Category Archives: The Daily Feed

News, The Daily Feed
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Cheesecake Factory Servers Arrested for Credit Card Fraud

Photo courtesy of
‘Cheesecake Factory…yum!’
courtesy of ‘dave~’

Have you eaten at the Cheesecake Factory in Friendship Heights lately? No? Good. Turns out, there was a credit card fraud ring operating with the help of the servers from Cheesecake Factory, to the tune of $117,000+ worth of false charges. The wait staff would use credit card skimmers to sluice off your credit card info for the low, low reward of $25-40 per card.

While this happens to local restaurants as well (famously, it happened at 701 last year) it seems to be something that happens mainly in the big chains, either due to depressed server salaries and tips, or because the organizations themselves don’t do much to engender staff loyalty to patrons. Just something to consider when you’re weighing your dining choices.

We regret the confusion, and have updated the story to put the Cheesecake Factory whence it belongs in Friendship Heights. Fail on our end.

The Daily Feed
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Strasburg To The Majors? Only Time Will Tell.

Photo courtesy of
‘Waiting for the call’
courtesy of ‘afagen’

Stephen Strasburg has a 21 1/3 scoreless inning streak playing for the Triple-A Syracuse Cheifs. He has and line that reads just as pretty, if not prettier, than a vast majority of pitchers at the Major League level at the current time.

That line reads: 3-0, 0.00 ERA, 18.1 IP, 4 H, 22 Ks, 4 BBs.

The question remains: when will his final minor league start take place?

Well sports fans, that start could be tonight. It could also be next week. Here’s the situation:

If tonight continues to be another routine outing for the talented 21-year-old, he has a shot at being called up this week. That would mean he could pitch in his hometown of San Diego when the Nationals visit the Padres in a few days. Which would be a particularly nice opportunity for a Major League debut since Strasburg played college ball for San Diego State.

If Strasburg does make the start in San Diego, that means no Major League debut on his team’s home field in Washington. Tickets sales for the projected June 4th start have been going since we all first heard word that it was even a semi-probable rumor. The buzz generated in this town about the odds of Strasburg’s first start being at home have even gone as far as to encourage District sports junkies to agree that Strasburg is one of the city’s top athletes … and he hasn’t even played here yet.

Either way, the time is coming and coming soon. There’s no way it isn’t with those kinds of numbers.

Update as of 3:33 p.m. – You can watch Strasburg’s start tonight live at 7:00 on MASN and MASN HD.

The Daily Feed
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Kindness of Strangers Saves a Man’s Life on National Mall

Photo courtesy of
‘Vietnam Veteran Memorial Wall – Washington, DC’
courtesy of ‘BAR Photography’

A man who went into cardiac arrest Saturday at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial is alive today thanks to four bystanders at the scene, according to The Washington Post.

The incident occurred around 12:10 p.m. according to individuals present at the time. One man who is a prosecutor in Union County, N.J. named James Tansey said it was an “amazing event” to see the four bystanders approach the collapsed man and bring him back to life.

“He was gone,” Tansey told The Post. “No heartbeat, no pulse” and not breathing, he continued.

Tansey was joined by fellow memorial visitors who just so happened to be two paramedics and a doctor.

One of the paramedics proceeded to perform mouth-to-mouth resuscitation for about four minutes Tansey told The Post, before the National Park Service arrived at the scene with an automated external defibrillator that ultimately restarted the man’s heart.

The man was apparently stable when taken to the hospital.

What a pleasant act of kindness, don’t ya think?

Technology, The Daily Feed
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Win Gov 2.0 Passes!

Photo courtesy of
‘Tim O’Reilly’
courtesy of ‘Center for American Progress’

One of the great things I love about DC is that it’s an intersection of theory and practice; it’s a place where people take technologies and policy ideas and work them into rules and laws and systems. The Gov 2.0 Expo is taking place here this week, and it’s focused on just that process. This is a conference where those confluences are at their most visible, when technologists like Tim O’Reilly (no relation to Bill, promise) and others get to influence the direction of technology adoption.

DC is a Tech Town, in addition to being a Gov Town, and this week we get to see a bit of the mixing of the two. In fact, we’re so hyped up that we want to give away two conference badges to this week’s conference that runs Tuesday to Thursday. We’re pretty excited about the whole thing, so that’s not all we’re doing. Here’s how it’s going to work:

If you leave a comment, we’ll email you a code for a free Expo Hall pass, and that will also enter you to win one of the two conference badges as well. If you’d rather just register for this awesome event at 25% off, just use the code “lovedc” when you register for Gov 2.0.

The Daily Feed
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Chain Bridge Not Yet Ready

Photo courtesy of
‘Chain Bridge’
courtesy of ‘NCinDC’

The Chain Bridge was supposed to finish its maintenance cycle, and reopen today in its new 3-lane format, but sadly the rain prohibited the line painters from doing their work over the weekend. That meant it was back to one-lane in each direction for morning rush, and evening rush will be the same way. DDOT says they’ll be able to properly finish the painting and reopen the bridge in 3-lane format “by midweek”.

History, Life in the Capital, The Daily Feed, The Great Outdoors
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Metro DC Area Ranked #1 Fittest City

Photo courtesy of
‘Fitness’
courtesy of ‘The Digital Story’

For the third year in a row, the Metropolitan DC area received the #1 ranking for the fittest city in the nation in the American College of Sports Medicine’s (ACSM) American Fitness Index.

The ACSM polls residents of the 50 largest metropolitan areas and their rankings are based on a variety of factors including community health policies, preventive health behaviors, federal reports, instances of exercise, health insurance coverage, accessibility to public lands/parks, incidents of co-morbidities, etc. Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Nats Top Orioles 7-6

IMG_2206 Morgan Mitt

Photo By Cheryl Nichols, Nationals News Network

The Nationals (22-22) allowed their opposition to hit the second inside the park homerun in the past four days today in game two of this Orioles series and still came away with a 7-6 victory. Today’s win brings Washington’s record back to .500 and places them in a tie for third place with the Florida Marlins in the National League East.

A stand-out moment came when Nyjer Morgan had a little temper-tantrum in center field during the fourth. Morgan allowed Ty Wigginton to hit the inside the park two-run homer, forcing Josh Willingham to pick up the ball and complete the play after Morgan had already thrown his glove to the ground.

After the game, Manager Jim Riggleman said Morgan approached him when the inning was over and said, “I thought the ball went over the fence.” Either way, the ball going over the fence is no excuse for making a scene in front of 30,290 people in the middle of a routine play.

When asked why he refrained from taking Morgan out, Riggelman responded that keeping him in was a necessary move for both the clubhouse and the roster, especially since Pudge left the game in the fourth with a lower back strain. Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Nats Fall Under .500 For First Time Since April 15, O’s Win 5-3

Photo By Ian Koski, Nationals Daily News.

Photo By Ian Koski, Nationals Daily News

It was no secret going into last nights’s interleague match up that Nationals (21-22) starter Scott Olsen wasn’t quite his usual self, according to Manager Jim Riggleman after the game. Olsen served up four runs in the first three innings to the Orioles, dropping the Nationals’ record below .500 for the first time since April 15 (4-5) and exited the game in the third due to tightness in his left shoulder.

While there was no mention by Manager Jim Riggleman regarding whether or not the tightness is a direct result of Olsen’s shoulder surgery last year, Riggleman did say that there was a noticeable difference in the lefty’s throwing during his pre-game bullpen session.

A surprise move by Riggleman came in the third inning after taking Olsen out. He sent Livan in to pinch hit before sending in Miguel Batista in to pitch. When asked why pick Livo over another bench player, Riggleman said the decision was made because it was too early to send in one of his other bench players. Fair enough – a trip to the bench players before the fifth is a bit of a downer should you need those bats or arms later in the game. Either way, it was nice to see Livo even if it was only for one at-bat. Continue reading →

All Politics is Local, Crime & Punishment, Life in the Capital, News, The Daily Feed
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MPD, with Secret Service, Arrest ATM Robbery Suspect

atm robbery suspect, courtesy of MPD

As reported yesterday, the MPD arrested a suspect in connection to a series of armed ATM robberies in the First and Second Police Districts.

Prior to the May 19th arrest, the MPD had obtained an arrest warrant for the suspect, John Fenley Woodland, based on evidence from a robbery that occurred on May 5th along the 600 block of Massachusetts Avenue NW.

The suspect was apprehended on the evening of May 19th when U.S. Secret Service agents observed him committing an armed ATM robbery near the 800 block of 17th Street, NW.  The agents stopped the robbery, arrested the suspect and awaited MPD response. When MPD arrived the suspect was immediately recognized as Woodland, taken into custody and charged with two count of Armed Robbery for the May 5th and 19th incidents.

MPD detectives are currently investigating Mr. Woodland in connection to 10 robberies and potentially other similar offenses.

All Politics is Local, Business and Money, Entertainment, Essential DC, Life in the Capital, News, The Daily Feed
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Magic Johnson & Co. Makeover Landmark Hotel

Photo courtesy of
‘Earvin “Magic” Johnson, Inglewood, Calif., 1996’
courtesy of ‘cliff1066â�¢’

On Tuesday, May 25th at 3:30pm,  Earvin “Magic” Johnson, Mayor Fenty and Canyon-Johnson Urban Fund (CJUF) and Lowe Enterprises will unveil their 150 million dollar restoration of the historic Landmark Washington Hotel located at 1919 Connecticut Avenue NW.

The renovation project hoped to return the hotel to its glory days with significant overhauls to the lobby, 1070 guestrooms, outdoor and indoor event/meeting areas, including the 36,000 square-foot, largest column-free International Ballroom complex.

The renovations, which began in 2009, are scheduled for completion on June 1, 2010. Can’t wait to check the place out.

The Daily Feed
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New Suits for Cheap

Photo courtesy of
‘Fashion in Motion’
courtesy of ‘maxedaperture’

It’s hard joining the real world after college, and finding professional-looking clothing at entry-level salary prices is near impossible.  But lucky for you, there are monthly boutique sales at Suited for Change.  This Tuesday, May 25 from 3 PM to 6 PM, head over to Suited for Change at 1010 Vermont Avenue to shop for gently worn women’s designer label suits, pants, and shirts at rock bottom prices (we’re talking $15 Ann Taylor suits here, people).

The only problem with wearing the same suit everyday is that your trousers will wear away pretty quickly if you don’t allow them to rest regularly. One solution is to switch up two suits in similar shades and fabrics and wear them as separates on contrasting days. No matter what company you work for, or what industry you work in, you’ll never go wrong if you wear a ​​business suit. And, while certain situations call for less formal attire (e.g., the company picnic), it’s not hard to figure out attire if you follow a few simple guidelines. To find the best variety of suits we recommend to check this affordable linen suits catalog.

And the best part is that proceeds go to benefit Suited for Change, which works in the DC area to provide professional clothing and career skills education to low-income women in the community.  So not only will you get some great work clothes for cheap, you’ll also be helping other DC women get suited up for the office. affordable linen suits

The Daily Feed
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Still Seats Left for United’s Friendly with AC Milan

Photo courtesy of
‘DC United vs Chicago Fire 06’
courtesy of ‘maxedaperture’

I have a soccer on the brain, I’ll admit it. The World Cup starts three weeks from right now, and it’s like Christmas Eve for anyone who loves joga bonito. Before all that gets going, though, there is a chance to catch some global soccer right here in the District. As announced earlier this spring, one of Italy’s Serie A squads, AC Milan, will be in town next week to face off against United at RFK Stadium. Good news if you were thinking of going to the match on Wednesday: it looks like there are still some seats available.

If you’re looking for the reason why I’m thinking about soccer so much today, it’s completely related to this epic three-minute commercial/feature from Nike. 1 million views on YouTube and counting (although I’m probably responsible for about 137,000), I still look for any excuse to share it:

YouTube Preview Image
Music, The Daily Feed
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DC Record Fair Sunday at Black Cat

tvd_dcrecordfair_sm.gif

This is a town that loves its vinyl as well as its iPods, MP3 players and Zunes (oh, who are we kidding, no one has a Zune!), so if you want to pick up some tasty wax this weekend, head for the Black Cat on Sunday from Noon to Six, so you can stock up on the good stuff.  The folks at Vinyl District say they’ve got a handle on the lighting issues from February’s Record Fair, and they’re also opening up the Red Room for the Fair, so you can have a frosty beverage before or after your hunt for the best records.  Alec MacKaye, Cobruhhh, Emily/Susan from Exit Clov, DJ Dredd, Fort Knox Five and John Foster will all have sets on the 1s and 2s during the Record Fair as well, so don’t miss some live DJing this weekend, either.

News, The Daily Feed
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Your Soda May Be Safe

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

With four council members speaking out against the Soda Tax yesterday, it appears the bill is all but done for in the general hearings, but chairman Vincent Gray has asked for council staff to look into other methods for raising the $6M necessary to fund the health food program for DC Schools, which may include extending the 6% sales tax to soda purchases of all flavors, not just the sugary kind.

Fun & Games, The Daily Feed
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Pac-Man Turns 30, Google Offers Game On Homepage

Photo courtesy of
‘671 – Scared Ghost & Pac-Man – Pattern’
courtesy of ‘Patrick Hoesly’

While it’s not necessarily DC-related, today is Friday and everyone’s brain deserves a short break from reality. Today’s break is compliments of Google celebrating Pac-Man’s 30th birthday by running the game on their homepage.

Who would have thought that a Japanese company called Namco Bandai releasing Puck-Man on May 22, 1980 would become the inspiration for many of the best-known modern game designers.

So take a minute to goof off today. When you do, make sure to celebrate Pac-Man turning the big 3-0.

The Daily Feed
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Where to Watch LOST

Photo courtesy of
‘Dharma Beer Six Pack :D’
courtesy of ‘rafa_uoc’

So unless you’ve been living on a deserted island, you know that the series finale of Lost is airing this Sunday night.  And if you’re anything like me, you’ll want to watch it with others (Others?), so that the last time the out-of-focus Lost flashes across the screen and the show is over for good, you can immediately start discussing what it all means.  Luckily, there are two good local options for your Sunday night viewing:

  • Arlington Cinema & Drafthouse is hosting a free viewing of the Lost recap and the final episode on Sunday night starting at 6:45.  There are 340 seats and it is first come, first served.
  • Public Bar on 18th Street is hosting a Lost Finale Party at 7 PM that will benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.  $10 suggested donation, with auctions, food, and all TVs tuned to the finale.

Any other public Lost viewing parties I missed?  Let me know in the comments.

News, The Daily Feed
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National Zoo’s Lion Cub Dies

Photo courtesy of
‘A Very Large Kitten!’
courtesy of ‘Vicki’s Pics’

As quickly as there was joy at the National Zoo over the birth of a new
lion cub, there is sadness, too.  The small cub died after catching pneumonia, having gotten some of the tips of the straw bedding in his lungs.  Dennis Kelly, director of the National Zoo said “I believe this was a one-in-a-million fluke. Unfortunately, this is the downside to the ‘cycle of life.’ But, the animal care team and Zoo staff are consummate professionals, and I know they’ve learned a tremendous amount from creating the pride, breeding the lions and getting Nababiep through her first birth. We mourn this loss yet keep our focus on the best care for the lion pride”

We extend our condolences to the lion pride at the Zoo and to their keepers.

The Daily Feed
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Bikes Everywhere!

Bike to Work Pit Stop at Freedom Plaza Happy Bike to Work Day!  This morning, the bicyclists were out en masse at Freedom Plaza, where there was free breakfast, giveaways, and raffles (one of which I won– thanks City Bikes for the new messenger bag!).  Mayor Fenty spoke after biking over from the Capitol with a few bike-friendly congressmen, and there were various city agency heads to speak about the importance of biking in the District.  There were other pit stops at Nationals Park and the US Coast Guard HQ in the city, along with several more outside of the city.

Don’t worry if you missed the fun this morning.  There are still chances to keep the Bike to Work fun going!  This evening from 4-7 there will be a Bike From Work Rally at Columbia Heights Plaza.  So stop by and keep the good times rolling! More Freedom Plaza pictures after the jump. Continue reading →

Essential DC, Fun & Games, History, Special Events, Sports Fix, The Daily Feed
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BREAKING: Strasburg may Start June 4

Photo courtesy of
‘4TH’
courtesy of ‘MissChatter’

The rumor mill has it that the second comi…. I mean Steven Strasburgs’ major league debut will be on the June 4 game against the Cincinnati Reds. For those of you living in caves, Steven Strasburg is one of the hottest prospects in the history of major league baseball, and certainly the top for 2010.  The Nats picked him up with their first round draft pick last year and sent him to the minors for some conditioning. In the minors he’s pitched just over a 1 ERA with around 1 strike out per inning.  That’s scary.  His start promises to be one of the biggest events in Nats history. The game will sell out, so buy those tickets quick.  At this point, the cheap seats are already sold.

Adventures, Crime & Punishment, Life in the Capital, News, People, The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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Stolen Segway On The Loose

Photo courtesy of
‘Quio #19 (48/365)’
courtesy of ‘Chris Rief aka Spodie Odie’

Coming out of today’s Ward 2 Watch Commander’s Crime Update, it appears we’ve got a hot Segway on the loose in the streets of DC.  The report states that the victim was “watching a basketball game, left their Segway unsecured in the rear of the location during which time an unknown suspect(s) stole it.” The theft occurred late Wednesday night along the 2000 blk. of G St., N.W.

Really guy? You left your Segway out back with the keys in the ignition? Dumbass. But as much as I despise people cruising the streets on these horrid vehicles–just walk for f*#k’s sake you lazy piece of poop!–I despise thievery even more. So for those .0003 of you who have a Segway, be sure to lock. it. up.