Good morning, D.C. Thanks to all of you who came out to the Voting Rights Happy Hour last night. We had a great time meeting everyone and chatting about the future of full voting rights for D.C. Our friends and co-hosts at DC Vote were thrilled to be able to sign up so many new interested members and volunteers for their upcoming Voting Rights March on April 16, so thanks to them for coming out and sharing information with all of us. And of course a final thank you goes out to Carlton and all the bartenders at Eighteenth Street Lounge, for being so generous as to accomodate us. We’ll hopefully have a few photos from the event to share with you later on in the day.
In the meantime, the Examiner rightfully began hyping this weekend’s National Cherry Blossom Festival today. Despite the deluge of tourists clogging up Metro lines that’s about to be unleashed, seeing photos like this one by Flickr contributor Bsivad makes us itch to get down to the Tidal Basin to see those gorgeous pink flowers before they’re gone. We’d really recommend getting up early one morning next week and heading down there — you’ll avoid the worst of the crowds and get a chance to see the trees in their peak bloom (between April 3 and 5) in some pretty amazing light. And now for some brief headlines.
Battle Between Moms and Dogs Brewing: Jonetta Rose Barras brings a heated local feud to our attention. It seems “well-connected” and organized dog owners, having successfully taken over several city parks as de facto dog parks, are driving mothers with young children away out of fear of the off-leash animals. Do you share Barras’ view that dogs and their owners have already “destroyed” a number of District parks?
D.C. vs. Capitol Gun Laws Explained: Following up on the Webb aide story, the Post has a more detailed explanation of the tension between strict District handgun laws and the entirely different rules that govern members of Congress at the Capitol. “Although some people are allowed to bring guns into the Capitol, they cannot legally get them there, said Lt. Jon Shelton, the longtime head of the D.C. police department’s gun unit. ‘They can’t helicopter them in,’ Shelton said.”
Briefly Noted: Locals to be honored in Tuskeegee Congressional Gold Medal ceremony … Man shot and killed at 46th Place and G Street NE SE … Last surviving female WWI veteran dies in Maryland … United begins D.C. to Beijing service.
This Day in DCist: In 2006 we shamed the men of Media Matters for their notoriously bad bathroom hygiene and in 2005 we speculated about what the Nationals mascot ought to be.
Photo by Bsivad
