Top Stops
What's going on tonight?
Sound Bets
Music with a local flavor
Dine & Dash
D.C. eats in quick bites
Booze Clues
D.C. deals:drink them in
Off the Cuffs
Style and error
Broadcast Muse
Small screen, big ideas
The Reelist
Get a movie on
Baggage Check
Ask Dr. Andrea Bonior
Swengali
Sports talk with attitude
WHETHER YOU'RE OF of the rare D.C. native breed, a permanent transplant or just passing through for an internship, you're familiar with the city's home rule and voting rights plight. You know, that whole deal where Congress has the last say in all of D.C.'s affairs and our delegate to Congress has no vote?
And yet, we modern-day Washingtonians have it good compared to the days of yore. Believe it or not, this is a story that goes far beyond "Taxation Without Representation" license plates and pithy bumper stickers. Few people know the extensive history of struggle and activism attached to the cause, which is why Mark S. Greek's new book "Washington, D.C. Protests: Scenes from Home Rule to the Civil Rights Movement" is worth a diligent flip-through.
THE ONGOING FALLOUT from Gatecrashgate — which I think we ought to rename Tackygate, because, frankly, that's what the Salahis' behavior was — continued this week when beleaguered White House Social Secretary Desiree Rogers, above, announced her resignation.
Rogers has been vilified for mingling with guests instead of manning the door when the Salahis dropped in uninvited to November's state dinner — a criticism that strikes us as entirely unfair, but that's another column for another day. What makes us saddest about Rogers' departure is the blow it serves to D.C.'s style scene — and to fashion-loving professional women everywhere.
Rogers' arrival (along with her closet of Comme des Garcons, Halston and other hyper-stylish labels) was a breath of fresh flair in D.C.'s monotonous mix of ill-fitting suits and boring dresses. But more than that, she showed that a woman could be at the top of her field without having to hide her love of fashion. In a city where ambitious, professional women often feel they should dress to blend in, not stand out, it was a welcome change — and one we hope lingers, even after Rogers leaves.
Photo by Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post
ONE YEAR AGO, Obama campaign staffers stormed into Washington with grand plans to change the body politic. And they've succeeded — at least with the "body" part. After an eternity of 16-hour days and late-night food runs on the trail, the fresh faces moving into the nation's capital decided it was time to band together for another common cause: getting in shape.
Stephanie Spiers, who worked in seven states before becoming the deputy field director of Ohio, describes her months on the campaign as "the closest you can get to never sleeping, and living a completely sedentary lifestyle."
Now that she's a special assistant at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Spiers has done some community organizing of her own to put together a friendly pick-up basketball game at her Tenleytown office. "We play whenever people's schedules work out," she says. "It's a nice step away from the happy hour scene."
Continue Reading "Training for the Trail: Former Obama Campaign Staffers Get Active" »
ON A HOT, STICKY afternoon, one of the most miserable places in the District to be is in your car inching ever so slowly toward the city's only automobile inspection stations.
Some drivers head in early or take time off work to avoid the brain-scrambling wait. But a new automated appointment system on the DMV's Web site could let you skip to the front of the line.
Reports WTOP's Mark Seagraves:
A link on the District's DMV Web site lets you make a reservation, print a confirmation and present the confirmation on the day of the appointment.I can only imagine how popular the folks who zip to the front of the line would be with the frustrated hordes waiting in the exhaust-filled haze."We will bring that customer and bring him in front of all the other waiting customers," says Gregory Simpson, the inspection station manager.
» "Skip the line at the D.C. DMV" [WTOP]
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." »
I'M BEGINNING TO WONDER if there's anyone who hasn't ripped off the D.C. Office of Tax and Revenue.
In the shadow of the case of Harriette Walters, the former tax office manager who's accused in a tax fraud case that drained the District of as much as $50 million, comes the tale of Jacqueline C. Wright and her boyfriend, Michael Clark, who were charged yesterday with swiping $180,000 in a separate tax scam, The Post's Del Quentin Wilber and David Nakamura report.
The thefts allegedly began in late 2006 when Wright, a tax office employee, began issuing phony refunds to Clark, prosecutors say. The two were caught, The Post reports, because of "new controls" District officials say were put in place after Walters was arrested in November.
In the end, D.C. taxpayers' money apparently helped to build Wright and Clark's home equity. Charging documents say that just over $100,000 of the money went into home improvement projects, according to The Post.
» "Employee and Boyfriend Charged in Another Refund Scam" [WaPo]
THERE WAS A SPARK or two of debate, but, in the end, an emergency measure that would have banned consumer fireworks in the District flamed out during a D.C. Council meeting yesterday.
Although the effort, which would have prohibited all fireworks displays not put on by professionals, was announced with fanfare by Mayor Adrian Fenty and council member Jim Graham last week, it was trounced in the council by an 11-2 vote.
Reports The Post's Nikita Stewart:
[C]ouncil members were wary of approving legislation just a few weeks before vendors are legally allowed to set up their makeshift stands along Georgia Avenue and other thoroughfares.A few council members said they opposed the outright ban because the city already prohibits the private use of fireworks that shoot into the sky. According to the D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services Web site, the city permits 10 types of fireworks.
Which fireworks are D.C.-approved? Here's the list from D.C. FEMS:
Continue Reading "D.C. Council Vote Extinguishes Fireworks Ban" »
NOW HEAR THIS: The D.C. Council this afternoon passed a new noise bill, a move that came after a series of amendments and a bruising skirmish between labor unions and some council members.
Reports The Post's Nikita Stewart:
Under the amended legislation, noncommercial public speech during the day would be restricted to no greater than 80 decibels, or 10 decibels above the ambient noise level when measured from inside the nearest occupied dwelling in low-density residential zones.What does Penn Quarter think of the bill? Not much, says local blog Penn Quarter Living:In short, people can still get really loud with amplified noise, particularly downtown.
"Penn Quarter, I hope you're listening. You're being written off," Cheh said of the downtown neighborhood.
It was very easy to tell that Tommy Wells, Mary Cheh, David Catania, and Carol Schwartz were on the side of the DC citizens while the rest of the council members (including Jack Evans) folded to labor union pressure.The union members and others say they wanted to keep the new ordinances from hindering their ability to protest in the city. On the other side of the argument were citizens like David Klavitter, whose Quest for Quiet blog has long called for more restrictive noise regulations.
Continue Reading "Bloggers Sound Off About New D.C. Noise Rules" »
PLANNING TO make a fireworks show of your own in the District this Fourth of July? Mayor Adrian Fenty and some other D.C. officials might soon snuff out your sparks.
The mayor yesterday announced his support for emergency legislation that would effectively ban the sale and use of all consumer fireworks in the District, The Post's Elissa Silverman reports.
D.C. Fire Chief Dennis Rubin cited six "significant injuries" last year as part of the impetus to keep fireworks out of consumers' hands.
The bill is expected to be introduced at Tuesday's D.C. Council meeting; it would take effect immediately if passed.
» "Fenty Backs Ban on Consumer Fireworks" [WaPo]
Photo by Margaret Thomas/The Washington Post
THE FORMER JUDGE who sued a dry cleaners for $54 million over a pair of lost pants is hitting the courts again, but this time he's fighting to get his job back, according to NBC4.
Roy L. Pearson Jr. has filed a suit in federal court claiming that he was wrongfully dismissed for exposing corruption within the Office of Administrative Hearings.
Pearson, a former administrative law judge, lost his job when his term expired in May 2007. A D.C. commission voted against reappointing Pearson in October 2007.
The lawsuit is yet another twist in a story that began with Pearson suing Soo and Jin Chung, who owned Custom Cleaners in Northeast, for misplacing a pair of his pants. Pearson initially sued for $65 million, claiming the establishment did not live up to a "Satisfaction Guaranteed" sign posted in the shop.
Continue Reading "Pants Lawsuit Judge Sues To Get His Job Back" »
Addison Road