Monthly Archives: January 2010

The Daily Feed, WMATA
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Holiday Weekend Service Changes on Red Line

Photo courtesy of
”
courtesy of ‘Chris Rief aka Spodie Odie’

Red line riders beware — this weekend is not going to be pretty, so start planning now.

NBC Washington reports that there will be some major service changes over this holiday weekend.

For those of you trying to get anywhere between White Flint and Medical Center, guess what — you can’t get there via rail. But there will be a shuttle service running. You can check out times for that on WMATA’s website here.

What’s Metro up to with the red line? They’ll be splitting the line into two parts. Grosvenor-Strathmore station closes at 10 p.m. tonight and will reopen until Tuesday at 5 a.m.

For more information regarding the closures, visit WMATA’s release about the changes here.

The Features, Where We Live
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Where We Live: Near Southeast/Capitol Riverfront

Photo courtesy of
‘loves it’
courtesy of ‘NCinDC’

Welcome back to Where We Live, your bi-weekly tour of the District’s neighborhoods. This week the focus is Near Southeast, which is also commonly known as Navy Yard or Capitol Riverfront. This neighborhood has been completely transformed over the past several years, and the construction of the Nationals Stadium has redefined the character of the area.  Read on to learn how the area has changed, what’s worth checking out when you’re in the area, and where to see some amazing before-and-after photos.

History: Pierre L’Enfant came along in 1791 and recognized that Washington’s waterfront retail would be its most valuable asset, and located its commercial center in this area. Then, in 1799, the Navy Yard opened (which happens to be the longest continually-operated Federal facility), and became a major shipbuilding center. This area was the heart of Washington throughout the 1800s, and the wharf was one of the most lively parts of the city. During wartime, the Navy Yard became even more important– it was a key defense of the city during the War of 1812, and during the 1940s, the Navy Yard reached its peak of 26,000 employees (by this point, it wasn’t shipbuilding but production of weapons ammunition that kept the Navy Yard so busy).

But all this production led to one very polluted river. And I-395 cut through the urban fabric of the neighborhood. After the war, the Navy Yard drastically scaled back operations– by that point, the commercial heart of the city had moved downtown. So Near Southeast was left with a polluted river, a terribly ugly highway overpass, and lots of abandoned buildings. It’s no surprise that this combination of factors led to crime, disinvestment, and neglect of buildings.

Continue reading →

News, Sports Fix, The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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Arenas Charged With Felony

Photo courtesy of
‘Felony Franks (#1)’
courtesy of ‘JOE M500’

Gilbert Arenas is now facing felony weapons charges related to the gun events in the Wizards locker room. The Post is reporting that Arenas is also seeking a plea deal related to the case.

Throw the book at ’em, DC.

Update: The max he’s facing is five years and a fine for his trouble, which would indicate it’s just a single charge instead of one charge per gun, which was initially bandied about. The Post has further detail about the incident which was previously not released:

The guns became an issue after Arenas and Wizards teammate Javaris Crittenton got into an argument after a card game and Crittenton allegedly said he should shoot Arenas in his surgically repaired left knee, sources have said. Days later on Dec. 21, at Verizon Center, Arenas placed the guns on a chair next to Crittenton’s locker with a note that said “pick one.”

The Daily Feed
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Celebrate Chinese New Year with Terra Cotta

Photo courtesy of
‘DSC_4447’
courtesy of ‘Ghost_Bear’

The National Geographic Museum will welcome Chinese New Year a week early with a free family festival on Feb. 6, celebrating in conjunction with its popular Terra Cotta Warriors exhibition. The festival, sponsored by PF Chang’s China Bistro, will include free food from the restaurant (while supplies last), film screenings, kids’ activities, table tennis, raffles, live performances (including martial arts demonstrations), and more! Guests will also have the opportunity to win free same-day tickets for the exhibition.

Raffles will be held every half hour during the festival beginning at 11:30 a.m. for the chance to win tickets for the 3 p.m. viewing that day.

Additional tickets will be distributed by P.F. Chang’s China Bistro via Facebook and Twitter.

And coming February 20? A kung-fu film festival, featuring Hero, Lao Tou Ho, and Legendary Weapons of China.

Entertainment, The Features
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Jammin’ Java: More Than Meets The Eye

DSC00871

I’ve wanted to check out Jammin’ Java for years and last night, the dream was realized. This particular adventure was prompted by both my lack of anything better to do and the fact that there was a battle of the bands being hosted. So I figured, why not go?

My first thought upon reaching the Jammin’ Java parking lot was, “Really? This is it? But it looks so tiny!” That opinion changed as soon as I set foot inside.

The venue features the standard set of concert hall mood lighting mixed with a fully stocked bar, quick eats galore, and minimal seating. Much to my surprise, the place was a lot bigger than I anticipated. Beyond the bar, there was a moderate-sized standing room that, if packed to capacity, could hold quite a few bodies.

Last night was night two of the Mid-Atlantic Battle of the Bands hosted by Jammin’ Java and sponsored by Sucker Punch Recording Studio, so I got to catch Jammin’ Java at its finest aka hosting a nice assortment of local entertainment. The best part about any venue like Jammin’ Java is that their claim of being “run by musicians and music-lovers for musicians and music-lovers alike” is true.

Continue reading →

The Daily Feed, WMATA, WTF?!
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Metro GM Catoe to Resign

Photo courtesy of
‘WMATA Blogger Roundtable’
courtesy of ‘Samer Farha’

Update 2:00 p.m.: We put in a call to our WMATA contact, Ron Holzer, who indeed confirmed that Catoe has tendered his resignation to WMATA’s Board. Apparently, the announcement took everyone by surprise, as no one at WMATA had in inkling this was coming. Needless to say, neither did any of the area bloggers last night. Catoe played his stepping-down pretty close to the vest.

This news alert came as a COMPLETE SHOCK to me. Lena Sun at WaPo has broken the story that WMATA GM John Catoe, Jr. will be resigning as General Manager of the agency, effective April 2, 2010.

What’s completely shocking about this is that it comes on the heels of what, by many blog accounts today, was a very successful face-to-face meeting with area bloggers last night. Our own Tom Bridge covered the meeting in depth and even came away with some healthy respect for the man. (As did I, after reading several accounts of it.)

Catoe announced his intentions to resign after a special board meeting this afternoon. He said he realized that the tragedies at Metro in the last year had created “an unhealthy distraction” and that good leaders should know when it is time for a leadership change.

More as details unfold.

The Daily Feed
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Mark Russell to appear at Ford’s Theatre in February

Photo courtesy of
‘Day 73: Piano’
courtesy of ‘InspirationDC’

I was a nerdy kid. So nerdy, in fact, that my idea of a totally awesome job was to be Mark Russell, piano-playing political satirist, with a show on PBS. Never you mind that I don’t play piano at all. (What can I say? I loved Tom Lehrer too.)

I may never have gotten past telling unaccompanied jokes, but I can still indulge my childhood dreams- Mark Russell will appear next month at Ford’s Theatre, February 17th through 20th.

We Love Weekends
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We Love Weekends: January 16-17

Photo courtesy of
‘Rainbow Trio’
courtesy of ‘Kevin H.’

Paulo: Gonna head down to the Sackler Gallery to check the Falnama exhibit, a fascinating historical overview of Islamic mysticism and divination among Medieval Persian and Turkish Muslims. Then, across the Garden (or under it) to the African Art Museum for a look at the sculptural work of Yinka
Shonibare MBE.

Jenn: It’s shocking for a former New England girl to admit this, but I’ve never gone skiing. Well, never say never. This weekend I’m off to Wisp Resort, some three hours away, to start slow. I envisioned Sexy Snowbunny but my outfit looks more like a Stay-Puft-Marshmallow. If I weren’t risking my limbs I’d be at the DC Tribal Student Showcase Sunday night to cheer on fellow students studying bellydance. Since this weekend may be my last, I’ll hit Marvin sometime before leaving – they’re tapping their last keg of Leffe Brun tonight… Continue reading →

The Daily Feed, We Green DC
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Learn to be a Backyard Farmer

Photo courtesy of
‘Double Red Ripe Tomatoes’
courtesy of ‘Wayan Vota’

If you’ve ever had a tomato or zucchini plant gone wild, you might appreciate this.

Soon, an area farmers market may carry produce from folks who farm in their own backyards. The Maryland Organic Backyard Initiative (MOBI) wants to create community farmers markets that lets people who have organic gardens trade with each other.

Tonight and for the next two Thursdays at 7:30 at Crossings in Silver Spring, MOBI will hold classes where organic backyard farmers or wanna-bes can meet and learn how to grow, eat and trade delicious, organic, fresh, locally grown produce.

Food and Drink, The Daily Feed, The District
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Iron Horse Taproom Opens in Penn Quarter Tonight

Photo courtesy of
‘Seventh Street NW at Night’
courtesy of ‘Mr. T in DC’

The newest bar to hit 7th street opens tonight, POP reports. Brought to us by Bedrock Bars, the same folks that brought us Laughing Man Tavern, Carpool, Buffalo Billiards, Atomic and more, Iron Horse will be much in the same casual vein.

POP reports the motorcycle-themed watering hole “will feature skeeball, shuffleboard, jukebox, and big buck hunter.” Sounds a lot to me like a second location of Rocket Bar, which doesn’t mean I’m complaining, just observing.

Wanna be the first in the door? According to POP Iron Horse swings ’em open tonight at 507 7th St. NW., next to TangySweet.

News, The Daily Feed
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The End of the Sidewalk (Law)

Photo courtesy of
‘Sidewalk Closed Signs’
courtesy of ‘Mr. T in DC’

Not every street in DC has a sidewalk. In fact, there are large swaths of the city where they’re a bit more rare than we’d like. DC City Council has been looking at a common sense law to add them in where they’re missing for the last two years, but haven’t come to any kind of conclusion over whether or not they’ll be in place anytime soon. At question are property-owners’ rights, many of whom without sidewalks are requesting that their right not to have them be granted. There’s $9M in stimulus funding for sidewalk creation and improvement in the District’s budget this year, and it’d be nice to see used before we lose it, Council.

Food and Drink, News, The Daily Feed
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Help Haiti by Drinking Good Drinks

Photo courtesy of
‘______ ____ _’
courtesy of ‘Sexy Fitsum’

BYT and DCist have passed along that the Gibson will be donating the proceeds from all the Sazeracs and Old Fashioneds that they sell tonight to the Red Cross to benefit the Haiti earthquake relief fund.  If you needed an excuse to drink excellent cocktails this evening, now you’ve got it. I’ll be doing my part, that’s for sure.

News, The Daily Feed
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Catch a Circulator To Rosslyn? Maybe. River East? Nope.

Photo courtesy of
‘DSC_0125 (1)’
courtesy of ‘D©Bloom’

DDOT’s Circulator buses are one of the best things happening in the District from a transit perspective. Short routes, yes, but reliable service and comfortable carriage make up for the fact that they don’t go everywhere. Ridership has proven strong along the five routes that go from business to entertainment districts and back. The City Council is hoping to expand service and add another route: Dupont to Rosslyn and back.

One small problem: The Circulator can’t leave the District unless there’s a change in the law. This route, which would replace the current Georgetown Connection buses, would require a change in the charter for Circulator buses. The council can vote to grant that, and is expected to do so after some public handwringing in the coming months. Councilman Kwame Brown was hoping that the Circulator’s sixth route might be a bit different, and run from Union Station to Southern Avenue. That plan was rejected out of hand for the time being.

Sports Fix, The Daily Feed
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D.C. United Trades for Perkins

Photo courtesy of
‘D.C. United vs. New York, 2006 Eastern Conference Semifinals, October 29, 2006’
courtesy of ‘The West End’

D.C. United made a big move yesterday heading into the MLS SuperDraft in Philadelphia: they went after their old keeper, Troy Perkins. With Josh Wicks sidelined until the middle of spring due to an injury, and two much much younger keepers on the roster, United courted a face they knew and managed to get Perkins to come back from Norway to play in the Black and Red again.

So, here’s how this all works. Perkins is coming back from Europe, which means he’s eligible for the SuperDraft. United was to pick 7th overall in the draft, but wanted to ensure that Perkins came home to DC, so they traded for 1st pick in the SuperDraft, which belonged to the Philadelphia expansion team. United sent Fred, allocation cash, and their 7th pick in the draft just up the road so that they could secure Perkins for 2010.

We will miss Fred, and wish him well in Philadelphia, but it’s great to have a winning keeper back on our side.

Update: Via D.C. United’s Kyle Sheldon: “The way in which we acquired Perkins was actually via the allocation order – separate from the SuperDraft. The SuperDraft, which takes place today is only for college players who have made themselves eligible. The allocation order is a separate ranking order used to obtain players who have signed with MLS, but are not yet with a team. It is just coincidence that both Philly’s spot (1st) and our spot (7th) is the same in both the SuperDraft and the allocation order.”

Talkin' Transit, The Features, WMATA
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Talkin’ Transit: Face to Face With John Catoe

Photo courtesy of
‘WMATA Blogger Roundtable’
courtesy of ‘Samer Farha’

[Editorial update: We had no idea Catoe would tender his resignation today. And apparently, neither did anyone else at the meeting, except for Mr. Catoe.]

Wednesday afternoon at Metro HQ, we had a chance to sit down with the General Manager, John Catoe, along with ten of our closest blogfriends here in the District. No limits, all on the record, just our recorders and our questions and him. Before we get into the rest, I’d like to thank our contact at Metro, Ron Holzer, for putting this together. Getting direct access to the head of the transit agency is a pretty special thing, and I thank him for the opportunity.

If you’ve ridden Metro in the last few weeks, you’ve experienced the worst that the system has to offer: long delays, packed trains and stations, the system is at a boiling point. Tempers flare from riders and employees, and things are out of hand. We talked a bit about the root causes of the situation we’re in, and much leads back to the Crash of June 22nd. Metro relies on its Automatic Train Operation (ATO) system to operate at its highest efficiency levels. ATO allows for higher speeds, better control in a delayed operation situation, and right now it’s not available to the operations staff. That’s a choice made by Catoe and the Metro Board, until such time as they have the final NTSB report, and until they have the realtime detection system in place and operating. That’s months away at this point, with no clear timetable in place other than “this year.”

Better than that, Catoe admitted that they’re having an engineering problem since they went to mixed-model trains (to move the 1000-series cars to the center of trains) with doors not operating properly and sometimes not accepting the proper signals to close or open, which has lead to some of the platform crowding that we’re seeing on a daily basis. So that’s where we are. And we’re likely facing that sort of delay well into the Spring, when we’re looking at potential fare hikes and service cuts. But what about that shortfall? Continue reading →

The Features
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We Love DC Does Real World DC: Episode 3

Join us starting at 9:45pm tonight for a live blog with DC’s finest as we discuss the RWDC shenanigans as they happen – with the finest snark and commentary money can buy. Comments from the public are encouraged but are moderated. Not all comments will get displayed during the live blog…but keep the good ones coming!

The Daily Feed, We Green DC
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Stay Warm, Save Dough with Free Green Classes

Photo courtesy of
‘Happy and Warm’
courtesy of ‘maxedaperture’

Did someone say “free”?

That’s right — this week, Greater Goods is holding two free classes on how to save money and stay warm, while being green.

On Thursday at 7 p.m., a Green Incentives class will tell you all about alternative energy sources and saving money through tax credits, rebates, and other incentives.

On Saturday at 11 a.m., at the Seal the Deal – Weatherproofing Your Home course, you can learn how to make your place warmer through inexpensive, easy-to-do project such as caulking, weatherstripping, and adding window films and insulation.

Love those? Come back the same time the following Saturday to learn how to clear the air and make a healthier home. And stay happy and warm.

Farm Fresh, Food and Drink, We Green DC
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Farm Fresh: AGAINN

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Here’s another feature where WeLoveDC authors Donna (greenie) and Katie (foodie) have paired up to tell you about local area restaurants that take on the challenge of being green. Donna explains the restaurant’s environmentally friendly efforts and Katie tells you if the food tastes any good. It’s a rough life, but someone has to do it, right?

Donna: I don’t want to go overboard about how much I liked AGAINN, but let’s just say that three days after my first visit, I dragged a friend from out of town over there to try AGAINN again. The restaurant’s said to be a modern twist on traditional British Isles pub cuisine, but that makes me think of greasy fish ‘n’ chips, not the savory ham and apple cider pie steaming under a delicate puff pastry crust that I had for dinner.

Katie: I haven’t exactly been subtle about my enthusiasm for DC’s newest gastropub, either. I love the space, the details are impeccable, the drinks, the food, everything. So when I visited and found out that Chef Wesley Morton had constructed a VERY local menu and put a ton of thought into his sourcing, it made me love AGAINN that much more.

Donna: Executive Chef Wesley Morton is from Louisiana, and he grew up on a farm surrounded by cows, figs, oranges, and all sorts of goodness. His family didn’t buy meat at the store; they raised their own food. He’s now continuing that tradition, using food that’s grown and processed locally and animals that are treated humanely. An example is the smoked country ham, cured in Allan Benton’s small family shop in Tennessee. You can order it as a charcuterie, or get a taste of its salty deliciousness atop the soft russet potato dumplings as they melt in your mouth. Continue reading →

Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
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Two Things: New Pizza Food Truck + Farmer’s Markets In The Winter

Photo courtesy of
‘Farmers’ Market 2′
courtesy of ‘cruffo’

Oooh, a foodie two-fer. Just ’cause I love you.

1) There’s a new pizza truck in town, ya’ll, launching in February. And it’s name is DC Slices. Much like Sauca, Curbside Cupcake and the bajillion food carts, DC Slices is just as it sounds – a truck drivin’ round and giving us pizza. (There is even a pizza oven in the truck, say what?) As with the rest of the food trucks, twitter is the easiest way to keep track of them.

2) Jane Black, one of my favorite food writers in the city (and I say this without ever having met her, which is high praise since it’s personal policy not to declare my undying love for people I haven’t actually met.), wrote a baller piece on farmers markets in the winter that I wish Donna or I had thought to write first. It’s FANTASTIC, and reminded me just how much is still able to be purchased at the markets. I’m now re-motivated to bundle up, get some fresh air, and support our local farmers. Veggilicious has a reasonably comprehensive listing of local markets and their dates.

The Daily Feed
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iPhone Metro Times app contest: The Touching part

Photo courtesy of Me

Find a Metro DC

Not that kind of touching you perv. The most adorable, or sweet, or heart-warming.

Just like yesterday, we’re going to give away a code for a free copy of JRBApps’ Find a Metro DC [iTunes] app. It’ll let you see the times projected for when the next train comes in as well as check NextBus and plan trips. In 24 hours we’ll close the contest and pick one winner at random. Friday we’ll give away three more codes – one more random selection as well as the two winning story entries.

Also like yesterday you can just post a comment saying something like “gimmie” so long as you enter a valid email address for us to contact you if you win. That puts your name in the hat for the day’s random drawing as well as Friday’s random pick.

If you want a shot at the “bonus round” then just tell us your touching mass transit story.

Have at it, and remember: not that kind of touching. I’d say Katie’s story yesterday took care of that…

UPDATE: Well Norm, guess your life is going to get easier then – you’re the winner. Random.org, asked to choose a number between 1 and 14, spat out number three. We’ll email you the code and thr rest of you can check back tomorrow afternoon to see who our remaining winners are.