One of you emailed me this link to DCist with the subject line, “Good news for you!”. Thank you for that! As for the “news”, it turns out that Ben’s Chili Bowl just started serving vegetarian hot dogs; now I can finally eat something at Ben’s which looks like what the rest of you order. From Ben’s Big Blog:
For a few years now customers have been calling and emailing Ben’s requesting that they offer veggie hot dogs. Though it took some time to find the one that lives up to the quality and reputation of Ben’s, a veggie dog is now on the menu! Get yours with mustard, onions and Ben’s famous veggie chili. Don’t forget, for years Ben’s has offered Veggie Burgers, Veggie Chili, Veggie Chili Fries and Veggie Chili-Cheese Fries.
I’m a vegetarian and I love Ben’s…mostly because I have happy memories of the instances when it’s almost empty and the staff and I sing along to “My Girl” or similar. Everyone who works there is so kind. And the chocolate milkshakes are yummy.
Public officials will tell you that the crews have moved on to other parts of the city… so don’t believe your lying eyes. We have been here before, a high profile killing that grabs the up and coming part of the city. But then like collective amnesia we move on and forget.
The point being made in article after article is that last week’s murder happened in the rapidly gentrifying part of the city. But we can’t coffee-shop and bike-lane our way out of this tragedy. There are still numerous people in DC who have degenerated to the point of expressing dissent through murder and haven’t learned to disagree without becoming violently disagreeable, no matter where they live. But my hope is that the people who use those coffee shops and bike lanes can and will be the change — if they care enough to do so….
Just finished reading Mike DeBonis’ column, “Consultant’s postmortem: Fenty became ‘flawed and expendable’”:
Bill Knapp — the veteran political communications consultant, whose business partner Anita Dunn consulted for both Fenty and Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee — has come forward to explain to Democratic operatives that this was more about Fenty’s preternaturally bad communications instinct than a latent anti-incumbent mood…
Fenty lost, Knapp writes, because he “neglected a critical base” and “symbolic of that was the Sunday before the election when he participated in a triathlon in DC instead of visiting African American churches, as his opponent did.”
Ugh. That’s brutal. Triathlons are impressive, but he needed to focus on some church-going folks at that point, not his fitness. Continue reading →
A quick non-update regarding yesterday’s post about the Lobster Truck doing unfair things this weekend at Eastern Market. I reached out to Red Hook Lobster yesterday and promptly received this tweet:
…as well as two emails to coordinate a time to talk. Nice! The last email said the line had ended early, and they’d call me around 1:30. When they called me at 2pm, they were somewhere very loud AND they were suddenly busy with customers again so I offered to speak to them later in the evening– they said around 6pm. I waited (as did my puppy, whose trip to the dog park was being delayed in the interests of investigative non-journalism)…and waited. No word. At 7:30, I gave up and grabbed a leash. I’ll try again today. I’d really like to hear their side of things; I know some of you would, too.
Good morning, DCentric readers! While you were watching Monday Night Football, we were all over the interweb, searching for interesting links!
Navy Yard residents scoff at neighborhood’s ‘dangerous’ reputation “Ward 6 Councilman Tommy Wells does not buy’s the report’s numbers. “An area, a neighborhood, that’s not had a murder since 2005 — to be listed as one of the 9th-most dangerous means that America, in the past five years, must have become incredibly safe,” Wells said.” (tbd.com)
MoCo wants to fine dog owners $500 for tying up their pups before running in a store “The District has tethering laws on the books, though how often such laws are actually enforced is debatable. Put it this way: I’ve never seen a cop stationed outside the Whole Foods on P Street to write tickets to those who tie up their dogs to run into the grocery. (Obviously, whether that’s an appropriate use of police resources is another debate entirely.)” (DCist)
This is not the humanitarian approach to trapping wildlife indoors. Eek!
If you had told me that this was from the Onion, I would’ve believed it. Via WTOP:
D.C. Councilmember Mary Cheh (Ward 3) introduced the Wildlife Protection Act, which would require people who trap wild animals that get into your house – like rats, mice, squirrels, possums – to follow basic humanitarian guidelines…But one part of the bill had reporters asking a lot of questions at D.C. Council Chairman Vincent Gray’s monthly press briefing.
“If I have some squirrels or some possums in my attic, I’m not frankly concerned about preserving their family unit. Moreover, how can I identify what their family unit is? This is in the bill!” government watchdog Dorothy Brizill asked.
“Are you white and wracked with guilt? Relax and enjoy your privilege, says comedian and WORLDcompass.org video blogger Hari Kondabolu. And while you’re at it, break out the bell hooks.”
For the second year in a row, using exclusive data developed by Dr. Andrew Schiller’s team at NeighborhoodScout.com, and based on FBI data from all 17,000 local law enforcement agencies, WalletPop reveals the top 25 most dangerous neighborhoods with the highest predicted rates of violent crime in America…
Considering the heated, ongoing food truck war, this is the last thing trucks should do. The strongest argument that brick and mortar restaurants make against mobile purveyors of noms is that the status quo is unfair, mostly because of the different taxes food trucks pay vs. traditional restaurants. If a truck is avoiding paying a vendor fee, that’s unfair, as well.
Also– allowing customers to cannibalize another establishment’s amenities in order to chow down on $15 lobster rolls? That’s…tacky. One would expect more from both the purveyors and patrons of such a WASP-y concept. My word, I’m clutching my pearls, as I type. I’ve reached out to Lobster Truck DC for comment, will update you all if I receive one.
UPDATE: I spoke to Lobster Truck for a few minutes this afternoon, but they couldn’t hear me/seemed unavailable, so I asked them to call me later this evening. I’ll keep you posted.
Good morning, DCentric readers! Let’s start this week off properly– with some nifty links!
MPD Makes Marijuana Bust in Burlieth A comment: “We keep voting in demagogues who won’t even think about ending our insane Prohibition-style approach to treating drug abuse, and then we blame the cops for enforcing the law. As far as I’m concerned, the cops should bust more people in upscale areas: if members of the moneyed and influential classes start becoming collateral damage in this stupid “war” on drugs, then maybe we’ll start seeing change that will benefit everyone.” (DCist)
How Heartbreaking for Families: Foreclosures Slow as Document Flaws Emerge ““We’re seeing a fundamental breakdown in the system, because no one cared that much about getting things right,” said Representative Alan Grayson, a Democrat of Florida, who unsuccessfully asked the Florida Supreme Court to halt all foreclosures in that state…Defense lawyers say the disclosures are symptomatic of the carelessness, if not outright fraud, that lenders have been exhibiting for years in their rush to file cases. Many necessary documents have disappeared, with defense lawyers saying the lenders often do not even have standing to foreclose.” (The New York Times)
After buying historic home, Md. officials find it wasn’t really Uncle Tom’s Cabin The house was once home to the Riley family, who held Henson as chattel, and the years Henson spent on the 3,700-acre Riley plantation, from 1795 to 1830, did form the basis of his memoirs, which Stowe, in turn, relied heavily on. But historians have determined that Henson never lived in either the house or the cabin, which was then a kitchen. He lived in slave quarters that are long gone. (The Washington Post) Continue reading →
