WISE HONEY BBQ POTATO CHIP REVIEW (VIDEO)

Today on the Christmas Countdown (which continues through January 6), I am testing the new Wise Honey BBQ Potato Chips. Considering that the standard Wise potato chip rates 5 stars in my book, can it hurt to add honey and barbecue flavors to it? Find out by watching my review!

HOGAN CELEBRATES NEW YEAR WITH NEW APPOINTMENTS

"The year 2014 turned out to be a pretty good year for us, and we are looking forward to 2015 and getting to work on behalf of the citizens of Maryland," Governor-elect Larry Hogan said Tuesday in wishing reporters a Happy New Year, while announcing four more senior appointments to his cabinet.

Former Maryland House Minority Whip Al Redmer will reassume the post he held under former Governor Bob Ehrlich, Insurance Commissioner.

Stephen Moyer, a well-regarded veteran of the Maryland State Police, will serve as Hogan's Secretary of the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services. This is an office to watch in the coming months, as prison scandals repeatedly rocked the administration of outgoing Governor Martin O'Malley. 

George W. Owings III, a Democrat and veteran of both the Vietnam War and the state legislature, was named Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs. Owings served as Majority Whip in the House, lives in Calvert County, and is another boomerang appointment from the Ehrlich years.

Maryland's new Secretary of State will be John Wobensmith. Wobensmith has decades of national security experience, has served under 5 presidents, and has worked in several foreign countries including Turkey and England.

"All four individuals bring a wealth of experience to their respective roles," Hogan said. “I am pleased to have them as a part of the team.” Hogan is scheduled to be sworn in on January 21.

NEW YEAR'S EVE EVENTS IN BETHESDA 2014

Making late plans for tonight in Bethesda? Here are some events around town:

Positano 

The colorful Italian restaurant on Fairmont Avenue will be open from noon until 10:00 PM tonight, and open on New Year's Day from noon until 9:00 PM. Both days will feature the regular menu, and regular prices.

Union Jack's

Tonight:
Heavy Hors D'oeuvres (7-10pm)
DJ and Dancing until 2:30am
Free Jamaican Trip Giveaway Raffle/Door Prize
Dress to Impress
Champagne Toast at Midnight
Party Favors
Pool & Darts

Call today to book your tickets at 301-652-2561. If you're still going on New Years Day, they will offer a Recovery Brunch featuring $1 Mimosas and Bloody Mary refills.

4935 Bar & Kitchen

This 4935 Cordell Avenue restaurant and nightspot is celebrating from 10:00 PM to 3:00 AM tonight, with DJ Chris Blackstar, a buffet, and a Lingerie Fashion Show. $25 at the door tonight.

The Parva Tequila Bar

Head over to this Latin hotspot on Woodmont Avenue for dinner and a New Year's Eve bash tonight.

FIRST LOOK: NEW BETHESDA PARKING GARAGE ENTRANCES (PHOTOS)

Even after dark, there is a lot of activity at the Lot 31 construction site across from Bethesda Row. Concrete was being lifted up to the balcony of a future luxury suite at one of the two residential buildings under construction for StonebridgeCarras by Clark Construction. Meanwhile, a wall near the Capital Crescent Trail was removed.

Trail users got a better view of
The Flats on Tuesday

Most significantly, we are getting our first glimpse of the pedestrian and vehicles entrances for the eagerly-awaited 900-space public parking garage beneath the mammoth project along Bethesda and Woodmont Avenues. The garage has been expected to open next month, even as work on the residential and retail spaces above ground continues.

One pedestrian entrance to the
garage on the ground floor of
The Flats apartments

Did you lose your ticket?

900 spaces is going to
sound mighty good next summer

The new parking can't come a
minute too soon for Bethesda Row
business owners

The now-familiar "Spaces Available"
sign is in place, as I previously reported

The Flats

Get ready to cross

Capital Crescent Trail

View from CCT back toward
Barnes and Noble

Truck parked in front of
driveway entrance to future
public parking garage entrance
on Woodmont Avenue

Good night from Lot 31

HOSTESS GLAZED DONETTES REVIEW (VIDEO)

Hostess is now offering a glazed variety of donuts, with the new Hostess Glazed Donettes mini donuts. Of course, glazed donuts are more often associated with Krispy Kreme and Dunkin' Donuts than Hostess. Unlike those brands, the Hostess variety are cake donuts. Today on the Christmas Countdown, I test out the Hostess venture into glazed territory. How does a glazed Hostess donut compare to the famous Original Glazed Krispy Kreme donut? Watch my review and find out!

ASSAULT ON WOODMONT AVE., WESTMORELAND HILLS BURGLARY + MORE - BETHESDA CRIME UPDATE

Here's a roundup of crimes reported across Bethesda on December 27, according to crime data:

Theft from vehicle. 4800 block Moorland Lane.

Assault. 7900 block Woodmont Avenue.

Theft. 4800 block Bethesda Avenue.

Burglary. 5200 block Elliott Road (Westmoreland Hills).

Theft. 5000 block Baltan Road (Sumner).

Vehicle burglary. Westfield Montgomery Mall.

MOCO TRANSPORTATION PRIORITY LIST OUT-OF-TOUCH WITH REALITY, MORIBUND COUNTY ECONOMY

The new draft of Montgomery County's final transportation wish list to the State of Maryland presents a mixed bag as Governor-elect Larry Hogan prepares to assume leadership next month. It also represents a case of ideology and developer-driven priorities taking precedence over transportation and economic realities in Montgomery County. The list will be presented to the county Planning Board on January 8.

Sensibly high on the list is Phase II of the Montrose Parkway, which will extend the road from MD 355 to Parklawn Drive. The latest draft makes a specific request of $25 million from the state for that project. A grade-separated Montrose Parkway is critical to even begin handling the massive increase in traffic that will result from development in the Pike District area. There are also quite a few needed intersection improvements, and attention to the Metrobus Priority Corridor Network.

Not so sensible is the late-yet-premature placement of several Bus Rapid Transit lines on the Construction priority list. The inclusion of BRT routes for MD 355 (Clarksburg to Bethesda) and US 29 finally and authoritatively disprove politicians' assertions that BRT was a long-range idea, many years off in the future. Now we're being told that BRT lines will begin operation before County Executive Ike Leggett's current term is up in 2018.

The US 29 route has leapfrogged over many longstanding and more-deserving priorities on the list, such as the Georgia Avenue-Norbeck Road interchange and I-270-Newcut Road interchange, as well as needed interchanges on 29 itself. Neither the US 29 nor the MD 355 BRT projects have even a penny in identified funding, no credible ridership projections, and would reduce existing automobile capacity on both roads - making traffic worse, not better.

This comes as the Montgomery County Department of Transportation released an "interview" with its own acting director, Al Roshdieh, on Monday, in which he appears to endorse the truly farcical idea that no new roads can be built in Montgomery County.

That assertion is simply not true. Rights-of-way continue to exist for long-delayed, necessary freeways throughout Montgomery County. These routes include an extension of I-370 west for a new Potomac River crossing, the Rockville Freeway (Montrose Parkway and Rockville Facility right-of-way) between Falls Road and the ICC, the M-83 Midcounty Highway Extended (from Montgomery Village Avenue to Ridge Road (MD 27), and the Northern Parkway. If someone tries to tell you there's no room for new roads in Montgomery County, you can rest assured they are pushing a political and developer agenda, not facts. These new roads are in addition to the potential of extending the HOT lane network into Maryland, via widening of I-270 and I-495 in Montgomery County.

Given the moribund state of the county's economic development - not a single major corporation having moved here in over a decade, the worst office market in 30 years, and a laughable number of high-wage jobs created in comparison with Northern Virginia and the District - one can be justifiably shocked that only a single one of those roads is even being studied right now (the M-83), much less being placed on a priority list, or in a master plan.

Compare Montgomery County's lackluster economy with that of Texas, where Governor Rick Perry made infrastructure and highway construction a major priority:

"[A]ny governor in America would be happy to boast, as Perry has, about the kind of economic expansion Texas has experienced in the last decade or so.

From 2003 to 2013, Texas produced a third of the net new jobs in America. It has been the top exporting state for the last 12 years in a row, and recently Texas surpassed California as the top exporter of technology, according to the TechAmerica Foundation.

Under Perry, Texas has been given top honors five times for corporate relocations by Site Selection magazine, and the governor credits the state’s pro-business policies — including millions in tax subsidies used to entice companies such as Toyota to set up its American headquarters here — as a major factor driving the boom."

- Reeve Hamilton and Jay Root

Texas Tribune (reprinted by

The Washington Post 12/28/14)

Incoming governor Hogan surely is aiming for a jobs record more like Perry's than Montgomery County's. Purple Line jobs? That's good for a laugh. The only long-term jobs created by the Purple Line will be the baristas and jeans-folders working the ground floor retail of the luxury apartment buildings that will displace the low-income residents and small businesses along its route. Corridor Cities Transitway bus ridership numbers? Good for a laugh, too, at best. It's luxury housing development that would be spawned by the CCT, not high-wage jobs. Those jobs would be here today if they were coming, as they in no way require BRT. Hogan would do better to emulate Perry's example than to pay attention to the cacophony of developer-funded editorials demanding support of the Purple Line (the latter following the absurdist logic of, "We totally opposed you, trashed you all year, and didn't donate to your campaign - now do what we say!).

With sensible Democrats such as Sen. Mark Warner (new Potomac River crossing), Rep. John Delaney (widening I-270) and County Councilmember Craig Rice (widening I-270, building M-83) supporting highway projects, now is the time to work in a bipartisan fashion to achieve the economic development and congestion relief needs of Montgomery County.

The priority list should emphasize the projects that move the most people for the least money, and the most corporate headquarters and high-wage jobs - highways.

ONE CAR LANE, BIKE LANE CLOSED ON WOODMONT AVENUE FOR CONDO CONSTRUCTION SITE (PHOTOS)

The far right lane of eastbound Woodmont Avenue, and the bike lane, are closed from near the Bethesda Metro Center to Hampden Lane tonight. These closures appear to be related to the construction site of The Lauren luxury condos on Hampden Lane. There is not much impact at this hour on traffic, but heads-up if you are traveling by bike towards Bethesda Row from the Woodmont Triangle or Metro.

WISE POTATO CHIPS REVIEW (PHOTOS)

Today on the Christmas Countdown (which continues through the end of the Christmas season on January 6), I'm testing a classic product from another great American company - Wise Potato Chips. These were the main potato chips of my childhood, but have vanished from Bethesda store shelves in recent decades.

I found Wise Potato Chips for $1.00 at Family Dollar, and had to buy several bags. Do they still taste the same as they did in the old days? Watch my review to find out!

BETHESDA CONSTRUCTION UPDATE: LA MADELEINE AT PIKE & ROSE (PHOTOS)

The architecture of the future La Madeleine at Pike & Rose is taking on the distinctive design of the French cafe chain's other locations. It should definitely be fireplace weather when it opens this winter.

BETHESDA TATTOO MOVES TO NEW LOCATION (PHOTOS)

Bethesda Tattoo has moved from 4711 Montgomery Lane to its new location at 8227 Woodmont Avenue. It is located in the same retail building where Dance Bethesda and The Shop Salon operate, at the corner of Woodmont and Battery. The shop also offers body piercing services, as well as tattoos.

ARCHWAY ICED GINGERBREAD COOKIES REVIEW (VIDEO)

Archway Cookies has an Iced Gingerbread variety in its lineup of holiday cookies this year. Today on the Christmas Countdown, I am testing them out. Unlike Nabisco, Archway has not shipped cookie baking jobs overseas - they are still baking cookies right here in the great state of Ohio. Buy American!

CAR STOLEN IN POOKS HILL, THEFTS IN CHEVY CHASE WEST + MORE - BETHESDA CRIME UPDATE

Area criminals appear to have taken Christmas Day off, but a Boxing Day spurt of activity included at least 2 thefts in the Chevy Chase West area off of Wisconsin Avenue. Christmas Eve crime data is available here. A couple of other recent, serious crimes have belatedly appeared, as well - an assault near The Shops at Sumner Place, and a stolen car in Pooks Hill.

Here's a roundup of crimes reported around Bethesda in recent days, according to crime data:

December 26

Theft from vehicle. 7700 block Wisconsin Avenue.

Theft. 4600 block Langdrum Lane (Chevy Chase West).

Assault. 7100 block Democracy Boulevard at 5:10 PM.

Theft from vehicle. 4700 block Macon Road (Randolph Hills).

Theft. 4600 block DeRussey Parkway at 4:47 PM (Chevy Chase West).

December 23

Assault. 4900 block Sentinel Drive at 11:01 PM.

December 20

Stolen car. 5200 block Pooks Hill Road.

BETHESDA CONSTRUCTION UPDATE: SPORT & HEALTH AT PIKE & ROSE (PHOTOS)

Perhaps the most anticipated gym opening in the area since Equinox at Bethesda Row, Sport & Health at Pike & Rose is still a work in progress.

HALLMARK THE FONZ ORNAMENT REVIEW (VIDEO)

Nothing says Christmas like The Fonz, right? Actually, The Fonz doesn't say anything in this Christmas tree ornament iteration of Henry Winkler's iconic Happy Days character, Arthur Fonzarelli. Clad in his famous leather jacket, t-shirt and jeans, he delivers his thumbs-up gesture #LikeABoss from simpler times. Watch my review for a detailed analysis of this Hallmark Keepsake ornament, hopefully the first of many 1970s TV characters they will manufacture. The Fonz is sure to be a conversation-starter on your tree.

THEFT AT HARRIS TEETER, AUTO BREAK-IN ON E-W HIGHWAY + MORE - BETHESDA CRIME UPDATE

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

Vehicle burglary. 4500 block East-West Highway.

Theft. 7200 block Wisconsin Avenue.

Theft. 5100 block Dudley Lane.

Theft from vehicle. 11500 block Rockville Pike (Pike District).

Theft. Harris Teeter (Pike District).

Burglary. 11700 block Rockville Pike (Pike District).

BETHESDA CONSTRUCTION UPDATE: 7770 NORFOLK LUXURY APARTMENTS (PHOTOS)

There is a lot more progress at the 7770 Norfolk construction site to report. A lot more glass has been installed, and more of the balconies are taking shape. 7770 will be a 17-story luxury apartment tower from developer The JBG Companies, and is being built by Bethesda-based Clark Construction.