Ballou HS Rocks the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
Photo of the Day: November 27, 2009
Morning Roundup: Black Friday Edition
Caps Thankful for Varly in 2-0 Win
Car Pushed Into Anacostia River By Train
Good morning, Washington. Did you stay up late arguing the finer points of last night's Democratic presidential debate at Howard University? Or were you just hoping to get a table at Busboys and Poets but unable to shove your way through the crowd? Shaw and the U Street corridor were overrun with Democratic political operatives last night ... which really probably isn't any different than any other night. But forget about the substance of the debate, the real question is, did anyone manage to spot Cornel West eating a jumbo slice?
House Passes Lift on Needle Ban: The House yesterday passed the D.C. appropriations bill that included language that would lift a nine-year-old ban on using D.C. tax dollars to provide clean needles to drug addicts. The lift on the ban on using federal funds to allow domestic partners to register for benefits, that President Bush threatened to veto, was however removed from the bill. The change will have little practical effect because the city uses its own funds for that program. The Senate is expected to approve the appropriations bill with the needle language intact. While President Bush said he "strongly opposes" the lift on the needle ban, it is unlikely he will veto the bill on that issue alone. The District has one of the worst rates of HIV/AIDS infection in the country.
Trees Will Stay in C&O Canal: The Montgomery County Planning Board voted last night to reject developer Aris Mardirossian's bid to cut down trees near the C&O Canal that bear nuts to which his children are allergic. Mardirossian said he will go to court to challenge the ruling.
Briefly Noted: Metro settles disabled rider suit ... Suspected Spider-man robber caught by police ... One killed, one shot in Southeast.
This Day in DCist: Last year we told you that the Navy Memorial's waters really were blue because of Ty-D-Bowl™, and the year before that we noted the final revocation of controversial Club U's liquor license.
Photo by Bullneck
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I actually really liked the blue water in the Navy Memorial fountain. It was sort of startling, but in a good way. Bring it back!
It was not a lift on the ban to use Federal funds for the domestic partner registry, this is a new ban. The old ban prevented the city from using either Federal or local funds on the registry, and that was lifted in 2001 (FY 2002), and has not been reenacted since. Thankfully this new provision is not terribly effective, since the city can and will continue to use local funds to fund the registry.
I guess Mardirossian doesn't have as much juice as Snyder.
www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/09/AR2005080901556.html
So the District taxes me at a ridiculously high rate, fails to provide basic government services - like working fire hydrants, metro drivers who don't kill people, fails to fix potholes, etc., and instead uses that money to buy needles for addicts.
DC Government - Committed to Dysgenics
:-P
I know we've commented on this before, but I am really, really tiered of seeing AA girl's butt cheek on this page.
Isn't a 99-year ground lease virtually perpetual ownership but without the tax burdens? (tax lawyers - please correct me if I err).
Yeah I would like to see some new ass up on the homepage please!
Drug addict stability yes! Homeosexual stability no! Woohoo!
Switch to Firefox and you don't have to see ANY ads if you don't want to.
Perhaps we could practice some harm reduction protocols with needle programs AND have working hydrants? Why present each as mutually exclusive?
And is it just me, or are the comments more homophobic now that the new commenting scheme is in place?
Mike- The last 99 year lease my community reviewed would have cost the lessee $1/year (for a 68,000 sf plot of land in 20036), and given the lessee an option to renew for another 99 years. LL picked that one up.
If leasing is the way to go, the bidding and bidding process should be opened to the general public (not just Don Rumsfeld's nephew, or whomever), and everyone needs to read the fine print.
Does anyone know where that photo was taken?
Everett: I think guest ("Homosexual stability no!") is being ironic.
Guest, I believe that's the HIrshhorn sculpture garden
>Perhaps we could practice some harm reduction protocols with needle programs AND have working hydrants? Why present each as mutually exclusive?
Sure, with unlimited funds they (and all other programs) would not be mutually exclusive. But we don't have unlimited funds, we have a finite amount of tax revenue. DC (or the House in this case) needs to straighten out its priorities - perform the essential city functions properly first, which benefits all DC residents.
DC's tax rate is already ridiculously high yet its performace of city functions is ridiculously shitty.
Guest, 12:35 PM: As the photographer who took that shot, I can tell you it was snapped at the pond in Pershing Park, across from the Willard Intercontinental Hotel on Penn. Ave.
Guest, 12:35: As the photographer who took that shot, I can tell you it was taken at the pond in Pershing Park, across from the Willard Intercontinental Hotel on Penn. Ave. and 15th St. NW.
I can be convinced, guest.
Yes, the tax rate is high in DC. I'd like to see someone take a look at the entire picture for the city, including the fact that we pay for things like road upkeep with no commuter tax, and for policing of the countless demonstrations and other politico-VIP events, straight out of the general policing budget. DC is a unique place, given its purpose, but we seem not to accommodate that in our appropriation.
And instead of arresting prostitutes, how about we start ticketing the lobbyis---- erm, the johns? If we were even a tenth as good at collecting fines from them as we are from parking enforcement, think of the revenue!
And is it just me, or are the comments more homophobic now that the new commenting scheme is in place?
I don't think so, but then again I'm not gay so I might miss some stuff that's "coded" or kind of borderline. However, if you're comparing recent comments with this thread then maybe so.
Hillrat--
There was that thread, yes, and then there were the comments from last week after people questioned why DC should have a GLBT Affairs Office. All this in the context of the DCist editors saying they want to include more gay/lesbian issues in the blog. I'm thinking that it would be easy for that effort to become only words that never really get executed in practice. Not that I need DCist to be The Big Gay DC Blog. But it would be nice to hear about some of the G,L,B, or T events in town, rather than just the Pride Parade once a year.
Everett - I've been saying the same thing about DCist and Black people for a while now too; but since I have yet to submit a piece to DCist in attempt to correct this imbalance, I mostly keep my complaints to myself.
Well, perhaps we both should plan to submit something in the next couple of weeks. You want to take that on with me?