Water main break at Wisconsin and Bethesda Avenues (Video + Photos)

There is a water main break at the corner of Wisconsin Avenue (MD 355) and Bethesda Avenue in downtown Bethesda. With the current temperature at 16 degrees, there is a substantial amount of ice and frozen surface around and extending down Bethesda Avenue from the leak. There is also plenty of water still in a liquid form moving around the corner and down Bethesda. Use caution when driving, cycling or walking in this area.

Renovations at Highland House in Friendship Heights

It looks like some renovations are underway at Highland House in the Friendship Heights area of Chevy Chase. The main Wisconsin Avenue entrance is papered over and closed. A number of Montgomery County construction permits are posted for work. Highland House has also become known as The Highlands of Chevy Chase in recent years.

New EV charging stations now operational at Cordell-St. Elmo garage in Bethesda

New electric vehicle charging stations at the Cordell-St. Elmo Public Parking Garage 40 at 4935 St. Elmo Avenue in Bethesda are now operational. Installation of the charging stations began in October. The 4-hour parking spaces are on Level 1, and are for use by electric vehicles only. The stations are NovaCharge units branded with the Pepco logo, and are operated via the downloadable Greenlots app.

Car stolen in Sumner neighborhood of Bethesda

Car thieves returned to one of their favorite Bethesda haunts, the Massachusetts Avenue corridor, early yesterday morning, December 23, 2022. Montgomery County police are investigating the theft of a vehicle that was parked along the street on Pioneer Lane, a cul-de-sac off of Fort Sumner Drive. It was reported stolen at 4:44 AM Friday morning.

Assault at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda

Montgomery County police were called to Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda on Thursday, December 22, 2022, after a 2nd-degree assault was reported there. The assault was reported at 6:00 PM. @MoCoPGNews reported on Twitter that there was a fight outside of CAVA, which was broken up by Montgomery County police officers who were already at the mall. 

One female victim suffered minor injuries. Officers then searched the mall for the suspect(s) involved. This was the 12th 2nd-degree assault reported at the mall since May 18.

Last store closes at Mazza Gallerie and demolition prep gets underway (Photos)

Mazza Gallerie is officially a dead mall in the Friendship Heights neighborhood of Chevy Chase. The last store at the mall, TJ Maxx, has closed after its final holiday shopping season. Mazza Gallerie's new owner isn't wasting a minute in moving ahead with demolition and redevelopment of the mall property. 

Construction barriers were placed along the Wisconsin Avenue side of the site Friday. 44th Street, behind the mall, will close to traffic on December 27, 2022. 

Although it's hard for those who have relocated here more recently to believe, Mazza Gallerie was once a successful and busy mall. Alas, with the flight of the rich to lower tax jurisdictions in our region, the high-end retail area of Friendship Heights lost its most-generous shopaholic benefactors. Mazza Gallerie on the D.C. side, along with the Wisconsin Avenue strip once called "Montgomery County's Rodeo Drive," were the victims of two decades of failed leadership by the Montgomery County Council. The county's corrupt political cartel has controlled a majority of the seats on the Council since 2002, a period which saw that "Rodeo Drive" turn into a strip of vacant storefronts and smashed-out bus shelters.

Crooks have a solid grip on the future of Montgomery County, but they can't change the past. The golden age of Mazza Gallerie will always be remembered, much like White Flint Mall and, soon, Lakeforest Mall. "Greed, for lack of a better word, is good."

“But let it be. Horatio, I am dead;  

  Thou livest; report me and my cause aright

  To the unsatisfied.”

New staircase opens at Bethesda Metro station (Photos)

The new staircase between the plaza and bus bay levels at the Bethesda Metro station has opened. A conversion of an often-out-of-service escalator to a wider staircase, WMATA managed to complete the project several days ahead of the projected December 31, 2022 delivery date. As you can see, the staircase has been well-lit for security and safety reasons. The gleaming new stairs and railings almost look out of place with the older concrete and infrastructure around them.

Frosty Siberian winds lead to falling trees, power outages across Montgomery County and D.C. area

Darkened apartments along
Georgia Avenue near Wheaton Friday night

It's been a "wild and wooly" day across the Washington, D.C. region and much of the nation, to use the words of the telephone meteorologist of old. Gusty winds that have blown from Siberia and down through Canada joined with a bomb cyclone winter weather event to start Friday with a blast of ice. The winds have stuck around through the evening, leading to many falling limbs and trees, and the resulting power outages.

There are currently 8,459 Pepco customers without power in the D.C. Metro area. Outages are widespread over the entire map of Montgomery County. The most concentrated outages are in the Silver Spring, Wheaton, Calverton, Gaithersburg and Germantown areas. In Rockville, there are significant outages in the King Farm, Twinbrook, West End and College Gardens neighborhoods. Bethesda residents are in the dark in a couple of spots along the Bradley Boulevard corridor, and in Westgate near the D.C. line. Over the border, there are outages in the Palisades and Wesley Heights in Northwest Washington.

The current temperature is 11 degrees. Winds are gusting at 18 MPH, and a wind chill advisory is in effect until 10:00 AM Saturday morning. Be sure to fully cover up if you have to go outside to avoid frostbite. Remember that dark intersections during power outages are to be treated as a four-way stop - but proceed with caution, as many drivers ignore this and will steam through the intersection anyway, or rear-end you if you conscientiously try to stop as the law requires. The best advice is to stay off the roads if you can.

Crescent at Chevy Chase construction update (Photos)

Here's a look at the latest progress on Landmark Realty's Crescent at Chevy Chase apartments at 3929 Landmark Court at Chevy Chase Lake. Concrete work is 90% complete, framing is more than 50% finished, and new pre-leasing signage has been posted at the site. You can also see elevator shafts rising out of both buildings. As a bonus, enjoy a view of the golf course at the legendary Columbia Country Club from the 4th floor at the Crescent at Chevy Chase - which could be your view in the fall of 2023.

Photos courtesy Landmark Realty

Van Hollen secures funding for NIST, NIH in U.S. Senate omnibus spending package

A massive $1.7 trillion omnibus spending bill for FY-2023 passed by the United States Senate yesterday will include substantial funding for two major federal employers in Montgomery County, the National Institutes of Standards and Technology in Gaithersburg and the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda. Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen pressed for those and other Maryland priorities in the controversial and complicated negotiations and agreement. The deal found some Republican senators joining with the Democratic majority in an attempt to lock in spending before the GOP gains control of the House of Representatives in January.

The Senate deal includes $48 billion for NIH, and $1.7 billion for NIST. It also includes renovation funds for a failing bridge over the Baltimore-Washington Parkway to Goddard Flight Center. Van Hollen and other Democrats lamented they could not get other priorities filled in the agreement, but considered the end run around potential GOP cuts in next year's session to be a success worth compromising for. "While I was deeply disappointed that Republicans refused to support a number of key priorities, it was vital that we pass a new government funding bill instead of kicking the can down the road," Van Hollen said in a statement late yesterday afternoon. "On balance, this package will meaningfully invest in the critical priorities of our state and nation.”

Senate Republicans who voted for the bill were Roy Blunt (Missouri), John Boozman (Arkansas), Shelley Capito (West Virginia), Susan Collins (Maine), John Cornyn (Texas), Tom Cotton (Arkansas), Lindsey Graham (South Carolina), Jim Inhofe (Oklahoma), Mitch McConnell (Kentucky), Jerry Moran (Kansas), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Rob Portman (Ohio), Mitt Romney (Utah), Mike Rounds (South Dakota), Richard Shelby (Alabama), John Thune (South Dakota), Roger Wicker (Mississippi) and Todd Young (Indiana). The majority of them have already publicly distanced themselves from President Donald Trump in varying degrees.

Assault at Bethesda auto dealership

Montgomery County police responded to a report of a 2nd-degree assault yesterday morning, December 22, 2022, at an auto dealership in Bethesda. The assault was reported at a dealership in the 10400 block of Auto Park Avenue at 9:10 AM. Jim Coleman Toyota-Cadillac-Infiniti is located on that block.

Name brand cold and flu remedies cleaned out at Bethesda Row Giant (Photos)

The only thing rivaling holiday cheer this week is the explosion of colds and viruses hitting our area, and across the world. That has led to a run on name brand remedies at grocery and drug stores nationwide. The shelves were bare of Dayquil, Nyquil and other popular cold and flu medicines at the Bethesda Row Giant on Wednesday. Signs have been posted to alert customers to the shortage. The good news is that there were still some supplies of store brand alternatives.

Diners finding Cubasi Bistro closed in Bethesda

Several Bethesda diners report that they have found Cubasi Bistro closed at 4710-A Bethesda Avenue recently, during its posted operating hours. Indeed, it was closed Wednesday evening, as seen here. On Google, the Cuban restaurant is described as "temporarily closed." The recently-opened restaurant has received high marks from diners on Yelp and Google. 

BGR has closed in Bethesda

BGR has permanently closed at 4827 Fairmont Avenue in Bethesda. The burger chain began here in Bethesda in 2008. It went on to win many awards and customers in the D.C. area, and now in other states as far away as Utah. Locally, BGR's Annapolis, BWI Airport, Columbia, Germantown, Monroe Street Market, Arlington, Reston and Springfield locations remain open. What I am hearing is that local taco chain Surfside will move into the BGR space.

Bethesda construction update: St. Elmo Apartments (Photos)

Construction of the St. Elmo Apartments has gotten off to a slower-than-expected start, due to some initial disagreements with an adjoining property owner about the excavation and shoring techniques to be used. There were signs of life at the site yesterday, however. A Crane Service Company mobile crane was brought in to assist.

New CVS Pharmacy opens in downtown Bethesda

Bethesda's newest CVS Pharmacy has opened at 7235 Wisconsin Avenue. Formerly a Riggs and PNC Bank, the store now appears in the CVS app directory. Signage identifying the managers of the store and pharmacy has been posted. Enjoy the upscale environment of this unique CVS, with chandeliers left over from the bank era.