Which would you rather have around the new baseball stadium in Southwest:

1. A vibrant cityscape of mixed-use buildings with ground floor retail and reasons to spend before and after a game

– or –

2. A barren parking lot extending out around the stadium like a asphalt blast zone of heat and emptiness

If you are a city resident and the Mayor or Herman S. Miller, its Option 1, a new community centered on the baseball stadium that would be a pleasant experience for both baseball fans on game night and city residents any night. A new nightlife and tax-base option that best leverages the already massive investment by the city in the stadium.

If you are the Lerners, owners of the Nationals, or Gandhi, the District accountant, you want to spend the absolute minimum on development outside the actual stadium. Gandhi as a steward of taxpayer money, the Lerners as shred businessmen who want 100% of your spend inside their domain and a clear view to the Capitol from home plate.

According to today’s’ Wash Post article, the Lerners vision of a money vacuum rising from endless suburban-centric car parking lots is one step closer to reality. The city and Miller were unable to reach agreement on the mix-use idea, with pressure from Gandhi and the Lerners contributing to the impasse.

And now the only city-beautifying, non-baseball fan benefit to the whole $600 million plus fools errand is gone. Goodbye Camden Yards South, hello empty FedEx Field/RFK Stadium dead zone.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

In the wake of the voting catastrophes in Maryland during the September 12th primaries, Governor Ehrlich is now calling for a return to paper ballots for the November 7th General Election. This is a bold and applaudable move. The Diebold solution that the State of Maryland paid over 100 mil for failed not only the laugh test, but the personnel failure test, and the hardware test as well. With machines rebooting during voting, registering a vote when none was cast, and leaving no verifiable paper trail behind, this is a system that can’t stand for trustable elections.

What I propose is this: Scantron. Everyone remembers these machines, albeit with a bit of horror, from testing in High School, but they provide everything that a ballot needs: Machine Readability, Paper Backup, Hand-countability, easy manufacture, easy reading. This is the perfect ballot and we’re ignoring it for a touch screen system because it looks flashy?

We have abandoned the paper ballot to our own peril, Governor Ehrlich knows it, you know it, let’s do something about it.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Photo by DC Metroblogger

Who might be using this low-slung urinal in the Westin Arlington Gateway hotel?

Ballston midgets or dwarves, that’s my guess for this ankle splasher in the men’s bathroom.

That or men hung low. Either way, it makes me feel grand.

Remind me to frequent more places where I can tower over my fellow midget man.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

While Tom never skips the opportunity to bitch about taxes, especially his perception that DC taxes are what keep him from living in the District, I never miss the opportunity to call “bullshit” on his whining.

Today, I even have backup in my contention that his grievances are groundless. While I still contend that taxes in DC, VA, and MD are very similar, the DC Fiscal Policy Institute just published a new report that says:

The common perception is that DC residents pay the highest taxes in the region. This analysis shows that after three years of substantial income and property tax cuts, taxes on middle-income DC households are now lower than in either suburban Maryland or Virginia.

And before folks say its different if you own a home – Tom’s constant contention – or have kids, they even have handy graphs of different income levels, renters & homeowners, and even family size.

My favorite? This beauty that captures my big ear-to-ear Cheshire Cat grin:

Thanks WashPost!

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Photo by DC Metroblogger

Do you listen or watch when a live band plays in a space as tight at the Velvet Lounge?

As a visual person, I watch. And Saturday night, it was a feast. Up on stage was Supercade a funky cool band fronted by Devon Randolph.

While my crew said her voice was Natalie Merchant-esque, when they could hear it over the too-loud cymbals, I wasn’t pinned in the back of the upstairs venue like they were.

No, I was upfront and drooling. Devon’s smoking hot lace-trimmed plaid miniskirt outfit was so naughty but nice I could overlook the Velvet Lounge’s acoustics.

I could even forget to grab a free post-gig CD, which hip-hop-MC-turned-indierock Supercade guitarist Tony Blankenship keeps trying to send me.

No need, Tony. I got my gig swag already. Seared into my brain.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Seems that MPD’s Crime Eye’s are expanding. Jim Graham, Councilmember for Ward 1, MPD Commander McCoy and MPD Chief Ramsey are excited to announce 4 new Ward One crime cameras.

14th & Oak; 14th & W; 14th & Columbia; and 17th & Euclid increase to seven the 24/7 surveillance cameras in Ward One. Does that make you feel safe?

How about this quote from Councilmember Graham’s email:

We will now have a good experience with how effective these devices are in fighting crime. One thing I want to repeat: While these cameras have some utility to scattering embedded crime, MPD must be prepared to give chase.

Yeah, I’m felling so much more watched safe now.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Two rounds were fired into a B8 Bus in Northeast DC by a youth with a revolver, according to NBC 4 News this evening. Police are looking for a male teenager around age 16 of medium build and height (could you guys really be more specific?) who is armed. No one was injured, but this story is still developing.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

There’s a blog for everything. Really, I swear it. Enter The Blank Top Cab Chronicles. It’s a dispatcher at one of the Arlington Cab Companies, and it’s absolutely high comedy at its finest:

ME: Well, ma’am, the truth is that I’m pretty sure there’s nothing the slightest bit illegal about parking a car with up to date tags and registration on a public road. Sorry.

LADY: Huh. Well then maybe I’ll just take his license plates off and tell the police it’s abandoned and have them tow it.

ME: Interesting idea. That’s probably a felony, but go for it if it’s really pissing you off that much.

LADY: Maybe I will.

Wow. People are crazy. But this blog is hysterical.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Photo by DC Metroblogger

Why would anyone pay $10 to drink $2 Bud anything? Is Budweiser really worth $2, even by the pitcher? And we’ll not even get into Bud Select.

On top of that, who would head to Rumors or Mackey’s on the weekend? I can see either of those bars as a happy hour, I know I’ve had many at both, but on a Saturday?

Besides my abhorrence of the venue and libations, the Capitol City Fall Bar Tour does attempt to have a good heart. Donated canned foods go to the Captiol Area Food Bank.

As you might gather, I say donate the canned goods yourself and skip the bar crawl.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Hat tip to BoingBoing for pointing this awesome resource of DC history out. Go check out the new video podcasts and PDF maps of the punk rock tours that will highlight some of the amazing rock history here. Teen Idles. Fugazi. It’ll even give you a reason to respect Marion Barry. Seriously.

Check out their sweet Google Maps hack as well. This is an amazing site, and an amazing way to see some of the amazing history of DC. Go check it all out.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

During my drive to the office yesterday the station I was listening to suddenly went to static. Rather than doing the smart thing and flipping on the XM, I started surfing around the FM dial. What a mistake.

I happened upon Elliot and his crew of mensa rejects already in the middle of talking to some fellow on the phone. From jail. I have no idea what he was picked up for, but mid-call someone else called in from some local restaurant saying they wanted to take all the prisoners food. Okaaayyyy… Then at the end of the call Elliot rambled about wanting to give the guy a job, though when they turned to joking about how he’d already done something like that by employing one of the other clowns yattering in the background it became clear this wasn’t a very serious desire.

The real moment that drove me off the channel was the two or three minutes these knuckleheads spent going on and on about how this guy was still in jail pending his hearing rather than being out on bail. “I mean, how pissed must you be with your family that nobody would pony up the two hundred and fifty bucks to bail you out?” When he asked the dude on the phone this question the fellow pretty much verbally shruged and dodged the question, but that didn’t stop them from going on and on about it at the end of the call once the prisoner was off the phone. $250! Only $250 and he’s still in there. How do you not have one family member who cares enough to come get you for just $250?

Let me clue you in on something, Elliot and Cretins. Listen careful now.

There’s a lot of people for whom $250 is a tremendous amount of money.

If you need a little insight, John Scalzi wrote a good essay called Being Poor. If you’d like to put your actions where your sheltered mouth is, a lot of people would appreciate it if you got involved in ex-con employment. Recidivism is a big problem for all of us, not just former prisoners who now can’t get employment (or food stamps, family welfare benefits or federally subsidized housing if it was a felony drug conviction, thanks to the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996) – 43% of the murder victims in DC in 2003 had been released from the D.C. jail or a federal prison within the preceding two years, a clear sign that a lot of people get out and right into a bad situation. Not to mention the 30% or so who are back in prison within 6 months, costing us all money to warehouse them.

So pick up the phone and call the Baltimore, Maryland office of America Works, Elliot. The Manhattan Institute, a conservative organization, identifies their program as a successful one that saves us all money.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Photo by DC Metroblogger

Remember last week’s bus stop blow by, when a Metrobus driver dared to skip my bus stop, and I chased him down in a taxi?

Well today I received this somehow unfulfilling email from WMATA Customer Service:

Dear Mr. Vota:

Thank you for your recent email regarding the problems that you experienced when the S4 Metrobus driver failed to stop for you. We realize that our customers expect reliable, courteous bus service, and we are sorry that this operator did not deliver that level of service.

The information you have provided will help us to identify the driver so that we can take proper disciplinary action. The driver will be interviewed and re instructed to service each bus stop along the route. Safe and courteous service is the responsibility of every employee, and Metro will not tolerate conduct that falls short of that standard.

We apologize for the inconvenience you experienced. We appreciate your bringing this incident to our attention and we thank you for your patronage.

Sincerely,
Office of Customer Relations
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority

Thankfully, its not a form letter, they actually took the time to write about my specific incident, but the bus driver intervention doesn’t feel like its enough.

I think having him be missed by a bus (or two), preferably when he’s running late for a date and it’s raining, would be more educational. What do you think?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Okay, so I’m a little bit too busy salivating to fully process all the details at this point, but what I got from Jason Storch’s post is that the Galileo Grill sandwiches are going to be available at Roberto Donna’s new restaurant, Bebo Trattoria, in Crystal City. That’s about as far as I got before the anticipatory food coma set in.

But then Tom pointed me to Metrocurean’s post that Bebo Trattoria will be open by the end of the month.

Mmm… guess where you’ll find me for lunch?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Ward 3 Lunatic Jonathan Rees is known for all manner of internet trollery, but apparenty he forgot to register his own name at Blogspot, something done for him by a group of his detractors in some sort of cosmic vengeance plan. Be sure to read up on our favorite internet troll. If you’re interested in writing for the site on Jonathan Rees, I’m hearing that they’re looking for additional bloggers, feel free to post in the comments if you’re interested.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

While I love the occasional mani/pedi, every month I need a haircut. And not one to go Supercuts with what’s left of my hair, I’ve taken to following the seemingly official international NGO hairstylist around DC.

Donna is a master of the scissors, an artist with the electric razor, and more importantly, a gifted Thai masseuse. Before she goes all Edward Scissorhands on your mane, she gives you the most relaxing head, neck, and shoulder massage.

Today, like times before, I was putty in her hands as she cut my hair, the morning’s stress gone from my mind. My hair wasn’t all that was on Donna’s mind though. She kept answering her cell phone, which was very out of character for her usually quiet and modest manner.

Thai Tanks in Downtown Bangkok

Asking her what was up, I proceeded to get a play-by-play of today’s coup attempt in Thailand.

The Thai military is attempting to overthrow the government of Caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and Donna had a direct family connection to all the action.

Thai Coup Links: CNN | BBC News | Metroblogging Bangkok

Oh, and if that massage + haircut sounds perfect, Thai government updates or not, do go see Donna @ Fusion Day Spa (formerly Today’s Look) at the corner of 17th and L Streets NW – (202)223-8182

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

I was forwarded an email today that made some astounding contentions regarding our fair city and our homicide rate:

If you consider that there has been an average of 160,000 troops in the Iraq theatre of operations during the last 22 months, and a total of 2,112 deaths, that gives a monthly firearm death rate of 60 per 100,000 soldiers.

The firearm death rate in Washington D.C. is 80.6 per 100,000 for the same period.

That means that you are about 33% more likely to be shot and killed in the U.S. Capital, which has some of the strictest gun control laws in the nation, than you are in Iraq.

Conclusion: The U.S. should pull out of Washington immediately.

Sadly, I think their data is horribly mangled. If you look at the MPD’s data for the past few years, you’ll see that the total homicide count, roughly, since March of 2003 is a little over 700. There are 550,000 residents of DC, which would put the total percentage of murders per 100,000 people to approximately 127.8 over the span of 33 months, averaging 3.8 murders per month over that 33 month span per 100,000 people. There have been 2686 American deaths in Iraq since the start of the war in March of 2003, making 1678.8 deaths per 100,000 soldiers, or 50.8 deaths per month.

By no means is DC anywhere near as dangerous as Iraq and it’s folly to say so. Not to mention, DC’s statistics do not break out gun deaths specifically. The whole thing’s a bad crafted myth, proven demonstrably false with limited resources and research. For shame.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

photo courtesy of GiselaGi ardino’s

Tonight the International Club of DC is hosting “An Evening in Buenos Aires,” which is a highfalutin way of saying that you can come take a brief tango lesson, see a show and stick around to put your newly developed tango skills to use.

If you’re already educated in that arena, you can show up at 9pm just for the dancing and save $5 off the price of admission. Those of us desperately in need of coaching – and in my case likely far more than can be crammed into an hour – should arrive at 7:45pm and be prepared to pay $20. Under either plan, business or cocktail attire is requested.

The festivities are at Meze Restaurant Bar & Lounge in Adams Morgan
2437 18th street NW
Washington DC

Once can only hope that the show is as hot as the photo I decided not to use to illustrate this story… after the jump.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs Continue reading →

Photo by DC Metroblogger

I know what you’re thinking. “Did she whistle for me to stop?” Well, to tell you the truth, in all this excitement she may have lost track herself.

But being as this is a Traffic Enforcement Officer (TEO), who received two days of traffic direction training at the MPD Academy – one day more than police officers themselves receive during their training, you’ve got to ask yourself a question: Do I obey?

Well, do ya, punk?

Are you really gonna cross against her wishes? Are you gonna risk a strenuous whistle if you do? And if you keep going, what might she do? Whistle again?

Test her. See what happens.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

I’m loving this creepy photo of the Washington Monument by andertho. Maybe it’s just me, but the dark silhouettes, the spooky blue lighting, and the burnt out lamp all give me the willies. This is definitely not a night that you want to be walking around the Mall for fear of the Headless Horseman lopping your melon off, or Jack the Ripper…well…you know what Jack does, and it isn’t pleasant.

Seriously, I really like this photo because it sets up a certain mood for the viewer and shows our beloved monument in a new and different way. The tree on the right is a little distracting and I’d prefer if the exposure was a skosh brighter, but overall it’s a job well done in my book. I just hope a mute guy on a horse isn’t galloping around with andertho’s head in his grasp….

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Avast, it be Talk Like a Pirate Day here and all over the world. Can ye scurvy dogs imagine what DC could be like if all the Hill rats spoke in Pirate?

Rep. Tom Davis: Avast me hearties, it is a good day to legislate.
Sen. Ted Kennedy: Aye, I’ve had me grog, and I be ready to set forth the laws of this here land.
Rep. Tom Davis: Arrrrrr.

Not sure what I’m talking about? Check out this informative video on talking like a pirate. Practice with your friends! Or, pick up a stylish t-shirt!.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs