LANE CLOSURES IN DOWNTOWN BETHESDA TONIGHT (PHOTO)

The right lane of northbound Wisconsin Avenue in Bethesda is closed between the Air Rights Center and the police station.

One lane is also closed on Montgomery Avenue.

Utility-related work is responsible for the closures.

ZEN TARA TEA CLOSING MAY 26 IN BETHESDA

Tea aficionados in Bethesda are saddened to hear Zen Tara Tea on Bethesda Avenue plans to close on May 26.

The shop has always had a wide selection of teas, and a welcoming atmosphere. It has been perhaps known best for its tea events, and efforts to remain open during Bethesda bad weather events, when other businesses closed up.

Zen Tara Tea does have an online tea shop where orders can be placed, at ZenTaraTea.com.

BETHESDA McMansion OWNER WANTS TO REZONE HOUSE AS COMMERCIAL (PHOTOS)

The owner of a McMansion at 4705 West Virginia Avenue in Bethesda is asking the Montgomery County Planning Board to rezone the property as commercial.

Planning staff is recommending approval of the rezoning. The home is adjacent to small parking areas, a home being used as a commercial business, and a single family home zoned and utilized as residential.

The plan would require undergrounding of utilities, construction of a 5-foot-wide sidewalk, a wheelchair ramp, lighting, and other landscaping improvements. Several parking spaces would be permitted for the business on-site, but no on-street parking would be allowed.

This is an unusual proposal at the moment, as most projects in downtown Bethesda are at least partly residential in nature.

It will be interesting to see if there is any opposition from homeowners further east on West Virginia Avenue to this plan, going before the board on May 9.

WHITE FLINT MALL DEMOLITION CONTINUES (PHOTOS) - THE DARK SIDE OF WHITE FLINT, PART 4

Welcome to Part 4 of my series, The Dark Side of White Flint.

This sporadic series is a frank and candid examination of the downsides of urbanization, or "suburban renewal," in White Flint.

PART 1. PART 2. PART 3.

Today in Part 4, the demolition of White Flint Mall continues:

ARSON REPORTED AT WESTLAND MS SATURDAY, ANOTHER CAR STOLEN JUST OUTSIDE BETHESDA

According to crime data, an arson was reported at Westland Middle School this past Saturday, April 27.

No information regarding the time of day, location on the property, or damage (if any) was included.

Also on Saturday, a car was reported stolen just outside of Bethesda, in the 8500 block of Loughborough Place, along Connecticut Avenue in Chevy Chase.

5 other vehicles have been reported stolen in Bethesda since April 18.

3 MORE CARS STOLEN IN BETHESDA - BETHESDA CRIME UPDATE

Three more cars have been reported stolen in Bethesda since last Wednesday.

Two were stolen in the Grosvenor area Wednesday, April 24.

The vehicles were taken from the 5400 block of Grove Ridge Way, and the 10300 block of Montrose Avenue.

A third vehicle was stolen Friday, April 26, from the 8300 block of Whitman Drive, near Pyle Middle School.

There were also a number of thefts in the Old Georgetown Road and Grosvenor areas between April 24-26:

APRIL 24:

Theft from vehicle. 6700 block Surreywood Lane.

APRIL 25:

Theft from vehicle. Grosvenor Metro Station.

APRIL 26:

Theft. 6300 block Lone Oak Drive.

Theft. 10400 block Old Georgetown Road.

Theft from vehicle. 5000 block Cushing Drive.

Theft from vehicle. 10400 block Auto Park Avenue.

HTC ONE SMARTPHONE KIOSK IN BETHESDA (PHOTOS)

One of the hottest Android smartphones being released in 2013, the HTC One, has arrived in Bethesda. And you have a great opportunity to test it out.

HTC has a giant kiosk outside of Macy's, on the lower level of Westfield Montgomery Mall. It has room enough to relax on the lounge seating. Gadget addicts: report immediately to Montgomery Mall! Here are some photos:

EmbroidMe CLOSES IN BETHESDA (PHOTOS)

Custom screen printing and embroidery shop EmbroidMe has closed in Bethesda. This is the latest small business to shutter in downtown Bethesda this year.

Everything must go - including the left arm of that black office chair, apparently! The shop was located at 7811 Old Georgetown Road.

COURAGE. b BOUTIQUE UNVEILS STOREFRONT AT BETHESDA ROW (PHOTOS)

New boutique COURAGE. b revealed its storefront Friday on Bethesda Lane:

TASTYKAKE DREAMIES REVIEW (VIDEO)

Tastykake has a new Hostess Twinkies knockoff, called Tastykake Dreamies. How close did their Twinkie cloning process get to the real thing? Watch my review to find out.

Real Hostess Twinkies return to stores in late July, but some fanatics can't wait that long!

YUZU BETHESDA MENU (PHOTOS) - SUSHI, ROBATA - JAPANESE RESTAURANT

EXCLUSIVE!

Here is the menu for Yuzu, opening Monday, April 29, in Bethesda. Click to enlarge each page of the menu:

THE CRAB SHACK OPENING IN BETHESDA THIS FALL (PHOTOS)

A new restaurant called The Crab Shack will open in the former Zelaya Shoes storefront at 4940 St. Elmo Avenue this fall.

All the ownership is saying publicly, as of this morning, is that they'll be serving the "best crabs in town." That could be a shot across the bow of the Bethesda Crab House on Bethesda Avenue.

What I want to know is, will they be serving Maryland blue crabs? There is no substitute!

By the way, wasn't there a Crab Shack in downtown Bethesda some years ago? I'm almost positive there was.

NEW SPECIALS AT GRAPESEED THIS WEEKEND

This weekend, try one of these specials at Grapeseed, on Cordell Avenue in Bethesda:

*Lobster Salad with Ugli fruit and arugula

*Fresh crab cakes with coconut and ginger, served with a Lucky Lo Hei Salad and avocado

JESSICA ALBA TO BE IN FRONT ROW AT BETHESDA ROW MAY 17, 2013

Jessica Alba is coming to Bethesda Row. The actress will appear on Bethesda Lane on May 17, during the annual Front Row at Bethesda Row fashion event May 16-18, 2013.

Alba will sign copies of her book, The Honest Life, outside of Redwood Restaurant and Bar.

Not only is Alba the biggest celebrity ever to appear at the event, but something else is different, too:

There are actually VIP tickets going on sale Monday at 10 AM, online at Gilt City DC.

According to BrandLink DC, the agency that makes this event get bigger and better every year,your ticket will get you into The Tents (this year's fashion-themed movie), into the VIP party, and - most importantly for Bethesda Fashionistas - into the seats below the catwalk for the fashion show.

Stay tuned for more Front Row at Bethesda Row details!

MOSTLY MONOGRAMS MOVING TO WESTWOOD CENTER II IN BETHESDA

Mostly Monograms, currently located in the Kae Robin store in the Bradley Shopping Center, is moving to the Westwood Center II on Monday, May 6.

The Westwood II is a very nice shopping center, with ample parking, at the corner of River and Ridgefield Roads in the Westbard area. It's the multilevel, indoor-outdoor mall structure, not to be confused with its sister, the Westwood Shopping Center across Westbard Avenue.

RITZ CAMERA OPENS IN NEW BETHESDA LOCATION (PHOTOS)

Ritz Camera has reopened in its new home in Bethesda, on Arlington Road next to CVS.

FREE COMIC BOOK DAY 2013 IN BETHESDA AT BIG PLANET COMICS ON MAY 4

Free Comic Book Day returns to Bethesda next Saturday, May 4, at Big Planet Comics at 4849 Cordell Avenue, from 11:00 AM - 6:00 PM.

There are 50 free titles for 2013. Big Planet will also have 2 special guests on hand, Art Hondros (Notes from the Cave Walls), and John Gallagher (Buzzboy).

Big Planet, as always, will be one of the best stores to visit on Free Comic Book Day in the DC area. It is located on the street level of Triangle Towers.

BETHESDA THEATRE 75TH ANNIVERSARY EVENT WITH BRANFORD MARSALIS

Just before Clark Gable appeared as Rhett Butler in Gone with the Wind, he had the Bethesda Theatre on his mind. Yes, our Bethesda Theatre, right here on Wisconsin Avenue.

On the occasion of its grand opening, the legendary actor sent the following message from Hollywood:

"Congratulations. May the Boro Theatre prove the bright spot of your entire circuit." - Clark Gable

(It was initially called the Boro Theatre.) Today, it is known as the Bethesda Blues and Jazz Supper Club.

The club has assembled the quotes of Mr. Gable and his contemporaries Gary Cooper, Spencer Tracy, and Shirley Temple recorded on that date, May 17, 1938.

Why?

BB&J is throwing a big 75th Anniversary party for the beloved Streamline art deco theatre it now calls home.

And there'll be a celebrity guest - in person, this time: Branford Marsalis.

You can purchase tickets (at BethesdaBluesJazz.com or 240-330-4500) for this special event, which will be held - appropriately - on May 17, 2013.

For ticket prices, and a schedule for the evening, click to enlarge the invitation below.

One interesting piece of trivia, which I only found out in recent years: The Bethesda Theatre was built by Sidney Lust, who also built the drive-in theater on Route 1 in Beltsville. The drive-in had a fantastic wall design that faced the road, but - criminally - was torn down. I can remember passing it on the way to the Laurel Drive-in in the 1980s.

The Bethesda Theatre, named to the national list of historic sites, is here to stay, however. Clark Gable would be pleased.

HERTZ ON DEMAND TAKES ON ZIPCAR IN DOWNTOWN BETHESDA (PHOTOS)

Hertz is after a piece of the car-sharing market in downtown Bethesda. Hertz On Demand is the company's answer to ZipCar, and is now available at several downtown Bethesda locations.  This short video gives you a quick primer on how the service works.

Hertz On Demand cars are available at the following locations around downtown Bethesda: 4817 Edgemoor Lane (The Metropolitan public parking garage), 7301 Waverly Street, and 4538 Middleton Lane.

But there is also a fourth location, so new it doesn't appear on the website yet: the Cordell-St. Elmo public parking garage. I haven't seen any Hertz On Demand vehicles in those 2 spaces yet, but the sign has been installed.

I tried the website, and located cars at the other 3 locations, as you can see in the screen captures I took below. Then I went in person to find the Fiat 500 and Toyota Yaris, and sure enough, there they were.

The cars are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and you can also reserve them in advance. No word if they'll add a full-size van like ZipCar has - the biggest Hertz car I found downtown was the Jeep Liberty.

GRIFFIN CYCLE RENTALS AT BETHESDA ROW (PHOTO)

You can now rent bikes - including safety helmet - right by the Capital Crescent Trail and Bethesda Row Cinema at Bethesda Row.

Just look for this Griffin Cycle kiosk:

YUZU SUSHI AND ROBATA OPENING MONDAY IN BETHESDA (PHOTO)

Bethesda's newest Japanese restaurant, Yuzu, has announced its soft opening will be this coming Monday, April 29.

Chef Yoshihisa Ota has prepared a menu of sushi and robata for his new venture in the former Divino Lounge space at 7345-B Wisconsin Avenue.