Category Archives: Downtown

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

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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?

Downtown, Fun & Games, The Daily Feed
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Petroleum Lobbyists Stop Watching Jon Stewart

Photo courtesy of
‘Still Texting’
courtesy of ‘InspirationDC’

Ug. How did I not know John Oliver, from The Daily Show, was doing stand-up at the DC Improv!?! I need to pay more attention. We apparently missed a pretty entertaining show too. But not because of his routine, which I’m sure was great. But because of the interactions and jokes that came at the expense of a frustrated guy in the audience who would not stop texting on his phone throughout the show.

Continue reading →

Downtown, Food and Drink, Special Events, The Daily Feed
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Capital Area Food Bank’s Empty Bowls

Photo courtesy of
‘Sustain Ceramics: Three mocha pinch bowls.’
courtesy of ‘Liverpool Design Festival’

In an effort to remind all of us that have, about those of us who deserve to have, Capital Area Food Bank is hosting their annual Empty Bowls lunch. This year’s event is taking place at DLA Piper (500 8th Street, NW) on on Wednesday, October 21. All you need to do is stop by between 11:30 AM and 2:30 PM with $25. The site says, “You’ll receive a lunch of soup, bread, cookies and a unique handcrafted bowl to take home. The bowl serves as a reminder of the 600,000 empty bowls in the National Capital Region.”

The soup, bread, and cookies will be provided from some of the area’s best eat places: Breadline, Café Atlantico, Capital Area Food Bank, Clyde’s of Gallery Place, Food & Friends, Israel CME Church, PS 7’s, thebestcookie.com, and Thrive DC.

Help Capital Area Food Bank know how many people to expect, by rsvping to richardsonj (at) capitalareafoodbank (dot) org.

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, 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.

Downtown, Special Events, The Daily Feed
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Old-School Figure Skaters To Film Special In DC

Photo courtesy of
‘NHK Trophy’
courtesy of ‘tpower1978’

I might regret admitting this to you later, but I? used to LOVE figure skating. As in, I wrote a paper in 3rd grade about Nancy Kerrigan, Kristi Yamaguchi was my personal hero and I still think Tonya Harding is a total skank. There is something entrancing to an elementary school girl (like wee lil Katie in the ’80s) about people sailing and jumping around on ice, in super sparkly fabulous costumes. I mean figure skating had it all – bows, sparkles, pink, skirts, the romance of the couples skate, and some ridiculously cheesy dance moves. My world used to stop for the Winter Olympics. I? WAS A FAN.

So I got kind of (kiiiiiind of) geeked out when I got a press release from the Verizon Center about the filming of Kaleidoscope, a “Star-Studded Show To Feature Skating Champions, Recording Artists, Cancer Survivors and Health Advocates In One Unforgettable Night at Verizon Center” It’s seriously old-school skating with names I actually recognize, like Scott Hamilton (in his first television performance since being diagnosed with a brain tumor five years ago), Dorothy Hamill. Olivia Newton-John (say WHAT? She was in Grease AND she can skate? Is there anything she CAN’T do?) Kristi Yamaguchi, Nancy Kerrigan and some random newbies I don’t know about that are apparently Olympic figure skating “hopefuls” – Johnny Weir and Rachael Flatt.

So if you’ve at all related to my ridiculous admission of skating geekdom, Tickets for the taping of “Kaleidoscope” are on sale now. Filming will be at the Verizon Center on Monday, November 16 at 7:00 p.m. and are $115.00, $60.00, $40.00 and $20.00 (plus applicable service charges). Not feeling the price? Kaleidoscope will air nationally on FOX on Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 26) 2009 from 4:00-5:30 p.m. (EST), immediately following the FOX Thanksgiving Day football telecast. Excuse me, I’ve got to go set my DVR now. I mean go to the bathroom/go walk my dog/uh… nevermind.

Downtown, Life in the Capital, News, The Daily Feed, We Love Food, WMATA
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White House Farmers’ Market Opens

Photo courtesy of
”
courtesy of ‘Hoffmann’

Today, the White House Famers’ Market opened for business.  The Market features about 20 stalls staffed by area farmers and various, agriculture related government offices. It will occur on every Thursday until  October 29 on Vermont Ave., between H St. and I St.  It seems that market has some security issues to work through.  This afternoon, there were only two metal detectors to accommodate the several hundred individuals that gathered for the markets’ inauguration. As such, there were far more would-be patrons attempting to enter than there were individuals actually shopping the stalls. Even so, the market attracted notable DC personalities like Jose Andrés and several local media figures.  Until the famers’ market closes for the season, Metro will be diverting its southbound L2 route so that it swings by Vermont Ave. Get there.

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, 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.

Downtown, Dupont Circle, Penn Quarter, The Features
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The City’s Best Places to Hang Out

Photo courtesy of
‘Hanging Out’
courtesy of ‘Karon’

There’s something about the steps to the National Portrait Gallery that attracts people to take a seat. Is it a great meeting spot between the metro and a Chinatown/Gallery Place attraction? Or is it a shaded place in the afternoons and evenings for you to relax and people-watch?

As the weather cools (and the DC humidity simmers down), what other places in DC might you congregate where there’s really nothing to see? Here are a few of the best random places in the city to hang out. Continue reading →

Downtown, Entertainment, Food and Drink, Fun & Games, The Daily Feed
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Party Like It’s 09.09.09, Oh Wait It is 09.09.09!

Photo courtesy of
‘DSC05164.JPG’
courtesy of ‘The_WB’
Celebrate Niner-Niner-Niner Day with copious amounts of  Magic Hat #9 at RocketBar at 714 7th St NW in Chinatown starting at 7pm today.  Free Magic Hat t-shirts go to the first 99 people, there will be 3-for-$9 specials on all #9s and awesome giveaways like free rounds of beer to parties of 9, a custom cruiser bike and iPod shuffles.  Pretty solid marketing promotion for a tasty beer if you ask me. Hooray beer!

Downtown, Essential DC, Food and Drink, The Features, The Hill
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Ethnic Food Survey: Greek

Photo courtesy of
‘Mykonos; Î�λληνική Ï�ημαία’
courtesy of ‘Global Jet’

Welcome to the first installment of the WLDC Ethnic Food Survey.  The idea here is not to provide you with an exhaustive list of your ethnic food options, but to give you a brief overview of what we feel are your best bets for any particular type of regional cuisine in the city.  Doubtless, there will be outrage from you at the glaring omissions in these articles, but we’ll do the best we can.

This time around, I’ll be giving you a tour of the wide world of Greek cooking. Greek food is widely available, albeit generally poorly executed.  You can get a mediocre gyro just about anywhere, but once you visit a proper, Greek establishment, your eyes will be opened to the awe that is Hellenic cuisine. Here are my favorites in DC:

Continue reading →

Crime & Punishment, Downtown, The Daily Feed
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Holocaust Shooter to be Arraigned

Photo courtesy of
‘Holocaust Museum’
courtesy of ‘Andrea Christman’

WUSA 9 reports that James von Brunn, white supremacist and Holocaust Museum shooter, is scheduled for arraignment on Wednesday.  Von Brunn has been indicted on seven counts, including first degree murder, for killing a security guard at the Holocaust Memorial Museum in June.  Four of his charges carry the possibility of a death sentence.

Arlington, Downtown, Foggy Bottom, Foodie Roundup, The Daily Feed
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Free Food Alert: TACOS!

Photo courtesy of
‘Volcano Taco’
courtesy of ‘brunorepublic’

It’s a full out taco-fest today in DC as the Taco Bell Truck swings through our fair city, making a stop in Foggy Bottom for lunch, and another in Rosslyn for a late afternoon snack.

Today from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. the TBT will be parked outside George Washington University Student Center handing out free tacos.  After that, the TBT will head to Rosslyn near N Moore & 19th st. for a Taco Drop Off around 4:30, but make sure you’re there right at 4:30 as the truck can’t stay much longer in the area than it takes to make the tacos and hand them out.

Kicking off it’s second week of the East Coast tour, the Taco Bell Truck serves up Volcano & Crunchy tacos to the DC area (1 per person).  After DC, its off to NY, Boston, and Philadelphia.

Downtown, Food and Drink, Fun & Games, The Daily Feed
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Let Me Go Get My Fraulein Maiden Outfit

Photo courtesy of
‘St. Pauli Girl (Hair-Down Label)’
courtesy of ‘drewesque’

The other day WLDC author Acacia and I were talking about her recent trip to New York City. I got jealous during our conversation cause while in the big apple, Acacia visited a legit beer garden. Together we were wistfully wishing DC had a hardcore actual German beer garden, complete with spilling pints and bratwursts.

Enter: news via Frozen Tropics, someone has heard our cry. Frozen Tropics reports, “Aaron McGovern of the Dupont Circle restaurant Russia House recently began work on his latest project. He intends to bring a large German restaurant and beer garden to 1355 H Street.”

Now excuse me while I go strap on my bodice and grab pint glasses to slosh together.

Downtown, History, Monumental, Penn Quarter, The Mall
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Monumental: Freedom Plaza

Photo courtesy of
‘Freedom Plaza’s Mini Scale’
courtesy of ‘CathyLovesDC’

“Put yourself in the map”. That’s what I always tell my friends when they’re feeling turned around and lost. But not everyone has the appreciation for maps that I do, which is why I was so excited that I could literally put myself in the map at Freedom Plaza, and maybe take a friend or two with me to show them how it’s done.

Located just east of the White House at 14th and Penn between the Ronald Reagan building and the National Theatre, Freedom Plaza is one of those places in DC that you’ve probably already been to and never really noticed. The first time I was there was for the “Light the Night” walk for blood cancers which used the plaza as the basecamp for the start of the walk. It was dark out, and I had that feeling of: “This is probably somehow important – I mean it IS in the heart of Washington – but I can’t really tell in the dark.”

Different colored stones and brass inlays create a smooth, flat, and rectangular depiction of L’Enfant’s plan. The layout, the inscriptions, and the history are subtle and easily missed – unless you know why you’re there. Similarly, ironically shaped patches of grass stand out as awkward additions to the plaza until you realize they symbolize the National Mall.

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Downtown, Fun & Games, People, Special Events, The Daily Feed, The Great Outdoors
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Braaaainnnssss

Photo courtesy of
‘On our way to Zombie Prom’
courtesy of ‘spiggycat’

Have you ever wanted to make like a zombie and chase tourists around Chinatown?  Well, tomorrow, you may just get that chance.  A group called “DC Defenstrators ” is hosting a massive Zombie Raid on Saturday afternoon.  The idea is to get a bunch of Washingtonians together and then have them proceed around the city staggering like zombies and moaning about brains.  The raid will begin tomorrow at 4:30 in Franklin Park.  Participants are encouraged to wear realistic, zombie clothing, although makeup and fake blood are strictly optional.  The Zombie thespians will be given directions as to where to proceed and the fun will begin.  According to the Facebook invite, over 500 people are supposed to participate, giving this the potential for epic status.  I think I’m in.

Downtown, Penn Quarter, The Features, Where We Live
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Where We Live: Penn Quarter

Photo courtesy of
‘Penn Quarter’
courtesy of ‘M.V. Jantzen’

Another two weeks, another neighborhood!  This week we’ll be looking at the neighborhood at the center of it all: Penn Quarter. This neighborhood encompasses much of the downtown/Chinatown area north of Pennsylvania between 5th Street NW and 9th Street NW.  It’s a neighborhood that changed a lot in the past decade, seeing as it didn’t really exist before the 1990s.

History: This neighborhood is once again the heart of downtown DC, but up until recently it went through a pretty rough patch.  Because of its central location, the area was the hub of activity in the city up through the mid-twentieth century. Theaters, department stores, streetcar lines, restaurants, offices– this was the heart of the city (check out Washington Kaleidoscope’s Lost Washington series for historic photographs of the area).  But the streetcar lines were torn out, theaters were shuttered, and department stores closed their doors when the population base of the city escaped to the suburbs in the 1950s and 1960s.  Apparently President Kennedy commented on the sad state of this part of Pennsylvania Avenue during his inauguration, and in 1962 the President’s Council on Pennsylvania Avenue was established.

The President’s Council proposed a number of redevelopment projects in the area (including plans for a Freedom Plaza that would have rivaled the size of Moscow’s Red Square), and in 1972 the Pennsylvania Avenue Development Corporation (PADC) was founded to guide the redevelopment.  The PADC got a lot of things done: the Federal Triangle area was redeveloped and the Ronald Reagan Building was completed, the Canadian embassy was built, and a bunch of new mixed-use projects were undertaken in the Penn Quarter area.  The MCI Center (now Verizon Center) was a crowning achievement for the area when it opened in 1997.  With its sports events and concerts, it attracted restaurants and stores to locate in the area.  After the first stage of retail development, new downtown housing was built throughout the area, thus creating the neighborhood of Penn Quarter.  Today, the area is the most vibrant and active of the District’s neighborhoods– it’s hard to believe that fifteen years ago, it was considered to be an abandoned and dangerous part of town.

Continue reading →

Downtown, Penn Quarter, The Daily Feed
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Hopes for Shaw and Penn Quarter Revitalization with New Convention Center Marriott


‘look up’
courtesy of ‘NCinDC’

If you’ve wandered around downtown at all recently, you can’t help but notice the dichotomy of the Shaw-bordering-Penn Quarter neighborhood: the new Sexy Safeway and the upcoming Buddha Bar sandwiching a dismal and run-down street where police find their fair share of activity. You can’t help but wonder when all the vacant NEW buildings will be filled, let alone who is going to take care of the aforementioned pockets of gloom.

Well, there seems to be some good news. After a decade of discussions dating from 1998, DC’s City Council finally voted to approve $206 million in public money to help fund one of only three Marriott Marquis hotels in the world across the street from the Convention Center at 9th and Massachusetts. Continue reading →