fro-zen-yo Hot Fudge Sundae
courtesy of Mr. T in DC

This feels like something that should have happened on April 1st, but instead, it’s happening in the middle of the summer. Purveyors of black car service Uber, whose existence was something of a puzzle to the Council of DC this week, is going to bring you some ice cream if you ask. They’re deploying their service via a few ice cream trucks later this week, according to their blog. $12 gets you 5 ice creams for your friends (said to be Klondikes and King Kones, amongst other frozen treats) charged to your card on file.

Service area will be limited, but defined boundaries are currently not available. Still, this seems to be the sort of thing you might enjoy, dear reader, so get your Uber app out and see if you can summon an ice cream truck this Friday.

I can haz dog park?
courtesy of jsmjr

Michael Ausiello of TV Line is reporting that NBC TV Comedy Parks & Rec will have some scenes actually shot in DC, as they look for locations for Adam Scott’s Ben Wyatt character, who was shipped off to the Capital City in last season’s finale. Ausiello guesses that we’ll also see Amy Poehler’s Leslie Knope here in DC also.

Maybe we can get a sweet scene filmed at one of the city’s beautiful pocket parks? I’m sure there’s tons of comedy in itsy bite-sized parks throughout the city.

The box was guarded with care, cradled by a DC Public Trust staffer as the group walked down 4th Street to the Judiciary Square headquarters of the DC Board of Elections to turn in their efforts. The group, lead by DC ANC Commissioner Sylvia Brown and city advocate Bryan Weaver, collected over 30,000 signatures across all eight wards of the city to put an initiative on the ballot to ban corporate donations to five kinds of political committees, including principal campaign committees (the fundraising bodies used by candidates during elections) and constituent service funds and transition committee funds.

The group had to collect signatures from 5% of the registered electorate in DC, or approximately 23,000 signatures, including per-ward totals of 5% in five of the eight wards.  DC Public Trust exceeded the 5% mark in six of the eight wards, and each with a cushion of 20% over the required number. Continue reading →

Photo by reddit user IvyGold

Saturday’s heat may not have broken the all-time record, but it was only on a technicality that we missed history. The heat did tip over the 106°F mark, but only for a minute or so, which was not long enough for the official weather station to mark that as the high temperature (records require 3 minutes at a given temp).  This morning’s low 70’s temperature as I left the house actually caused me to sigh in relief.

The 11-day stretch at 95°F or above for high temperatures – several of those days above 100°F – was enough to wreak havoc across the area, but no place funnier than at DCA where a plane literally sank into the asphalt it was so hot. The Post has the whole story, which doesn’t mention fluid dynamics, but maybe should.

Look for a few days of some occasional summer thunderstorms, but the mercury shouldn’t get out of the 80s for the next five days. Enjoy it, DC! What are you planning to do this week you couldn’t do last week because of the heat?

RAIN
courtesy of wfyurasko

A pair of errant throws from the usually stable Nationals’ bullpen were the difference in the game this afternoon, as the Nationals fell to the Rockies 4-3 in their last game before the All-Star Break. The Nationals wasted a “real jewel” pitched by Jordan Zimmermann, who went 7 full, giving up just a single run on three hits. Tyler Clippard, nominally untouchable this season, gave up a run on a double and a wild pitch in the ninth, just an inning after 3 hits off Sean Burnett and a wild pitch from Michael Gonzalez put the game in jeopardy.

It was rare to see the Nationals’ bullpen in such a struggle, given that they’ve racked up accolade after accolade, but perhaps like the rest of the city, after 11 straight days of 95° heat, there was a breaking point after all. Though Gonzalez and Clippard would both recover and finish their innings, it was enough to see them battle.  The Nationals would strand 5 on the base paths and go just 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position, as their streaky offense was once again beguiled by Rockies pitching.  Jeremy Guthrie would surrender just a pair of runs in 6 full, both coming on Ian Desmond’s 17th home run of the year in the fourth inning. Continue reading →

Just watching the game
courtesy of erin m

The Nationals ran into a buzz saw on Friday night, and it wasn’t the heat, nor was it the metro derailment, it was the right arm of rookie Drew Pomeranz, who absolutely dominated the hot Nationals offense through six and a third. With Colorado adopting a four-man rotation – and pitch limits of around 75 per outing – the Nationals only got to see Pomeranz through six and a third before he was yanked. Pomeranz hurled a one hitter through that short stint, and stymied pretty much everyone. His 81 pitches were located with pinpoint accuracy, out-dueling Stephen Strasburg.  The Nats’ ace just couldn’t figure out Tyler Colvin, who went deep in the yard twice on his fastballs.

Throughout Pomeranz’ portion of the game, the Nationals’ hitters were getting overly impatient and chasing out of the zone. Manager Davey Johnson said in the post game press conference, “Sometimes when you know what’s coming, you get overly aggressive.” Danny Espinosa had a rough night, going 0-4 with a pair of K’s, but he wasn’t alone, as Ian Desmond and Tyler Moore also went hitless in their plate appearances. Chasing out of the zone will do that to you. Continue reading →

Train wreck
courtesy of Cian Ginty

Update 3, 7:38pm: A statement from Metro says, “It is expected that Green Line service in this section will remain suspended for the remainder of the service day, and possibly throughout the weekend, as crews make track repairs”. NBC Washington is reporting that Metro is looking at a portion of the track that may have been distorted due to a heat kink in the rail.

Update 2, 6:05pm: Metro has cancelled all weekend track work.

Update 1, 5:44pm: Metro has imposed a 35mph speed limit for all above ground tracks as a safety precaution.

Continue reading →