Bethesda Actually

This is a big deal folks — Montgomery County Council has just endorsed major revisions to its zoning laws. According to various reports, the MCC has taken steps that some are describing as a key stage in efforts to revise the zoning laws in our area.

The new proposed laws are being described quite differently with some people suggesting that they will positively impact efforts to move White Flint and Rockville Pike away from their strip mall feel towards a Bethesda type layout with mixed commercial, residential and green space in tighter areas. Other folks feel that these proposed zoning changes are really problematic because they include things like an increase in the allowed height of buildings — some of these critics fear that the White Flint and Pike area will look more like Rosslyn (pictured above) and your more typical American city than Bethesda.

While the laws may be designed with areas other than Bethesda in mind, I’m quite concerned that they could lead to an increase in height of buildings here. Our community is really well designed now and I’d be concerned if builders had the option to build as high as 300 feet.

The WP has some good details on the initial process here. You can be sure that here at Bethesda Actually we will be digging into this issue and reporting back to you in the weeks and months ahead.

Let us know what you think — would you be for or against laws that would allow the construction of buildings of 300 feet in the Bethesda area (our current highest buildings are about 200 feet according to the WashPost).

At a time when car companies are making news for all the wrong reasons we wanted to bring a positive story to the attention of the Bethesda Actually community. According to a release by I-newswire, EuroMotorcars in Bethesda (and EMC in Germantown) have “received the prestigious Mercedes-Benz Best of the Best Dealer Recognition Award based on their outstanding performance in 2009.”

Although neither of your intrepid Bethesda Actually team own a car, we have heard good things from friends who have been fortunate enough to buy a car at EuroMotors. We have heard lots of good things about the service and this quote from Ernst Lieb, president and CEO of Mercedes-Benz USA reflects the good work of the Bethesda and Germantown dealerships:

“These dealers represent the essence of the Mercedes-Benz brand: an enduring commitment to excellence combined with an entrepreneurial spirit and the absolute dedication to customer satisfaction….These are dealers who believe, as we do, that the ultimate measure of success is not only business acumen but also meeting the expectations of each and every customer every time – no exceptions.”

Well done gang!

Image by Keith Allison

(Image licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic)

I know that this news broke a few days ago but as Antawn Jamison heads to Cleveland and a partnership with King James we wanted to wish him the best of luck. Antawn lived in Bethesda and I’m sure he will miss this place. Cleveland is fun (and on occasion it does Rock) but there isn’t a neighborhood like our one over there.

Our friends at GGW do a nice job of detailing the story but the bottom line is that our Maryland State Delegate, Bill Bronrott, is working with a colleague to have the word “accident” replaced by the word “crash” in the state laws. This may seem like a small thing but David Alpert makes a good case for this bill and similar legislation. Take a look and let us know what you think.

Just wanted to share the schedule of games being shown today at the Harp and Fiddle on Cordell Ave. As I mentioned last week it is a super place to have a late lunch and watch these midweek Champions League games and to catch other interesting matches. Today they are showing the defending Champions League holders Barcelona play Stuttgart (same day delay). They are also showing the English Champions Man Utd in their game against West Ham. SO, if you have some time try and check out a match:

Just a quick post to let you know that your Bethesda Actually team is currently meeting at Cosi. Drop by if you are in the area and have a chat. Tom promises to buy the first couple of folks a coffee!

Walt Whitman High School in Bethesda won its first combined team title since 2002, in an event at the Martin Luther King Jr. Swim Center on Saturday.

According to reports, it came as no great surprise that Whitman girls won the Montgomery County Swimming and Diving Championships, even though it was the first time they had taken the title in at least 13 years.  But the Vikings boys’ fifth-place finish exceeded expectations and gave Whitman its first combined team title since 2002.

Whitman coach Geoff Schaefer said: “This was really unexpected, to win the combined.  The guys came out of nowhere and I didn’t even set it up to be like that. A lot of guys were in off events, trying to qualify more for [next week's Washington Metropolitan Interscholastic Swimming and Diving Championships].”

We’d just like to congratulate the girls and boys of Walt Whitman High School on their achievement!  You can read the full article here.

Veria, the yoga and health studios next door to the Lionsgate condominium complex, is closing its doors at the end of February. I just received a message from them (I recently bought a few yoga passes for my sisters birthday and am on their info list) and I must say I was a little surprised.

On the couple of occasions I have visited Veria I have enjoyed the experience. The teachers seem pretty good to me and the studio itself is nicely set up.

My only issue with Veria is that their class schedule is somewhat limited from a time perspective. While they have a few classes offered per day, the times were not always suitable for me (and I suspect other folks as well).

I really hope that we get a new yoga studio in that building but if we do let me suggest that the schedule of classes covers, as a priority, three key times — early morning (645am-745am), lunchtime (12-2pm) and after work (6pm-8pm). My feeling is that if a studio came into the area and offered a range of quality yoga classes in those slots they would do well. Once you have that base covered a good studio can expand out its list of classes.

If you hear any more about Veria or plans for that space let us know in the comments section or by email at bethesdaactually@gmail.com. Also feel free to share your impressions about Veria — what did they do well, what could they improve?

I love walking on the Crescent trail. I usually pick it up from downtown Bethesda (hear Barnes and Nobles) and take a walk for a few miles to get some much needed exercise or brush away the mental cobwebs. Unfortunately it is very difficult to get a proper walk in at the moment because the trail is still covered with snow in many areas. The Coalition for the Capital Crescent Trail is one site I  visit for news on trail conditions and they are reporting that it could take weeks to clear. If that leaves you feeling  gloomy you should take look back at the delightful pictures of the trail on our site or the Coalition site — the pics of just after the winter storm are delightful. Also console yourself with the fact that in a few weeks we will likely have an uptick in the temp which should wash away the snow and allow us to all walk/ run and bike the trail again!

Of course, while the snow on the trail interferes with my social walking, I know that for others it creates a real obstacle in their commuter route to work. This got me wondering whether folks have discovered alternative bike routes to work in DC and/ or Silver Spring?

Just a quick post about Foot Solutions in Bethesda. My better half badly sprained her ankle a couple of years ago and has had problems with it since the injury. We were wondering around Bethesda this morning and she wanted to pop into a couple of shops to look for sandals (optimistic I know considering that more snow is on deck for next week!). We went into foot solutions and had a very nice conversation with the staff person there. The staffer seemed really focused on what type of shoe would be appropriate for her foot and ran a 10 minute diagnostic. The staffer also went through a fairlt detailed explaination of the strengths and weaknesses of my wifes foot before suggesting what shoes could work for her.

I must say that we were pretty impressed — we didn’t end up buying anything today but the overall experience was a positive one.

Well, that’s all for now — we are continung to stroll around town and I’ll report in later.