So, District and environs: How do you like me now?
DCist got a makeover, as you can plainly see from the edgy streamlined template and abundance of Web 2.0 texture. What you might not realize is that the backend also experienced an upgrade this weekend, and the tremors from the seismic shift to Movable Type 4 continued to ripple through the site even this morning. Naturally this has led to a few aftershocks, and the editors appreciate your considerable patience.
But what about your tolerance, readership, for the new and unfamiliar? Are you flocking to RSS readers to disguise the new presentation or have you fallen in love all over again with the site for its new look and feel? Tell us what you like and don’t.
No Sleeping in Libraries: Because D.C. Public Library system branches are so absolutely overwhelmed by patrons, officials made the decision (more in sadness than in anger, no doubt) to banish sleeping in the library. The Washington Post reports that under the new dispensation, patrons will also face limits on the bags they bring into the library. Having taken steps to eliminate their primary bag-carrying, nap-taking demographics — students and the homeless — librarians are freer than ever to serve the interests of amateur genealogists. Legal eagles may be led to wonder: Didn’t the courts strike down DCPL’s prior effort to eliminate the twin scourges of academia and indigence, when the library tried to ban the stinky? See Armstrong v District of Columbia Public Library for the precedent.
Christmas Spirit Still Lingers in Maryland as Christmas Lights War Twinkles On: WTOP notes that one Frederick, Maryland homeowner remains steadfast in her resistance to her homeowner association’s demands that she cease and desist her Christmas lights display, facing down a $25 per day penalty for every day they remain up. Debra Sachs persists with the help of well-wishing neighbors, Christmas-loving strangers, and fans of Enlightenment-era property-rights philosophers everywhere. Really, with just a few more days until the traditional date that folks take down their Christmas lights (that’d be New Year’s Day), the Frederick homeowner association runs the risk of transforming Sachs into that monster that homeowner associations dread most: the person who doesn’t take down her Christmas lights at all.
Briefly Noted: River Road still closed . . . Cable fire cuts power to some Northwest neighborhoods . . . D.C. area enjoys unseasonable warmth . . . Mother charged with stabbing of daughter found in burning house . . . Redskins free agents hope to stay in Washington despite poor NFC East performance.
Photo by easement
