November 5, 2007
Morning Roundup: Meat Market Edition
Good morning, Washington. Glover Park's unlikely strip club row along Wisconsin Ave. saw a scary crime over the weekend, as police are still looking for a suspect after an employee at Good Guys was doused in gasoline and set on fire by an angry customer. The victim, a 26-year-old man, has third degree burns over 80 percent of his body and is currently listed as stable but critical. The assailant had been kicked out of the club earlier for taking photos of the dancers before he returned with a gallon of gasoline. Our question: will Ward 3 D.C. Council member Mary Cheh follow in Jim Graham's footsteps and call for the club to be shuttered?
Recalled Beef Sold at Giant, Wegmans: Check any ground beef you might have in your refrigerator for the "Century Farm" label, as supplier Cargill is recalling some of its meat nationwide due to a potential E. coli contamination, and about 6,000 lbs. of it was already supplied to area Giant and Wegmans stores. The most common symptoms of an infection of E. coli include stomach cramps and diarrhea, but it can also lead to more serious complications. No illnesses have been reported due to this beef.
Traffic Camera Revenues Way Down: The Examiner reports that revenues from the MPD photo radar and red light cameras fell by almost $25 million last year, due to a drop of almost 250,000 fewer violators caught. Police claim this means the cameras are working to prevent violations.
Briefly Noted: Attempted robbery lead to police chase and fatal crash ... Police arrest one of two sex assault suspects ... Police shoot deer on Red line tracks at Wheaton.
This Day in DCist: In 2004 we took a look at some destroyed Metrorail cars still on the tracks and asked people which jumbo slice was their favorite.
Photo by outdoortype
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I used to work right down the street from good guys. Let me help the cops out: have you checked the Russian embassy yet? That's why all the strip clubs and "massage parlors" on that strip exist. Hell, the only people I ever saw going in and out of those places were slurring their Russian.
Arguing about who makes the better jumbo slice is like arguing about which kind of cancer is better: testicular or colon.
Working to prevent violations at the exact locations that the cameras are mounted, sure.
The longer a camera is around, the more people are going to be aware of it, and the more caution they're going to exercise when passing by it.
It's like a professor who gives the exact same exam every year even though copies of it are freely available.
I thought I read a few years back that some of those traffic cameras were moved every so often, and put in place for a month or two in different spots in response to complaints.
Speaking of cameras, I'm sort of amazed at how clearly the store surveillance camera shows the face of the offender in the sexual assault link. Granted, the offender appears to be standing in the exact spot where his face would be shown most clearly and in-focus. Nevertheless, I can't recall the last time I saw such a clear shot of an offender on a store surveillance camera.
But will the PD expand the red light/photoradar program to compensate for the lost reven... I mean, fines?
There is no proven link between Jumbo Slice and cancer..... yet
Cancer, perhaps not. "Gastric distress" on the other hand...
And by "gastric distress" you mean "trouserial combustion."
permanent speed cameras seem pretty dumb to me for the exact reasons stated by the previous posters. the one on 16th st. southbound near rock creek park/tennis courts is a joke. its essentially a high-tech speed bump, as people slow down for the obvious camera setup and lane markings then speed back up.
there should have just invested in cameras on blimps that just follow around DC cabs. the PD would make a killing on all the crazy/dangerous/stupid/illegal maneuvers made about every 15 seconds by cabbies across the city.
I love how dcist managed to include both "E. coli contamination" and "jumbo slice" in the same post. Subliminal message much?
I love the idea of traffic camera blimps. They could pay for themselves by advertising how a new life awaits you in the Offworld Colonies!
Actually, my wife and I ate some Giant ground beef for dinner last night, although not the exact kind listed in the press release. The thing is, we had some, uh, symptoms also, but maybe only coincidentally because the symptoms began before we ate the beef. But until we figured out the time line, I was sure we had us some food poisoning. Thanks for the info, anyway.
I was sure we had us some food poisoning.
I had food poisoning once. It wasn't the sort of thing that you mistake for something else. It wasn't like: Oh, my stomach hurts. Got a little squirt down there. It must be food poisoning. It was more like: kill me now. I'll give you my wallet, my house, my car, my life savings, anything. Just end this agony. After three days of trying to upchuck my own stomach, I was ready to swear off food for good.
that poor guy. 26 yrd old and now he has burns over 80% of his body. that's pretty fu*ked up. i hope that catch the guy who did that.
I can't imagine this will help Good Guys' attempt to expand, which had already been opposed by the neighborhood association in Glover Park.
I'm not particularly a fan of strip clubs, not to mention violent crime, right next to where I buy my groceries (although maybe I would be if I were Russian? Interesting theory...) but on the other hand, more unoccupied buildings on Wisconsin wouldn't be good either. Personally, I'd rather have a shoe store, but then, I'm not a guy.
Right on, monkeyerotica! I had a similar reaction reading the blurb about the decreased traffic camera "revenues" being a sign of success in that fewer violations had been committed. Of course, if they're looked at these fees as a source of public revenue rather than penalizing fines, there is the obvious implication that the Gubment/Po will "need" to figure out another way to cash in on their citizens to make up for the shrunken cash flow. I think they'll start with EMS On-Demand...if you want to be pulled out of a burning building, you pay by the pound. But at least you get to rewind and replay your rescue for 24 hours.
Ironic, isn't it, that the same people that set up the mobile speed cameras (eg. at River Rd. and 45th St. NW) are also well-known to have gunned down a man simply for pulling his wallet out of his pocket.