‘SALE’
courtesy of ‘nevermindtheend’

When I talk about how much I love living in my beautiful urban neighborhood in the District, suburb residents will often say that they love the city too but just can’t afford to live there.  Well, according to the Washington Examiner, they can’t afford not to.  According to a new study released by Montgomery County, when transportation and housing costs are combined, it’s a lot cheaper to live close to transit. For example, those who live in non-transit-accessible Potomac spend twice as much on transportation as those in transit-friendly Silver Spring.

There’s definitely a level of sticker shock when you first see how high rents in this area are, but when you factor in the ability to sell a car, take transit, and/or walk or bike to work, moving closer to the city is a wise financial decision.

‘Fojol Bros. of Merlindia’
courtesy of ‘Dave Kleinschmidt’
El Floridano is closed today due to last night’s epic storm and District Taco is making a rare appearance in Ballston – adjust your lunch plans accordingly!
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‘Nats Dogs’
courtesy of ‘Kevin H.’

Over the weekend, ESPN’s Outside the Lines looked into the health status of stadium concessions around the country. The results weren’t pretty, but standing out among some of the results (in the bad way) was Chinatown’s Verizon Center. 100 percent of the vendors inspected had some sort of critical violation, with at least ten of the stands cited for the presence of mice droppings, an automatic critical offense. That might make you think twice about eating before you get to your next Caps game or concert.

Other parks and stadiums in the region fared better – not exactly a challenge, though. Nationals Park had critical violations at 25 percent of vendors inspected, while 36 percent of FedEx vendors were in critical shape.

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courtesy of ‘Chris Rief aka Spodie Odie’

Daniel Schorr, 93, passed away this morning at Washington Hospital Center. Schorr has been one, if not the, most senior reporting journalists in the United States. His career dates back to the 1950s, when he reopened the Moscow bureau of CBS News, and in 1963 he had the first foreign interview with Nikita Khruschev. He was on Richard Nixon’s list of enemies in the 1970s. He went to work for NPR in the 1980s, and had not officially retired.

I loved his voice and his demeanor. He was unafraid of telling you not just what happened (in excruciating and omnipotent detail), but what it meant. That sort of insight is largely absent from our modern blowhole media, where the cable news networks blather on without context or history. I will miss Daniel’s presence on my radio on Saturday mornings.

Though Studio 2A at NPR is named in his honor, I would hope that NPR might do more to honor the legendary journalist, whose career should stand as monument to all who work in the space today, and in the future. Put his name on your front door, NPR. Remind yourself every day that you’re not Fox or MSNBC, and that you’re proud of that. Do that for yourselves, and for the memory of one of DC’s finest journalists.

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courtesy of ‘Chris Rief aka Spodie Odie’

As mentioned earlier this morning, DCPS was soon expected to pink slip a number of teachers. Well, the tally is in: 226 241 teachers will be let go, effective August 13th. The Washington Post reports that the firings will be contested by the Washington Teachers’ Union.

Another 737 teachers were rated “minimally effective” by Chancellor Michelle Rhee’s new IMPACT evaluation system. These teachers will have one year to improve classroom performance before they too face possible dismissal.

Not surprisingly, debate over IMPACT has been reignited by today’s announcement. Critics say teachers were not adequately prepared for the program’s new set of expectations, and that test scores are a poor measure of teacher performance. Proponents view it as a bold, progressive move to overhaul the city’s failing schools.

Since this is IMPACT’s first year in place, it’s hard to tell whether these ugly numbers will lead to beautiful things for DCPS. But with test scores on the rise, the promise for positive change is most certainly there.

‘dolores park popsicle’
courtesy of ‘apasciuto’
Have you heard? It’s supposed to be really, really hot this weekend. And what’s the best way to deal with the pain of an unimaginable heat index? Frozen booze.

Lucky for us Washingtonians, we have plenty of options. At Cafe Saint-Ex, you can see if one of their Poptails will cool down your core body temp. Made with St. Germain, sparkling white wine and lemon simple syrup, it just might be refreshing enough to distract you from the humidity. Might. Right now they only have one flavor, but mixologist Jonathan Fain hopes to roll out more in the near future. Another restaurant in the popsicle game is Potenza, where you can sample three frozen treats based on some of their most popular cocktails. I’m most excited to try the Orvieto, made with fresh strawberries and balsamic syrup, lime, basil and vodka.

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‘The Zac Brown Band’
courtesy of ‘slgckgc’

For the first time in a few months, the full green line trains heading towards the Navy Yard are not because of another night of Strasmukah. With the Nationals on the road, the concert stage has been wheeled into the outfield for tonight’s show featuring Dave Matthews Band and Zac Brown Band. The show officially starts at 7 p.m., but it sounds like a lot of the town will be getting ready early (rumor has it that the Bullpen, just outside the center field gates to Nationals Park, will be open at 3 p.m.).

Are you going? I know I’ll be there, along with a couple dozen thousand of my fellow Dave and Zac friends.

An all call to any photographers going: be sure to grab some pics and add them to our Flickr pool.

‘froyo’
courtesy of ‘laurarotondo’
Once again, it looks like you Farragut Square folks are going to luck out. Have a D.C. Slice for me!
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‘9TH’

courtesy of ‘MissChatter’

It can’t be said enough that the cliché “There’s no ‘I’ in team” is completely relevant in major league sports, but the way the Nationals pitching staff appears to be playing this season it’s hard to believe they’ve taken it to heart.

Stephen Strasburg is the obvious choice for an ace after coming into the mix two months after Opening Day. Livan Hernandez continues to prove why he was added back onto the roster during Spring Training, especially after two complete games this season. But what about the rest of these guys? Continue reading →

‘Tearing up Asphalt on 17th Street’
courtesy of ‘Paul Frederiksen’

Asphalt is one of those great words in road construction that you just marvel as its wonderful mélange of language influence. The word dates back beyond the Greeks in origin, and while it generally refers to sticky/oily stuff, the modern usage is that of a bitumen petroleum product added to road macadam. Bitumen can also be called tar, which leads us to tarred macadam, or tarmac, which is the modern substance we see covering most of the roads of the Eastern United States, mostly due to its malleability in the face of freezing winters. That same malleability is, in the beating heat of summer, a bit of a problem. Dr. Gridlock tells us that due to the high heat and humidity, it’s unlikely the road surfaces will be able to contract in the cool of evening, and we might see some issues on area roads over the next few days as temperatures soar.

In DC, if you spot roads that are buckling badly, it’s probably a good idea to call DDOT at 311 to let them know, or tweet @DDOTDC. In Maryland, fill out an online form. In Virginia, if you’re in Arlington, call call 703-228-3000, or in the rest of the state, fill out this online form.

‘Multimedia message’
courtesy of ‘James Buck’

For many DC teachers, summer vacation may unfortunately turn into a permanent vacation. WAMU.org is reporting that a “sizable” number of DCPS teachers will be laid off in the coming days. The firings are part of the school system’s new IMPACT program, a tool designed to assess teacher performance. Using test scores, student growth and outside evaluations, teachers are rated on a 400-point scale. While high scores can lead to bonuses, low scores can prompt a pink slip. The hope is that this sort of reward and penalty system will eliminate ineffective educators and push teachers to strive for excellence. No word yet on how many teachers will be released.

‘Livan 2’
courtesy of ‘afagen’

The Nationals won back-to-back road games for the first time since May 12-13 thanks to some fine work on the mound from their youngest starter and their oldest starter against the Cincinnati Reds (53-44).

Livan Hernandez threw his second complete game of the season proving once again that the veteran’s still got it at 35 years-young. Besides helping himself out by driving in a run with the bases loaded in the second, Hernandez tossed 102 pitches, striking out five and the Reds scattering seven hits throughout the afternoon. Not only that but he didn’t walk anyone and didn’t allow any extra-base hits. Continue reading →

‘Poutine’
courtesy of ‘Joey DeVilla’
It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of food trucks. I’m also a big fan of sort of disgusting food that I can eat under the guise of “being international” or “trying new things.” So when the latest and greatest food truck in town, eatWonky, comes on the scene the week of August 16th I’ll be first in line. They will be serving American food with an international twist including signature items such as something called Wonky Fries. More commonly known as poutine, it’s a Canadian delicacy consisting of French fries doused in something called “squeaky cheese” and gravy. Another signature item sure to confuse Washingtonians is the Wonky Dog, a hot dog covered in the above mentioned Wonky Fries. There will be grilled cheese on the menu for those a bit overwhelmed by these belly-buster choices, but be forewarned, it’ll be served with gravy.

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