Category Archives: The Daily Feed

The Daily Feed
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Transit enthusiasts, fire up your RSS readers

Photo courtesy of
’10 October 2010 – No 085′
courtesy of ‘B Jones Jr’

A friend casually mentioned last night that it looks like Metro’s planning office seemed to have a blog, but he wasn’t sure if it was real. DCist reminded me to check it out today, and it’s clearly far too straitlaced to be a hoax.

PlanItMetro.com is from WMATA’s Office of Long Range Planning and has been updated sporadically since early October. (If only there were some kind of Metro social media channel they could have used to publicize it…) Lots of interesting things to be found on it, including information about serving casual riders with “12 minute maps” that show coordinated service along low-frequency lines.

It’s a big step for an agency not at all known for being communicative, especially through less traditional media. So poke around a bit and leave a comment- it’s a lot easier to be motivated to write when you know you’re writing for an audience.

The Daily Feed
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Rocket Scientist student at AU tells press he’s stockpiling, selling Four Loko

Photo courtesy of
‘four loko’
courtesy of ‘ghostdad’

One has to admire how a student living in “dry” campus housing at American University would brag to the Washington Post about stockpiling the soon-to-be-banned Four Loko beverage and use his actual name and major.  That’s Greg Gerlach (see below, the Post’s identification may be incorrect), according to the article, a sophomore econ major from the class of 2013 (on the five year plan? That’s a surprise.) who’s stockpiling the beverage in advance of the ban.  What’s more fun is that from a little research, it appears that Gerlach (see below, the Post’s identification may be incorrect) has yet to reach the age where purchasing liquor is legal, as his birthday on social networking site Facebook is listed as 1990.

We asked if any of our authors had tried the controversial beverage, and one review was granted on the condition of anonymity:

Continue reading →

News, The Daily Feed, WMATA, WTF?!
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TBD does Escalator Census

Photo courtesy of
‘Escalators sure are pretty’
courtesy of ‘Karon’

TBD this week sent their intrepid community people through a grand tour of the Metro, charting each and every station’s escalator status. All told, Metro is missing about 13% of their total escalator fleet right now due to mechanical failures of one sort or another, which is both more than it should be, but also somehow less than I thought it would be.

In the decade or so that I’ve lived here, this has been Metro’s white whale. They organize high level commissions, or an escalator repair academy, or promise that they’ll get better, and it seems that they never do.  It’s rare that I encounter a day where all the escalators along my travels are working. Monday last week, about a third of the escalators I encountered on a red line jaunt (Brookland/CUA – Woodley Park – Farragut North – Gallery Pl. Chinatown), and several made ominous noises that had me wondering if I was about to experience some free-wheeling good times at the bottom of an escalator.

It seems that escalators, though, are the least of the problems of an aging system that had several other major crises this week, including a roof cave-in at Farragut North, a train collision with track equipment on the Red Line, and the communications being down yesterday.  I’d much rather Metro fix problems like those first, as we can all use a few more stairs in our lives these days.

The Daily Feed
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Organic farm loses humane certification after animal care violations discovered

Photo courtesy of
‘Zola on the Go Blackberries’
courtesy of ‘Mr. T in DC’

The story people were talking about on Twitter this morning, you know, before Metro went silent, was the organic farm that had supplied several DC restaurants turning out to be a pretty horrible place for animals after all.

Black Eagle Farm, in rural Virginia, was found to have its animals in a variety of filthy, hazardous, and inhuman situations, including animals being left with the corpses of other animals, dogs being locked in sheds with their own feces, and a dead goat still tied to a fence.

The story illustrates the difficulty of knowing whether one’s suppliers and producers are continuing to operate in the way that one expects, or if they’ve gone off the rails and just stopped feeding the chickens. Trust is extended all through the food supply, whether one is buying grocery store garlic that’s been imported by the ton from China or taking deliveries from the organic farm 100 miles away.

The farm had been in financial trouble for some time, and the owner, Ralph Glatt, insists he knew nothing about the conditions, having been in Europe for several months trying to raise money to save the farm. He is currently attempting to reorganize under another name and regain the agricultural land that had been sold off in bankruptcy.

The Daily Feed
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Free Slurpees and a Free Concert this afternoon

7E-PurpleLogo1.JPG

If you’re looking for a reason to get out of your office this afternoon, how about a free Slurpee from 7-11?  They’re running events at Union Station (10a-2p) and City Center at 11th & H (4-8p).  The Slurpees are bi-partisan Purple, and will be free to those attending.  In addition, Blues Traveler is on-scene from 5 to 7 to play a concert.  Get on out and have a free slurpee!

The Daily Feed
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DC Dept of Health wants to know: what kind of condom are you?

Photo courtesy of
‘Condoms’
courtesy of ‘robertelyov’

There’s no question that DC has an AIDS problem that’s in need of creative solutions. DC’s infection rate is one of the worst in the nation, and it’s not been getting much better.  NBC Washington spotted one of DDOH’s latest efforts, and that’s their new “What Kind of Condom Are You?” quiz.

The quiz offers six questions of three answers each, and positions itself along side many Facebook quizzes and other manners of low-impact amusements.  So, DC, what sort of condom are you? I was a little disappointed that they kept the results so…vanilla.

All Politics is Local, News, The Daily Feed
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Committee of 100 to Gray: Fire Gabe Klein and Harriet Tregoning

Photo courtesy of
”
courtesy of ‘erin m’

Lydia DePillis from Washington City Paper this morning published a letter (and some very astute analysis) from the Committee of 100 to Mayor-Elect Gray asking him to please fire Gabe Klein and Harriet Tregoning and appoint new (and more friendly to them) leadership at DDOT and the District Office of Planning. Specifically, the C100 cite the loss of a Streetcar Grant (which wasn’t Klein’s fault) and Tregoning’s choice of input tolerance (which DePillis correctly identifies as meaning disregard for their input) and send the whole thing to Gray.

Now, here’s my two cents. It may be early in the transition, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see Gray make a clean sweep of Fenty appointees, rockstars like Gabe Klein included.  Klein’s Circulator buses are popular in the downtown-going crowd, but not across any of the bridges except those to Virginia, and his Streetcar program has raised the ire of one of Gray’s biggest allies, Marion Barry.  Gray can certainly use this letter like an excuse, and part ways with Klein and Tregoning, lose little political capital, and come away with a stronger ally in the Committee of 100, for what good that would be worth.

Personally? Klein has made DDOT a lot more visible to its residents, increased popular services, and added a bike-share program that has taken off.  While that means public transit has been the focus of DDOT instead of cars, it’s provided the opportunity to strengthen a part of DC that has been suffering for a long time, and in light of Metro’s recent suffering, that’s a necessary part.

capitals hockey, The Daily Feed
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Caps Drop Sabres 4-2

Photo courtesy of
‘DSC_9042’
courtesy of ‘bhrome’

The Washington Capitals went into last night’s game against the Buffalo Sabres with a chip the size of the second period on their shoulder. For the last few contests, the Caps have suffered a relapse of play midway through their games and some media has taken the team to task for it. After all, their second period stutters have allowed their opponents to come back into the game.

History almost repeated itself last night.

The Caps had a great first period, cruising to a 2-0 lead with goals by Nicklas Backstrom and Matt Bradley. And the second period started out well, with David Steckel snapping a wrister behind Sabres goalie Ryan Miller to put the game all but out of reach. But then, it nearly happened again. Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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WMATA communications down

Photo courtesy of
‘commuters in motion’
courtesy of ‘philliefan99’

WMATA’s Communication systems are down this morning, including PA systems, PID boards, data feeds (for services like NextBus), and their website.

So basically anything that could tell you when the next train or bus will be arriving, including the site you’d be downloading schedules from.

Enjoy your commute, and remember that someone at Metro is having a worse day than you.

The Daily Feed
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Ba Bay Opens (Softly) Today

Courtesy of Ba Bay

It may only have 49 tables and not take reservations, but it might just be worth your while to head over to Ba Bay this week to test out the new restaurant during their soft opening. Located in the former Locanda space on Pennsylvania Ave. on Capitol Hill, Ba Bay is a “modern Vietnamese” restaurant that serves traditional Vietnamese fare with a splash of Western influence.

Owned by cousins Khoa and Denise Nguyen, the restaurant (which translates to “Madame Seven”) is not only named after their grandmother, but also pays tribute to the food she cooked. Chef Nick Sharpe, formerly of Sonoma, has designed a menu that is meant to be shared. Diners should expect dishes such as a Vietnamese charcuterie plate, a classic bowl of pho, and Braised Chicken in Caramel Sauce with Oysters.

The soft opening will start today and run for about a week, and is open for both lunch and dinner (but closed on Mondays).

The Daily Feed
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Task force recommends Metro governance changes

Photo courtesy of
‘Smithsonian Metro Station’
courtesy of ‘mlaichtastic’

…and all of DC says, “Uh, no kidding.”

A task force assembled by the Washington Board of Trade and the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments recommended a number of changes to enhance WMATA’s efficiency, accountability, and service quality. Some would be relatively simple to implement, such as a board orientation so that new board members could get acclimated to their roles more quickly.Others would require more effort to amend the compact that established WMATA in the 1960s.

The task force also suggested that a governance commission be established, in addition to the existing board, composed of the mayor of DC as well as the governors of Maryland and Virginia. The idea is that this commission would be better at holding WMATA’s board accountable, but given Virginia’s usual attitude of “thanks for the tax base now please stop asking for money” toward NoVA, I don’t see the Virginia governor being all that effective at making a difference at Metro.

News, The Daily Feed
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Marion Barry defends welfare reform, clings to myth that FBI set him up

marionbarry.jpg

Marion Barry went on Fox Business news today to talk about his plan to reform the welfare system, but got taken off on a tangent to talk about his arrest 20 years ago for crack cocaine.

Fox: “Are you the best person to do this? With all due respect, your honor, you disgraced yourself in office…and now you’re trying to be the example for welfare reform and a real shift.  I put it to you sir, you’re not the best example.

Barry: “Well, that’s your view about it. The FBI 20 years ago set me up, entrapped me, spent $50M. That’s all behind us now.”

Barry then went on to compare himself to Nixon going to China.  Gotta love hizzoner. The whole clip is worthwhile, as the TANF situation is certainly that could use reform, but is reform lead by Marion Barry worth working on?

The Daily Feed
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Hot Ticket: Simian Mobile Disco @ U Street Music Hall – TONIGHT


Simian Mobile Disco.

You may know the UK remix duo known as Simian Mobile Disco from their reworkings of Muse, Air, and The Klaxons but tonight at U Street Music Hall get ready to see another side of them. Simian Mobile Disco have spent the last year crafting a series of original minimal techno tracks and releasing them as 12’s on their own label. The whole project is called “Delicacies”; as each track is named after an exotic delicacy discovered by the two during their world travels.

All year Simian Mobile Disco have been showing off their great new sound and their live mixing talents by hosting ‘Delicatessen’ parties in the UK. Now they are collecting their singles onto an album and bringing their ‘Delicatessen’ parties to the US. Their limited run of US events kicks off tonight at U Street Music Hall. I can not wait to hear Simian Mobile Disco’s spare electronic beats and mellow techno melodies working out U Hall’s custom built sound system. This is one of the best acts the U Hall has booked yet!

Sample one of SMD’s ‘Delicacies’!

Simian Mobile Disco
@ U Street Music Hall
TONIGHT – $15
Doors at 10pm

The Daily Feed
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Bring on the Beaujolais

Photo courtesy of
‘est arrivé’
courtesy of ‘theogeo’

School night schmool night. If you’re a dedicated socialite, you’ll make it out past midnight to taste the release of this year’s Beaujolais Nouveau. The French wine is released on the third Thursday of November, and 12:00 a.m. marks the signal to start popping bottles. Because everyone loves a good countdown, this somewhat nondescript wine is always the most anticipated vintage of the year.

Continue reading →

Technology, The Daily Feed
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Charter School gets grant for 700 iPads

Photo courtesy of
‘look at me and my iPad’
courtesy of ‘philliefan99’

The Business Journal’s Michael Neibauer has the story of a DC Public Charter School that has received a grant for an iPad for each of their students. Each of their 700 students will receive an iPad that they can use in their day-to-day classroom experience.  A little skeptical of the new tablet’s usability in schools? A friend of mine in Scotland has done this project already, having received a private grant to roll out a large number of iPads for elementary and middle school students.

Looking at his early results in regards to what the iPad is doing in his school, it’s hard to not like the potential, but as with everything, the devil is in the implementation.  I wish Friendship PCS the best of luck with this program, if it succeeds in doing what their COO says and puts accessible technology for learning in the hands of every student, then they’ll have achieved where many have failed.

News, The Daily Feed
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Deal for multiple Wal-Marts in DC in the works

Photo courtesy of
‘Urban Wal-Mart in White Plains, NY’
courtesy of ‘pasa47’

Late last night, Twitter was abuzz with news of development across the river in Ward 7.  Council member Yvette Alexander (W7) tweeted, “Big box retailer coming to Ward 7? Stay tuned!” This being the age of instant gratification and always-on communication, Fairfax Village‘s Veronica Davis pressed Alexander for more details.  Councilman Tommy Wells (W6) replied with the bombshell: “Walmart’s coming to DC.“

That was enough to get things rolling on Twitter and for the council members to respond with some critical details concerning the new sites: there would be multiple smaller, more urban Wal-Marts in the District with Wards 7 and 5 being locations on the current plan.  The total number would be “less than 10” and the sites would largely be 80,000-90,000 square feet instead of the 220,000 square feet sites in the suburbs.

The new urban model Wal-marts start at 20,000 square feet, and have at their heart a grocery model, which Wells says has Wal-mart playing average grocery store wages in the new locations, including the ones slated for DC, according to Wells.  These new stores could go a long way to solving some of the Food Desert problems that the eastern side of the city frequently have, but there are concerns around the big box model that have a lot to do with abandonable, non-reuseable storefronts, and that’s something the city will have to address as part of the development process.  The good news is, though, that multiple new retail venues can mean an increase in jobs for both skilled and unskilled labor, and in a city with double digit unemployment, it’s hard to argue with jobs.