March 31, 2008
Morning Roundup: About a Stadium Edition
Years of construction and millions of dollars in public spending came together last night as the Washington Nationals took to the field for their season opener in the new baseball stadium along South Capitol Street. And not wanting to let the home fans down, the Nats pulled off a surprising 3-2 victory against the Atlanta Braves. This blogger -- long a critic of the city's financing of the stadium -- didn't make it down for the game, but the stadium did look snazzy on TV. One Post writer, though, wasn't terribly impressed. For those who attended the game, how did the city's newest and biggest recent investment treat you? (The Post has launched a new blog featuring rants and raves about the new stadium, and there are plenty of pics on Flickr to get a good idea of what the stadium experience was like.) How was the Metro ride down there? (WTOP reports that roughly 22,000 people took Metro to the game.) And did Teddy Roosevelt finally win the president's race?
Local Tibetans See Opportunity: Though thousands of miles from their home, Tibetans who have settled in the region have found common cause with their countrymen in protests against a Chinese crackdown pro-independence activists in the past three weeks. The Post reports that about 12,000 Tibetan exiles live in the U.S., with a few hundred calling the Washington Metro area home. Since China starting violently repressing pro-Tibet protests, local Tibetans have taken to the street outside the Chinese Embassy on Connecticut Avenue to protest, and today will demonstrate outside the White House in hopes of pushing President George W. Bush in condemning China's crackdown.
No Supermarket Strike: Shoppers, feel safe -- there won't be a strike at area Giant and Safeway supermarkets this year. According to WTOP, the union representing 25,000 workers at Giant and Safeway in the Baltimore-Washington area has reached an agreement with the two grocery chains, averting what was a possible walkout in coming weeks. Workers will vote on the agreement on Tuesday. Unfortunately, by Wednesday neither supermarket will have become any better.
Pope Not Going Public: According to WTOP, if you're planning on catching a glimpse of Pope Benedict XVI when he stops in next month, you might be out of luck -- he's not doing many public events, much less will he be caught wandering around the National Mall. Because of security precautions, the pope's visit will include only one public event, the April 17 mass at Nationals Park. And since those tickets are long gone, well, many of the area's faithful are out of luck.
Briefly Noted: Catania proposes subsidized health coverage for uninsured ... MoCo man kills three children in Baltimore hotel ... Stadium neighbors worry about future ... Two-alarm fire at Tom Clancy's Maryland shore home ... Metro to alter Red Line track work schedule.
Picture snapped by thespaceelephant
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Catania's health care proposal is a big deal. It really warrants more in-depth DCist coverage.
Zimmer-Man! Zimmer-Man!!!
The new Stadium is great, but maybe that is the hype talking I am going to wait till the end of the season to pass final judgment. Here is what I thought so far:
Sightliness: Amazing! When you are in the seats you are focused on the game.
Jumbo TV: Amazing clear and bright! (just wonder what it will be like on a bright sunny day)
Food: Didn't try, didn't want to miss the game to wait in line, but there seems to be a food vendor every 5 ft; plus bars and beer stands.
Metro: Fairly easy, moved on and off quickly
Sound: great, no strange echoes
View: Great, especially behind home plate corridor
Negative: Parking garages, they stand out like a sore thumb.
Neighborhood: I know it is transitioning, but I have a gut feeling that not much development will happen outside of Half street and Navy Yard, thats by walking around the stadium...but who knows.
Yeah, the WAMU report on the stadium this AM was so over-the-top positive that I have to wonder if the thing's going to collapse or something.
Gee, you'd think with the lousy service at Giant and Safeway, they were already on strike.
Shoppers Food Warehouse, Teeter, and Whole Paycheck are nipping at their heels and once we get those 8 new MD/VA Wegmans in the mix, Giant and Safeway will go the way of A&P.
And Safeways' facelift/remodeling of their stores is too little, too late. It'll take a lot more than a little rouge to make these 80-year-old mattress back whores look appealing.
hope you guys have fun holding the fort down while sommer's gone.
just an FYI, she let's monkey do a front page rant on buttwagons and panda porn every tuesday at 3...
What? No mention of GW getting booed when throwing the first pitch? Or is that too easy of a story?
I wasn't at the game, but watched it on TV and I had to say I'm proud of all you who attended the game and booed. From what I heard on the TV the booing was louder than the applause.
A little "Giant" experience from my weekend. I made my way to the Giant off of Rhode Island Ave NE to stock up in case they went on supplies. The trip was uneventful until the checkout when the cashier began to put the groceries in the bags that I brought along with me (to save the Earth and all). He then said to me "you know I don't have to do this right?" Meaning that he didn't have to use the bags that I brought along and could have just bagged in the plastic if he so pleased. Prior to this our interaction had been a simple "hello" and a smile.
I responded with "don't worry about it, I'll bag the stuff".
Charming...
That Post article relates stadium architecture to class consciousness, inequality, freedom and representative democracy. Just slightly less rambling than your average DCist comment.
Despite the over the top class commentary in the Post's review, the part about actual architecture is spot on. Particularly this bit:
So it was no surprise to stand in the crowd, at an exhibition game Saturday evening, and hear several variations on this verdict: "It's a much better experience than RFK." The old and much-maligned RFK Stadium, where the Nationals played the past three seasons, might be a better building -- more visual interest, more presence on its prominent site, and a better mix of modern style with the city's vernacular gravitas -- but it was a lousy experience. Today, we have a great experience but, alas, a lousy building.
Offering great site lines, fancy suites, and lots of concessions should be the minimum for a new stadium like this. I can't help but think of all the missed opportunities. If only judged on the amenities, I think the ballpark will do well - but that's not a very high standard.
Shawn, Giant is ghetto. One time, I popped into the Giant in Shaw to get candles for a birthday cake. I got in the 15 items or less line, which was fine. Until the man in front of me started arguing with the sales clerk over the price of a loaf of bread. After a few minutes of the haggling over $0.30, I paid for the loaf of bread and the birthday candles and the man started yelling at me.
I now just go to Whole Foods.
When is Harris Teeter opening in Adams Morgan? Anyone know?
Kennicott praised the new Indian museum for basically making stuff up. He has no credibility when it comes to this sort of thing.
I had a great time at the stadium.
My only negative would be the concession lines - they were too long and inefficient. I went to a line selling only beer and hot dogs and I waited for 30 minutes and I was only 15 people deep. Props to naming one of the food places - Senators Sausages.
It was easy to get in and out of the stadium. I love the SmartTrip express lanes. I wish there were more and they were more clearly marked prior to getting close to the metro. But, if that's my biggest complaint, then it was a job extremely well done. 8-Car trains were waiting for me as I got the platform.
Jumbotron - amazing.
Sightlines - sweet.
Fans - terrible. I saw a lot of empty seats as early as the 4th inning. I know it was cold out, but seriously, middle of the game? The game was mostly quiet and there was very little chanting. If you cant get pumped up for the first game in a new stadium when your team is winning, then I dont know what it takes.
Double-U - the Boos were great. Cheers started for the first 5 seconds he came out and then as soon as people realized that others would boo, it was muting the applause. I hope you all heard it on TV.
My overall take is that I cant wait to go to more games, but I am strongly considering bringing my own food to the games and buying a few beers as they come around. Clear blue skies are going to make that place so beautiful.
My verdict on the new stadium is that it's workmanlike, but nice. blockski pretty much nails it. The standard amenities that should be expected of a new stadium are there, but it's fairly generic architecture. I read that HOK was relying mostly on the monuments for inspiration, so I suspect that's where a lot of the problems lie. The centerfield notch nod to Griffith is a nice touch, but there aren't enough nice touches like that to create a unique experience.
The stone elements behind homeplate aren't carried through anywhere else in the ballpark, so they looked out of place to me. Same issue with the pressbox, which looks tacked on, and is a monolith of red without enough echoes of the color throughout the park (Red Porch/Loft notwithstanding). RJ's got it right that the parking garages are an eyesore - DC's monument to the city's subservience to the needs of the burbs.
Tons of food vendors, though you'll probably have to wait another couple of months before it takes you less than an inning (or three) to move through the lines. Big screen is GORGEOUS and the scoreboard in general is very nice.
I thought the stadium look really boring on TV. The only distinguishing factor is the view of the capitol beyond the outfield and something about the stone wall behind home irked me.
Man, Giant is a terrible place. I can deal with terrible customer service and all that but Giant doesn't even have food thats of a good quality. The worst grocery I'e been to in the area though is Bloom, not even a make your own six pack can save that hell hole.
Hillman's right, that Catania bill is a big deal. And what is it about the comments section of WTOP? Those comments have all the tell-tale signs of people who don't actually live in the District, and thus would not even be subject to the regs.
Although they do make a good point that the fine is too low since it would be below the annual cost of insurance. It's not really much of a disincentive.
People seem to really detest Catania, yet of all the CMs, I find that he's been on the right side of most issues. And while his personal style seems to grate people, I think his approach to grilling the adminstrative agencies is normally more than needed. He'd be a good council chair, if he were a little better at collaboration (and if he were not a white, gay, ex-republican. He could maybe get away with just being white and gay, but that ex-republican thing would always stand in his way of getting higher office in this town).
The game last night was amazing. I liked the stadium a lot and have heard almost nothing but good things about it from everyone i've talked too. Sure it could have been better in some areas but thats just nit picking.
They will have to get the concession lines to move faster. Luckily I dinner beforehand, otherwise I would not have been happy spending my first hour waiting in line to get into the ball park and in line for a half smoke and a beer.
I was in the LF bleachers and would say the GW pitch was 50/50 jeers and cheers. There was some anti-Bush rally out front encouraging fans to Boo Bush. But i think enough people didn't feel like booing anyone but the Braves and wanted to respect the office since this was a non-political occasion.
First Harris Teeter: April 26th from last reports. Can't wait either.
New Stadium: on the lower level, beer only lines were fine only a couple of people deep. We read the Post about the food lines on Saturday and pre-gamed. Seems like there are a lot of kinks to work out there, but the system is just getting stress tested now and the food service contractor has a good reputation around the league unlike Aramark, which universally sucks.
I thought the stadium was terrific, and we will come to appreciate it, particularly as it warms up and the 'eastern branch' becomes more of our lives in the city.
Agreed on the parking garages. It is my hope that over time, they can sink them and put up more landmarky style buildings or a left field plaza.
I watched it on TV until I decided that hearing "the first time this" and "the first time that" was getting REALLY **%U%^% ANNOYING... Yeah, we get it, new stadium, thanks ESPN for having nothing else to add to the commentary.
As someone who has been to two Nats games in the new stadium, I can say authoritatively that the Post guy has no freaking clue. He can only criticize vaguely about 'lost opportunities', but offers nothing specific about what should have been done differently. Look, you can either have open-air sightlines onto the field, or out into the exterior, but not both! Where does he expect the infrastructure, the vendors, the bathrooms to go exactly?? I think once they get the vendor lines down and more efficient, I think the ballpark does exactly what a ballpark should do - cater to your every need as a fan and fade into the background because your attention is focused on the game. I don't want a million bells and whistles in the outfield distracting me. I don't want another three childrens' arcades or a hot tub in right field. I want a beautiful place to watch a baseball game, and that is what we got. The rest of the nitpicks are rooted in the fact that the work is still not 100% complete, and more improvements will be made in the coming months and years, but to write such filth on a glorious day for baseball and a fantastic walk-off victory just demonstrates that this guy doesn't get it.
Here's the real story: First pitch of the game a strike. First inning, 2 strikeouts for Perez. First pitch to leadoff man Guzman results in a hit to right field. First runs scored in the bottom of the first. First Nats homer in the new park - walkoff in the bottom of the 9th from the face of the franchise. You think those players are happy to have a new home? It was a fantastic start to what will be a surprising (to many) season.
Only complaint about the new stadium is concessions...I waited in line for almost 35 minutes to be told that the half smokes were gone. Are you kidding me? But the stadium is super cool, and will be damn gorgeous on a sunny day.
They ran out of hot chocolate by the 6th inning. Oh, the horror!
I was at both the Saturday and Sunday night games. So I am now a know-it-all expert in Nationals Park.
Metro: I was astounded. I had minimal hopes for Metro's performance. I was expecting broken down trains, long delays, broken escaltors, etc. Instead, the trains seemed to be timed to coincide with connecting trains. There was tons of Metro staff and cops at Gallery Place and Navy Yard. The trains were nice and clean and fully functions. The Green Line train operators even held the doors open long enough so that trains would be full going to Navy Yard. The escalators at the Half Street exit did indeed break down Saturday, but that was because too many people were on them (two lines of people were on them; the coppers then restricted it to single-file in order to keep the escalators moving). I took the DOT exit on Sunday, and that exit was also very functional with lots of Metro personnel.
Biggest issue with Metro: The tons of people who need to buy SmartTrip cards so as to not cause delays in puttign the paper card in and waiting for it to pop out. Metro needs to do a lot more advertising for the SmartTrip cards and should have had tables or something for people to sign up for them (I used my neat new card with the stadium on it).
Stadium views: Absolutely amazing. It is astounding how close to the field the seats are and how they are no seats with bad sightlines.
Stadium food: Great selection, but some piss-poor execution. Long lines for all food options. Lots of employees who seemed utterly confused on how to make a hot dog. BUT lots of supervisors running around apologizing for delays and trying to get their workers to get the job done. And I totally (heart) the Senators Sausage stand and hope they eventually come up with a Larry Craig special (one weiner and one pass to the bathroom stall with extra-wide leg room).
Stadium bathrooms: Very nice and clean. Also good to have one door for entry and one for exit (there's a Monkey joke waiting to be made there).
Stadium employees: Friendly for the most part, if not fully competent. I love the beer guys and their constant jokes with the crowd.
The giganto-screen: Absolutely amazing. Same for the video screen on the outfield wall. It's astounding how bright and crystal-clear the images are.
Biggest downside: The total lack of food, drink or any other source of merriment outside the stadium. I think the closest place for food/drink is the Starbucks in the DOT building. I saw only two vendors outside the stadium (in those neat green & white On the Fly or Go mobile carts). Until the Half Street area is more developed, there's gonna be nothing there for people.
Second biggest downside: The ugliness and failure of imagination that is the two parking garages in the outfield.
Coolest moment: Watching the team take the field, seeing Bush toss out the opening pitch, and the gazillions of camera flashes as the first strike was thrown (oh yeah, and that amazing Zimmerman home run in the bottom of the 9th).
Second coolest moment: Hearing the huge numbers of boos greeting Bush as he took the field. I boo'd as well, but then clapped as he left the field. He's a total douche, but the office deserves a respectful clap.
Krisa,
You most certainly can have both open concourses and views to the exterior, it's all a matter of the fundamental design of the park. The upper deck concourse at Coors Field is a nice example.
There's a strong disconnect when you say you "don't want a million bells and whistles in the outfield," yet you seem to think this is what the Post's critic was advocating for when asking for better design. Pardon the pun, but you couldn't be more off-base.
The fundamental design of the park is one of the biggest issues.
- The decision was made to go with a modern facade and aesthetic before the ownership was finalized. The signage around the stadium has a real retro feel to it at the behest of the new owners, it doesn't mesh at all. It's a bad case of design by committee.
- The decision to put those parking garages there is horrendous.
- The exterior is bland and dull. That's not a huge problem, but it's a missed opportunity. They built in storefronts on First St, why not put them on Capitol as well? If you want to mesh with the neighborhood, then mesh! The exterior doesn't 'read' as a ballpark. I'm not sure what it reads as.
Good design is not about bells and whistles.
Reid - WTOP's comment section is a real white-wing laff riot. They could run an article about cutting property taxes by 50% and commenters would whine that it should be 150%.
And don't get them started on immigrants. If it were up to WTOP commenters, anyone who arrived in NoVA after 1950 would be put in camps with "Arbeit Macht Frei" over the entrance.
@Krisa
Strong defense of the new stadium, gimmicky nonsense isn't needed for proper enjoyment of a ball game. And what's not to love about a walk off homer in the bottom of the 9th by Zimmerman? I'm sure problems with the food lines will be resolved sooner rather than later, I'm looking forward to checking it out.
I went to the game on Saturday, but not yesterday...
Getting off the metro, and walking up Half St., the first time I looked at the stadium it took my breath away. It's not an architectural triumph, but it is still a fantastic experience, even if it does seem a bit to reminiscent of the Phillies park. The only gripe I have is where the vendors outside the stadium were, I wanted some cheap hotdogs!
As for the Catania proposal, it sounds a lot like the Massachusetts health care plan that Romney put into effect and then rarely mentioned during the campaign trail. And yes, it definitely needs a lot more attention paid to it.
monkey: bravo on invoking's godwin's law so deftly there. i appreciate the craftsmanship...
And yes, it definitely needs a lot more attention paid to it.
All right then, sound off! I'm not really sure what I think of this proposal.
My inclination is to say, "Yay! Everyone has health insurance" but having health insurance and having access to health care are actually two different things. Does it do any good to force people to buy health insurance if they don't get check ups, preventative care, etc. and still just go to the emergency room when they have a problem?
IF the Catania proposal means that those involved will have full access to all CareFirst providers then this will work. I used to have CareFirst, and I was pretty pleased with them.
Was anyone else a little shocked that Bush was in the espn commentator booth for at least an inning? His commentary left much to be desired, but I was pretty shocked that espn was able to wrangle him into the booth.
HCE: I wasn't trying to suggest that Catania's demographic is why people dislike him; it's just the strongest reason why he would never win council chair. As for his tantrums, I think they are often called for. I like that there's a CM that gets angry about the incompetence of the DC government. There's normally more than enough reasons to be so.
@groovyrooster
Not at all, W's dream job is to be the commissioner of baseball.
I'm as big a Bush hater as the next guy, but I gotta say I didn't care for the booing (ok, a part of me liked it but it was a guilty 'like').
He was there in his official capacity as President. It's a long-standing tradition.
Whilst I think he really warrants booing, this wasn't the place to do it.
hear the boos here
not enough in my opinion.
I think Catania's proposal is interesting. But my two big concerns:
1) What's the cost to the city and how's the city gonna pay for it since we're in lean times?
2) Are the penalty provisions sufficient to force people into getting insurance? If someone is poor enough to not be able to afford insurance, how are we gonna bleed them $250 for the penalty?
CareFirst had a big regulatory fight a few years back on whether it was spending enough, as a non-profit, on "charitable contributions" to the city's health care needs. Some public interest groups, including Appleseed, wanted to force CareFirst to spend many millions more per year on donations to the city's health care needs; CareFirst said it gave enough money and there was no statutory requirement that they do anything more than they were already doing. The city's insurance department sided with CareFirst, although it recommended CareFirst do more. I wonder if this is CareFirst's way of getting out of doing larger donations?
Another issue: by increasing the tax on cigarettes, doesn't that really hit the poor the hardest? I mean, I understand the concept of taxing more heavily those that are gonna be contributing to the city's health care expenses. But it's pretty regressive, no? And what's to stop smokers from just going across the border to MD or VA for their cigarette supply needs?
Similarly, with the higher tax on health care providers, how's that gonna work? Insurance companies' DC taxes are pretty strictly limited by law. Increasing taxes on HMOs and their various incarnations will lead to those same HMOs passing on the increased costs to customers.
So, I think it's an interesting concept, but it needs a lot more attention paid to the specifics. Plus, we can look to Massachusetts to see if their plan has had the intended effect or whether it's not working as planned.
Last time, I stayed silent, this time I booed. I really thought he would bring a wounded soldier out with him so no one would boo. At least he was brave or delusional enough not to use a soldier as a prop. I thought about it and thought that he has done so much to ruin this country over the last eight years by ignoring our core values, he should he the peoples displeasure every chance possible especially since he won't read a poll.
On the stadium: We went last night. I echo the utter surprise (and delight) at the Metro. They were efficient, curteous and on time. Shocking. (Now if only the metro buses could do that in the morning rushhour..).
I think that there are good arguments to be made about the design of the stadium, but at this point they are moot as far as this stadium. It is here to stay now.
But, one thing that I found really great about the stadium was the rather stripped down feel. It reminded me more of minor league stadiums that I have been to than of the more "bells and whistles" major league stadiums. I felt like I was at a neighborhood park, not one that held 41,000 people. I agree that it is good that the building fades into the background. (Of course the horrible parking garages are still there. Removing those might be one of the greatest upgrades the stadium could get).
The sighlines are amazing. The cheap seats don't feel like they are a hundred stories up from the field. And there are CUP HOLDERS. (For those who have not had a beer spilled on you at RFK, you cannot understand what an upgrade this is).
Another wonderful upgrade--short lines at the women's bathroom. I went in the 3rd and 7th innings with no lines. Clearly it is impossible for women's bathrooms in the entire stadium to have no lines, but I've never been in a crowd that large and not waited 25 minutes for a stall. It may be a small point, but it was a major improvement.
They absolutely must fix the vendor problem. But, I'll give it a few games before I give up on that front. There were clearly some people who had never worked the cash registers, put cheese on nachos etc. But, it may be that the stadium is not consistently packed like it was last night, so the lines aren't so overwhelming.
Finally, I think the Washington Post article is terrible. I recognize that there is disagreement on the park. I might not have made the same decision. But, it is here now. Please, please, take a moment and enjoy it.
Even though people have the freedom to "boo" other people, people also have the freedom to act with self-control and respect the office of the president (even though Clinton had a little trouble in this area).
What a great new stadium!! Go Nats!!
How come nobody's mentioned the stadium's LEED designation yet? It is the first ball park in the U.S. built to LEED standards, featuring many green features (energy efficient lighting, stormwater treatment, proximity to Metro, brownfield redevelopment, etc)
Personally, I'm more interested in the game experience than the stadium architecture. If the game is good (like last night), all others are secondary.
That being said, the concession lines were abominable during most of the game, the sound system was pretty weak in the seats under the deck overhangs, and the fans could've at least had the decency to tough it out for longer than four innings -- unless you consider that a lot of the crowd probably was there for prestige only, and when future games are open for REAL baseball fans, you'll get less of that.
And did anyone else notice that the TVs in the main concourse were tuned to CBS during most of the first half of the game? Seriously, the last thing I want to see at the ballpark is 'Survivor.'
One more tidbit -- I met someone claiming to be Paul Lo Duca's stepmom in a concession line. Pretty random -- and after chatting for a few minutes, I do believe her.
Cranky:
I agree that there are questions about what sort of an ongoing liability this is creating. You need only look to Mass to understand that. But hopefully we can improve on the Mass plan and perhaps there are fundamental differences between a state like Mass and a city like ours that will create different outcomes. (Maybe that makes it worse? Who knows...)
Also, it is a very good question to wonder about what sort of affect a penalty would have on the poorest. But I believe this plan is more geared towards the lower middle class, i.e. those that don't qualify for medicare but are generally priced out of private insurance. Getting them to join into the health insurance system (even with a subsidy) is a good step. It would hopefully allow them to get more preventive (and overall less expensive) care. Now these people may also not be dissuaded by the fine. Unlike car insurance, which you need to have to register your car, there's not a "carrot" that can reasonably be used to coerce people to buy health insurance.
San Francisco has recently implemented a similar health care system as well, perhaps they are an apter model than Mass.
@ Phil: I noticed lots of people leaving their seats around the 4th inning as well. But, since my seats were in the penultimate row in section 140, it was also roughly around that time that the concession stands lines exploded in length, as well as lots of people just wandering around oohing and aahing. So, while no doubt some of the status symbol people left after seeing and being seen, I think lots of people went to go get food/beer or just wander around.
And I thought it was super odd that during the Bush pitch, the TV screens in the concourse were all showing Leslie Stahl on 60 Minutes interviewing Al and Tipper Gore.
One more thing: For those sitting in the seats underneath the fancy scoreboard, there are no TVs or anything showing any of the relevant info that appears on the scoreboard. It would be nice to have some video monitors for people in those sections.
Nosebleed seats: $125
Hot dog: $4.50
Plastic cup of cheap beer: $7.50
Hearing & seeing the Worst President in modern history loudly boo-ed at the game: PRICELESS !
Catania is a moron for thinking that he can build a health care program on 'sin taxes' and taxes on insurance companies will pay for what will probably balloon beyond $26 million. Virginia's cigarette taxes are two and a half times less than DCs and almost seven times less than Maryland's. He'd have to allocate almost, if not all, of DC's cigarette excise taxes to pay for this (barring any other bits of it that are already spoken for). Revenue may spike for a bit, but it'll probably decline due to decreased usage and smuggling.
If the program was tailored towards a limited set of services/items (i.e. GP/Eye exams/Dentistry/OBGYN/other essentials) than it might be successful. I can see a couple of problems, including employers dropping CareFirst in favor of this; city subsidized health plan members competing will fully-paying Carefirst Members. I don't know about anyone else, but it's hard enough trying to find a GP or any kind of doctor who is taking new CareFirst patients in a neighborhood that you'd feel safe walking around in; City council members grandstanding/sucking up to special interest groups by adding mandates for services; The aforementioned groups will howl and make a lot of noise whenever sensible increases in premiums or adding a minor co-pay are suggested.
It's a DC boondoggle waiting to happen.
Agree. I would like to see more people have health insurance, but CareFirst will need to add more providers. I have CareFirst and recently tried to find an internist - I called 12 offices listed in the CareFirst directory before finding one that was actually taking new CareFirst patients.
The ballpark recently won LEED Silver Certification from the USGBC, but it was the SEC and Lerner's wish to keep this on the DL so as not to steal the limelight from Opening Day. they will make a big deal about how green it is soon.
Nobody loves the parking garages. There wasn't enough time or money to put them below grade, but they can be gone in a couple of years as the neighborhood develops.
I went to both games and the stadium rocks!
Reid: Have you ever encountered David Catania in public? The guy is a whiny little bitch in real life, and as one of his constituents, I feel that his public personality is a hazard and seriously hinders his political reputation.