Unless you’ve been fortunate enough to be living under a rock these last 94 months, you know we’re in the middle of the Presidential Primaries and that the chaos is coming to our area this next Tuesday the 12th. If you’re a Virginia registered voter and interested in casting your vote but won’t be available on Tuesday you’ve got an option, at least until around 5p on Saturday.

Cast an in-person absentee ballot.

If you do so you won’t be alone; a radio report this morning said that our area was seeing about 600 people a day coming in to do just that, an increase of about ten-fold over usual. Theoretically you need a particular reason, but the list is so long that it’s hard to believe anything other than “I plan on being in the nudie bar from dawn till dusk” wouldn’t quality.

You can either look at your voter’s registration card for the section that says “Voter Registration Office” or you can go to this web link to look up your polling place. You don’t GO to your polling place, but the results will also include the accompanying Locality Electoral Board Contact Information.

Here’s two quick links here for Arlington folks and Fairfax folks. The rest of you can use the form.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Okay, maybe not 20 degree days, but certainly we’re looking at some cooler temperatures as compared to earlier in the week. Prepare for some windy today and tomorrow, with cooler and cooler temperatures. Don’t put the coat away yet.

Connolly to Run For Davis’ Seat

As Tom Davis (R-Vienna) retires and steps back from the public eye, it appears that Gerry Connolly will step into the race to replace him, joining Leslie Byrne in competing from the left for the seat in Fairfax County that has so long been a friend to the District. Here’s hoping whomever inherits the position finds themselves in alignment with DC Voting Rights.

Major Jump in Child Abuse Calls After January Incident

After four deaths took place in the DC Foster System earlier this year, there was a major spike in the number of abuse reports in the District. The hotlines for tips have been ringing off the hook, from 130 to 160 calls a day, with as many as 210 calls in a single day. So, what’s causing this? Is this a kneejerk in response to the deaths of those 4 girls? Is this a good-faith effort on the part of neighbors? It’s certainly putting a lot more strain on an already-strained system. When you think there are only 1200 or so kids in the system, are 10-15% being abused each day?

Newseum to Open 11 April 2008

The brand new home of the Newseum on Pennsylvania Avenue will open on April 11th, 2008 after being closed for six years. The old home in Rosslyn was closed back in 2002 to make way for the new home. The new Newseum will run you $20 for admission, instead of the old “free” admission fee. Ouch, $20? Even the Spy Museum’s cheaper than that!

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Thank you, whoever fixed this sign on Old Georgetown Rd. The ongoing construction has shut down the sidewalk for months and still shows no sign of letting up. Those of us who are funloving enough either dodge traffic or do a deft balance beam move by walking on the curb as traffic speeds by. No, it isn’t smart, but it’s easier than crossing the street, walking a couple blocks to the next crosswalk and crossing back again.

At least now I know that the last word on the sign is an indicator of location rather than a verb, which always confused me. Either way, I say to hell with it. It’s the balance beam for me.

Where do you typically disobey pedestrian laws?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

One of our readers wrote in the other day to ask about spots to view the upcoming lunar eclipse on February 20th:

It’d be great to solicit some suggestions on the best places to view February’s total lunar eclipse – I missed the August one so this will be the first one I’ll be in town for, and would love to find a nice, clear (noise-pollution free!) area to view from.

So, what say you? All those roof-top decks in DC? The Washington Monument? A field out in Fairfax or upper Montgomery County?

Where are you going to see the red moon?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Left Lunch

Originally uploaded by brownpau.

If you were on the red line this morning and managed to leave your lunch behind someone would like to do you a favor and give it back.

So if you had a spinach salad, bag of carrots, grapefruit, water bottle refilled with some kind of juice, then your lunch has been found, and Craigslist can get you back in touch with it.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

I’m sure it’s more than a little slow in some offices this morning as folks who spent their night out watching election returns, and in some cases, drinking heavily, trickle into the office looking like varying degrees of warmed over death. I know that’s a bit how I feel, and I’m not even all that invested! On to the news.

No Noose is Good Noose

As three nooses were found at a Rockville High School, the public effect of nooses is being considered in DC, and Councilman Kwame Brown is proposing legislation to make the display of a noose a hate crime. Of course, the nooses in Rockville were made with the cords from the venetian blinds, so take that Maryland racist with a bit of…flair, then, shall we?

Redskins Pay Tribute to Green & Monk

The Redskins played host to a tribute to their two new hall of famers yesterday out at Redskins Park. Apparently, Art Monk spoke for 10 minutes, which is about 9 minutes more than he normally would speak to anyone about anything. I think this may have opened the floodgates a bit.

Dulles Rail Still in Limbo

As the weeks drag on, the Dulles Rail saga continues unabated. This week’s news includes the fact that the project still is unrated, meaning it hasn’t been given a pass or a fail grade yet. Some see this as success, some see it as a failure. It’s hard to tell, this is one situation that is fractally confused: anyone part of the whole saga is as confusing as the whole.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Just what I wanted

Originally uploaded by tiffany bridge.

I just ate this. And it was so good.

While I pondered all the ways Ben’s chili half-smoke could promote world peace, the little granny at the table behind me was having an animated discussion of her First Amendment rights… And how they relate to patio furniture.

God I love DC.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

People are shuffling around, not making eye contact, as I prance around shirtless, my body painted green, purple and silver, the only person enjoying the significance of this day. Bethesda – I ask – what gives? Where is the fun? I get the whole ban on public nudity because you have to draw the line somewhere, even if it is arbitrary, but does that ban extend to all types of fun? Is this a city of squares who wouldn’t know how to party if given a rule book?

Yep, that about sums it up for Bethesda. What’s going on in your neck of the woods?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

It looks like Maryland state Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Montgomery County) is going to do a little grandstanding about same-sex marriage with the very same tactic I have long recommended:

No more civil “marriage;” give civil unions/domestic partnerships to all couples, homo- or heterosexual.

Think about it for a second: Imagine the blissful silence as government stops trying to define couples’ relationships for them and worries about the things it’s good at- taxation, property rights, power-of-attorney. Everyone gets the same treatment for civil purposes while the people who need validation from other people for their relationships fight about it amongst themselves.

..Oh wait? We live in reality? Well, a cranky libertarian can dream, no?

Rep. Raskin’s grandstanding aside, it seems like a great time to wish all you affianced couples in Maryland a happy Valentine’s Day a little early.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

image courtesy of PropaneTaxi.com

I recently had to fill two different propane tanks and thought I’d share my experience.

The first I took to Home Depot for a swap. Rather than make an explicit trip out of it I tossed the empty in my trunk and drove around with it for a few days or maybe weeks. In the end I didn’t end up going by any HDs and ended up taking a detour on my way home one day. Lacking one of the new snazzy-dazzy self-serve gadgets out front that I’ve seen in a few locations, I had to go inside, pay a cashier, then go outside and flag down an employee who was milling about.

All in all it wasn’t too long a process since there was none of the oh-wait-wheres-the-key kind of thing I’ve suffered through in the past. Total cost: $19.

When the other tank went dry just a week later I thought I’d look into the Propane Taxi service that I’d seen ads for and which we’ve speculated on here in the past. I went to their website and punched in my zip code to discover that the delivery date would happen to be the very next day. Just good luck, that, but the longest I could have ended up waiting would have been if I’d ordered the following day – a Tuesday – which would have put the delivery 4 days out, on Saturday.

The site makes you go through a fairly quick registration process but it’s not onerous. Name, address, phone, credit card. You can have a different billing address for your credit card than where they’ll deliver the tank as well. Once I did that I was able to order my $21.99 tank with a $1.00 off coupon, making what would have been a $23.09 order $22.04.

I couldn’t tell you exactly when the delivery happened – the old tank was off to the left of my house when I left for work in the morning and the new one was in the exact same spot when I got home that night. They sent me a confirmation email to let me know it had been done as well.

All told I think that’s enough added convenience to justify $3, even for a cheapskate like me. If I’d had to drive out and back to Home Depot the closest one is a 10 mile round-trip, almost half a $3 gallon of gas – not to mention my beyond-value precious time. It might be a deal-breaker delay if I hadn’t come into a spare tank but if you can wait a maximum of 4 days for a refill I think this is a winner.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

I used to drink close to a six pack of Mt. Dew every day but I slowly weaned myself off of it and now drink something healthy for me: Blueberry Stoli Vitamin Water. However, every once in a while I get a craving for some super sugar water and head straight for the Coke. None of that Diet or Zero crap either, I’m talking about the fully leaded, bubbly, brown stuff. I feel like there’s a magic ingredient in it, one that makes your life a little bit easier and your day a little bit brighter.

Evidently I’m not the only one who’s discovered this secret. Just see what happens to James Carville and Bill Frist after they knock back a few Coke’s with a smile. They put their political differences aside, turn into best buddies and start riding Segways around town. While Coke has never had quite that effect on me, I’m thinking that Dick Cheney should try some. You never know, you might see him and Hillary skipping hand in hand by the reflecting pool one day.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

I know I am ready for some fun on this sacred day of drunkenness and earning beads with acts of public nudity. My plans? Today I am at work in Bethesda, which is not really much of a party town. It’s an okay place but people here seem a bit afraid of the prospect of too much fun. Let’s not let it get too out of control. A nice, slow pattern of breathing is more appropriate than wheezing from running through the cool morning air shirtless and intoxicated, which is why you might do that in the first place.

Who has the scoop for area Mardi Gras celebrations? What’s a hot place to go? I just learned of one thing going on. The Westover Supermarket in Arlington at 5863 Washington Blvd. will have a jazz quintet starting around 7:00. In case you have never been there, they also have one of the largest retail beer selections I have ever seen in such a small market.

What are your plans for this day of celebration and debauchery? And where can a guy get a king cake around these parts?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

It’s going to be warm and grey today, with temps in the mid sixties and a decent amount of cloudcover. Rain’s not likely til tomorrow, but carry an umbrella for the heck of it. People may think you a dandy.

Lawyers Present Argument for Guns

The lawyers for Dick Heller, principal defendant in District of Columbia v. Heller, presented their case yesterday by filing their brief with the Supremem Court. Oral arguments won’t be heard until the 18th of March. In the intervening 70 years since the last firearms ban review at the high bench, the AK-47 was invented, as was the TEC-9, and several other firearms that perhaps the founders hadn’t yet envisioned in the hands of the general public.

Arlington Gives Go Ahead on New Clarendon Development

If you’ve walked up Wilson Boulevard from the Clarendon Metro, you’ve seen the all-but-abandoned buildings that line Wilson from Highland up to the Clarendon Ballroom. If you think that’s what the country chose to issue demolition permits for, you’d be wrong. Instead it’s the building at the corner of Wilson and Highland, across from the DIA offices, that got the go ahead. Go figure.

Security Barriers Cause Accident

Chance are you have seen the barriers at Constitution and First north of the Capitol. Most of the time, they’re recessed below the street and folks drive over them just fine. Except last Friday, when one popped up in the middle of traffic, causing a serious accident. The malfunctioning barrier sent two people to the hospital as their van crashed in to the barrier when it was raised unexpectedly. Jeez, guys, that’s pretty scary. How many times does that get to happen?

The Rocket’s in Town

Accused-steroid-user and all-around asshat Roger Clemens is in town to testify before Congress under oath about his behavior concerning steroids and human growth hormone. The Mitchell Report, released this winter, has testimony from Clemens’ trainer swearing that he was on drugs for much of the last few seasons. But, fear not, the hearing is behind closed doors and won’t be on C-SPAN. Feel free to call him a jackass if you see him on the street.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

According to this tidbit of news from DDOT, new work zone standards are being put into place that disallow construction sites to close off sidewalks from pedestrian access.

It’s about time.

When I worked in Penn Quarter, many lunch hours were spent training for some perverted form of “American Gladiators” as I (and other wage slaves) would weave our way down E Street, crossing back and forth due to various sides of the street being closed off for multiple building renovations. By far the worst was the new building going up at the corner of 9th and E, which – depending on the time of day and the weather – you could either use the concrete barrier-formed pathway to navigate down 9th, or use the leaky wood-covered walkway that stank to high heaven, especially during our wonderful heat-soaked summers. Or be forced to cross halfway (yeah, like we use crosswalks around here….those are for the tourists, remember?) when the ‘pathway’ would become closed. Which was often. For no discernible reason.

And then, of course, cross back again, because the sidewalk on the other side was closed a block away. It was like playing Frogger, DC-style.

The new rules basically “force” developers to maintain either a covered walkway or a protected open walkway for pedestrians – making the ‘zigzag walk’ of many during lunchtime (and the morning / evening obstacle courses to various Metros) a thing of the past. Sidewalks can only be closed now for full-building demolitions or situations where public safety would be compromised.

Of course, if the developer is Douglas Development…. I’ll probably still cross to the other side of the street.

Just to be safe.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Woodley Park Metro – Adams Morgan

Originally uploaded by p2wy.

I was talking with Sean about a post on Metroblogging Dubai that’s discussing the case of Cat Le-Huy’s arrest in Dubai, specifically on the points made about the tourist board and what they say about Dubai, as opposed to what’s true.

I suppose it’s not the job of the tourism board to point out the various legal faux pas and foibles, but rather to attract people to your city. There ought to be, I suppose, a good local guide to what the Tourism People are missing.

Let’s take a look at a few things on the DC Tourism site, shall we? How about the FAQ? Boy, where to start. Those are some frequently asked questions, I’m sure. However, what about questions like, “I’ve seen the museums, what else should I see?” or “What Universities should I visit in the District?” for prospective students?

What would you warn people about before they came to DC?

I mean, there’s the obvious about standing to the right on escalators, not blocking the doors on the Metro, and leaving those lame ass Old Navy Flag t-shirts behind, but what should they see off the beaten path that the Tourism Board hasn’t figured out yet, or is afraid to tell people?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

I found this recent news release interesting. Apparently A-SPAN mouthed off a little about the quality of the shelter so the County decided to kick them to the curb. What do you think about this issue? I think bad-mouthing the facility you are supposed to be running is pretty irresponsible.

From the Arlington County Web Site:

The Arlington County Department of Human Services (DHS) will take over day-to-day operation of the community’s Emergency Winter Shelter (EWS) effective today, Mon., Feb. 4.

The County terminated its contract with the Arlington Street People’s Network (A-SPAN) to operate and provide services at the facility, which is located near Courthouse Metro.

“No disruption of services will occur,” said DHS Director Susanne Eisner. “The Emergency Winter Shelter will remain open, safe, and available to meet the emergency wintertime needs of homeless persons in the community.”

Contract termination
Arlington County terminated the contract after A-SPAN informed the County that it intended to terminate the contract. In addition, in recent days, Arlington’s DHS officials became increasingly concerned over A-SPAN’s operation of the shelter. “When A-SPAN made irresponsible statements, saying that homeless persons are better off sleeping outside than in the EWS, we lost faith in their ability and willingness to run the shelter,” commented Eisner.

Inspections last week performed by the Arlington County Fire Marshal and the Arlington County building inspectors found that the EWS is safe and meets all building codes.

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

I give up.

I don’t want to seem ungrateful, as I do like the Arlington online event calendar. It’s klunky and javascript-crazy, but it works okay in Firefox and has a good amount of listings in it for community events. The problem is, like any website that requires that I revisit it periodically to see what’s new, is that I just won’t remember to do that. The solutions they offer to this are email alerts – fat chance, I get too much email already – and RSS feeds. Super. If you don’t know what RSS feeds are then this ain’t the whine for you.

If you do, Arlington’s got several, one for each category on the calendar. Arts, Business, Environment, Government, Reading & Literacy, Special Events, and Sports & Fitness. The only problem is that they just don’t work.

Oh, they list the calendar events…. sometimes a bunch of times. But they all come up with useless links rather than the link to the item itself. For example, here’s the item detail for the Pedestrian Advising Meeting on Jan 9th It’s got the times, location, sponsor, transportation options and more. But if you look at the entry in the RSS feed for Government events you get the brief description “Pedestrian Advisory Committee bi-monthly meeting”. Which might be okay, except the link is just to the sponsor website, WALKArlington. Go there and there’s no immediate information on this meeting.

If it’s a library-hosted event like this Stop in for Stories regular event you get a description that says “Stop in for Stories is a fun and interactive program with stories, songs and crafts for all ages. There is no registration required for this ongoing program.” and a link… that doesn’t say diddly about “Stop in for Stories.”

So I’m done with clicking a link to get more information… and not getting more information. I’ve removed all the feeds from my reader and if I don’t happen to look at the calendar to see something on any given week I’m just not going to know about it. I don’t know if this is a mis-configured tool or if they’re using it wrong, but the upshot is that you get less functionality with the RSS reader, not more. I wonder if anyone involved in running the calendar has actually ever tried to use their own RSS feeds?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

If you have not been to the frog show at the National Geographic Museum, definitely go check it out. I believe that frogs bring good luck and are some of nature’s most interesting critters, so I was delighted when my lovely wife agreed to go with me on a frog-viewing date yesterday. It’s so romantic to be together among nature’s beauty that I wish we had waited for Valentine’s Day. Speaking of romantic, there was even a display about how frogs hump, as well as a tank of bullfrog tadpoles that I look forward to watching develop over the next three months, before the display closes down.

Actually, that might be a good way to celebrate the day of romance, in case you are still looking for someplace to take that special person for Valentine’s Day. Hey – it beats a trip to the weird fish-stinking juice bar or relying on dog poop to create that magic moment. Give me frogs any day to help liven up the romance. If you go this route, be sure to take time off from work because the museum closes at 5 p.m. daily. Maybe some frogs in the morning, some good old-fashioned afternoon delight, and then a nice dinner out. Can it get any better than that?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Congratulations to the New York Giants for defeating evil Tom Brady and the Patriots in a huge come from behind victory. To suit the Patriots fans, the weather today is going to be gray and occasionally rainy.

Hall of Fame: Monk and Green

Congratulations to Redskins WR Art Monk and CB Darrell Green on their election to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. This was Green’s first year of eligibility, but Monk’s eighth. Many a Skins fan had questioned the collective wisdom of the NFL when Monk was rejected over the last several years, and I know at least one had quit watching football entirely because it. It’s okay now, Ben, come back!

Taxi Strike Today

It may be tougher than usual to find a cab today as many of the taxi groups are striking today. But since we have about eleventy million organizational units handling the various taxicabs, there will still be some running. The strike is over the metering system that’s due to take effect in the Spring. Perhaps this is a way to get the cabbies used to their new lower salaries?

DC Slowdown?

District CFO Natwar Gandhi is concerned about a 2009 slowdown in the local economy, which would effect the bottom line of the district. While DC is still running a surplus ($250M in 2007), it may not be that way much longer. This will play heavily into the budget hearings for 2009 that start soon, and including $1B (yes, with a B) of “program enhancements” including a new data center for the city, HIV/AIDS testing for the inmates of the DC Jail, and an expansion of the libraries’ collection.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

One of our faithful readers wrote in to tell us about the Hasbro Scrabble Gram that ran in the Washington Post on January 25th, as described by On The Red Line. The letters, as written, were, “E U T T S X B”. Maybe it’s me, but I look at that and think of the Hershey Highway. And no, I don’t mean US Highway 422.

Don’t they have editors for this thing? Who suspects that somebody may have gotten fired over this? I checked on the Hasbro web site and didn’t see a mention of it, alhtough I did learn of the Chicken Limbo recall and other various nonsense about toys. Are you a puzzle person? Did you get the official right answer the first time?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs