Washington DC - News,Events,Sports

The Needle: Labor Day Weekend Edition

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 21:06:20 +0000

Red Line Shutdown: Five stations on Metrorail’s Red Line will be shuttered this weekend for extensive track maintenance. If you’re headed in the direction of Silver Spring and Glenmont, be aware that you’ll have to take a shuttle bus from Fort Totten or Georgia Avenue-Petworth. -2 New York’s Loss Is D.C.’s Gain: Up in New York state, the Public Employees Federation is facing some heat within its ranks for having its Sept. 12-15 convention in the nation’s capital at the Marriott Wardman Park hotel in Woodley Park. The problem? They’d rather spend their money back home in New York to help its sagging economy. The D.C. convention should keep Open City packed and therefore more tax revenue for District coffers! Thanks New York state unions! +2 No Pain, No Gain: Adams Morgan business owners on 18th Street NW are preparing for the worst: A planned streetscaping project is set to create a gigantic mess for those who live, work, and play in the busy corridor. In the end, the project should make pedestrian life so much better in the congested area. In the short term, the project is going to just plain suck. -2 Win-Win: But here’s a street reconstruction project where it seems everyone wins. Georgetown will keep its historic trolley tracks and get a better street surface, too. +1 Frio, Frio! The answer to this headline is “yes.” But eh, with Hurricane Earl, at least we won’t have any massive storm surge headed up the Potomac from the Chesapeake! Good news for this Labor Day weekend! +1 Yesterday’s Needle rating: 35 Today’s score: 0 Friday bonus points: +1 3-day weekend bonus points: +1 Today’s Needle rating: 37

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The Needle: Labor Day Weekend Edition

Photos: Utility Day Line Dance, Things Get Political

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 20:25:25 +0000

Convention Center, September 3

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Photos: Utility Day Line Dance, Things Get Political

Accused Kitty Killer Arrested

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 19:11:32 +0000

It’s been a bizarre week for D.C. animal news. A guy who’d read a novel about a gorilla takes hostages at the Discovery Channel . A shark turns up in the Potomac . A new report says city cabbies discriminate against blind people with guide dogs . And now comes word that a kitty killer’s been on the loose for nearly a month. According to the Washington Humane Society’s Humane Law Enforcement division, 30 year-old D.C. resident Ronnie Melson was arrested yesterday for killing a three-month-old kitten with a broom. Authorities say the event happened on August 6th at a house in Southwest. Melson told investigators he cracked the kitten’s skull with the cleaning instrument after he couldn’t find a belt to beat it with. Melson was angry with the tiny tiger-striped feline–named Tyra– because she wouldn’t get off the couch. Could it get any worse? Yep. The kitten didn’t even belong to Melson–it belonged to his girlfriend’s cousin: Satonya Eggleston, 42. The society also says two kids witnessed the slaying. “I was just crying uncontrollably. How can a person hit a cat with a broomstick that was so small,” Eggleston tells City Desk. Eggleston was at work when news of the cat’s bludgeoning reached her. She’s been told by family members who witnessed the incident that after Tyra jumped on the couch Melson left the living room and shouted “This Motherfucker!” When he returned with the broom and brought it down on the pet, it caused a loud thwack, she was told. Melson will be arraigned in Superior Court today. If prosecutors decide to pursue the case, and he’s found guilty of animal cruelty, he could face up to 180 days in jail, a fine of up to $250, or both. This Spring, a man who was convicted of killing his son’s pet lizard by throwing it was given 40 hours of community service, a $100 fine and probation.

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Accused Kitty Killer Arrested

Photo: Undecided

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 17:54:26 +0000

Convention Center, September 3

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Photo: Undecided

Blackout? What Blackout? Why Are Non-Soldout Redskins Games On TV?

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 14:02:25 +0000

For the ink-by-the-barrell platform of Washington City Paper, I wrote this week about the origins of the NFL’s blackout policy. That rule allegedly requires games to sell out before they can be broadcast in the host market. Turns out the Redskins were as responsible as anybody for getting that policy put in place. Legendary Skins Coach George Allen even took personal credit for the blackout rule. Pick up a copy, read the column , wash your hands. Color me crazy, but I’m beginning to think the league’s gotten all loosey goosey in its enforcement of the blackouts. But things weren’t always that way. Looking over the old newspaper clippings about the genesis of the policy in the early 1970s, when Congress first forced the NFL to air sold out games in host markets, I was reminded that management used to view TV as the enemy. In fact, time was when NFL owners even tried to rig things to look like games weren’t sold out — Philadelphia Eagles owner Leonard Tose once put hundreds of lousy field-level seats on sale close to gameday hoping they wouldn’t all be bought — just to keep football off of television. Things have changed. The blackout rule is still on the books. Nowadays, however, it sure seems like there’s all sorts of looking the other way going on so that non-sold out games won’t be blacked out. The Redskins games, despite what the team tells you and what some trusting souls believe, are not sold out. Dan Snyder, in fact, likes to say in press releases that the games have been sold out since 1966 . Yet anybody who looks into the situation for more than a few seconds should realize that the Redskins don’t sell out home games. It’s almost a certainty, in fact, that the Redskins haven’t sold out even a single game during Snyder’s 11-year reign as owner. The Club Seats, at the very least, have been available to anybody with a checkbook since FedExField opened in 1997, so anybody who parrots the team’s sellout streak line after seeing a sea of yellow seats show up on TV screens for more than a decade is a tool. But the non-sellout status of the stadium has never been so obvious as of late. And we’re not just talking about premium seats being available now, folks. No, just a week before the incredibly hyped opening game with Dallas, the Redskins are rolling out last-minute seat-filling gimmicks as coupling their general admission season tickets with college football games held at FedExField, putting various ticket giveaways in place and offering discounted tickets to employees of giant corporations and dumping more and more Cowboys game tickets on the market. So when tickets are up for grabs at face value from the FedExField box office next Sunday, as they are at every home game , and the Redskins/Cowboys game is nevertheless on TV in the D.C market, you’ll know the NFL now knows TV, and not the live gate, is its best friend.

Photo: Bus Stop, 14th St. NW

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 13:48:20 +0000

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Photo: Bus Stop, 14th St. NW

The Needle: No Hostages Edition

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 21:40:04 +0000

Phillips Flames Extinguished : A fire in a museum is about the worst nightmare any curator could have. So when the Phillips Collection started blazing this morning, it would have been easy to panic. But museum workers spirited artworks out of the building as soon as they realized the fire had started, and the areas directly below the fire held only offices, no exhibits or art storage. There wasn’t even much water damage. That’s how we like our potentially catastrophic fires—nice and tidy. +2 Sharks Patrol These Waters : The Potomac River conjures up quite a few images—fireworks on the Fourth of July, occasional floods in low-lying parts of Alexandria, a nice body of water to leap into out of frustration while stuck in a traffic jam on the 14th Street Bridge. It did not, however, often bring to mind the movie Jaws —until now. Willy Dean , who cast a net in the Potomac in St. Mary’s County, Md., on Monday in hopes of catching rays for a marine biologist, found an 8-foot bull shark instead on Tuesday morning (the shark now resides in his freezer). Finally, a way to fight back against the snakeheads! +4 Calm Down, Earl : Weather officials downgrade Hurricane Earl to Category 3, as sustained wind speeds drop to 125 mph. Chances of any real disruption to life in the District from the storm are now diminishing rapidly. Just to be safe, D.C. officials send out an emergency alert reporting that “if in fact Hurricane Earl changes its path,” we should “rest assured that District agencies are prepared to respond immediately.” Somehow, the whole situation was more comforting before we found that out. +2 Red Line to Red Ink : Bringing Metro in line with the National Transportation Safety Board’s recommendations after last year’s fatal crash near Takoma will cost almost $1 billion . Most of the tab would go to replacing 300 old cars, of the 1000 series model that pancaked in the crash. Sadly, the NTSB made no recommendations at all that might convince Metro to keep elevators in better shape or prevent buses from running over pedestrians. Presumably, to pay for the safety upgrades, it will soon cost $9.85 to ride one stop downtown. But hey, at least you’ll survive the trip! -2 Yesterday’s Needle rating : 27 Today’s score : +6 Bonus points because no one was taken hostage today : +2 Today’s Needle rating : 35

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The Needle: No Hostages Edition

Photos: Thursday, in the Alley

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 20:14:51 +0000

Adams Morgan, September 2

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Photos: Thursday, in the Alley

The Needle: Silver Spring Syndrome Edition

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 21:00:30 +0000

Silver Standoff : A gunman strolls into the Discovery Communications headquarters in downtown Silver Spring and takes hostages, apparently in an attempt to get the cable conglomerate to stop airing shows that encourage people to have babies. Why? Because the gunman is nuts . The alleged suspect, James Jay Lee , was arrested in the same place two years ago after another strange protest, though that one ended peacefully . TV coverage of the incident maybe played up how much it inconvenienced rush hour commuters a bit more than was really reasonable. But hopefully, Montgomery County police will be able to resolve the situation without more violence. UPDATE : Police shot Lee, freeing the hostages and taking him into custody. -10 Earl-y Warning : Driving to the beach on Labor Day weekend can be unpleasant enough. But if you’re thinking of driving to the beach on Labor Day weekend while Hurricane Earl churns up the East Coast, Maryland authorities have a message for you: Don’t do it ! The storm is only expected to deliver a glancing blow to Ocean City and other Maryland and Delaware beaches, but significant erosion could be a problem. Virginia beaches, meanwhile, have a hurricane watch . Here in D.C., the weather should be nice all weekend. Just nice enough, in fact, to make you wish you’d ignored Maryland authorities and gone down to Ocean City. -4 Not So SmarTrip : Fare card machines suddenly refuse to allow Metro passengers to pick up employee-provided SmartBenefits during the morning rush hour, accepting only cash or credit cards to add value to SmarTrip cards. Metro officials say it’s a “technical issue,” but don’t elaborate. Considering the new “peak of the peak” fares just took effect for morning rush hour a few days ago, riders show impressive restraint by not starting riots demanding better service. -3 Get Your Washington Times for $1 : The hot new trend in the media business, apparently, is selling a newspaper or magazine for $1. Not a copy of the newspaper or magazine; the actual publication, including offices, computers, reporters, editors, and—chances are—massive debts. Newsweek kicked things off last month. The latest outfit joining the craze? The Washington Times, which is on the verge of a transfer from Preston Moon , a son of the Rev. Sun Myung Moon , founder of the Unification Church, to Doug Joo , a Moon ally. The transaction means the paper is likely to go back to the days of weird conservative dogma. But it also means the paper is likely to keep publishing. +2 Yesterday’s Needle rating : 42 Today’s score : -15 Today’s Needle rating : 27

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The Needle: Silver Spring Syndrome Edition

Gunman in Discovery Hostage Standoff Dead, Sources Say

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 18:21:11 +0000

UPDATE , 5:50 p.m. : Suspect James Jay Lee is dead, according to Washington Post sources. UPDATE , 5 p.m. : Police shot the suspect , James Jay Lee , apparently because they feared he was going to set off what they believed was an explosive device. The three hostages he had taken were freed safely. Lee is in police custody. A man with a gun marched into the lobby of the Discovery Channel’s building in Silver Spring this afternoon, taking “a small number” of hostages, authorities say. Police have evacuated parts of the building, and blocked off several streets in downtown Silver Spring. Authorities are now trying to get in touch with the gunman and figure out what he wants. UPDATE, 3:15 p.m.: NBC News is reporting the man is James Jay Lee . Two years ago, the alleged suspect was arrested after throwing thousands of dollars in the air in a protest outside Discovery, and was ordered to stay 500 feet away from the building. About 1,900 people work in the building, and Montgomery County police say most of them have been evacuated. But a “small number” of people are still being held as hostages. The scene at the building sounds like it was pretty chaotic. One Discovery employee tells Washington City Paper an announcement was made telling workers to find a safe spot. She and some colleagues went to a conference room, which they barricaded shut with a table. After an hour there, they got an e-mail saying they could leave. She’s now standing outside the building, and can see SWAT and bomb squad officers nearby. Channel 9 News says this is a list of his demands , which City Paper hasn’t been able to verify independently. If these are the gunman’s demands, though, Discovery isn’t likely to agree to them. Here’s an excerpt: All programs on Discovery Health-TLC must stop encouraging the birth of any more parasitic human infants and the false heroics behind those actions. In those programs’ places, programs encouraging human sterilization and infertility must be pushed. All former pro-birth programs must now push in the direction of stopping human birth, not encouraging it… Develop shows that mention the Malthusian sciences about how food production leads to the overpopulation of the Human race. Talk about Evolution. Talk about Malthus and Darwin until it sinks into the stupid people’s brains until they get it!! Watch live video of the situation from Channel 9 here: Photo by thisisbossi via Twitter/Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 license

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Gunman in Discovery Hostage Standoff Dead, Sources Say