IT MIGHT BE BAD NEWS in the short term, but good news in the long run for commuters and late night revelers who frequent Adams Morgan: The District Department of Transportation is scheduled to begin work on the Adams Mill Streetscape and Pedestrian Improvement Project on Thursday.
According to a DDOT press release, the scope of work will include Adams Mill Road NW between 18th Street and Lanier Place, and Columbia Road NW between 18th Street and Euclid Street.
The work will including resurfacing and realignment of the roadway, construction of curbs and gutters, traffic signal upgrades, conversion of fire hydrants and streetlight upgrades.
Continue Reading "DDOT to Begin Pedestrian Improvements in Adams Morgan" »
METRO WILL OPERATE on a special service schedule for Independence Day, due to the large crowds expected downtown for the holiday. The Smithsonian station will be closed entirely, because it lies within the National Park Service's fenced-off secured area on the National Mall.
Service will be open from 7 a.m. to 3 a.m. Friday, and parking at all Metro lots will be free. In addition, no bicycles will be allowed on the system, and reduced fares will be in effect all day. Those planning on using regional bus transit service can check the holiday schedule here.
In a switch from years past, Metro will no longer offer shuttle buses to the Pentagon after the fireworks. According to a press release, a combination of low ridership and more railcars this year have resulted in the elimination of the shuttles.
As for rail service, there will be multiple service alterations to take into account when planning your day.
» The Yellow Line will run between the Franconia-Springfield and Mt. Vernon Square/7th Street-Convention Center Metrorail stations. Riders should exit at L'Enfant Plaza and Archives-Navy Memorial-Penn Quarter Metrorail stations to get to the Mall.
» Blue Line service will run between the Huntington and the Rosslyn Metrorail stations.
» The Orange Line will serve both the Largo Town Center and New Carrollton Metrorail stations.
» Extra Green Line service will see alternating trains turning back at the Fort Totten Metrorail station starting at 6 p.m.
» Extra Red Line service will see every other train turning back at the Silver Spring Metrorail station starting at 2 p.m.
Continue Reading "Metro to Run Special Service Schedule for July 4" »
TWO D.C. NIGHTCLUBS HAVE been shuttered and 94 others have had their licenses temporarily suspended as part of an increased effort to crack down on violence and underage drinking.
Reports The Post's Keith L. Alexander:
The [Alcoholic Beverage Control Board] closed Smarta/Broadway nightclub on Ninth Street NW as a result of a fatal shooting there last year. It also shut down Lime, which was on Half Street SW, near the new baseball stadium. Lime lost its license after its owners were caught selling alcohol after approved hours and extending operating hours, officials said.The move to upgrade enforcement followed the January 2007 shooting death of Talesha Ford, a 17-year-old bystander hit by gunfire at Smarta/Broadway, Alexander reports.Owners of Platinum, a once-trendy spot on F Street NW, avoided being permanently shut down last week by agreeing to close on their own. The establishment's license was suspended in March after a shooting outside the club.
Club Five, another popular spot in Northwest Washington, has been temporarily shut down while authorities investigate a Memorial Day weekend stabbing.
» "D.C. Cracks Down on Clubs" [WaPo]
LAST WEEK, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the District's ban on handguns is unconstitutional. So D.C. residents in the market for a firearm shouldn't have much trouble, right?
Wrong.
As The Post's Allison Klein reports, gun shops in the Maryland and Virginia suburbs are telling potential buyers to hold their horses. The reason: D.C. hasn't developed rules on gun purchases, such as which types of guns are legal and how they should be registered. Officials say that process would take about three weeks, Klein reports.
"We're telling everyone to wait 30 days," said Dale Metta, manager of Atlantic Guns in Silver Spring told The Post. "We can't do anything until the D.C. government says, 'These are the rules.'"
Continue Reading "D.C. Residents Turned Away at Gun Shops" »
NOW THAT THE SUPREME COURT has ruled against D.C.'s 32-year-old regulation banning handgun ownership for citizens, the blogosphere is abuzz with speculation and conjecture on how this will change things in the city.
To be clear, this ruling does not open the door for District residents to run to the nearest gun show and strap up. In addition, it does not change anything as far as laws concerning the regulation of guns outside of the home.
As the Post's David Nakamura reports on D.C. Wire, the city has to figure out exactly how it will implement its new regulations.
In a recent interview (before the court ruled), Interim D.C. Attorney General Peter J. Nickles was asked what would happen if the city lost the case. He said that residents will not be able to buy a handgun and bring it to the city immediately following the high court's ruling. There will be a period of continued legal arguments before a lower court judge to hash out specifics around the high court's opinion, Nickles said. ... Handguns would only be allowed in the home, Nickles added, with residents banned from carrying them on the streets or into other buildings.
Continue Reading "Bloggers React to Supreme Court Gun Ban Decision" »
METRO'S ASSISTANT GM OF ACCESS SERVICES, Christian Kent, will be hosting an hour-long online chat on Friday to discuss transportation options for senior citizens and the disabled, according to a press release.
MetroAccess, the transit system's paratransit service, has been criticized recently for what some people call an unnecessary rider recertification process, implemented because of a switch from curb-to-curb to door-to-door service, beginning June 30.
On May 20, the Post's Lena H. Sun reported that the application procedures might not change anytime soon.
Metro officials said the process is necessary because eligibility for the federally mandated shared-ride service depends on a person's physical ability. People do not automatically qualify because they have a permanent disability.Kent will be online from noon to 1 p.m. to answer as many questions as possible about Metro accessibility. You can log on to Metro LunchTalk Online here. (For a post-chat transcript, call Metro's Customer Service Office at 202-637-1328.)But faced with mounting customer complaints, MetroAccess officials said they want to find ways to streamline the process.
"We are considering broader changes to the application and eligibility assessment process for the coming year, but they will require a substantial amount of public discussion, planning and, in some cases, board approval before they will be implemented," said Christian Kent, Metro's chief of disability services, which include MetroAccess.
» "Disabled Riders Question Need For MetroAccess Recertification" [WaPo]
Photo by Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post
NO QUARTERS WERE TAKEN or given during this vote, but the result means that many will likely be emblazoned with the image of Duke Ellington.
A total of 6,089 residents voted in a contest that thrust three historical figures — jazz great Ellington, Benjamin Banneker and Frederick Douglass — into a rumble for a coveted spot on the back of a U.S. quarter honoring the District. According to The Post's Mary Beth Sheridan, Ellington received 36 percent of the vote, versus 33 percent for abolitionist Douglass and 31 percent for scientist Banneker. None of the candidates has asked for a recount.
Continue Reading "Voters Back Ellington for Quarter Honoring D.C." »
Cracked sidewalks lead to the long-neglected D.C. World War I Memorial. Below, a brown substance renders a sign along the Rock Creek Parkway illegible. Both photos by Nikki Kahn/The Washington Post
IT'S PRETTY EASY TO NOTICE. From trampled grass to battered fixtures to weather-worn signs, the National Mall has seen better days.
All "America's front yard" seems to be missing is a busted-up Pinto on cinderblocks.
Fixing it up, though, will carry a hefty price tag — $350 million in deferred maintenance, according to the National Park Service. It's just one of the many national parks that the Park Service says has suffered from a lack of proper maintenance. Across the country, the service says, a staggering $6 billion is needed to get the nation's parks back up to snuff.
The Post's Michael E. Ruane takes a look this morning at how a tourist mecca like the Mall ended up in such shoddy shape and how officials propose to fix it. D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton gave The Post this theory: "It got this way through complete and total inattention. ... You've got to keep the lawns mowed. But if nobody's looking, you don't have to do much more than that."
THERE WAS WATER, WATER EVERYWHERE in the D.C. region yesterday, but not a drop to drink in upper Montgomery County — not straight from the tap, anyway.
The big news this morning for residents there is that water use restrictions have been lifted, but people are still being advised to boil water before drinking it, The Post's Steve Hendrix and Dan Morse reported this morning.
The restrictions came after a 48-inch water main ruptured in a wooded area, affecting water supplies for much of the county outside the Beltway. The order was lifted Monday evening.
Meanwhile, the batch of severe thunderstorms that pounded the area with wind, heavy rain and hail led to another round of power outages, affecting about 150,000 homes from Loudoun County to the Eastern Shore of Maryland, The Post's Paul Schwartzman and Martin Weil report.
The winds toppled several large tents on the National Mall, briefly trapping seven children and three adults inside, The Post reports. They sustained minor injuries.
Continue Reading "Area Cleans Up from Storms, Water Main Break" »
YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT will happen when Metro goes viral. Occasionally, their faux-low-budget ads are oddly intriguing. Sometimes, they offend local religious groups. It's a gamble every time.
This time, Metro uses a little kung-fu to discourage littering. A press release sets the scene:
Legend tells of a devoted kung fu warrior who traveled great distances throughout the Metro transit system in search of a worthy foe. The enemy had many different faces and claimed to have expert knowledge about every subject known to humankind. On a number of occasions, the warrior thought he’d finally found his enemy and banished it from the Metro system for all of eternity. But moments later, dozens of imposters would spring up around him.What enemy could possibly be so cunning?
The common commuter's daily newspaper.
Continue Reading "Metro Gets a Kung-Fu Grip With Littering PSA" »
Addison Road