Monthly Archives: May 2010

The Daily Feed
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Join the Team for Bike DC!

Photo courtesy of
‘Twin Oaks Estate (front)’
courtesy of ‘dbking’

Ok, so maybe busting the myths of biking around the city didn’t convince you, and you need yet another reason to get out there on your bike.  Well, here’s one: join the We Love DC/Trail Voice Team and get $5 off registration at Bike DC!  Bike DC is WABA’s annual fundraising ride that allows you to bike around the city on 19 miles of car-free streets on May 23rd.  Get ready for a great bike ride around the city and fun finish line festivities out in Crystal City with our team.  Register today using our team code DCC250 on page 2 of registration, and we’ll keep you posted on team details!

News, The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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Pop Warner Team’s Offices, Possessions Ransacked

Photo courtesy of
’01 st kilda’
courtesy of ‘Looking Glass’

How depraved do you have to be to go into the offices of a Pop Warner Football team, steal all the uniforms, wreck their trophy case and spray paint the trophies, steal the uniforms, and then destroy their van?  That’s what happened to the Benning Terrace Soldiers’ youth football program over the weekend. Their offices ransacked, their uniforms stolen, their gear taken, and their TV painted over.

We’ve asked Department of Parks & Rec how we can help with the cleanup or with replacing their uniforms, when we know, we’ll share that information.  This is a pretty awful situation, with no clear motive and no clear suspects.  How much of a toolshed and a coward do you have to be to pick on a kids football team?

Mythbusting DC, The Features
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DC Mythbusting: Bike Myths

Photo courtesy of
‘IMG_8622’
courtesy of ‘busybee’

If you didn’t know it from Bike DC or Bike-to-Work Day or the other bike-related events in the city, May is National Bike Month.  And in honor of National Bike Month, we’ve got some bicycling myths to bust.  I’m a recent convert to commuting by bike, and now I love cycling around the city.  But there are lots of myths out there about the safety and legality of cycling in the city.  Is DC a bike-friendly city?  Is it legal to ride on sidewalks in the District?  And how does one go about starting to bike to work?

Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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No no, the young ones, not the dudes with the coal

Ah, the dangers of databases. We at We Love DC are all too familiar with the dangers of an errant letter when typing something up – every once in a while you’ll notice that the URL link title doesn’t quite match the title of the post. Usually it means we’ve changed our mind but sometimes it’s a plain-old goof that we caught after publication, and while changing the title is easy we’re stuck with the link after publication.

District lawmakers seem to share our pain. An effort at passing legislation to slap down on particularly blatant alcohol sales to the underaged looks like an effort to keep those poor souls who dig for coal from getting their drink on. “EGREGIOUS FIRST-TIME SALE TO MINER VIOLATION CLARIFICATION REGULATIONS APPROVAL RESOLUTION OF 2010.”

I assume that once they’ve named something in the LIMS system they’re stuck with it – the attached draft law doesn’t make the same mistake.

I did a moment of searching to make sure I wasn’t unaware of some obscure legal usage of the word but this seems to be a common goof. My favorite comment on the flip comes from this Paul Brians link “Children are minors, but unless they are violating child-labor laws, those who work in mines are miners.”

Adventures, Business and Money, Food and Drink, Life in the Capital, The Daily Feed
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Fear Not People Of Rosslyn, District Taco Will Be Back

Photo courtesy of
‘Taco Truck Love.’
courtesy of ‘nikkiprice’

Yesterday, I received a distressed email from a friend of mine about the fate of the much loved Rosslyn, VA breakfast burrito truck, District Taco (DT). And yes, I’m well aware of the hypocrisy of a taco truck calling itself “District Taco” when it primarily operates in the NoVa corridor. But a good breakfast burrito is a good breakfast burrito, and worth saving.

According to a message on District Taco’s facebook page, the next door Baja Fresh filed a complaint to Monday Properties, the company that rents DT its morning operational space, that DT was stealing too much of their business.  Consequentially, Monday Properties raised the rent on DT forcing the truck’s owner, Osiris Hoil, out of his usual Rosslyn morning location.

Really, Baja Fresh?!! Really?!! District Taco is “stealing” your business? Isn’t this just some plain, good old American capitalism? Was DT’s superior product hurting your little feelings? Perhaps, you should stop whining about DT and focus your efforts on making a better breakfast burrito. Bam!

Fortunately, via District Taco’s twitter account, Mr. Hoil has not given up on Rosslyn and his loyal breakfast followers.  He is currently working with Arlington to find a new location just down the street. Hope to see you back in action real soon, District Taco.

News, The Daily Feed, The District
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DC in Bond Rating Trouble?

Photo courtesy of
‘Edward Sawyer, Boy Scout, 1918’
courtesy of ‘UA Archives | Upper Arlington History’

The Times has a piece this morning that has some concerning numbers about city spending and the state of the reserve fund. Once at $1.5B, the fund could be drawn down as low as $600M by the end of 2012, with no immediate plans to help avoid further draws on the fund. While this may sound just like rainy day spending, Wall Street, which sets the District’s credit ratings, may not be so fond of a city that’s just spending away its reserve with no plan to replenish. Currently, the District maintains a very good rating (A+, A1, A+) but should the city continue to spend down its reserve, that may not continue, costing the city in higher debt service costs.

So, in times of economic difficulty, how do you cope with a declining reserve? There are a couple options that are before the Council now: raising taxes (there’s a proposed income tax increase on all residents earning more than $200,000), cutting spending (which some coalitions argue has been cut too far in social services already) or both. It’s not a pretty picture, but it is a time for the mayoral candidates to better explain their positions.

History, The Daily Feed
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Navy TV Acquires 120 Rare Archive Navy Films

Photo courtesy of
‘Lone Sailor’
courtesy of ‘Kevin H.’

The U.S. Navy Memorial announced this week a partnership with Periscope Film LLC, which will allow the memorial to screen 120 rarely seen archival Naval films on the site’s Internet television network, Navy TV. The films were salvaged by Periscope Film and will be rolled out through Navy TV over the next year.

While making a documentary, Periscope Film founders Doug Weiner and Nick Spark obtained several original 16mm films from World War II, which they intended to use as stock footage for their film. Realizing the historical value of this footage, they began producing VHS and DVD collections of the films. “They proved so popular that we just kept expanding our library, acquiring rare military and aviation footage from World War I to Vietnam ,” says Spark. The Navy Memorial, after seeing excerpts of the films on YouTube, contacted Periscope Film to screen the footage.

Examples of the collection include “U.S. Navy Blasts Marshall Islands,” a 1942 newsreel that shows the first offensive action of the Pacific Campaign of WWII; “The Fathoms Deep,” a 1952 film containing early footage of French naval officer Jacques Cousteau demonstrating his revolutionary underwater breathing apparatus known as SCUBA; and “Seapower,” a 1968 film featuring Hollywood actor Glenn Ford as star and narrator that shows the fleet at the height of the Cold War.

Visitors can watch any of the films free of charge and on demand on Navy TV and can be purchased from Periscope Film.

Talkin' Transit, The Features, WMATA
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Talkin’ Transit: Back to Basics with Richard Sarles

Photo courtesy of
”
courtesy of ‘erin m’

Last night’s blogger roundtable with interim WMATA General Manager Richard Sarles was instructive for where the organization’s focus is right now: it’s all about “back to basics” for the interim GM, who is intent upon shoring up his priorities of Safety, Reliability and Fiscal Stability.  The system has, in his view, suffered massively in the last few years, and as long as it took to get there, it will take that long to get it back.  That starts, according to Sarles, with a return to the basics.

Continue reading →

The Daily Feed, The Mall, WTF?!
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Truck Crashes into Hirshhorn

We’ve gotten word that a delivery truck has crashed into the Hirshhorn. Driver sustained serious injuries, but not life-threatening. Minor damage to the building; the truck broke through flower pot barriers and hit a window at the entrance, shattering it.

Update from DC Fire/EMS Twitter: update – loaded UPS truck crashed into front entrance of Hirshorn – driver pri 2 – serious – perimeter expanded – expect some traffic closur

More from WUSA9, WTOP, WJLA, FOX5, and Post Now.

The Daily Feed
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DCPS/Union Contract to finally be approved. At last.

Photo courtesy of
‘Field trip’
courtesy of ‘clio1789’

After an epic round of “We have the money to pay the teachers!” “No you don’t!” “But you saaaaaaaaid!” nonsense between DCPS and the District CFO’s office, it appears District CFO Natwar Ghandi is finally ready to certify the contract between Washington Teachers Union and DCPS.

This will theoretically be announced at a press conference that members of the press do not seem to know the time or location for.

Update, 6:00 PM: It’s just been announced that said press conference will be held outside the Wilson Building. NOW. During rush hour.

Food and Drink, Special Events, The Daily Feed
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Duffy’s is Four Years Old!

Photo courtesy of
‘Inaugural stroll’
courtesy of ‘IntangibleArts’

Celebrate the little pub that could! Duffy’s Anniversary party is tomorrow night – Tuesday, May 11 – and to mark the birthday of a local watering hole that’s no pretension and all good vibes, head over between 5pm and 10pm for free Buffalo wings (while they last, you gluttons!) and lots of free swag including t-shirts to the first 100 patrons.

You may think I’m all craft cocktails and champagne but darlings, I love a good honest pub and Duffy’s is my neighborhood favorite, with a likeable staff and lively regulars. So throw some darts, play some pool, have many Guinness, and be sure to congratulate owner Andy Duffy on making it happen for four years running! You may even be able to convince someone to do a whiskey shot. That someone may or may not be me.

The Features, We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: Mikveh

Rachel Condliffe, Carla Briscoe, Tonya Beckman Ross, Sarah Marshall in Theater J's production of "Mikveh." Photo credit: Stan Barouh

What is our personal responsibility to others in the face of repression and abuse? Do you interfere in someone else’s life when you see injustice? To act or to collude in silence… and while we argue about the need for action, what’s happening to those suffering right behind our backs?

Mikveh, playing now through June 5 in its English language world premiere at Theater J, is not really a play about religion, though it takes place in the confines of an orthodox community in Israel. Rather, it’s a play about the moral battle between action and inaction. It also highlights how women’s territorial natures cripple them – as they police themselves from within, they are being policed by others from without. Their inability to rise above petty jealousies can be detrimental, sometimes to the extreme.

Though the action centers around the mikveh itself (a ritual bath, here used mainly to purify post-menstruant women), you don’t need a background in the Talmud or Family Purity Laws to understand the play. That’s what I love about Theater J, no matter the subject, there’s a dedication to clarity and consistent storytelling, always marked by strong ensemble acting and high production values. Mikveh is no exception – though at times the play veers dangerously close to a Jewish Orthodox version of The Women (the gossipy babymachine, the uppercrust bitch, the abused wife, etc.) – it’s worth it to explore these issues with such powerful actors. They are ably helmed by director Shirley Serotsky, whose handling of Hadar Galron’s engaging script mines the truth behind stereotypes.

Continue reading →

Entertainment, Music, The Daily Feed
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Rock Out (Acoustically) at Ebenezer’s This Thursday

Photo courtesy of
”
courtesy of ‘eleanor.black’

If you have an itch for a some solid singer-songwriter action, look no further than Ebenezer’s Coffeehouse and their Thursday night line up on May 13.

Ebenezer’s will feature three acts, one local and two New York City acoustic rockers from 7:30 to 10 p.m.

Headliner Mighty Kate dabbles with piano, guitar, and violin on-stage backed by a combination of classic and contemporary styles played by the rest of her band. Kate is known for her vocal command and ability to capture the audience with nothing more than an extraordinarily well-crafted song.

Local boy Rene Moffatt will open the night for Mighty Kate and fellow act Jody Shelton, bringing his DC area Open Mic skills to the table. Moffatt is a constant figure on the open mic scene who is currently working on honing his performances and songwriting skills. Moffatt can most often be found at IOTA (in VA) and the Modern Times Coffeehouse on a weekly basis.

Ebenezer’s is located at 201 F Street NE.

The Daily Feed
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The Washington Nationals: No Longer A Punchline? Almost.

Photo courtesy of
‘Nationals Win’
courtesy of ‘afagen’

As a self-proclaimed baseball junkie and Major League Baseball enthusiast, I’m pleased to see NBC Washington getting creative while issuing MLB Delivery Man of the Month for April (Mr. Matt Capps, #55 for the Nationals) and the rest of the roster the recognition they deserve.

If you haven’t been paying attention, the Nationals are now 17-14 and tied for second in the NL East with the New York Mets, just two games behind the stellar Philadelphia Phillie squad. And — as NBC said — no … this is not a joke. Continue reading →

Sports Fix, The Features
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Sports Fix: 2nd Place Edition

Willingham.jpg
Photo courtesy of Cheryl Nichols, Nats News Network, All Rights Reserved

Nationals
Record: 17-14
Place: Tied for 2nd in the NL East, 2 games back
Last Two Weeks: 7-5

I checked, this weekend, just to make sure I hadn’t gone through the looking glass. This Nationals team, off to the franchise’s best start in its short history, is entirely different from last year’s not-so-lovable losers. The Nationals this season are playing ball like they mean it; they’re focusing on the unglamorous but pivotal concepts of pitching and defense and eschewing the long ball in favor of small ball. The Nationals have lost just three series this season so far, two to the Phils and one to the Marlins, and have yet to lose more than twice in a row.

Continue reading →

Talkin' Transit, The Daily Feed
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Chris Zimmerman: Panic! On the Metro

Photo courtesy of
‘Now Panic and Freak Out!’
courtesy of ’emilydickinsonridesabmx’

Arlington County Commissioner and WMATA Board Member Chris Zimmerman has an editorial in today’s Post that begins: “You may now panic.“

Generally, that’s not a good sign.

Zimmerman’s point is clear: Metro’s current funding plans run out soon, and there are no firm commitment from any of the member jurisdictions to match the $11.4B that Metro needs to function for the next decade. Zimmerman is looking for a commitment from each of the region’s jurisdictions to fill the gap, and is also turning to the Federal Government, suggesting that their voting rights on the Board are also a responsibility to add funding for the system, and that a regional tax be enacted to provide more secure funding for Metro.

Zimmerman’s not wrong, but it’s hard to see how Northern Virginia could enact a tax to pay for Metro when they can’t do this for anything else in their budget, so it’s a hard sell for me to hear his remarks when they’re ignorant of how we get the broadest of strokes in place.

We’ll be asking Metro’s Interim GM Richard Sarles questions tonight about Zimmerman’s editorial, as well as about maintenance schedules, getting back to normal, and other topics. Got something you think we should ask? Tell us in the comments.

The Daily Feed
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Explore the City Next Weekend

Photo courtesy of
‘WalkingTownDC T-Shirt’
courtesy of ‘Mr. T in DC’

Next weekend, May 22-23, is WalkingTown and BikingTown DC, a great opportunity to get out there and explore the District. There are over 100 free walking and biking tours offered throughout the weekend, from a 1-mile walking tour through the Adams Morgan Heritage Trail to a 25-mile bike tour along the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail.

Many of us take for granted the amazing attractions in the District that draw tourists from across the country, so this is a great chance to finally explore the wonderful city we live in. Explore a neighborhood you’ve never visited, or head down to see how the Anacostia is cleaning up, or rediscover the history of your own neighborhood. Check out the PDF brochure and schedule now to find a tour you’d like to attend!

News, The Daily Feed
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Big Truck Tries to Increase Height Limit on 3rd Street Tunnel

Photo courtesy of
‘Nice Peterbilt’
courtesy of ‘Nevada Tumbleweed’

There’s a big sign on New York Avenue at the 3rd Street Tunnel. It reads, if memory serves, “Trucks over 13 feet must use 4th Street” instead of the tunnel. Today, a driver ignored that sign and crashed into the southbound entrance into the tunnel and caused a bit of damage. Southbound entry to 395 is being redirected to the Mass Ave entrance for the time being, while engineers figure out how bad the damage is, and clean up the rubble.

News, The Daily Feed, The Mall
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That’s a Nice Screen, Be a Shame if Anything Happened To It…

Photo courtesy of
‘Going to the Mattresses’
courtesy of ‘Amberture’

There’s a reason that community activism is done best by communities instead of organizations. It feels right to work together for a common cause to demonstrate solidarity of opinion and effort, instead of just being hit up for money. That’s exactly what the save the screen on the green guys did this morning. Instead of providing me with the tools to contact HBO and request that they keep up this valuable community feature, or asking my help in identifying sponsors to help defray event costs, they came straight for my wallet this morning:

HBO hasn’t yet decided whether or not they’ll host “Screen on the Green” this year, so we’re back in action. Fans like you have already helped, “liking” us on Facebook and tweeting about our cause.

But we need your support. We need $2,000 to upgrade our website and prepare it for our next letter writing campaign.

Will you chip in $20 to help build our website and save “Screen on the Green”?

Look, I love Screen on the Green, too, and we were one of the first sites to break the news last year when HBO pulled the plug, but what I want was community outreach, not a hand in my wallet so you can build a website. I want this to be an event that returns year after year, too, but that isn’t built off solicitations and exhortations without giving me the opportunity to help you with my labor and efforts.

So really, bite me.