‘take me out to the ballgame…’
courtesy of ‘staceyviera’

City Paper has a piece about – and the full text of – Marion Barry’s weird open letter to fellow councilman David Catania. It essentially asserts that Catania’s reactions to Barry lining the pockets of his girlfriend is all about a dispute over a past vote and that he’s pursuing some sort of vendetta. Rather than, say, being disgusted, embarrassed, or offended by unethical behavior. Even if it’s 100% on target, complaining about being persecuted works way better when you’re not admittedly guilty.

I wouldn’t find it worth noting except that I thought to myself “If it was anyone else I’d wonder if this kind of behavior was a sign of the onset of Alzheimer’s. But with Barry it doesn’t reflect any kind of changed behavior.”

‘A New Trail’
courtesy of ‘M.V. Jantzen’

There was a pretty nasty bike accident this morning at 13th and Florida NW, witnesses tell us. A biker was speeding down the hill past Cardozo H.S. toward stopped traffic without slowing down. When he finally noticed the stopped cars in front of him, the biker slammed on his brakes, flying over the handlebars and crashing into the back window of the SUV. Witnesses of the accident called 911, but police showed up within minutes to move the biker (who was, in point of fact, wearing his helmet) off the street and give him assistance. No word on the biker’s condition, but we hope he’s okay. Just a daily wake-up call for bikers across the district to be extra aware.

Scott Oudsema by Max Cook

Last week the Washington Kastles were in last place in the Eastern Conference and things were looking grim.  Despite having Rennae Stubbs and Leander Paes, two players who recently competed in the Wimbledon finals, the team just couldn’t get a win.  Troubled by double faults and a low number of aces and break point conversions, the Kastles got off to an 0-4 start.

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‘GravelHillReportCard_1942-43_Inside’
courtesy of ‘Small Town OK’

Congratulations to the students, teachers and administrators at DC Public Schools, whose 2008-2009 assessment scores were higher than the preceding years. The numbers themselves are less than stellar, though, with just under half the students in elementary school at “proficient” or better for their grade level in reading and mathematics. High school students are at a mere 40% proficient in reading and mathematics. Pretty scary when you think about the number of kids in DC’s schools who can’t achieve at grade-level.

‘Happy Panda’
courtesy of ‘headsoak’

Tiff mentioned the National Zoo’s announcement about another spotted leopard cub; the zoo also announced a new red panda cub today, born to a somewhat older panda named Panya – the fifth red panda born at the zoo’s conservation research center in the last three weeks.

I’d love to show you a picture but for some reason they didn’t post any. Crazy! Red pandas are cuter than giant pandas and spotted leopards put together. Perhaps the shots did not come out because the camera shattered from too much adorable.

Baby Boom of Endangered Species
Originally uploaded by Smithsonian’s National Zoo

…with all the cute baby animals. Apparently the clouded leopard adult pair at the zoo are kind of randy, and have produced another cub, born Friday afternoon. Like the first pair of cubs, this one will be hand-reared by Zoo staff to help with socialization. Which is good, because his big brother is pretty much demanding some belly-rubs.

You know, the pandas could take some lessons from a species actually interested in its own survival.

Nats Abe Lincoln mascot in Georgetown.
Originally uploaded by brownpau

Heads-up, Nats fans! Sixteenth president of the United States and 2008 Nationals Presidents Race Champion Abraham Lincoln is in Georgetown this very moment, and according to first-hand witnesses is giving out high-fives. You can see he’s gotten something of a big head from winning the Civil War.

‘Do You Slow for Speed Cameras?’
courtesy of ‘Wayan Vota’

Do you use one of the iPhone or GPS applications to watch out for speed cameras? If so, Chief Lanier thinks you’re cowardly for doing so. How dare you deprive the city of its hard-earned ticket revenues?