Yearly Archives: 2010

News, The Daily Feed
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Michelle Rhee’s Rumored Resignation and what actually happened today

Photo courtesy of
‘loose lips’
courtesy of ‘amy_b’

Twitter was all abuzz late this afternoon as rumors of a four line resignation email to DCPS staffers spread like wildfire.  While Michelle Rhee’s tenure is in question with the election of Vincent Gray, nothing has been written in stone yet, and no announcements concerning her departure had been made.

We Love DC has obtained a copy of the email that sparked this rumor, and I have to say, if you read this as a resignation email, you likely need as much reading comprehension help as so many of the DCPS students do.  The email was sent this afternoon at 1pm and was titled “Keeping It Moving”:

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capitals hockey, The Daily Feed
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Bye-bye, Belanger

Photo courtesy of
‘1ST_9932’
courtesy of ‘MissChatter’

In case you were unaware, (former) Caps center Eric Belanger signed a one-year contract with the Phoenix Coyotes yesterday. Sources at ESPN indicated the deal is worth about $750,000. Belanger played 24 games for the Caps last season after being snagged from the Minnesota Wild at the trade deadline.

What’s news today, however, is the fact that apparently Belanger has been lashing out at Caps management for reneging on a verbal contract. (The Caps have said they never had a contract agreement with the former center.) Belanger had apparently taken the Caps at their word at the end of July, when they (apparently) deferred putting the deal down on paper due to a possible trade in the works that could affect his contract. “We had a verbal agreement over seven weeks ago, and they said it would take about a week to make a trade. It wasn’t a question of if we were making it, it as a question of when you’re gonna be signed, because they didn’t want to lose any leverage on the trade, and we all know the story after that. I’m no lawyer guy, but the line has been crossed, and now I’m looking ahead. I have a great opportunity in Phoenix, and I want to play good for that organization. I feel wanted by them in Phoenix.”

Belanger became a fan favorite after he did some self-service dental cleaning during Game 5 of the series against Montreal. He’d taken a stick to his mouth from Canadiens defensman Marc-Andre Bergeron, losing eight teeth. He still played another 10 minutes that night, despite serious emergency dental work to trim some exposed roots.

The Features
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Behind the Design: Westend Bistro

Photo courtesy of
”
courtesy of ‘Chris Rief aka Spodie Odie’

“When I came on board with the project, the design aspect was quite well advanced, however I participated towards the end in making sure we created a concept that was casual, friendly, warm and high energy, keeping in mind we were building a neighborhood bistro.”   – Eric Ripert on the design of Westend Bistro, exclusively for We Love DC

Westend Bistro by Eric Ripert, opened in 2007 at the Ritz-Carlton, Washington D.C., is not your typical, often lackluster hotel restaurant.  Apart from the exceptional service – synonymous with the Ritz-Carlton brand, one would never guess that they were dining amongst hotel guests and visitors.  Westend Bistro feels like that friendly, neighborhood spot.  The place you know you can always count on – with phenomenal food and a warm, welcoming atmosphere. 

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The Daily Feed
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Light Within at National Cathedral Postponed

Photo courtesy of
‘National Cathedral 1’
courtesy of ‘logan.brown’

The Washington National Cathedral has just released a statement that their much anticipated event, Light Within has been postponed until 2012.   The press release cites “concerns about safety issues, parking and visitor capacity” for why the event will be delayed. 

Light Within was previously scheduled to take place on November 12 and 13 of this year, featuring Swiss lighting artist Gerry Hofstetter.

The Daily Feed
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Afternoon Video Delight

I always need an afternoon pick me up.  Some days it comes in the form of dark chocolate, but today it is all about this video.

NOW at the Corcoran’s inaugural exhibition presents new work by Spencer Finch.  This video gives you a peek into Finch’s magical world of perception and sensation.  Some trippy (and fascinating) stuff if you ask me.

The exhibit will be on display at the Corcoran Gallery of Art through January 23, 2011.

The Daily Feed
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Cheeseburger, Cheeseburger, Almost Freeburger

 

Photo Courtesy of Z Burger

Are you totally psyched for National Cheeseburger Day this Saturday? I know I am. And so is Z Burger! To celebrate National Cheeseburger Day Eve, they will be selling their cheeseburgers for just $1 this Friday from 11am-2pm at the Tenleytown location (4321 Wisconsin Ave. NW).

All you have to do is say the secret password (“Cheeseburger, Freeburger”) to your cashier and you’re in!

The Daily Feed
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Whitlow’s Opening Roofdeck this Fall

Photo courtesy of
‘Whitlow’s’
courtesy of ‘M.V. Jantzen’

Shine up your brown flipflops, Clarendon, your favorite hangout bar is adding a roofdeck this month.  Starting later this month, Whitlow’s is adding a roofdeck in the evenings, with its own bar.  The best part is the name: the new roof bar is to be called Wilson’s.  That makes it Wilson’s on Whitlow’s (on Wilson).  I know, I know, deeply meta and lame.   They’re not alone, though, in their addition of rooftop fun.  The Delhi Dhaba-owned building on Wilson is almost done and the new bar space Arlington Rooftop is due for an opening any day now according to Scott Broadbeck at ARLnow.

If this means that we’re going to see another rash of rooftop places open, well, color me enthusiastic.

The Daily Feed
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Free tix to “Hardcover Mysteries” event at LoC

Photo courtesy of
‘Library of Congress Reading Room’
courtesy of ‘tzk333’

To promote the launch of their new series, “Hardcover Mysteries,” this fall, Investigation Discovery is holding a cool event at the Library of Congress on Monday night, and we’ve got two tickets to give away.

“Hardcover Mysteries” will feature 8 novelists, each talking about a criminal case of particular significance to them, whether it directly inspired one of their books, or it reflects themes common in their work, or affects them in some other way. On Monday night, David Baldacci, Sandra Brown, and Kathy Reichs will speak in the Library’s Thomas Jefferson Auditorium about their chosen case. Continue reading →

Talkin' Transit
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Talkin’ Transit: News Wrap

Photo courtesy of
‘escalator’
courtesy of ‘volcanojw’

August was slow, and September isn’t getting much news on the transit front (lots on other subjects, though). I’m going to take a look back on some Metro news you might have missed this month (but not this, as you’ve all seen it by now).

Summer is almost done, so let’s talk snow, shall we? As you’re probably aware, I’ve got a thing about snow and the amount of money that the Federal government, Metro, and local businesses lost during the storm-plagued winter. Metro tells us that they are still recouping some of the $12.7 million that it cost them to clear the snow (forget about the monies lost while the system was shut down). FEMA has agreed to reimburse Metro another $1.76 on top of the million they’ve already granted them. Only $10 million to go…
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The Daily Feed
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Victories, Losses for LGBT Candidates in Md.

Photo courtesy of
‘IMG_0099’
courtesy of ‘Sam Kimmel’

Dana Beyer was hoping to become the first transgender individual to be elected to a state legislature. Alas, it was not meant to be for the retired Maryland eye surgeon, who conceded the primary last night. Dr. Beyer was running for one of three delegate seats for District 18, a largely Democratic district which includes Chevy Chase, Kensington and Wheaton.

Beyer trailed behind incumbents Al Carr, Ana Sol Gutierrez and Jeff Waldstreicher, but did finish ahead of the race’s two other challengers, Vanessa Atterbeary and Michael Heney.

According to the Washington Blade, Beyer doesn’t think her transgender status was an issue in the election; she says not a single voter brought the matter up during her door-to-door campaign. Instead, she believes it was simply a matter of her base not getting out to the polls.

Maryland’s other LGBT candidates fared better. Seven openly gay and lesbian candidates won their primaries and will advance to the general election in November. Victors included incumbent delegates Heather Mizeur, Maggie McIntosh and Anne Kaiser, as well as incumbent state senator Rich Madaleno. First-time winners were Mary Washington, Luke Clippinger and Bonnie Cullison, all of whom were running for seats in Maryland’s House of Delegates.

Should Ms. Washington win in November, she would become the nation’s second openly lesbian African-American state legislator.

The Daily Feed
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Nats Announce The 2011 Schedule

Photo courtesy of
‘FlickrDroid Upload’
courtesy of ‘Danny Dougherty’

The Phillies will not be in Washington for the Nationals’ home opener in 2011.

I repeat: The Phillies will not be in Washington for the Nationals’ home opener in 2011.

Instead, the Atlanta Braves will face the Washington Nationals in Washington’s 78th home opener since 1901 on Thursday, March 31.

I know what you’re thinking: Regular season baseball in March? What gives?

During the off-season The Commissioner’s Special Committee for On-Field Matters agreed to begin the regular season earlier and during the week to avoid playing World Series games in November.

During the 2011 season, the Nationals will host 12 homestands, three of which last 10 games a piece (July 1-10, August 16-25 and September 2-11).

The 12 homsetands include seven weekend sets against division rivals: Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Soda or Pop (or None of the Above)?

Photo courtesy of
‘Soda jerker flipping ice cream into malted milk shakes. Corpus Christi, Texas (LOC)’
courtesy of ‘The Library of Congress’

Is it the most scientific research? Nah. Nor is it the most recent. Doesn’t mean we can’t get a lighthearted conversation going with the Primary behind us, and it’s still a very cool example of crowdsourcing that’s bubbling up now across a few different blogs nationwide.

Using some contextual clues based on Web-language around the United States and a less than exact survey, researchers plotted the nomenclature that different areas of the country use to describe soft drinks. The result is one pretty excellent and awesome map that breaks down who calls bubbly drinks “Soda,” “Pop,” “Coke” or something else. Continue reading →

Entertainment, Fun & Games, Music, We Love Music
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The Winning Ticket: Billy Bragg

As a way to say thanks to our loyal readers, We Love DC will be giving away a pair of tickets to a 9:30 Club concert to one lucky reader each week. Check back here every Wednesday morning at 9am to find out what tickets we’re giving away and leave a comment for your chance to be the lucky winner!

This week’s prize is two tickets to catch legendary, political singer/songwriter Billy Bragg in concert at 9:30 Club on Sunday September 19th.

Billy Bragg needs little introduction. His 30-year career writing and performing punk-tinged alt-rock and folk music full of conscience-challenging political observations and honest love songs has made him a legend in the UK and an underground hero in the United States. Known in the UK for his far-left political leanings and never one to censor himself when discussing his take on the current state of world politics, Bragg’s shows in the nation’s capital have a reputation for stirring the audience’s political passions as much as they entertain.

For your chance to win these tickets simply leave a comment on this post using a valid email address between 9am and 4pm today. One entry per email address, please. Tickets for this show are also available through Ticketfly If today doesn’t turn out to be your lucky day, check back here each Wednesday for a chance to win tickets to other great concerts.

For the rules of this giveaway…
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The Daily Feed
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Adrian Fenty’s Last Midnight

Photo courtesy of
‘So how do you really feel about the DC Mayor race?’
courtesy of ‘Wayan Vota’

When the results started to trickle in last night, the first update, somewhere around 10pm, put him in the lead.  But that represented just a few hundred votes out of over 100,000.  After two more updates, the Mayor’s lead had disappeared, and the celebration breaking out Vincent Gray’s evening headquarters at the Washington Court Hotel on Capitol Hill was raucous.  The tone had been set with just 12,000 ballots counted, and none of it looked good for Adrian Fenty.  In the end, Gray would take an eight point lead that put it all out of reach.

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The Features
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De Facto DC Election Night Party Post

Photo courtesy of
‘dc election day’
courtesy of ‘Paige Weaver’

As of 1:25am, it appears that Vince Gray has won handily over Adrian Fenty for Mayor, Kwame Brown has defeated Vincent Orange for Council Chair, and Phil Mendelson has held onto his seat against challenger Michael Brown. However, because of the introduction of early voting and same-day registration this year, even with 128/143 precincts counted, there are still literally tens of thousands of votes that have yet to be counted. Early votes aren’t counted until after election day votes have all been counted, so that process hasn’t started yet, and there are theories that a lot of Fenty’s votes are hiding in with the early ones (1:40am: DCist’s Martin Austermuhle reports from BOEE HQ reports that even with early votes, Gray leads Fenty 59,000 votes to 50,000). Same-day registrations are given provisional ballots, where the voter’s address has to be verified by postal mail within 10 days. So there is still wiggle room in these numbers. Meanwhile, because all the counting procedures are new this year, it’s taking much longer than usual to get the numbers done.

BOEE has had trouble importing data to post to the DCBOEE results page, so they’re posting essentially a printout from their system to get the information out.

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Entertainment, Special Events, The Daily Feed
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Nationals Park Hosts Opera in the Outfield

Photo courtesy of
‘Opera Hits a Home Run’
courtesy of ‘Kevin H.’

Opera — it’s not just for the Kennedy Center.

This Sunday, the Washington Nationals have teamed up with the Washington National Opera to host the third-annual Target Free Opera in the Outfield live from Nationals Park with a simulcast of Verdi’s dramatic opera “A Masked Ball (Un Ballo in Maschera).”

The show begins at 2:00 p.m. and gates open at noon.

Admission is free and free tickets are available pending a reservation made online with the Washington National Opera. All reservations for seating must be received by 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, September 15 for the Sunday event.

Otherwise, guests may show up on the day of the event to enjoy an afternoon at the opera from a seat on the Nationals Park outfield grass.

The Daily Feed
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Woman Struck By Car in Adams Morgan Dies

Julia Bachleitner, one of the women struck by a drunk driver last week in Adams Morgan, died this afternoon from injuries sustained during the accident. She was 26. Ms. Bachleitner was a native of Austria, and had recently arrived in Washington to begin her second year of studies at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. She spent the first year of her masters program at the school’s campus in Bologna.

Ms. Bachleitner is survived by her parents and twin sister Kati, all of whom were with her when she passed away.

Entertainment, Music, We Love Music
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We Love Music: The Charlatans UK @ Black Cat 9/9/10

IMG_4236
all photos by author.

It has been too long since The Charlatans UK have played in DC. Too long since I have seen one of my all-time favorite bands. That is what I was thinking as I made my way up the stairs at the Black Cat on Thursday night. When I got upstairs, the Black Cat was seriously empty, so empty in fact that I was beginning to worry that The Charlatans’ forthcoming performance might suffer from the lack of energy in the room. As I easily took position right in front of the stage, I began to wonder, has it been so long since The Charlatans played DC that people have forgotten them? Slowly but surely dedicated fans of The Charlatans and Brit-pop enthusiasts began to fill in around me, but every time I glanced toward the back of the room, all I could see was emptiness. Where are all the people?

Thankfully, by the time Tim Burgess and company took the stage, the crowd had swelled to at least give the illusion that the room was as full as these Mancunian candidates for longest-running Brit-pop band deserve. The Charlatans may be at a point in their career where they don’t really care who shows up anymore though. Thursday’s wonderful show proved that be the turn-out large or small, they are putting on a great show either way.

At home in the UK, The Charlatans are still stadium-filling, festival favorites. In the US, where they never really ‘broke through’ like genre colleagues Blur or Oasis, The Charlatans have always been a specialty club act. I’ve seen them rock the 9:30 Club to adoring crowds several times. Their current tour comes after back-to-back canceled tours, and two albums that did not receive major release in the United States; in other words a 4-year absence from U.S. pop-consciousness that judging from Thursday’s turn-out may have finally marginalized them to being purely a nostalgia act.

Of course, any fan of The Charlatans that is reading this is probably cursing at the computer screen right now. I know I would be, because the case for The Charlatans’ originality and vitality as a group is especially strong when considering their new album “Who We Touch”, which drops in the US today. The new album ushers in yet another series of slight stylistic shifts that show off the versatility and enduring-nature of The Charlatans as a group. The new album is thankfully receiving major distribution in the U.S. and the band has finally physically made it to our shores to play some shows in support of it. Whether people show up for them or not remains to be seen. In DC on Thursday, a medium-sized crowd showed for what I am calling “the best show of 2010 that almost nobody went to”.

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The Daily Feed
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Choose Your Own (Empanada) Adventure

Photo courtesy of
”
courtesy of ‘erin m’

Tired of just taking what a restaurant is willing to give you? Do you want a place that finally listens to your needs? Well, this one’s for you, because Panas Gourmet Empanadas is taking it to the streets and taking it to the fans with their newest empanada recipe. The “Duponada” will be made completely of ingredients found at the wonderful Dupont Circle Farmers Market. And what will these fantastic ingredients be? That’s where you come in.

Panas is holding a contest to decide the final recipe. Entrants (that means you) may submit recipes or lists of preferred ingredients for the Duponada using up to four ingredients that can be found at the Dupont Farmers Market. The restaurant will develop these recipes, and on October 3rd, a panel of esteemed judges will choose the three finalists. Those three empanadas will be on sale in the restaurant for one week, where your adoring public will be able to vote for their favorite. The winner will be unveiled on October 10th and officially crowned the Duponada.

To enter, drop your recipe by Panas (2029 P St. NW) or email it to order@panasgourmet.com, subject “Duponada.” All entries must be received by September 24th.