Yearly Archives: 2010

The Daily Feed
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Javaris Crittenton Pleads Guilty to Gun Possesion, Gets Probation

Photo courtesy of
‘DSC_3434’
courtesy of ‘Ghost_Bear’

Javaris Crittenton, the less famous gun criminal on the Wizards, plead guilty to a misdemeanor firearms possession charge in District Court yesterday and received a year’s probation for his punishment. In addition, the Wizards’ guard will pay $1,250 in fines, and perform some local community service.

Is this a preview of Arenas’ sentencing in March? Given that Arenas is facing a more serious felony charge, I suspect that the probationary period, fine and service requirement may be larger and longer.

Featured Photo
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Featured Photo


This is not Oklahoma by katyray

All day long, tourists wear down the stone of our monuments a few microns at a time with each step, each touch, huffing and puffing as they climb the stairs.  As a parent or school teacher you have to keep an eye on your flock to make sure they don’t take candy from strangers or fall into the bushes.  As a kid you wonder how you can get your hands on some candy or just how long you can hide in the bushes before you are found.  After a while spent mulling around, possibly reading the first sentence or two of the engraved president’s speech, postcards are purchased and this site gets checked off the list by capturing a bad camera phone trophy.  Come on kids, let’s head to the Hard Rock Cafe for a burger or a nice pig sandwich.

The night guard flips the sign from “open” to “closed”, radios to his buddies that quadrant four is secure, and soon Operation Foxtrot Charlie Delta (five card draw) commences in the bowels of the monument.  Honest Abe breathes a sigh of relief that he’s made it through another day.  He notices that he’s starting to get dirty, no thanks to the pigeons perched on his shoulders and the smog that saturates the air.  What was once a deafening scene of chaos is now peaceful, serene, and calm.  It’s his favorite time of the day.

Suddenly, far away in the darkness of night, Katy Ray’s camera makes a clicking noise that pierces the air, capturing this beautifully simple, grainy image on her Kodak T-MAX 3200 film.  The guards pause in silence, staring at each other, listening for more clicks.  Honest Abe lifts an eyebrow and scans the grounds for any signs of horseplay.  But after a few minutes, the card game resumes and the photographer slinks away into the pitch black as the scene comes to an end, only to be repeated again tomorrow.  And the day after that.

The Daily Feed
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Manhole Cover Crashes Through SUV Windshield

Photo courtesy of
‘Eastern Market Manhole’
courtesy of ‘Kevin H.’

What a fustercluck on Georgia Avenue yesterday. The foul odor coming from the sewer system brought out the Hazmat teams to figure out what exactly the smell was. It closed lanes on Georgia Ave in Montgomery County for hours. But that’s not what was horrifying.

Imagine that you’re driving along on a busy street, when all of a sudden, the manhole flies up from the street and shatters your windshield and cuts up your face. That’s gotta put a serious dent in your day, not to mention a claim in your insurance. Whew. I can only imagine how messed up I’d be after that. Yikes. Makes Metro look safe, doesn’t it?  (Editor’s note, this post was written last night before the accident on the Red Line, we apologize for any who took offense.)

News, The Daily Feed
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Fatal Accident on Metro Impacts Service on Red Line

Photo courtesy of
‘Nacho #20’
courtesy of ‘Chris Rief aka Spodie Odie’

This is not a repeat.

Overnight, two Metro employees were struck and killed by a Prime Mover, a diesel-powered equipment mover, on the Red line between Shady Grove and Rockville. Metro has stopped all service between Shady Grove and Rockville at this time, stopping the Red Line at Twinbrook for the time being. There is shuttle service between Twinbrook and the affected stations, and it’s unlikely the affected stations will re-open much before noon. The NTSB is on-site between Shady Grove and Rockville, investigating the incident.

It’s not clear what the two train operators were doing on the tracks, or why the Prime Mover did not see them, or stop in time. If you were hurt or a loved one died because of the same kind of accident, you will need a transit vehicle accident lawyer behind you to obtain the compensation you and your family needs to care for the injured.

Metro has released some transit options if you’re transiting near those two stations today. Take MARC, the Bus, anything except rail, it seems.

UPDATE: WaPo reports that the workers were installing new train control equipment in the tracks.

The Daily Feed
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Redskins London Fletcher Headed To The Pro Bowl

Photo courtesy of
‘Suisham’s FG’
courtesy of ‘brianmka’

New Orleans might be stoked that their Saints are headed to the Super Bowl versus Peyton Manning and the Colts in a couple weeks, but there’s one person who might be even more excited than every person living on the bayou — London Fletcher.

Thanks to the Saints win last night, the Redskins linebacker — who is also up for this year’s Walter Peyton Man of the Year award — will replace the Saints Jonathan Vilma at next weekend’s Pro Bowl.

This will be Fletcher’s first Pro Bowl in his 12-year career. He will be joined by teammate and fellow linebacker Brian Orakpo.

Adams Morgan, Entertainment, Essential DC, Life in the Capital, Night Life, People, Special Events
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Adams Morgan: The Movie

Photo courtesy of
‘Where have you gone, Philip Marlowe?’
courtesy of ‘LaTur’

If there’s one thing Paul DeVeaux and I agree on, it’s that DC lacks what some other major cities don’t – a movie about “us.” There is no such recounting of District life from the perspective of an actual resident — or least none that come to mind at a moments notice.

We’ve seen the White House blown up more times than we can count (anyone remember “2012” or “Independence Day?”) and we’ve borne witness to the ups-and-downs of the political game thanks to “All The President’s Men” and “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,” but what about a movie recounting the lives of all the folks putting their blood, sweat, and tears into making this the city what it is.

“That’s what I’m doing”, DeVeaux said. “This movie is my love letter to DC.”

Continue reading →

Talkin' Transit, The Daily Feed
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Dear Metro, Please Stop Trying to Drift Race the Subway Cars

multitrack.jpeg

Mashup Graphic Courtesy of Paulo

Today’s Metro kerfuffle involved a train coming slightly off the track near Silver Spring on the Red Line, which has caused single tracking around the incident. Of course, never to miss a good meme, Paulo points out that the train may well be attempting a sweet multi-track drifting technique only possible in manga books.

Either way, avoid the Red Line near Silver Spring til they figure this out.

Fun & Games, News, People, Special Events, The Daily Feed, The Hill, WTF?!
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Cupid’s Undie Run – Another Excuse for DC To Go Pantless

Photo courtesy of
‘Vintage Kewpie Valentine Postcard’
courtesy of ‘chicks57’

Hey DC, want another excuse to take your pants off? Did the No Pants Party on the Metro leave you wanting more? Your prayers have been answered in form of a pantless run around the Capitol scheduled for Feb. 13.

Registration for Cupid’s Undie Run (yes, it’s exactly what it sounds like) is now open and costs $30 to enter. The registration fee includes a commemorative event t-shirt, all day drink specials, post-race food, and the chance to run around DC in nothing but your skivvies.

The party starts at noon at Pourhouse (located at 319 Pennsylvania Ave, SE) and ends with a 1.75 mile jog around the Capitol. Who knows — you just might meet your future ball ‘n chain. It’d sure as hell make a good story for the grandkids!

The DC 100
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DC Omnivore 100: #90, Criollo Chocolate

Bars, beans and pods

Bars, beans and pods

It’s time for another item on the DC Omnivore 100 list of the top one hundred foods every good omnivore should try at least once in their lives.

Finding that the Omnivore 100 contained a chocolate I’d not met was a cause for celebration. After all, most any chocolate is good, right?

A quick search revealed that Criollo is a prized bean said by some to make the very best chocolate. It differs from its cousins Forastero, the most common bean from which the majority of the world’s chocolate is made, and Trinitario, a hybrid of the two.

Criollo is described as being aromatic, delicate, slightly astringent, slightly bitter, complex, noble, and comparable to the Arabica coffee bean. It’s also rare, making up approximately 5 percent of all cocoa beans grown, because the trees on which it’s grown have delicate constitutions themselves.

It sounded like something well worth trying — the crème de la crème of chocolate, perhaps — but tracking it down was the first order of business.
Continue reading →

News, The Daily Feed
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National Archives to Ban Photography

Photo courtesy of
‘National Archives Document Lighting’
courtesy of ‘Mr. T in DC’

This came to us as a special contribution of one of our photographers, Erin McCann

Via the Post comes word today that the National Archives has decided to ban photography. That means that after next month, unless you are a professional photographer, you’ll be forbidden from using a camera inside the building whose No. 1 purpose is to display the documents of freedom on which our country was founded.

Archives officials opened the issue for public comment last summer with an announcement in the Federal Register. (What? You don’t scour the register?) After two months, they had only three comments, all of which were against a change in policy. Despite this, David S. Ferriero, the chief archivist for the United States, wrote that the agency “does not believe that this rule will create problems for tourists. The agency believes this rule creates a better visitor experience.” Continue reading →

Entertainment, Night Life, Special Events, The Daily Feed
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Millennium Stage Celebrates Robert Burns

Photo courtesy of
‘Washington, DC 2010 20’
courtesy of ‘giantminispacego

Want to get away from today’s semi-unseasonal weather? The Millennium Stage at The Kennedy Center is playing host to Tony Award nominee and stage-show veteran Euan Morton and the one-man show “Burns’ Night in America“.

The show commemorates the birthday (which is today!) of “Auld Land Syne” lyricist and 18th-century poet Robert Burns.

The night kicks-off at 6 p.m. Admission is free of charge.

Can’t make it to the performance? The entire show will be broadcast live via the Millennium Stage website starting at showtime.

News, The Daily Feed
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Overtime Scandal in the Making at DPW?

Photo courtesy of
‘Saluting the Hardest Working Men in DC’
courtesy of ‘Wayan Vota’

The Examiner got their hands on a draft report from the city this weekend that shows serious overtime fraud at the DPW in the garbage collection division. 2009 showed $3.45M in overtime paid out to city garbage collectors, several hundred thousand dollars over the proper cost. The Examiner reports that four employees are at the center of the report, in charge of managing some of the distribution of overtime to other employees.

The final report is due out in days, and AG Nickles has promised an investigation. This could undermine Mayor Fenty’s re-election efforts, but seeing as no one serious has the stones to challenge him, it’s hard to tell what effect it might have.

The Daily Feed
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Which DC Building Would You Demolish?


1400 Block of Irving Street, NW by rockcreek

Far, far away in the small seaside town of Bournemouth, England, residents were asked which building they would like knocked down.  The winner, or loser in this case, was the waterfront leisure complex.  When it opened in 1998, the citizens of Bournemouth (who were found to be the happiest people in Britain) threw a polite fit, claiming that the complex blocked their beloved view of the water.

Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Whither Rain?

rain.png

If you looked at the weather forecast last night, you might’ve been expecting something of a torrential downpour during the night, and boy would you have been disappointed for the most part. Instead, we rode the storm’s “dry slot” (I swear to God that’s a real meteorological term) and picked up just a third of an inch, instead of the expected 2-3″ of the wet stuff.

Oh well! Sorry weather guys. The flood watch continues, though, as the upstream areas of the Potomac watershed still got pounded pretty hard last night to the tune of 1-2″, which can lead to a swollen waterfront through the city today. So clean out those drains anyway, last thing you want is some unexpected moisture in your lower level.

The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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Stuck on the Chain Bridge? Nature calling? Fret no more!

Improvised outhouse under Chain Bridge

I saw this makeshift outhouse under the DC side of the Chain Bridge while walking on the tow path with my Lovely Wife the other day. Shoddily constructed, to be sure, but it’ll do in a pinch if you really need to pinch a loaf on the drive home. Complete with a bucket inside and running water in the canal. You know, because the Potomac River is so clean you might want to wash up in it.

The Chain bridge usually isn’t terrible, but when it’s bad, it’s horrid. Don’t forget about this gem of a facility when nature calls. You might be scowling as you read this, but disgust turns to acceptance when desperation increases beyond a certain threshold.

Talkin' Transit, The Daily Feed
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Metro To Seat Two of Four New Federal Members

Photo courtesy of
‘Unknown Trains to Mysteryville’
courtesy of ‘Kevin H.’

At the darkest hour of Metro’s current crisis footing, four new members are coming to the Metro Board, all from the Federal sector. Metro will seat the first two before this week’s board meeting to determine budget direction and to help provide guidance before the budget gap is closed. Those two members are Mortimer L. Downey and Marcel C. Costa.

Why are they just coming onboard now? In response to the disaster this summer, and the increased funding coming from the Department of Transportation, Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Fairfax) said, “If the federal government is going to be kicking in $150 million a year, it deserves voting representation on the board,” which is a pretty solid point to make. The four members (two directors, two alternates) will join the board without the veto power that each of the twelve jurisdictional members possess.

The money quote, though, comes from Downey, a transportation consultant who served as a deputy secretary of transportation in the Clinton Administration: “The federal government would like its employees to arrive at work on time, fundamentally alive.”

Yep, I think that’s a bare minimum to demand from our transportation system right now.

The Daily Feed
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New Cigar Lounge Coming to Alexandria, Embracing Stereotype

Photo courtesy of
‘Cigars at Union Station in Washington, DC’
courtesy of ‘dc-hulls’

The owners of Landini Brothers Restaurant on King Street in Alexandria are opening  a new, private cigar lounge opening in Alexandria this spring. Landini Brothers had previously been cigar-friendly until the Virginia smoking ban. It will include all of what you’d expect from a private cigar club with a $5000 membership fee- private humidor lockers, special house cigar blend, state-of-the-art ventilation system, etc. as well as more contemporary features like free WiFi. But there’s also the decidedly retrograde “all female waitstaff” on the list of amenities. Way to embrace the stereotype, guys.

Fun & Games, News, Sports Fix, The Daily Feed
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Caps 4, Coyotes 2: the Streak Continues

Photo courtesy of
‘Ovechkin Tosses First Star Puck to Crowd’
courtesy of ‘clydeorama’

Perhaps this is a silly prejudice, but I feel like hockey teams from warm places have something to prove.  I know, I know, hockey teams don’t recruit from their localities and, like every other professional athlete, hockey players go to where the money is, but it doesn’t change the fact that I expect less from a hockey team from Arizona.  If the Phoenix Coyotes did have anything to prove, they’re certainly doing it this year.  With an impressive record, they came to DC, last night, as a very real threat to the Capitals five game winning streak.

The Capitals, with their aforementioned win streak and Ovechkin’s impressive scoring record, were definitely the team to beat and the Coyotes were determined to cut them down to size. The game opened with Phoenix playing aggressively and keeping the puck near the Capitals goal for most of the 1st period.  The Caps looked a bit tentative, early on, but managed to take advantage of their first power play, with Brooks Laich to scoring in the opening minutes.  The Coyotes answered in the 13th minute of the period, tying game. Continue reading →

The Features
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Geeks Without Borders: Live From Inside DC’s Crisis Camp

Photo courtesy of
‘CrisisWiki team at crisiscamp dc #ccHaiti’
courtesy of ‘andycarvin’

Special to WeLoveDC by contributor Dave Levy

Volunteering to assist Haiti has taken many forms in the past few weeks. For example, last weekend, groups of laptop-wielding volunteers tried to help out in cities far from the disaster-stricken country. In six cities around the hemisphere – including Washington –data mappers, researchers and other technological gurus brainstormed and created offerings that could be implemented from afar.

Today, volunteers are back at it in D.C., as well as 12 other cities across the United States, UK, Canada and Colombia. The scene inside NPR’s Massachusetts Avenue office this Saturday morning showed over 200 local techies using their powers for good. The great news is that this unofficial effort of “Geeks without Borders” isn’t limited to technical ninjas. As David Hale put together in this fantastic document, there are ways that even the least tech-savvy can contribute, and there is an open invite for interested parties to offer any tools they can.

The group really has accomplished a lot in the eight days since the first meetings, as noted on the Haiti Crisis Camp blog, dataphiles and coders have leveraged their skills to already complete tools that are offering unique results for the country:

Two projects are already live: 

Tradui: As Brady Forrest wrote at O’Reilly, this free offline dictionary converts Creole to English and vice-versa. “The data came from the HaitiSurf Creole to English Dictionary. It was built by Intridea and came out of Crisis Camp DC. It was released to the Android market on 1/19.”

WeHaveWeNeed.org – this is a “craigslist” for exchanges of tech, services or other needs for NGOs. “It’s a place where relief organizations can quickly post their most urgent needs and have them matched by generous donors during a time of crisis.” If you’d like to participate in the program, please let them know.