For those of you who plan on indulging heavily tomorrow (it is our Independence Day, after all, we must celebrate!), there is a free cab ride home. You may have to wait 30-60 minutes, but the SoberRide group (provided by the Washington Regional Alcohol Program) will pay your taxi fare up to $50. So, if you get a DC cabbie home tomorrow, make sure to have him zig and zag through a few extra zones for the heck of it.

Seriously, though, if you’re even thinking of driving home after a few beers tomorrow, just don’t. Call these guys and get a free ride home. The cost of a cab into town on the 5th will be dwarfed by the cost of a DUI and a ton of legal fees. Take the safe ride.

Also, please remember that the phone number they list (1.800.200.TAXI or #TAXI on Cingular) will only work if you have a local phone number, so if you’ve kept an out of town cellphone number for any reason, you’re going to have to use a payphone or another local landline to call that number.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Well, it does make sense when you think about it. Rubber’s durable, and a heckuva lot more flexible than concrete, so that explains why DC is testing it in Northwest as a sidewalk replacement. It won’t take chalk, which means that one childhood tradition might disappear if they decide it works. The program’s a test to see if the more expensive sidewalks will be more durable than the usual concrete, proportionate to the extra cost.

I’m all for brand new sidewalks, maybe the Park service ought to try it for down by the Tidal Basin during the Cherry Blossom season?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

DC Speed Enforcement Zones

This just in from the folks who want to fully repeal the Drive 55 speed limit, the National Motorists Association (NMA), DC is second on their list of the top ten speed trap cities in the United States.

Might they have mistaken AAA’s call that the whole District is a “strict enforcement area“? Or are they intimidated that a program which started with six photo/radar guns in squad cars now has 12 camera-equipped cruisers and 10 fixed position cameras scattered city-wide?

Ah, I know, they’re reflecting the anger of the 2.2 percent of drivers (down from 30% when the program started in 2001) who paid more than $103 million in fines since speed cameras were installed.

Two point two percent?!. Kinda hard for me to belive DC is a Speed Trap City at 2.2%. NMA, call me when you get to a real number or when AAA, a reputable national organization, upgrades DC to traffic trap status

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Are you a statehood fan, believing we should have more than “shadow” representation in Congress?

Do you also recycle religiously, separating and rinsing all your Whole Paycheck Foods glass, plastic, and non-ferrous metal containers?

Then skip your previous pool party weekend plans, for its time to rally the troops (and signatures) for the DC Statehood Green Party at their Mayoral candidate mixer today in DC’s first all eco-friendly store, Future Green.

Note that you will not be seeing Cropp or Fenty, we’re talking the DC Statehood Green Party candidates – as in there are actually more than one attempting to win the DCSGP endorsement. Like it would matter.

If you go, do me a favor, check for vegans wearing leather.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Photo by DC Metroblogger

It is the start of a four day weekend. Four days of pool parties punctuated by pyrotechnic patriotism.

You ready for a margarita yet? If you have a pool, DC Metroblogs delivers!

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Well, this is a strange town. Between DCist’s weird rivalries (seriously, bagging on Cake Love & Ben’s Chili Bowl? Do you also stamp on yellow fuzzy ducks?) and all manner of strange behavior in the city this week after the rains, it’s been a rough week in DC, and I think we could all use a break

So, take a moment and read the tale of the circumlocutor who discovered that movie to the lilied-lanes of DC does not necessarily make it always okay to hang out naked. Or, that, if you do hang out naked, chances are, your SUV-driving neighbor will stop and stare at you for a good 15 seconds.

Me, I’m just going to cry in my Guinness that England lost on penalty kicks allowing those nancy boys from Portugal to advance.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Today, July 1, it is time to celebrate a nation’s founding. No, I am not drunk on cheep booze and off by three days, I am talking Canada Day – the day Canadians try to make folks believe they aren’t just an extension of North Dakota or France of the North.

And what better way to celebrate Canadian Independence Day that on the Mall at the Folklife Festival. The Smithsonian’s annual celebration of all things distant and exotic has an expose on the very striking.. Alberta?

Yes, that Alberta, the one in Canada. The one the Smithsonian gushes over with this riveting prose:

Alberta’s true wealth is its people–a diverse, hard-working, innovative population whose “can do” spirit has transformed a frontier territory into a prosperous province with a vibrant cultural landscape. Celebrating its centennial in 2005, Alberta is the first Canadian province to be featured at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival.

Yeah, and let us hope it’s the last.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

If there was one “Interim” we could take out of a DC title, it would’ve been Dan Tangherlini at Metro, not Jim Bowden of the Washington Nationals, who is pretty much the mental midget of the baseball GMs out there. Kasten, according to the Post, said:

“Jim is very smart,” Kasten said last night at RFK Stadium. “By smart, I mean analytical.”

If by analytical, you mean doesn’t know the odds on driving drunk and getting caught, or can’t pick a team that’ll win more than half their games, or maybe even doesn’t bother to talk to Soriano about switching positions before trading for him and announcing the change.

Oy. Are we really stuck with this guy?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Photo by DC Metroblogger

The DC hazmat team has just shut down Vermont between L street and Scott Circle.

No word on why, I got a curt “hazmat” when I asked and all the buildings on the block are in lock down.

Anyone know more?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

photo by maxedaperture

Snooping around the DC Metblogs Flickr Pool, I came across this interesting photo of the week’s flooding. Now I wonder – how did she loose lose her knickers?

Was she aroused by the downpours, lightening exciting her with flashes illuminating her lover in the night? Was it a need to skinny dip with poor clothes-stash planning? Or did a laundry basket float out of a flooded basement?

What’s your theory?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Photo by DC Metroblogger

This is the newest member of the DC Metblog crew. Please give a hearty welcome to Trudi.

She is a little shy but a few (dozen) beers will let her loose on us and soon, you.

Now give her a moment and read her Improv post.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Take a close look at this photo. Note how that’s a freshly made curb cut, the concrente is still gleaming white. Now note the big-ass Jersey barriers sitting on it.

Just what series of events led to that odd juxtaposition?

Was it a homeowner, impatient with the slow curb-cut process jumping ahead with construction, only to be stopped by the city? Or was it a city action where one department didn’t tell the other what it was doing?

Either way, this curb cut, a few feet from the corner of 17th and P Streets NW will not be in use anytime soon.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Johnny Rockets

Its lunchtime. Are you hungry? Might you want to enjoy

“a place where [you] can escape today’s complicated world and experience the food, fun and friendliness reminiscent of feel-good Americana”?

If so, you will so be in luck. Johnny Rockets is about to open on Connecticut Avenue, just above Dupont Circle, in the old Burrito Brothers space (what ever happened to BB anyway?).

How might Johnny Rockets be different from any other burger joint and earn its title of “the Original Hamburger.” How about this claim off its website:

Johnny Rockets’ hamburgers can be made more than 1 million different ways. Favorite toppings include Tillamook Cheddar cheese, crisp onion rings, grilled onions and all-meat chili.

Hmm.. More than 1 million ways? I think I taste a great lawsuit from a very bored and hungry summer intern.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

My Metrobus commute gives me a quick glance every morning and night on the continuing development of downtown, in particular 11th Street. With all the crazy construction over the past year, this has added a lot of frustration as traffic grinds to a halt around sites crammed with dump trucks and hard hats, but it’s still exciting to see the city continue to rejuventate.

My current Top Three Downtown Development Sites are:

1) The Hertz building at 11th and New York Avenue. Finally this disgusting grey eyesore has been closed and the Caterpillars are chewing it up. Let’s hope something more aesthetically pleasing goes up in its place.

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

The Wizards have taken Oleksiy Percherov with the 18th pick in the NBA draft. Standing a monstrous 7 feet tall, he’ll be a forward, and not a center. Best quote so far seems to come from the Washington Post:

Percherov averaged 11.2 points in 23 games for Paris Basket Racing in the France Pro A league.

Wait.

France has a Pro Basketball League? And a team called “Paris Basket Racing”?!

And Percherov could only score 11 points a game against the French?!

And we picked him in the first round? Okay guys, whatever you say…

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

The Metro is one of those great spots to people watch in DC. Between the tourists and the interns and the hill rats and other downtown workers, there’s always someone to lock eyes with just for a second. Now there’s a place for all of those missed metro connections: Metro Opens Dates.

Organized by line, you can post your Metro Missed Connections on their free boards. Dave from Crystal City writes:

“To the girl who fainted on the blue line this morning. Once you get your breath back drop me a line here. Your cute. I didn’t see what book you were reading, but I like to read as well. We can use that as a foundation. Dave”

Charley from Springfield writes:

I see you get on at Crystal City with a worried look on your face every morning. Your like a sad Jennifer Aniston as you stare down at your blackberry. I can only assume every morning you receive a depressing email that you read on your way to work. Cheer up my friend, you have a rather large coach bag that should make you smile.

Missed a Metro Connection? Check it out. Thanks much to Ben for suggesting this to us! Have a site you want us to see? Suggest it!

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

coat vs. escalator

A battle raged today at the Mt Vernon Square Metro station.

On one side was the big bad escalator. On the other a little white coat.

The winner? That is open to debate. The coat was eaten but the escalator is now out of service.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Going to hear the Symphony just got really affordable. The Baltimore Symphony just announced their special summer series on Thursday nights in July at Strathmore Hall in suburban Maryland. The hall itself is a musical wonder, and now that all seats are $25 for the concerts, it’s easy to hear excellent music without breaking the piggy bank.

The Series is focusing on “Classical Hits” with concerts featuring the best of the Baroque, Tchaikovsky, Mozart and Beethoven. The Baroque concert makes me quivery just looking at what’s on the program, including the Bach/Elgar Fantasia and Fugue and the Bach/Stokowski Toccata and Fugue in D minor, which are epic masterworks of the Baroque and will likely sound divine in the acoustics at Strathmore. The final concert will feature Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, which expresses such magnificent joy that it is to be heard to be believed. Check out the concerts and enjoy the incredible music this summer without mortgaging your house or having to drive to Charm City to hear them.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Clerks, Mallrats, Chasing Amy, Dogma, all manner of fine films Kevin Smith has produced for us on the big screen. Today, he’s also taking questions on WaPo Live right now. Ask away.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

No, they’re not some 21st century version of the Pentagon Papers; it’s an independent movie assembled from video taken by 10 soldiers in Iraq who were sent cameras by the filmmakers. It’s also not a screed from either side; the filmmakers claim that their intent is to let the soldiers speak for themselves.

From their FAQ

If you’re asking whether TWT is pro- or anti- war, it’s neither. The soldiers with cameras have different beliefs about whether we should still be in Iraq. The filmmakers all respect those differences and this movie is not afraid to show them. You’ll see one soldier joining because of 9/11, and another saying its all about money and oil.

This film is not an objective or partisan film – it’s not trying to answer, “is this the right war?” Instead, TWT is trying to answer: “what is war for the soldiers who live it?”

Local screenings open June 30th at the Landmark E St Cinema. Looks to be good.

555 11th Street NW
Washington, DC 20004
(entrance on E Street between 10th and 11th Street)
(202) 452-7672

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs