Dec 27, 2007
The Year in Voting Rights: So Close, Yet So Far
When in the closing days of 2006 we looked back on the year in D.C. voting rights, we optimistically hoped that 2007 would finally be the year that saw some movement on enfranchising the District’s residents. Movement, yes; resolution, not so much. So as we wind down 2007, we’re again left hoping that maybe the coming year will be the one. The primary mover in the D.C. voting rights movement in 2007 was legislation…
Dec 24, 2007
Go Home Already: Bells and Whistles
>> Jenna Bush has been named ‘Person of the Year’ by Reliable Source. [WaPo] >> The owner of Tunnel Fine Wines & Spirits, which recently opened at 3rd and H Streets NW, was robbed at gunpoint in the store and shot in the leg late last week. [Penn Quarter Living] >> An elderly couple died in a house fire on the 3100 block of Oliver Street NW this morning. [WTOP] >> Area charities are…
Dec 20, 2007
Sen. Landrieu, Earmarks and D.C. Public Schools
The Washington Post has a fantastic story on today’s front page accusing Sen. Mary Landrieu (D.-La.), in her role as chairwoman of the Senate’s D.C. appropriations subcommittee up until earlier this year, of forcing an unproven reading program on the District’s kindergarten and first grade classrooms in exchange for $80,000 in donations from the company that designed it. It’s a long story, but it’s worth reading all the way through. On the surface, it tells…
Dec 07, 2007
Bush Gives Federal Employees Dec. 24 Off
Christmas Eve falls on a Monday this year, so President Bush has ordered the federal government to close on Dec. 24., giving most federal employees an extra long weekend for the holiday. Many feds may be left out of the sweet deal, though: Bush’s executive order states that department heads may order some employees to report to work on Dec. 24 “for reasons of national security or defense or other public need.” Plus pretty much…
Dec 02, 2007
Week Around the -Ists
The cold weather – and holiday festivities – descended upon Gothamist. The Rockefeller Christmas tree was lit, Broadway stagehand finally ended their strike, and NASCAR decided to run their victory lap through Times Square. There were disturbing photographs revealing the working conditions in which many city manholes are produced and ninjas were also a hot topic, either robbing homes or entering into alibis. But the city was really rocked by how Rudy Giuliani’s visits…
Nov 23, 2007
Afternoon Roundup: Turkey Hangover Edition
Happy Day-After-Thanksgiving, D.C. Normally we like to get you your headlines in the a.m., so we hope you’ll forgive us for rounding up the news later in the day today — we needed to spend the morning rolling our much fatter selves out of bed and calling our doctors for a new Lipitor prescription. What do you mean, it isn’t necessarily a good idea to put gravy on pumpkin pie? Breaking News: People are Shopping!:…
Nov 21, 2007
Well, Grover, What are you Thankful For?
Regarding Thanksgiving customs, going around the table saying what we’re thankful for is about as basic as it gets. If it seems too basic, this year you can consider adding a new dimension to the tradition by reading for the table what our Presidents have been thankful for. Thanks to the Pilgrim Hall Museum in Massachusetts, all the Thanksgiving Proclamations are available online. That means we have access to Proclamations dating from the Continental Congress…
Nov 16, 2007
The Annual Turkey Pardon Gets the Wiki Treatment
Maybe we’re cheeseballs, but we love the Annual Turkey Ceremony, the moment when the president “pardons” a lucky turkey (plus an alternate) who then becomes the official National Thanksgiving Turkey and gets to spend the rest of its days on some farm at Disneyworld or something like that. Sure, it’s capricious and cutesy, but who cares! Turkeys are funny looking, and presidents posing with turkeys are even funnier. This year will mark the 60th anniversary…
Nov 15, 2007
Transit on Thursday: Charge It
The folks over at Dulles Metro extension are breaking out the construction tools … and the credit cards. $900 million of the $2.83 billion price tag of the initial 11.6-mile leg is in that Transportation Department spending bill tied up in Congress and under threat of veto by President Bush. But with or without the money, officials plan to start work, reports The Examiner. Is it just us, or does this violate everything you ever…
Oct 28, 2007
Elsewhere in the Ist-a-verse
The Red Sox has permeated nearly every facet of Bostonist’s lives. When they’re not live-blogging the games, waxing poetic about the games, thanking Curt Schilling for his splendid work, or telling Dane Cook to watch his hair, they’re watching certain presidential candidates hop on the Red Sox bandwagon (sorry, Gothamist). The Sox are so branded on the local brain that people are using the Series to spice up their sex lives. Speaking of spice, Bostonist…