Category Archives: The Daily Feed

capitals hockey, The Daily Feed
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Pavelec, Thrashers Deny Capitals

Photo courtesy of
‘Pavelec Stops Fehr’
courtesy of ‘clydeorama’

One would think that Ovechkin’s hat trick against Toronto the other night was the spark that would re-ignite the Capitals offense. Last night’s game against the Thrashers was eagerly anticipated by many with expectations of seeing the old Caps offense of the early season just explode right before the weekend All Star break.

Alas, no. The Caps lost to a streaky Atlanta team 1-0, with Thrashers goalie Ondrej Pavelec shutting the Caps down once again. Quite a difference for the Atlanta netminder, who started the season by fainting to the ice in the first period against the Caps. With the win, the Thrashers take the season series with a 4-1-1 record against the Capitals.

It’s not without effort on the Caps part, however. They have been trying like crazy to make something work; witness the onslaught against hapless Toronto. But the offense just isn’t clicking in the right way and goals aren’t coming in the bunches everyone is used to seeing over the last three years. The Caps threw 36 shots on Pavelec last night; Ovechkin accounted for 8 and Brooks Laich for 7. The Caps have scored more than three goals only once in the last 15 games.

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Adventures, Life in the Capital, News, The Daily Feed
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Kill The Tow Truck: Avoid Snow Emergency Routes & Rush Hour Parking

Photo courtesy of
‘Tow Truck in the post blizzard mayhem on Ft. Hamilton Pkwy.’
courtesy of ’emilydickinsonridesabmx’

During last night’s commute home, I saw plenty of drivers pull their  cars off to the side of the road, get out and start walking home.  This was a fantastic idea, especially for those headed north up steep, steep Wisconsin Avenue NW. Lots of spinning tires going nowhere. Sigh.

However, now that the snow has stopped cars parked on major roadways need to be moved so plows can get our thoroughfares up in fully running. And although DC didn’t declare a Snow Emergency, emails have gone out to DC neighborhood listservs stating that cars may be towed from Snow Emergency Routes for the tune of $375 in fines, and that cars parked along Rush Hour Routes could be fined $100 between the hours 7-9:30am and 4-6:30pm.

I’m not sure how the Snow Emergency fines can be leeved considering there wasn’t a snow emergency, but personally I wouldn’t risk it. So if you’re unsure if you left your car on a Snow Emergency Route, look into it. Your wallet will be happy that you did.

If your car has been towed, you can call: 202-541-6083 or visit http://app.dpw.dc.gov/DPW/services/towing/locator.asp to find where it’s been towed to.

Adventures, News, The Daily Feed, The District
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Buses Operating On Snow Emergency Routes

Photo courtesy of
‘Metro in the snow’
courtesy of ‘BrianMKA’

After last night show dumping, Metrobuses began the Thursday morning commute operating on snow emergency routes. What that means to us Metrobus commuters is that your bus will likely be operating on a revised or even limited route, because side streets have not been plowed enough for complete bus route service. You’re best bet is to hoof it to one of the snow emergency routes, where you may find your regular bus or another bus that can take you to further transportation options.

WMATA plans to return to normal routes as roads are plowed and conditions improve to the point that it is safe to travel.

Metro constantly updates local news media of Metro service changes. Information is also available at www.metroopensdoors.com on the left side of the home page or by calling Metro at 202-637-7000.

The Daily Feed
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WMATA pulls buses at 9:30pm

Photo courtesy of
‘what else is new?’
courtesy of ‘philliefan99’

Due to snow and icy conditions, WMATA has announced that they will pull their buses from the roads at 9:30pm tonight.  According to WMATA, they will be the last buses running.  The release states:

Most other local bus services are planning to start to pull their buses off the streets at 9 p.m. tonight, including Alexandria’s DASH, Arlington’s ART, Fairfax Connector, DC Circulator, PRTC, Fairfax City CUE, and Montgomery County’s RIDE ON.

Be careful out there, it’s tough going.  It’s better to leave your car somewhere than get in a wreck.

The Daily Feed
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DC grinds to halt under snow

Holy Crap that's a lot of red

It’s a pretty ugly evening out there for traffic. Worse, the bus system is apparently overwhelmed, judging by the pictures we’re seeing on Twitter for the bus bay at West Falls Church Metro. Metro got caught flatfooted by the storm, and hadn’t moved the bus schedule up to match the early release from OPM.

Looking at Google Maps, though, the roads aren’t any better.  There’s a whole lot of extra red and black on the roads, so go slow, turn on your goddamned headlights, and drive carefully. Full map after the cut.

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News, The Daily Feed
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Hardy Middle School to get new principal

Photo courtesy of
‘Dent Capitol Hill Day School’
courtesy of ‘Tony DeFilippo’

Hardy Middle School has been something of a political football for DCPS over the last year, starting with the ouster of principal Patrick Pope, continuing through the Mayor’s race, where it was a campaign issue, and has continued this year as the campus was realigned to join with Hyde Elementary.

Today, Interim Chancellor Kaya Henderson announced that Dana Nerenberg, who has been principal of the combined campus, will return to being the principal of Hyde Elementary, and Hardy will receive its own fulltime principal, ending the experiment.

Henderson spoke supportively of Nerenberg today, saying in a letter to parents and the public, “I want to underscore the fact that our decision for Principal Nerenberg to resume her full-time duties at Hyde is not a reflection on her leadership. She enthusiastically and ably assumed leadership of the cluster last spring and both schools are better because of her work.”

The Chancellor’s office will meet with representatives of the parent community at Hardy on Monday to help guide her selection.

Sports Fix, The Daily Feed
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Nuggets Get On Top Of Wizards In A Chinatown Shoot-Out

Photo courtesy of
‘Rashard Lewis and Carmelo Anthony’
courtesy of ‘Keith Allison’

What happened to the defensive stops that the Wizards displayed in their surprise victory over Boston? After following that up with a high scoring loss against the New York Knicks, the Wizards return to the Verizon Center with another high scoring shoot-out defeat against the Denver Nuggets.

The Wizards, who typically shoot 44% from the floor, drained 51% of their shots in the 120-109 loss. Per usual Nick Young led the night with 26 points and Andray Blatche had a great game with 25 points, 15 of them in the first quarter alone. John Wall facilitated the offense with 13 assists.

Sounds like a great night offensively for the Wizards- where did we go wrong?

Denver had a better night.

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The Daily Feed
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Pitiful Lawsuits: Kucinich Suing House Cafeteria Affiliates For Unpitted Olive Sandwich

Photo courtesy of
‘Rep Dennis Kucinich’
courtesy of ‘scriptingnews’

Let that pun in the headline sink in. Go ahead, I’ll wait.

Washington City Paper passes on word that Rep. Dennis Kucinich really couldn’t get rid of the bad memory of a wrap from three years ago that had unpitted olives, so he’s filed a complaint with the DC Superior Court to recover some $150,000 for this “unfit and unwholesome sandwich” he consumed. WCP points back to Gawker’s excerpt with the details from the complaint:

As a result of consuming said unfit and unwholesome food, plaintiff sustained serious and permanent dental and oral injuries requiring multiple surgical and dental procedures and has sustained other damages as well, including significant pain, suffering and loss of enjoyment.

That’s right, not pitting your olives can lead to loss of enjoyment by the right honorable leprechaun from Ohio. Be warned.

Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
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Neighborhood Brunch: Rustik

Rustik Brunch - Grit cakes

Friends, sometimes in the course of writing for our humble website, I experience a moral dilemma. Any out-of-the-way spot, any unadvertised specials, any uncrowded weekend brunch locations, and I have to ask myself whether I should share, and risk not being able to get a seat there again, or whether I should keep it to myself and continue to enjoy my unhurried drinks or meals or whatever.

So it’s with mixed feelings that I tell you about the weekend brunch at Rustik, the neighborhood pizza place in Bloomingdale. I don’t have mixed feelings about the brunch itself, mind you. But I came to hear about Rustik’s brunch via Twitter while right in the middle of a particularly horrible Sunday morning experience at a crowded Barracks Row restaurant. The hostess had lost our name from the list, so we had spent 45 minutes getting jostled around a crowded bar for what was supposed to be a 20 minute wait; we were cranky and hungry and had juuuust placed our order when @rustikdc tweeted about the maple-glazed pork belly on the brunch menu.

My first reaction was, “Wait, Rustik has brunch?” My second reaction was, “Why didn’t we just go there?” And third was, of course, “Mmm, pork bellyyyy…” We resolved to go there the following weekend. Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Wintry and Wet Wednesday Update

Photo courtesy of
‘Winter Commute 05’
courtesy of ‘matthewdlyons’

I drew the short straw, so that means I’m the WLDC meteorologist and traffic reporter today. We don’t have an official WLDC weather/traffic copter (my proposal was denied at the last secret meeting), but I was still able to pull together the afternoon weather story.

OPM has announced early release for the federal government – y’all can move along two hours earlier – as the bulk of any afternoon weather will likely be hitting right during rush hour. The National Weather Service is saying it’ll turn to snow around sunset, come down pretty substantially for a few hours, and the system will move out around midnight.

If you drive, drive safely. If you’re taking the metro, don’t punch anyone. If you’re taking the red line, I wish you luck. If you take the bus…um, walking is always a fun option.

UPDATE (from Tom): DCPS has closed evening events, and the Democrats for DC council candidate debate is also cancelled.

Food and Drink, Special Events, The Daily Feed
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Hot Drinks Cure All Blues

Flaming cafe brulot. Photo by author.

If you’re like me (and half the city, it seems) you may be struggling with a hacking cough caught just in time for the winter blues. It almost prevented me from attending the Hot Drinks event last night at Tabard Inn, but I rallied to see what Chantal Tseng and Adam Bernbach came up with to showcase warming cocktails. Three rounds of soothing hot liquid later and I felt much, much better. My camera, on the other hand, has met its maker, so forgive the foggy photos! But it was just the night to lift my battered spirits and I definitely recommend future events.

In the beautiful private room upstairs at Tabard with its preppily colored walls of pink and green, guests enjoyed two courses by chef Paul Pelt including perfectly prepared duck breast, ending the evening with pastry chef Huw Griffiths’ famous doughnuts. Though the food was delicious, it was the drinks that I needed! So, fellow sufferers of the winter cold blues, I give you Adam and Chantal’s remedies. I guarantee they will cure you (at least temporarily). Let’s start with Adam’s Genever Punch, whose amazing ginger and lemon scent led me up the stairs. Continue reading →

Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
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Lights, Camera & Barbecue Shrimp Come to Bayou Bakery

PB300231

Photo Courtesy Katie T

I love when TV cameras pop in at restaurants for three reasons:

1) The diners who work so hard to get on camera (cute)
2) Parents who try desperately to get their kids to behave (funny)
3) People who refuse to be on camera and tell this to the cameramen over and over (slightly annoying)

Well, this morning cameras rolled into Arlington’s Bayou Bakery. Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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New Belgium Confirms East Coast Expansion


’21:56′
courtesy of ‘Tom T’

In what is sure to qualify as the most glorious, unexpected, beer-related news of the day, New Belgium Brewing Company confirmed today that they will be expanding their operations to the DC, Maryland, Virginia area. Previously available only west of the Mississippi River and in North Carolina, the Fort Collins, Colorado-based brewer will begin retail operations in the DC area in September. According to the New Belgium Company public relations department: Continue reading →

The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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About that vacant DC property…

Photo courtesy of
‘Pima County Assessor & Board of Equalization Cheat Raquel’
courtesy of ‘666isMONEY â�® â�¥ & â� ‘

There’s a possibility that you got a letter in the last week from the DC Office of Taxation and Revenue about your property taxes, and you opened it, like me, to discover “Oh shit! They’re gonna raise my property tax because they think no one really lives here!”

That’s right, DC OTR sent out letters to all vacant property owners about the upcoming tax assessment period, and it may have caught some people unaware.  DC maintains a significantly higher property tax rate for vacant properties, and an even higher one for those properties listed as “blighted.”  For those keeping score at home, blighted means: “unsafe, insanitary, or which is otherwise determined to threaten the health, safety, or general welfare of the community,” which I can surely say our house is not.

If you got listed by mistake, there’s steps you can take to fix it, read on.

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Business and Money, Crime & Punishment, The Daily Feed, Ward 5, WTF?!
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Dispatches from Ward 5

Photo courtesy of
‘DSC_0940’
courtesy of ‘mediaslave’

The Ward 5 lists were active this week, with several things going on to talk about.

Numerous discussions ensued across both the Eckington and Ward 5 lists after the Truxton Circle murder of Billy Mitchell, who was on his way home from the theater when he was shot at the corner of North Capitol and Florida NW while trying to help a woman involved in a conflict with a man, who in turn was the shooter.

In addition to the typical point-scoring and debates about gun control and concealed-carry, there were numerous calls for additional steps to make that specific area safer, including neighborhood watch groups, coordinated dog-walking groups, a surveillance camera, etc. There will be a vigil held for Mitchell at the site of the shooting at 6PM tonight, followed by an emergency public safety meeting with the Fifth District police and Ward 5 Council Member Harry Thomas at Wesley AME Zion Church at 1712 North Capitol Street. Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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The Internet says: Snow Tomorrow

Photo courtesy of
‘Snowflake Study’
courtesy of ‘Smithsonian Institution’

While we toil away at work, and while we sleep at night, Meteorologists and their babbage machines and difference engines churn away at weather modeling.  The latest models seem to indicate we’re in for a cold and snowy Wednesday,and that means it’s time to daydream about having the day off work (not bloody likely) and schools closing ahead of the storms (probably already happening).

The weather men are working with fickle nature and that always leads to hilarity when the storms don’t seem to go the way the models work.  Best among the sentiments I’ve seen today is my friend Erin: “Anyone want to bet on who is more accurate about tomorrow’s weather — the “scientists” or me just randomly writing things based on feelings”

Regardless, we can all daydream about the white fluffy stuff, and if we need a good chuckle, we can laugh at the customer service fail of this Harrisonburg snow gear shop, or be dazzled by the Smithsonian’s collection of snowflake images.

News, The Daily Feed
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A Return to Vouchers?

Photo courtesy of
‘vouchers’
courtesy of ‘springwools’

Retiring Senator Joe Lieberman (I-CT) and Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) will be introducing a bill to bring private school vouchers back to the District. The program first started under Mayor Williams in 2004, under the orders of the then-Republican-leaning 108th Congress. Shortly after the 2008 elections, when the Democrats retook not just the Senate and House, but the White House as well, the Congress put a stop to the program that for four years sent students from DCPS to private schools.

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Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
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Who’s Extending Restaurant Week

Photo courtesy of
‘back to business’
courtesy of ‘philliefan99’

Did you wait too long to snag a reservation at a coveted restaurant last week? Fear not! There are still plenty of restaurants in the District that have decided to extend the good deals that only comes twice a year. Below you can find an exhaustive list, but if you’re craving some more guidance on where you should go, here are my top five picks.

My first pick: 701, because I had a fantastic meal there during last year’s restaurant week, the ambience was great and there was live jazz. Second pick: Kellari, because their seafood is fresh and what they’re offering on their RW menu is a good deal. Third pick: Zaytinya, because I love Jose Andres and they’re offering four courses which would normally cost you more than $35.11. Fourth pick: Smith Commons, because I’m curious to try their food after Ashley’s First Look. And my fifth pick: Coco Sala, because so often RW desserts can be rather lacking, so I would sincerely hope a restaurant built on chocolate would dispel that notion!

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