Go Home Already: Shouts and Murmurs
Man Stops Traffic at 17th and K to Demand $200 Million
Compromise Uncertain on Same-Sex Marriage Law
Morning Roundup: Goodbye, Abe Edition
Judge Throws Out WTU Suit Over Teacher Layoffs
Good morning, Washington. SNOOOOOOOOOOOOOW! Up to four inches of the stuff, in fact. If the Washington Post's online subhead, "Snowfall Could Be Biggest in Years," seems a little over the top, remember that we barely had any snow last year or the year before that, so it's technically true. But it just wouldn't be the D.C. metro area if we didn't turn a few inches of white stuff, which by the way will be melted by rain by the time we all go to bed tonight, into a historic event. Marc Fisher appropriately chastises Montgomery County schools for being the only school district to cancel classes once again.
Voting Rights Hearing Set for 10 a.m. As we told you yesterday, a House subcommittee hearing on the D.C. Voting Rights Act is set for 10 a.m. this morning in 2141 Rayburn, and will include testimony from Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D.C. National Guard Iraq war veteran Yolanda Lee and former Assistant Attorney General Viet Dinh. Due to the hearing, many of the papers that cover Congress have their own stories about voting rights. Stay tuned to DCist for updates from the hearing.
Fire Amid the Ice: WTOP is reporting that there's a two-alarm fire in a vacant commercial building in the 1000 block of F Street NW. The street is closed between 9th and 11th streets, adding to the snow-fueled congestion. Thankfully, since the building was vacant, no injuries have been reported.
Briefly Noted: Firefighter injured in Silver Spring blaze ... City Desk has more on the police-involved shooting on 7th Street NE Monday ... Old Town residents accused of being severely uptight.
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is the fire in one of those little junk stores just east of american apparel? if so, i'd almost be willing to call it arson in order to get insurance money.
does jemal own that block?
Let's try this again ... my last post didn't go through.
MoCo schools are a bunch of sissies!
Marc Fisher appropriately chastises Montgomery County schools for being the only school district to cancel classes once again.
Right, other than Frederick County and Carroll County and Loudon County and Stafford County and a whole bunch of other places in every direction out from the city. And the counties that didn't cancel (Prince George's, St. Mary's, etc.) are all closing two or three hours early, which is arguably more disruptive than just canceling in the first place.
I'm not saying that superintendents in this region don't get extra-panicky about weather, but you might want to at least attempt to be factually accurate when you criticize them. All of these cancellations had been announced well before this post went live after 9 a.m.
If you read Marc Fisher's piece he actually says that MoCo is the only inner ring school district to close and points out that there is more snow in the farther out counties you name. I'm not arguing either side, I'm just clairifying.
By the way what is the deal with people using umbrellas in the snow in this town?
Thank you! The whole umbrella in the snow thing drives me crazy!
I wasn't criticizing Marc Fisher, who as you rightly point out did qualify his criticism by referring to "inner ring" suburbs (sort of an odd term, given how far Montgomery County sprawls), I was criticizing DCist's one-line summary of Fisher.
econosize,
In a wool coat and scarf, the snow tends to stick to you. It's easy to brush off when you get indoors, but using an umbrella seems logical nonetheless.
I'll tell you what the deal is with umbrellas in the snow: I spent quite a bit of time and chemical wizardry to dry and straighten my hair this morning, and I'll be damned if I will let this snow make my hair look raggedy-ass, and ski caps lead to hat hair. I protect my coiffure at all costs - if I could get a couple of Secret Service agents to guard my hair, I would.
That is the deal with umbrellas in the snow.
Amen, sister!!
What I don't understand is why people don't understand the use of an umbrella in the snow. Snow is comprised of water - when you get snow all over you and then walk into a building, it MELTS. I know, I know, wear a hat - but that doesn't work for some of us - I get horrible hat hair. I saw a woman out this morning whose hair was covered in snow - I thought she looked foolish, not the person carrying the umbrella (i.e. me...)
I don't have a treatise on the evils of umbrellas in the snow. It's just that after growing up in a place that gets snow often and sometimes in large quantities, seeing people with umbrellas in the snow still catches me off guard even after living here a few years.
Hmmm, Marc "Douchewaffle" Fisher vs one of the best school systems in the country? I know who I'm taking.
Like Nate said above, at least they were clear to parents at 5am. No school, County employees have liberal leave. Start working out your child care options now. And the weather is actually pretty bad upcounty - they could end up with 6" of snow today. Then a quarter inch of ice tomorrow morning - they'll probably call school for tomorrow early. Snow days are built in to the system.
I get annoyed with all of this sissy talk. Unlike Cleveland and Chicago, we can't count on snow in dozens of feet each winter. Our infrastructure can't and shouldn't be built around it. Then add the fact that since our area is always on the border between snow and rain/ice, clearing it is never straightforward. I'll take a foot and a half of show over a half inch of ice, freezing and re-freezing.
I stand by my sissy sentiment. We do not live in Atlanta. Yet we are continually dumbing-down by closing schools. Ice ... I can understand. Snow ... well, DC has been getting snow since the settlers arrived on our shores.
Kev29, silly rabbit, we're talking Marc Fisher and DCist here, and as Fisher and DCist both know, the only parts of Montgomery County that exist are those points that border D.C. and are within the beltway. Never mind the fact that Frederick County and Howard County, both sharing large borders with Montgomery County, are CLOSED, as is every overy other Maryland County to the North and West of P.G County. One might actually get the idea that geography and climate had something to do with Mongomery County's decision.
Wizzyliz, the issue of snow removal and prepardness for the area is one of cost effectiveness. If you only get a measurable amount of snow, on average, once every 3 years, then to fund as though you are anticipating 30 inches per annum is a waste of tax dollars. The loss of area work hours to snow 3 days a year simply costs less than spending all that money on snow prepardness. In northern climates, the costs are both justified and necessary, but not here. It isn't about being tough, it's about acknowledging that this isn't Chicago
Marc Fisher is a grouchy-pants.
Lest we forget that suburban counties like Montgomery and Loudon have more lawyers per square mile than just about any other place on Earth, who are all very, very concerned about the buses with their precious Jadens, Connors, and Megans sliding off the road into a ditch. Unfortunately, for DCPS they do not have the same sort of lawyers-cum-parents who are equally worried about all of the little Jamals and Tamishas.
Right, it's the lack of well-connected lawyers that keeps school from being cancelled in DC, not the fact that nearly all the students walk or take Metro to get there . . .
Seriously. Like I've always said, the one thing D.C. needs more of is lawyers.
A bunch of pictures showing the snow in DC here: http://www.Budak.tv