The Weekly Feed: Experimentation Edition
Morning Roundup: Change Edition
Former Blade Staffers Launch 'DC Agenda'
D.C. Unemployment Rate Reaches 11.9 Percent
D.C. Insurance Dept. Denies Birth Control Coverage Meddling
Good Morning, Washington. Yes, we too woke up to the rude fact that it's friggin' cold again well into April, with no relief in sight through the weekend, and briefly considered giving up this urban life we'd always thought we wanted in favor of opening up a fruit stand in Acapulco. We wouldn't need much really, just a couple of bathing suits and maybe a blender to occasionally whip up a frosty tropical beverage. Mmm. Luckily, we opened up the Washington Post just in time to see that moving out of D.C. is exactly what the cynical demographers of the world would want, and if we know anything, it's that demographers cannot be allowed to carry out their sinister plans for world domination. Plus we'd miss you, readers. So we'll throw on a sweater, again, and get on with our lives. But that doesn't mean we have to like it.
Va. House, Senate Approve Transit Funding: No doubt our transit guru DCist Colin will have more for you on this later in the day, but the big news out of Virginia is of course that, as the Examiner notes, "the first substantial funding reforms for Virginia's roads, rails and transit operations in a generation became law Wednesday." So for now we'll say way to go, Virginia, for finally getting done over the course of a decade what it takes other states to achieve in a fraction of the time.
Fenty Pledges to Fight AIDS Epidemic: After weeks of vocal criticism from area health groups and activists on his inaction on the District's enormous AIDS crisis, Mayor Adrian Fenty announced yesterday that he expects to select a new director of the city's HIV-AIDS agency soon. Fenty also said he is rallying the different city agencies involved in aspects of the epidemic to work together in new ways over the next week. More on Fenty's announcement from the WaPo.
Briefly Noted: NT2 filming moves to Alexandria ... Police investigating large, all-female assault outside 9:30 Club ... School takeover critics get into high gear.
This Day in DCist: In 2006 we reported that the Black Cat was thinking of putting up a roof deck in response to the smoking ban, and now we realize we really need to check in with them again to see if they ever actually plan to follow through with it. In 2005 we wondered when, if ever, it's OK to start wearing white shoes.
Photo by DCMatt
add to stumble upon
add to reddit
tweet this
post to facebook
Personally, I'm enjoying this cold weather, if only because it may slow down the tree pollen a little for a couple of days.
From the Post:
"With a population of 5,290,400, the Washington metropolitan region remains one of the nation's largest -- ranking eighth among metropolitan areas with populations of more than 500,000."
...or how about just eighth among metropolitan areas, period. We'd still be eighth even if the list had metropolitan areas with populations of more than 10. That's just sloppy writing/editing; I'd guess the writer was trying to include all the stats he could, even the meaningless ones.
Who was in concert at the 9:30 last night?
I swear the Post is a junior high school journalism project.
How about eighth-largest metropolitan area with a majority carbon-based population?
Antibalas w/ Rich Medina’s Jump N Funk Party
Wait, I just read that Post article again - DC is like NY and LA, where people aspire to reside??? Who, exactly, aspires to live in DC?
And megalomaniacal politicians don't count.
Jason, I wouldn't exactly say I "aspired" to live in DC, but I did aspire to have a secure, well-paying job. DC's economy provided me the best opportunity for my field. No, it's not politics.
DC is no NYC or LA, but it's not Bismarck, ND either. I think a lot of people would like to live here but couldn't afford to live comfortably, which is what the article is trying to get at.
That photo is hilarious. It can't possibly be real -- was it staged?
Excuse me? Who the hell wants to live in LA? Actors, of course, because they have to -- but who else (besides illegal aliens)? Have any of you people actually been there? True the weather is nice (though not as nice as many people outside California think) but what about the traffic, the crime, the relative lack of culture (believe me you people in DC don't know how totally spoiled you are) the graffiti, etc, etc make the place less than awful. It is probably the worst city in North America (save, of course, for Mexico City!).
DC -- the city that fool Jason loves to hate -- has so much going for it. Please people get over your tired, hipster angst and enjoy your city before you foolishly decamp for some 'burgh in the hinterlands -- or , god forbid, LA!
I have never heard any of my friends or neighbors say that they moved to DC for any other reason than a job. Although many of them have stayed for years and made DC their home I get the sense that if they had a choice they would live elsewhere. Whether this is a function of "the grass is always greener" or the fact that on many days it really sucks to live here, I will never know.
It's true that Antibalas was playing at the 9:30 last night, but the attack described in the article took place LAST Wednesday after the Cold War Kids concert. Neither the Post's article nor the article published in the Georgetown paper makes it clear whether or not the attackers had attended the concert along with the victims.
What's the over/under for the amount of time before Jim Graham bans "Jump n Funk" parties?
I have to say I was a little confused by that article. Was it the attackees that were fighting with and spitting upon the bouncers? My guess is that the GU students got into some stupid petty fight in the 9:30 with this other group, they got kicked out, they argued with the bouncer, then left but were followed by the same group they were fighting with inside, and were jumped.
I'd bet dollars to doughnuts that this all boils down to a fight over some crappy dude who probably ended up going home with someone else anyway.
Although clearly the real culprit is all-ages parties.
I am a native Angelino and LA does suck, my entire extended family (3 generations of Angelinos) has left and will never return. What? has it pretty much down. Its dirty, 24hr super traffic, no culture, no neighborhood feeling, weather is only nice in spring and fall, after that its fog, heat or wind. Beach sand is hot, water is ice. And best of all you have to drive everywhere and I mean everywhere.
I also know that people move to NYC, LA, or wherever for a job. What is different here? The perception?
Perception often lags reality when D.C. is concerned.
I also know people that have moved to D.C. because they like the urban feel, amenities, entertainment, theatre, etc.
Perception is everything! Whenever I am out of town or out of the country and reply to the usually asked question of "where do you live"? I have never had a person say "DC how great ... I have always wanted to live there" etc. On the contrary the people I have met have an overall negative perception of DC (high crime, poverty, etc).
I am sure there are people here that moved here by choice but they are few and far between.
Perhaps we can pay for another expensive marketing group to come up with a new slogan that will change the perceptions of DC. That should solve everything.
Logan, people say negative things about NYC, LA, and other places as well.
I know people that compare parts of NYC to the likes of a gigantic sewer.
So, what is the difference here?
Perception is everything, but perception can be far from reality.
And, then we have a segment of population in DC that were also born in DC, and so were their mothers and fathers, and their grandmothers and grandmothers, etc. I happen to know a few of those. Actually, I know a neighborhood of those.
Perception is very important obviously. I know Miami is another one of those places people think they want to live. It's getting better and it's a fun city, but it's another place that's not all what it's cracked up to be. A lot of places fit into the description. That's why it's good to be realistic, the DC area isn't the best, but it's not that bad either, IMO.
The article in the Hoya newspaper is more clear. It was the suspects who got in the altercation just outside the door, though the article says it was with another club patron (and someone who I think works at the club said on their message board that no one on staff was attacked). It's also not clear whether the suspects were at the show, only that they were outside the club.
And includes this classic line:
Fossen described the assailants as black girls between 18 and 23 years old. She said they were dressed more casually than the rest of the people in the crowd, which made them stand out after the concert."
Now, I wasn't at the show, but how does one dress "more casually" for a Cold War Kids concert? Was everyone else wearing suits or something?
Indeed . . . in a crowd of people moving between the 9:30 and U Street after a rock show it's almost impossible to believe that a group would "stand out" due to their casual dress. You'd notice them after they started hammering on another group of girls, sure, but unless "more casually" is a euphemism for "sluttier with more exposed skin" it's hard to imagine them standing out in a crowd full of people in jeans, t-shirts and hoodies.
In this case, "dressed more casually" probably means "dressed less white."