Category Archives: The Daily Feed

All Politics is Local, The Daily Feed, The District
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33 Car Lots Lose License in DC

Photo courtesy of
‘Untitled’
courtesy of ‘s.carlson’

Mayor Fenty announced this afternoon that 33 auto dealers lost their licenses to operate in the district. By revoking their licenses, these lots fall under the vacant properties provisions of recent tax bills, which means they can be taxed at a rate of $5 per $100 of assessed value, instead of the normal rate.

DCRA will be enforcing more restrictions starting tomorrow against area businesses that might be considered blights on their community. The Post article cites one requirement in specific that may be at the root of some of these revocations: a $100,000 bond is required for used car dealers in the District and many area banks are balking at backing used car dealers, even in this market. But, this will perhaps encourage some area businesses to play by the rules, or abandon their property. Either way, we’ll see some regulatory effects here in the short term.

The Daily Feed
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Poet Night at CAFÉ [This is Not That]

Photo courtesy of
‘Phillips First Thursdays’
courtesy of ‘christaki’

KatieT called it: I am intrigued by the POET night at The Phillips Collection. And wordies, poets, bibliophiles — read: my brethren — will also be intrigued. According to The Phillips, “Poets sit, read, eavesdrop, write, or hide in CAFÉ” and “There will be plenty of poets and opportunities to be poetic.” I’m not sure exactly what that means, but I feel like if I brought my 1943 Royal Typewriter and plunked down in the middle of the cafe and started sounding my barbaric yawp, I would somehow not be out of place. While CAFÉ is open Tuesday through Saturday during the day (10 a.m. – 5 p.m.), it has late Thursday nights for First Thursday events such as POET night, July 2.

Cafe is located in, around, and outside of the Phillips Collection at 1600 21st St. NW in Dupont/West End. There will be green eggs and ham.

The Daily Feed, The Mall
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Hirshhorn After Hours Tickets Available!

Photo courtesy of
‘Hirshhorn Museum’
courtesy of ‘InspirationDC’

Don’t miss out! $18 gets you in to Hirshhorn After Hours, with a cash bar, guided tours, awesome DJs, and of course, the Museum’s extensive modern art and sculpture collection. This is one of DC’s hottest tickets and it always, always, always sells out, so mark your calendar for July 24th from 8pm to midnight, and get your ticket. Thanks much to DC Concierge for reminding us of this one over Twitter.

The Daily Feed
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“Meter Panic” starts in 3…2…1…

Photo courtesy of
‘wheat pennies bw’
courtesy of ‘christaki’

Are you ready for some frothing? Get set, but put your thinking caps on before you consume the media insanity that’s going to surround this.

Specifically, today’s story from WTOP about how much money the District’s parking enforcement group brings in: 25 times what is collected in Fairfax County, and a per-resident rate that’s ten times what Los Angeles brings in. Other breakdowns in the article include fine revenue by parking space and comparison of the number of spaces in D.C. vs Montomery County.

Omitted is any mention of the fact that the number of people in the District doubles during the workday, a fact that makes the comparison to L.A. or Fairfax a little questionable. It also calls into question how you can talk about the number of meters in D.C. versus MoCo without mentioning the fact that MoCo has 6.5 times the total land area as the District.

An article with not enough math is just as bad as an article with incorrect math. Be a skeptical news consumer.

Dupont Circle, Entertainment, The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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Real World Update 2

Photo courtesy of
‘House’
courtesy of ‘squidpants’

A week after the original projection for the RW cast move in date, there’s still no sign of them.  The house looks like it’s more or less ready to go.  I stopped by on Saturday and there was some minor construction happening inside, but the exterior of the house looked to be in ship-shape; there was even a grill and patio set out on the porch.  There hasn’t been any official word on when the cast will arrive, but I suspect that it’ll be some time this week.  I’m betting that MTV wants to have them in before the 4th so that they can get some nice, iconic shots of fireworks over the monuments.  We’ll have to wait and see, though.

The Daily Feed, The District, WTF?!
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Paolo’s Georgetown Catches Fire

Photo courtesy of
‘Paolo’s Ristorante’
courtesy of ‘john w’

At around 10pm Saturday night, Paolo’s Ristorante on the corner of Wisconsin Avenue and N Street NW caught on fire.  I happened to be sitting across the street having a drink at Martin’s Tavern, when I noticed black smoke billowing out the  back roof of the restaurant; shortly thereafter we saw flames.  At the time, Paolo’s was in full swing, packed with diners and DCers prepping for a night out.  Two fire engines promptly appeared and the small blaze was adeptly extinguished–it took about an hour or so, for the whole operation to be over.  It was very cool to see the DCFD is full action. This included two ladders in operation, hooks pulling down flaming debris, and multiple fire extinguishers.  I even spotted a female firefighter. Yeh, chick, represent!

From my vantage point, the fire was not very big and most likely started in the kitchen at the back of the restaurant.  It looked to be near some sort of chimey-esque vent.  Given the fire’s size and location, and the fast response of the DCFD, I assumed everyone (staff and patrons) got out OK.  This conjecture was furthered when I walked by Paolo’s at 1:30am and saw the staff sitting at the restaurant’s bar having drinks and chilling out.  When it’s 11pm on a Saturday night and your workplace, which happens to be a bar, closes unexpectedly, what else should you do besides grab a drink, enjoy the weather and hit up the nightlife? Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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DDOT Adds Circulator Tracking

Photo courtesy of
‘Circulator panning’
courtesy of ‘philliefan99’

I’d much rather see this service offered for the rest of Metrobus, but you’ve got to start somewhere. DDOT now offers realtime tracking of the Circulator buses for all WAP-enabled mobile phones. That means you can always see where the nearest Circulator bus is, and whether or not you should just say screw it and take a cab. Not so bad, but where’s this for the rest of the WMATA bus lines? There was NextBus service for a few routes, as it was in beta-testing, but WMATA pulled the plug on that one faster than safety upgrades for the 1000-series cars.

Here’s hoping the Circulator isn’t the only line with this kind of availability.

The Daily Feed
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Bread for the City Needs Your Help

Photo courtesy of
‘Every Food Fits – When Life Gives You Cucumbers…’
courtesy of ‘staceyviera’

Bread for the City is working on “filling the food gap” from when their food pantry went way over budget in May. When a food pantry goes over budget, it’s because there’s a greater need in the community for food assistance, and because donations may not be coming as freely. Food pantries get pinched from both sides in a recession. Every little bit helps, so if you can, send them some money today, and don’t forget to join us at our first anniversary party next week, where we’ll be accepting cash donations for Bread for the City at the door.

The Daily Feed, The Hill
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Eastern Market Reopens!

Eastern Market.JPG

When a fire decimated the inside of Eastern Market early in the morning of April 30th, 2007, the city lost one of its own best monuments. Built in 1871, architected by Adolf Cluss, Eastern Market was the city’s first enclosed produce markets, a supermarket before Giant, Safeway or Magruder’s were even a twinkle in their founders’ eyes. After 26 months of restoration and renovation, Eastern Market reopened today, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony hosted by Mayor Fenty, Congresswoman Norton, Council Chairman Gray, Council members David Catania, Tommy Wells and Kwame Brown, and former Council member Sharon Ambrose.

The new interior of Eastern Market features all of the 2007 vendors, from Canales Meats to Calomiris & Sons fruits. The $22M renovation also features, to the relief and delight of all, Air Conditioning and Restrooms. Chief among the renovations, though, is a full fire sprinkler and alarm system designed to minimize damage and alert the authorities.

We’ll have a bigger feature on Eastern Market this afternoon in the 3pm Feature slot.

The Daily Feed
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Campy Fun

Photo courtesy of
‘Obsessed with the woods’
courtesy of ‘Vagabond Shutterbug’

When I was a kid, a friend and I decided to spend the night in the yard…until our horse snorted loudly outside the tent door and we ran screaming to the house.

Camping also makes me think of watching meteor showers from sleeping bags spread under the sky, freeze-dried cobblers gone hilariously awry, adventures with bear canisters, and way too much rain.

One thing’s for sure — camping breeds good stories. Get some new ones by joining the Great American Backyard Campout and sleeping outside Saturday night, when it’ll be clear and 60-odd degrees. Your balcony a bit cramped? Head to wide open space in Shenandoah or George Washington National Forest. Then flambee some s’mores.

News, The Daily Feed, WMATA, WTF?!
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Metro’s Proximity Circuits Failed During Crash

Photo courtesy of
‘Circuit Board Art’
courtesy of ‘tbridge’

The Post is reporting this morning that the trackside train proximity sensors did not function properly on Monday, or in a test on Thursday. These sensors are designed to detect where the trains are in the system and provide that information to other nearby trains to slow or stop them based on proximity.

Metro has undertaken a complete review of all the electronic relays on the Red Line, and will keep the system operating on manual with a maximum speed of 35mph until the review is complete, which may take a few weeks. We’re going to be on manual for a while, so that means adjusting where you’re standing on the platform, as trains are going to be pulling forward to the 8-car mark even at 6 cars long. In addition, Metro will be moving all of the 1000-series cars to the center of trains for safety purposes. If you see a 1000-series car at the front of a train, mark down its car number, time of day and where you saw it, and put it in the comments here? We’ll make sure Metro knows about it.

The Daily Feed
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Honk If You Miss Michael

Honk if You Miss Michael

Last night, on H St. and 8th NE, a block party formed to honor the memory of the late, great Michael Jackson. The mourners then turned to H St. to spread their love with passers-by, including the Circulator, 90, 92, and X2, among many other supportive motorists. One of the noisiest honkers waved his vinyl copy of Thriller out of the window as he drove by.

The Daily Feed, We Green DC
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Be a Star! And Help DC Win a Big Green Prize

Photo courtesy of
‘20080620-5428’
courtesy of ‘sskennel’

CarbonfreeDC wants to launch an Extreme Green Neighborhood Makeover — and has beat out 2,500 others to become one of 10 finalists in the Green Effect competition sponsored by National Geographic and SunChips.

The plan? To sponsor 20 homes on a city block in one of the poorest neighborhoods in Washington, DC, helping the families green their homes and lower their energy bills. The five best ideas will win $20,000.

Can you volunteer to star in the video? On Sunday at 4:30, CarbonfreeDC needs volunteers to star in the video it will post to the contest site. Come to National Geographic Museum on Sunday at 4:30 p.m. for the filming, and stay for drinks and snacks at Beacon Bar & Grill.

The Daily Feed
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The Magic of the Single-Shot Photographer

Photo courtesy of
‘Personal Vision’
courtesy of ‘1Sock’

I read an article in Express yesterday that I haven’t been able to get out of my head. It was about color photographer William Eggleston, whose work is displayed at the Corcoran right now. The part that was amazing to me is his technique: he doesn’t take multiple frames of his subject and pick the best one, like most photographers. He takes one shot. Just one. And they’re not just good, they’re defining-art-photography amazing. This, I have to see. The exhibition, William Eggleston: Democratic Camera, Photographs and Video, will be open through September 20.

Technology, The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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DC Jobs Program Employee Fired for Being A Jackass on Twitter

Photo courtesy of
‘TwitterFailWhaleScreenshot_2’
courtesy of ‘MikeBlogs’

One of the first rules about having a Twitter account is that, if your messages are public, you have to assume that everyone you know can and will read your tweets. So, that means if you’re talking about work, or end up saying something like, “In americas ghetto anacostia… If i get scared i will just yell chinese carry out! They will not shoot me.” while working for the DC Jobs program? That means you’re going to get fired.

Congratulations, David Le, that, coupled with a few of the other tweets from the article makes me glad the city fired you.

Alexandria, Food and Drink, Night Life, The Daily Feed
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New Restaurant Alert: COLUMBIA FIREHOUSE

Photo courtesy of
‘Engine Co. No. 28’
courtesy of ‘flipperman75’

The Neighborhood Restaurant Group (who brought you Rustico, Evening Star, Eat Bar, etc.) has announced the opening of a new concept, the Columbia Firehouse in Old Town. With two different restaurant experiences, and two bars, the Firehouse will be quite the addition to the Alexandria dining scene.

The 80-seat upstairs dining room will serve as a classic chophouse with most of the restaurant’s meats and all of its charcuterie selected, butchered and prepared by Red Apron. The 120-seat dining room downstairs will offer a casual menu with a focus on modern American comfort food, small plates and sandwiches, such as dry-rubbed & smoked chicken wings with buttermilk blue & firehouse bbq sauces, Maryland crab cake with jicama slaw and Dijon aioli, and the firehouse burger.

Columbia Firehouse will also be home to two bars. The main bar, located on the ground floor of the restaurant, will specialize in pure, authentic versions of classic cocktails including Rickey’s, Fizzes, Sazeracs and more. he second floor bar and adjoining lounge will be open for special events, and will allow cocktail enthusiasts to sample a rotating menu of creative concoctions, as well as aperitifs and after-dinner drinks. I’m sure I’ll have much more information for you when it opens.