FRIENDSHIP HEIGHTS METRO STATION ESCALATOR SHUT DOWN (PHOTOS) #WMATA #DC

An escalator between the bus bays and underground landing at the Friendship Heights Metro station has been walled off. A modernization project will keep the escalator offline through July 19, 2014, according to WMATA.

BETHESDA RESTAURANTS OPEN CHRISTMAS 2013 - CHRISTMAS DAY DINNER

What restaurants are open for Christmas dinner in Bethesda? The closure this coming weekend of Du-par's Hamburger Hamlet eliminates one Christmas Day dining option in Bethesda. Not to worry, I'm here with a guide to Bethesda restaurants open on Christmas this year. You have a surprisingly wide range of cuisines to choose from, with the only traditional turkey available from a Mexican restaurant, ironically:

Brasserie Monte Carlo

Open 11:30 AM - 8:30 PM

3-course $33 menu

Choose from Sea Bass, Duck, Korubata Pork, Beef Medallions, or Vegetarian for main course.

Positano Ristorante

Open 12:00 - 9:00 PM
Italian.

Rosa Mexicano (Chevy Chase/NW DC)

Includes Roast Turkey and Sticky Pumpkin Cake.
Mexican.

Ruth's Chris Steak House

Open 2:00 PM - 8:30 PM

A filet or ribeye will come with 2 cold water North American lobster tails. 

$47.95/57.95 per person

Sushi-ko (Friendship Heights/Chevy Chase)

Japanese/sushi.

Yuzu Bethesda

Japanese/sushi.

SNOW, ICE REMOVAL SUPPLIES AT STROSNIDERS IN BETHESDA

What little snow there is won't be going anywhere for awhile. Freezing temperatures make snow and ice removal a real chore.

Strosniders Hardware in the Bradley Shopping Center has what you need to tackle the job.  Ice scrapers, ice melting pellets and snow shovels are all there.

But they also have heated stair and front walk mats that will melt away snow and ice without chemicals being left behind for kids or pets.

WHERE ARE THE BLING RING BURGLARS - BACK IN NW DC?

The Bling Ring burglars have been quiet for a couple of weeks, after breaking into homes in several exclusive neighborhoods in Bethesda and NW DC.

A pair of recent burglaries in NW are worth noting, for those attempting to track the whereabouts of the Bling Ring.

This past Sunday, August 5, break-ins occurred in the 1700 block of Surrey Lane NW, in the wealthy Foxhall enclave, and in the 3900 block of Reno Road NW.

It is unknown if these crimes are related to the previous Bling Ring spree.  But both fit their pattern of targeting expensive, old-money neighborhoods.

BLING RING BURGLARS HIT SAME BLOCK OF DORSET AVENUE 2 NIGHTS IN A ROW!

Residents of the 4500 block of Dorset Avenue in the town of Somerset are shaken up, after the suspected Bling Ring burglars returned for the second night in a row to their street.

According to SpotCrime data, burglars broke into one home Thursday, July 26, and then returned Friday to break into another residence on the same block.

Apparently, the Ring thinks there's a lot of Bling on Dorset Avenue, as they continue to target exclusive, "old-money" enclaves in Bethesda and Potomac, after starting their spree in NW DC's Spring Valley.

BLING RING BURGLARY SPREE CONTINUES WITH SOMERSET BREAK-IN

A recent wave of burglaries, known as the "Bling Ring," for its members' apparent preference for exclusive, "old money" neighborhoods, has victimized Spring Valley in NW DC, Kenwood and other Bethesda communities, and Potomac.

Thursday, another break-in possibly associated with the Bling Ring occurred in the 4500 block of Dorset Avenue in Somerset.

The incident was recorded in SpotCrime's database, which draws on a live feed from the county police department.

BLING RING BURGLARS HEAD WEST TO POTOMAC

The Bling Ring burglars continued their habit of moving westward this week, breaking into 2 Potomac homes.

Tuesday, they hit the 10500 block of Stable Lane in the River Falls area.  Wednesday, they followed up with a break-in on Willowbrook Drive.

The first burglaries were in Spring Valley in NW DC, then they moved to Kenwood, then west again to the Whitman neighborhood, and now to Potomac.  That doesn't mean they won't make a U-turn and hit Bethesda again, so continue to lock doors, windows and vehicles to protect yourself.

ARE SPRING VALLEY "BLING RING" BURGLARS NOW CASING BETHESDA?

Burglary alert!  After 2 break-ins in Northwest DC's swanky Spring Valley last Tuesday, a third burglary was reported in Bethesda's even-swankier  Kenwood neighborhood two days later.

Burglars apparently after high-end loot invaded posh homes in the 3800 block of Fordham Road, NW  and the 4600 block of Verplanck Place, NW, on July 17.

On Thursday, another burglary took place in the 5800 block of Highland Drive, in ultra-exclusive Kenwood.

A fourth burglary on Battery Lane does not seem to fit the pattern of the first 3.

However, having heard no announcement about this from authorities, I want to give readers a heads-up about the possible border-crossing of burglars into Bethesda.  It's never a bad idea to lock your doors, windows and vehicle to ward off crooks out for easy pickins.

Stay tuned for further updates if anymore evidence of this Bling Ring surfaces.

BETHESDA / NW DC

CRIME WAVE UPDATE

Ski Mask Gang Still Laying Low

Another week without any sign of the Ski Mask Gang in Bethesda or NW Washington.

The only relevant crimes (robbery, armed robbery, assault) were:

From Montgomery County Police:

Armed Robbery, 900 Block of Wayne Avenue, Silver Spring, 3/31/12, 3:45 AM

Suspects: 3 black males

The fact that it was 3 armed robbers certainly deserves attention, and the location is not that far from Bethesda and Friendship Heights. However, no mention of ski masks.

From SpotCrime (whose CEO tells me they get their reports directly from an MCPD stream):

Robbery, 4400 block of Willard Ave., Chevy Chase, 4/7/12

This was right in the sweet spot for the Ski Mask Gang locationwise. But no mention of more than one robber, guns, or ski masks.

So the Ski Mask Gang remains at large another week. Next week, it will have been 3 months since they struck in the Park Bethesda parking lot, and about 2 months since a confirmed robbery attempt by them in the Western Avenue area.

BETHESDA / NW DC

CRIME WAVE UPDATE

Ski Mask Gang Continues to

Elude Capture after Winter

Crime Spree

Another week has passed without developments in the case of the 3 masked, armed robbers who struck in Friendship Heights, Northwest Washington, and the Westbard area during January and February.

As you recall, last week there was a report of two armed robbers near the Van Ness Metro in NW.

There are no related crimes in this week's Montgomery County Police crime report.

So once again, we turn to the unofficial SpotCrime report:

Assault, 6900 block of Arlington Road at Bradley Blvd., 3/29/12

Assault, 4900 block of Newport Ave. at Massachusetts Ave., 3/30/12

Assault, 3700 block of East West Highway at Cypress Pl., 3/30/12

Theft, 5300 block of Westbard Ave., 4/2/12

*I'm not typically listing thefts as related to the Ski Mask Gang, but given the crime spike in the Westbard area, I'm listing any serious crimes in that location

Assault, 4200 block of Massachusetts Ave. NW, 4/2/12

Robbery, 5000 block of Wisconsin Ave. NW, 3/29/12

Nothing here fits the description of the masked trio.

Westwood Shopping Center Update: Capital Properties kept large sections of the parking lot pitch dark for another week, as of last night. The company remains aloof regarding safety concerns of patrons crossing the darkened lot from Park Bethesda and Westbard Mews to reach the Giant and Rite Aid.

BETHESDA / NW DC

CRIME WAVE

UPDATE

Has the Park Bethesda Ski Mask

Gang Reemerged on DC Side of Line?

Another Robert Dyer @ Bethesda Row Exclusive!!!

The January 19 Park Bethesda armed robbers remain atop Bethesda's "Most Wanted" list.

No incidents fitting their description (3 robbers using firearms, wearing ski masks, assaulting and robbing victim of property) are found in the Montgomery County Police official crime report.

However...

Let's check SpotCrime's unofficial report:

Assault, 5000 block of Dalton Road, Bethesda, 3/24/12

Robbery, 4200 block of Connecticut Ave. NW, DC, 3/28/12

***Armed Robbery, 4000 block of Connecticut Ave. NW, DC, 3/28/12

According to SpotCrime:

Metropolitan Police Department officers reported an armed robbery "at gunpoint" at 2:01 PM on Tuesday, March 28. Suspects described as 2 black males, who fled the scene and are still at large.

This sounds somewhat like the ski mask gang, fits their m.o. of operating near Metro stations on the Red Line (Van Ness, in this case), but there are only two robbers mentioned. And there is no specific mention of them wearing masks. Is this a different group, or have they lost their Third Musketeer?

Were they the same guys who committed that second robbery on Connecticut that same day? That second incident (above) does not mention "armed" but it is reminiscent of how the ski mask gang struck on Wisconsin Avenue one night, the victim escaped, and then they struck again just a few blocks south.

It's a waiting game at this point. Certainly, there were no armed robbery incidents reported in nearby NW or Bethesda for several weeks. No official information on this incident is available, which is strange, because the SpotCrime source for this says the robbery was reported by MPD units.

No crimes of any kind were reported in the Westbard Sector this past week. Police remain on patrol in the area.

Nothing's changed at the Westwood Shopping Center; large portions of the parking lot were pitch black again for the entire week, as of last night. Park Bethesda residents must brave the darkness to walk over to the Giant or Rite Aid, as Capital Properties - for reasons still known only to them - simply refuses to activate full lighting on the property at night.

BETHESDA / NW DC

CRIME WAVE UPDATE

Park Bethesda Ski Mask Gang

Still at Large

Another Robert Dyer @ Bethesda Row Exclusive!!!

Another week without an armed robbery has passed, and the Montgomery County Police official crime report contains no incidents related to the 3 armed, ski mask robbers who struck in the Park Bethesda parking lot January 19.

Let's check the unofficial SpotCrime report for any incidents that might relate to the Ski Mask Gang or a similar group:

Robbery, 4400 block of Reservoir Rd., NW, DC, 3/18/12

Assault, 7900 block of Woodmont Ave., Bethesda, 3/19/12

Assault, Bethesda Metro Center, 3/17/12

Assault, 9600 block of Forest Rd., Bethesda, 3/19/12

Assault, 5800 block of Conway Rd., Bethesda, 3/16/12

None of these sound like the ski mask trio. Police continue stepped up patrols in the Westbard area. It seems that the ski mask folks are laying low indefinitely. Meanwhile, Capital Properties maintained its reduced lighting policy in the Westwood Shopping Center parking lot, which reduces safety for patrons at night. Except for a short return of the lights two weeks ago, large portions of the lot have been pitch black at night for more than a month.

BETHESDA / NW DC

CRIME WAVE

UPDATE

No New Armed Robberies to Report,

Capital Properties Takes

Westwood Shopping Center

Back to Dark Ages

Another Robert Dyer @ Bethesda Row Exclusive!!!

The Jan. 19 Park Bethesda armed, masked trio is still at large. No armed robberies fitting the gang's method of operation have been reported.

Let's examine any other crimes within the group's operating area, which centers on the Western Avenue border between Maryland and the District. Specifically, assaults, robberies and auto thefts. This trio clearly has utilized vehicles, given the distance of the Park Bethesda from the nearest Metro station. Criminals in this situation could make use of stolen cars, and switch them as necessary.

Assault, 5100 block of Dalecarlia Place, Bethesda, 3/13/2012 (SpotCrime)

Assault, 7359 Wisconsin Avenue, Bethesda, 3/13/2012 (SpotCrime)

Robbery, 2800 block of New Mexico Avenue, NW, DC, 3/13/2012 (SpotCrime)

Assault, 4900 block of Fairmont Avenue, Bethesda, 3/11/2012 (SpotCrime)

Assault, 4900 block of Fairmont Avenue, Bethesda, 3/10/2012 (SpotCrime)

Robbery, 4800 block of Nebraska Avenue, NW, DC, 3/9/2012 (SpotCrime)

The only notable incident reported by the Montgomery County Police was a theft of vehicle at Macarthur Blvd. and Brickyard Rd., outside of the Park Bethesda robbers' area of activity.

In other news, Capital Properties bizarrely has turned off the lights in one-third of the parking area at the Westwood Shopping Center. Apparently, they think the community is not intelligent enough to realize the lights are off. Once again, it is a dark and dangerous trip to the grocery and drug stores for residents of Park Bethesda and Westbard Mews, who walk across the darkened area of the lot.

After Friendship Heights retailers agreed to leave on more exterior lighting, and Pepco replaced some faulty streetlights, it is beyond embarrassing for Capital Properties to decrease public safety in the Westbard area by extinguishing lights that have been lit at night for decades.

The lights have been off three nights, as of Thursday night. Lighting remains on in parking areas directly in front of stores in the shopping center, as it did during the three week blackout that ended eight days ago.

Now that the lights are out again, nearby residents are wondering what Capital Properties' message is to the neighborhood, even as the developer hopes to win community support for redevelopment of the Westbard sector. Not a great way to go about winning support!

BETHESDA / NW DC

CRIME WAVE UPDATE

Capital Properties Restores Full

Lighting to

Westwood Shopping Center

Parking Lot

Another Robert Dyer @ Bethesda Row Exclusive!!!

The big news is that Capital Properties has heard and responded on the issue of lighting at the Westwood Shopping Center on Westbard Avenue.

Three weeks ago last night, about a third of the venerable retail center's parking lot was suddenly plunged into darkness. The cutoff of those area's lights was particularly questionable given that an armed assault and robbery had occurred January 19, directly across the street in the Park Bethesda parking lot. Since the Park Bethesda masked assailants are still at large, and are now known to await victims in parking areas among other settings, many wanted to know why that side of the lot would be blacked out. Furthermore, Park Bethesda residents regularly cross that side of the lot to reach the Giant and Rite Aid, because the only signaled crosswalk is at the shopping center's property line.

Regular readers know that I have been reporting on this story since shortly after the blackout began. With increased concerns about crime in the area, the timing of the lighting reduction was not a great community relations move.

The good news is that Capital Properties has responded and turned the lights back on. Park Bethesda, Westwood Tower and Westbard Mews residents can once again safely cross the lot, and Westbard Avenue is once again well-lit, as it has been for decades, by the shopping center's lights.

It was a particularly timely decision, because 1) I was about to write this story noting that the lights had been out for a third full week, and 2) The Gazette had just published a story which reported that retail properties near Western Avenue, and Pepco, were improving lighting in that area, which has been a hot spot in this recent Bethesda/Northwest DC crime wave.

But on Westbard, you had lighting already in place. Someone had simply decided to turn it off.

There have been no official incidents reported in the last week that match the method of operation of the Park Bethesda trio - masks, guns, assault, and theft of property from the victim.

Here is what unofficial SpotCrime is reporting that in any way relates to the Park Bethesda robbers:

Robbery, 3900 block of Morrison Street, NW, 3/6/2012

(this would be the 2nd hit on Morrison since this crime wave started)

Assault, Parking Garage 40, 4935 St. Elmo Avenue, 3/4/2012

Assault, 4200 block of Wisconsin Avenue, NW, 3/2/2012

Assault, 5800 block of Johnson Avenue (Bethesda), 3/6/2012

(that would be a stretch for them; they've stuck within walking distance of Metro stations with the exception of the Park Bethesda incident)

Remember, those are not official police reports, but they are out there, and you can never have too much information. These unofficial reports suggest a fair increase in assaults in downtown Bethesda, if you add in the one from Wisconsin and Hampden last week.

In any case, the more dots you can place on a map, the easier it is to connect them, and ultimately complete a picture.

Only the Morrison robbery sounds remotely like a match.

Montgomery County Police continue to have a greater uniformed presence in the Westbard area. In fact, I saw two police cruisers when I was at the shopping center. Police have said tactical units are also working in the area. Again, this is a big reason why no further armed robberies have been reported since those efforts began.

With the lights restored, a continued police presence, and no new armed robberies, West Bethesda is likely feeling safer at the moment.

WEST BETHESDA

CRIME WAVE UPDATE

No Armed Robberies Reported in Latest

Police Report; Unofficial Reports of Assaults, Robberies

Another Robert Dyer @ Bethesda Row Exclusive!!!

Montgomery County Police continue stepped up uniformed patrols and tactical operations in the Westbard area. No armed robberies were reported in that vicinity.

An unofficial crime reporting website lists some crimes not included in the official report.

Remember, the Park Bethesda robbers were 3 individuals, armed with at least one gun, wearing ski masks, and usually assault their victim. A group matching this method of operation has struck other times on both sides of the Western Avenue border since January.

So, we're looking for armed robbery reports primarily, and assaults or robberies in crime reports.

Here is what SpotCrime lists under those categories since my update last Friday:

Assault at 7300 Wisconsin Avenue near Hampden Lane. February 27.

Robbery at 4500 block of Wisconsin Ave. NW, February 27.

Assault at 4900 block of Sentinel Dr., February 27.

"Theft of vehicle" at 5100 block of River Road, February 25.

County police representatives have stressed that online crime reporting websites not affiliated with actual police departments are not necessarily accurate. I simply present these cases so that citizens can be alert to suspicious activity, and continue to be aware of their surroundings while the Park Bethesda robbers are still at large. SpotCrime provides no detail, so there is no positive indication of those robbers' involvement in these cases. However, they fall within the range of criminal activity so far displayed by that operation.

In related news, last evening was the 14th straight night that Capital Properties darkened large portions of the Westwood Shopping Center parking lot, despite recent crime and safety concerns. It is not a winning public relations strategy with the community, and I am aware of no other shopping center in Bethesda having reduced its lighting, despite the county's Draconian energy tax.

POLICE REPORT:

MASKED ROBBERS

MATCHING DESCRIPTION

OF WESTBARD ASSAILANTS

STRUCK TWICE FEB. 13

Park Bethesda Suspects Remain at Large,

May Be Responsible for Bethesda/NW DC Attacks

Another Robert Dyer @ Bethesda Row Exclusive!!!

A trio of armed and dangerous masked men may have attempted more than one armed robbery on February 13, in the Friendship Heights/West Bethesda area. It had previously been reported that a robbery occurred in the 5200 block of Western Avenue that evening. But the latest crime report indicates the same group may have tried - and failed - to rob another victim the same night.

According to the report, three masked, black males assaulted a pedestrian in the 5500 block of Wisconsin Avenue at 9:45 PM. Wearing ski masks, they were unsuccessful in obtaining personal property from the victim.

Presumably, they then walked to Western Avenue and attacked a second victim, this time successfully.

As reported here this week, police continue stepped up patrols in the Westbard area. They also continue to work with the Metropolitan Police Department, as the crime wave has hit both jurisdictions along the Western Avenue corridor. Tactical units are assisting on both sides of the border. Meanwhile, Westwood Shopping Center owner Capital Properties left large portions of its parking lot dark for the 8th consecutive night, casting a shadow over Westbard Ave. Patrons, especially those walking over from the Park Bethesda apartments, are at greater risk without the additional lighting.