Photo by peter.hill

Here’s most of what you missed this week, including a sting, a rat-smuggling ring and a jackass eating at Austin Grill.

• There was plenty of transit talk this week, as D.C. Taxicab Commissioner Ron Linton participated in a sting on high-end livery service Uber (which he had called “illegal” only days before, much to the chagrin of Uber’s CEO), taxicab drivers complained that a proposed fare increase wouldn’t substitute for much-needed surcharges, the District cancelled a contract to buy two streetcars from an Oregon-based company after complaints from a Czech competitor and we reported that despite scary videos of Metrobus crashes, you weren’t likely to be hit by one.
• In politics, we discovered that despite having “resigned” from office, Harry Thomas, Jr. hadn’t yet actually left office. Also, an activist filed paperwork to recall Mayor Vince Gray and D.C. Council Chair Kwame Brown (you can read the notices here), another elected official in Ward 5 was indicted for stealing public funds and Gray masterfully dumped bad news on a Friday afternoon. On yeah, and Ken Cuccinelli uncovered a giant D.C. rat smuggling ring.
• A highly anticipated D.C. statehood lobbying trip to New Hampshire was cancelled by snow (but rescheduled for January 27), the District chief health official compared the Occupy D.C. encampment at McPherson Square to a refugee camp and Gray called for the occupiers to be moved to Freedom Plaza.
• The Eisenhower family stated in no uncertain terms that they want the memorial to Ike stopped, Maryland same-sex marriage advocates hoped that 2012 would be their year (so did D.C.-based advocates, but for divorce) and seven medical marijuana cultivation center sites were sent to ANCs for their input while Councilmember Vincent Orange (D-At Large) introduced legislation to limit the number of dispensaries and cultivation centers in any one ward.
• In food and drink news, Gray and members of the D.C. Council welcomed The Hamilton, Heat Seekers sampled some local spicy foods, Taylor Gourmet introduced their breakfast hoagies, a creepy bathroom sign remained at Saxby’s Coffee, a feared food truck crackdown never came to pass and Mood Lounge’s neighbors looked forward to an alcohol board hearing. And yes, the world’s biggest jackass ate at Austin Grill.
• In the arts, we reviewed Kingsley Flood’s Colder Still, welcomed the Klingons back to the theatre, previewed an Indian jazz series at Blues Alley, looked forward to a number of good movies in the coming week and reviewed Corman’s World: Exploits of a Hollywood Rebel.