Three more days in this quadrennial joke that is Leap Year February. Just three days and we’re through the worst of winter and Spring will be just around the cusp. For those of us who are seasonally-affected, making it through February is like making it through mile 20 of a marathon, or seeing the light at the end of tunnel is not, in fact, an on-coming train. Just three more days.

Cab Drivers Whine to DC Council Committee

Taxi drives spent time complaining to the DC Council yesterday that the new meter system will impoverish them to level unbeknownst to cab drivers since the D.C. Cab era. One driver remarked that he “pities the fool” who thinks meters are a good idea. There was also a strange remark about “jibber jabber.”

DC Can’t Handle Naked Statues

Never mind that they’re in various stages of grief and anger at the loss of their loved ones, the Capital Memorials Advisory Commission said that the naked figures could be offensive. I guess the taboo of nakedness far outweighs the artist’s judgment that we all stand naked and unprotected against the grief of the loss of loved ones, and against the unexpected violence of terrorists. But there’s boobies. So, no statues.

$75M Budget Gap in DC

WTOP is reporting that there’s a $75M Budget Gap in the city’s bottom line. Income and Sales Tax receipts are down this year, which was not expected, and as a result, the city will have to find some creative new ways of sealing the rift in the budget.

Another Great Success Story at DC Childrens’ Services

The Examiner has a chilling story of failure by the DC Childrens Services department in which a local elementary school principal was told that she doesn’t have the tools or experience to identify child abuse, all the while a little girl was getting abused by her male relatives. Nice work, DC.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Now when was the last time you went cross town in a wagon?

I do not mean a little red wagon either, but a full sized, horse-drawn wagon from the wild west days.

From the looks of this carriage wagon just off Florida Avenue, it went cross town somewhat recently. I wonder why and how.

If you had a horse-drawn carriage wagon out front, where would you go? I think I would race through Rock Creek Park morning rush hour traffic with a grin.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

So the NHL trading deadline came and went today. Think the Caps did anything noteworthy?

Well, they didn’t trade away Kolzig.

Instead, they sorta replaced him. Somehow, McPhee snookered the Canadiens and swiped their best goalie – Cristobal Huet – from them, giving the Habs a very large gamble in net….and in a very tight playoff race, to boot.

Oh, that’s not all the robbery your Caps got away with. I’m nearly ready to call the cops, they practically got away with murder by hockey stick!

Fans of Pettinger, say good bye. He’s packing his stuff for Vancouver. In the air, he’ll pass your new enforcer, Matt Cooke. Not a bad deal.

By far and away the most interesting and possibly the most troublesome trade (to me, a Penguins fan) is the acquisition of Sergei Fedorov from the Columbus Blue Jackets. Might want to frisk McPhee, he may have taken Ken Hitchcock’s wallet while he was stealing the venerable Russian forward.

Some may say it’s not the greatest grab – Fedorov’s on the back end of his career, no doubt. And he’s likely to end up again in Motor City next year (he’s an Unrestricted Free Agent come July 1). But I think this was a steal, honestly. And a scary, scary move. Pair up this Russian with That One? Yeah, an Ovie-Sergei pairing is about as scary as Crosby-Malkin two states over. (Shameless plug – did you hear what magic Ray Shero did up there? NICE!)

After today’s to-the-wire excitement, I’m fairly sure now the Caps are serious about a playoff run. Only five points behind the Hurricanes (and sitting in the 11th slot), McPhee’s putting the screws to the team. These moves – if they land the suddenly-more-than-lukewarm Caps into the playoffs – might go down as one of the more brilliant deadline con jobs of the century, or I forsee a lynch mob outside the Verizon Center come mid-April.

Who knows? I’ll say this, if the Caps vault into the playoffs, I may actually buy playoff tickets from them this year.

Naaah.

It’s still the Caps. Now if they faced down Pittsburgh in the Conference Finals….

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Just because I’m feeling a little zombielike myself today, though more of the sleep deprivation style than the brain-seeking type. Also because I came across this picture while looking for something else. It’s from October’s zombie lurch and is by James Calder, the same fellow who provided the excellent ‘suspicious package‘ photo from pants optional Friday no-pants day on the Metro.

Calder has a lot of neat shots out there that are on his own site (hosted by SmugMug) rather the Flickr, including some fun DC Rollergirls ones. It’s a great way to spend some time when you’re feeling a bit out of it. If you’re not in the mood to surf, at least take a gander at this one.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Luckily for everyone who inhabits the world, and particularly for people who might have occassion to knock on his door, Keith Washington has been convicted and will be spending some time behind bars. It’s not perfect – the jury couldn’t bring themselves to convict him of second degree murder – but they did agree on two counts of first degree assault and two of using a handgun in a crime of violence. With no mandatory time on the assault charges we can only be sure of 5 years for each of the handgun counts. WaPo didn’t make it clear if the minimums could run concurrently.

It’s a great relief, I think, that the jury convicted. I’d become worried that this clown was going to skate because each not-yet-punished bits of whacko behavior wasn’t going to be tried in a vacuum, despite them clearly providing plausibility when taken together. WaPo had earlier reported that this jury wouldn’t hear about Washington being indicted for waving a gun at someone who said they’d simply knocked on his door by mistake, something that certainly makes the shooting victims in this case a lot more believable when they said Washington simply flipped his shit and started shooting.

Sentencing is in late April; here’s hoping they land near the maximums of 25 and 10 years per count.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

One of my secret guilty pleasures about DC is the hot dogs – specifically, the vendor carts out on every appreciable corner where tourists walk. It never fails – when out with Mysterious M doing a photo jaunt or museum run, I *have* to stop to get a hot dog. Or, if my stomach hankers, a brat.

There’s just something very American-y about hot dogs and vendors: be it at a ballpark or sporting event, on the streets surrounding the Mall, or on a backyard grill, they’re like kryptonite to me. And you can talk all you want about what’s in them and how much fat and calories they have – I’ll just put my hands over my ears and ‘lalalalalalala’ you. They taste good (especially with dill pickle, French’s mustard and a nice bit of sauerkraut) and that’s all I need to enter gastric heaven.

So when I saw this article in today’s online express, I immediately began lobbying for our building to have one. Despite the fact we have no vending machines whatsoever, nor are they “allowed” by building management.

I suppose I’ll make it a point to suggest some weekend activities in town, conveniently near one of these contraptions. Anyone want to help me out and let me know where they’re located in the District? My wife doesn’t read this, so you can put it in the comments section.

It’ll be our little secret.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

This weekend, as part of the Super Flush, I got an excellent tour of the new stadium under construction. Nationals Park (which I hope it remains) is truly a wonder to behold. The concrete and glass exterior was the part I was most concerned about when the initial HOK designs were released. I was worried that it wouldn’t look as good as Oriole Park in its red-brick, or any of the other new stadiums that have been built over the past couple years, as when I think cast concrete, I think of any of the various ugly ass buildings downtown that have all the personality of a washed-up tax accountant. Nationals Park has found a way, though, to make concrete sexy in a way that I didn’t think was possible.

We were led around the insides of the stadium, and the aura is of a still unfinished construction site, with building materials crowding the halls and various craftsmen hard at work on all the details. The seats are in place, the main structures complete and the scoreboard up and lit for all to see. The dugouts and locker rooms are very near completion, and the stadium’s plumbing is, as of this weekend greenlit. The beer lines are in and all lead down to the two condo-sized beer coolers that will pipe icy-cold deliciousness to taps throughout the stadium. And, as of this afternoon, you can enjoy a nice half-smoke from the Ben’s Chili Bowl stand that’s going into the stadium. No word on which labels will be on the tap handles just yet, though.

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Yeah, the jury didn’t find Washington’s story any more compelling than any of the news accounts have made it look, and found him guilty of six counts related to the shootings that took place in his home. According to WTOP, Washington faces up to 70 years in jail for his crimes.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Check out this parking sign madness on Upshur Street in Petworth – 2 hour parking allowed in a Metro bus zone.

I wonder which one the parking attendant will notice as they write you a ticket? Or which one the judge will agree with if you contest it?

That reminds me – have you contested a parking ticket recently? The last time I did, using a clear photo of parking sign madness like this one, I never heard back from the DMV. The ticket just disappeared.

Anyway, as this sign is right before an actual bus stop, with a bus shelter and everything, do the neighbourhood a favor if you’re parking outside Domku: Find a clearly legal spot.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Imagine my surprise at browsing the National Post last week while in Toronto and finding an article about a school in Alexandria. Episcopal High School is more fleshed out as an institution in this article, and John McCain’s youth at the school. It turns out, for example, that the school is much more than just the birthplace of McCain’s “Smokes for Kids” program.

From the article:

It was to this same campus, nearly 60 years ago, that a reckless, rootless Navy brat was consigned by his admiral father. You still can see the 14-year-old’s photo on the wall of the gymnasium, wiry and dark-haired and forced to sit still for the camera with the rest of the wrestlers: John S. McCain III, Episcopal High School Class of 1954, known to his friends, faculty, and enemies here as “the Punk.”

Check out the whole thing here.

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The old building at the corner of Wilson and Highland is all but gone, torn down by a monster claw on a hydraulic arm that looks straight out of a horror movie. It was creepy to watch this evil-looking beastie rip away brick and concrete like so much cottony covering. As I stood waiting for the light to change, it took out two more window frames and about 30 square feet of brick facade like it was nothing.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

I walked off the metro at Navy Yard this weekend and saw these ads throughout the station. They didn’t make any sense to me. Fire Mary Peters? Who’s Mary Peters? Why do these make any sense here at all?

Then I went up the escalators and saw the Department of Transportation. Mary Peters is Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters. Then I realized just how much it would suck to come to work every day on the Metro to see ads that you should be fired. Only in DC does stuff like that happen. I suppose it could be worse, it could’ve been a whole big billboard thing. That really would’ve sucked.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

<img src=”http://farm1.static.flickr.com/222/444895419_12ea4679a2_m.jpg”
alt=”Ruff & Deadly?”>
photo courtesy of IntangibleArts

In the next few months, my wife and I will be wandering (deliberately) into the Virginia housing morass of a market.

We’re no strangers to home ownership. We had a very nice place in Pennsylvania for many years before we relocated down here. However, the cost differential between Western PA and the MD/VA/DC area was quite a staggering shock to my own financial sensibilities. The home we moved from could be found down here – for nearly five times the price.

Needless to say, we went back to renting. That was three years ago.

We’re now desperate for our own piece of land again.

There’s something to be said about owning your own piece of America – much less, the planet – and once you start, it’s hell to take four steps back and rent. I look forward to having our own space again, unrestricted in how we use it, what we paint it, how it’s decorated.

“Buy a house? Now? Are you crazy?”

That’s the common refrain we’ve heard from a lot of friends and relatives – most of whom don’t live in the area, by the way. But to us, it’s a good move.

Our debt is minimal – we don’t owe the evil credit card companies a cent over our Netflix and gym memberships that come monthly – our bills are always paid on time and in full, and the only loan currently out is on my ‘new’ car, bought last summer.

There is a lot of financial info to cover, however. Fixed rates are creeping up again, Freddie Mac had a recent policy change, and Congress has some plans in the works that might shake things up further. Still, for a couple like us, testing the housing waters right now makes the most sense. After all, what do we really have to lose? The worst outcome is re-signing our lease for another year, which isn’t a bad fallback plan anyway.

So after meeting our Realtor last week and doing some preliminary talks – meaning, “what we want, what we’ll settle for, and what we think is absolutely crazy” – we’ll be taking our first real steps in house hunting this coming weekend. We’ve got seven months until our lease is up; I’m sure we can find something.

Stay tuned.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Sure it’s grey right now, but the sun’s coming, I can promise you that. This afternoon is expected to be sunny and 50ish, bringing some spring cheer to February’s drear.

Two Planes Clip Wings at IAD

A 737 and an Embraer jet clipped wings last night on the tarmac at Dulles. While no one was injured, it did wreak general chaos on the traffic at the airport while they pried the planes apart, after offloading all the passengers. No word on who had the right of way, or whether ground traffic control was negligent in the event.

When You Blow It, Call Disney

Walter Reed Hospital has brought in the service experts from Disney to talk to their management and staff and help reform the Hospital after a poor service record was brought to light last year. The Mouse House has a strong reputation for service…at amusement parks. I suspect that hospitals aren’t quite like rollercoasters and Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, but maybe I’m wrong.

Short news break this morning due to bandwidth and connectivity issues!

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

The Nationals new stadium cleared an important hurdle today, successfully flushing all of the toilets in the new stadium from top to bottom. Each commode was given a number of flushes on 10-15 second intervals to simulate the 7th inning stretch. More pictures to come and a report on the ballpark tour!

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This is the scene at the OLPC Learning Club DC meet up at the Nortel HQ.

Swank dual video screens are connecting us with Montreal as we geek out across the street from the Capitol.

With a school server going live in a moment, we are on the green edge of XO laptop exploration and learning.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Local Bethesda pizza joint Corner Slice today shocked customers by reporting to be out of pizza. Actually, they had three slices of pepperoni-sausage pizza left but due to dietary restrictions, I opted to pass on that. 15-20 minutes until the next pizza would be ready, and people were standing in line like it was the methodone clinic or something.

In the choice between fighting the crowds for mediocre pizza and going somewhere else, I decided to venture down to California Tortilla, where they never run out of burritos.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

The latest Nationals Park Preview Video suggests that Nationals Park will open with GW’s Baseball Team playing a game there on March 22nd. While the Colonials schedule only reflects a game in Arlington that day, it’s expected that the announcement concerning the opening of the Park will come soon. If you get a chance, this may be way better than opening day in terms of availability of seats! I know I’m going to try to make it…

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From the Arlington Alert System:

Arlington County Government is OPEN on time, with unscheduled leave. All PANTS-OPTIONAL FRIDAY activities will be rescheduled and may be conducted from home for those who take part in the unscheduled leave.
Arlington County Schools are CLOSED.

You heard it here, folks. It’s more fun in groups, but feel free to stay home and walk around in your skivvies. It’s officially allowed today because of this crappy weather.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Am I the only one wondering today how we’re predicting massive disaster associated with global warming, but we can’t nail down something like a simple weather pattern? The snow predicted for today was mostly deflected north of the city, leaving us with a slushy mess to deal with instead. There was a 1/10th of an inch (I got out some calipers.) of ice on my car this morning, but it’s fairly reasonable. Rain all day, possibly turning into snow late. Unless it’s all messed up again.

Messy Weather Closes Everyone (Except DC Schools)

It was fun to listen to the school closings this morning on the radio. Living in California during my formative years, I never got to know the glee of hearing that you’re getting a snow day. So, today, as WAMU stepped through all of the school closings, it was hysterical to hear that DC Schools are wide open today, while all the surrounding communities have packed it in.

I’m sure many parents got to say, “It’s a character-building exercise. Now get moving!” to disappointed kids all throughout the District.

Dude, Casual Encounters are Supposed to be Consenting

Maryland Police are looking for a serial rapist who is selecting his victims from Craigslist. The pattern seems to be that he finds someone on Craigslist, agrees to meet, then rapes them at knifepoint. Maybe it’s time for us all to go back to meeting people at work, or through friends and social outlets? Just to be safe?

My Neighbor, the Epix Tax Cheat

The Examiner has an awesome piece from one of the neighbor of Tax Scam Ringleader Hariette Walters in today’s paper. Of course, it’s not an ACTUAL neighbor, it’s someone who lives kinda sorta nearby. Maybe. I suppose then, can I claim to be her neighbor too, because we live in the same basic geographic region?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs