GALLERY BETHESDA RIBBON CUTTING AND ROOFTOP/SKY LOUNGE TOUR (VIDEO)

Travel vicariously with me 18-stories above downtown Bethesda, and see it as you've never seen it before, from the new highest point in town - the Gallery Bethesda luxury apartment tower, at 4800 Auburn Avenue.

Developer and builder The Donohoe Companies, the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Chamber of Commerce, building management firm Vantage Management, and a representative of Congressman Chris Van Hollen were among those celebrating the Grand Opening of the Gallery at a ribbon cutting last Thursday.

Here is video from the ribbon cutting, and then we take a high-speed elevator to the rooftop and Sky Lounge. There you'll see the posh indoor space, as well as the amazing views from the outdoor rooftop deck, complete with gas grills, fireplace and resort-style pool. Among the sights from the roof are Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, NIH, Tysons Corner (including a 30-story Donohoe residential building that just topped out, and can be seen from the Gallery), White Flint, Silver Spring, Glenmont and Sugarloaf Mountain.

"BETHESDA PARKERS MUST PAY MORE!!" SAYS MONTGOMERY COUNTY COUNCIL

The Montgomery County Council has concluded you still have too much spending money, and darn it if you aren't spending too much of it at Bethesda shops and restaurants!

So, once again, the council is initiating another one of what they call, "conversations."

We know what the conversation is: it's the council asking you, "What's in your wallet?"  That's all they ever do.

Yesterday, a council committee heartily endorsed the following parking fee increases for the Bethesda central business district (new cost in bold):

Long-term parking: from 75 cents to 80 cents an hour
Monthly pass: from $140 to $150
Short-term parking: from $1 to $1.25 an hour


It's outrageous.

Note that Silver Spring will continue to be subsidized by us.  Parking will continue to be cheaper in downtown Silver Spring.  So when you park and have dinner at American Tap Room at Bethesda Row, you're not only paying the full charge for yourself, but for a portion of the parking fee for the guy who's dining at Romano's Macaroni Grill in Silver Spring at the same time.  Ain't it cool?

The full council will vote on the increase this month.

They don't seem to be in touch with the current financial pressures downtown Bethesda businesses, workers, residents and visitors are under.

But then, when are they?  It's interesting that there is a claim that the county is short on revenue.  So why is the current budget proposal bigger than last year's?  If we can't afford more, why would we spend more?

Eliminate 3 parking lots, make parking more frustrating, and now make it more expensive.

Boy, that county council sure knows how to help Bethesda businesses!

BETHESDA RANKS #2 IN

PROJECTED JOB GROWTH

BY 2020, SAYS

U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS

Need a job? You've come to the right place! The Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics says that Bethesda will experience the second-highest rate of job creation in America between now and 2020. Washington, D.C. ranked first.

I'm guessing this is based on two fairly-solid projections: continuing growth of county, state and federal government, despite growing deficits; and what is apparently an ever-expanding theater of war, which will result in more defense spending. Firms such as Lockheed - headquartered right here in Bethesda - stand to benefit from such developments.

But, although I hate to burst the bubble on this lovely dream, this projection is overly-optimistic in my opinion.

First, there is no guarantee of continued big spending in Washington. President Obama is suggesting deep cuts in defense, and has already turned over spaceflight to the private sector. (And what a sad statement about America today, that space exploration is something many Republicans and Democrats now mock and laugh at. Such people have no clue about science or the universe. If you didn't sleep through Chemistry 101 in high school, you know that there clearly are new elements and fuel sources out there to be discovered. Do these folks realize what will happen if Russia or China find them first?)

Second, Montgomery County - without a 180 degree change in the structure of government, taxes and regulation, and completion of its transportation system - could never attract the number of public or private jobs claimed by this projection. Not one single large employer has relocated here in years.

Our roads are jammed with traffic, and business travelers have no easy access to Dulles Airport.

If Bethesda aspires to claim its rightful spot on this list, citizens and the BCC Chamber of Commerce need to take action to make this area more attractive to large employers. We need to retain industrial zones and office parks, not sell them to developers as the county council just did in the Betco plant debacle last fall. Where will future corporate headquarters go?

Finally, we need to build the Rockville Freeway and Outer Beltway if we are to even begin to handle the traffic we have today.

To be number 2, we have to try harder.