Category Archives: All Politics is Local

All Politics is Local, The Daily Feed
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Arlington Attack Politics Get Ugly

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Scan of Ringel Mailer in Arlington

If you live in Virginia, I’m sure you’re sick and tired of all of the attack ads airing for the gubernatorial race between McDonnell and Deeds. It has been a long and ugly race and many around the area are excitedly awaiting the coming of election day on Tuesday, November 3rd, so we can be done with all of this. But did you know that attack politics is hitting very, very close to home for many today? If you live in the 48th district in Virginia, which includes north-east Arlington and wraps around down to Crystal City, you may be waking up to a very nasty attack mailer compliments of Aaron Ringel, the Republican opponent of six term incumbent Democrat Bob Brink. According to Ringel, Brink wants to hurt your children.

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All Politics is Local
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Meet Your Local Government… on the Internet

Photo courtesy of
‘A packed ANC 4C meeting in DC tonight’
courtesy of ‘Wayan Vota’

Doing what I do here at We Love DC, I am constantly looking for a way to keep track of what the heck is going on in the city. Don remarked once how grateful he is that he’s the one who actually likes reading the DC Register, since it’s basically a never-ending source of article ideas. Well, he’s welcome to it, because I don’t see myself developing that particular habit anytime soon. But I have run across three handy Internet/database projects of the DC government that help me dig up context on all the various bits of info constantly hurled my way.  Being a total nerd, this stuff makes me giddy:

DC Guide, which I prefer to refer to by the name referenced in its URL: Citizen Atlas. This database gathers all the random little bits of information you’d need to know as a District resident- what Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) do you belong to? Who is your specific representative to that ANC? What’s your voting precinct? You can see on their sample report that it also shows you a map of the address in relation to certain points of interest, like Metro stations. Handy also if you’re looking to buy a house in the District. Other methods of search will show you things like maps of neighborhood clusters, maps of zip codes and which ANCs and voting precincts serve them, etc. Continue reading →

All Politics is Local, Downtown, News, People, The Daily Feed
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DC Voting Rights Provision Unlikely

Photo courtesy of
‘Capitol up close’
courtesy of ‘brianmka’

Last week we reported that voting rights proponents were looking to add a provision in an upcoming defense appropriations bill that would grant DC representation in the House.  Well, it’s looking like that probably won’t happen, after all.  The chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Dan Inouye, a Democrat from Hawaii, has stated his intention to block the provision.  Senate Democrats fear that controversial additions to the spending bill could bog it down, or perhaps, kill the current iteration all together.  Rep. Holmes-Norton seems to be holding out hope that the provision will still make it into the bill, but many voting rights advocates are already looking for other means.

All Politics is Local, Life in the Capital, News, The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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Dan Snyder and the Gestapo

Photo courtesy of
‘Under the lights’
courtesy of ‘brianmka’

Not to keep rubbing salt into the “Redskins are the worst” wound, but Dan Snyder seems more and more like a fascist dictator every day.  There have been several accounts, including two from last night alone, of people being kicked out of FedEx Field for expressing their true feelings for Mr. Snyder.  Apparently, he sicked a couple of security guards on critical fans, confiscating a banner and kicking them out of the stadium.  Nice.  Glad to hear he’s so confident in himself.  Let this be a lesson to the rest of you.  If you’re going to tell Mr. Musolli… I mean, “Mr. Snyder” that he sucks, don’t do it in his stadium.  He really doesn’t like it. But seriously, Dan, you do suck.

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All Politics is Local, The Daily Feed
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Obamas Wait for Swine Flu Shots Like Everybody Else

Photo courtesy of
‘Uh…Joe?’
courtesy of ‘philliefan99’

When it comes to the H1N1 vaccine, the CDC doesn’t play favorites. Not even for the president. Sasha and Malia have been vaccinated, as they are in one of the priority groups (young people under 24), but el presidente and the first lady have to wait like everyone else until the vaccine is available for adults 25 and over. Fair, right? Although now I am imagining Obama, delirious from having been struck down by the piggy flu, shouting from his bed, “Reid! Keep the public option, Reid! Reeeeiiiidddd!”

All Politics is Local, Crime & Punishment, Downtown, Fun & Games, Media, News, The Daily Feed
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The Chamber gets Pranked

YouTube Preview Image

One of DC’s largest lobbying groups, the US Chamber of Commerce, has found itself as the butt of a prank.  Yesterday, a group claiming to represent the Chamber called a press conference at the National Press Club.  A few journalists, representing such prominent organizations as Reuters and CNN, showed up to here the stunning news that the Chamber was reversing its long-held stance on clean energy, which had been decidedly “pro-business” up to this point. Mid way through the press conference a man from the actual Chamber burst into the room and decried the proceedings as fraudulent.  Fortunately for us, the whole incident was caught on film and found its way onto Youtube.

At this point, details of what actually happened are still a bit shady.  It appears that a civic-minded comedy group, the Yes Men, staged the prank to call attention to the Chamber’s environmental stance. This group has held other, fake press conferences in the past, including delivering a fake key-note address on behalf of Exxon-Mobile at a major oil conference. At this point, the Chamber has stated that it is pursuing legal action against the Yes Men.

What do you all think?  Harmless joke? Praise-worthy activism? Crime?

All Politics is Local, The Daily Feed
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Jack Evans for Council Chair?

Photo courtesy of
‘Jack and Adrian’
courtesy of ‘maxedaperture’

DC Wire had the news late yesterday: Jack Evans may be running for the Council Chair. With the Mayor’s Race in all manner of confusion in front of next fall’s primary, there’s a lot of ifs, ands and buts in the situation, but Evans has said he’d run for Council Chair if current Chairman Vincent Gray runs for mayor. Will Gray challenge Fenty? He hasn’t been committal, and there’s still a lot of questions as to who may challenge Mayor Fenty, with names like Kwame Brown and Michael Brown on the lips of many. I think we’re in for an exciting primary, once the players are in the open.

All Politics is Local, Business and Money, Downtown, Essential DC, Media, People, The Daily Feed
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DC’s Fifty Most Powerful

Photo courtesy of
‘Don’t Let Mr. Emanuel Down 1680 x 1050’
courtesy of ‘sdpurtill’

Calling DC the “center of power” is about as cliched as a description can be, but, it is, never the less, a truthful description.  GQ has delved a little deeper into the power structure of our city and released a list of its 50 most influential occupants.  At the top is none other than Rahm Emanuel, Obama’s angry, 9 fingered, little chief of staff.  Speaking of Obama, he failed to make the list, but I’m assuming that the editors of GQ just assumed that he was a given.  The rest of the 50 are pretty much cabinet members, committee chairs and lobbyists.  No surprises, really.

All Politics is Local, The Daily Feed
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Rep. Norton Praises Nobel Award

Photo courtesy of
‘DSC_2725’
courtesy of ‘Ghost_Bear’

DC’s sole member of Congress, Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton, issued a press release today remarking on the President’s surprise Nobel Peace Prize award this morning, saying “Obama Redeems Diplomatic Leadership and Re-Establishes America on World Stage” as a result of the award.

The world is abuzz right now over this award and whether it was appropriate and/or deserved and many mocking the award have commented that Obama received it merely for not being named George W. Bush. Rep. Norton makes her case for this being appropriate by pointing out how Obama’s views and approach differ from the previous administration – which is almost the same thing as saying “he’s not Bush”, albeit in a more diplomatic fashion.

(Full press release after the jump)

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All Politics is Local, The Daily Feed
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Barry Stops Short of Screaming “You lie!”

Photo courtesy of
‘Marion Barry’
courtesy of ‘cliff1066â�¢’

Everyone is rightfully outraged over the recent mass firings of DCPS teachers due to a $44m budget shortfall; over 200 were let go on Friday. Students, teachers and their allies came together yesterday to protest the cuts and a lot of their attention focused on the Chancellor of DCPS, Michelle Rhee. They even received a few not-so-calming words from every body’s “favorite” Councilman Marion Barry, according to NBC Washington.

“Chancellor Rhee has lied to you. Lied to you,” Barry said. “And I don’t like liars.”

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All Politics is Local, Downtown, The Daily Feed, The District, The Mall, WMATA
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Wisconsin Avenue Circulator Route Is No More

Photo courtesy of
”
courtesy of ‘Chris Rief aka Spodie Odie’

As reported earlier this month, the in peril Wisconsin Avenue section of the Georgetown-Union Station Circulator route has officially been cut.  According to the DDOT, the  new Georgetown routing will be Washington Circle to K Street (under the Whitehurst Freeway), right on Wisconsin Avenue, right on M Street, right on Pennsylvania Avenue, returning to Washington Circle and on to Union station.  The rerouting will also cut all the Circulator stops on the north side of M Street, as the new route will only operate eastbound on M Street.

Other Circulator service changes involve discontinuing the Smithsonian-National Mall from October 4, 2009 until April 3, 2010.  As well as added stops to the Union Station-Navy Yard and Woodley Park/Adams Morgan-McPherson Square Metro routes.

All Politics is Local, Downtown, News, The Daily Feed
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Cabbie Strike

Photo courtesy of
‘chauffeur’
courtesy of ‘NCinDC’

As of yesterday, 1000 DC cabbies, about 1/8th of the city’s drivers, are on strike.  They are protesting the Council’s proposal to instate a medallion system, similar to that of New York City, on taxi drivers in the district.  Medallions are essentially a system of licensing for cab drivers.  The city will offer a set number of medallions that drivers will have to pay for on a monthly basis.  The Council asserts that this will limit the number of taxis in the DC and is important to protecting the transport industry in the city (or maybe its just a simple revenue generator for the city?).  The striking cabbies fear that medallions will cut their profits and make it impossible for individuals and small businesses to operate.  Public hearings on the proposal are scheduled for October 1.

All Politics is Local
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Rep. Norton, Residents Discuss Health Care Despite Lack of Vote

Rep. Norton at health care town hall
Photo courtesy of Karl Johnson

DC residents: You have no vote in the House of Representatives. You have no vote in the Senate. You have no official say on how the health care insurance system will be reformed. You are second class citizens, according to Congress, because you live in the home of the federal government. But fortunately your Congresswoman, Eleanor Holmes Norton, doesn’t let that lack of a vote stop her from reaching out to constituents or trying to influence her fellow members on these incredibly important decisions. Last night Norton held a “Fact Check” town hall meeting in the auditorium of the Department of Commerce on 14th and Constitution NW. With between 200-250 people in attendance, about half of the capacity of the venue, the event was focused on answering constituent questions with a panel of medical and insurance experts and did not include long speeches.

Before turning it over for constituent stories and questions, Norton opened up the evening with a 15 minute statement about how the event would be run, which included her saying that DC residents are “The most civil people in the United States.” I initially thought this was simply wishful thinking, but after the next two hours went by without a single person yelling, screaming or insulting anyone, I’ll have to agree with the Congresswoman on this one. At least from the perspective of a town hall meeting on the lightning rod issue that is health care reform; especially after covering the Rep. Moran (D-VA) town hall event a few weeks ago. Now the event was held in a federal building with very tight security and more armed police and federal agents than you could count surrounding the area, only those living in the District were able to attend, and signs were not permitted at all past the door, but it still was a very positive representation of political civility by attendees and should make all DC residents proud.

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All Politics is Local, Downtown, Foggy Bottom, Life in the Capital, The Daily Feed, The District
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Save The Georgetown Circulator

Photo courtesy of
‘Driving, Not Reading!!! :)’
courtesy of ‘Chris Rief aka Spodie Odie’

The Georgetown Monitor reported yesterday that the DDOT is seriously considering a significant cut to the Circulator’s Georgetown service based on budgetary concerns and ridership totals.  Despite Ward 2 DC Councilman Jack Evans’ protests, City Administrator Neil Albert has apparently already signed off on the plan.

The only hope for keeping the service is for DC residents and businesses to appeal to Mayor Fenty directly.  If you’re interested in joining the petition to prevent further Circulator service cuts to this area, GM has a sample letter you can sign.

***For clarification, the DDOT’s proposal would eliminate the Wisconsin Avenue portion of the Georgetown-Union Station Circulator’s route, specifically from M Street to Whitehaven Street.

All Politics is Local, Inaugupocalypse, Life in the Capital, The Daily Feed, The Hill, The Mall
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9/12 Rally Crowd Estimates: Two Million?


(Picture 075 uploaded by DrrDot)

The Glenn Beck/FreedomWorks 9/12 DC Taxpayer Rally was on Saturday, with conservative Tea Party activists congregating in Washington to protest various things like healthcare reform, federal taxation, government deficit spending, and the President being a Stalinist Nazi Fascist Kenyan Hitler. They drew a healthy-sized crowd, by many accounts much larger than the 30,000 names registered online by FreedomWorks. DCFD estimates are said to be in the 50,000-70,000 range.

Given these numbers it seemed a bit unrealistic for a much-cited article from the right-wing Daily Mail to claim “up to two million.” This AP photo does show an impressive crowd gathered from the edge of the Capitol Lower Terrace to just west of East Capitol Circle/1st St NW/SW, filling up the entire Capitol lawn:

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All Politics is Local, Downtown, The Daily Feed
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Gay Marriage Bill Expected This Fall

Photo courtesy of
‘Capital Pride Parade’
courtesy of ‘spiggycat’

Councilman David Catania (At-Large, I) has gathered ten co-sponsors for a bill that would legalize same-sex marriage in the District of Columbia, according to the Post. The bill, called “Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Equality Amendment Act of 2009” would likely move forward early in the Fall term. Due to the nature of Congress’ involvement, shenanigans are certainly expected, and I’m pretty sure that Bishop Harry Jackson, faux DC resident, won’t let this go unmolested, either. So get ready to hear all about a bunch of outsiders trying to get up in the District’s business.

All Politics is Local, The Daily Feed
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In Memoriam

Photo courtesy of
‘Pentagon Memorial’
courtesy of ‘jjgardner3’

8 years ago, 19 men bent on murder captured airplanes carrying civilians and ran them into buildings. Two planes crashed in New York, one crashed in Pennsylvania, and one more here in our area, into the wall of the Pentagon. 64 men and women aboard Flight 77, and 125 more inside the Pentagon, were turned to so much ash as the plane obliterated a large section of the building.

Today, we remember their deaths as tragedy. Those lives, and the thousands more who died in New York and Pennsylvania, weigh heavy on us all today. We bear their loss as a scar; it has begun to heal, but shall always leave us marked.

This will be the only tribute to those deaths on this site today. We do not wish to define our city by this day or this disaster, nor should we hold it up to claim victimhood and suffering any longer. We mourn the departed, though it is time to reclaim who we are and continue to rebuild. A year to the day after the crash, repairs were completed at the Pentagon. It is true that you can reconstruct a building faster than you can reconstruct your life, but we must get beyond the viscera of the event. We honor the day, but do not let it own us. Our calendar shall run normally today. If you are moved to leave memories of the day’s events, please leave them here.

All Politics is Local, Essential DC, Food and Drink, Life in the Capital, The Daily Feed
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DC Restaurants – Recession Proof Or Not?

Photo courtesy of
‘Chairs and table’
courtesy of ’emvii’

Tierney Plumb of the Washington Business Journal wrote up a pretty little article about the health of the restaurant industry that struck my fancy. According to the article, “on a national scale, 2008 and 2009 have been the most challenging years for the restaurant industry in several decades” Plumb reports despite a slow start to the year, “Restaurant operators have an improved outlook for sales growth, with 31 percent predicting higher sales in six months, up from 24 percent.”

Plumb goes on to quote a few DC restaurants, including Morton’s Steakhouse who said “July and August were good months for us.” Even the slow month of August was privvy to some major chef moves, opening announcements and major buzz around the DC foodie scene. On the flip side, others would disagree. One of my favorite WaPo writers and someone I respect very much, Going Out Guru Julia Beizer, wrote a brief article on the desolate Restaurant Week scene last week that began “Is it just me, or is it kind of deserted out there?” Continue reading →