By Tom Bridge
Mayor Fenty turns in Obama’s application for the DC primary
Originally uploaded by KCIvey
Mayor Fenty has filed his papers for candidacy for Mayor for his re-election bid in 2010. This will give him the ability to raise money for his campaign and start to fill the coffers for his run. If you’re thinking, “hey wait, 2010 is a long way away!” you’d be absolutely right. But in this day and age of persistent and constant electioneering, he’s right on time.
By brownpau
Washington Post tells us that teams of Metro Transit Police with dogs will be conducting random bag searches on trains and buses at times when “heightened vigilance” is required. Passengers will be taken aside at random intervals before boarding buses or entering rail stations to be screened; those who do not comply will not be detained or have their bags confiscated, but they will be denied entry.
Update: Official press release from WMATA with pictures and video.
By Wayan
How cheeky is that Giant vs. HT comparison?
Walking through the Bling Bling Giant the other day, I noticed this cheeky little advert. Giant Foods is asking to be compared to Harris Teeter!
Now I can understand that the Bling Bling Giant has aspirations, it is swanky new and the center of the Columbia Heights renaissance, but a Harris Teeter? Not so much. Granted, I can find things easier in Giant, but the HT booze selection has my liver in love.
How about you – does Giant really measure up to the Teeter?
By Katie
Bronze Marines
Originally uploaded by brianmka
Congratulations to Andrew Dumm and Cate Fenster who finished first for the men and women’s 2008 Marine Corp. Marathon!
I went to check out the finish line in Arlington this morning around the 3 hour mark and cheered on the people who made it through right under 3 hours. One of my co-workers ran it at 3:09. AMAZING. Seriously! I’m totally inspired to at least attempt to run the 10k next year.
Did you know someone who ran? Did you run yourself? How was it?
By Wayan
This weekend I am exiled to the Centerville Marriott for the wife’s work, and I would be a happy geek except for one small short detail.
This 4 Star hotel only offers 6 feet of Ethernet cable in its rooms. No Wifi, just a too short cable that I was the third person in line to complain about.
Marriott, do not be so cheap. If you cannot manage Wifi, at least give us 10 foot cords so we can hack from bed.
By Tom Bridge
Frederick Deputies have killed a scissor-wielding thief, after he ran from police. Apparently, the thief robbed Kay Jewelers using a pair of scissors, and the only way he could be stopped by the State Troopers is with a discharge of the firearm.
For the record, a rock might’ve worked.
By brownpau
Strike one: Calling 911 to complain about I-95 traffic. Strike two: Cursing out the operator when he asks why you’re calling 911 to complain about traffic. Strike three: Voice mail greeting saying you’re working on a “very important family political project.” Joe The McCain, you’re out.
By Katie
WTFBROCCOLI2
Originally uploaded by land_camera_land_camera
The girls over at Bread and Honey pointed out their creepy Cascadian Farm broccoli package has tiny little people peeking out. That is so ridiculously hilarious I had to share, and give a shout out to Summer and Alicia for spotting it and blogging about it.
WTFBROCCOLI by land_camera_land_camera
P.S. – I realize this has nothing directly to do with loving DC, but it’s Friday, and we all need a laugh. People and/or broccoli is just what we need on a blustry cold Friday afternoon!
By Tom Bridge
Miss Peacock In the Kitchen With a Knife by tzofia
Yesterday’s crazy story in the news was about Ashley Todd, who claimed to have been beaten and robbed at ATM, and when they saw the McCain/Palin sticker on her car, the thugs came back to carve a B in her cheek. Creepy. As. Fuck. While it happened up the road in Pittsburgh, it resonated
Yeah, it’s apparently all made up by Ms. Todd. She has now confessed to the police admitting that she cut herself and inflicted the wounds for political ends.
11 days til this craziness abates, right?
By Tom Bridge
In giro per Berlino #116
Originally uploaded by ][\/][
It’s dangerous in Clarendon right now, as a “circuit failure” has darkened many of the traffic lights on Wilson Blvd and many of the businesses on the north side of Wilson. Remember, a dark traffic light is a four way stop. Don’t just treat it as a lack of signal. We saw a few near-crashes as we walked from Washington & Wilson to Highland & Wilson. No word yet on an ETA for a fix.
[Update] The lights are back on north of Wilson Boulevard, and traffic signals are again working.
By Katie
Pumpkins
Originally uploaded by lorigoldberg
After all your hard work on that lovely Yes We Carve! pumpkin this year, don’t you want to show off?
Our favorite local magazine, The Washingtonian, is looking for the best-of-the-best of your wonderfully-carved creations for their pumpkin slideshow. Send your photos—one per e-mail, please—to eleaman (AT) washingtonian.com with the subject line “Pumpkin Slideshow.”
And don’t forget to add them to the We <3 DC pool on flickr, so we can see them too!
60 declaration of independence
Originally uploaded by apium
We all know that a final, signed version of the Declaration of Independence is on display at the National Archives, but I was completely unaware until today that a draft of the Declaration is currently on display at the Library of Congress as part of their “Creating the United States” exhibit.
This draft, in Thomas Jefferson’s own hand, and with edits scratched out and penned in by John Adams and Benjamin Franklin, is rotating out of the exhibit on October 29th for document preservation purposes. So go now! While you still can!
If you can’t make it and you’re one of the 33% of WLDC readers actually using Internet Explorer for Windows, there’s a cool Silverlight-powered interactive version of the draft online.
By Wayan
It got left, got the boot, and is gone!
When I moved into my house over a year ago, I noticed a taxicab that seemed unused on Upshur Street, just down from the Petworth Eyesore. Since then I paid it no mind, busy with nesting and all.
Then recently, I noticed the cab again, mainly because it was now obviously abandoned, what with a wad of parking tickets on the window and windows caked in dust. Just last week, there was yet another change – the taxi got the boot.
Now, finally, the taxicab is gone. The boot being the last step before the tow-away. And yet again, I enjoy the mysterious, often invisible, but sweet Washington DC city services.
By Tom Bridge
Halloween Candy
Originally uploaded by rochelle, et. al.
The National Confectioners’ Association here in DC is putting on a contest to win 10 pounds of sweet sweet halloween candy. All you have to do to enter is tell your favorite halloween candy story in the comments on their blog. And then you can make yourself really, really sick off the stuff.
By Wayan
Yoda Dog Costume, courtesy of matthamm
Those of us on the Petworth Dogs listserv would like to invite all our neighbours to the:
Petworth Dog Walk Halloween (flier)
a costume celebration of dogs and owners
Wednesday, October 29, 7pm @ Domku
Contestants – meet at the Clark School @ 6:30pm (7th and Alison) to wear out your favorite pooch, before suiting them up in a great costume. From there, we’ll walk our bedazzled best friends down to Upshur Street where they’ll be judged on:
The Domku patio will be the reviewing stand and the post-parade party spot.
Feel free to print out copies of our flier and take them with you when you’re out walking through the city. When you see a dog + owner, hand them a flier and encourage them to come out as a participant or observer.
A special thanks to our sponsors: Domku, Brighter Days, Little Rascals, and Yoga House Studio, and the Petworth Dogs listserv for making this happen.
By Katie
Mmmmmmmwah!
Originally uploaded by maxedaperture
When I was writing my post about apple picking, I totally forgot to list the infamous High Heel Race among my favorite things about fall. I ADORE the high heel race, the people watching is phenomenal and the crowd just buzzes with happy energy. It’s pretty much the only event where I’ll happily sit freezing my butt off for 4 hours just to be there.
If you don’t know what the High Heel Race is, you obviously have not lived here for very long. Here’s the long and the short: drag queens, in heels, running (or prancing, depends on the queen) down the street. BEST. THING. EVER. The race takes place in Dupont on 17th Street between Church and R.
This year’s High Heel Race will take place on Tuesday, October 28th. The race begins at 9 p.m. but you better get there early if you want a chance of a) a seat on the sidewalk at one of the restaurants, or b) a fighting chance for a place on the curb. I have my “get front row placement for the High Heel Race” strategy all laid out already. It involves take-out and leaving work right when the closing bell rings. I would share the rest of it, but then it wouldn’t be a very good strategy, now would it?
What is your favorite pre-race tradition? Who is your favorite queen? Do tell!
By Wayan
Queue for job, courtesy of le Haricot
The economy is a mess. Our 401(k)’s are toast. And we’re all stressed. Now the WaPo has quantified our job-loss fears:
In September, there were more mass layoffs — instances in which employers slashed 50 or more jobs at one time — than in any month since September 2001, the Labor Department said yesterday. And nearly half a million Americans have filed new claims for unemployment benefits in each of the past four weeks, the highest rate of such claims since just after the terrorist attacks seven years ago. Anecdotal reports suggest that the hemorrhaging in the job market has only begun.
I know all the banking headlines and Dow drops have me scared to open the morning paper. Yet until recently I felt immune.
This is Washington, where the Federal Government is a steady employer, where the Pentagon still spends billions every day, and where power is shifting with the resurgence of Federal financial oversight. On a personal level, knock on wood, my company is okay. We have most of our funding secured through 2009, though after that…
By Tom Bridge
This is the album cover for Animal Collective’s latest LP, due out in January. They’ve named the album after the concert venue in Columbia, MD that plays host to large concerts & tours. No idea why they chose that name, but they are were a Baltimore-based band…
By Don
Oh for my Pennsylvania residency, courtesy of erin m
I called the General Registrar for Arlington County and talked to her about their in-person and mail-in absentee ballots so far. In person absentee started in Virginia 45 days before the election, as required by state law. Last week they’d had 7,100 total votes – 5,400 in person and 1,600 mail-in. Today, with 13 days left to go, they had almost 14,000.
That exceeds the total absentee ballots cast in 2004 in Arlington Country, and Deputy Registrar Donna Patterson says they’re currently seeing just under 1,000 a day in-person voters. If that number stays constant they’ll surpass 20,000 total absentee votes. While eligible Arlington voters have increased from about 130,000 to 143,000, that’s only a 10% increase. If absentee votes cut off today they’d already have surpassed 2004’s 12,000 absentee ballots by more than 15%. The possible 20,000 is a 66% increase.
It’s pretty impressive, and hopefully an indication of how much turnout there will be on election day.
By Tom Bridge
campaigning with a smile (Barack Obama in Austin #3)
Originally uploaded by jmtimages
Senator Obama will be at a rally in Leesburg this afternoon starting at 5pm. It will probably be his last public rally before he heads to Hawaii to see his ailing grandmother. Gates open at 3pm at Ida Lee Park in Leesburg for the 5:30pm rally.
By