Minuteman Press now in 8200 Wisconsin building (Photos)

I have an update on Minuteman Press, which had to move out of the Blackwell Building last May, ahead of its demolition for the new Marriott headquarters. It had temporarily relocated to 8218 Wisconsin Avenue. Now they are up and running next door, in the ground floor of the 8200 Wisconsin apartment tower, at 8210 Wisconsin.

Power outage in west Bethesda overnight

People waking up to flashing alarm clocks in west Bethesda this morning know there was a power outage overnight. Power went out in parts of the the River Road/Massachusetts Avenue corridor near Goldsboro Road for about an hour after 3:00 AM, before being restored by Pepco. Traffic signals and streetlights along River Road were also affected. There was no storm, extreme temperatures or wind at the time. Pepco has made no statement as to the cause of the outage.

Barnes & Noble's last hours at Bethesda Row (Photos)

Barnes & Noble was winding down towards today's closure last night. Weeknight crowds were higher than usual, as bargain-seekers trolled the aisles for any remaining gems. Many shelves were bare after weeks of a closing sale (and likely transfers of inventory to other stores). After today, your only options are shopping online or going to Barnes & Noble at Montrose Crossing in the Pike District. Amazon Books will open at Bethesda Row this summer, with a smaller selection of books.

Last time through the exit doors

Amazon touts summer opening at Bethesda Row (Photos)

Amazon has posted Coming Soon signage in the windows of the future Amazon Books store at 7117 Arlington Road. The messages announce a Summer 2018 opening for the bookstore, promote some of Amazon's gadgets, and include a list of the "most-wished-for" fiction works. They're also hiring - some on the Montgomery County Council may want to pick up an application.

Home behind Rosedale Park apartments coming down (Photos)

Demolition of the single-family home behind the Rosedale Park apartments is underway. A 1933 home that had been used as an office space, 4712 Rosedale Avenue was put on the market over two years ago for $1.5 million. The purchaser has obviously decided to redevelop the property, as this photo attests. Here's a picture of the house before the knockdown started:

Discovery move is all about why Knoxville beats MoCo in business climate

Discovery Communications is moving from Silver Spring to New York City because it is a content company? Not quite. Unless you believe they film their Shark Week programs in giant water tanks on the seventh floor of their Silver Spring headquarters - as many embarrassed Montgomery County elected officials apparently do. Put aside the spin in Discovery's press release, and carefully study their public statements to media yesterday, and you'll find the real story here is A) why Knoxville has a better business climate than Montgomery County, and B) the big Discovery "move" may actually be a big layoff of extraneous workers, as the company merges with Scripps.

The County's spin, of course, is that there "was nothing Montgomery County could do to retain Discovery." Discovery is a content company! They need to be near other content and advertising companies in New York! Aren't taxes terrible in New York City? Isn't the cost of living even higher in New York City?

Ah - but there's the key point. Discovery's move isn't about New York in the end. Analyze Discovery's public statements, and you find there's no certainty as to how many jobs are going to New York City. Some key high-level positions had already been moved to Discovery's current New York base of operations. Some positions at Scripps in Knoxville will also be moved to New York in 2019.

Scripps already has over 1000 employees in Knoxville doing a lot of the business and administrative jobs that many Discovery employees are doing now in Silver Spring. Again, read Discovery's statements carefully - they don't mention x-number of jobs moving from Silver Spring to Knoxville (or to New York). It could be that Montgomery County not only suffers the shame of losing one of its few Fortune 500 companies, but almost certainly also winds up with hundreds of unemployed Discovery workers as a result. Knoxville will gain all of the jobs Discovery needs from Silver Spring, but not likely all 1300.

Knoxville has everything Montgomery County's elected officials keep telling us we don't need - lower taxes, suburban living, and highway infrastructure. Discovery's press release noted "infrastructure" as a key reason they chose Knoxville. It's very easy to see why:

Discovery's new HQ in
Knoxville is right at an
interchange with I-40

The new Discovery campus in Knoxville is right on Interstate 40, a major cross-country route from California to North Carolina. In fact, they've got an on-ramp right next to them.

Discovery's new Knoxville HQ
is only 18 minutes by car from
the airport

Discovery's future Knoxville campus is also only 18 minutes by car from McGhee-Tyson Airport. Try getting to an airport in 18 minutes from Montgomery County (Hint: You can't).

Tennessee has no income tax. Property taxes are about half of what they are in Montgomery County, even on a million-dollar home. The Volunteer State's sales tax rate is 7%. There is no estate tax, and after a recent change in Tennessee's tax law, the "Hall Tax" on interest and dividend income is being phased out by 2021. The latter change is simply the capstone on why Tennessee's tax structure is so business (and worker) friendly. Robin Ficker was absolutely correct yesterday when he cited taxes as a factor in the Discovery move.

When you consider that neither Discovery, nor New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, cited any specific number of jobs moving to New York yesterday, the picture becomes more clear. Some key positions may well move to New York, and Cuomo and Mayor Bill Blasio can celebrate winning the "global headquarters."

But Discovery is the real winner here. By moving the real nuts-and-bolts of their company to Knoxville, they and their employees (however many actually get moved) will both save bigly on their annual tax bills. Significant layoffs that would have been bad publicity for the company in Silver Spring now get hidden and deodorized by a "big move" and merger.

Montgomery County, as usual, is the real loser. Not only has no major corporation relocated its headquarters here in twenty years, but now we've lost one of the few Fortune 500 companies we had.  We've lost the taxes Discovery and many of their employees paid.

This is a major financial blow to Silver Spring, as well. Residential buildings continue to replace workplaces in downtown Silver Spring at a rapid pace. There are now fewer workers eating lunch at restaurants as a result. Residents of new apartment buildings in Silver Spring are dining out for lunch in downtown Washington, Tysons, and other growing job centers in Northern Virginia. Turning the Discovery HQ into an apartment building won't help matters.

Discovery's new low-rise,
suburban office park campus
in Knoxville (Google Maps)

If you look at the new Discovery national headquarters campus in Knoxville, it's just that - a suburban office park campus. Nearby are roads and commercial strips that look like Rockville or Gaithersburg. Much like Apple, Google and other successful corporations, Discovery has traded urban for suburban.

It looks more like Rock Spring
than downtown Bethesda -
adjacent water bodies included

Just beyond either side of the suburban commercial area where Discovery will be are single-family home neighborhoods along tree-lined streets. Sure, certain companies are willing to take a financial hit to be "downtown" on a transit station. Discovery obviously isn't one of them, and neither is Apple or Google. Montgomery County's office parks aren't the problem - it's our anti-business County Council, taxes and gridlocked transportation system that are the problems.

Single-family homes on
tree-lined streets near the
new Discovery HQ in
Knoxville (Google Maps)

Montgomery County can lower its taxes. After throwing record amounts of money at Montgomery County Public Schools in recent years, and the results only getting worse by the year, we know spending money is not the solution to the decline in our public schools. Wasteful spending was epitomized last year by the Council spending over $20000 on a security camera system I was able to find for less than $1000 online - including installation. Imagine how many other un-itemized expenditures like this one there are in the operating and capital budgets, and the potential for cuts becomes crystal clear.

Attempts to blame Gov. Larry Hogan for the Discovery debacle only open the door to blaming our County Council for the loss. "The first County Council to lose a Fortune 500" certainly has a nice ring to it. When apologists say, "We were going to lose Discovery no matter what the incentive package was," they are actually correct. Without a business-friendly tax system, without a new Potomac River crossing to provide an 18-minute trip to the airport, without a functioning and complete master plan highway system, and without elected officials who understand international business in the 21st century, Montgomery County is always going to be the loser.

Starbucks construction permit requested at Pike & Rose

There have been rumors that the Starbucks at Pike & Rose might eventually relocate into the ground floor of the soon-to-open Canopy by Hilton hotel at the property. Now a construction permit has been requested from Montgomery County for a Starbucks at 11860 Grand Park Avenue, which is in the block of the hotel. It would be below the hotel's two-story event wing. If it ends up happening, I'm sure residents of the condos atop the hotel, and in The Henri across the street, will be delighted - especially on cold mornings like this.

Pho pop-up now open in Bethesda (Photos)

The Pho Pop-Up restaurant is now open at 4901-A Fairmont Avenue in downtown Bethesda. They are serving 3 varieties of pho: Beef, chicken, and vegan mushroom. Spring rolls are available as a side dish. Their hours are 11:30 AM to 8:00 PM daily - including Sundays now.

AT&T Mobility to open at Montrose Crossing

AT&T Mobility will open in the
storefront at far right at
Montrose Crossing

AT&T Mobility is the latest tenant to sign on at the new addition to Montrose Crossing. The store will join CAVA Grill, Pieology, Five Guys, Honeygrow, and Allure in the building that replaced Timpano Italian Chophouse. Montrose Crossing is at the interchange of Montrose Parkway and Rockville Pike.

WSSC tackles another water main break in Bethesda (Video+Photos)

The latest water main to burst is at the intersection of Old Georgetown Road and Del Ray Avenue, just a block over from the one on Cordell Avenue that lasted several days. This is also near where the WSSC had troubles caused by another utility damaging their infrastructure while digging under the roadway last year.

Spice 6 Modern Indian Restaurant to open in Bethesda

Spice 6 Modern Indian will open this Spring at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda. The local chain has locations in Hyattsville and Vienna. Like so many twists on Chipotle, the fast casual Spice 6 will allow you to customize kebab plates, rice bowls, wraps, curries, naan pizzas and salads. Their menu will accommodate vegan, halal and gluten-free diets.

The dishes at Spice 6 are devised by the Katmandu-born Chef Upendra Thapaliya. There, he was executive chef at the five-star Shangri-La hotel, where his cuisine won many prestigious awards. One could argue even Chipotle can't claim those kind of credentials, so it sounds like a very promising addition to the mall.

Guess, Specs NY close; new retailers opening at Westfield Montgomery Mall (Photos)

Guess has closed its store at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda, one of the biggest names to close at the retail center. The chain closed 60 stores nationwide last year. Also clearing out this weekend was designer sunglasses retailer Specs New York. Specs is the second sunglasses retailer to announce a closure here in the last month.

Guess

Westfield is bringing in some new retailers early this year, to fill recently-vacated spaces in the remodeled mall. Altar'd State is a growing women's fashion chain that promises "a modernized Christian shopping experience." "By giving more than we receive," the company's website promises, "we stand out for good to glorify God."

Guess

Intimissimi, an Italian apparel chain, specializes in lingerie for women, but also sells pajamas, underwear, t-shirts, socks and accessories for men. Their closest stores right now are in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, according to their website location search. At least one of those is in a Westfield property.

The corridor outside of the
now-vacant Guess space

Specs New York