More Montgomery County ballots being mailed to deceased, non-residents

A few weeks after a man described how his deceased mother was shown to have voted in Montgomery County elections for a decade after her death, another case of an illegal ballot being issued has come to light. Attorney Robin Ficker, a Republican candidate for Maryland governor, reports that his son was mailed a ballot to his old Montgomery County address. Problem: Ficker's son hasn't lived in Montgomery County for 12 years. And as a "live" ballot, it could be illegally filled out and mailed back by someone else.

"Election fraud?" Ficker asked in a Facebook post showing the improperly-mailed ballot. "How many of these ballots are being mailed by someone else?" Ficker isn't the only one asking questions. A watchdog group has successfully sued to receive the voter registration information of all Montgomery County voters, after it found there are more names registered to vote than there are eligible voters in the county.

In 2018, anomalous voting results were seen at dozens of precincts across Montgomery County in the County Council At-Large race, if not others. The voter universe in that election also increased by about 100,000 voters in only four years since 2014. Local media outlets have not challenged County officials about either issue so far.

Leaving ineligible names on the voter rolls is a key source of voter fraud. Anyone who has the names of deceased or non-resident voters can walk into the appropriate polling place, claim to be that person and provide the few details asked for by judges, and cast a ballot illegally using one of those many names. In this year's by-mail elections, these illegal ballots will be mailed out and ripe for the picking by any organized voter fraud operation, further underlining the urgency in cleaning up Montgomery County's dirty voter rolls.

George's Chophouse closes in Bethesda

George's Chophouse has been packed up at 4935 Cordell Avenue, and the restaurant's sign has been removed from the building. Takeout orders from George's had been relocated for pickup to owner Ashish Alfred's nearby award-winning Duck Duck Goose at 7929 Norfolk Avenue a few days ago. This spot was previously 4935 Bar and Kitchen, and Tragara before that.

Petition to create 9 Montgomery County Council districts can now be signed electronically online

An effort to create better representation for residents on the Montgomery County Council has gotten a new jolt of energy. Nine Districts for MoCo, a grassroots organization, has been collecting signatures to place a question on the November ballot that would eliminate the At-Large seats on the Council. Instead, the Council would have 9 seats that each represent a smaller district of the county. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Board of Elections has given the group permission to collect signatures online. Registered voters can now sign the petition electronically, through the organization's website.

The At-Large seats are seen as a way for developers and special interests to get 4 votes to override parochial neighborhood concerns. Needless to say, the Montgomery County political cartel is not pleased about the Nine Districts for MoCo effort. At one public hearing by the Charter Review Commission, four commissioners tried to prevent Nine Districts for MoCo Chair Kimblyn Persaud from testifying on a fictional technicality, before realizing they didn't have the votes to stop her from speaking.

I strongly endorse this effort. Unlike past proposals, this does not reduce the number of Council members in a County that is rapidly growing in population. What it does do is create smaller, more manageable districts, and Councilmembers who will literally be closer to their constituents and their neighborhood issues. 

Growing discontent over Montgomery County's data-free coronavirus reopening strategy

Montgomery County's "roadmap" for reopening
doesn't define any targets to be met

There has been growing concern over the last few days about Montgomery County's blueprint for reopening, after most of the state entered a phase one reopening last Friday, while the Montgomery County Council passed an indefinite extension of Stay-at-Home orders. Prominent business leaders like David Blair, business owners, and even some municipal elected officials have asked what Montgomery officials' precise plan and data measurements are. The issue is separate from the question of whether or not a continued lockdown is wise; the point of controversy for many is that there is currently no roadmap or metric for reopening the economy.

With a new wave of mass layoffs hitting the county, discontent with the rudderless direction is rising in many quarters. After receiving some blowback, Montgomery County Councilman Evan Glass posted a Powerpoint-style graphic (shown above) on Facebook and Twitter. "Here's the roadmap," Glass declared authoritatively. But the "roadmap" only gave a vague wishlist of trends, not the specific targets that would be met, nor the specific length of time those targets would have to be met to reopen. Five different "sustained decrease" trends are listed, but unlike federal and state plans, the time-span of "sustained" is only defined for one ("new cases in an environment of increased testing" - and what qualifies as "an enviroment of increased testing" is undefined).

Glass promised a dashboard of County-level coronavirus statistics heretofore withheld from the public would be online later this week. But that is a totally separate issue. Raw data doesn't tell us what the plan is, and what the data needs to show us in what timeframe, to reopen.

Again, that's not to say it is wise or unwise to reopen now. But it would be wise to have an actual plan with targets that can be met or not met. After all, we may be facing a devastating second wave of hospitalizations in about three weeks, if Gov. Larry Hogan was premature in loosening Stay-at-Home orders last Friday. Maryland did not meet all of the federal criteria for reopening, so there is a risk.

The future is uncertain. But we need leadership to tell us how we are going to tackle the problem, which is the only certainty we can have at this point.

Bethesda hit by more coronavirus layoffs as lockdown continues

More Montgomery County employers are laying off workers as the coronavirus pandemic lockdown continues. In Bethesda, Uncle Julio's announced on Friday it will lay off 50 employees. Paper Source up the street is laying off 15 workers. And the Hyatt Regency Bethesda has just laid off 95 employees.

Rockville's Cambria Suites Hotel is laying off 25 people. That hits particularly close to home, as parent company Choice Hotels' world headquarters is diagonally across the street from the Cambria Suites. Also in Rockville, Miller's Ale House is laying off 74 employees.

Gaithersburg's new upscale movie theater, Cinepolis, is being hit as hard as every other shuttered cineplex as new Hollywood releases continue to be postponed. They have finally laid off 65 employees. And the Holiday Inn in Gaithersburg just laid off 57 team members.

With Covid-19 going nowhere, and with no solid medical evidence that surviving the virus gives a patient permanent or even temporary immunity, we're likely going to face continued economic pain for at least the next two years. Montgomery County's already-moribund, last-in-the-region economy is particularly hard hit, because the vast majority of what few jobs have been created here recently are in the restaurant and retail sectors.

Workers are smart enough to realize that they may want to move into sectors that won't be interrupted by this and future pandemics, or at least ones where they can be among those privileged to work from home. Expect a re-calibration of the labor market in that event, which will drive up wages for service jobs, and increase the pain further for our already-struggling restaurant and retail sectors.

Image via Federal Trade Commission

New sign added at Anthony's Coal-fired Pizza in Bethesda

More delivery services than ever are descending upon Bethesda restaurants to pick-up orders during the coronavirus lockdown. Perhaps more signs are needed to help them find the eateries. For whatever reason, a new blade sign has been installed on the corner of Anthony's Coal-fired Pizza at 7776 Norfolk Avenue.

More satellite dishes installed atop The Wilson in Bethesda

One of my readers mentioned that additional satellite dishes would be installed on the roof of The Wilson, the forthcoming Class A office tower being constructed by Carr Properties at 7272 Wisconsin Avenue in downtown Bethesda. Sure enough, there are now at least two dishes up there. WTTG Fox 5 will be a tenant in the building.

Veterans Park fountain activated in Bethesda (Video+Photos)

One of the annual signs that summer is imminent appeared yesterday in downtown Bethesda. On Saturday, the fountain was activated at Veterans Park at the corner of Norfolk and Woodmont Avenues.

Montgomery County $5 million check program quietly doubles to $10M, court filing reveals

County in legal jeopardy over program 

it says has already disbursed $1M

Montgomery County officials told the public that they had appropriated $5 million to disburse as cash payouts to residents who do not qualify for federal coronavirus relief funds. But a new court filing shows that the program has quietly doubled to $10 million without public knowledge. The explosion in size of the check program has only come to light in a letter from County Attorney Marc P. Hansen filed yesterday in U.S. District Court. This letter was in response to the lawsuit right-wing government watchdog group Judicial Watch recently filed against the County, which alleges that the check program is in violation of federal law because Maryland has never passed legislation to allow Montgomery County to disburse cash payments to residents who are illegally present in the United States.

Hansen's letter states that "[i]t has come to our attention that the County has appropriated ten million dollars for the challenged EARP program." The County never publicly announced an appropriation of another $5 million for the program since its original press release. Hansen also confirms that "one million dollars has been disbursed as of this time." The money will be moving quickly out the door, according to Hansen: "It is anticipated that the balance of the appropriated funds will be distributed by the end of the first week of June," he writes to U.S. District Judge Peter J. Messite.

Photo via WhiteHouse.gov

Chipotle to radically overhaul restaurant interior as Bethesda businesses refine coronavirus protocols

X marks the spot at Sweetgreen

Bethesda restaurants are introducing and expanding new protocols to limit the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus as Montgomery County officials hesitate to reopen the economy here. As a result, service continues to be takeout-only, although Gov. Larry Hogan's lifting of the Stay-at-Home order for the majority of the state has boosted traffic and caused some shuttered eateries to decide to reopen for takeout service in recent days. A Bethesda bar employee testing positive for the virus in recent days reminds us that the coronavirus is still very present in our community.

Sweetgreen

Chipotle in downtown Bethesda is making one of the most dramatic changes in how it will operate, but expect these seemingly-radical protocols to become standard in our new abnormal. The burrito restaurant at 7600 Old Georgetown Road is preparing to rip out a counter, wall sections and several pieces of kitchen equipment. It will then a second preparation line in the kitchen, and install a dish sanitizer and an additional handwashing station. In the customer area, Chipotle will install a new counter, a new sneeze-guard system, and new pick-up shelving.

Sweetgreen

At Bethesda Row, Sweetgreen has placed markers on the sidewalk along Bethesda Avenue for customers to stand on as they await pickup of their orders. Neighbor Quartermaine Coffee Roasters has a similar set-up, but at a counter with social distancing. Maryland's mask order remains in effect, and Quartermaine even has official Quatermaine logo masks available for $8 at their Bethesda Row store.

Quartermaine Coffee Roasters face masks

The Chipotle changes give a hint of how restaurants will have to change the preparation process as much as the order fulfillment process. But this will be a major challenge for many mom-and-pop restaurants. Many kitchens are small by nature. Social-distancing is nearly impossible without either a slowdown in service and/or layoffs of extra prep cooks, or without the kind of renovations Chipotle is pursuing.

Social distancing counter outside Quartermaine

Dine-in seating will be a whole other issue. Spacing of tables and masks certainly reduce the risk compared to traditional operations. But they are also largely psychological, as masks must come off to eat and drink, thereby defeating their purpose. Diners will still be in an enclosed space for a lengthy period, one of the major risk factors for Covid-19 transmission. And just how already-squeezed restaurateurs are going to pay Bethesda rents at 1/3 or 1/2 of capacity each day is truly puzzling.

Some economists have warned that as many as half of the restaurants in America may not reopen or recover from the nationwide lockdown. That's got to be additionally concerning in moribund Montgomery County where profit margins for restaurants are razor thin, and the industry has remained flat even as nearby jurisdictions have enjoyed growth in their dining sectors over the last decade, according to the Restaurant Association of Maryland.

More Bethesda restaurants reopening as Stay-at-Home confusion increases traffic

The botched messaging of DC-area governments' reopening strategies has combined with slightly warmer weather to bring more Bethesda residents out of coronavirus lockdown. Many local media outlets also strongly emphasized Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan's lifting of his Stay-at-Home order - effective today - without equally emphasizing that it did not apply to Montgomery or Prince George's County, with TV stations in some cases only mentioning that fact in a separate report minutes later. "Hogan to lift Stay-at-Home order Friday" certainly was more clickbait and retweetable than the full story, but the deceptive messaging has a bright side for struggling restaurants: there were more people out in downtown Bethesda yesterday.

Cubano's has reopened their Bethesda location at 4907 Cordell Avenue for takeout orders, with curbside pickup. That includes their "Mojito-to-Go." Their takeout hours are 4:00-8:00 PM daily.

Matchbox has also returned at Bethesda Row. They are also operating as takeout-only, with curbside pickup.

Flanagan's Harp & Fiddle reopens after employee tests positive for coronavirus

Flanagan's Harp & Fiddle has reopened in downtown Bethesda, after an employee tested positive for coronavirus on May 9. The restaurant and bar was cleared to reopen sooner, the ownership said, but they decided to remain closed longer to await test results on all of the other employees. Those test results have now all come back negative. Flanagan's said the establishment has been disinfected and sanitized with bleach using CDC guidelines. Harp & Fiddle is located at 4844 Cordell Avenue.

Montgomery County sued over $5 million check handout that group alleges violates federal law

Right-wing government watchdog group Judicial Watch has filed suit against Montgomery County over its recently-announced plan to disburse $5 million-worth of checks to residents who do not qualify for coronavirus financial assistance from the federal government. While the County's official announcement nowhere mentions that the money will go to non-legal residents, it was widely recognized by advocates and opponents alike that the money was intended to go to residents who are here illegally. The initiative was seen by proponents as essential to the County's recovery, given the large number of undocumented immigrants in Montgomery County who would otherwise receive little financial relief during the pandemic.

Judicial Watch is seeking a restraining order against County Executive Marc Elrich and Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services Director Raymond L. Crowel on behalf of two Montgomery County taxpayers, Sharon Bauer and Richard Jurgena. The restraining order would prevent Elrich and Crowel from disbursing any of the $5 million to residents who are in the country illegally.

The group asserts that the County's plan, known as the Emergency Assistance Relief Payment (EARP) program, violates federal law. Under 8 U.S.C. § 1621(a), a local government may only provide benefits to "unlawfully present aliens" if the state the jurisdiction is in enacts a law permitting it to do so. Judicial Watch argues that, because Maryland has never passed a law allowing Montgomery County to disburse cash payments directly to residents living here illegally, the EARP program itself is illegal.

“Montgomery County Executive Elrich and the Montgomery County Council have no legal authority on their own to spend taxpayer money for cash payments to illegal aliens,” Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said in a statement. “The coronavirus challenge doesn’t give politicians a pass to violate the law. If they want to give cash payments to illegal aliens, they must be accountable and transparent, and, as federal law requires, pass a state law to do so.”

The group has filed a similar lawsuit in California, which is still pending there. Judicial Watch recently won a legal fight against Maryland, which resulted in a judge ordering the state to hand over all voter data from Montgomery County, after Judicial Watch found that there were more names registered to vote in MoCo than there are actual eligible voters in the county.

P.F. Chang's closed in Friendship Heights permanently

The P.F. Chang's dining adventure in Montgomery County has come to a sad close. Their Friendship Heights location in the The Shops at Wisconsin Place in Chevy Chase has permanently closed. P.F. Chang's is moving to a new model of smaller, takeout locations in many parts of the country. Considering how popular their White Flint Mall location was up until the mall owners pulled the plug, I wouldn't be surprised if we see one of those to-go concepts pop up in Bethesda in the future.

Bethesda construction update: Ourisman Jeep Bethesda dealership (Photos)

Ourisman Jeep Bethesda continues its conversion of the old CVS Pharmacy space at 6700 Wisconsin Avenue, right by its current temporary location. The dealership, like others during the coronavirus pandemic, is currently focused on contactless sales and service, including home-delivered test drive vehicles.

Friendship Heights settles grocery shuttle bus dispute with Chevy Chase Land Co.

Shuttle bus service from the Village of Friendship Heights to the Westbard Giant in Bethesda will continue through March 2021, or until the new grocery store opens at the Collection at Chevy Chase, under a settlement between the Village and Collection owner Chevy Chase Land Co. CCLC had agreed to pay for this bus service under the terms of its approved Montgomery County site plan, but recently filed to have this commitment deleted. Attorneys Norman Knopf and David Brown represented the Village in the dispute.

CCLC has said it intends to now withdraw its request for deletion of the shuttle bus mandate, although the Village retains the legal right to oppose it should it not be withdrawn. Under the terms of the settlement, CCLC will pay the Village $1250 a week to cover the costs of the Village shuttle's trips between Friendship Heights and the Giant at the Westwood Shopping Center. The Giant at the Collection closed, and the shuttle was to operate until the new grocery tenant opens.

The Village also agreed to drop its opposition to a set of new site plan amendments for the Collection, in exchange for a clarification that new outdoor dining areas by the grocery store would be for grocery patrons only. Under the agreement, the Village retains its right to preserve a 1998 covenant with CCLC that requires bus service to the Westbard Giant if the Collection ever fails to have a Giant or comparable grocery tenant.

Bethesda Midas site to be redeveloped

Bozzuto is proposing to redevelop the site of the Midas service center at 4725 Cheltenham Drive in downtown Bethesda. The industrial use would be replaced with a 90' tall residential building, totaling 80,000 SF. A virtual public meeting on the proposal will be held online on May 28, 2020 at 7:00 PM at http://global.gotomeeting.com/join/485543229 or click here to go directly.

Construction-related Arlington Road closures continue

Construction projects continue to take advantage of lower traffic congestion from the coronavirus shutdown along Arlington Road in downtown Bethesda. Mid-morning Monday found a section of the road between the Bradley Shopping Center's upper entrance and Bethesda Avenue entirely closed. EuroMotorcars has construction projects for two new dealership showrooms on both sides of the street there. Further up near Old Georgetown Road, Arlington was reduced to one lane in each direction.

Redevelopment of former Pines of Rome/Tommy Joe's/AOTA sites proposed in Bethesda

A long-expected redevelopment of most of a square block bounded by Wisconsin Avenue, East Lane Hampden and Montgomery Lanes in downtown Bethesda is finally moving forward. The gas station site along Wisconsin was recently proposed to be redeveloped as an assisted-living tower. Now the rest of the properties assembled over the last decade will be redeveloped as 500,000 SF of office space, residential housing with 17.6% affordable units, and retail/restaurant space with structured parking.

The properties in question are 4703-4719 Hampden Lane and 4714-4720 Montgomery Lane. Among the notable former tenants of these properties were Pines of Rome (now on Cordell Avenue), Tommy Joe's (now at the corner of Cordell and Norfolk Avenue) and the AOTA.

A required public meeting on the project, which could be up to 250' tall, will be held online on Thursday, May 21, 2020 at 7:30 PM at https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/453890637.

Armed robbery in Chevy Chase

An armed robbery was reported to police in Chevy Chase on Thursday, May 7. According to crime data, a victim was robbed at gunpoint in a vehicle in the 3500 block of Bradley Lane. The robbery was reported around 11:48 PM that night.