DCentric

Good morning, DCentric readers! While you were singin’ in the rain, just singin in the rain, we surfed around and found you some neat links. Enjoy!

Bike Stealing Can Bring Out Racism "The fact that we link criminality to race is pretty pathetic. In the What Would You Do? clip, note how the white thief begs for a confrontation, only to find that people are unwilling to even be rude to him. White privilege is that overpowering." (Washington City Paper)

Investigation: Debt Collectors, the N-Word and Bank of America“Two days after being confronted by ABC News, Bank of America has fired a debt collection agency after several of its operators were caught using racist and obscene phone calls to collect debts from bank customers. “What’s up, you f—ing n—r?” said one of the collection agents in a message to 32-year old Allen Jones of Dallas, who owed $81 on his Bank of America credit card.” (ABC News)

Murky waters for D.C.'s 'boat people' on Southwest waterfront "The 310-slip Gangplank was founded in 1977 and soon became a haven for suburbia-overdosed divorcees, distrustful of all things land-lubbing. Since then, it has grown into an eclectic mix of young families, Navy personnel and Capitol Hill workers enticed by the idea of drinking their morning coffee on their waterborne decks and, the illusion at least, of being able to cast off at anytime to parts unknown." (The Washington Post)

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Good morning, DCentric readers! While you were watching Sam Bradford best your beloved Redskins, we were scouring the– oh, too soon? So sorry. Please, distract yourself with these winning links!

Rhee’s uncertan future puts wall between Gray and white voters “D.C. Council Chairman Vince Gray’s mayoral campaign is expected to release a schedule this week of town hall meetings designed to unify the District’s racially divided electorate…Gray will also be preparing the message he’ll have to send to both the white residents who voted for Mayor Adrian Fenty (and) his primarily black base, which wants Rhee gone.” (Washington Examiner )

Medical Marijuana Clinics a Good Fit for Lower Georgia Ave, NW? ““I knew when this law passed that Georgia Avenue would be a contender for this “experiment”, and sure enough its the first location they have chosen for consideration. I think a more stable area, like Wisconsin Avenue, would help insure success of the program and the law. There is too much addiction, criminal behavior, and mental illness on Georgia Avenue for something new and controversial.”" (Prince Of Petworth )

Keep Stinky Stink Bugs Away “…keep them out of your home this winter by making sure they don’t have any openings to use on the South facing side of your home. When the weather cools down, that’s where the bugs will congregate on sunny days looking for a way in. So now’s the time to caulk up cracks and make sure that screens, windows and portable a/c units fit nice and snug.” (wtop.com)

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Good morning, DCentric readers. While you were enjoying a hot, late Summer September night, we were scurrying around the web, searching for delicious links! Happy Friday, everyone.

Arrest made in Sherman Circle murder case “A Northeast Washington teenager police said is a gang member has been charged as an adult with murder in the Northwest D.C. shooting of a Catholic University student in August. Police said Eric D. Foreman, who turned 17 on Sept. 18, allegedly shot and killed 31-year-old Neil M. Godleski as the victim was riding his bicycle in Sherman Circle, in the Petworth neighborhood just north of the university campus.” (voices.washingtonpost.com)

Ew, Stink Bugs! Close your doors and windows! “…despite what we might think, stink bugs don’t bite. “They have little clasping feet, so some people feel like they’re being bitten and some people will actually have a skin reaction to them,” she says. The stink bug emits a pungent odor when threatened and they’ve kept exterminators extremely busy this year.” (wamu.org)

Starbucks is rasing prices– try 7-11 coffee with steamed milk. Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz announced Thursday that “a highly speculative green coffee market and dramatically increased commodity costs” are forcing the chain to raise its prices on its most “labor-intensive” (and therefore expensive!) drinks. That’s going to put the price of a grande (or, in English, medium) drink over $5 in some places. (slatest.slate.com)

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Good morning, DCentric readers! Are you enjoying this 90-degree autumn weather? Look at the bright side! You can put off packing away your summer wardrobe for a few days weeks months um…for a while.

Gray will consider rehiring fired D.C. teachers “”I’m open to them being able to be considered for a job,” Gray said in the interview set to air this Friday. “I don’t know why anybody would say they shouldn’t be considered when in fact they were let go supposedly for budgetary reasons.” In fact, Rhee testified before the Council that many of those fired teachers were high performers.” (WTOP News)

What would “sanity” in parking look like? “It’s not ideal for the DC Council to be setting parking rates. Even now, the Budget Support Act each year contains detailed lists of which blocks are in the “premium demand zone” and other rate issues. Parking rates should be set through some sort of administrative process, not legislation.” (Greater Greater Washington)

At crowded public events, a doggy divide “Some area residents say the tension over dogs in public places is a particularly American phenomenon. Suzanne Nagy, an Alexandria resident who has been posted in Austria with the International Atomic Energy Agency, said dogs are more likely to be seen in public settings in Europe, but with much less friction. The difference, she said, is near-universal obedience training and an onus on owners to make their dogs behave.” (The Washington Post) Continue reading →

Good morning, DCentric readers! Enjoy your Bacon Latte with these delicious links. What’s that? You aren’t drinking a Bacon Latte? You’ve never even heard of such a thing? Well, you won’t be able to say that by the end of today’s roundup!

A vile caldron of hatred “”The Adrian Fenty loss is only the latest evidence that while African Americans will happily mouth the expected cliches about wanting good schools for their children; they really do not want to pay the dues. . . . In a way, they are reminiscent of their own dim witted teenage children,” one poster wrote.” (The Washington Post)

Some Bacon in Your Coffee? “Caffeine fanatics generally order their usual when entering a favorite coffeehouse. But those who stop to study the menu at Mid “City Caffe might find some head-scratching flavors…A maple-bacon latte, featuring milk spiked with maple syrup and liquid smoke, will likely return this fall. Pool says he takes gentle ribbing from baristas at other coffeehouses about the wacky flavors. They ask: “So what’s the drink that everyone’s going to come ask us to make this time?”” (ashingtonian.com)

D.C.’s September primary likely to be its last “…because there appears to be some hesitancy to hold the primary in the summer months, the primary seems likely to be moved back to June. That, in this Democratically dominated town, raises the prospect of six-month lame ducks. In other words, it may become a regular occurrence for mayors and council members to serve one-eighth of their terms after the voters have decided that they no longer want them there.” (voices.washingtonpost.com)

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