‘E Street Expressway’
courtesy of ‘Daquella manera’

Due to the new reconstruction project between the Lincoln Memorial and the Kennedy Center, there is no longer driver access to the E-Street Expressway. All westbound traffic on Independence Ave must now go north at either 15th or 17th Streets. The U.S. Park Service says the work is part of a larger project that includes the reconstruction of Ohio Drive and the storm drain system. Some night closures are also expected.

With tourists flooding town and flocking to that end of the Mall, expect traffic patterns to change between rush and non-rush hours – or find a different route for the time being. The project is expected to wrap up in October.

‘$5 Nats Ticket’
courtesy of ‘MudflapDC’

Sports Illustrated posted the cover of their June issue on Facebook today. Thanks to Federal Baseball for pointing this out, but on the top right-hand corner of this issue (hitting stands tomorrow) the headline reads as it does in this post.

(Click here to see the SI cover.)

While we’re still a ways away from seeing Bryce Harper at Nationals Park, young Strasburg will be making his Major League debut (pending weather/extenuating circumstances) on June 8.

Nice to see DC getting some MLB street cred in the sports community.

I mean heck, the Nationals were number one on StubHub thanks to the big June 8 announcement!

Way to start looking like a real baseball town, DC. You’re getting really into this. I like the enthusiasm. Keep it up.

‘Woodley Park – Watching Traffic – 12-15-08’
courtesy of ‘mosley.brian’

Mayor Fenty this morning announced the wholesale increase in traffic violation fines, including some that have double, tripled, or in one case, dectupled. The move will generate approximately $7M in additional revenue for the cash-strapped city government before the end of the fiscal year in October. The Examiner has a handy list of the new fines, but the ones that went up the most are:

Passing a Schoolbus with its red blinkers on: Now $500 (from $50)

Failing to secure loads: Now $250 (from $50)

“Coasting”: Now $75 (from $15)

Failure to Yield: Now $100 (from $25)

Speeding (11-15mph): Now $125 (from $50)

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The fix for most of us is easy: Don’t Drive Like an Idiot, Don’t Get Fined. This is not rocket surgery.

Photo courtesy Chris Cooks

The 1300 block of K Street NW is closed due to a multi-vehicle crash. According to D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services the crash involves two cabs, three cars, and a DC Circulator bus. Five patients have been evaluated, one in critical condition with CPR being administered.

According to witness accounts, and DC Fire and EMS, a cab driver may have suffered a medical problem while driving.

If you’re planning on traveling downtown via car or bus, expect delays and avoid K Street.

‘celebration’
courtesy of ‘Joe in DC’

Councilmember Jim Graham (D-Ward 1) plans to submit legislation today that would allow bars to open as early as 7 a.m. during the World Cup. Michael Neibauer at WBJ has the details. The bill, which could be voted on today, would allow bars to obtain an extension that would be valid only from June 11 through July 11. Since the World Cup’s venue is South Africa, many games will start was early as 7:30 a.m. Eastern time. Those establishments looking to extend their hours would need to pay a fee to the District’s Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration and could lose their waiver if the Police Chief feels there is a danger to public health or welfare.

This move would not be unprecedented; a four-day extension was granted for the inauguration of President Obama back in 2009.

You’ve been warned, D.C. With the ever-growing influx of interns, and now the possibility of bars being open nearly round-the-clock, it’s going to be a long summer. D.C. is home to many people with international roots and varied sporting allegiances, so this could get interesting. At this point it’s hard to say how many bars would take advantage of this possibility, though the WBJ piece does mention one–Lucky Bar in Dupont.

‘Streetcar/trolleybus overhead crossing’
courtesy of ‘Oran Viriyincy’

Over the weekend, Greater Greater Washington had the news that Councilman Tommy Wells is introducing council legislation to provide for overhead wiring to the H Street/Benning Road Streetcar line in order to power the unit. The move would modify the existing 19th century legislation that overhead wires were prohibited in the L’Enfant portion of the city. This would be one step further to getting the streetcars flowing along the H Street corridor, as power has long been an issue in that fight. We’ll be watching this one closely. Judging by our tweets last week, streetcars are a project that has a serious following here, and obstacles to its successful launch will be met with…determination.

‘Spiral’
courtesy of ‘Karon’

It is going to be a HOT week, so why not stay cool with a bit of Jazz and Art?  At Philips After Five on Thursday, June 3rd you can either enjoy music from Pianist Janelle Gill, Flautist Jamal Brown, and Bassist Zack Pride – or – listen to a Gallery Talk, exploring Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s masterpiece Luncheon of the Boating Party.  I have no idea how one could choose, so, I guess you may just have to check out both!

Phillips After Five occurs on the first Thursday of the month, 5-8:30 PM.  Cash Bar.

‘4TH’
courtesy of ‘MissChatter’

The wait is over. It appears that June 8 is the new June 4.

The Nationals issued an announcement stating that their 21-year-old first round pick in 2009 is making his Major League Debut with the Washington Nationals Tuesday June 8 against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Nationals Park.

Strasburg has dominated in minor league play going a combined 6-2 with a 1.43 ERA and 60 strikeouts in 50 1/3 innings for Double-A Harrisburg and Triple-A Syracuse.

Welcome to the big leagues, kid.

’67A #1′
courtesy of ‘Chris Rief aka Spodie Odie’

The Post Guild, the union representing Washington Post workers, has released a biting letter criticizing Publisher Katherine Weymouth for receiving half a million dollars in bonuses for 2009. When WaPo ombudsman Andrew Alexander mentioned it in March he lead his piece with the news that Post Co. chair Donald Graham had forgone any bonuses or salary increases, getting to Weymouth’s accepting of a bonus and 10% salary increase farther down in the column. The bonus is “based on 2009 performance goals” though exactly what those are he doesn’t mention.

If we go by Alexander’s May column the answer would seem to be “only declining in circulation by about 6%.” Raw numbers are worse than that, but Alexander points out that’s because the Post sold a lot of commemorative papers because of Obama’ in the previous six-month time. “The decline is more modest when looking only at home delivery circulation, where The Post dropped by 6.4 percent weekdays and 5.7 percent Sundays.”

Alexander  omitted what an earlier WaPo column pointed out: only 18% of the paper’s circulation is newsstand sales, so narrowing that number down to “only”  home delivery, the majority of the paper’s sales, doesn’t seem like a lot of consolation.

Armed with that 82% home delivery number, though, you can get some fun numbers.  Sunday circulation rate of 800,000 means 656,000 people get it at home. Daily it’s 578,500 total and 474,370 at home. Apply the $0.10 rate hike to those home subscriber numbers  and you’re up 41.3M – more than enough to cover the 16.2M they actually paid in bonuses to their executives, according to the Post Guild.

What are you whining about, Guild? They only took 40% of that for themselves!

‘Fancy #1’
courtesy of ‘Chris Rief aka Spodie Odie’

The results of the 2010 GMAC Insurance National Drivers Test place the District of Columbia as having the third least knowledgeable drivers in the United States. DC squeaks in right above New Jersey and New York at the very bottom of the list. The top three states were Kansas, Oregon and South Dakota.

The test was comprised of 20 questions on basic rules of the road, derived mostly from DMV exams. Some questions also addressed subjects such as distracted driving. Nationwide scores were down from the 2009 survey.

From a CNN piece on the results:

Nearly three out of four couldn’t identify safe following distances and some 85% incorrectly responded to questions about what to do when approaching a steady yellow light. This signals that licensed drivers lack knowledge of fundamental road rules, GMAC Insurance said.

I’d suggest that questions about navigating traffic circles and pulling over for motorcades also be included. Those Kansas drivers seem very confused about those things once they get to DC, even if they are ranked #1.

For comparison, Virginia ranked #28 and Maryland at #20.

‘I’ve never figured this out’
courtesy of ‘philliefan99’

Today’s weather forecast doesn’t exactly scream outdoor concert, but neither rain, nor thunder, nor obscene humidity can keep Jazz in the Garden from its appointed slot. The free concert series kicks off its 10th season this evening at 5:30pm with jazz vocalist Leslie Summey. The concert will take place in the National Gallery of Art’s Sculpture Garden, though if the nasty forecast holds, Ms. Summey will be singing in the Pavilion Café. Don’t worry – sangria is still on the menu this year, and will be served whether the concert is indoors or out.

If you can’t make it tonight, the rest of this summer’s lineup is looking fabulous, with a little something for everyone.