DCentric

Good morning, DCentric readers! While you were watching the lunar eclipse, we were running around the web, gathering delicious links!

Escalator Handrails Carry Most Bacteria “With the help of 9News intern Kimmy Moss, we swabbed escalator handrails, ticket machines and the poles that everyone holds onto when the train is in motion…We asked this lab to determine the three most prominent types of bacteria found on our samples and which Metro location had the highest concentration. “One of the samples had over three million counts of bacteria, per swab,” said EMSL Research Scientist Farbod Nekouei. Not surprisingly, the escalator handrail had the highest concentration of bacteria…” (WUSA Washington, DC)

Paper Trail: Where Wal-Mart donated in 2010 “Wal-Mart is also supporting D.C. Central Kitchen, a culinary job training program for adults who are homeless, were formerly in prison or are recovering substance abusers…In the winter of 2009, Curtin said that everyone from Wal-Mart’s Washington office, about 10 people, came to the kitchen to volunteer and prepare food. The visit gave one of the culinary job training program’s graduates a chance to tell her story about recovering from drug addiction. Afterward, Curtin said a local Wal-Mart executive provided the organization with some additional discretionary money. “They’re very interested and very engaged,” (The Washington Post)

No, Thank You. Rejected. Return to Sender. “DC, if you accept one more cupcake place into your streets, I will lose it. Seriously. Even if that cupcake place is one of Sex & The City fame, and lord knows how much I love SATC…really, I do not need one single more shop where I can buy said treat. NOT ONE. NOT EVEN ONE MORE. NO THANK YOU. We have more than I care to recall, and with the Crumbs opening (and the massive PR fail that came with it), I finally hit my limit. We are not where New York’s trends go to die. So Magnolia Bakery, while we appreciate the fact that you are considering opening your overly-iced doors in DC, I must say: DO NOT WANT.” (We Love DC)

D.C. rolls out digital commuting sites “D.C. commuters soon will be able to find out when the nearest train arrives, what the temperature is and watch local news while waiting for the next bus. The District Department of Transportation unveiled a test digital display that will provide travelers with real-time information about different transportation options on one screen…That includes the bus schedules for Metrobus and arrival predictions for D.C. Circulator and Metrorail. The number of bikes and open spaces available at Capital Bikeshare stations also will be shown…”We wanted to create something more robust than NextBus.” (Washington Examiner )

Ali Ahmed Mohammed autopsy report release delayed “D.C. Department of Health spokeswoman Dena Iverson says the Office of Vital Records was open all day today and that there was no hold on releasing records. But Fields told us earlier that the funeral director insisted he tried to get the death certificate today. My best guess? The funeral director must have gone on Friday, when the office was actually closed, and just didn’t say anything about it until today. Or something. So, the wait continues.” (tbd.com)

5 Myths about school food “Even some children whose family incomes are low enough to qualify for free school meals never actually get them. The process for establishing eligibility is cumbersome, expensive and prone to mistakes. In a recent USDA study, more than a third of children denied certification for free or reduced price meals were found to have been denied in error. Finally, there is a stigma attached to free meals, which deters some families from applying and discourages some students from eating the meals for which they qualify.” (The Washington Post)