Photo by Flickr user Mr.T in DC

Arlington police had a busy morning. After pulling over a suspect for a stolen vehicle, a police chase ensued, causing all kinds of traffic problems for commuters around Shirlington. The chase ended with a crash at Reagan National Airport. WJLA is reporting that police have the suspect in custody. 

Game five of the World Series continued last night, and the Phillies came out on top with a win and clinched the championship. Philadelphia Inquirer sports columnist Phil Sheridan assures Phillies' fans that, no, they weren't dreaming: "You are wide awake and the Phillies really are World Series champions." Phew! Thanks for clearing that up.  

Prince of Petworth offers pictorial evidence that the Columbia Heights Target is now stocking wine.

Barack Obama aired a 30-minute campaign commercial last night on several major networks. It cost $3 million—a bargain, according to one WTOP commentator who pointed out that 30-second ads at the Super Bowl cost that much. Did you watch it? Was it worth the money?  

Photograph by Chris Leaman.

Michael Amesquita, 33

Lives in: Old Town Alexandria

Makes a living: Working in the hospitality industry.

Background: I was born and raised in Illinois. My parents have been married for over 35 years. I have an identical twin brother and a younger sister who is 31. She’s married and has two kids. I moved to Las Vegas when I was 18 and served in a mission. Then I served at a mission for my church in the Dominican Republic for two years. Did I mention I am a Mormon? I went to college later in life and have a degree in education. I taught high school government prior to moving to DC. I moved here one year ago and am planning to start grad school in January.

Dating history: I started dating in high school. I didn’t date a lot in high school, but always seemed to have a girlfriend. I moved to Vegas and had a four-year relationship that lasted before and after my mission to the Dominican Republic. I dated around in college – nothing serious. After college I had a semi-serious girlfriend. We broke up in January. I had moved to DC and the long distance thing didn’t work out. We tried for a little bit, but we’re very much people who need to see each other. Since then I’ve been going out on dates. I’ve found dating out here is easy, but finding a relationship is hard. Going on one or two dates is fine. I haven’t really wanted to call anyone for a third. I like going out with people and just having fun. I am 33 and I don’t want to date around forever. I do want to get married and have kids. I’m having fun, but at some point I want to settle down.

First ever date:  Homecoming, freshman year in high school.

What: The Harman Center for the Arts Annual Gala hosted by the Shakespeare Theatre Company. The evening included a cocktail reception, a series of performances based on different interpretations of Romeo and Juliet, and “A Night in Verona”-themed dinner and dancing.

Where: Reception and performance at Sidney Harman Hall followed by dinner and dancing at the National Building Museum.

When: October 27, 2008.

Ticket Price: $1,000 for the basic ticket, which provides a seat at the performances and a place-setting at dinner. For a donation of $50,000, patrons received a table for 12 at the dinner, premium seats at the performances, invitations to the pre-gala reception hosted by the British ambassador and his wife at their residence, and season tickets to the 2008-2009 Shakespeare Theater Company season.

Who: Many glittering members of Washington’s social elite attended the gala in their best tuxedos, ball gowns, and jewels. Mayor Fenty was there, as well as Queen Noor of Jordan and ambassador couples from Lebanon, Yemen, Oman, Morocco, Syria, and Egypt. Barbara Harrison of NBC news and Chris and Kathleen Matthews were present, as was NBC’s David Gregory, who was seen grooving on the dance floor. Past and current government officials also showed their support including Deputy Secretary of State John D. Negroponte and former Clinton chief of staff Thomas McLarty.

All photographs by Chris Leaman

Washington Post Business columnist Steven Pearlstein had just clipped on his ski boots for an outing with his 80-year-old father, Murray, when the phone rang. He was in Taos, New Mexico, and the powder was perfect. In New York, Bear Stearns had just collapsed.

“You had better come back,” said Maralee Schwartz, then a Post Business editor.

Pearlstein filed from Taos, flew to DC, and started pounding out columns. He was used to writing twice a week. Two became three, with a few hitting the front page. Disastrous news on your beat is good for a columnist. He started appearing on TV and showing he could explain the Wall Street calamity better than many economists.

“I saw the froth in the takeover deals and the commercial-real-estate deals, and when the very early problems started to come out about subprime, I connected the dots and saw it all as part of a much wider credit bubble that was caused by across-the-board deterioration of lending standards,” Pearlstein says.

Standards. Value. Greed. Corruption. Pearlstein, who turns 57 this month, wrote about the intricacies of credit swaps and explored the motives and human frailties that drove money managers over the cliff. “If there is a surprise here,” he wrote on October 3, “it is that anyone should be surprised by the level of greed on Wall Street.”

Over coffee one fall day he goes further.

Rob Bluey and John Aravosis live and breathe politics—but they blog about it from opposite sides of the aisle. Aravosis blogs at Americablog.com, a liberal blog he started more than four years ago. The site began as a place to vent about presidential politics. “George Bush simply ticked me off one too many times,” he says. Now Aravosis manages a small staff of writers who cover everything from international politics and financial news to healthcare and the media. During election season, he logs 15 hours a day on his site.

Bluey, a conservative, is director of the Center for Media and Public Policy at the Heritage Foundation and editor-in-chief of Heritage.org and its blog, the Foundry. The 29-year-old from Utica, New York, is also a regular contributor to the right-leaning blog RedState, and—though we don’t know where he finds the time—he keeps a personal blog at RobertBluey.com. “It’s a great place to bolster my ego and pretend to be a top-notch pundit,” he says.

We managed to pin down these two busy politicos for an election-style showdown. Will Virginia go red or blue? Will McCain best Obama? Will the District ever win voting rights? Read on to find our their predictions.

Photo by Flickr user shioshvili

Miss the High Heel Drag Queen Race last night in Dupont Circle? We were there, armed with a camera, and caught all the glamorous action. Check back later today for our photos! 

Game five of the World Series may resume tonight (we hope!), if the weather holds up. It'll kick off around 8:30 in the sixth inning, with the Phillies and the Rays tied 2-2. The Phils will end the series tonight if they win. Watch the game with fellow fans at one of our recommended bars. 

Montgomery County opened its first drive-through flu clinic this morning at 7:30. Drivers can fill out forms and get a shot without getting out of their car. The cost: $27. The clinic, at Orchard Center Mall on Cherry Hill Road in Silver Spring, is open until 10:30 AM.  

Hooray—the Dow is up! The Washington Post reports that stocks were up nearly 11 percent at close of business yesterday on investors' hopes that the Fed would cut a key interest rate today. Here's to hoping for more gains today!

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