Category Archives: The Daily Feed

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Bruce Monroe Soon to Tumble


‘Bust a Monroe’
courtesy of ‘IntangibleArts’

Councilman Jim Graham held a meeting Tuesday on the long-awaited demolition of Bruce Monroe Elementary School on Georgia Avenue. Demolition had been delayed because of asbestos problems, but the Deputy Mayor’s Office reported it will be completely finished by April 30, 2010.

For now, the site will be leveled, and will not see a new school at least for another 3-5 years. However, the Office explained that the space could possibly be used for a tennis and basketball court on the Georgia Avenue side, while the Irving side could be used for a parking lot.
The community seemed to like the idea of constructing a basketball and tennis court, but as for the parking lot…not so much. What do you think? The next meeting is set for Monday March 8th at 7pm with the location to be announced. Councilman Graham and the Deputy Mayor’s Office invites everyone to participate.

The Daily Feed
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Mayor Fenty Laughs at “Back To Normal?”

fenty.jpg

Click through for the Video

The Question: “So it’s been more than a week since the last blizzard ended, and there is still snow in the streets…when is the last of the snow going to be cleared and when should things back to normal?”

The Answer: *incredulous stare* “Well, uh, it’s kind of a question that doesn’t make any sense.”

No, Mr. Mayor, it totally doesn’t make sense for people to ask about snow removal. Not at all.

C’mon Kwame Brown, SOMEONE run against this guy. Make him work for it.

Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Capitol Skyline Hotel’s Curious Event Clients

Photo courtesy of
”
courtesy of ‘hellomarkers!’

Twitter user @nikki_d brought this article from the Southern Poverty Law Center to our attention, about the Capitol Skyline Hotel and the multiple events by racist or anti-Semitic groups hosted there in recent months. This weekend, the American Renaissance (a white nationalist publication) conference was to be held there, but according to AR’s site, Capitol Skyline just cancelled their event. (Feel free to not click that link and give them pageviews, but I wanted to cite my sources.)

Meanwhile, the American Free Press, a publication that can most generously be described as “conspiracy enthusiasts,” but more correctly described as anti-Semitic, actually did hold two recent events at Capitol Skyline, including one last weekend. Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Metro Board Turns to Former General Manager

Photo courtesy of
‘arriving’
courtesy of ‘volcanojw’

David Gunn, a transit specialist and former WMATA general manager, has been tapped by the Metro board of directors to study the agency and report back on what it would take to fix it, the Washington Post reports.

Gunn, who headed up Metro from 1991-1994, is highly regarded in transit circles and his career spans most transit agencies on the East coast (including New York, Toronto, and Boston), most recently heading up Amtrak until clashes with the Bush administration led to his dismissal.

The Post mentions that Gunn doesn’t own a computer or cell phone, nor does he use email. I find that oddly fascinating, and his reasoning revolves around not being so available that it makes all problems float up instead of being solved below. Here’s hoping the board listens to Gunn’s (presumably typed up) report.

The Daily Feed
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Spring Trends via Rckndy

Photo courtesy of
‘Spring Trend – Color (Rckndy)’
courtesy of ‘prettylovelythings’

Looking for a little interior pick-me up while anticipating warmer weather?  No problem. David Dennis, owner of Rckndy on U Street, shares exclusively with We Love DC readers a few design trends for Spring.  Pops of color seem to be the biggest trend hitting the store with “purple being the new it color” says Dennis, who also suggests that the best way to achieve this look is by incorporating bright colors through a few bold accessories, that way, you don’t overdo it.  A popular item is the Gus Modern Stool in Safron even though Dennis says that most people still end up buying it in a neutral color anyway.  If color is not your thing, no worries, I was also told that 80’s geometric patterns are having a revival.

Rckndy is located at 1515 U Street NW.

News, Sports Fix, The Daily Feed
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Wizards Conducting Fire Sale

Photo courtesy of
‘fire sale’
courtesy of ‘it290’

The shouts from the Phone Booth tonight went something like, “Everything must go! No players reserved! WE WILL NOT BE UNDERSOLD!” and that resulted in the departure today of Antawn Jamison, as he was traded to the Cavaliers for Zydrunas Ilgauskas (whose name is just as fun to say as it is to spell!) and a first round draft pick.

That adds to the list of 2009/2010 Wizards who are no longer Wizards: Caron Butler, Antawn Jamison, Brendan Haywood, Drew Gooden (even if he stayed just 3 days), and DeShawn Stevenson. If you add in Gilbert Arenas, who I think has seen last time in a Wizards uniforms, then you’ve got three of their five opening day starters who are gone, and several more reserves.

The addition of Ilgauskas as a big man in the middle for the Wizards is great, it’s just that there’s hardly anyone to throw the ball to at this point. You could say that the team has all the chemistry of an elementary school science textbook right now, and you’d probably be right. It’s going to be a rough, rough rest of the season for the Wiz.

The Daily Feed
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Nats Take Players to Arbitration Most

Photo courtesy of
‘Israel Postage Stamp: Libra’
courtesy of ‘karen horton’

One of the worst things for a player to have to deal with is the Arbitration hearing.  You go in with a stack of your recent achievements, and management goes in with a stack (usually larger) of every mistake you’ve ever made, and the end result is usually a loss of salary.  Here’s the thing: that’s the sort of behavior that players remember come contract time.  They tend not to like to work with teams that constantly want to lower their pay.  

But, from an owner’s perspective, why are you paying the guy if he’s constantly failing?  

Anyhow, it’s an academic discussion to have, except for the fact that the Nats do it more than anyone else. (Hat tip to Mr. Irrelevant) By a lot.  The Nats have taken seven players to Arbitration, only one of whom are with the team today.  This isn’t how you win baseball games, but it sure is how you run a business.  Here’s hoping the Nats can start to build a team that’s worth their salt.  Right now, it’s a dicey proposition.

The Daily Feed
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Fire Escapes Need Shovel Love Too


Fire exit? Really?
Originally uploaded by carlweaver

I saw this while walking to lunch yesterday. A building at Thomas Jefferson St. NW and the Canal in Georgetown has a set of stairs marked from the outside “Fire Exit. Not an Entrance.” Good idea. People in the basement need to get out when there’s a fire, right? Well, the problem is that the fire escape stairs are still covered in snow, which has probably hardened to a nice slick surface by now.

So if you work in the basement of that building, just pray there is no fire because you will be pretty well boned if you need to evacuate quickly.

If you see something like this at your home or office, advise your building manager to take care of it ASAP before you call the fire marshal. Needless deaths can be avoided by simply doing some easy things.

The Daily Feed
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Pound Coffee Offers Half-Priced Lattes Next Week

PoundCoffee.jpg

Photo courtesy of Pound Coffee

There are few things that I love quite as much as a good latte.  Most of them are things I’ve promised not to blog about here.  DC is definitely in the top five cities in the US in which to get a great cup of coffee, or better yet, a specialty coffee drink like a latte or a mocha.  I can think of five different great places all within a stones throw of the Metro in DC, but now we’ve got to add one more: Pound Coffee over in NoMa.  Next week they’re offering all espresso drinks for half-price, featuring five different espresso-based drinks Monday through Friday, including what sounds like an excellently tasty Nutella Latte on Monday.  

They’re just a block from the New York Ave Metro stop, just across from the ATF building.  Go check ’em out.  DC’s got such a great coffee scene, you can afford to have many shops.  See you there.

Pound Coffee
1300B 2nd St NE
Washington DC 20002

Disclaimer: Karl Johnson is a writer at We Love DC and part-owner of Pound Coffee.  This post received no special consideration because of Karl’s status and was submitted through the traditional channels.

The Daily Feed
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Robotic Snow Removal Even Better Than Flying Cars

yukitaro

Meet Yuki-taro. He’s a prototype Japanese snow removal robot with GPS positioning, obstacle avoidance through video cameras in the “eyes,” and, the best part… a compactor that takes the scooped up snow and presses it into compacted ice bricks, which then exit the rear of the robot and are stacked in back.

That’s right, my friends. The Japanese have invented a robot that eats snow and poops igloo bricks. WE ARE LIVING IN THE FUTURE.

Unfortunately, Yuki-taro will not be ready for market for at least 5 years, which means he can’t help with our snowpocalypse cleanup, but in a few years, I will be lobbying my local government to purchase a fleet of these little guys.

The Daily Feed
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X Marks the Spot

Photo courtesy of
‘lawn chair’
courtesy of ‘Jess J’

A few days ago, a neighbor started claiming a carefully shoveled parking spot with a giant urn—the message being, “Take this spot, and your ashes go here.”

Now another neighbor has taken the opposite tack, and placed a cute stuffed monkey in a space. What a great idea. I mean come on—who’s going to steal a spot from a smiling stuff animal, most certainly some adorable child’s favorite toy? Can’t you just hear the tiny little sobs of sorrow and disbelief?

Clearly our neighborhood is short on patio furniture and long on creativity. I’ve not found the skull and crossbones or the defenseless kittens blocking a spot yet, but they must be out there somewhere. What creative spot-savers have you seen?

The Daily Feed
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PechaKucha Global Day for Haiti

Photo courtesy of
‘Pecha Kucha Night Edmonton 6’
courtesy of ‘mastermaq’

PechaKucha is an exchange of design and creativity featuring presentations of 20 images, 20 seconds for each image, while the presenter guides the audience through a variety of topics from art to photography to architecture to film and music. This Friday (2/19) there is a global PechaKucha 24-hour event, starting at SuperDeluxe in Tokyo and crossing around the globe until it finishes again in Tokyo on Saturday night.

DC’s event will take place on Friday night at the Embassy of Austria and will feature opening remarks by Lola Poisson-Joseph (the wife of the Ambassador of Haiti). Architecture for Humanity and the ONE campaign are co-sponsoring and also presenting during the event. There will be an open bar (beer and wine) and a DJ. Tickets are available in advance and seating is limited.

News, The Daily Feed
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Yelp Starts Drinks Week in March

Photo courtesy of
‘The Cringer, detail’
courtesy of ‘Jenn Larsen’

Yelp wants you to get plastered. Well, okay, maybe not plastered, but they do want you to spend some time in March tipping back some cocktails. They’re sponsoring a week of great cocktails here in DC at area outfits like Co Co. Sala, Cedar, PS 7, Russia House and Urbana, and of course our favorite Wisdom (seriously, come have drinks with us next Tuesday, you won’t regret it, and the cost of your first drink is in the ticket!)

The drinks go on sale on the 1st of March and last through the 7th, location depending. Check the list to see if your favorite watering hole is doing something as part of the event.

Entertainment, Essential DC, Fun & Games, Inaugupocalypse, Life in the Capital, Night Life, Special Events, The Daily Feed
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Lincoln Theatre To Screen Documentary “Marching Band” on Feb. 20

courtesy of www.changethenextday.org

courtesy of www.changethenextday.org

This Saturday, February 20, at 6pm, the Lincoln Theatre will host a FREE, one-time screening of Marching Band, a documentary that captures the spirit of the 2008 Presidential election through the young and talented students of the University of Virginia and Virginia State marching bands.

While the film centers around the Obama campaign, politics is not the focal point. The film really tells the story of these two collegiate marching bands, the kids who love playing music and marching, and their experiences of the change facing their country and themselves. Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Tidal Basin Cherry Trees Damaged By Snow

Photo courtesy of
‘Happy Birthday!’
courtesy of ‘kimberlyfaye’

The National Park Service is telling WTOP that the cherry blossom trees at the Tidal Basin have been damaged by our huge snowfall. “A number of branches have been split, there have been a couple of trees that have had the canopies taken off,” National Park Service spokesman Bill Line told the station.

There’s a chance that continued cold weather might delay the blooms, but the National Cherry Blossom Festival should still be a sight to see. Line believes that the trees will recover in the long term, and he expects the festival to be “as grand” as past festivals.

News, The Daily Feed
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Photowalk This Sunday!

Photo courtesy of
‘Chinatown – Celebrate – 2-1-09’
courtesy of ‘mosley.brian’

We’re big fans of the folks over at Photowalk DC and this Sunday, they’re doing a great photowalk at National Archives and the Chinatown New Years Parade. They’ve got things scheduled out pretty well, so if you can’t make the whole thing, you can come out for part of it, and meet up with them according to the schedule. Get out with your camera, be it a point and shoot or the fanciest of SLRs, it’s worth it to go meet other shooters in your town.

The Daily Feed
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Amtrak Poster Giveaway

Photo courtesy of
‘Coast Starlight Poster’
courtesy of ‘philosophygeek’

Here at We Love DC, we love DC-themed art. From houses full of District maps to locally-made DC t-shirts, we like to decorate with things that feature our wonderful city.  So it’s no surprise that we’re big fans of Amtrak’s city-themed posters–they’re colorful, well-designed, and cheap (only $5!).

We’re giving away an Acela Express DC Poster that features the Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, and Capitol Building to a randomly selected commenter.  If you’d like to enter, just leave a comment here (include your e-mail so we can contact you) telling us where you’d like to take Amtrak.  We’ll randomly choose a commenter at noon on Thursday.

My ideal Amtrak trip?  I’d love to escape the snow and take the Palmetto route down to Miami.

The Daily Feed
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This is a Clean Sidewalk

Photo courtesy of
‘Deserted Sidewalk’
courtesy of ‘Mr. T in DC’

Folks, I’m here today to talk with you about an endangered species: the clean sidewalk. Ever since the two disastrous storms this month, the clean sidewalk has been threatened drastically by sloth, corpulence, laziness and excuses. We need your help in restoring the habitat for the clean sidewalk today. If it were to go the way of the dodo bird, people would have to walk in the street. If it were to go the way of the passenger pigeon, DC’s residents would be in danger every day.

So please, DC, save the sidewalks. Tell your friends and neighbors: it’s their duty to shovel off a path for people to walk. It’s not just a good idea, it’s the law.

Save the sidewalks. Think of the children.

The Daily Feed
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Trees Down on the Towpath

The C&O Canal Towpath has been closed since last week between 31st and Wisconsin in Georgetown due to huge trees downed by the weight of Snowmageddon 2010. No word on when NPS plans to clean up the mess, so if your jogging route takes you down the C&O anytime soon, you might want to detour down to K or up to M for the time being.

Thanks to palkynetbab for the photos. Bigger pics after the jump. Continue reading →