"YOU'VE GOT candidates who have been touting their ability to work the system as the reason they should be elected president. But they don't seem to understand the system hasn't been working for us. ... We need something new."
— Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, speaking before a crowd of enthusiastic supporters on Wednesday in Largo.» "Obama Tells Md. Voters, 'We Need Something New'" [WaPo]
Photo by Tim Sloan/AFP/Getty Images
OFFICIALS IN PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY apparently see a future in which a super city rises from the fields of Westphalia near Andrews Air Force Base — and they want the Green Line to go there.
Considering all the trouble Virginia's been having with the proposed rail extension to Dulles Airport, we assume there won't be much movement on that for decades. But a county's got to dream.
Now, according to the Examiner, county officials are looking to expand the Purple Line to Largo and beyond. But as the newspaper notes, that transit link doesn’t even exist yet. Talk about getting your requests in early.
Continue Reading "Pr. George's Wants Nonexistent Rail Line Expanded" »
TRAVELING ON the Red, Blue, Yellow or Green lines this weekend? Be prepared for delays due to scheduled track maintenance and rail car testing.
Riders traveling on the Blue and Yellow lines to and from Reagan National Airport and Alexandria will experience major delays of up to 30 minutes between the Pentagon City and Braddock Road stations because of track maintenance. Trains between those stations will share a track from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday.
Alternating Blue Line trains traveling to Franconia-Springfield station will terminate at Pentagon City and return to Largo Town Center, and alternating Yellow Line trains traveling to Huntington will terminate at Pentagon City and return to Fort Totten. Those traveling south of Pentagon City should plan accordingly, and build extra time into their schedules.
Those heading through Bethesda on the Red Line can expect 15 minute delays between the Friendship Heights and Medical Center stations due to track maintenance. Trains between those stations will share a track starting around 10 p.m. today through 10 a.m. Saturday, and again from 10 p.m. Saturday until 10 a.m. Sunday.
Riders on the Blue Line between the District and Prince George's County may face 15 minute delays between the Stadium Armory and Addison Road-Seat Pleasant stations for track maintenance. Trains between those stations will share the same track starting today at 10 p.m. until 10 a.m. Saturday, and from 10 p.m. Saturday until 10 a.m. Sunday.
Those traveling on the Green Line in Southeast D.C. between Navy Yard and Southern Avenue stations should add 20 minutes to trips for scheduled track maintenance. Trains between those stations will share one track from 7 a.m. to midnight on Sunday.
Also on the Green Line in Prince George's County, riders should expect 10-15 minute delays between the Greenbelt and College Park stations for regular rail car testing. Trains will share a track during testing, from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
FROM DEF JAM Records to his Phat Farm clothing line, Russell Simmons, aka "The CEO of Hip-Hop," certainly knows how to maximize his own potential. In his new book, "Do You! 12 Laws to Access the Power in You to Achieve Happiness and Success," Simmons outlines the principles he believes assisted his climb to the top. Simmons shares his "laws" with those looking to duplicate his success or realize their own dreams. But if your journey is all about the dollar, this book is not for you.
» EXPRESS: The path you outline is very faith-based. Where do more secular people fit into your equation?
» SIMMONS: They have no choice. They're operating under the law, whether they like it or not. When you wake up and decide what you're going to give, then receiving is giving turned inside out. But when you wake and decide what you're going to get, then you're going to have a problem. ... We're all here to serve, to fulfill a purpose, and it's all signs of God. ... This is why the basis of the secret is God or Allah or Krishna or whatever you want to call him. That's why the secret doesn't work unless you're connected to that higher idea, unintentionally or intentionally. Of course, when you're conscience of this reality, things are much easier.
» EXPRESS: What happens to people who are not tuned into these laws and maybe take their journeys to success for granted?
» SIMMONS: Well, you miss a lot of years and time and energy not enjoying and appreciating. It would really be disappointing if you don't appreciate the fact that the journey, the work, is the blessing itself. If you think that somehow this car is going to be the blessing, then there's a struggle there. The payoff is the thing that other people get from your work. The payoff is the blessing you give others.
A LARGO MAN was sentenced yesterday to a year in federal prison for stealing sheets of money from his job at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing in Southwest.
David C. Faison pleaded guilty in September, but the judge reduced his sentence to just a year, citing Faison's cooperation in the case. While it is not known exactly how he swiped the 21 sheets of $100 bills from the Bureau of Engraving of Printing, The Post's Henri E. Cauvin reports that attorneys described the theft as "a rash act of opportunity."
Faison cut the bills — which lacked embossing with seals or serial numbers — himself, and dropped $37,200 worth of them into circulation by using them in slot machines at casinos in West Virginia, Delaware and New Jersey.
» "Engraving Employee Sentenced After Stealing Uncut Sheets of Bills" [WaPo]
Photo by Karen Bleier/AFP/Getty Images
OH, MAMA QUAN'S TIKI HUT, we hardly knew ye — mostly because you opened this spring and closed this fall. And that may be for the best. You and your precious air rights will probably be replaced with condos — that's what seems to be the thing to do in Clarendon these days. In yesterday's edition of The Post, Kim Hart examined the state of the urban village, a mixing of residential and commercial space that still carries a high level of mass appeal. But the question is also whether the growing popularity of places like Clarendon, which is looking more and more like Bethesda with countless new restaurants and bars opening there, is beginning to evolve like Dupont Circle — an area that's lost many of its smaller businesses to franchises and chains that can better adapt to the changing real estate market.
With that we have a real estate development quiz. Using Clarendon's development calculus, on to the first question:
1.) If Clarendon is a mix of Bethesda and Dupont Circle, which emerging development relationship makes the most sense?
a.) Virginia Square is mix of Federal Center SW and Congress Heights.2.) Which area near a Metrorail stop won't be seeing new large-scale mixed-use development for at least a year because of a city council decision last night?
b.) Wheaton is a mix of Clarendon and Rockville
c.) Petworth is a mix of Eastern Market and Dupont Circle.
d.) Branch Avenue is mix of Vienna-Fairfax and Largo Town Center.
a.) Largo Town Center3.) Barracks Row's "Main Street," 8th Street SE, has seen a dramatic overhaul in recent years. What Northeast neighborhood might real estate hawkers term the next Barracks Row?
b.) Rockville
c.) Wheaton
d.) Dunn Loring-Merrifield
a.) Brookland
b.) Eastland Gardens
c.) Trinidad
d.) Ivy City
Answers, and explanations after the jump.
Photo by Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post
Photo by Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post
ONE COMMUTER READERSHIP group Express hasn't successfully tapped yet are riders on the W&OD. Never heard of 'em? They face long, sometimes stop-and-go commutes out in Fairfax and Loudoun counties and their numbers are increasing. But deploying hawkers to serve this group probably isn't in the cards. Reading and commuting by bike isn't the best idea. As The Post's Candace Rondeaux reports, the number of rush hour bike trail users is increasing, and the trip is becoming more dangerous. As trail user Jim DeGoey of Reston says: "It's like a microcosm of the Beltway out on the trail."
» "Bicycling on Popular W& OD Trail No Longer a Breeze" [WaPo]
What else is happening on this Friday, Aug. 18, 2006? Let's get to it.
» POLITICAL SCUFFLE: Prince George's County police were called to a political debate in Largo after a fight reportedly erupted outside between supporters of Rep. Albert Wynn, at right, and his Democratic primary challenger Donna Edwards. The Post's Ovetta Wiggins reports that while the heated debate inside focused on Wynn's votes supporting the war in Iraq, the repeal of the estate tax and bankruptcy reform, the tussle outside involved the ripping up of campaign signs. And here we thought the D.C. mayoral race was heated. [WaPo]
Photo courtesy Rep. Albert Wynn
» ON THE ATTACK: Speaking of the D.C. mayoral race, D.C. Council Chairman Linda Cropp continues her attacks on Ward 4 Council member Adrian Fenty, the frontrunner. Cropp's campaign has a number of new radio ads that "paint Fenty as an obstructionist D.C. Council member who was an irresponsible lawyer before he was elected to office," as The Post's David Nakamura reports. [WaPo]
» BACK IN COURT: Lonnie Baxter, the former University of Maryland basketball player and current Charlotte Bobcat will be back in court this morning, the AP reports. Early Wednesday, Secret Service took Baxter into custody after reports of gunfire from Baxter's white SUV were reported iin the vicinity of the White House. [AP via WJLA]
» MORE LOCAL NEWS, as always, is available at washingtonpost.com and Washington Post Radio.
SO A WEGMANS is going to open in Prince George's County in Largo. Expect Washington to go nuts once the news spreads. The super grocer from Upstate New York will be setting up shop just beyond the Capital Beltway at Route 202, which will be much closer than the Virginia locations in Fairfax and Sterling.
The Washington Post's Ylan Q. Mui and Ovetta Wiggins reported earlier this week that a Wegmans will anchor the Woodmore Towne Centre, which is near Metro-accessible Largo Town Center (note the difference in the spellings of towne/town and centre/center), which is not to be confused with another Prince George's County development, Metro Place at Town Center.
Alas, if you think transit-dependent District residents will be able to walk up from the Blue Line terminus at Largo Town Center, think again. It's a bit of a hike. But Prince George's County buses No. 21 and 28, which run from Largo Town Center and New Carrollton stations do serve the future Wegmans site.
Addison Road