Lake Needwood is 25 feet over its banks and the dam that created the artificial lake is now seeping water. Montgomery County has evacuated the 2200+ people who live below the lake in some of the surrounding housing areas. If the dam were to burst, 19 feet of water could fill the low-lying areas near the lake itself and represent a serious disaster for the area, yet another in a string of issues cause by the nearly 15″ of rain that DC’s gotten in the past six days.

Here’s hoping the Dam holds….

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

While we’ve debated Smoke Free DC before, and some fools people continue to say its about “choice”, U.S. Surgeon General Richard H. Carmona has just issue a definitive report about second-hand smoke. To quote the WashPost article:

Secondhand smoke dramatically increases the risk of heart disease and lung cancer in nonsmokers and can be controlled only by making indoor spaces smoke-free, according to a comprehensive report issued yesterday by U.S. Surgeon General Richard H. Carmona.

“The health effects of secondhand smoke exposure are more pervasive than we previously thought,” Carmona said. “The scientific evidence is now indisputable: Secondhand smoke is not a mere annoyance. It is a serious health hazard that can lead to disease and premature death in children and nonsmoking adults.”

Hear that you pro-smoke people? Let me repeat it for you again: “The scientific evidence is now indisputable: Secondhand smoke is not a mere annoyance. It is a serious health hazard..”

So, without further delay or deliberation, let us be Smoke Free DC.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

A little birdie pointed us to the swank new Metro-issued iPod Maps, which are tailored for the upcoming events on the Fourth of July (hence the Smithsonian Station being marked as Closed on the maps) and there are different versions for the various Nano/Photo/Video iPods that are on the market. They’ve even put up a (PC-Only) instruction movie for installing the images on the iPod. For the Mac users, I’ve added instructions to this entry in the Extended Entries, with luck, Metro will cotton to doing multiple instructions sets for all computers.

The maps look alright on the iPod screen, but the images themselves could use some real work. The fonts are jaggy and a bit hard to read, and the blue line appears orange through the DC metro area, which is rather a shame and I’ll bet a bit confusing to those who might not be familiar with the system otherwise. Generally, though, glad to see WMATA on the ball!

One question, though, has Smithsonian Station always been closed on the Fourth? I can’t remember…

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

It took me 90 minutes to go 8 miles today. I’m going to repeat that, because it bears repeating. 8 miles. 90 minutes. That’s a little over five miles an hour, all the way home.

I left my garage at 12th and F tonight, turned slowly on to F St heading west toward 15th. Folks, it took me more than half an hour to cross 14th Street. That’s two flipping blocks. In half an hour. None of the intersections had their usual traffic control, allowing buses and cars to block the box for rotation after rotation of the lights. Does a little rain cause us to so grossly lose our human courtesies? Is your hurry really that much more fucking important than mine? We all want to go home. It’s been a rough goddamn week and I’m sure a lot of people are going home to water damage and all manner of frustration, but that’s no reason to turn the roads into Lord of the Flies with your giant SUVs and Tour Buses blocking the box in rush hour. That’s only going to make life worse.

I totally lost my zen on the way home tonight, and I think no amount of alcohol or food or philosophy is going to bring me back into balance until we get a nice sunny day instead of this nasty day-in/day-out rain, which appears to be straight out of Kim Stanley Robinson’s Forty Signs of Rain (DCMB posted a Q&A with Robinson back in November) which drops 20″ of rain on DC in a day or two, which seems to be what we’re approaching over the last week.

What happens to a city when it’s demoralized? Is that what we’re seeing? Is this the slow and painful grinding away of what’s left of our civility until we all slowly snap? I really don’t think I can take another day of rain. Apparently, neither can a lot of the city, as we’re losing trees left and right and even George’s house is showing some wear in the process. Is this how climate change starts? Rain after rain after rain?

I just know I’m cracking up.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Mayor Williams signed new Rent Control into effect today for the first time in two decades. The compromise between landlords and tenants, “abolish[es] the city’s antiquated system of rent ceilings and replace it with legal restrictions that limit future rent increases to 2 percent of current rent plus inflation, or no more than 10 percent a year.” What I’d really like to know is, who represented who? Did we have orphans and grandmothers on the tenants side, and cigar-chomping businessmen on the other? Was it this stereotypical? The Post makes it seem like there’s a tenants union and a landlords union that get together and hammer out their differences in some smoky backroom somewhere near the Mayor’s office.

Not sure it’s that simple. There’s also a 30% increase limit between tenants, and provisions to protect the disabled and the elderly to a no more than 5% increase annually.

Anyone want to bet we’re going to see a lot 10% rent increases?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Columbia Heights Yahoo Groups is off on another beautiful tangent again, one that’s worth a few minutes of your work day leisure time. Started off with this short description of a robbery

There were three black males in their early 20s. They held a gun in the cab driver’s face, but thankfully did not shoot. Even though they were handed cash, they also demanded my husband’s wallet. Then they ran down the alleys toward the housing complex on Columbia.

the discussion has spiraled out into a grand display of neighborly love where moral quandaries take on Twilight Zone dimensions. Case in point, this fun quote:

I said when a rich white woman smokes a cigarette in her SUV and a poor black woman smokes a joint in front of her baby – I don’t see them as different.

Wanna enjoy the display yourself? Go on your own merry adventure here.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

If you’re chronologically challenged in such a way that it causes you trouble getting your rental back to the agency, perhaps you should be using one of the short-term rental car options instead. We’ve got a strong ZipCar and FlexCar presence in the area and there’s a number of specials to choose from.

If you’re the aforementioned time-challenged person and live in the District itself, the best option seems to be Flexcar’s “Bicycle Commuters and WABA Members” sign-up promition. Punch in the code “V40WABA” in the online application and get $40 in usage credit if you use the service within 60 days. Fax in a Washington Area Bicyclist Association membership card and get another $35 in credit. With WABA memberships costing $35 that’s a pretty good deal if you have any interest in being a member.

If you reside in Alexandria you’ll want to use the AlexandriaRideshare benefit which is even better. Usable on either Flexcar or Zipcar (if you have a preference), it’s good for up to $105 in reimbursements for a calendar year.

Both of these options have the advantage for non-car-owners that they include insurance in the price, obviating the need to buy the insane insurance waver options from ThrifEnterMo or whoever. And best of all, when you’re done you just drive it back to its space and park it… a space that’s still open at 6:02PM.

UPDATE: There’s a Zipcar promotion as well – enter 25NOW as your promo code and get $25 free in your account. That’s double-dip potential for Alexandria folks.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

I had lunch today with some recruiting bloggers I’ve met through my other project, and one of them mentioned an interesting anecdote from the night before.

A recruiter in town for the SHRM conference was delayed on the sidewalk across the street from his hotel due to an oncoming motorcade. When this nasty rain we’ve been having returned with a vengeance, he decided to take his chances with the Secret Service rather than get wet. Oh, that’s a GREAT idea. Needless to say, he was promptly stopped and detained.

Here’s a hint to our out-of-town guests: DC is a great town, with lots of cool things to see and do. But this ain’t Disneyland- people actually work here, and actual heads-of-state ride through all the time. It isn’t a parade, there for your entertainment. It’s a motorcade designed for protection, and the people guarding it aren’t afraid to shoot you if they have to. There’s a reason the locals stay on the sidewalk when they’re told to, dude.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Twenty Five Thousand. 1 in 25 District residents. That’s how bad the DC HIV/AIDS Epidemic has become, according to today’s Post. That’s an explosion of known cases over a 2004 report that suggested that there were only 16,000 reported cases in DC between 1981 and 2004, and cited only 9,000 still living with the disease.

Today, the District is launching a six month testing campaign getting people from 14 to 84 tested for HIV and AIDS, with a kickoff event going on right now at Freedom Plaza. Today is National HIV/AIDS Testing Day and you can get tested FREE today at a number of DC area locations. I found 75 places offering free tests today, within a 15 mile radius of downtown DC.

It’s better to know than NOT know. An estimated 25% of people who have AIDS or HIV don’t know they are carrying the disease. HIV and AIDS are also no longer the death sentence they once were, with new “cocktail” treatments, the disease is manageable. Go, get tested, find out for sure. There are 20 minute tests that are 99.8% accurate, not needle-based, and the District has a whole host of services available if you test positive. It’s better to know than NOT know.

Other Resources:

Arlington HIV and AIDS group

Alexandria HIV and AIDS group

Montgomery County HIV and AIDS information (no specific department and finding this was hard)

Prince George’s County Services PDF (PDF format, sorry, their website sucks.)

Fairfax County Testing Only (as their website also sucks.)

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

I don’t know why WaPo isn’t reporting on it yet, but my XM weather & traffic radio says that Dulles is on security lockdown and no planes are leaving due to a security failure. Presumably arriving planes are progressing as normal.

Update (1:59p): Well, WaPo still doesn’t seem to think that a complete airport shutdown is worth reporting on but WTOP has this brief blurb. Too bad a few of those folks on the other side of the metal detectors looking at IDs weren’t on the other side where they could have, I dunno, stopped someone from walking away after setting off the detector?

Here’s hoping it was a pocketknife that tripped the alarm and not a firearm that could be hidden somewhere for a future conspirator to pick up.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Famous only for writing about fucking staffers and administration members, Jessica Cutler has found out just how far you can fall after a brief bout with popularity. Many thanks to Wonkette for pointing out that Cutler is now unable to pay her legal bills after being sued by one of her former beaus:

“The judge issued this order after Cutler failed to respond to her lawyer’s motion to withdraw (for nonpayment of fees). So Jessica, if you’re out there reading this, please get back to the court — ASAP.

Personally, we would give multiple body parts to watch Jessica Cutler represent herself. It would be the greatest pro se performance since Anna Nicole Smith. We suspect Judge Friedman would become very sympathetic to Cutler after having an ex parte conference with her in chambers.”

Nicely said, Wonkette, nicely said.

Edited Later : Cutler has requested we link to her name and to her book. I have linked to her name, but there’s no way I’ll ask people to buy her book. Though, if you feel like supporting Jessica, and depriving us of further blogging material, her site will tell you all about it. –TB

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Tree Removal

With all the talk of flooding during this time of biblical rains, I haven’t heard the usual suburban moaning about downed trees taking out power lines.

Is it that this is just rain, and not the high winds that usually create tree limb mayhem? Is it that with walls of water, folks aren’t worried about random branches? Or is it that with basements looking like bathtubs, yards are not the priority (yet)?

Me, I’m just glad this truck is mainly empty. I love me some DC green and get sad when I hear of statley elms toppling over.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Major congrats to DC Blogs on their swank new redesign. I really love the new colors, they set off your eyes!

For the uninitiated, DC Blogs is both aggregator and local revue of blogs. Check out some of their highlight pieces, as well as the live feed which has pretty much every blog in DC. Not listed? No worries, there’s are instructions on their FAQ on how to get listed with the service and be live with them everyday. Nice work Patrick et al.!

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

You wanna rent a car? Want to get a deal? Then rent at Thrifty Rental Cars at the MCI Verizon Center.

Now if you want to know their office hours, good luck. You’ll not find that on a website. If you call, they’ll tell you when they close that day. But be warned. When they say 6pm sharp, they mean it.

Yesterday, trying to return a rental, I called ahead to ask them to wait 5 minutes. No dice. When I arrived, by 6:02pm on their clock, they were gone.

Thrifty, in customer service as well as price.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Before you head home into the highly questionable traffic, what with our glorious weather and all, you might want to check out a few of the traffic tools we’ve blogged about here on DC Metblogs.

Yahoo Maps has traffic advisory data (from “Yahoo to your traffic rescue“)

There’s the DC Traffic Camera Map google map mashup if you want to look for yourself. (from “D.C. Traffic Camera Map“)

There’s a Yahoo Traffic Dashboard Widget for you Mac users to get that Yahoo Maps data mentioned above (from “Local Traffic“)

Finally there’s another google mashup, the Google Map Traffic Advisory (from “Google Hacks – The Path to a good life“)

Be careful out there.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Stewing in political central like we do, there’s never any shortage of shop talk. But have you ever called your Senator’s office? I’d bet even in this town you could ask 100 people and 99 never have.

The reality is that it’s pretty easy and you don’t need to be an expert on the issue you’re calling about. There’s some intern on the other end with a chatty voice and you just say you’re a Virginia (or MD or whatever) resident and you’d like the Senator to oppose/support blah blah blah. They might ask you for clarification if you mention a bill and aren’t specific – in my case I initially said “the communications bill” and the nice lady said “There’s several communications bills – do you have something specific in mind?” and I clarified “Ted Stevens’ communications bill” – but they won’t harass you if you say no, I am just for/against this.

If you’re a Virginia resident – and a bit of a tech nerd or just someone who loves their Tivo – you can try for yourself by calling about the broadcast flag and proposed government technology committee. Senator Allen’s office is reachable at 202-224-4024. Ipaq can give you a brief explanation of why they think it’s a bad idea, as well as a list of other senators on the Judiciary committee if you’re not living in VA. Sorry DC and MD, this one’s just us (for now).

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

On the front door of the Starbucks at 15th and I:

Blame the Weatherman, Not Us
Starbucks is closed due to inclement weather

I think its time to head for the hills, damn the umbrellas and galoshes.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

I took a long drive to Philly on Monday night in order to exhibit at the Manayunk Arts Fest this weekend and on the way there my darling girlfriend and I had a driving question – what’s the difference between a solid white line marking and a double solid line marking? Checking the Virginia driver’s manual confirmed what we thought about the solid single white line: lane changes are discouraged, but not prohibited. No mention of double white lines, but then again we saw them in Maryland – in Fort McHenry Tunnel, to be exact – so perhaps the MD driver’s handbook is the place to check.

Well, I came up with a goose egg on that one too, but not before noticing something annoying. I opened up the PDF and searched for “white line” and got no results. Okay, “white” then. Zip. Hmm. “Yellow” was also zero, as was a word I could see in front of me on the page I was looking at. They’ve published the handbook with no search ability at all. Hope you want to read it front to back, not find something specific.

Anyway – anyone have a definitive answer on the double white line? I assumed it meant lane change prohibited but it would be nice to have a canonical answer…

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

From the Metro Chat with Dan Tangherlini:

Dan Tangherlini: Our problem was NOT a lack of pumps or pumping equipment – our problem was where to put the water!

NEWSFLASH: Federal Triangle is OPEN. (as of 12:15)

Major props to Tangherlini for taking the chat on a day when I’ve heard of 3 hour metro commutes that resembled Lord of the Flies. When can we expect the Interim to drop, Dan?

Update: The System is fully operational, not unlike the Death Star. All we need is a pesky rebel rainstorm now…

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

“Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.”

Lying in bed, tossing and turning from the rain and the thunder and the lightning. Through the cacophony of sounds you make out the most insidious of them all.

“Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.”

Yes indeed, your 110-year-old house has begun to leak, water oozing through plaster cracks, in the kitchen, in the dining room, in the bedroom. Everywhere it can seep in. Racing around with bowls and old t-shirts and towels, like a mad Dutch dervish, desperate to find them all, until you give up and head back to bed, defeated by nature.

“Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.”

On and on it goes, for hours. No sleep for the homeowner of a Victorian house last night. None at all.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs