By Tom Bridge
‘Let’s Go Fly a Kite’
courtesy of ‘ameschen’
This weekend is the Smithsonian’s Annual Kite Festival on the Mall, giving you a good reason to head out to the Mall this weekend with a kite in hand to try your hand at soaring over the park. Whether you want a sweet box kite, or my favorite from my youth, mylar dragon kite,
By Tom Bridge
‘DC Court of Appeals and Lincoln’
courtesy of ‘Mr. T in DC’
Reports are in: Gilbert Arenas was today sentenced to 2 years probation for his felony firearms conviction. Judge Robert Morin weighed the decision carefully, relying on the sentencing recommendation from the prosecutor’s office, and the 221-page document from Arenas’ attorneys with multiple character references, and Arenas’ own apology.
Arenas will also be forced to 400 hours of public service, and donate $5,000 to a victims of violence charity (Seriously? He made that much while you were just looking at him funny. That’s an insult to Justice right there.), and spend 30 days in a halfway house.
Arenas’ future with the Wizards is in question. Currently, he is serving a season-long suspension due to the incident which involved firearms in a December locker-room altercation at the Verizon Center. The Wizards have the option to seek to terminate Arenas’ contract, due to the felony conviction, and given Arenas’ large salary, and the horrific performance of the team (lost 13 straight) it would be understandable if the team might terminate his contract. 4 years and $80M is a big pill for the team to swallow when trading Arenas might be impossible.
Were I the owner of the Wizards, I’d terminate Arenas’ 4 years and offer him a 1-year, $1M chance to prove himself worthy of further investment while the Wizards rebuild from their horrific season. You want to be in DC, Gilbert? Give up the money and job security and show us you mean business.
By Rebecca
‘Geese at Twilight’
courtesy of
In response to complaints about incessant honking, germ-ridden feathers and excrement-fouled waterways, lawns and sidewalks, Fairfax County is calling on volunteers to help control the growing Canadian geese population in the VA-MD-DC metropolitan region.
This call for volunteers centers around training for the population control process called addling, which according to a quote by Fairfax County Biologist Victoria Monroe in an NBCWashington article, “involves applying oil to [fertilized] goose eggs to prevent embryo development,” then returning the egg to the nest. Upon return, it’s particularly important to convince the mother goose that her egg(s) have not been tampered with, because otherwise she would quickly lay more eggs. Continue reading
By Don
‘Ayurvedic Massage’
courtesy of ‘Kerala Tourism’
Sometimes I comment that I read the DC Register so you don’t have to, but it pays off often enough that it’s totally worth it. This time the joy comes in the form of new proposed regulation from the Department of Health. Last year some enhanced regulation went in place to try to crack down on prostitution that was thinly disguised as massage. The new changes add some more fines in for that kind of thing as well as other offenses. Some of them make you think “are the criminal penalties really not enough?” but mostly I just love the way these extremes are mixed together.
For example, the following are all class 1 infractions:
Are massage parlors really useful fronts for drug labs?
‘DC9’
courtesy of ‘Chris DiGiamo’
Ever felt like going to a concert that your “kindly pun-loving English teacher would love“? While the answer to this question is, “Um….probably not,” I urge you to change that answer.
Three piece band Phil and the Osophers are a group of indie rockers who lend a great deal of thought to each word chosen while crafting their song lyrics. They can be found opening for A Sunny Day in Glasgow with Faux Slang this Sunday night at DC9 for an 8:30 p.m., 18+ show. Tickets are $10.
She-Ha 2: When Laughter Attacks has added a second show at 10:30 PM on April 9th. As of last night, there were only 5 tickets left for the 8PM show. So if you missed the window to get your tickets, you now have another chance.
‘Teddy and Teddy’
courtesy of ‘philliefan99’
Dreary Friday weather gotcha down? Need something to look forward to while we transition from hella-crazy, snowy winter to pretty, sunny spring? Well I’ve got your Good Ship Lollipop right here in the form of We Love DC’s second event of the year!
Take me out to the ballgame takes on a whole new meaning this spring when We Love DC teams up with the folks at Let Teddy Win to give our readers a night conceived solely for them.
Tickets are now on sale for the event taking place Wednesday, April 21 starting at 5:30 with a behind-the-scenes stadium tour at Nationals Park, followed by “Let Teddy Win” related events, and the Nats vs. the Rockies at 7:05.
Get your tickets! This is an event you won’t want to miss.
By Ben H. Rome
‘Marion Barry and Mr. Grumpy Pants’
courtesy of ‘ricepeter’
So now the IRS is jumping back into the Marion Barry pool. (And a dirty one that is, too…) The IRS filed a lien against Hizzoner in an attempt to reclaim some of the $15,000 in unpaid taxes that Barry owes. “There is a lien in favor of the United States on all property and rights to property belonging to this taxpayer for the amount of these taxes,” states the lien.
This lien appears to be unrelated with Barry’s earlier IRS troubles, where he admitted he hadn’t paid the bulk of taxes on the $500,000 he earned between 1999 and 2004. The IRS has been taking $1,350 from Barry’s salary since late 2006 to repay that debt.
According to the lien, Barry also owes $649 for 2005; $4,907 for 2006; $8,679 for 2007; and $1,022 for 2008. Fred Cooke, Barry’s attorney, believes Hizzoner paid his 2008 taxes in full.
If you thought your rent was expensive … you were right.
The District is the sixth most expensive rental market in the country, according to a study called “Paycheck to Paycheck: Wages and the Cost of Housing in America.”
The 2009 fair market rent in town was $1,494 a month (which, for comparison’s sake, is the same as Bethesda).
San Francisco, Honolulu, and Santa Cruz round out the top three.
By shannon
“Washington DC” image from Astronaut Soichi Noguchi
Smile! Soichi Noguchi just caught you on film. He’s a Japanese astronaut on the International Space Station, and he takes photos of various places from space and posts them to his fantastic twitter feed, @Astro_Soichi. He has posted hundreds of images of the Earth, and yesterday he posted an image of DC from the Space Station. You can clearly make out buildings like the Convention Center and Nationals Park in this full size version, and because of the glint of the sun, all the water really stands out and you can see the bridges and docks too. It’s so cool to see the District from such a unique perspective– thanks, Soichi!
By Kirk
‘Madams Organ Restaurant’
courtesy of ‘KrS-NrY’
Drinking and philanthropy are two of my favorite things, and fortunately, they mix fairly well. That’s why I’m excited about the April 15 happy hour and Madams Organ benefiting local DC charity Community of Hope. Community of Hope provides medical care, affordable housing and other social services for DC’s disadvantaged. Madams Organ will donate $1 of every drink you order and 20% of food sales to Community of Hope. All you have to do is show up, eat and drink. Plus, April 15 is tax day. You’ll probably be drinking anyways.
By Tom Bridge
‘It’s been awhile’
courtesy of ‘afagen’
The sticking point in Ted Leonsis’ negotiations with the Pollin family for the purchase of their stake in the Wizards and the Verizon Center has been price, for some time now. Finally, there’s been a breakthrough, according to a local newspaper, who report that the valuation has been agreed upon at $550M for the team and the Verizon Center. My guess is the Verizon Center is the lion’s share of that, at the moment, given how piss poor the Wizards are playing these days. From here, they’ll continue negotiations on other subjects including how the facility will be run, and whether or not the majority of the league owners will approve Leonsis’ full purchase.
By Tom Bridge
Carolina Misadventures #1
Originally uploaded by Chris Rief aka Spodie Odie
Congratulations to Carolina Adventures Inc, who learned the hard way today that you don’t turn your bus up Half Bank Street in Georgetown. No word on how quickly they’ll be able to get the bus unstuck, but you can bet this will snarl traffic through Georgetown for the rest of the day. Thanks a ton to Chris Rief who sent us these photos. Check out the alternate angle to see just how badly they’re screwed. Nice work, guys!
By Tom Bridge
‘Love Wins’
courtesy of ‘Matt.Dunn’
Chalk one up for the good guys. Senator Bennett (R-Utah) was unsuccessful in getting his anti-marriage equality amendment through the Senate and amended to the health care bill. Don and I were talking yesterday, what’s up with Utah not wanting gay marriage in DC? Are they still bitter that the government banned plural marriage in their state so many years ago?
By Tom Bridge
Tweeters everywhere in DC tonight will gather up at K Street’s Shadow Room for Twestival 2010, with the focus being Concern Worldwide. A $30 donation gets you into the club for the evening’s festivities, and that will include some free libations courtesy of their sponsors for the evening. If you want to tweetup-for-charity, then Twestival’s your bet for tonight.
By courtney
Courtesy of Mehgan Murphy, Smithsonian’s National Zoo
What has eight arms, no spine, and a webcam? The National Zoo‘s brand-spanking-new giant Pacific octopus, that’s what. There’s just one thing it’s missing… a name! But have no fear, that’s where you come in.
The National Zoo has narrowed it down to four choices for names, which are the following: Olympus, Ceph, Octavius, and Vancouver. Each name has its own description and meaning relevant to our eight-armed friend, and you have the opportunity to vote for your favorite online. You can vote until April 7th at noon, and the winner will be announced on the octopus cam at 2pm.
Something else to take under consideration is gender. Unfortunately, we don’t know for sure whether it is male or female, and it will have to mature more before that can be confirmed. Personally, I’m a little partial to Vancouver just because I think it could go either way, but we’ll have to tune in April 7th for the fate of the anonymous octopus. Get those votes in!
By Rebecca
‘DH dog giggle animated avatar’
courtesy of ‘Generic Brand Productions’
This really rubs me the wrong way. The 2010 National Mutt Census, intended for mixed-breed dogs only, allows DC mutt owners to submit their data, but when it comes time to locate DC on the U.S. map and see the summary of DC mutt statistics, it’s missing. Guess DC must have gotten lost in the Mists of Avalon or Bermuda Triangle, or something. I can’t even tell you how frustrated I was trying to navigate my mouse over the little iotas of map pixels between MD and VA. I was really hoping DC was lurking in their somewhere, but no, we’re not.
So I’ve written to the 2010 National Mutt Census, pointing out our lack of map presence and I’m hoping they will/can put us on the map. You too can help by writing Mars Veterinary (the owner of the site who BTW is located nearby Gaithersburg, MD – I mean, seriously, how did they forget DC?!!) to ask that DC mutts be represented in census.
Fail. 2010 National Mutt Census. Fail.
By Tom Bridge
‘3D glasses & my messy room’
courtesy of ‘racheocity’
If you’ve been wondering about the 3D Craze, and wanted to try something that was a little bit different than Monsters vs Aliens 3D, next weekend the Fairfax Corner 14 will be showing the Final Four and Championship games in 3D. That’s right, Cinema-grade 3D to see Kansas win it all. Pardon me one second. No, I didn’t know that. Wait, what do you mean they lost? How is that possible? My bracket’s ashambles! Northern Iowa!?!? St. Mary’s?! Oh for crying out loud.
Well, whoever’s still in this thing, you can check it out at Fairfax Corner next weekend on the big screen
‘Polling Place Sign’
courtesy of ‘moonShadows7’
It’s that time of year again — Washingtonian Magazine has opened up voting for their “Best of Washington” poll. As if voting We Love DC for “Best Local Blogger” wasn’t enough, Washingtonian is awarding a lucky voter dinner for 2 … and then some.
To vote, visit http://bit.ly/aHwnV6.
Ballots close May 1 and decisions will be announced in the July issue.
By courtney
‘National Zoo, Washington DC’
courtesy of ‘Roger Photos’
If you live in DC, I’m pretty sure you know that the Monday after Easter isn’t just any old Monday, and this year is no different. The Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Friends of the National Zoo are hosting their annual celebration entitled “Easter Monday: An African American Family Tradition,” on April 5th from 10am to 4pm.
From the easter egg hunt to the a cappella gospel quintet to the Easter Bunny himself, this year families have a lot of fun to look forward to. The great thing about Easter Monday is it’s totally free, and will still carry on even if it rains, so there’s no excuse not to bring the kiddies out for a good time. It’s also going to be educational, with presentations from representatives of the Zoo and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Sponsored by the 2010 U.S. Census Road Tour, United Airlines and WHUR Radio 96.3 FM, the event has been a staple in the District for more than 100 years.
By 
By 