Yearly Archives: 2009

Talkin' Transit, The Features
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Talkin’ Transit: Funding Galore!

Photo courtesy of
‘comfy’
courtesy of ‘philliefan99’

Stimulus and the Silver Line

The passage of the Stimulus Package has been a source of significant criticism from the Right, and some unnatural crowing from the Left, but it represents $90 Billion dollars of federal investment in transit systems all over the United States. The DC Metro area stands to pick up a bunch of those dollars to help out with various transit projects. Currently slated are $29 million to help with the Dulles Rail corridor project, which would be welcome assistance to get the project underway.

Supervisors in Fairfax approved the design of two of the new Silver line stations: Route 123 in Tysons, and Route 7 in Tysons. While there are four stations in the confines that need approval, the vote on the other two will take place on March 9th.

Nextbus

Greater Greater Washington and DCist picked up on the fact that there was some preliminary access to NextBus information for the District bus routes, but, no good deed going unpunished, the site was pulled under orders from Metro.

Metro suggests that the site will be back this summer, and available for public use at that time. It’s sad that Metro felt the need to clamp down, despite the fact that according to all reports, the system was working “like a charm,” and providing full functionality. Of course, David Alpert nails it: “At Metro, it’s better not to provide any information than to risk giving any wrong information.”

Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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A Long Overdue Facelift

Congo Embassy by maxedaperture

The Democratic Republic of Congo has finally decided to do some repairs on their dilapidated embassy.  Located on the corner of New Hampshire Avenue and S Street NW, it has been a bit of an eyesore in the Dupont Circle neighborhood.  Because the city has very little control over what a country can and cannot do with their embassy, this particular one has sat in neglect and abandonment for many years, becoming a home to squatters and rats.

According to Rob Halligan (who used to hold the position of ANC Commissioner) and his sources, the work permits “call for window replacement, stucco repair, roof replacement, including revising existing terra cotta tiles, and driveway replacing.”  There is no word about whether the embassy will remain vacant after the repairs are complete.

With these improvements and a new dog park in the works, the neighborhood is really shaping up for the better.

The Daily Feed
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Speaking of Starbucks

Bang! by Samer Farha

Last week we asked you to nominate the worst Starbucks in DC and we may now be able to name the winner: the 16th & U street location.

According to (an unprofessionally titled) article by NBC, a barista “accidentally shot himself in the leg Tuesday afternoon.”  There aren’t many details about what went down, but seeing as how I go there every morning and know some of the employees there, I’ll try to get to the bottom of this.  I have a hunch who the unnamed barista is, and the I’m not surprised that he a) was packing heat or b) shot himself.

We can only hope that his days at Starbucks are over and that we can go back to drinking our coffee without living in fear of an accidental discharge from behind the counter.  There are of course no guarantees that their service will improve.

Foggy Bottom, The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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SUV vs. Traffic Island

Snow. It turns us into adventurers. Some of us bundle up to walk the chill, white, stormy landscape like Arctic explorers, braving wind and cold for photos or milk and bread.

And others among us get adventure by roaring out of parking spaces and skidding over slush so that our big black Nissan Pathfinder SUVs end up jumping service road traffic islands in Foggy Bottom, skidding further to straddle the traffic islands like a large, obnoxious, diagonal monorail, before finally triumphing over traffic regulations and common sense.

Snow. It also turns some of us into bemused spectators.

Music, The Features
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Concert: Tapes ‘n Tapes

Tapes 'n Tapes at Rock and Roll Hotel
Tapes n Tapes at Rock and Roll Hotel by dcjasmine

“Is anyone else sweating through their pants?”

Although it might be hard to remember with our current snowpocalypse, Friday’s Tapes ‘n Tapes show at the Rock and Roll Hotel was on an unseasonably warm night, and frontman Josh Grier was feeling the heat. As more and more people packed into the sold-out venue, he wasn’t the only one sweating through his pants (as verified by a show of hands). Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Make sure your plate is clear

Photo courtesy of Me

courtesy of Me

With temps staying low today there’s not going to be as much melt as we’re used to. So make sure you brush off your car. This guy’s angling for a ticket for violating the requirement to keep your license plate visible and others are shedding huge chunks of snow and ice on the road. Aside from being dangerous – my darling fiancée saw a bus get a shattered windshield last year when a car lost a huge sheet of ice off its roof – both things can garner you a ticket.

Downtown, Essential DC, Special Events, The Daily Feed
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Cherry Blossoms A-Coming!

Blossoms

They’re coming! According to the just-held National Cherry Blossom Festival press conference this morning, the expected ‘bloom date’ is going to be…

April 3 through April 9! Keep in mind this is when 70 percent of the blossoms of the Yoshino Cherry  trees that surround the Tidal Basin are open.

Admit it, you all have been waiting for this. (Just like me.) And don’t forget that the actual Festival this year runs from March 28 through April 12, so remember to take lots of photos and drop them into our Flickr pool!

The Daily Feed
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Nats Single Game Tickets On Sale!


Ready for a crowd
Originally uploaded by afagen

The Nationals opened up single game tickets to the world this morning, meaning that anyone can buy tickets to Opening Day, or any of the 78 other home games that aren’t against the Red Sox. Why not the Red Sox series? Well, if you want those, they want an extra commitment of capital. So, if you want those seats, get ready to buy a ticket package, or scalp seats, or hit Craig’s List or StubHub or somewhere like that.

The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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Wherefore art thou, Express?

Photo courtesy of
‘Neither rain, nor sleet, nor snow…’
courtesy of ‘cruffo’

So maybe it was just me, but the Express was missing from my morning commute today. At my Metro entrance station this morning, there was a lone Examiner hander-outer man, and I only saw Examiners on the trains this morning. By the time I got to Union Station, there weren’t any Express papers in the paper stands, nor were there any Express hander-outer men (there are usually two!). I know some of you will understand my morning paper woes, the Examiner just doesn’t do it for me in the mornings, I want my Express!

Did you get your Express this morning? Was it just a weird coincidence that I couldn’t land one myself?

UPDATE 3:04 p.m. – WLDC author Tom just heard from Molly at the Washington Post, who reports that “today’s Express order was cut due to icy road conditions throughout the area. Normal distribution will resume tomorrow.” PHEW! Don’t play with me like that, Express!

Food and Drink, We Love Food
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We Love Food: Dino (II)

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Dino Sinage by Shawn.L on flickr

Last August, Tom and Tiff checked out Dino for Restaurant Week. I was jealous. It sounded delicious, and the menu changes seasonally, so a group of girlfriends and I chose Dino as our big Restaurant Week pick this go-round. We certainly weren’t disappointed. Dino, unlike most other places, was offering their entire menu for RW diners, along with crostini and a complimentary glass of grappa, limincello or muscato. It was a truly thrifty deal, and cheesy tasty to boot! Plus I love it when places embrace Restaurant Week for what it is, and make it worth the diners time by allowing us to try anything we want off the main menu. It enables a place to show off, and I always think it’s admirable when a restaurant  decides it can handle whatever the crowds throw at it.

We sat down at Dino and were immediately impressed- the menu is huge, and the choices can be overwhelming. There’s antipasti, oggi, pasta, formaggi, secondi, and plentiful options for dessert. The menu is rustic Italian featuring the flavors of Venice and Southern Tuscany – we were in for a treat. Continue reading →

24 in DC
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24 in DC: Episode 9&10 (6:00 to 8:00)

Photo courtesy of tiffany bridge
THIS is where the FBI field office is, Jack. Get it right.
courtesy of tiffany bridge

We’re trying something new this week – we’re going to use CoverItLive and have multiple ones of us going at once. Be merciful – we’re used to being able to press SAVE when we feel good about things, now we’re performing live without a net! We’ll be starting at 8 on the dot this time, so watch with us!

The Daily Feed
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Write Your Own Joke About Taking a Bite Out of McGruff

Photo courtesy of
‘McGruff’
courtesy of ‘NCinDC’

I cannot make this up: McGruff the Crime Dog, beloved crime-prevention mascot, is standing around at the corner of 14th St. and Spring Road NW, passing out flyers to a group of schoolchildren. All of the sudden, a Metrobus pulls over. The driver hops out, and after taking a moment to adjust his side mirrors, walks up to McGruff and punches him in the face with a closed fist.

Apparently the Metrobus driver, Shawn Brim, forgot that the Crime Dog is a creation of the National Crime Prevention Council as a character for use by police departments. If he had remembered this key fact, he would have realized that the person most likely to be in the McGruff suit is a cop. Surrounded by other cops. Who immediately jumped in their cruisers and pulled the bully over three blocks away.  Brim said he was just trying to be “funny,” but I fail to see how punching a costumed character in front of a bunch of children and police officers is anything other than “moronic.”

The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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Open Letter to Obama

Photo courtesy of
‘Snow Dog’
courtesy of ‘InspirationDC’

Obama, we’re in a fight. You know I love you, I’ve supported you through a lot – I even went to the Mall for you in the freezing cold. I danced around in celebration of you. I’ve basically been your biggest fan. But ever since you made fun of DC’s reaction to the snow, I’ve been mad.

Today should have been my get-off-work-free day, my spend-the-day-in my-jammies-in-front-of-DVR’d-Grey’s-Anatomy SNOW DAY, but instead, those big shots at the Office of Personnel Management had to go and prove to you that DC can handle this snow by only putting us on a 2 hour delay. OPM, I’ll have you know it’s still snowing, Arlington didn’t do poo to clear away the snow, and I stumbled my way down Clarendon to the delayed Metro and I’m pissed. Continue reading →

Talkin' Transit, The Daily Feed
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Google Maps Traffic Now Covers City Streets!

gtraffic.png

I went to go look at Google Maps to plot a route this afternoon, when I saw something that I’d not noticed before: Google Maps’ Traffic data now covers more than just the usual interstate and highway routes, it also covers some of the center-of-town major thoroughfares that you might be traveling on as you head through town. Dupont Circle, 16th St, Connecticut Ave, Independence and Constitution Ave are among those covered, but it also looks like Suitland Parkway, Route 1, Pennsylvania Ave, Route 7, and others are included in the makeover. How sweet is that?!

The Daily Feed
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Snow Day Flight Delays Decreasing

washington dc by wayan
Photo by Wayan

It seems that IAD is cleaning up after this morning’s mass cancellations. My new 5pm flight is still has an on time arrival to Dulles and on time departure for SFO.

The FAA Alert for IAD doesn’t mention any serious delays, either though the NYC Shuttles might be all off their schedules. LGA has 3+ hour delays making Amtrak a better option for your Northeast commute.

Good luck to everyone flying today…

The Features, Weekend Flashback
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Weekend Flashback: 2/27 – 3/2/09

Photo courtesy of mindgutter
North by East West, courtesy of mindgutter

No, you read that right – the title of this week’s flashback does include today. Because you know, it’s a surprise three-day weekend for some (Not me. Boo!) and there are already some great Snowpocalypse ’09 photos showing up in our Flickr pool. (Which, if you’ve not submitted any, what are you waiting for?)

The cold caught some of us by surprise, but by and large, didn’t kill anyone’s plans. Lots going on in the city, and you guys were out in force! So here’s an extra-large edition of the Flashback, chronicling the varied tastes of all our awesome area residents and regional visitors.

Continue reading →

Sports Fix, The Features
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Sports Fix: Snow Day Edition

Photo courtesy of
‘Caps Game Face-off’
courtesy of ‘Mr. T in DC’

Capitals
Record: 40-19-5
Last Two Weeks: 4-3
Place: 3rd in the Eastern Conference, 1st in the Southeast.

Just 18 regular season games remain for the still-strong Caps, it’s looking pretty good for a playoff berth. The Trade Deadline looms large this week, coming Wednesday afternoon at 3pm. Will the Caps wheel and deal, looking for a deadline deal? It’s not clear. They’re doing so well, that the only thing they might look for is someone in the net, but nothing will happen until Tuesday or so. The Caps are close to the salary cap, and are at their player contract limit, so this one may be much ado about nothing.

The Caps are on a three-game homestand this week, facing Carolina, Toronto and Pittsburgh. Look for some big games here from Ovechkin, as he pushes to maintain the league lead in goals. He’s also got some work to do to catch up with Malkin in Pittsburgh for the points lead. Look for some solid hockey.

Wizards
Record: 14-45
Last Two Weeks: 3-3
Place: Last in the Eastern Conference

Friday was a good night for the Wizards. Rebecca was there for the big victory over the Bulls at Verizon on Friday, so if you haven’t yet, read her account from the game. Of course, that’s about all that you can say for the sub .250 Wizards. They’ve got about 20 games left, so it’s not totally done and counted, but it sure looks like a rough ride.

Agent 0, though, is back in practice, starting late last week, so it’s not too early to start thinking about next year. I hope that Gilbert sees that coming back now, too early, would be a pyrrhic victory for a team that doesn’t need more long-term baggage. Stay on the bench and wait until next year, Agent 0, we’ll need you then.

Continue reading →

Petworth, The Daily Feed
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Neighborhood Snow Plow Check

washington dc by wayan
Photo by Wayan

While DC has been quite efficient in plowing the main roads, I had no trouble driving to the White House at 8am, what’s the situation in your neighbourhood? Especially now that most folks need to commute to work.

Here in Petworth, New Hampshire Avenue and Upshur Street NW are both passable, if a little muddy, but the side roads are still piled high in Snowpocalypse drifts. I’ve watched several cars fail to make the gentle Varnum Street Hill from Grant Circle eastbound.

Is that the same on Capitol Hill? Dupont? Or Brightwood? Shout out and let us know if you’ve seen Mr. Snowplow on your block yet.

The Daily Feed
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Revenge is best served cold… with batteries

Photo courtesy of
”
courtesy of ‘vitelone’

So, what would you do? You spend hundreds of thousands of dollars preparing to renovate your historic building to expand your hunting and fishing shop, consulting with the historic preservation board at every step of the way, only to have the principal member of the board change his mind at the last minute, preventing you from moving forward, and forcing your store to close.

If you’re Michael Zarlenga of the Trophy Room, you rent your storefront out to a sex shop to annoy your neighbors. I love it. This is brilliant. But I think my favorite part was the random Old Town passerby who said, “It’s caused a lot of buzz.” BWAHAHA, I see what you did there.  

But seriously, there’s a lot of handwringing about whether or not this kind of business is appropriate to a historic district, and I can only ask, “Why? Did people not have sex in the 1800s? I’m pretty sure that’s how we all got here.”

The Features
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DC Obama-Watch: Verizon Center

courtesy of Keith Allison

courtesy of Keith Allison

At around 10am, the rumors started swirling. President Obama was probably, most likely, could be, was maybe considering, attending the Wizards/Bulls game at the Verizon Center Friday night.  And indeed after all the hubbub, long screening lines and increased security presence, the Commander In Chief showed up just before tip off.
Continue reading →