Category Archives: WTF?!

Business and Money, News, Night Life, The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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PEPCO Continues to Suck

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

According to a tipster, readers on South Capitol and 2nd St SW may be without power from 8pm to 7:30am tonight due to transformer repairs in the area.  This is all well and good, except that PEPCO neglected to notify customers in the neighborhood that they would be without lights or AC, this evening. The reader that reported this saw some PEPCO repairmen in the area and asked them what was going on.  They informed her of the maintenance work and she called the power company, who was kind enough to inform her that her house would be affected. After a search around PEPCO’s website and an odyssey through their multiple, automated and impenetrable customer support lines, I can find no listing of scheduled outages or maintenance.  This means that customers are not being notified that their service will be interrupted. But then again, why should PEPCO have to tell you peons about that kind of stuff.  It’s not like anyone needs power, or anything.

The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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So it begins…

Photo courtesy of
‘Northrop Grumman MQ-8 Fire Scout’
courtesy of ‘gpjt’

The NYT reports that on August 2, Navy personnel at Patuxent Naval Air Station lost control of an unmanned drone which promptly b-lined for DC, making its way into the restricted air space over the city before operators regained control.  The DoD blames the loss of control on the drone becoming self aware and embarking on a mission to destroy humanity a software glitch and have grounded the remainder of the fleet until they’re sure they’ve fixed the problem.  The drone, an MQ8-B Fire Scout, resembling a small helicopter, was unarmed. It managed to travel about 23 miles under its own control before it could be ordered to return to base. I, for one, welcome our new robot overlords.

<a href=’http://www.flickr.com/photos/83536366@N00/4828532171′ title=’Northrop Grumman MQ-8 Fire Scout’><img src=’http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4094/4828532171_7c77402060_m.jpg’ alt=’Photo courtesy of ‘gpjt’/></a><br/><small><a href=’http://www.flickr.com/photos/83536366@N00/4828532171′>’Northrop Grumman MQ-8 Fire Scout'</a></small><br/><small>courtesy of <a href=’http://www.flickr.com/people/83536366@N00/’>’gpjt'</a></small>
The Daily Feed, WMATA, WTF?!
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New SmarTrip rules to make faregate delays even worse

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

Metro supremely buried the lede today in their press release announcing SmarTrip rule changes that will no longer allow SmarTrip balances to go negative.

First they butter you up with the nice news that SmarTrip cards will decrease in price from $5 to $2.50. Great, right? Except that somehow, in the universe Metro operates in, dropping the price of the cards requires them to implement new “technology” that prevents you from exiting the station if doing so would put your SmarTrip balance negative. Which is ridiculous- a significant part of the convenience value of SmarTrip cards is that you don’t have to fuss about your balance while you’re trying to get to work on time. This is particularly key now that we have peak-of-the-peak adding an additional level of complexity to fares.

But NOT TO FEAR, DC, Metro will also be upgrading the Exitfare machines with SmarTrip touch points so you can add additional fare before leaving the station. Except that’s not that helpful AT ALL because the Exitfare machines will remain cash-only.

So let’s review: Metro has recently made it more complicated to keep track of your actual fare at the time you enter the station by adding a peak-of-the-peak surcharge. They then strand SmarTrip users in the station if they happen to miscalculate and forget about that 20 cent charge instead of letting them make it up on their next SmarTrip refill. So not only are they asking SmarTrip users to radically change the habit that is probably what got them to use SmarTrip in the first place, they’re also asking them to make it a point to carry small amounts of cash with them at all times because they still won’t allow credit card SmarTrip refills inside the faregates.  And this is supposed to be made aaaaaall better because the SmarTrip card itself, the one you probably already have in your wallet, now costs $2.50 less, which won’t help you at all.

So what can we conclude from this? You should probably just go back to paper farecards. Thanks for nothing, WMATA.

We’ve asked WMATA for comment, and will let you know if they get back to us.

All Politics is Local, Downtown, Essential DC, Life in the Capital, News, People, The District, The Features, WTF?!
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And For Mayor, We Endorse…

Photo courtesy of
‘Mayoralty elections (LOC)’
courtesy of ‘The Library of Congress’

As the countdown to voting day continues, many have asked us here at WeLoveDC just who we’re going to endorse for Mayor of the District. We’ve had a long and exhausting debate on our author email list, and quite frankly, we couldn’t come up with a unanimous choice, much less a majority decision. So instead, we decided to offer up our own endorsements for mayor, in our own words.

You may be surprised at who we picked. Continue reading →

People, The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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Our DC has superheroes too.

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I know what you’re thinking. You want to volunteer in your community, to be a good citizen, but you ALSO want to dress up in perhaps a mask or tights without your fellow volunteers judging your or edging slowly away to the other end of the senior center community room. Fortunately, there is a solution to these conflicting desires: The Capital City Super Squad.

According to the Super Squad’s FAQ, the Squad is, “is a volunteer organization of civic minded DC area citizens who perform public service in the guise of their own original superhero identities.” Is the superhero identity required? Oh yes. No mild-mannered newspaper reporters allowed. But fear not, if you earnestly desire to be a superhero but are stumped for a gimmick and a costume, that’s something the Squad can help you to formulate.

The Squad participates in such community outreach activities as passing out water during our recent heat wave (see video above) and cooperating with MPD to post  fliers to ask for leads in catching suspects or locating missing persons. So if your kung fu isn’t top-notch, you’ll still find plenty of heroic feats to accomplish.

All Politics is Local, The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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“Threatening display of magazines” at Vince Gray’s home

Photo courtesy of
‘Architecte’
courtesy of ‘Kevin H.’

Just when I thought any mention of Ron Moten, Peaceoholics, and the DC mayoral race couldn’t get any weirder or more childish comes this report in the Examiner that on Thursday night, Vince Gray arrived home to find four copies of the Peaceoholics’ magazine on his storm door in the shape of an X. Really. That happened. And the poor Examiner reporter was forced to write, with a straight face, that it was a “threatening display of magazines.”

I know I shouldn’t be surprised by, well, anything at all associated with Ron Moten at this point, but this shows remarkable half-assedness. Trying to have it both ways never works- either you’re intimidating because you’re all gritty from your work with offenders and potential offenders, or you’re an upstanding member of the community who deserves to be taken seriously. Paying a house call to someone you don’t like and leaving magazines stuck to his door in the shape of a letter of the alphabet is just… cartoonish.

Crime & Punishment, Downtown, The Daily Feed, WMATA, WTF?!
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DHS Warns of Terror Threat to Metro

Photo courtesy of
”
courtesy of ‘erin m’

NBC4 reports that the DHS warned WMATA on Sunday of a potential terror threat to the Metro system. According to a DHS memo, an  individual obtained a Turkish visa to come to the States and perpetrate a bombing on a Metro station.  The memo stated that this information has “low credibility” and that DHS has little information as to the specific date or target for the attack, or  if the individual in question is even capable of carrying out a bombing.

News, Talkin' Transit, The Daily Feed, WMATA, WTF?!
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NTSB v WMATA in Board on Board Battle

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

Yesterday, for the first time in recent memory, the NTSB took a field trip. Their board joined Metro’s board at the auditorium yesterday for the WMATA board meeting yesterday. During that meeting, Metro made a couple of public statements, one from its interim GM Richard Sarles, and one from Board Chair Peter Benjamin, on the subject of the accident review and the progress that WMATA has made since then. Of course, Metro isn’t just silently accepting the conclusions of the NTSB, and yesterday’s board meeting had at times what appeared to be Sharks vs. Jets moments as WMATA faced off with NTSB over the recommendation. The Post has a good accounting of the meeting, but it doesn’t seem to cover any interaction between NTSB and WMATA.

Somehow, it seems, though, that several of the WMATA Board members hadn’t seen the animation of the accident until yesterday, which is mind-boggling to me. Did they also just get the findings yesterday? I recognize that the WMATA Board is not one with full-time members who only do oversight and nothing else, but it seems to me that they should’ve seen that the day of the hearings, no?

Regardless of acceptance of blame, WMATA’s board needs to show a dedication to safety both for its riders and its staff, that just doesn’t seem to be there right now. While WMATA is taking steps in the right direction, they don’t seem to be organized around the issue. A hotline is a good start. Clearing the wayside is a good start. But bellying the 1000-series cars without doing any kind of testing? That’s just reactionary.

News, The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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Just to clear up some confusion: The Michaels Brown

Okay folks, there’s been some confusion here in the last week as DC straw poll voters are having a tough time distinguishing between the Michaels Brown.  Yes, there’s more than one Michael Brown.  There’s Michael Arrington Brown (MAB), who is an At-Large Council Member for DC, and there’s Michael Donald Brown (MDB), who is the District’s sitting shadow senator who is running for an At-Large Council seat.

This afternoon, MDB’s opponent, Clark Ray, sent an email out to a number of local listserves with pictures of the candidates, just to make sure that people know that MDB isn’t MAB and to make sure to point out by proxy that one is black and seated on the council, and one is white and isn’t on the council.

The whole thing reminds me of a certain movie favored by Gen X’ers, and I think it would go a little like this:

Samir: No one in this country can ever pronounce my name right. It’s not that hard: Na-ghee-na-na-jar. Nagheenanajar.
Michael Brown: Yeah, well, at least your name isn’t Michael Brown.
Samir: You know, there’s nothing wrong with that name.
Michael Brown: There *was* nothing wrong with it… until I was about twelve years old and that no-talent ass clown became famous and started winning At-Large Council seats.
Samir: Hmm… well, why don’t you just go by Mike instead of Michael?
Michael Brown: No way! Why should I change? He’s the one who sucks.

All Politics is Local, The Daily Feed, The District, WTF?!
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ANC Mary Cuthbert describes challenger with racial epithet

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We tweeted about this one early this morning, but it deserves mention here because advisory neighborhood commission (ANC) races aren’t covered in proportion to their importance to their immediate communities. Congress Heights on the Rise posted a video this morning of ANC Mary Cuthbert’s (8C03) argument with a challenger seeking signatures for his ballot petition, in which she refers to him as a “dumb nigger.” CHotR also includes examples of Cuthbert’s history of other misbehavior. (You can hear it at about 12 seconds in.)

In her role as part of ANC 8C, Cuthbert only represents about 2000 neighborhood residents, but since ANC commissioners are unpaid, volunteer positions, they frequently run unopposed. The small area they each represent means that individual commissioners often fly under the radars of the very residents whose interests they’re theoretically protecting, but they are elected officials just the same. This kind of behavior wouldn’t be tolerated from a City Council member, and there’s no reason to tolerate it from an ANC.

There are many fine ANCs out there who work in a thankless job. If yours is one of them, you should thank him or her. But if yours is not, you owe it to yourself and your neighbors to find out who the challengers are before Election Day. And have you considered running yourself?

Alexandria, The Great Outdoors, Where We Live, WTF?!
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Nature’s Fury: Braddock Road Edition

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photo by author.

Alexandria got hit hard by yesterday’s freak storm.The worst hit area seemed to be the North/South stretch of Braddock Road between Old Town and Route 7. That stretch looked like it had been hit by a mini-tornado; trees down, roads closed, cars and homes struck. In the several hours it took me to drive home from DC last night, I got a tour of some pretty spectacular storm damage. Here are some shots I took that I think give a pretty good impression of how strong this storm was.

Stare in awe at the aftermath of nature’s fury.

Continue reading →

The Daily Feed, WMATA, WTF?!
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Labor Day Weekend, Metro will close five Red Line stations

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Metro announced yesterday that over the Labor Day weekend, they will be closing five stations at the Glenmont end of the Red Line in order to do significant track work in order to comply with NTSB recommendations. Glenmont, Wheaton, Forest Glen, Silver Spring and Takoma will be closed from 10pm on Friday, September 3rd, through 5am on Tuesday, September 7th. During that closure, Metro will be replacing 2 track switches at Silver Spring, 525 feet of track, and 500 rail insulators. In addition, they’ll be swapping out 750 rail fasteners and 1,720 cross ties. It will be Metro’s single biggest replacement in the history of the system.

It’s going to suck for those who use the system in that branch for a few days, but it’s a helluva lot better than 150 days of single-tracking trains through that area, I think.

News, The Daily Feed, WMATA, WTF?!
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Rain, Rain, Go The Heck Away and Stop Causing Trouble


Flooding at Foggy Bottom Metro / Photo by Tiffany Bridge

It’s as if Snopocalypse Now Parts I and II weren’t enough for the crazy weather the District’s seen in 2010. Storms galore are appearing at a more consistent rate than a Nats win streak.

Is it god crying because baseball Jesus was put on the disabled list? Who knows. Either way, WLDC Author Tiffany is reporting that gallons of water and debris are currently flooding Foggy Bottom platform from the ceiling.

Also — the power’s out at the Friendship Heights metro station. Update, 4:01 p.m.: Friendship Heights metro station is open again.

Know of any more problems? Help your neighbors by leaving ’em in the comments. It’s good karma.

More photos of Foggy Bottom flooding after the page break. Continue reading →

All Politics is Local, Crime & Punishment, Life in the Capital, News, The Daily Feed, The District, WTF?!
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Help Solve Animal Cruelty Cold Case In Northeast

Photo courtesy of
‘McGruff looks pissed’
courtesy of ‘MikeOliveri’

Some disturbing news coming out of the Northeast today. Apparently, Washington Humane Society officers are heavily investigating two cases of cold-blooded animal murder and they’re looking for help in solving these senseless and heinous crimes.

In April an innocent opossum and her ten babies were stoned to death in an alley behind 16th Street, NE and a month later an innocent cat was brutally found stoned to death on the 200 block of Maryland Avenue, NE.

National studies have shown that individuals who commit these senseless acts of animal cruelty are seven times more likely to commit other anti-social acts such as violence towards people. So this individual or individuals pose a risk to the entire DC community.

If you have any information regarding these heinous crimes, please contact the Humane Law Enforcement Department at 202-BE HUMANE. All calls are confidential.

The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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Old School DC License Plate Nerdery

Seriously old school DC plate

I saw this car yesterday and traffic, and immediately noticed that the plate said “HOYAS.” But then I noticed that it’s a black-and-white DC plate, embossed with a die in an older style, and got curious. A vanity plate like “HOYAS” is kind of like getting your first name as a Gmail username- it’s got early-adopter cred like crazy, and you do whatever you have to to to renew it and make sure you keep it, dammit. So over dinner last night, Tom and I got curious and wondered exactly how old this plate was.

DCPlates.net gave us the answer: This particular style of black and white baseplate, with the “Nation’s Capital” slogan on top and “Washington, D.C.” on the bottom, came into use starting in 1968. It was issued numerically until February 1974, when it was replaced with the first red, white, and blue design, but was still the standard plate for vanity plates until 1978. Which means this plate is older than I am. Awesome. That’s some dedication, right there.

And speaking of dedication, I’ve got to credit DCPlates for being pretty much the most thorough example of niche DC nerdery I’ve ever seen. Kudos to you guys.

Downtown, Fun & Games, News, The Daily Feed, The Mall, WTF?!
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Meteors over Screen on the Green?

Photo courtesy of
‘Strisciata stellare ad Est’
courtesy of ‘gerlos’

Did anyone else see the large meteors that fell over DC, last night? I was at Screen on the Green last night watching 12 Angry Men (always awesome) and I saw two flaming chunks of rock fall over the Capitol.  And I’m not talking about dainty shooting stars. These were large enough and close enough to be seen despite the city’s light pollution and definitely caught the attention of most of the movie goers. You could even see the rocks beginning to break up and shed chunks of debris.  They kind of looked like fireworks right before the explode.  Did anyone else see them, or am I crazy?

The Daily Feed, WMATA, WTF?!
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Would You Climb Up A Metro Escalator?

Photo courtesy of
‘La luz al final’
courtesy of ‘ndutzan’

Here’s an interesting find I read from my co-worker Meggiepoo: a man climbing up the escalator partitions at the Bethesda Metro Station after a Caps game back in May 2009. The video was found and posted over at Unsuck DC Metro and makes me wonder if he was over-served at the game, couldn’t take people standing on the left, or unwilling to walk up a broken escalator.

As a relatively new daily Metro commuter I can understand the rage we all get from overflowing rail cars and broken down elevators and escalators. I do have to give this crazy Marylander some credit, I’ve always wanted to slide down the partition but Metro smartly put metal bumps on them to prevent that kind of crazy behavior. Of course they now make good climbing grips for those willing to scale an escalator.

Of course we here at We Love DC are not endorsing this sort of behavior but I hope it gives you a smile during your lunch.

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Arlington, Crime & Punishment, The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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Say Cheese and Pay Up

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

Remember those red light cameras that Arlington installed for your safety, last month?  Well, today is the day of reckoning. Arlington PD will start issuing $50 infractions to drivers the cameras catch blowing red lights.  To be fair, this is a significantly lighter fine than would be issue by a cop catching you doing the same, and you won’t get any points on your license.  Remember, citizens, these cameras are there for your safety, and are in no way a revenue generator for the city’s budget.

And, in case you’re wondering, the cameras are at the intersections of Lee Highway – Fort Myer Dr, and  Lee Highway – North Lynn St.

The Daily Feed, WMATA, WTF?!
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Metro releases not-terribly-useful online SmarTrip management

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

Today, at long last, you can view your SmarTrip usage history online at wmata.com.

That is, assuming your card is recent enough to have a 9-digit serial number. (Pad the beginning of the number with zeros if not.)

And assuming you remember both the zip code and phone number you used when you ordered it 8 years ago.  If you didn’t buy it from a machine. (How old IS that SmarTrip card, anyway?)

But if you can manage all those things… my friend, you are now able to view, online, all the places you’ve taken Metro to! In case you weren’t paying attention when you took Metro there!

So of course now that you see your card balance, you’ll want to add value. Except that you can’t, because that feature, the extremely advanced and complicated one one where you give them a credit card number to make a purchase, hasn’t been added yet. Let’s try that again:

So, now that you see how low your balance is, you can leave the office a little bit early to accommodate the amount of time you will STILL be spending in line at the one functioning SmarTrip machine at your Metro station of choice, because one isn’t working and the other is occupied by some tourist ignoring all the farecard machines and using the SmarTrip machine to buy precise-value paper farecards for the whole family using the bag of change he was keeping in the minivan. A nickel, a quarter, another nickel, wait, he dropped a dime… Aren’t you glad you left early?

Thanks for the useful information, Metro!

Edited to add: For maximum hilarity, watch your neighbors try and fail to use the new SmarTrip registration via the magic of Twitter Search.