Mayor Williams is blogging again, and actually, today’s entry is fascinating. The Mayor goes through his mailbox for his readers, detailing the number of letters and their divisions, as well as some of his actual responses. Transparent government isn’t easy to find, and rarer still in action, but it’s nice to see the Mayor and his staff working hard on behalf of their citizens.

Keep it up Mr. Mayor. I’m digging the blog, and I know you’re busy, but could you post a bit more often than once a month?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Wtf?!

Originally uploaded by tbridge.

There I was, picking up flank steak and wine at Whole Foods in Clarendon, when I was struck by something absolutely bizarre. I’m used to seeing Tabloids and Fitness Mags. I’m even not surprised to see Rachael Ray’s new magazine in the stand.

But Wired?

At the checkout? Really?

Now, don’t get me wrong, I love Wired, I think it’s great, but I’m astounded to see it at the checkout stand, I always thought it was a bookstore or newsstand kind of magazine.

I could see this happening in San Francisco. I could see this happening in Seattle. But DC? Really?

There are some thoughts here:

• Is this a Tech-Becoming-Mainstream issue?
• Or perhaps a Women Enjoy Technology, too, issue?
• Maybe they got the wrong shipment and just decided to roll with it…

I dunno, but I’m not sure I’m willing to accept that my complete geekdom is normal.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

In July, the second of the clubs that marked my DC nightlife of the nineties and beyond will close. Both in a corner of SE that is witnessing rapid development.

First to close was the immortal Tracks, where I enjoyed countless nights of industrial mayhem and gothic malaise on Thursday nights from college onward, bulldozed for office development some years back.

And now Nation will close, also making way for development as that area metamorphoses into the new stadium neighborhood. The final weekend will be July 14-16. And so it continues – out with the dance clubs, in with the Starbucks.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs Continue reading →

photo courtesy of WPAC

Early last month I blogged about one of the Wall Snatchers exhibits, Graffiti Analysis, and mentioned the show. Now your window of opportunity to see it is about to close. Your heel-dragging has paid off something, however, as WPAC has scheduled a panel discussion since the opening. “Fresh Canvases: How the Street is Changing Our View of Art” will happen at the show location on Sunday, March 26, the last day of the exhibit from 4pm to 6pm. At 8pm your chance to see the show will come to a close, unless one of the artists brings the exhibit to your street-corner.

The exhibit continues at 3307 M Street, Georgetown this Friday from 6 – 10 pm, Saturday & Sunday 12 – 8 pm.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Since leaving my fulltime employment in late February, I’ve made two really crucial discoveries about the area in which I live:

1. Arlington County Meter Readers are absolutely, positively psychic when it comes to parking meters. I’ve gotten two $25 tickets in the last month because I was less than 10 minutes late to pay my meter. Two. When you think that I spend as little as two or three days a week at my new “office”, this is pretty astounding. Clearly, I need a better method of tracking time. $25 is more than I’d pay for parking all day in the District…
2. Arlington County does sell this really kickass Smart Cards for Parking Meters. You give them $20, they give you a card that has $20 in meter cash on it. Put the card in the meter, and it charges the meter with more time the longer you leave the card in the slot, up to the max for the meter. Sure is better than carrying change, but I wish it helped me remember when I was out of time…

Hopefully my other discoveries will be a little less…expensive.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

There’s a protest at the Afghan Embassy tomorrow at noon. But it’s not for anything I would have expected.

Apparently, you can commit apostasy in Afghanistan. As in, it’s a crime. As in, atheism or christianity or buddhism or shintoism, they’re all crimes. For which they’ll kill you.

But yeah, protest at the embassy tomorrow. I may not agree that any one religion has primacy over the rest, but I certainly don’t think a state ought to choose which religion gets protected status. If you’re interested, there’s a group meeting at the embassy at noon.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

No. Not the President.

No, Dick Cheney’s not there either. Karl Rove’s on vacation in Tibet working on his political zen.

Okay, look, it’s not someone who works there, I promise.

Some guy threw a package onto the North Lawn of the White House and caused the Secret Service to go from ultra-prickly to really effing paranoid until they caught the guy and dragged him off in cuffs. It is, however, safe to go near the White House again. Just not too near.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

“Hey Tiff, your assignment today, ” my boss said to me this morning, “is to use ‘Alfonso Soriano’ and ‘punk-ass bitch’ in the same sentence as many times as possible.”

“What happened?” my coworker asked. So we told him.

The Nationals want Soriano to play left field instead of second base, his usual position. So at an exhibition game, Soriano SITS ON HIS BITCH ASS and leaves left field empty, just to make a point. Because he’s a punk-ass bitch.

Of course, it should come as no surprise to anyone, since he started whining before he even reported to Spring Training. Because he’s a punk-ass bitch.

And you know, it wasn’t the wisest move on the part of the Nats to bring in NINE second basemen, because then you have to move people away from their preferred positions, but you know, maybe the other 8 second basement aren’t punk-ass bitches.

Now, you know I generally leave the sportswriting here at Metroblogging DC to Tom, William, and occasionally even Desert Island Boy. But Alfonso Soriano’s punk-ass bitch behavior gets a rise out of even me, casual baseball fan that I am. Just as entertaining as my assignment for the day is the Post’s take on it, in which the Style section asks HR consultants for advice on how the Nationals and the punk-ass bitch can reach agreement.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

In a move that shocked precisely no one, the National Weather Service rescinded the early Winter Storm Warning when it turned out that their meteorologists were yet again absolutely, completely wrong about the storm that was coming into DC today. Turns out we might just get a wee bit of slush and a few flurries.

Oops. Their bad.

No word on whether or not Topper Shutt and his cabal of forecasters are behind this revocation.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

There was near-riot on the utility commission last week when BGE tried to jack up rates 72% for their customers this summer. Maryland State Curmudgeon, er, Controller, William Schaefer had kittens at the hearing, insinuating that perhaps the utility commissioners were in bed with the power companies, causing a lot of people to react as if they’d been slapped in public, in what might be my favorite public embarrassment campaign in recent history. But BGE has caved on their rates, promising lower increases for this summer’s customers though the final total increase isn’t yet available.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Friend of Metroblogging DC Ben Domenech has started a new blog for the Washington Post called “Red America“, hoping to counter some of the accusations of bias on the part of Dan Froomkin’s “White House Briefing” which has been accused of severe Left bias by, well, anyone with eyes.

Anyhow, we wish Ben the best of luck with his new blog, and we’re hoping he’ll sneak us an invite to all the cool Post parties and happy hours.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Bad: trying to sell four day old cupcakes at new pastry prices

Worse: trying to sell GREEN four day old bagels at new pastry prices. I guess the upside is that if they’re still trying to sell them a week from now they won’t have changed color.

I will never buy baked goods there again.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

With the Dominican Republic out of the World Baseball Classic, Alfonso Soriano (who lost his starting spot on the DR’s roster when they realized he can’t actually hit) came back to the Nats camp today, where he promptly refused to take the outfield position he was assigned by Manager Frank Robinson. The Nats are threatening something that I’ve literally not heard of in the 18 years that I’ve been following baseball: putting him on the Disqualified List.

I wasn’t even aware there was a Disqualified List, but essentially, it’s a bunch of the players who are too stupid and/or stuck up to follow the club’s instructions with regard to playing every day in accordance with their contracts. Getting put on this list makes your contract null and void and it’s unlikely that you’ll see even dollar one, according to the Collective Bargaining Agreement that they Players Union has with Major League Baseball.

Let’s see. $10,000,000 to play in Left Field instead of at Second… Or $0 to watch from home and maybe, if you’re lucky, get a contract with a club next season. Well, $0 + local cable service, or a bar tab somewhere in town. I dunno about you, but I’d take league minimum to play the outfield at RFK, even if it meant taking a bit of a pride hit, myself.

So, Mr. Bowden…we traded our leadoff hitter, a bench outfielder, and a pitching prospect to get this Bozo? How’s that supposed to work out?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

With venerable football commish Paul Tagliabue hanging it up after 16 years on the job, everyone’s wondering, “Who’s gonna fill Tags’ shoes?”

The best rumor we’ve heard yet: DC transplant and Secretary of State Condi Rice.

Says AOL Black Voices Columnist Roy Johnson:

Four years ago, she told The New York Times she’d definitely be interested in the gig, but “not before Paul Tagliabue is ready to step down. I want to say that for the record.”

Last year she told Jonathan Karl of ABC News: “I’m going to try to be a good Secretary of State and see if I can do this job well, and then we’ll see if the NFL is open.”

Besides, this way we can take over NFL Europe in time for the new season!

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Those wacky MOCs (Members of Congress to you) may be gone on recess this week (how quaint that they call it that, so kindergarten of them), but that doesn’t mean that there isn’t a circus still in town.

Today at 1pm you can see actual elephants trudging along the “Pachyderm Parade” on the Hill, disembarking from a special circus train at Union Station and heading up to the DC Armory as part of the Ringling Brothers sojourn there this week, and then next week at MCI-I-mean-Verizon Center.

Now I was seriously traumatized as a child at the Ringling Brothers & Barnum & Bailey Circus (“Hey, that isn’t a real unicorn! It’s a goat! Whaaaaaa!!!!”) but if you are fine with the spectacle of real elephants on the Hill instead of the usual kind, head on over.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

There’s a showdown coming between WMATA and Tourmobile over the Mall. The DC Circulator is expanding to include a route along Independence and Constitution along the Mall and stopping at each of the Museums as well as the National Gallery buildings. Each ride will cost only a dollar and service will start tomorrow, just in time for peak tourist season. But there’s a problem here. The District has given exclusive license for transit along the Mall to Tourmobile, who are currently raping the public for $20/day for transit around the monument, making boatloads of cash off the tourist industry.

Expect some serious lawsuit action to ensue. Me, I’m on the side of the free market, and removing the exclusive agreement with Tourmobile.

Bring on the new Circulator!

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Though my brackets are a complete and total mess, what a great mess it is. Georgetown and George Mason are into the Sweet Sixteen, upsetting Ohio State and UNC in the round of 32. Georgetown absolutely manhandled the Buckeyes today and I’m betting M Street is a bit of a mess with all kinds of people out and about. GMU’s game was a bit closer, but the upsets of the 2 and 3 seeds is a huge deal.

Way to go, GMU and Georgetown!

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Some folks in this town live the Pennsylvania Ave life, going between the Capitol and the White House and Foggy Bottom beyond. Some folks like and die on Wisconsin Ave between Georgetown and Bethesda. Me, I live and die on Route 7.

All six years that I’ve lived in the DC area, I’ve had this peculiar relationship with Route 7 in Northern Virginia. It’s four lanes, and it stretches from the Washington Masonic Memorial all the way out to Leesburg, where it’s called the Leesburg Pike and all the names in between. On that road is my Church, my Target, my dry cleaners, my Starbucks, my gas stations…the list goes on.

But I hate driving that road. There’s traffic up the ying-yang, but I can’t avoid it! If I want Elevation Burger, there’s no way around except the beltway. Heading to Church on Sunday? No way round. There’s just too much that lies along that critical corridor and so I sit there and suffer in my car, tuning in and tuning out. There must be a better way.

It strikes me, though, that we all have this bizarre dysfunctional agreement with our streets. With 14th St into the District. Mass Ave. Connecticut. 16th Street. They are the center of our lives, and yet we loathe them so. How’s that supposed to work?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

On Friday, my car and I were involved in a little, er, “incident” with Arlington County. I learned a number of lessons during the odyssey I undertook in trying to straighten it out, and I thought I might share them with you.

Between Courthouse Metro and Virginia Square, there is only one Chevy Chase Bank. Only one, at the Virginia Square station. There are, however, FOUR IRISH BARS. And for it being lunchtime on St. Patrick’s Day, none of them looked particularly busy. Could it be that the Irish Bar Market in Arlington has finally been saturated?

WMATA actually has a cool Lost-and-Found ticketing system where you can input descriptive information about the item you lost, the day you lost it, and where, and they’ll check incoming items against the database for 30 days. Neat! The problem is, it takes several days for items to reach the Lost and Found office, which is in Silver Spring, and only open odd hours. And if you’re like me and lose your keys, you’re better off just going there, because no matter how much detail you give about your keys, they think all keyrings are the same. (Mine contains keys to my place, Tom’s place, my office, my car… I’m screwed.)

Arlington County employees are actually pretty friendly and helpful and efficient. DMV employees, on the other hand….

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Constantly passing all these historical locations is one of the things that’s odd about living here to this Miami boy. On a regular basis I drive up and down route 28 near Dulles airport and pass signs for civil war battlefields. A short drive south of my office is the location of the first land battle of the war. That feels a little odd, but there’s always history to go see if you’re willing to travel a bit. The truly odd feeling is getting halfway across the street in Clarendon on the way to a burrito and coming across a plaque about the Arlington Line. While I am standing under a streetlight and waiting for the DON’T WALK sign to fade, I am where about a thousand soldiers and forty canon waited for someone to shoot at two hundred and fifty years ago.

Compare that to spending most of your childhood in a house built on land that was swamp when Kennedy was assassinated and learning to drive on roads that weren’t planned yet when Nixon resigned. Comedian Eddie Izzard does a routine mocking Miamians for going on about restoring all the Art Deco to how it looked “over fifty years ago!” In our defense, though, before Henry Flagler took an interest in the Miami area in the 1890s there were less than 1,000 people in the area. Of course we were impressed by buildings half that old. We don’t get signs about what the citizenry were doing in that location two hundred years ago. We didn’t have citizens there two hundred years ago.

I like it up here, where the history comes from.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs