News: August 2009 Archives

WJLA points to this Georgetown Hoya article reporting the latest in a long string of sexual assaults on female students at the Northwest D.C. university. A woman living in off-campus housing in the 1200 block of 33rd Street NW reported that a break-in occurred at about 6:30 a.m. on Sunday morning.

A man was shot at around 11:30 p.m. on Saturday night in the 1300 block of 5th Street NW, and police now say the victim has died from his injuries. The man's identity has not yet been released, but according to D.C. police, he was a Maryland resident. Anyone with information about this crime is asked to contact the Metropolitan Police Department at 202-727-9099.

The man who was found dead in Rock Creek Park on Friday has been identified as Larry Frankel, 54. Frankel was State Legislative Director for the ACLU's Washington Legislative Office, and previously served as executive director of the ACLU of Pennsylvania.

Sunday's 81-75 victory over the Minnesota Lynx kept the 14-15 Mystics in playoff contention, but the price was high: an injury to All-Star Alana Beard's ankle late in the fourth quarter forced her to the sidelines.

Good morning, Washington. Is summer over already? Heaven forfend. It may be the last day of August, but don't take away our sundresses and swimming pools just yet! Despite the fact that the season technically goes on for another three weeks, the Post has decided that it's time to look back at this summer already. And what does reporter Martin Weil conclude? Summer of 2009 was "a period that this year embraced the unusual in temperature and rainfall before ending up near the overall norm." Zzzzz. If you're going to call the game early, at least make your case a little more interesting than that.

City Desk got the scoop on Friday that the ghost bike memorial for Alice Swanson -- who was killed over a year ago after she was struck by a vehicle near the intersection of Connecticut and R Street NW -- had been removed by the D.C. Department of Public Works.

The woman in this photo snapped by gerdaindc confuses me: Whose side is she on, anyway? She seems to be indicating that she would prefer not to see her grandfather snatched up in the middle of the night by one of President Obama's jackbooted death panels. The "you" in "your plan" would have to indicate Obama, or Democrats more broadly, since Republicans aren't offering any plan of their own. Yet the sign hinges on the word "priceless," which leads me to believe that she's saying the plan does not go far enough. There is no price she wouldn't pay for better care for her grandfather, so let's go all in. Sen. Baucus, this woman wants to stake you!

Many of you are probably watching the television coverage of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy's funeral, where five four living Presidents have joined Kennedy's family, friends, colleagues and staff to say goodbye to the Lion of the Senate before a grateful nation. Here in Washington, residents and mourners are preparing for the arrival of the Kennedy funeral procession -- which will stop at the Capitol to honor Kennedy's legacy before taking him to his final resting place at Arlington National Cemetery.

Good morning, Washington. DCPS Chancellor Michelle Rhee is the latest to chime in on Mayor Fenty's latest PR nightmare, defusing the matter by stating that "no rules were broken" when Fenty enrolled his children at Lafayette Elementary School. Rhee refused to confirm or deny, though, that Fenty had hopped any sort of waiting list, telling WTOP that "there are various protocols through which families can get their students into out-of-boundary schools, and all those protocols were followed." The Post's report notes that Fenty's children may have been placed in the out-of-boundary school as a result of a recent amendment to the District's Municipal Regulations, which allows Rhee to grant "discretionary transfers" if it is "in the best interests of the student, and...would promote the overall interests of the school system."

It still amazes me just how little D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty seems to understand about talking to reporters. The more he categorically refuses to answer a single question about the process that took place to enroll his two sons in the high-performing Lafayette Elementary School, even though their neighborhood school is West Elementary, the more journalists are going to keep after this story. If you've ever wondered what it's like to talk to Fenty in the middle of a press scrum, just check out the video below, courtesy NBC4's Tom Sherwood. Mike DeBonis has a write-up with full audio of yesterday's heated exchange over at City Desk as well.

It's painfully clear that modern-day major collegiate sports is little more than a mask for a select few entities to make boatloads of cash from a system which in essence encourages cheating and illogical decisions, under the guise of athletic competition and fairness. That said, our thoughts after reading this headline went something like this:

Update: Washington City Paper's Tim Carman followed up with Ray's Owner Michael Landrum, who told Carman that there are no plans to open a Hell Burger in Adams Morgan. He chalks up the chatter to his business relationship with property owner Wilma Roumel, who he is assisting with modernizing the space. However, he is not ruling out a location there in the future.

Editor's note: this Roundup was accidentally published with the wrong date stamp, so it originally appeared at the bottom of our home page instead of the top. Our apologies for any confusion.

Metro has its latest weekend track maintenance update ready for those of you busily planning your Saturday and Sunday travels. WMATA is advising that customers on the Red, Orange and Green Lines should all add an additional 30 minutes to their travel times due to expected delays.

Residents of LeDroit Park and Shaw could have a new grocery store option soon, according to a report from the Washington Business Journal's Jonathan O'Connell. Philadelphia-based The Fresh Grocer is reportedly looking at moving into the large Howard Town Center project, a mixed-use development in the works next to the Howard University campus. The development is planned to replace the area surrounding and including the Bond Bread Building in the 2100 block of Georgia Ave. NW, and will include more than 300 residential units, over 70,000 s.f. of commercial property, and parking, according to DCMud.

Two Metro workers were injured Wednesday evening after two rail cars hit each other in the rail yard at West Falls Church, the Post is reporting. Thankfully, the two employees suffered injuries that are being described as "non-life threatening," though they were transported for treatment to Inova Fairfax Hospital.

            

For the sparse crowd of United supporters who attended last night's CONCACAF Champions League debacle against Toluca of Mexico at RFK Stadium, it would be easy to attribute the result and the team's incredibly poor performance to fixture congestion.

We're having a lively discussion on the DCist staff email list today thanks to this fantastic piece penned by the always compelling Hank Stuever of the Washington Post's Style section. Are you a Wawa or a Sheetz person? The subhead says it all: "Both So Awesome, but You Must Choose."

The Examiner has an interesting pair of crime stories today, both of which note dramatic decreases in certain types of crime in the District this year. First is a story that reports the number of carjackings is way down in D.C.: there have been about 200 carjackings in the city this year, compared with approximately 600 in all of 2008. Next is a piece of speculation about whether the correlation of having an oddly cool summer season has been one of the contributing factors to this year's decrease in homicides, both in D.C. and in other American cities.

Good morning, Washington. If you didn't get enough Teddy Kennedy remembrances yesterday or last night on network television, there's a fresh batch of local stories to choose from this morning. The Post's Metro section focuses on Kennedy's local impact, putting his routine of going to Brent Elementary School on Capitol Hill to read to students there every week up top. The story also notes Kennedy's involvement on the board of the Kennedy Center. NBC4 makes special mention of Kennedy's relationship with American University, where he has been a regular guest speaker. And WTOP offers up neighbors in Kalorama who will miss running into Kennedy at a nearby dog park.

Cubs 9, Nationals 4: Normally, signing a sub-.500 pitcher who was just recently given his unconditional release by a team that's 17.5 games out shouldn't be such an occasion, but we're not talking about any mediocre starter here: we're talking about Livan Hernandez! (How's this for depressing: in Nationals franchise history -- that is to say, from 2005 on -- Livan is still the team's all-time leader in wins. With 24. Man, the pitching for this team has been great, eh?) In any case, the rotund righty rejoined the team quickly enough to get the start last night at Wrigley. And what do you know: Livan brought the goods, giving up only two runs in six innings. Sadly, the Nationals were unable to scrounge up a quality bullpen arm to replace Jorge Sosa in addition to reacquiring the Cuban. Sosa just fell apart and allowed five runs in the eighth inning -- including allowing six straight Chicago batters to reach base -- to spoil Hernandez's effort, and the Nationals fell to the Cubs. On the bright side, if the team can get outings like this from Livan consistently, it'll be a steal -- and another feather in new GM Mike Rizzo's cap.

Another violent daytime crime in the District to report this afternoon. At approximately 2:50 p.m., two transgendered men were stabbed in front of 209 Q Street NW, D.C. police said. Both of the victims were transported to area hospitals, where one of them died a short time later. Police would not speculate on a possible motive in the attack, though a suspect is said to have been spotted fleeing the scene before first responders arrived. FOX 5 also has the story.

An adult male was shot this afternoon near the intersection of 16th Street and Spring Road NW.

Another local radio format switch to announce. True Oldies 105.9 FM is no more, having been replaced this morning by 105.9 The Edge, a new classic rock station. The Edge is touting itself as "specifically designed for men who love to rock," because, we can only guess, women don't enjoy rocking quite so hard? Look for the likes of Van Halen, Aerosmith, Black Sabbath, Queen, The Black Crowes, Pink Floyd, Pearl Jam, etc.

The Washington Post is reporting that approximately 85 pounds of marijuana and nearly $40,000 in cash have been seized from D.C. resident Winston Williams, 49. Williams was arrested on Aug. 5 after D.C. police discovered about 10 pounds of pot and the cash inside his home in 5500 block of 14th Street NW. A couple days later, they found 75 more pounds of the green stuff in storage units prosecutors say belong to Williams, in the 6400 block of 16th Street.

Hurricane Bill may have kicked off the 2009 storm season down south, but it looks like Tropical Storm Danny will be the first storm to pay us a little visit this year. The graphic above from the National Weather Service shows Danny making its way up the Atlantic coastline, bringing some wet weather to D.C. in just about two to three short days. If we're reading this correctly, there's only a 10-20% chance of Danny picking up enough speed to turn into a hurricane, according to this map, and D.C. will most likely feel only the outer edges of the storm, so we're not exactly looking at another Isabel. The Capital Weather Gang describes the storm predictions as pretty uncertain at this point, but notes that however strong it gets, the worst of it will likely stay offshore.

              

By DCist Contributor Ryan J. Reilly

       

Statements on the passing of Sen. Edward Kennedy have been coming in all morning. If you only read one obituary on the long-serving senator, read The Boston Globe's lengthy remembrance, which describes Kennedy as having become "a Democratic titan of Washington who fought for the less fortunate, who crafted unlikely deals with conservative Republicans, and who ceaselessly sought support for universal health coverage." We've seen flags at half-staff all over town today. Official and unofficial Washington are both in mourning.

Good morning, Washington. Sad news: Ted Kennedy has died, succumbing to the brain cancer that he had been battling for over a year. Today's news will no doubt be be filled with remembrances of Kennedy, and analyses of what his death means for the push for healthcare reform, a cause that Kennedy had long fought for. Moran Holds Town Hall, Attracts Protesters: Last night's town hall meeting on health reform wasn't the first in the area, but it sounds like it may have been the first time Washingtonians have been able to witness for themselves the vociferous opposition that's been reported from town halls elsewhere in the country. Rep. Jim Moran was the host of the discussion, and brought Howard Dean with him out to Reston. Things got heated: the Examiner reports that a man in a Cato Institute t-shirt got into a fight with a man in an Obama t-shirt and was ejected. Moran also apparently lost his temper and in a moment of frustration asked his hecklers to leave the meeting. Daycare Stabbing: Well, this is horrible: WJLA is reporting that a sixty-six year-old woman and a female toddler were stabbed at an apartment complex in Fairfax. The woman was babysitting the girl and several other children. Although accounts vary slightly, it appears that both victims are in serious but stable condition. The suspect was quickly caught and is now in custody; his motive remains unclear, but it may have stemmed from a domestic dispute involving a third party. Plane Wanders into D.C. Airspace for Second Time: Yesterday a student pilot accidentally flew into the city's restricted airspace and was escorted out by military aircraft. That's not so unusual — these things happen from time to time. Like in 2005, when a stray plane prompted the evacuation of officials from the White House. The same stray plane, in fact. Weird, right? CNN's account is worth reading: they spoke to John Henderson, one of the members of the small club that owns the plane, and he sounds about as horrified as you would expect. There's not yet any indication of why the student pilot went where he did; Henderson says the pilot was definitely aware of the 2005 incident. Briefly Noted: Alexandria names first black police chief (who happens to have been a member of the team from Remember the Titans)... Teens arrested for racist vandalism at Prince William schools... Man admits role in toddler's death... Judge rules that ex-gays are protected under D.C.'s Human Rights Act... Cupcakes -- a FAD?! Noooo... This Day In DCist: One year ago we published a memorable set of photos from a firehose baptism.

Nationals 15, Cubs 6: I was practically raised on Eddie Vedder's nearly-unintelligiable snarl, but I can't seem to recall a song in the Pearl Jam catalog which provides quasi-cryptic advice about pitching. Too bad for the Cubbies: the bearded Ved threw out the first pitch at Wrigley last night and he probably could have quoted such a tune (if it existed) to Carlos Zambrano before he gave up eight earned in four and a third last night. Outfielders Josh Willingham and Elijah Dukes lit up a number of Cubs pitchers for a combined seven hits, three home runs, and a massive eleven RBIs, seven of which came with two outs. Nationals starter Garrett Mock recovered from giving up an early home run to Zambrano and pitched into the sixth -- although by that point, the Nats were already up by eight, so one probably shouldn't read too much into Mock's numbers. The Nationals are averaging about 4.5 runs per game this season, and in their last seven games, they were right on that number. But sometimes you just get the feeling that they should develop into a much more potent offensive threat, and tonight, they certainly did: as Eddie might say, "it's evolution, baby."

The District Department of Transportation is moving ahead with the installation of streetcar slabs and tracks along H Street NE, despite the fact that the streetcars themselves still have several planning hurdles to overcome before they'll be cleared to start running. But the laying of tracks will cause two intersections on H Street to be temporarily closed this week.

I'm all for awesome iPhone applications that make my life easier, but I'm curious exactly how often one would need to frequent the Chipotle fast food chain to justify having a special app just for pre-ordering your burritos (hat tip to the Washington Business Journal on this one).

New York hedge fund Atalaya Capital Management were the winners in a bankruptcy auction in Tampa today to see who would control the Creative Loafing newspaper chain, owners of the Washington City Paper and other alternative weeklies, reports the St. Petersburg Times. Atalaya was Creative Loafing's largest creditor by far, and they took control of the company by significantly outbidding a partnership made up of now former Loafing CEO Ben Eason and another hedge fund creditor, BIA Digital Partners. Atalaya offered $5 million, while the Eason group opened with $2.32 million.

President Barack Obama has declared that September, 11, 2009, the eighth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, will mark the first 9/11 National Day of Service, and Greater DC Cares has responded by organizing a large number of volunteer and service opportunities for Washington area residents. Individuals and teams may both sign up online to serve on projects ranging from spending time with seniors to cleaning up Hains Point to preparing meals for the chronically ill. A $25 per person registration fee covers the costs of the event in addition to helping fund Greater DC Cares all year. Registration is open now through Tuesday, September 8.

Good morning, Washington. Yesterday may have been the first day of school, but that doesn't mean things are starting to pick up just yet in the local news department. Local reporters and news makers are still on vacation for the most part, if this morning's headlines are any indication. Consider, for example, this fun-filled Washington Post visit to the WMATA sign shop, which allows us to learn that Metro sign makers are also responsible for hanging the signs they make, and that the people who work there don't think signs will "ever go away," even if they are "a little old-fashioned." Too bad the Post didn't send someone to the DDOT sign shop.

The District Department of Transporation's Twitter feed (@DDOTDC) just sent out this image of a pretty hilarious sign that's posted somewhere in the city. Anybody recognize where it is, and/or have any guesses as to what on earth it means? We're pestering DDOT to find out, and they're playing the whole thing awfully coy, but we'll hopefully get back to you with the answer soon. All we can venture right now is that if a sign stating "research program demonstration project on signage" is causing a lot of people to notice the sign, then said project is surely a wild success.

Greater Greater Washington's Michael Perkins has been doing great work chasing down why, exactly, WMATA and Google can't come to an agreement and get Metro data into Google Transit. This post gets into the details, but the short version is that WMATA isn't inclined to play nice with Google, apparently because the agency thinks its schedule data might be worth something. No, they're not sure if they can get any money for it, but they'd like to find out: Metro has been talking about bidding out a half million-dollar contract for a consultant who can tell them whether they might be able to monetize their schedule data. Today Perkins saves them the trouble by reporting the likely answer: no. He's got Google on record saying that they don't pay New York for its transit data, despite a history of the MTA trying to extract money from those using its data. If the Big Apple can't shake down Google, what hope do our local transit bureaucrats have? It's looking an awful lot like WMATA is stonewalling developers, inconveniencing its riders and preparing to waste $500k for nothing. Maybe Metro should focus on moving people around the city and leave the dreams of internet mogul-dom to the Californians.

A few D.C. public schools may have been down to the wire when it came to completing renovations and repairs for the first day of school today, but parents at Garfield Elementary School can hardly blame DCPS for a water main break that shut the school down this morning. Repair work began at around 10 a.m. on a 12" water main that broke at 22nd Street and Southern Ave. SE this morning, but in the meantime, the Garfield campus has been left without running water. WJLA is reporting that Garfield students are being moved to Winston and Stanton Elementary Schools until the water comes back on. Talk about a hectic first day for these kids.

Good morning, Washington. Today is the first day back to school for D.C. public school students (who now only number 37,000). Across town, college freshman are arriving for orientation (and frantic trips to Bed, Bath & Beyond). It's back to school time in the District, so while it may still feel like summer vacation outside, the season is drawing to an abrupt close. DCist officially recommends you make a point of getting in those long lunches and frivolous ice cream cones while you still can.

And that means that the District weighs in as one of the top 10 summer concert destinations in the nation (says StubHub, via the WashBizJo). Nissan's far and all, but what's really far is Richmond -- who have been claiming Nissan ticket sales all this time! Fortunately, Nissan was handed back to the District without provoking a Third Battle of Bull Run.

Rhee's 200-some-odd-page "DCPS Teaching and Learning Framework" sounds like the sort of thing that gets delivered on Mount Sinai: a document that doesn't merely clarify the aspects of the job that need clarifying but instead signals a shift in the company's direction. More than just a shift: a wholly new initiative. On the heels of a major restructuring that included massive school consolidation and personnel turnover -- which is to say nothing of the stalled negotiations with the teachers' unions -- Rhee announces an effort to quantify and mandate the experience inside the classroom. I believe the word is "micromanaging."

United 0, Galaxy 0: A downpour, the two biggest stars in MLS, a nearly-must-win scenario, a season-high 22,134 hopping fans, and assistant coach Chad Ashton taking the first-team reins for the first time in his United career after regular manager Tom Soehn came down with flu-like symptoms before the game -- to say that it was an exciting night at RFK would be an understatement. United came out strong, but sadly, the spotlight of the game fell mostly onto the referee. The stadium exploded in the eighth minute after a beautiful interplay through midfield ended with a fantastic finish by Luciano Emilio poking it into the back of the net -- but the goal was incorrectly disallowed for offside. (Emilio was at least a yard on.) A booking in the 11th for captain Ben Olsen's tackle on Beckham only intensified the crowd volume. United's quality in possession delivered plenty of chances, but Galaxy keeper Donovan Ricketts was up to the task and kept things scoreless. The second half saw the introduction of Jaime Moreno, and United continued to pressure the L.A. goal. But shot after shot, corner after corner, header after header just went wide or over. Of course, the referee again blowing a big call -- waving off a clear-cut penalty when Emilio was pushed down -- didn't help anything. United's firm grip on the game began to loosen in the final fifteen minutes -- L.A. began to push forward and created a couple of chances. But keeper Josh Wicks maintained the clean sheet by denying a couple of direct shots on goal, especially a Landon Donovan header from a Beckham cross in the waning minutes. The Black-and-Red bossed the game, but it was just not their night. It was hardly a surprise that two teams with 20 draws between them split the points -- though the lack of goals was disappointing.

I can't think of a better word to describe yesterday's weather than "miserable," but I'm sure that more expletive-laced descriptions would do just as well. For many parts of the region, there was just enough rain to make it annoying to be outside, but not enough to really dim the humidity in the air -- but if you live in Northern Virginia, we certainly hope you're not dumping buckets of water out of your home. Dulles airport received over two inches of rain yesterday. Did we mention that it was also one of the hottest days on record? The worst news of all? Today will be much the same: sticky and wet with the potential for flash floods.

Brewers 7, Nationals 3: The Nats couldn't really get the offense going, and dropped their fourth straight decision. Adam Dunn did smash his 32nd home run of the season, and Ryan Zimmerman added a solo blast in the ninth. But it wasn't enough to overcome some very poor hitting by the bottom of the order -- five hits in total just isn't going to cut it. It's a concerning trend for the Nationals, especially as they can I'll afford to waste solid pitching performances like the one J.D. Martin delivered. Martin (2-3), though far from fantastic, was generally under control: four runs in 6.2 innings, which could have been even better if the Nats had a couple of close calls go their way. Normally, this kind of pitching performance would put Washington in a good position to win. However, Braden Looper (11-6) was dynamic aside from the Dunn homer, and Jorge Sosa looked plain awful in a seemingly interminable top of the ninth, allowing three runs. The weather certainly didn't help matters much -- rain fell over the game for most of the evening. (But it was nice and sunny for the introduction of one young Mr. Strasburg. Coincidence? We think not.)

The big scoop everyone's buzzing about today is that Wal-Mart is sniffing around for a location in D.C., maybe in Poplar Point, maybe elsewhere. Jonathan O'Connell first reported the news in the Washington Business Journal, and has since updated with more comments from Wal-Mart, in which the company basically says that it's looking, but it's not likely to happen in the immediate future.

Ongoing track circuit repairs on the Red Line and scheduled maintenance on the Blue, Orange and Yellow Lines this weekend will lead to delays across the Metrorail system. Here's the details:

The video itself is grainy and hard to make out. Here's what the folks at Tastee have to say about its contents:

"We believe inappropriate behavior is what was going on here and that the discrimination allegations are false. In this video, the couple was sitting right inside the restaurant front door pressed up against each other and during their interaction, one was burying her face in the other's breasts. They were asked to tone it down but responded angrily so they were asked to leave. Nothing more - any couple regardless of gender or sexual orienation would have been asked to leave Tastee Diner in the same situation."

One of the things that we're trying to do now is to figure out, can we get a little farmers' market -- outside of the White House -- I'm not going to have all of you all just tromping around inside -- (laughter) -- but right outside the White House -- (laughter) -- so that -- so that we can -- and -- and -- and that is a win-win situation.

Continue reading "Obamas Want to Start a White House Farmers Market"

FOX 5's Paul Wagner reports on the existence of a 5-minute YouTube video that police have been using to make arrests after a big fight between two groups of girls at the Paradise at Parkside Apartments in Northeast. The original video has since been removed from YouTube, but FOX 5 shot its own video of the original off of a computer screen, which we've re-posted below. This version has no audio, but you can clearly see several young women who are variously armed with knives, sticks and rocks, and at least one woman appears to have a belt in her hand. Nothing really happens except a large group of girls shouting at and chasing each other through the apartment complex's common areas, until the 4 1/2 minute mark, when a fight finally breaks out, and then a woman attempts to use her car to run down several people involved. At least one person, a young man, appears to be injured at the very end.

It looks like we've got at least one more day of high temperatures and high humidity before a few days of weather that doesn't make you curse being alive. I'm particularly invested in a few low humidity days -- I've got no A/C in my third floor room, and sweating myself to sleep every night has long gotten old. It's moments like these that I understand why many diplomats were given hardship pay to serve in Washington in the era before cooled air existed.

Rockies 4, Nationals 1: Obviously, the Nats just have trouble matching up with the Rockies -- Colorado completed the sweep after another quiet night from the Nationals' lineup and a good pitching start which somehow lost its way. Adam Dunn smoked a two-out RBI double in the sixth inning, but otherwise Colorado hurler Jason Hammel (8-7) shut down the home bats and allowed only three hits in seven innings. It was the third straight game in which the Rockies got fantastic starting pitching: over the three games of the series, Colorado starters allowed six earned runs in 21 innings, for a sparkling 2.57 ERA. Nats starter Garrett Mock (2-5) started just as strong, with eight strikeouts in four scoreless innings -- but he just threw too many pitches and the Rockies hopped on him in the fifth. The Rockies certainly enjoyed their quick trip to the nation's capital, increasing their lead in the race for the NL Wild Card to 2 games over San Francisco. Washington will try to get their offense back on track as Milwaukee visits tomorrow -- perhaps the unveiling of the much-ballyhooed Stephen Strasburg and a big crowd from dollar ticket sales will help nudge them back on the right track.

The bees of Rock Creek Park are officially out to get us. At around 3:15 p.m., D.C. Fire/EMS responded to a call of multiple bee stings in the area near the horse stables inside the park, at 5000 Glover Rd. NW. Spokesperson Pete Piringer says that seven children and one adult suffered multiple stings, but none of them appeared to be in serious condition and no one needed to be taken to the hospital. This is now the third reported bee attack in the same area over the last week, after two incidents occurred last Thursday.

The Smithsonian's National Zoo has given us plenty of baby animals to coo over this summer, but most of them remain at the Front Royal Conservation and Research Center, not on display to the public at the actual Zoo. So if you're jonesing for some cute and in need of a fix, you might consider a weekend road trip to the Virginia Zoo in Norfolk, where four lion cubs are making their debut today (and don't be confused by the Associated Press's story, which appears to have misidentified the cubs as tigers - they are in fact lions). The baby lions, three boys and one girl named Ajani, Razi, Dakari and Zarina, were born on May 2, and this will be the first weekend that the public will be able to see them in person. They're no clouded leopards, of course, but they'll do in a pinch.

Awesome story from the AP's Matthew Barakat about how disgraced former New York Times reporter Jayson Blair has set up shop as a Certified Life Coach in Ashburn, Va. You can find Blair's bio on the Ashburn Psychological Services web site here, which makes no mention of his famous fabrications, but does allude to his autobiography on the subject. Blair's famous schmoozing skills apparently translate well to his ability to help people figure out their career and personal problems, according to his boss. The former reporter also has his own web site promoting his life coaching business, which he began sometime after being diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

Washington City Paper reporter Ruth Samuelson ably answers the questions I've had about just what the heck is going on with the Dupont location of Results Gym. Word has been spreading like wildfire in recent weeks that the Results will be shut down at some point in the near future, to make way for a larger, hugely expanded Vida Fitness, which will include a rooftop pool. I had always assumed that the two chains were somewhat related, since both of them offer similar amenities and are often paired with Bang Salons (full disclosure: I'm a member of Results, though I usually frequent their Mt. Vernon location). Turns out the two men who own the separate chains—Results's Doug Jefferies and Vida Fitness's David von Storch—used to be business partners, but they've had a major falling out. And since von Storch, who also owns the various Bang Salons, is the one who actually owns the Dupont Circle property that houses Results, he's decided to push the gym out to make way for a Vida Fitness. Quite the local business scandal!

Some scaffolding collapsed under a pair of window washers this morning, causing the D.C. fire department to launch a daring high-angle rescue. It happened about 7:30 a.m. at an 11-story building at 1140 Connecticut Ave. NW.

Good morning, Washington. It's the middle of August, and local journalists are clearly straining to come up with story ideas at a time when everyone they might want to talk to is out on vacation. Here's just a few of the ways you can tell: In the Post's Metro section, we find a story titled, "Rise in Drunken-Driving Arrests of Women Deplored," in which the author attempts to tie recent increases in female DUIs to the popularity of shows like The Real Housewives of New Jersey; the top "Local" story on the Examiner web site is a wire story about Hurricane Bill; and the Washington Times, apparently unable to locate any salacious stories about same-sex marriage or illegal immigration today, gave its top local slot to a wire story about a possible hate crime in Baltimore.

Rockies 5, Nationals 4: Bad news first: it was another night, another one-run loss for the Nationals. Just like last night, Washington was lacking balance from their lineup: the 5-6-7 slots didn't get a single hit, wasting a good night from the top half of the order, and a homer from eight-hole hitter Josh Bard. Ryan ZImmerman did all he could with a double and a triple to knock in a couple runs, but starter Collin Balester's incredibly poor start proved too much to overcome. Balester (1-3) couldn't get out of the second inning, allowing three runs while throwing 55 pitches to get four outs.

The Washington Blade reports (hat tip to The New Gay) that a kiss-in protest is planned for this evening at the Tastee Diner in Silver Spring. Aiyi'nah Ford and Torian Brown, a local lesbian couple, say that during a recent visit, they were asked to leave the restaurant by the manager after he observed them embracing.

Ford said a manager she identified only by the first name Paul, asked if they could "please take that outside." Ford asked Paul if he was serious, and he said that he was. Ford noted that a heterosexual couple was kissing at a nearby booth.

Continue reading "Kiss-In Protest Planned for Tastee Diner Tonight"

In the wake of several recent high profile shenanigans on the part of Metro employees, including one Metrobus driver who was fired after being charged with kidnapping, and another who turned out to have a suspended license, WMATA today announced that it has implemented some new hiring standards.

In a story in the Washington Times today, D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier boldly claimed that she believes the District could end up with fewer than 100 homicides in 2009. We have already had at least 88 to date (not sure if yesterday's Pizza Mart killing was included here), which is roughly 25 percent fewer killings that the city had recorded at this time last year. And that's fantastic, a real achievement. But fewer than 12 homicides over the next four+ months? It seems certain to be an impossible goal.

We all know that democracy is about competition and participation, but D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large) must be wondering why he keeps getting challengers for his seat.

Metro is reminding customers today that it will close its sales office at the Western Bus Garage, located at 5230 Wisconsin Avenue NW, on Sunday, August 23. Three other bus garage sales offices, at Landover, Four Mile Run, and Royal Street in Alexandria, were also closed at the end of July. This is surely one of the things WMATA had in mind when it struck a deal with retailers like Giant and CVS to sell and refill SmarTrip cards at their stores. WMATA is encouraging customers who used these sales office locations to start purchasing their fare cards and SmarTrips at nearby commuter stores and retail locations.

Good morning, Washington. It sounds like the city is backing away from its plans to require residents to use the so-called "One Card" to access city facilities like the Wilson Aquatic Center — the Examiner has the whole story. Put simply, the city is buckling to pressure. Proponents of the card claim that it can unify disparate credentials, simplifying residents' access to city services. But critics of the card maintain that it is almost certainly the Mark of the Beast foretold in Revelations. That, or they're worried about privacy — definitely one of those. The One Card will still be accepted as ID for city facilities, but a driver's license will also suffice. Scooterjacking in Dupont: WJLA reports on a daylight robbery along 16th Street: two teens stole money from one man at gunpoint, then took the scooter of another man. The thieves were caught shortly thereafter. The article treats this as a new and worrying trend, but of course scooters have been getting jacked in Northwest for quite a while. The City Paper discussed the phenomenon in 2005; folks complained about a string of such thefts in 2007; and we noticed a passive aggressive note about scooter theft just last year. City Announces Valet Parking Regulations: The Post brings word of the new scheme under which the city's valet parking will operate. Businesses need to buy signs, and if they offer valet service more than three times a week they won't be able to park patrons' cars in on-street parking spaces. That seems fine, but the annual fees have got us a bit confused: $50 per year and fifty cents per hour for the use of a twenty-foot stretch of city curb? That seems kind of low when compared to what an equivalent amount of on-street parking would cost those of us not fancy enough to use valet service — particularly when you consider that the new regulations apparently include some vaguely-defined mechanism by which police will ticket valet-parked cars less frequently. Briefly Noted: Judge declares Pr. George's County furlough plan unconstitutional, could force "massive layoffs"... Alexandria gas leak repaired... Dominion Virginia Power customers can expect their bills to go up $3 in the new year... Kaine to announce $1.3 billion in budget cuts... Art-based nonprofit suffered inexplicable vandalism over the weekend... the Post's LoudonExtra site is getting scrapped... This Day In DCist: One year ago EveryBlock launched its D.C. edition and terrifying wax replicas of the Jonas Brothers debuted.

• Rockies 4, Nationals 3: Lost in all the Strasburgian elation, it was almost easy to forget that there was an actual baseball game this evening. Unfortunately, the nine on the field couldn't follow up the front office's big win with one of their own, losing for the first time in their last nine home games against the Rockies. Even though Colorado roughed up Nationals relievers for two solo home runs in the final two innings, the Nats had a chance to at least take things into extra innings -- but Ryan Zimmerman lined out to left with runners on the corners to make the final out. Nationals starter Craig Stammen pitched adequately, giving up only two runs in 5.1 innings, and even knocked in a run in the fourth inning on his third double of the season. But he was outdone by Rockies starter Ubaldo Jimenez (11-9), who went eight solid innings for the win. It was a night where the lineup just couldn't seem to get much momentum going, although Nyjer Morgan did have three hits. And hey, we got Strasburg! (Feel better?)
• Marathon 3, D.C. United 1: The trip to San Pedro Sula to take on Honduran champion Marathon in their first game of group play in the CONCACAF Champions League might have been longer than United's normal MLS jaunt -- but it was much of the same road form, as a late lapse in defense handed D.C. a rough defeat. The Black-and-Red seemed like they were in good position to earn a point at the Olímpico Metropolitano, after Luciano Emilio sacrificed his head (and lost some blood for his trouble) to knock in an equalizer in the 48th minute. United even had a gilded chance to take the game by scruff of the neck when a wonderfully-lofted cross by Santino Quaranta was met squarely by Devon McTavish -- but Juan Ángel Obelar saved expertly for Marathon. After that, it was all downhill, as it usually seems to be for D.C. on the road. A wonderful flick on from Mitchell Brown came with ten minutes to spare, and talisman Jerry Palacios finished smoothly. It was a deserved goal for Marathon, who played well during the final third of the match. Mario Berríos tacked on a penalty to complete the victory. Of course, the Champions League is a nice thing to participate in, but United will be eager to get back into the MLS playoff race -- they host Beckham and the Galaxy at RFK on Saturday.

1. There's a cracked rail on the Red Line, between Friendship Heights and Bethesda, because Red Line riders don't already have enough to deal with. Trains are single-tracking this afternoon between Grosvenor and Friendship Heights while temporary repairs are made, causing 15 minute delays. A more permanent rail replacement will be performed tonight after Metro closes.
2. A subcontractor who was installing wiring for a new air compressor at Metro’s Bladensburg Bus Garage in Northeast died earlier today after apparently being electrocuted.
3. DC Fire/EMS were called to a fire on the tracks at the Deanwood station earlier today. The small fire was quickly put out by a Metro maintenance crew.

Jeez. For someone who prides himself on ranting about the District's lack of voting rights on a regular basis, I realized today that the last thing I had to say about the city's longstanding disenfranchisement was on June 10. On that day, we found out that Congress was laying to rest -- at least for the time being -- legislation that would grant the city a voting seat in the House. Since then, well, it's been radio silence from DCist HQ. (OK, so there was that one piece on June 24 about President Obama's license plate, but let's be honest -- that's not terribly substantial, now is it?)

Robert Novak, the conservative commentator often referred to as The Prince of Darkness, has succumbed to brain cancer at the age of 78. Kenneth Tomlinson at HumanEvents.com, which published the Evans-Novak Report up until it was canceled last year, confirmed the news this morning. Novak, perhaps now best known for his role in outing CIA agent Valerie Plame, first announced he had been diagnosed with a fatal brain tumor almost exactly a year ago, and promptly decided to retire. The diagnosis came just a short time after Novak struck a homeless man with his car in downtown Washington.

It's a glorious day in NatsTown. Stephen Strasburg is finally a Washington National, agreeing to terms with minutes to spare before last night's midnight deadline. Like other people who follow the Nationals closely, the prospective combination of Strasburg and fellow first-round pick Drew Storen (who called it a "great night for the Nats") eventually gracing the mound at Nationals Park has us drooling. Is today the best day in Nationals history since they moved to D.C.? It's up there. Here's some food for thought on this very exciting morning.

Verizon Wireless customers in Washington are soon going to have precious little left to brag about to their friends with other cell phone companies. Metro today released the first part of its schedule for installing expanded wireless service in the system's underground stations and tunnels. The new wireless network, the first phase of which will be completed by mid-October, will be able to be accessed by people who subscribe to any of the four major cell phone companies.

Good morning, Washington. Well, they did it. The Nationals signed Stephen Strasburg for a cool $15.1 million, marking a new record in baseball for payments to amateur drafees, and finally allowing the Lerners to argue that they are willing to invest in this team after all. The Post's Chico Harlan has the blow by blow of how the deal went down yesterday, including the near last-minute, 11:58 p.m. offer and the reaction from Mike Rizzo. To wit: "The Lerner family stepped up here and gave us the resources to sign the most lucrative amateur player contract in the history of the draft. That says a big statement to the city of Washington, D.C., and to the commitment that the Lerner family has to winning championships here in Washington," Rizzo said. Now there's a sentence we never imagined might be attributed to the Lerners. We'll hopefully have more on the Strasburg deal later in the day.

Good morning, Washington, and welcome back to another nothing-doing Monday in August. Even if you're not taking time off yourself this month, chances are your offices feel like an empty shell of what they usually are. You're enjoying longer and longer lunches, indulging in some extra IM conversations and catching up on your Facebook feed. It's just that time of year, when D.C. workers are more or less expected to be a bit tuned out and distracted by the sultry weather and slower pace of work. But let's hope that isn't the case at Williams, Adley & Co., the contractor responsible for building a comprehensive database of DCPS academic information. The firm has missed a series of deadlines since it got the contract last year, the Post reports, and now the project is several months behind.

• Nationals 5, Reds 4:: Adam Dunn, Josh Willingham and pinch-hitter extraordinaire Ryan ZImmerman provided all the offense Washington needed to overcome a four-run fifth inning from the Reds and win their first series on the road since the middle of June. The three sluggers had big games in support of John Lannan, who looked incredibly average for the second straight start. Willingham delivered the most impressive blow, a towering two-run homer in the fourth inning with Dunn on base. Not to be outdone, Dunn was an on-base machine, reaching base four times (two doubles and twice hit by pitches) -- while Zimmerman's hit was the most timely of them all, a single which pushed both Dunn and Willingham home to retake the lead. The pen also came up big again: Jorge Sosa (2-1) got five outs in relief for the win, and Mike MacDougle picked up where Sosa left off and got the last four outs for the save, his 13th. The Nationals are off on Monday -- it's probably a good thing, as the team will be focusing all its efforts towards signing Stephen Strasburg before the midnight deadline.
• Liberty 60, Mystics 59: Not a typo there, folks -- this game really was that offensively-challenged. Washington couldn't carry over its momentum after a big double-overtime win against Connecticut two days ago, dropping this ugly one to conference doormat New York. To blame? If dismal shooting from beyond the arc and at the free throws line wasn't enough to assure the loss, fouling the opposition's best player -- Janel McCarville, who had 19 points -- on a final shot McCarville herself called "ugly" certainly did the trick. This one hurts: in a three-way tie for second at the beginning of the night, the Mystics fall all the way to fifth place after the loss.

Did you realize that it's the fortieth anniversary of Woodstock? If not, congratulations! You have successfully reached the underground and are no longer privy to the reach of any modern media.

So says ABC 7. After an auction for the hotel failed to turn up any bidders, this might be viewed as good news by the hotel's owners, PB Capital. Of course, the auction that failed to turn up any bids began at $25 million, well shy of the Watergate's $40 million note, which ought to be considered bad news by the hotel's owners. Surely all these buyers are interested because the hotel has effectively been priced as worth less than $25 million. One executive at PB Capital says "the first person to present a check will get the hotel." I have much less than $25 million that I'd be willing to pay if we're really talking about a fire sale here.

Recently, my friend made me sit down and listen to the episode featuring Lynndie England. I'd recommend it to anyone who feels uncomfortable with the fact that only England and her cohort at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq have been prosecuted for torturing detainees. The radio piece might not improve your opinion of England at all: She expresses neither great outrage nor great regret over her role in the crimes at Abu Ghraib and her subsequent trial, conviction, and imprisonment. But it illustrates how horribly insignificant her fall from grace is as a corrective for the U.S. torture and mistreatment of detainees around the world. One bad apple in an orchard that's still suffering from blight.

Howdy, Washington! On Friday, Gov. Martin O'Malley released a compilation of citizens' suggestions for getting out of the $700 million sand trap that is the Maryland state budget. Direct democracy! Decried as a publicity stunt by the Maryland Public Policy Institute ( episode where Josh and Toby have to listen to the guys who want to have just one state called Dakota!

• Nationals 2, Reds 0: Ronnie Belliard is hardly known as a guy with a ton of power -- after all, he's never hit more than 17 longballs in a season, and he's a player from whom ten homers in a season would be a solid return. But his blast in last night's game against the Reds could probably count for two -- Belliard absolutely crushed a first-pitch breaking ball from Reds starter Aaron Harang (6-14) to open the scoring in Cincinnati. Thanks to a great outing from Garrett Mock, that was enough offense to lead the Nationals to a victory. Mock (2-4) looked dominant at times in posting six shutout innings to earn his second straight victory. Washington's bullpen also reverted to its form from the team's recent eight-game winning streak -- four Nats relievers held the Reds in check, capped by Mike MacDougal, who retired the side in the ninth for his 12th save. More good news for the Nats: the team has acknowledged that the front office has held meetings with holdout #1 pick Stephen Strasburg and superagent Scott Boras -- the deadline to sign the stud pitcher is Monday. Will the Nationals get a deal done? Only time will tell.
• Mystics 91, Sun 89: It was a big game for both teams -- a win for either would do a whole world of good in the logjam that is the race for second in the WNBA's Eastern Conference: perhaps it should come as no surprise that it took double overtime to settle matters. Connecticut and Washington played one of the more entertaining matches of the WNBA season at the Verizon Center, with the Mystics coming out on top, despite missing chances to win the game at the end of regulation and the first extra period. Crystal Langhorne came to the rescue: the Maryland product had a sensational game, with career highs in points (22) and rebounds (16) -- she also hit the game-winning shot with nine ticks left in the second OT. With the win, the Mystics pull into a three-way tie for second place with the Sun and Atlanta.

Late last September, local cycling enthusiasts were treated to a first for the District -- a professional bike race in downtown Washington. The ING Direct Capital Criterium saw domestic and international pros line up to tackle a technical eight-turn course with a dramatic finish on Pennsylvania Avenue, an event so successful that it was added to the 34-race National Racing Calender for 2009. In late July, though, local promoter D.C. Velo announced that due to the recession, main sponsor ING was forced to pull their support for the race, leaving organizers without the financial backing to run the race until 2010. (Philadelphia almost lost their marquee pro cycling event earlier this summer, too, but last-minute appeals to sponsors and fans allowed the event to happen.) As a local competitive cyclist and huge fan of the sport, consider me officially bummed out. It was a treat to see local racers line up against guys just coming off of the Tour de France, and the District's backdrop served as a fitting place for such a dramatic showing of cycling talent. Here's to hoping for 2010.

Metro's scheduled weekend track maintenance, which includes ongoing track circuit repairs on the Red Line as a result of the June 22 crash, will continue to cause delays for Red and Orange Line riders this weekend.

Really, guys, really? Not only is the District still in the midst of an economic slump that has seen development slow substantially, but we're all still smarting over the public investment that went into building a new stadium for the Nats. Is it really time to float the idea of bringing the Redskins back to the District? For Mayor Adrian Fenty and Council member Jack Evans (D-Ward 2), it sure is. According to NBC4, Fenty and Evans are both still looking to lure the football franchise back to D.C., with hopes of seeing a 110,000-seat domed stadium rise where RFK now sits. (Given how ruthless a business man Redskins owner Dan Snyder is, we should only tremble at the thought of the concessions he would try and extract from the city.) I'll be the first one to throw this out there -- after all the shilling that Evans did to get city money for the baseball stadium and the new convention center hotel, there should be a mandatory year-long cooling-off period before he's allowed to propose any projects of questionable value that would be funded with public resources. Just sayin'.

• Ravens 23, Redskins 0: It's a good thing that the NFL preseason doesn't mean a damn thing. Here's how the 'Skins ended their offensive possessions last night: punt, punt, punt, punt, fumble, halftime, punt, interception, punt, punt, punt, punt. Yuck. Unfortunately, the individual numbers weren't any less horrendous. Colt Brennan, who wants to challenge Todd Collins for the back-up quarterback role? 4/12, 43 yards, one pick. Clinton Portis took last night off -- apparently, so did the rest of the tailbacks. The trio of Rock Cartwright, Ladell Betts, and Marcus Mason failed to impress, managing only 49 yards and a subpar 3 yards per carry. On the bright side, new punter Hunter Smith got a lot of practice -- he hit nine punts last night, which was nearly six more than he averaged per game -- 3.3 -- last season with the Colts. Of course, this all means very little; frankly, tomorrow's release of the newest edition of Madden will do much more to build anticipation for the season ahead. But still, real, actual football is on the horizon: get excited, Washington.
• Reds 7, Nationals 0: Sometimes you've just got to tip your cap and say "well played, good sir." The Reds got a complete game two-hit shutout from Bronson Arroyo (11-11) and three home runs off the bat of right fielder Jonny Gomes in a rout of the Nationals. Washington starter Collin Balester (1-2) allowed five runs for the second consecutive start. But there was obviously little that the Nationals could do, as Arroyo was brilliant -- he wasn't overpowering (only three strikeouts), but exhibited a complete mastery of the strike zone and only walked one batter.

D.C. Fire/EMS crews were dispatched at around noon to the 5000 block of Glover Road NW in Rock Creek Park, for a report of multiple bee stings. According to Fire/EMS spokesperson Pete Piringer, a tour group going through the park came across a bee hive, the bees became agitated somehow, and a total of eight people, both adults and children, were stung multiple times. Two children were taken to Children's Hospital, while six others were well enough to skip the ambulance trip. The condition of the two children at the hospital is described as not serious, but they did receive multiple bee stings. No word on how many total people were in the tour group, but it seems fair to guess that nearly all of them will come away with a lifetime fear of bees. Shudder.

After collecting feedback ( i.e., complaints?) from staff, students, and parents for more than two years, DCPS has finally launched the redesign of its web site, and our first impression is that it looks pretty darn good.

In a follow up to the Washington Post's big scoop last week regarding a narrowly avoided Metrorail train collision back in March, the paper updates today with word from the National Transportation Safety Board that Metro did in fact inform them of the earlier incident the day after the June 22 Red Line crash. Previously, the NTSB had said that they had not heard about the March incident from Metro.

After a more detailed review, NTSB spokeswoman Bridget Serchak said in an e-mail, the board found that information about the March incident had been "provided verbally by an employee of [Metro] on June 23, 2009 to the NTSB accident investigation team during a progress meeting" about the Red Line crash. No details of the March incident were provided to the NTSB at that time, they said.

Good morning, Washington. D.C. Attorney General Peter Nickles would like to offer you his sincere apologies for the loss and destruction of evidence related to the 2002 Pershing Park arrests. Everyone's got a story on this development, because hey, who can imagine Nickles ever apologizing for anything again? The Examiner makes sure to note that Nickles took the time to spread the blame on the MPD as well as Thomas Koger, lead counsel on the Pershing Park defense, and quotes an attorney representing one of those arrested who believes the apology to have been insufficient. The Post's story is pretty similar, even a little lighter on details. City Desk offers this salient point: "The question remains how will Nickles conduct an independent investigation when all the officials tapped to looking into the missing evidence are District government employees."