July 12, 2007
Morning Roundup: We've Come a Long Way Edition
Good morning, Washington. Last night's Unbuckled concert at DC9 was a huge success, having sold-out in under an hour and providing a rocking good time for all those who made it inside -- thanks to all of you who came out! We couldn't be happier, and we'll have some photos and other details to share later on, to be sure. In the meantime, the Washington Post has some video of yesterday's topping off ceremony in the pouring rain at the new Nationals stadium. If you haven't been down to the Near Southeast development lately, you might be surprised to see how far along it's come at this point.
Bureaucracy Preventing School Meals: Score a few more points for the D.C. Schools audit: The Examiner reports that tens of thousands of District of Columbia children are not receiving healthy meals because of a bureaucratic mess in the state education office. Among other findings, the audit shows that because the newly renamed Office of State Superintendent of Education failed to get healthy meals to at least 80 percent of eligible children, the District is in danger of losing federal funding.
Mortgage Companies Sued: A class-action civil lawsuit filed recently claims that hundreds of homeowners lost millions in equity through an elaborate scheme operated by several Prince George's County mortgage businesses. Metropolitan Money Store Corp. of Lanham, the main defendant, is accused of arranging "straw buyers" to purchase homes that allowed people to continue living in their homes, and then increasing mortgage payments so much that the original owners would never be able to buy back in.
Briefly Noted: Prince William County plans to ID all residents, legal and illegal ... Former Terp Lonny Baxter faces gun charges, again ... Woman dies in Seat Pleasant crash ... Nineteen suspected gang members in Prince George's County face firearms charges.
This Day in DCist: In 2006 we applauded testimony before the United Nations in support of voting rights for the District, and in 2005 the D.C. Council was still trying to figure out how to get the city's schools repaired.
Photo by Eye Captain
|
Better yet see the stadium construction cam, the zoom feature is fantastic.
http://clarkconstruction.oxblue.com/clarkhuntsmoot/
The photo above is a bunch of lights just down the road from my apartment in Arlington - and I haven't the faintest idea what the hell they're for!
They're not exactly helping traffic there either since it's right in the median of a ramp off Rt. 50.
Today I spied from my bus window a young woman walking past sporting a dcist tattoo (on Ct. Ave in Dupont North). Was this a super-dedicated dcist blogger, or were they handing on temp tats at Unbuckled?
DCfist got me thinking - I love the DCist logo (and obviously it follows the gothamist template) but it seems from being a frequent reader that you guys advocate distancing the city's identity from the federal presence the logo refers to...couldn't we put more 'DC' specific buildings in the logo? I'm not saying that there actually are such buildings that would be recognizable to non-DC residents, but I wonder if this has ever crossed your minds?
FTS:
http://dcist.com/2006/03/21/fishbowl_has_ou.php
Fortheshoorties,
I like your idea, but why use buildings let use symbols. I say; kid throwing rock, head-on shot of a Metro Car or fire, condo under construction (I know it’s a building) and Jim Grahams glasses.
I love it. Throw on the breastlike Basilica, the uber-Gothic Cathedral, and the Eiffel Tower up at Peabody & Georgia. Those are just as much part of DC's "skyline" as the Capitol Building and the Monument.
Oh and by the way: answer 2 mai queschun peez?
Yes, there were dcist temporary tattoos at the show last night.
Oh. That's disappointing. Well, I wonder how well her dcist temp tat will be received at the ol' office. It's almost an admission of guilt.
I can't figure out how to register so I can comment as a non-guest. Anyone?
Are you saying the capitol and washington monument aren't recognizable buildings? hah?
Go here to register for a commenting profile:
http://dcist.com/profile/register
Everett, I think FTS is saying that DCist wants people to think of DC as more than just a haven of politicos and federal buildings, yet the logo is ONLY the uber-recognizable buildings that any non-DC person would immediately recognize. So why not put more "local" buildings in the logo. Stuff more personal to the heart of DC. Not a bad idea, but if you look at every -ist logo, they're all pretty much the most universally recognizable parts of that city's skyline.
I'm tellin' ya. National Cathedral. It's the highest point in the skyline, as well as the hottest. Not to God it all up, but the Basilica would be nice too. Instantly recognizable to the fanny-pack contingent? No, but who gives an eff?
How about you just change the logo to a wad of cash and a crack pipe?
sarahlucy - thanks for clarifying my comment a bit :) It was a bit too early to form coherent thoughts when I first wrote, and yes, that is exactly what a I meant, and yes, at the same time I do understand that what is currently on display are the most recognizable bits of our "skyline".
How about the image of a cagematch between "ghetto" Ross and "lovely" Whole Foods? How would that silhouette look?
RE: question #2
http://www.arlingtonarts.org/cultural_affairs/publicart.htm
Arlington County Presents Innovative Solar-Powered Art
June 7 - September 1, 2007
Arlington County presents an environmental public artwork in three locations in Arlington County, created by artists Jack Sanders, Robert Gay, and Butch Anthony. The installations, entitled CO2LED, will be erected between June 7th and June 15 at the traffic island at Ft. Myer Drive, North Lynn Street, and North Fairfax Drive, just north of the Meade Street Bridge over Arlington Boulevard (Route 50) at the southern entrance to Rosslyn, near the Iwo Jima memorial. The art will be on display through Labor Day, and is presented in coordination with the second annual Planet Arlington World Music Festival to be held on September 1 at the Netherlands Carillon/Iwo Jima Memorial grounds.
See the artists' CO2LED website for more photographs and information.
I'd love to have had outlines of more locally-oriented buildings for our logo -- but we weren't really able to come up with any that actually have recognizable shapes. The Wilson Building isn't exactly a shape you would see in silhouette and say -- that's the Wilson Building!
How about the Pentagon? That's pretty recognizable, and it is something that many local residents visit daily.
Yes it's in Arlington, but that would be all the better that DCist reject stupid territorial arguments.
Also I think Dulles' main terminal is pretty recognizable.
And besides, look at Gothamist's logo. Maybe the third one from the left is the Empire State Building (but probably not). The fourth one is the Citibank building (hardly that iconic). But what the hell are the other three?
If they get away with that, we could've thrown in a square and called it a K St. building.