Welcome to Friday, Washington. We hope that those of you who are in the 85,000 homes still without power after Wednesday’s storm get the juice back soon: temperatures for the weekend are now forecast to be pushing up against triple digits. The National Weather Service has issued an excessive heat advisory, and Accuweather’s Jim Kosek puts it in more technical meteorological terms: you’re “screwed” without AC. In other news of the hot (politically), Barack Obama’s rally at Nissan Pavilion yesterday went off without the Radiohead-esque traffic armageddon some were predicting on 66. It helped that the turnout was closer to 10,000, short of the 25,000 the venue could hold, and well short of the 50,000 organizers were predicting might show up. As it was, everyone got there early, and the Post reports that traffic was no worse than normal. Be sure to click through to page 2 of that story, where the Post actually gives the full name and specific occupation (including location) of an attendee who is quoted as saying that she feigned illness to get out of work early. Let’s just hope for her sake that her boss isn’t a reader. Did you go? Tell us about it in the comments. But feel free to do so anonymously if you told a fib to get there.
New Math to Bring Art and Music: Michelle Rhee is facing a divided response to her new budget model for D.C. schools, which will take many budgetary decisions out of the hands of schools, and bring more transparency to the budgeting process. The Post reports that the plan will allow schools currently lacking music, art, and P.E. teachers to reinstate those programs, but some fear that a top-down budgeting model won’t address children’s needs. But it seems to us that these kids need art and music instruction (which helps all other curriculum areas) that the current model has failed to provide.
Potomac Yard to Get Metro?: The Alexandria City Council is doing all they can to bring metro to the growing Potomac Yard complex, and are on the verge of moving a planned office development from the south to the north of the complex. The aim is to make it into a “town center” area that will make the idea of a metro station more viable. They’re helped by the fact that the tracks at Potomac Yard were built with a future station already in mind; the big question now is exactly how to pay the $125-150 million price tag.
Briefly Noted: Race for the Cure in D.C. on Saturday; be sure to check out road closures before you drive … Manhunt under way for two men who kidnapped a Fort Washington preschooler after tying up mother … 11 D.C. students drop out every day … Court to MD man: Stay away from the WaWa!
This Day in DCist: A year ago today we reported on a setback (that we’re happy to say was permanent) in Jim Graham’s crusade to put an end to D.C.’s all-ages club tradition…the year before we got our first inside look at LNS, before its members made it common knowledge that they were standard-issue collar-popping douchebags by giving interviews to that effect.
Photo by Flickr user Bullneck.