Your guide to the region's top events, mixed with some commentary about life, media, gossip and politics in Washington, DC.
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By
Emily Leaman
Metro recently launched a handy Web page devoted to the rail and bus system’s inauguration plans. Here’s what you need to know.
• Starting at 4 AM on Tuesday, January 20, trains will run for 15 hours at rush-hour capacity and will stay open until 2 the next morning. On Monday, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, trains will operate on a Saturday Holiday Service schedule. • Metrobus will operate on a Saturday schedule on Inauguration Day. Remember: Lots of streets will be closed around the National Mall, so don’t expect bus stops near the Capitol or the Mall to be functional, and expect detours. • The Green and Yellow lines’ Archives-Navy Memorial/Penn Quarter station will be closed all day on Inauguration Day, as will the Smithsonian station entrance on the Mall. • Parking at all Metro lots will be free from Saturday, January 17, through Tuesday, January 20, and reserved parking rules will not be in effect. • All restrooms in Metro stations will be closed on Inauguration Day as a security measure. Expect to see increase security in general: Metro has teamed up with TSA to bolster security in stations during the inauguration. You’ll likely see lots of bomb-sniffing dogs.
Check out Metro’s inauguration page for more information, including how to sign up for e-alerts to stay on top of service changes. >> All Washingtonian.com Inauguration 2009 coverage More>> Capital Comment Blog | News & Politics | Society Photos
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By
Kelly DiNardo
Each week, we check in with our Dating Diarists to see what’s happening in their lives when it comes to romance, chemistry, and maybe even love.
Editor’s note: In an effort to protect the privacy of our diarists’ dates, our updates are on a slight time delay.
Meet our daters: Mark Drapeau | Dana Neill | Sally Colson Cline | Michael Amesquita | Kate Searby | Max Schwartz | Lucas Wall
It may be chilly outside, but things are starting to warm up for our Dating Diarists. Dana Neil still feels sunny about Florida Guy. And Lucas Wall hopes his new man doesn’t get cold feet. Will the forecast include any sizzle?
Michael Amesquita ventured into uncharted territory when he went to a party with a single mom he’d met at church, “She’s the first person I ever went out with who has kids,” he says, adding that they had a good time: “She’s a strong member of the church, which is really important. She has really good energy. She’s very willing to share. She smiles a lot. She has a good sense of humor. She puts things out there that are important to her. She came in a van and she just said, ‘That’s me. I’m a soccer mom.’ She’s very matter of fact about who she is.” And the kiddos? “People asked me if the kid thing scared me off, but not really,” says Amesquita. “I want to have kids eventually. And a few years ago, my mom pointed out that I was getting to the age where women would have kids. Thanks for the subtle hint, Mom. So I’d like to go out with her again.”
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By
Emily Leaman
The new travel Web site Airbedandbreakfast.com lists futons, couches, and more for inauguration visitors.
Here’s a neat solution for the cash-strapped (or desperate) inauguration visitor: Airbedandbreakfast.com. The site launched its Inauguration Housing Guide this morning with more than 200 Washington-area listings offering airbeds, couches, futons, and rooms for out-of-towners needing somewhere to crash.
Users searching the Web site can see their options plotted on a map of Washington and can sort results by cheapest or most expensive accommodations. People posting ads have the option to include photos of themselves and their space, and many include details such as the number of people they can accommodate, whether breakfast is included, wi-fi availability, and smoking preferences. When we searched the site, the most wallet-friendly option we found was a couch in Silver Spring for $10.
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Ready for this week's puzzle? Check out our close-up photo—taken in the Washington area—and try to identify the subject.
Leave your guesses in the comments. The full photo and location will be revealed with next Tuesday’s puzzle. The winner gets bragging rights.
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By
Emily Leaman
Welcome to your daily dose of inauguration news! Here are the headlines we're reading this morning.
Living in the District is reporting on the plight of street vendors on Inauguration Day, when only 500 one-day vendor permits will be given out. Each vendor can have up to three employees, but all employees must be approved with an FBI background check. DC councilmember Jim Graham wants Adams Morgan bars to stay open all night long between January 17 and 21. His measure would allow them to serve alcohol until 5 AM and stay open 24 hours a day. ERACISM is planning a star-studded Inaugural Purple Ball. Celebs expected include Ashley Judd, Ed Harris, and Louis Gossett Jr.
WTOP's Adam Tuss has "inauguration trepidation"—and for good reason. He writes, "Stop and think about that for a second -- THREE MILLION to FIVE MILLION people. If the mayor is correct on the low end of that estimate, that will be like trying to cram the population of Los Angeles onto the National Mall and surrounding streets, buildings, churches, bars and restaurants." >> All Washingtonian.com Inauguration 2009 coverage More>> Capital Comment Blog | News & Politics | Society Photos
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Good morning, Washington! Here's what we're reading around the web this AM.
Photo by Flickr user yeowatzup Tuesday means Todd—don't forget to submit all your food and dining questions to food critic Todd Kliman's chat, today at 11. Who's the fairest airport of them all? In the Washington region, apparently that would be Reagan National Airport. The airport topped a survey of fliers when asked what was their favorite DC airport. Heads up, folks—the National Christmas tree lighting will be this Thursday, and traffic's sure to snarl. If you have tickets, enjoy the ceremony! It's not a local issue, but it's one that's taken the DC blogosphere by storm in the past couple of days—what do people think of Slankets? If you don't know what a Slanket is, consider your life all the better for it. If you pass through Dupont Circle, keep an eye out—armed robberies seem to be on the rise.
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By
Emily Leaman
The Washington Animal Rescue League weighs in on the Omni Shoreham's pup package.
Lots of readers were up in arms when we reported last month that the Omni Shoreham Hotel’s inaugural package included a puppy to take home. Omni’s director of marketing, Paul Sharp, told us that he’d work with local breeders and animal-rescue groups to secure a puppy for VIP guests as part of his hotel’s $440,000 package.
Well, it looks like the Washington Animal Rescue League won’t be among those clamoring to participate. Today, WARL shared a copy of a letter that its executive director sent to Sharp, expressing the group’s “misgivings” about the puppy giveaway.
Here’s what WARL had to say:
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Borrowing a cup of sugar was just the beginning.
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I can’t believe it’s been only four months since I began tearing up my apartment and putting it back together.
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