By Katie
‘We’re Cooking’
courtesy of ‘Kevin H.’
I’ll be honest with you, reader. I just didn’t feel like putting together foodie round-up today, but I didn’t want to leave you hanging. So instead, like a good food blogger, I decided to write about the flurry of restaurants expected to open this month. So on with you, we’ve got greek, latin-asian fusion, a gastropub, and beer drinker’s heaven coming atcha in October. Continue reading
By Tom Bridge
‘Metro in the snow’
courtesy of ‘brianmka’
If you’re not off on Monday, and you ride the Metro’s Green or Yellow Line, you probably want to read up on the shuttle service that will bridge the Yellow and Green line. There are specifically three shuttles:
Get ready for some serious Monday pandemonium, and weekend disruption. I’d just plan to work from home, if you can.
By Ben H. Rome
‘Moving Momentarily’
courtesy of ‘Ghost_Bear’
No surprise in that headline. Last night’s finance committee meeting had Carol Kissal, WMATA’s CFO, telling the board that if there is no upswing in ridership by the end of the year, that $22.4 million budget gap could get bigger. Her estimate so far is based on July and August ridership levels.
Interestingly, Kissal blamed ridership decline on higher unemployment, lower gas prices and the June Red Line crash. Maybe so, but those are “dodge” excuses, really. What about abysmal customer service, long rail delays on OTHER lines, a creepily-high incidental death rate, non-explanatory e-alerts, bus drivers hitting people and a really, REALLY bad PR image at the moment?
And more unsurprisingly, GM John Catoe “has a plan.” Of course he does. He’s John-freaking-Catoe. What the man says, goes. Even if he doesn’t tell everyone else!
Seriously though, looks like Metro’s threatening fare hikes next year, unless we all suck it up and ride.
By Cathy
‘wasteland’
courtesy of ‘philliefan99’
At $1 an hour rates, you would think the garage could quickly fill for any number of reasons in a densely populated metropolitan region. But on any given day, the garage is at 25% – 47% capacity.
And what’s worse, the $40 million dollar parking lot was required by the city and funded by taxpayer dollars.
While perhaps District officials couldn’t have foreseen the disinterest in parking in Columbia Heights, Continue reading
‘Metro Fail’
courtesy of ‘Karon’
Hey guys! You know what I just learned today? WMATA uses IBM software to keep track of buses and trains, to make sure that the system is always safe and on time!
So you know what that means, right? IBM wants you to be sure to know that they share some of the credit for WMATA’s record of safety and punctuality. Just so we’re clear.
Full press release after the jump so you can share in the levity.
By Katie
‘Danny’
courtesy of ‘Hairy Jacques’
The Gods above heard your cry, and delivered, ladies (and gents)… MOAR naked DC United Players! The only way this could be better? Devon. JUST SAYIN’.
By jasmine
‘Betsey Johnson, Red Dress Collection 2007’
courtesy of ‘The Heart Truth’
Betsey Johnson, designer of my favorite quirky and fun things, will be at the Georgetown Betsey Johnson store from 6-7 pm tonight! She’ll be there to chat with fans and share the story of her breast cancer battle in honor of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
By Tom Bridge
The Alexandria Police have caught the Wachovia Robber, according to their Facebook Page (now there’s a line I thought I’d never write.) After a 10:30am robbery of the branch on King Street in the Bradlee Center, a large police search took place, which included lockdowns at Frances Hammond Middle School, T.C. Williams High School Minnie Howard Campus, and T.C. Williams High School. Tweets indicated odd activity in the Bradlee center area, and it seems that the robber was caught shortly thereafter.
Crazy to see stuff like this go down in the neighborhood just next to mine! Glad they’ve got a suspect in custody.
‘busted!’
courtesy of ‘staceyviera’
Y’all, this is just so sad. Ben Ali, feeder of the hungry DC masses, has died at age 82. I don’t have a lot to add to that, so I’ll just provide some Ali-related reading material from around the Internets:
We’re sorry to see such a pillar of the DC Community pass on, and our thoughts, prayers, and best wishes are with the Ali family today.
By Kirk
‘The Saloon, U Street’
courtesy of ‘Jenn Larsen’
Commy, owner of the Saloon, is hosting a flea market this Sunday at his famed, U St. pub. He promises to offer “many unique items” for sale, the proceeds from which will benefit his international school building efforts. On top of the interesting goods and the worthy cause, the Saloon will be offering $2 off its selection of excellent beers. The market will run from 1pm-5pm and, contrary to normal Saloon rules, there will be a strict, no-sitting policy for the afternoon. So, go out, enjoy a nice beer on what promises to be a lovely fall afternoon and support school construction in developing nations.
By Donna C.
‘Gingko Rain’
courtesy of ‘geishaboy500’
This weekend has lots of fun green goings-on.
Friday night is the Extreme Green Gala at the stylist Mott House on Capitol Hill, with live bands, organic food, a cash bar, an art show and high-profile environmentalists. The last one was great, with everyone enjoying the patio there. It benefits CarbonfreeDC’s Extreme Green Neighborhood Makeover.
The Green Festival extravaganza is Saturday and Sunday, with 350 green businesses (great for holiday shopping) and dozens of community groups, plus 125 speakers including activist Dr. Cornel West; actor/activist Ed Begley, Jr.; and revolutionary journalist Amy Goodman.
And the Solar Decathlon opens on the National Mall; a small village of solar homes constructed by teams of students will be open for you to roam — and see how good life can be without an electric bill.
By Katie
‘Are you gonna take me home tonight’
courtesy of ‘christaki’
OH MAN I JUST GOT RULL EXCITED because I just remembered that not only does October mean my birthday, it also means THE BEST EVENT OF THE YEAR, the High Heel Drag Queen Race! Squee!
Mark your calendars for Tuesday, October 27th, to watch all the ladies (and hot tranny messes) parade up and down 17th street. If you can’t wait ’til then, (and who can, honestly?) check out our past coverage including a photo gallery.
By Rebecca
‘Skewers on the Grill’
courtesy of ‘Kevin H.’
Starting yesterday and continuing through this weekend you can enjoy the culinary delights of the 61st Annual St. Mary Armenian Church Food Festival at St. Mary’s Armenian Apostolic Church (Metro Red Line to Friendship Heights Station).
The festival highlights delectable Armenian foods such as: lahmajoon, kufta, stuffed grape leaves, grilled shish kebobs, lamb skewers and other traditional fare. You can also partake in authentic Armenian beer and grape wine. Portions are ample and pricing is reasonable.
Lunch: October 7, 8, 9 and 10th from 11AM to 2 PM
Dinner: October 10th from 5 PM to 9 PM
By Tom Bridge
There are approximately 150-200 Anti-War Protestors in the intersection at 14th & I St NW, blocking traffic and obstructing free movement near the intersection. There are approximately 30 of DC’s Finest hanging out with them as well. No word yet how quickly they’ll be dispersed, but a several-block traffic jam is occurring at this time.
[Update by Ben H. Rome] I managed to get caught in the protest by the “Students for Democratic Society.” Supposedly it was against the war in Afghanistan, but I overheard several different reasons as to what it was about, depending on which student was being interviewed. The war, education reform, health care, “party rights” (WTF?), reefer legalization… All I could really figure out was that a bunch of students decided to make some signs, go marching down some erratic route with a police escort (that got larger as they progressed) and finally stop in the middle of Eye St. NW between 14th and 15th, blast some dance music from a portable jury-rigged setup and dance. Stupidly. In the middle of the rush hour.
Oh, and dressed as a farm animal, in one case.
Needless to say, several motorists let the kids know what they thought about their “protest.” In words I’d rather not repeat.
By Katie
‘Pete’
courtesy of ‘Hairy Jacques’
Can be seen here…
That is all. (You are welcome.)
Edit 4:44 p.m. – I also need to point out this quote: “It was awkward,” Quaranta added. “They were like ‘Jump, all right jump, jump.’ We just kept jumping. Naked. In RFK.”
By Tom Bridge
‘metro’
courtesy of ‘spiggycat’
Metro announced this afternoon that the repairs of track circuits between Fort Totten and Takoma Park have been completed, ending the last of the emergency maintenance after the crash this summer. This means that trains will be permitted to operate at their usual speeds through the area, and not under the degraded speed that they have been using during the repairs.
It’s not immediately clear if this will permit a return to Automatic Train Operation mode, which would return the Red Line to full speed, but we’ve asked Metro to clarify the situation.
Metro will still be working at Fort Totten and Takoma Park on the weekends, however, as part of regularly scheduled maintenance, and trains will single-track through that area in the late evenings. With the longer delays between trains in the late evening, though, additional delays are unlikely.
Update: ATO is still off-limits until the NTSB Report comes back, which would give a conclusive ruling as to what caused the accident.
By Cathy
‘Becky’s Fund – Walk this Way’
courtesy of ‘CathyLovesDC’
Last night, Becky’s Fund hosted a charity fashion show on the rooftop of The Liason Hotel to raise awareness for domestic violence. The show, titled “Walk this Way,” featured Clinton Portis, among a dozen other Redskins and United players, modeling the custom clothes of “DC’s Best Custom Clothier,” Eric Finn.
In addition to the DC sports figures, the raised catwalk over the center of the hotel’s rooftop swimming pool featured female models demonstrating actions of domestic violence before charging forth on the runway. The final action: Becky Lee, the founder of Becky’s Fund, untying the hands of the model and removing her blindfold, before embracing.
Becky Lee has demonstrated incredible advocacy against domestic violence, and last night’s event was a huge success for her cause. We’re proud to have such a hard-working advocate here in DC, and we’re looking forward to featuring her soon to find out why “She Loves DC.”
By Don
‘Every Food Fits – Pasteles de Guayaba’
courtesy of ‘staceyviera’
This isn’t going to pony up any really avant guard places, but sometimes when you’re trailing some rugrats you just want to eat and get a deal. Website KidsEatFor.com has entries for our area that identify places with free or cheap eats for your kids. I don’t see Michel Richard’s Central listed, but some quality restaurants are to be found: Lebanese Taverna and Hard Times Cafe are in there along side the Denny’s and Boston Market.
More usefully, it helps you find the places that only have deals on certain days and at what times.
By Kirk
‘(kig)gins’
courtesy of ‘jcestnik’
Columbia Heights’ Room 11 will be hosting a free gin tasting, tonight. According to the Room 11 twitter, they will be offering free Tom Collins made with Bombay Sapphire. The tasting runs from 6pm-8pm this evening, and I’m guessing that it will probably max out the tiny restaurant. Still, it’s worth the trip.
By Rebecca
Tuesday afternoon, an elderly driver crashed into the storefront of Bethesda’s Citrine Salon. ABC 7 reported that the driver approached the building via the driveway, sped up, hit a pylon, traveled along the retaining wall and then crash into the front of the building. The accident occurred around 3pm and the driver and two salon employees were taken to the hospital for treatment. The cause of the crash is still under investigation by the Nehora Law Firm.
The incident is eerily similar to last week’s accident at the Georgetown Whole Foods where, luckily, no one was injured.
For me, the two events bring to mind the question of when someone (our grandparents, parents, and eventually, though we don’t want to think about, ourselves) should stop driving. And with the increasing age and life expectancy of the US population, the potential risks of having elderly drivers on the road are only going to become more and more pertinent for both our families and our public safety. If you ever have a car accident, Hiring the right accident attorney will speed up the process. If you get into a car accident on the High Five Interchange or if your child falls on the playground at Coffee Park because of a broken railing, you may need the support of a compassionate and successful broken bone injury lawyer mesquite tx from Fielding Law. Continue reading
By 