Mayor Fenty asks a potential voter if she is registered in the District.
As they walked by, Mayor Adrian Fenty asked people if they were registered to vote in the district; if the answer was “No”, they were directed to an extremely cordial volunteer who offered to explain how to do that while he noted their information on a clipboard.
The 9:30 Club is starting its own record label! “It’s no secret the traditional record business is in total disarray. But I’ve been an independent businessman my entire career and have been used to taking things into my own hands, so we decided, hell, we’ll launch a record label…” (tbd.com)
Graham, Mendelson, Gray top gay activists’ candidate ratings Because the GLAA considers a candidate’s record of action in addition to his or her positions on the issues, a perfect rating is generally out of reach for non-incumbents. And even among incumbents, it takes more than being right on gay issues. (voices.washingtonpost.com)
Recipe Sleuth: Baked & Wired’s Peaches-and-Cream Pie “As the end of summer approaches, this recipe is the perfect way to make use of the season’s last ripe peaches.” (Washingtonian.com)
Want to get Michelle Rhee a beautiful wedding present? Peruse her registry. The Covered Sugar bowl is only $265! (michaelcfina.com)
Dancing Panda Do you miss Tai Shan? Wish he were still at the National Zoo? Watch this baby panda shimmy at the Bifengxia Panda Base in Sichuan, China, and remember the good times we had with DC’s favorite Ailuropoda melanoleuca. p.s. The vid is fine (if not better) with the sound off. (youtube.com)
How To Get A Georgetown Bagelry Bagel In Georgetown “Once upon a time, going back to the mid-80s, Georgetown was home to the area’s best bagel shop, Georgetown Bagelry. Owned by the Adler family, it was on M Street. The story gets sad here.” (caroljoynt.com)
John Mueller/Extra Medium
Kermit the Frog at The Smithsonian
Today, a beloved, internationally-recognized icon moved to the Smithsonian. What many of you may not know is that he was born right here in Washington, D.C. Via the AP:
The original Kermit the Frog, his body created with an old dull-green coat and his eyes made of pingpong balls, has returned home to the nation’s capital, where the puppet got his start.
The first Kermit creation from Jim Henson’s Muppet’s collection appeared in 1955 on the early TV show “Sam and Friends,” produced at Washington’s WRC-TV. Henson’s widow Jane Henson on Wednesday donated 10 characters from the show to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.
People bought fewer houses nationwide in the month of July than they did in June, but when they DID buy a home, they paid more than they would have in 2009. The Washington Business Journal reports:
Existing-home sales plunged nationwide in July, but prices were higher than a year ago with price gains in Washington among the biggest in the nation…
In Washington, the year-over-year price gain was 4 percent, to an average sales price of $351,100. Washington’s gain in prices was the fourth strongest among the nation’s 20 largest markets, topped only by Boston, New York and San Diego.
Ron Diggity
Pete’s New Haven Style Apizza‘s second location at “Ten-Frien” (so designated because it’s in the middle of the Tenleytown and Friendship Heights Metro stops) was the site of a “Middle Class Task Force” round table this afternoon– and the Vice President was there, meeting employees, calling Nurses “angels” and ordering pizzas to go. See pictures of his visit, here.
As for what was said, here’s a snippet from the White House Pool Report (note: “Mehr” is Pete’s co-owner, Joel Mehr):
At beginning of roundtable discussion, Mehr told Biden that he and his co-owners have two stores and are getting ready to open a third (great news for lovers of good pizza).
Biden asked Mehr “how in God’s name did you get credit?”
Mehr said he went to 20 banks before finding a local one in DC that would give him a loan.
A third location IS good news for apizza-lovers. The having to go to 20 banks to secure credit? Not so good. As for the Vice-President’s order, he chose to take one plain and one pepperoni back to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
Credit: Michael A. Brown (dccouncil.us)/Michael D. Brown(KCinDC via Wikimedia Commons)
Michael A. Brown (left) and Michael D. Brown
One Black, one White. And one of them seems to be benefiting from voter confusion. TBD has more:
“The strangest storyline of the D.C. Council race continues: little-known Michael D. Brown, one of the District’s shadow senators, beat incumbent Phil Mendelson in last night’s Ward 5 straw poll, 370 to 250. The victory again raises the specter that Michael D. Brown, who only recently said he might start actively raising campaign funds, might be the beneficiary of mistaken identity — he shares the same name as current councilmember Michael A. Brown.”
Current council member Michael A. Brown (the Black one) is not running this year. According to WeLoveDC, Phil Mendelson has resorted to creating fliers detailing the difference between Browns (with a photograph). Here’s hoping that voters figure out their Browns, soon.
Who knew “the husband” whom Elizabeth Gilbert messily divorced in “Eat, Pray, Love” is a (somewhat) local scholar and humanitarian who is too classy to say a word about the mega-hit book and merchandising coup of a movie? I didn’t, until I read Vox Populi, which describes his reaction to EPL:
Michael Cooper, however, has taken this all in stride. While ex-wife Elizabeth Gilbert spent a year traipsing around Italy, India, and Indonesia, he went on his own journey of self-reflection and came out a better man. (The film portrays Cooper falling apart in a storm of guilt and regret.)
After a messy divorce, Cooper intensified his efforts in humanitarian relief and human rights, embarking on a journey not unlike Gilbert’s through Kosovo, Mongolia, Iran, Iraq, and other developing nations. The difference? Cooper did more than eat, pray, and love. He gave aid to peoples displaced by natural disasters and armed conflict.
According to The Daily Beast, Cooper remarried (she’s a Canadian diplomat) and is the father of two little boys; he’s working as a Public Interest Law Scholar at Georgetown and while he was polite enough to return their call, he had no comment. Considering that response, it’s not surprising that Cooper backed away from a book deal, when he was asked to focus on Gilbert vs. how he moved on. Such restraint is admirable, and quite a contrast to blockbuster statements.
Beechwood Photography via flickr
Georgetown Metropolitan informs us that Circulator buses will be replacing those quirky, loud blue shuttles which transported people from the Dupont Circle and Rosslyn metro stops into Georgetown, starting next Sunday:
…the new Circulator route is identical to the Blue Bus. What will be different are the rates: normal fare will still be a buck, but you won’t get a 50 cent discount for showing a Smartrip. Although, you will get to pay with a Smartrip, which is probably worth 50 cents.
Check out the comments section for a GM reader’s unforgettable memory of riding the blue bus into town– on September 11, 2001.
Michelle Rhee postpones her wedding, uninvites wedding guests “they are changing the date and location of their nuptials — and only close friends and family now are invited.” (mcclatchydc.com)
Lanier on Chinatown and teens, she addresses jaywalking and pedestrian safety, too. “She explained rather plainly that you can’t bust up large congregations of kids before curfew just because they make some residents uncomfortable” (tbd.com)
The Name Game (a humorous cartoon) Some version of this happens to me (and many other POC) almost daily, in diverse DC. 
(VIDEO: xtranormal.com)
WJLA/TBD reporter Mike Conneen gets a shout-out from Angelina Jolie …for his work as an extra, on “Salt”. Go Mike! (VIDEO: brightcove.com)
In an “isolated instance” DC Middle School Student Taken to Wrong Address by Contractor “A statement from General Counsel Beth Colleye says the van service was being used to ensure children with last-minute address changes made the first day of school.” (myfoxdc.com)
After debt and legal issues, Roberto Donna starts from scratch with Galileo III “Donna, an outsize figure in the food world whose financial and legal problems have blown up like a souffle in recent years, sat alone at the defendant’s table, no longer able to pay a lawyer to defend him.” (The Washington Post)
Can you hear me now? People of Color more likely to communicate via mobile devices. “The latest data shows minorities are generally more likely to use mobile devices to communicate, meaning any proposals targeting wireless communications may disproportionately affect black and Hispanic Americans.” (thehill.com)
Arlington County via Flicrk
Ballston, VA
Local (and from what I can gather, volunteer-run) blog ArlNow.com has some interesting news about AOL:
“Internet giant AOL is rolling out a local news site devoted exclusively to the Ballston-Virginia Square area. The Ballston Patch will launch on September 13 with a paid, full-time editor at the helm.”
The Ballston Patch has the following “introduction”:
Ballston-Virginia Square Patch is a hub of local news and information for and about Ballston-Virginia Square — and we’re launching soon…Our mission is simple: to make people’s lives better by providing quick and easy access to the local news and information that is most relevant to them.
It sounds like a neighborhood blog crossed with Yelp!:
Ballston-Virginia Square Patch is much more than a news site. It will also include a comprehensive events calendar, restaurant reviews, and a rich directory of all of Ballston-Virginia Square’s important places. We want to be the place you go to find a dentist, a mechanic, an activity for the kids, or the name of the official to call for a building permit or to make a noise complaint. And our listings won’t be skimpy Yellow-Pages stuff—we’ll provide detailed information like maps, products sold and even photos of every business.
Developing…
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