Monthly Archives: January 2012

News, The Daily Feed, Ward 5
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Thomas to resign Council seat in morning

Photo courtesy of tbridge
Councilman Harry Thomas and BNCA President Caroline Petti
courtesy of tbridge

Harry Thomas Jr, seen above at Brookland ribbon cutting, tonight released a statement that he intends to resign his Ward 5 council seat in the morning, and plead guilty to two federal crimes related to $383,000 of city money that was misappropriated by a charity that Thomas operates. In his statement tonight, Thomas said, “Tomorrow morning I will plead guilty to committing two federal crimes. I am resigning my position as a member of the Council effective immediately. I made some very serious mistakes and exhibited inadequate and flawed judgment. I take full responsibility for my actions. I am truly sorry.”

Thomas is expected in court at 11:15am tomorrow for a plea hearing in Federal Court to answer for the charges that were filed against him this morning. A plea deal has been rumored by several media outlets for the last few days, and may contain up to 3 years for Thomas in prison.

A special election would take place on the first Tuesday after 114 days from the certification of the vacancy of Thomas’ seat, which would likely place the election on May 8th or 15th.  Candidates have already begun to appear, with at least six possibilities emerging as prospective candidates in the last few days, to include some of Thomas’ former challengers, including Delano Hunter and Kenyan McDuffie.

We Love Weekends
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We Love Weekends: Jan 6-8

Photo courtesy of stevendepolo
Thrown Out Christmas Tree Curb January 13, 20115
courtesy of stevendepolo

Well, you made it through the holidays. Congratulations. From the looks of it, every single one of you made a new year’s resolution to get into better shape and are now working out at my gym. I’ll enjoy having you around for the next few weeks and hope you keep in touch come February. Now get off the damned stationary bike.

Marissa: Between the holidays and hibernating like a bear for winter, it’s been a while since I’ve really been out and about. I’m kicking off my Saturday with dim sum brunch at The Source by Wolfgang Puck. Definitely looking forward to a breakfast of champions with the dumplings I made with chef Scott Drewno ages ago. Then it’s off to see Billy Elliot at the Kennedy Center before their final performances next weekend. Keeping Sunday low-key, I plan to check out the places that sadly announced they’re shutting their doors soon–Melody Records in Dupont Circle and Penn Camera. Then end on a positive note by grabbing a bite at the newly opened Taylor Gourmet on 14th Street. Continue reading →

Food and Drink, Foodie Roundup, The Features
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Predictions for Food Trends in 2012

Photo courtesy of philliefan99
opening wide
courtesy of philliefan99

With 2011 and the year of the burger now behind us, the food team’s mouths are already watering and we’re looking ahead at what 2012 will bring to our plates. Our team, comprised of myself, Tricia and Natalia (our newest addition to the team!) all brainstormed about what we think will be all the rage in the new year when it comes to food.

Find our full list of predictions after the jump.
Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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The Day the Shutter Died

Photo courtesy of ivan | sciupac
Holga CFN 120
courtesy of ivan | sciupac

January 4th 2012 was not a good day for the DC photography community. As is common knowledge, local photography chain Penn Camera filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection yesterday, closing the majority of their stores. Their long term future is uncertain. In addition, Eastman Kodak, the film company who’s name is synonymous with photography, is reported to be close to filing for bankruptcy as well. Either piece of news is bad; taken together, it’s hard for anyone who is a photographer not to go hug their SLR, film or digital. Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Thies: Chairman Brown had broadcast of press conference edited

Photo courtesy of �ậ�ëø

censored(red stamp)
courtesy of �ậ�ëø

The Office of Cable Television is the entity that is responsible for the broadcast of Channel 13, DC’s public access network that broadcasts (and re-shows) various hearings and meetings of the city council. Local political writer Chuck Thies says that, at the behest of Council Chairman Kwame Brown, cameras were turned off during a public press conference, and the tape was edited to remove a question from a WTOP reporter in its online and archived version.

That question’s subject matter had every reason to be embarrassing to Chairman Brown: it had to do with the ethics of the council, something that has created a dark cloud over the body’s current term, due to scandals surrounding members both at-large and from the wards.  According to WAMU, Brown and his deputy Chief of Staff are denying responsibility for the cut, the OCT has said they were just doing what they were told.

Entertainment, Fun & Games, Music, Night Life, The Daily Feed
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District Karaoke at Policy: An Excuse to Get Social & Sing

Photo courtesy of furcafe
03106-17Crop
courtesy of furcafe

I don’t know about you but I’ve been searching for an excuse to get my karaoke on for quite some time. There’s Japone in Dupont where I went a few times in college and Hill Country Texas BBQ has country karaoke once a week, but now there’s a whole new karaoke game in town.

Thanks to Nats fan Laura Murphy for pointing it out earlier today, we now know that Policy (1904 14th Street NW) will start hosting the inaugural season of District Karaoke – the District’s only social karaoke league – this February. For real. Continue reading →

Food and Drink, The Hill, We Love Food
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First Look: Boxcar Tavern

DSC00058
Photo courtesy of Tricia Barba

I went to Boxcar Tavern the first day (night) it opened – just two days before the New Year. When staring in from the outside it was impossible to see just how crowded it was, but upon opening the door, the excitement surrounding the new establishment was tangible. There were a lot of people (think standing room only) and it was loud and lively.

Boxcar Tavern is Xavier Cervera’s fifth restaurant on Capitol Hill. His empire includes Molly Malones, Lola’s Barracks Bar & Grill, and Senart’s Oyster & Chop House. With just one glance, those accustomed to dining on the Hill can tell whose baby Boxcar is. It has that “Cervera look.” The restaurant, situated right next to Tunnicliff’s Tavern on 7th Street SE in the old Petite Gourmet space, is long and narrow, filled with maple and marble decor. From the entrance, to your left is an elegant bar that stretches almost there entire length of the restaurant and to your right begins an endless row of small booths. Basically, it looks like Senart’s, just a bit darker.

Another similarity to Senart’s is Executive Chef Brian Klein, who is now running Boxcar’s kitchen.  The menus look the same physically as well; content-wise, Boxcar actually serves a Seafood Lasagna – my favorite dish at Senart’s before, sadly, it disappeared.

Continue reading →

The Daily Feed, WMATA
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Cracked rails on Red and Blue line snarl commute, threaten evening

Photo courtesy of (afm)
YIP 228 – Things you don’t want to see in the Metro
courtesy of (afm)

Cracked rails on the Red and Blue line this morning in commute-heavy portions of the above-ground part of the rail system have snarled morning commutes. The breaks, near the Pentagon and near Takoma, were caused by the rapid cooling of the DC area to a low of near 10 degrees Fahrenheit last night, according to Metro spokesman Dan Stessel. The breaks cannot be fixed during rush hour, and repairs will take place once morning rush is cleared.

Music
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The Winning Ticket: JB Smoove

This week we are giving away a pair of tickets to see JB Smoove at the 9:30 Club on January 14. (Please note: This is a seated comedy performance and does contain material suitable only for mature audiences.) Tickets for this concert are available on Ticketfly or at the 9:30 Club box office.

For your chance to win these tickets simply leave a comment on this post using a valid email address by 5pm today. One entry per email address, please. Comments will be closed at 5pm and a winner will be randomly selected. The winner will be notified by email. The winner must respond to our email within two hours or they will forfeit their tickets and we will pick another winner.

Tickets will be available to the winner at the 9:30 Club Guest List window one hour before doors open on the night of the concert. The tickets must be claimed with a valid ID. The winner must be old enough to attend the specific concert or must have a parent’s permission to enter if they are under 18 years old.

If today doesn’t turn out to be your lucky day, check back here each Wednesday for a chance to win tickets to other great concerts

The Daily Feed, Ward 5, WTF?!
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Report: Ward 5 Councilmember to resign in plea deal

Photo courtesy of itjournalist
D Block, Alcatraz
courtesy of itjournalist

We only gave Harry Thomas Jr the #3 slot in 2011’s Worst of Scandals list, but it appears he will be the number one figure in DC politics for the next few weeks. WUSA9’s Bruce Johnson is reporting that Councilmember Thomas will resign as part of a plea deal that will send Thomas to prison for 2-3 years. In addition, according to comments obtained by the Washington Post, Thomas failed to make his second scheduled $50,000 payment this week.

Thomas’ resignation would leave Ward 5 without a seat on the council (excepting At-Large Councilmember Vincent Orange, who also lives in Ward 5) until a special election could be called. The District, according to law, must hold the election on the Tuesday after 114 days from the certified vacancy. Should Thomas’ vacancy be certified by Friday of this week, that election would take place on April 30th, but a May election date is more likely. Thomas faced three challengers in the 2010 primary, with none gathering more than 19%. No word yet on if any of his 2010 challengers would make a run for his seat.

Should Thomas resign, it would be nice to see the Council take efforts to, give the financial situation, amend the charter to add more flexibility to the special election options, including alignment to nearby primary and special elections, as well as provisions to allow for the Board of Elections to avoid days that could limit voters for religious reasons.

Talkin' Transit, The Daily Feed
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Metro like you haven’t seen it

Metrodistort

Map by MV Jantzen

We all have our own internal mental map of the Metro that takes into account weekend track work, single tracking, transfers between lines, transfers to buses, and I suspect they look an awful lot like MV Jantzen’s Distorted Metro Map. The cleverly-done HTML 5 app moves the iconic map around a polar scale, putting time distance between station at a premium instead of a clear map, moving stations into closer proximity if they’re closer by time than necessarily by distance.

There’s also a bad-ass Pac-man mode where you get to gobble up the stations like power pellets, which, frankly, is all I’ve ever wanted to do to the Red Line.

Sports Fix
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Capitals douse Flames, grab 3-1 win

Photo courtesy of bhrome
DSC_5742
courtesy of bhrome

On the coldest night of the winter so far, Mike Green returned to the ice at Verizon Center warm Caps fans’ heart, as the Caps defeated the Flames, 3-1. Though he was not his usual sterling self throughout the game, with a little over 15 minutes of playing time, Green was back in action in the Red on Tuesday night in front of a a packed house happy to see him.

The Capitals struck early, with a power play goal in just the second minute of the night off a beautiful one-timer by Ovechkin, fed by Marcus Johansson, on a well-executed 2-on-1 after some strong neutral zone play.  The neutral zone would be the focus of the first period, with the Caps transforming gradually into the Dale Hunter-lead team that fights hard in the neutral zone to maintain control of the game through the middle part of the ice. For the most part they’d succeed in pushing for possession battles outside of their own end.  Ovechkin said post game, “Everybody’s buying into everything and working very hard. That’s the most important thing. No one is taking it easy.”

Continue reading →

We Love Weekends
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Weekend Flashback: 12/30/11-1/2/12

Photo courtesy of kimberlyfaye
(365/365)
courtesy of kimberlyfaye

Well, that “weekend” was nice and long. Depending on how you want to count, it could technically have been a week. With that in mind, I’m sure everyone had the same thought waking up this morning: I don’t want to go back to school/work/normal routine. Sorry to tell you, but you do. But worry not, and take a few minutes to look back, say one last good-bye to 2011, and give a loud hello to 2012. And just to point it out, a super-long weekend calls for a super-big Weekend Flashback! I hope you enjoy it. Continue reading →

Entertainment, Sports Fix, The Daily Feed
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Boston’s Big Four Puts The Hurt On Wizards

If you have been referring to Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, and Kevin Garnett as Boston’s “Big Three”- you need to think again.

Rajon Rondo is out to prove this season that it’s actually Boston’s “Big Four”. The Wizards were the latest victim to the Boston Point Guard that started the season with back-to-back double-double performances and unleashed terror on the court last night with a triple-double performance (18 points, 11 rebounds, 14 assists) in a Celtics win over the Wizards 94-86.

Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Christmas Tree Disposal Time

Photo courtesy of philliefan99
capitol christmas zoom III
courtesy of philliefan99

Well, it’s that time again, time to clear out the Christmas tree and pack up the ornaments and lights for another year.  Starting on the 3rd, and going until the 14th, DC DPW will accept your (bare) Christmas Tree for pickup.  Leave the tree in the treebox space in front of your home, having removed any ornaments and lights, and they’ll turn it into tasty mulch that you can pickup throughout the gardening season. Neat, yeah?

Just remember – no ornaments, and no lights.

No tree box? Leave it in the area between the sidewalk and the curb.

Food and Drink
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Rogue Sessions: Celebrity Chefs Rally to Support RJ Cooper

Rogue 24 by RJ Cooper
Courtesy Angie Salame

It is an unfortunate circumstance that will bring together some of the most talented chefs from the nation for a culinary showdown of epic proportions. Chef RJ Cooper, the mastermind behind Rogue 24, will undergo open heart surgery this month to correct a genetic heart defect which could be life-threatening if not treated.

In his place, ten of Cooper’s closest friends – who also happen to be some of the most talented chefs in the nation – will each take over the kitchen at Rogue 24 for a week. The impressive roster includes José Andrés, 2011 James Beard Outstanding Chef, David Posey from Chicago’s 4-star restaurant Blackbird and formerly of Alinea, Spike Gjerde, chef/owner of Woodberry Kitchen, Nancy Oakes, James Beard Best Chef California and chef/owner of Boulevard, and Top Chef contestant Jennifer Caroll, who worked with Eric Ripert at 10 Arts in Philadelphia and Le Bernadin in New York. And that’s just the half of them.

Each Rogue Session will cost $185 per person, and includes a 24-course dinner which will feature twelve dishes prepared by that week’s visiting chef and twelve Rogue 24 favorites, and wine and cocktail pairings by celebrity bartender Derek Brown and Beverage Director JP Fetherston. Tickets to these coveted sessions will be sold one week in advance exclusively through Gilt City. The first session kicks-off January 10th and will be lead by Top Chef contestant Bryan Voltaggio of VOLT. A portion of the ticket sales will be donated to Share Our Strength.

Now, if this isn’t the definition of chef love I don’t know what is.

Sports Fix
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Eagles defeat Redskins 34-10

Photo courtesy of KCZooFan
Liberty Bell
courtesy of KCZooFan

At the end of the first half the Redskins had the chance to get on the board after being handed a gift of a possession after a Brian Orakpo sack led to a fumble recovery by Perry Riley deep in Eagles territory. The Redskins couldn’t help but be the Redskins though. The first issue came on a incomplete pass to Santana Moss were he was in the belief that the defender deserved to be called for pass interference. Unable to keep his emotions in check he ripped off his helmet to better scream at the officials. It resulted in a fifteen yard penalty and a loss of down.

The Redskins still had time, but not much and were out of timeouts. Rex Grossman either needed to throw the ball into the end zone or out of bounds. He did neither and completed a short pass over the middle. The kicking unit had to scramble onto the field to attempt a last second field goal. They never made it and the half ended in the most Redskins fashion that it could.

Continue reading →