June 23, 2008
Morning Roundup: If You Can't Beat Them Edition
Good morning, Washington. George Carlin died this morning, so you can bet I'll be listening to What Am I Doing in New Jersey? later today. In honor of George, here's a story we think he'd enjoy: the Montgomery County school board is considering forcing school children to walk farther than they do now to cut down on school bus trips in the face of skyrocketing fuel costs. Should the plan go forward, there's no doubt parents will raise quite a stink over this proposal, and we'll have to mention this story again. Luckily, George left behind ample material to respond.
Small Riot at D.C. Jail: NBC4 reports on a disturbance at the D.C. Jail early this morning. A smaller fight had apparently delayed the evening meal last night, which led a group of about 25 inmates to refuse to return to their cells as a way of protesting that when their dinner had finally arrived, the food was cold. Eventually, tear gas, pepper spray and dogs were brought in to control the inmates.
City Can't Pay Gas Bills On Time: The Examiner continues to peck away at city government waste and mismanagement, finding a stack of overdue Washington Gas bills the city hasn't been able to pay on time so consistently that it's cost taxpayers $700,000 annually in late fees for many years. But before you get too huffy about the District not keeping up with simple tasks like paying their bills, it turns out Washington Gas's billing practices may be to blame -- they're actually billing the city on a 20-day cycle per gas meter, meaning it's just become impossible to keep up with the thousands of gas bills constantly being generated. The late fees have now been waived while the utility figures out a way to send the city a simplified bill for all of its gas usage.
Briefly Noted: Contract dispute stalls construction of senior center in Northwest ... Two more motorcyclists killed over the weekend ... Police find man who had been fatally shot in Petworth ... Man fatally shot in Southeast ... Fire destroys Riggs Park Baptist Church in Northeast.
Photo by starrienight
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i'll really miss Carlin. anyone who can start a poem with "rat sh!t" and end it with "fcuk!" is a winner in my book.
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Multiple shootings around 5th & O (Friday and Sunday night), though strangely no reports can be found anywhere. Anyone have the inside scoop? I know that at least one person was rushed to the hospital on Friday.
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Their food was cold? TFSU! Salad ain't supposed to be hot!
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these guys get a roof over their heads and food on their plates, courtesy of the taxpayers, for what? being a criminal, a convicted felon. there are hard working families who can barely put food on their tables for their children. these inmates have no right to complain that it's late or cold.
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My favorite George Carlin bit:
"I hate it when people point to their wrists when asking what time it is. I know where my watch is, asshole. Where the fuck did you put yours? I don't point to my dick when I ask where the bathroom is."
RIP.
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Jaynuze--
I was walking along Q and 7th around 11 last night and heard what sounded like shots (or early fireworks?). If you're saying 5th and O, that's a bit far away, but it was clear as day what I heard. Next thing I saw and heard were 6+ cruisers race through the area.
I haven't seen or heard anything about it, either.
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http://www.offseventh.org/blog/2008/06/after-a-shooting-in-shaw-washington-dc.html
From Friday's shooting. The shots I heard last night ... about three in rapid succession we're pretty close by. Probably somewhere around Q and P Streets between 5th and 3rd maybe. That's a big stretch, but Police were questioning folks outside all down Q last night.
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my HS yearbook quote and maybe the reason i ended up in DC...
"When I was young I used to read about The Decline of Civilization, and decided it was something I'd like to make a contribution to."
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http://www.offseventh.org/blog/2008/06/after-a-shooting-in-shaw-washington-dc.html
From Friday. Last night there were about three shots in rapid succession. Not sure where it came from, but the Police were asking folks all up and down Q between 5th and NJ.
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So those kids already walk up to 2 miles a day in high school. That's a hike. Not that it's impossible by any means, but I wonder how many healthy adults would be willing to do that every day. Most metro-oriented communities are a mile radius or less.
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No Supreme Court ruling in the DC gun case today. The ruling is likely to come on Wednesday or Thursday.
RIP to George Carlin. F*ck.
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I have limited experience with suburban DC area high schoolers, but I would assume any self-respecting high schooler that lives more than a block from school drives or gets a ride. So, I would guess most of these kids aren't getting any cardio benefit.
This is America.
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Walking to school? HOW TERRIBLE!!!
I saw a doctor from the CDC give a talk on sprawl and its negative health benefits and he gave a frightening statistic.
In the 1970s 80% of kids walked or rode a bike to school, but today only 10% walk. (I may remember the numbers exactly but its comparable) No wonder kids are so fat and out of shape.
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agreed boots. however, i wonder about the location of the schools. i've read a good bit on how building mega-skools on busy roads makes biking dangerous for kids. having kids bike is a great idea, but we'll also have to rethink school design and location. unfortunately, the past thirty (forty?) or so years have been bad for design - in terms of fuel consumption, safety, and having fat-a** kids who probably don't know how to bike in traffic.
most studies advocate building neighborhood schools, natch.
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Many suburban school districts make it ILLEGAL for kids to walk or bike to school. They're worried about getting sued when the inevitable cellphoning-Tahoe-vs-3rd-grader runover happens. Which only makes parents more paranoid and more likely to buy a Hummer to take their kid to school. Meanwhile, little Dakota has developed juvenile diabetes from his sedentary lifestyle and constant intake of Oscar Mayer Lunchables.
Solution? Bomb Pyongyang. I mean, think about it people. Axis of Evil? C'mon, Bush only has a few more months left to get this done. Before you know it, Jor-El will banish him, Cheney, Ursa, and General Zod to the Phantom Zone and you can forget about getting Congress agree to bomb Pyongyang then, pal.
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Anyone know what was up with the fire trucks Friday night? They were TRUCKIN'! Saw one barrelling down Florida Ave about 5pm, and later on 14th St in Columbia Heights.
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That'd be me. Window pane slammed down on my junk. Again.