Results tagged “michelleobama”

It was a year ago today that District residents awoke -- likely groggy from the celebrations the night before -- to a new president-elect. Barack Obama not only became the nation's first African-American president, he also offered residents of the District of Columbia the promise of a new relationship between the federal executive and the city, one that had largely fallen by the wayside during President George W. Bush's eight years in office.

So President Barack Obama and First lady Michelle Obama opened up the White House to trick-or-treaters on Saturday, which is pretty cool. Kids from 11 D.C. area schools were invited to come by and meet the first couple as they handed out this administration's version of a Halloween treat: White House M&Ms, a sugar cookie, and ... you guessed it, dried fruit. Talk about boo.

       

First lady Michelle Obama presided over the first day of the new White House farmers market on Thursday afternoon, speaking to an energetic, enthusiastic crowd despite the dreary weather.

View White House Farmers Market in a larger map

On Tuesday we picked up a WTOP report that First Lady Michelle Obama's office was behind an application to close Vermont Ave. between H and I Streets NW one a week for a new White House farmers market. But this morning the Examiner's Bill Myers follows up with word that FLOTUS isn't necessarily the driving force behind this proposal. Instead, it appears that prolific local market purveyors FreshFarm put in the application, and Obama's involvement is a little fuzzier than first thought.

White House staff have been in talks with FreshFarm officials, but the first lady's office declined to answer questions about whether Obama was endorsing the Vermont Avenue market. After WTOP reported that the plan was the first lady's, the White House called the station to deny it.

The First Lady's office has put in a request to close Vermont Avenue between H and I Streets NW between 1 p.m. and 8 p.m., every Thursday, for the market. The day of the week and time of the proposed market certainly fits in with what DCist commenters were saying they'd like to see in terms of a White House farmers market, but the proposed location was up until this point unknown. This block of Vermont stretches between the far corners of Lafayette Square and McPherson Square. The WTOP article makes mention of some concern from residents about the potential for further traffic congestion in an already clogged area. We gather the Secret Service would prefer not to set up a weekly market right on Pennsylvania Ave., where the street is already closed to vehicular traffic.

Today, graduating seniors at Washington Mathematics Science Technology Public Charter High School will hear advice from First Lady Michelle Obama at their commencement at Howard University. Student Jasmine Williams first wrote to Obama asking her to speak, and has been chosen to introduce her to the students. "I am probably going to practice hundreds more before Wednesday," Williams told WJLA about her introduction. The charter school is D.C.'s only open enrollment public school to meet Adequate Yearly Progress targets under No Child Left Behind in both math and reading for the last two years.

Before jet-setting to New York today for another Saturday night date with her husband, First Lady Michelle Obama spent yesterday at Bancroft Elementary School in Mount Pleasant, where students are tending a garden -- similar to the one on the South Lawn of the White House which supplies veggies to both the White House and Miriam's Kitchen.

Inside Edition's "Rat Patrol" returned to the District this week, taking aim, perhaps predictably, at the various D.C. fast food joints recently frequented by the Obamas. The television program confirmed that two of the eateries featured in the upcoming episode were Five Guys restaurants, including the Dupont Circle location where Michelle Obama took members of her staff for lunch back in February. Indeed, the Five Guys located at 1645 Connecticut Ave NW is shuttered this morning, with a sign on the door explaining that the fast food restaurant is "closed until further notice."

Barack may like Ray's Hell Burger, but Michelle is all about the Good Stuff. Spike Mendelsohn's Good Stuff Eatery, that is. Blogger DC365 spotted the first lady earlier today stopping in the Capitol Hill burger spot to pick up some lunch.

She whizzed past us, waving and smiling, in a kicky little ponytail and grey capri pants, as the crowd shouted "We love you!"

You've got to hand it to Michelle Obama's staff: they seem to have a good grasp of which local D.C. nonprofits are deserving of a little First Lady face time. Obama, along with Vice Presidential spouse Jill Biden, went down to the Capital Area Food Bank on Wednesday to help pass out bagged meals for low-income kids in the area. Previously, the first lady has volunteered at Miriam's Kitchen and Mary's Center.

The Post's 44 blog informs us that Michelle Obama and a posse of female stars will be blanketing various DCPS campuses today, in an effort to promote Women's History Month and encourage students to set goals and follow their dreams. Celebs like Sheryl Crow and Alicia Keyes will be joined by several female notables including gymnast Dominique Dawes, Mae Jemison, the first African-American woman in space, Gen. Ann Dunwoody, the first American woman to attain the rank of four-star general, and Claire Huxtable herself, actress Phylicia Rashad. The women will be visiting local high school campuses throughout the day -- for example, the First Lady is hosting a roundtable with students at Anacostia High School -- and a group of D.C. area students have been invited to a dinner with the entire female collective tonight at the White House. Check out 44 for the complete list of who's going where.

First Lady Michelle Obama and D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton had lunch on Tuesday at B. Smith in Union Station, the Post reports. The first lady has been making a point of meeting with many local leaders (she previously had lunch with Mayor Adrian Fenty and his wife Michelle, for example), so news of the lunch isn't too surprising. And hey, both women are respected legal minds, so surely they had plenty to talk about. Still, we can't help but find Norton's official statement on the meeting to be kind of amusing:

Norton said the lunch conversation was all over the map, "like any girlfriends who put no limits on their conversation." Both also talked about how seldom each of them gets to go to an informal lunch like the one they enjoyed together today and vowed to do it again.

First lady Michelle Obama made another public appearance with District children yesterday, this time stopping by Mary's Center, a community health organization in Adams Morgan. Slate's John Dickerson has the full rundown of her visit, including this detail:

Then the first lady called for hugs. Most of the children complied. The cameras went nuts. This might have made a few kids reluctant.

Continue reading "Michelle Obama Hugs District Kids"

President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama went to D.C.'s Capital City Public Charter School this afternoon to read to a group of second-graders. The White House sent out a partial transcript of the President's remarks:

"You're excellent listeners. And the reason we came to visit, A, we wanted to get out of the White House; B, we wanted to see you guys; but C, the other thing we wanted to tell everybody is that this kind of innovative school, the outstanding work that's being done here by the entire staff, and the parents who are so active and involved, is an example of how all our schools should be."

The Examiner's Freeman Klopott spotted first lady Michelle Obama leaving Georgia Brown's this afternoon, after having had lunch at the Southern cuisine restaurant with D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty, Michelle Fenty and Jill Biden. President Barack Obama had previously met up with Mayor Fenty for lunch at Ben's Chili Bowl, but this is the first time we've heard about the city's two first ladies named Michelle sharing a meal since the Obamas arrived in town. Of course, Mrs. Fenty has had a lot on her plate, what with having given birth to daughter Aerin only two months ago.

       

Some 15,000 people showed up on a cold day at D.C.'s RFK Stadium Monday to answer President Barack Obama's call to service, in honor of the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday. D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty encouraged District residents to participate in the massive event, where volunteers helped assemble 75,000 kits containing food and personal items for soldiers serving overseas.

The Obama Transition Office released a few photos of the Obama family getting ready for the girls' first day at school in D.C. this morning. You can see the photoset on Flickr. The images depict the Obamas in their suite at the Hay-Adams Hotel this morning before leaving to take Sasha and Malia to Sidwell Friends. The AP reported that Michelle Obama accompanied the girls to school this morning — Sasha is attending the Bethesda, Md., elementary-school campus, where she is in second grade. Malia is at the middle school campus in the District, where she's in fifth grade.

First Lady-to-be Michelle Obama and daughters Sasha and Malia arrived in D.C. last night, a day earlier than expected, in order to have some additional time to settle in to the Hay-Adams Hotel before the girls start school on Monday. Reporters and onlookers have been camped outside the hotel since Saturday, but the Obama women managed to enter the hotel through the alley last night without anyone capturing images of them. The Post reports that President-elect Barack Obama is expected to arrive this afternoon.

If you were sure that the safe bet is that Sasha and Malia Obama will attend a private school when they move to Washington, it's looking more and more like you're right. The Reliable Source says that Michelle Obama took her girls on a tour yesterday of Georgetown Day School, and that they will visit the Sidwell Friends campus today. No word yet on whether they have scheduled visits for any other schools, including any DCPS or public charter schools.

Steve Croft interviewed Barack and Michelle Obama last night on 60 Minutes about their transition as a family into the White House. Among some great tidbits like that Michelle refused to sleep in the crappy 1-bedroom D.C. apartment that the President-Elect used during his time in the Senate (she said it reminded her of the apartment he lived in when they first started dating), the future first lady signaled that she and her husband intend to get involved in local issues here in the city. It's at around the 14 minute mark in the video above (she also dodged a question about whether she's seriously considering a public school for the girls).

   

One day down and three more to go here in Denver at the Democratic National Convention. Below are some of the top moments of Day 1 for DCist (and a couple lowlights for good measure).