8.28.2009

Briefly noted, Friday;

Happy Friday, and the last Friday in August. Next week September arrives, and once Labor Day passes it's back to the typical DC grind. So enjoy another week of less crowded commutes and boring news stories.

Ray's Hell Burger coming to Adams Morgan. Thats' right kids, BizJournal has it that the Obama approved hamburger joint will open a location in the former Ghana Cafe spot on 18th Street. Does anyone remember when there was that "Haute Dog" place on 18th? We'll see how a fancy, expensive, destination hamburger joint fares. Seems unlikely that late at night the drunk assholes with popped collars will be able to distingush a "gourmet" hamburger from the dollar menu at the corner McDonalds. I'm sorry, the "Late Night Menu."

Rhode Island Avenue Metro Station isn't safe. Oh really? In fact, the RI Ave. station is on the top 10 most dangerous stations (in the region) list. ABC7 reports on a recent rash of crimes, including aggravated assault and robbery. It's unclear what other stations are on that top ten list, but according to Metro Transit Police the Red Line stop comes in at number eight.
Those who congregate looking for work outside the station believe they are targeted because they tend to carry a lot of cash and the criminals know most of the men won't run to the police.

This pedestrian tunnel appears to be the trouble spot. The dark, long fenced-in walkway is already quite uninviting to some Metro riders.
Police have made a few arrests using plainclothes decoys. I'm not really sure this should even be considered a news story. Is anyone that surprised? I'd love to see an investigation into crime at Metro stations.

The Washington Post makes some "style" videos. How did I miss this? The Post has a whole bunch of cheesy videos on their site where they pretend to stop people on the street to ask about their fashion. Somehow I don't think most of these choices were at random. I especially enjoyed the "Jazz in the Garden" episode... I don't think they talked to anyone who actually even has a real job. I loved the bored, disaffected intern wearing clothing that cost more than my rent. Though the older Asian woman from Capitol Hill bragging about her eBay conquests was pretty funny.

Petworth's new organic market re-Grand Opens. Mayor Fenty did a ribbon cutting outside the new Yes! Organic Market in Petworth yesterday. The store had already had an "opening" but did it again for ceremony-sake. Ward 4 now has three grocery stores. I don't think Yes! should be counted as a grocery store, though. It's a specialty store. It's a bit surprising to see organic specialty stores make in-roads in areas under served by traditional stores. While organic food does have some benefits, most families would go broke shopping exclusvely at Yes!. Perhaps this will encourage Safeway to finally get moving on the "Scary Safeway" renovations.

Mayor Fenty still won't talk about his kids. Is it any surprise that Fenty isn't going to admit, on the record, that he pulled strings to get his kids into the public school of his choice? Fenty keeps dodging the questions, saying he will not comment on his kids. He will not even go on the record saying the school selection process is free from political influence. Remember, Fenty is up for re-election. Some Democrats are on the fence about re-electing Fenty, but something tells me he'll end up winning. Underwhelmed by the possible contenders at this point.

4 comments:

  1. Those WaPo style vids are actually pretty well produced, and they have a NICE camera. Definitely not random, but I don't think they pretend it is. They wait as long as they have to find someone with style they like.

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  2. Oh it's definitely high quality production. It's cheesy, though and I Googled a few of the people who appeared and they have done semi-professional modelling/acting before. Coincidence or not, I don't know.

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  3. I can't stand Fenty for a thousand reasons, but I really don't care if he pulled strings to get his kids in a school. It's still part of DC public/charter schools, right? It's not like he's sent them out to Virginia, or to some private school. I guess maybe I'd care more if I had a kid that didn't get into Layfayette, I dunno.

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  4. Most families would go broke eating all their meals out, which is what most low-income families do. Yes! Organic is more expensive than a grocery store like Safeway, but still ultimately cheaper than buying your food from a take-out place. Plus, I question whether you've really been to the new Yes; it's at least twice the size of the next largest Yes, definitely a full-fledged grocery store.

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