‘Juxtiposition’
courtesy of ‘bhrome’

Perspective is an important thing, and even though we’ve been spending an awful lot of time focused on how weather has impacted the District this past year, few of us know what it’s like for it to be really shaken by a natural disaster like Hurricane Katrina.

Can you believe that it has been five years since Louisiana and the Gulf Coast faced one of most overwhelming tropical storms of American history? It’s almost surprising because the region is still very much recovering five years later – something exhibited by the joy of the city when the New Orleans Saints won last January’s Super Bowl.

The news caught many of us off guard, especially because it happened late in August when many were still wrapping up the summer, working to forget about the busy fall that lay ahead. However, the media was still entrenched, documenting an incredible amount of what was happening in the Gulf, and five years later, the Newseum is featuring those stories and headlines from the days when the disaster was unfurling. An archive of newspaper front pages from the time when the storm came ashore is only one part of the exhibit. Perhaps the most interesting will be vignettes from main reporters discussing their experiences, including Brian Williams, Shepard Smith and Robin Roberts, and a 30-minute documentary on the scene within the refuge center that became of the New Orleans Superdome.

The exhibit will open on Friday, two days ahead of the August 29th anniversary of Katrina, and run through September 2011.

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courtesy of ‘Chris Rief aka Spodie Odie’
Get ’em while they’re parked!

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Photo by Cheryl Nichols / Nationals News Network

The Washington Nationals had a chance to prove themselves after falling flat in their Monday night 9-1 loss to the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday at Nationals Park.The team came together for a fundamentals touch up session before game time to refresh their defensive reflexes, but staying sharp in the field proved no match for Cubs right-hander Carlos Zambrano.

The often passionate Zambrano maintained control of his emotions and his pitches, allowing just one run on five hits while striking out eight of Riggleman’s Nats. He worked fast, pitched effectively, had some quick innings, and got ground balls. “We really didn’t have a lot going against him,” Riggleman said. Continue reading →

‘he reads tea leaves’
courtesy of ‘p22earl’

Excuse the use of the tea leaves image on this one, but as interesting as a stance as it is, Dave McKenna’s predictions over at City Paper that Dan Snyder may be eyeing the Washington Times may be little more than trying to read through the lines on the future for the second daily in town. Still, it’s an interesting theory on the future of TWT.

McKenna was inspired by a hint by DCRTV that a new buyer was lining up to pick up the newspaper, and then noted that there is at least one good, joking, reason why Redskins owner Dan Snyder could be the man behind a deal: “a track record of making horrible business decisions.” Beyond the joke, there is at least some other evidence that Snyder may be interested or involved. For one thing, at last spring’s White House Correspondent’s Dinner, Snyder showed up (with a few Redskins in two) – and sat at the Washington Times table. Further, Snyder actually canceled an appearance with Washington Post editors earlier this month.

There is still some value with the Times, even if it is suffering the same uphill battle as much of the print industry, and interestingly, it involves a sports section that hasn’t existed since earlier this year. Thanks to Tom for pointing out one thing in which Dan Snyder have legitimate interest: a Google search for “Washington DC Sports News” still puts the Times atop the results. In the Internet era, that’s lots of SEO capital that can’t be replicated from the ground up, especially for a profesionall sports owner.

Rumors? Sure. But prognostication in the August dog days are sometimes what we face.

(h/t Patrick Gavin)

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courtesy of ‘Chris Rief aka Spodie Odie’

It’s a good day for Michelle Rhee. Just one day after the school year began, DC and nine other states (Maryland included) have been named winners of the Department of Education’s Race to the Top grants. The grants will disperse roughly $3.4 billion to the winners, though no word yet on how much DC will specifically receive.

Winners were chosen based on their commitment to school reform. This was demonstrated through the creation of tools to measure students’ success, preparation of students for college and the workplace, hiring and retaining effective teachers, and improvement of poorly performing schools.

Other winners in this round of competition included Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Ohio and Rhode Island. This is the second round of winners for Race to the Top, which was created in 2009 by economic stimulus funds.

‘No Scams’
courtesy of ‘ivanpw’

WTOP brings us a story of a lottery scam going on in the Virginia area: men claiming to be illegal immigrants who have won money in the lottery which they cannot collect offer to share in the winnings if their victim will help them. The mark provides some sort of deposit or fronts “their share” of the winnings in cash and eventually discovers there’s not really a winning ticket.

There’s a sad irony that the lottery has extended out to sucker even people who don’t play, but the real lesson here is that when someone approaches you on the street with an odd offer that will enrich you in some way it is almost certainly a scam. Winning lotto tickets, “extra” stereo speakers that turn out to be bricks in a box, “designer” watches by Rolux.

That’s not to say the street vendor doesn’t occupy a beloved place in my heart, but don’t kid yourself that you’re receiving some windfall.

‘the food truck crowd’
courtesy of ‘philliefan99’

Sorry for yesterday’s hiatus. The Food Truck Tracker is back in action today, though many of your favorite food trucks are not. Rebel Heroes, Sauca, and El Floridano are all on vacation. Insert sad emoticon here.

Continue reading →

‘IMG_5362’
courtesy of ‘zugaldia’

I don’t know about you, but I always thought it must have been pretty cool to be one of those old school sports announcers with fedoras atop their head, holding on to a microphone while giving commentary on the game being played. If you’re anything like me, then you won’t want to miss the opportunity the Washington Wizard’s have in-store this fall.

The Wizards might not be the top dogs when it comes to District sports, but if you love the game of basketball and have an affinity for the team it’d be a waste to not take advantage of their newly announced Public Address Announcer Tryouts.

That’s right, the Wizards are holding auditions for a “new voice” to announce their home games during the 2010-2011 season. Here are the details: Anyone can audition and experience is a plus but not mandatory.

So if you want to stand on that soap box and have a shot of having some extra outside-the-office fun, go ahead and fill out the application. It can’t hurt.

Auditions will be September 13 at the Verizon Center from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

‘mom told me a couple people attending are having birthdays so I made special birthday cupcakes’
courtesy of ‘@heylovedc’

I’m the last person in the world who focuses on the great cupcake wars here in town, but there are some stories too tasty to avoid, especially when they involve free treats. In honor of its 2nd birthday, the good people at Hello Cupcake in Dupont Circle are giving everyone who walks through the door today a cupcake as long as supplies last. Hello Cupcake is at 1361 Connecticut Avenue, NW, and the doors open at 10 a.m. Get your free cupcake while you can!

‘5TH’
courtesy of ‘MissChatter’

Veteran anchor Livan Hernandez didn’t get the calls he wanted against Mike Quade’s Cubs Monday night. Quade stepped into the interim manager’s role for his first game since being the Cubs third base coach after “Sweet” Lou Pinella retired Sunday night for family reasons.

Hernandez has been a mostly consistent main-stay of this Nats ballclub after joining Washington in spring training this year, but Manager Jim Riggleman realizes there will still be bad nights no matter how well he’s been throwing the ball.

“He’s got to get a little edge there now and then on the plate,” Riggleman said. “When the pitches are close and you’re not getting them that’s tough for Livo.” Continue reading →