Your guide to the region's top events, mixed with some commentary about life, media, gossip and politics in Washington, DC.
|
The Morning Buzz
Good Morning, Washington! Here's what we're reading around the web this AM.
Published Friday, May 30, 2008
Make sure you avoid the Woodrow Wilson bridge this weekend. Starting tonight, several ramps will close as crews work on paving and striping connections from the highway to the bridge's new span.
Is Maryland responsible for the worst drivers in the region? Yes, according to D.C. Council member Jim Graham. He tells WJLA, "[Maryland drivers] have got to be the devil incarnate once they get behind the wheel." What do you think? We've seen our share of awful Maryland drivers, but Washingtonians are pretty terrible too.
We may not be the best behind the wheel, but, hey, we're fit: According to a list of the fittest American metropolitan regions released by the American College of Sports Medicine, D.C. is the fourth most physically in shape city in the country. Take that, New York!
DCist reports on ANC 3F04 Comissioner Frank Winstead's continuous (and we think slightly out of control) war against outdoor seating of any kind along a stretch of Connecticut Ave. The victim this time: Politics and Prose bookstore, which was asked to remove its outdoor bench.
According to the Examiner, D.C. finance officials are warning against borrowing too much money to subsidize development projects alongside the Anacostia river.
The Post's Monica Hesse gives her take on last night's Lost season finale and, while we agree with her band analogy, we think the changes in the show's character lineup have been for the best. Gone are the insufferable (Shannon), the boring (Boone, Libby, Claire), the unnecessary (Paulo, Nikki and Rousseau), and the annoying (Locke, Michael, Ana Lucia). Taking their spots are characters with compelling backstories like Juliet and Ben and newbies Daniel Faraday, Charlotte and Miles—who, so far, are nothing short of fascinating. But we really do miss Charlie! More>> Capital Comment Blog | News & Politics | Society Photos
|
Comments
Winstead didn’t drop the dime re the bench at Politics & Prose. He didn’t see a violation. DDOT made that call and its inspector issued the 24 hour ultimatum.
DDOT has a contentious relationship with a number of the Ward 3 ANCs (because politics seems to trump expertise in many of its decisions and because its Ward 3 liaison is, to put it diplomatically, not well suited to this job) and they seem eager to exploit the anti-Winstead press to discredit ANC Commissioners.
I don’t see any crusade against pedestrians here. Comet Pizza & Ping Pong inadvertently set in motion a chain reaction when it asked for a sidewalk cafe permit. The ANC seemed generally supportive, but Winstead said you better start by getting the (permit-less) ping-pong table off the sidewalk. Comet agreed. Then complained that Marvelous Market didn’t have a permit for its stuff on the sidewalk (tables & chairs) either. Presumably, that led to DDOT checking out the entire block.
This isn’t a matter of power going to one ANC Commissioner’s head and then him making more and more outrageous demands
For what it’s worth, I like/routinely patronize all of these businesses (and I live in a different ANC and don’t know Winstead), but I think that the right answer here is for the businesses to apply for the relevant permits, for the ANC to support their applications, and for the permits to be quickly granted.
But the permit system is necessary -- the alternative is unilateral decisions by adjacent owners that they can privatize the use of public space for whatever purpose they choose.
Posted by: Sue, May 31, 2008 04:31:48 AM
|
Post a comment
Feel free to leave a comment or ask a question. Because of the prevalence of spam, we ask that you fill out the code in the image below to help us eliminate spam comments. By posting here, you affirm that you are 13 years of age or older. Washingtonian.com reserves the right to remove or edit content once posted.
|
|
Newsweek financial columnist Robert Samuelson talks about the economy and his new book.
more
Frozen dinners have come a long way since Swanson’s—such a long way that they now include lobster mac ’n’ cheese from the famed French Laundry in Napa Valley.
more
|
Share
| Print |
Posted at
09:00 AM/ET, 05/30/2008 in
Reads | Permalink
| Comments (1)
| TrackBacks(0)
| Washingtonian.com Blogs
