesterday around 4:30 PM, a police trap was set up to catch drivers violating that 4:00-7:00 PM turn restriction.

Police cruiser awaits
Leland St. violators
around the bend

Police enforcement of laws around Bethesda is unquestionably a positive thing. No one would dispute that those breaking the law should expect to evade the penalties if caught; they are clearly in the wrong.

The larger point here is the remarkable speed at which whoever on Leland Street is driving this effort can summon taxpayer resources, compared to the rest of us. And the way the County is tripping over themselves to reiterate to Leland Street that "You are special" after the embarrassing scandal over the illegal street closure. "Look, we are doing something!" Where is that pressure to look busy coming from?

Having attended countless community meetings across the County over the years, I know how difficult it usually is to get the County to put out an electronic sign, or get a police unit to enforce whatever rule is being broken. Officers who speak at those meetings will emphasize patience, and the fact that the County has limited resources. There are only so many officers on patrol at one time, and only so many signs and trailers.

Yet here, Leland Street has obtained both within mere days, something you would usually see only after someone was killed in a traffic incident. I've heard from many readers across Bethesda about dangerous spots for pedestrians, who have asked County officials for help and action. New solution: Move to Leland Street. If you can afford it.

Sign installed at Urban Boxing Bethesda

The permanent, lighted sign has been installed at Urban Boxing Bethesda at 4834 Cordell Avenue. Urban Boxing features classes in boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, jiu-jitsu, yoga, and more. It was named the region's Best Gym for 2017 by Washingtonian magazine.