DCentric

Good morning, DCentric readers! Ready for some breakfast links?

Esquire Names D.C. in Top 10 Restaurant Cities “Even after the disastrously painful-to-watch Top Chef D.C. spent half of the season outside of the city proper, there’s still no doubt that we attract fantastic talent in our kitchens. Unsurprisingly we come in behind, in rank order, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, New Orleans, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas. But we were somewhat surprised to see that Houston placed ahead of us in seventh place. Boston and Seattle rounded out the rest of the list.” (DCist)

Merchants protest new downtown bike lanes “Beauty salon owner Lisette Attias said she’s an advocate for bike lanes, but not in front of her salon. “Why don’t they use the streets that aren’t crowded?” said Attias, owner of Piaf Salon and Day Spa near 15th and L streets Northwest. “It’s going to hurt my business. It’s going to be hurting a lot of businesses.” Attias said most of her customers are motorists. “We are still a city of drivers and business is dependent on that,” she said. D.C. now has 50 miles of designated bicycle lanes within its 1,200 miles of roadway. Expanding bicycle-friendly roadways is part of the 2005 D.C. Bicycle Master Plan, which aims to increase bicycle trips…” (Washington Examiner )

Learning from Finland “As recently as 25 years ago, Finnish students were below the international average in mathematics and science. There also were large learning differences between schools, with urban or affluent students typically outperforming their rural or low-income peers. Today, as the most recent PISA study proves, Finland is one of the few nations that have accomplished both a high quality of learning and equity in learning at the same time. The best school systems are the most equitable — students do well regardless of their socio-economic background.” (Boston Globe)

When her sister drowns, a Pr. George’s mother of one becomes a mother of nine “Around her, the eight children, assorted cousins and other relatives packed into the small living room. Tyren had brought in five extra-large pizzas that were devoured in minutes – and that was just the appetizer, Taylor noted ruefully. She would cook a spaghetti dinner for them later. The children sat on a leather couch and frayed side chairs and described the unsettling sense of insecurity they felt after their mother’s death. None had wanted the family split up and sent to live with other relatives, they said. As they spoke, several began to cry quietly.” (The Washington Post)

Obama on Michael Vick, via SI “Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie was surprised to hear the president’s voice on the phone. Barack Obama had two things to discuss with Lurie: the redemption of Michael Vick and the alternative-energy plans Lurie unveiled this fall for Lincoln Financial Field…”The president wanted to talk about two things, but the first was Michael,” Lurie told me. “He said, ‘So many people who serve time never get a fair second chance. He was … passionate about it. He said it’s never a level playing field for prisoners when they get out of jail. And he was happy that we did something on such a national stage that showed our faith in giving someone a second chance after such a major downfall.” (Sports Illustrated)

Rhee hire to exit D.C. schools; COO Tata will run Wake County, N.C., system “Tata devoted considerable energy to upgrading the quality of school food, including a pilot program to introduce cooked-from-scratch meals with regional produce and more healthful ingredients. The District also began serving an early dinner to more than 10,000 students on his watch. Henderson said Monday that his departure was “an unexpected opportunity to advance his career to a superintendency.” She called it “a great testament to the talent we’ve amassed.” Other key officials who arrived during Rhee’s tenure have also departed in recent weeks.” (The Washington Post)