November 27, 2007
Go Home Already: Under a Purple Sky
>> Starting in January, the so-called Humpback Bridge on the George Washington Parkway will be revamped to be hump free and more pedestrian friendly. [WTOP]
>> Mayor Fenty's administration tripled the number of employees making $175,000 or more from this time last year. Five of those employees, including the mayor himself, make over $200,000. [Examiner]
>> Last night's fatal shooting of a man in the Barnaby Terrace neighborhood brings D.C.'s 2007 homicide total for the year to 170. That surpasses 2006's total of 169, which was the lowest in the city in 21 years. [WaPo]
>> At least one of the three new video billboards recently installed at 7th and H St., NW is already malfunctioning. [Penn Quarter Living]
>> The Logan Circle ANC voted to allow Whole Foods' P Street location to sell single containers of beer, while the Barrel House nearby on 14th Street can't. [City Desk via Dupont Current]
>> Hunger leads to improvised sushi. Among the ingredients: hot dogs, pimentos and cucumbers. [endless simmer]
photo by Oblivious Dude
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The ANC must have granted Whole Foods permission to sell single beers only on the condition that they charge no less than $4.99 a bottle for it.
yeah, Lane...either that or the decision requires Whole Foods to sell single bottles only to people wearing at least $4.99 worth of clothing. Let the profiling begin!
Just for the record, this exception granted to Whole Foods and not Barrel House is snobbish and probably racist too...but I'll just come out and say so since I don't want to crack a joke and offend anyone who thinks the feng shui of P St. would be improved with more gays and less blacks. Just because you can afford to pay $2500/mo. for your Jr. 1 bedroom across from Whole Foods does not give you a right to say who can and can't shop nearby and be a part of your neighborhood.
The city may not have been as nice before the gentry moved in, but that doesn't give them any right to kick the old neighbors out because their tastes and cultures don't match perfectly. PN Hoffman makes a fortune off the displacement of good people, at the beck and call of those with fat wallets. You can't call what they do "development." Until they treat the existing residents with equal respect and provide decent housing options for them as well as for the wealthy, they're simply destroying the social balance.
And yes, even Shiloh Baptist Church has roots here and shouldn't automatically be treated as the enemy of development (although their congregation should also respect the neighborhood's newer residents, in turn). If people could come together and figure out a way to move forward together, maybe we wouldn't have to bicker about which liquor store clientele deserve to get single bottles of beer.
Whoa! Chill out here! Somebody is grossly mis-reporting what's going on here. I was at that meeting, and the previous (two?) meetings where this was discussed. The voluntary agreement with Whole Foods was indeed amended, but it lowered the size of the container they were allowed to sell from a minimum of 40 ounces to minimum of 16 ounces - and this brings it in line with the ANC's published policies relating to voluntary agreements.
http://www.anc2f.org/abc-guidelines.pdf
Now, I don't know the details of the Voluntary Agreement with Barrel House, and they may indeed be prohibited from selling smaller than 40 ounces; but before everyone gets their panties in a bunch, all they need to do is go before the ANC and request an amendment. If they really are that far outside the current policies, I can't imagine the ANC wouldn't allow the change, barring extenuating circumstances. But given Barrel House's stellar reputation in the neighborhood, I don't see that happening.
Relax! There's no vast yuppie conspiracy.
FNORD
why should 40 OZs be banned anyway? what did they ever do to you, logan circle? Now hot dogs in sushi?!? that should be regulated.
The caption for the photo should read, "Scuse me while I kiss this guy."
"The caption for the photo should read, "Scuse me while I kiss this guy."
excellent.
Indie:
You seem to be confusing private residential property owners with, say, Santa Claus. Why is it incumbent on only residential property owners to magically subsidize the living expenses of others? Why not extend that to grocery stores, gas stores, your company/employer/yourself, etc?
If you are worried about improving life for the poor in DC, complaining about a singles ban isn't really a good way to do that. The easy availability of cheap singles booze on the street isn't exactly a civil right, and it does a lot of harm to the very people you are championing.
Woah mannn, that picture is trippy. Has to be a purple filter on that picture, the spotlight at the base of the monument is purple, and I know it should be white. "Enlightenment" on the monument please?"
Yes, but if you are going to ban singles, then ban singles. Why allow whole foods to sell them, but not barrel house? It seems like it would be easier to just have a more uniform agreement.
Banning singles keeps the bums, or loiterers, or alcoholics without homes from using their "begging" money for cheap 40oz beers/malt liquors. We all know that, that is the reason for the ban.
Whole Foods sells, fancy, Belgian beers, micro brews, expensive, yummy beers that usually but not always come in single beer sizes.
Why are any of you having any problems understanding this?
Is it racist? Not really, unless you want to classify all bums/alcoholics under a race, which I hope you're not. Those same bums can come into Whole Foods and get single serve beer. But they won't, because the bums/alcoholics want the strongest bang for the buck, because....yes....it's coming......THEY ARE ALCOHOLICS!
...(but this law hurts their feewings) awwww
Gotta agree with DixieCarter here. Just because Whole Foods sells expensive beer doesn't mean they should be subject to different standards.
Um, has anyone here ever been to Barrel House? Their selection is MUCH better than Wholefoods; they carry the high-end imports, the domestic microbrews, the Strohs, as well as the sweet, sweet Everclear, an essential element in my patented Lee Harvey Wallbanger.
If Barrel House changed their name to Proof and started selling single servings of chateauneuf du pape for $8.95, the Logan Circle ANC would have NO problem with it. I call double-standard.
I just hate when they allow singles sales cause when I reach for my sixer of something tasty and it only has four in it, it is just odd.
I think most liquor stores do not like to sell singles because most people buy beer in six packs and selling singles messes up all their nicely packaged six packs.
So I'd say it's a good thing for the barrel. They don't have to mess with being stuck with five beers in a six pack and figuring out how much that should cost.
In a perfect world, where everyone had a home, in a neighborhood where hundreds of people didn't sleep on the streets and wander around begging for change, stealing or breaking into things to get drug money or beer money. Yeah, I can see your point, it wouldn't be fair to the businesses. Eliminating the selling of 40oz bottles or "singles" helps reduce the public drinking on the corner, alley ways etc. which, if I owned a house near, would not want grown men hanging out next to. Would you?
Would you be for allowing stores to sell crack pipes too?
What? Crack pipes? No, those are very small glass vases for single roses.... or so all the crappy corner stores claim. It'd be funny if it wasn't sad.
If I can get Chateauneuf du pape for $8.95, I'll buy it ALL!
Sorry, I wasn't aware what the Barrel House sold, I was under the assumption it was one of those poor man's tax(Lottery) and beer places on the corner with metal windows.
If I were Barrel House, I would just start selling singles then. That is a clear case of selective law enforcement, which any half assed lawyer should be able to prove if it ever went to court.
Dude, no frickin way. How did I not know that's where they got those from? I always wondered where does a crack head get their crack pipes. I always thought it was like a drug purchase package deal. Like cigarettes, you get the free book of matches with the purchase of a pack. One vial of crack rock you get the free crack pipe.
Well, they should probably ban the sale of those too, but probably wouldn't make a difference to an addict.
This photo reminds me of an apocryphal story I heard. Back in the 1970s, when monument security consisted of a single Park Policeman with an unloaded revolver, some Gonzaga varsity football guys pranked one of the spotlights with purple paint (the school's colors), thereby making half the monument look purple. That was a few years before the nutjob with the "van loaded with explosives" held the joint hostage for a few hours. Try that nowdays and the Diamonds Are Forever orbital laser would leave a burnt greasy spot where you used to be.
Monkey:
Your pop culture references are truly endless and oddly inspiring.
Well, it's not like I really have a choice. When your parents use episodes of "Lancelot Link: Secret Chimp" on endless Betamax loop as a "babysitter," you're basically screwed from Day One. Why the hell do you think I have this stupid name anyway? I don't even LIKE monkeys.
Has anyone representing Barrel House complained? I have shopped at Barrel House many times and I am sure they are very happy not to have to deal with the single serving cheap beer crowd. For those of you that are not aware Barrel House is about 2 or 3 blocks from Central Union Mission (a shelter where dozens of bums are sent out to the street during the day because there is not room for them or any significant daytime activities).
The people that buy single beers at whole foods do not usually drink them and then urinate in the park/alleys or litter. As someone stated before the bums are welcome to shop at Whole Foods any time they want.
"'The caption for the photo should read, "Scuse me while I kiss this guy.'"
Nah - there are no barefoot surfers in the picture.