800 Block of 7th Street NW, January 24

Past page three photos are in this gallery.

As breadmaker Mark Furstenberg pointed out in our Answers Issue this week, D.C. is still a car city. That's particularly true in the suburban swaths served by the Metrorail's red line. And at this point, the riding the red line has become a miserable experience for many. Peruse the WMATA Twitter feed, and tweets about service delays quickly fill the screen.

One of the underpinnings of urban planning is that travelers should be able to get around without a car. But what are people supposed to do when it's impossible to know if they'll arrive at their destination on time?

Yesterday after a broken rail in the morning, red line riders were caught in massive delays during the rush hour. During a power failure late last night, riders received no communications about why they were sitting motionless for up to an hour.

Yet Metro wants to raise fares to close a $116 million budget gap. As our smart commenters here have pointed out, the first step should probably be an audit of the budget to see where inefficiencies can be eliminated. Metro fares—unlike fares for Metrobus— have stayed relatively commensurate with inflation, so a rush to raise fares without showing how those fares could improve service is likely to (and should) go over like a lead balloon.

Photo by Darrow Montgomery

Today's the last day of D.C.'s ticket amnesty program. Pay outstanding parking tickets issued before Jan. 1, 2010 by the end of the day and additional fines will be forgiven. Pay online and enter vehicle tag and/or ticket numbers to pay or call 866-893-5023.

700 Block 7th Street, NW.  Jan. 26th.  © 2012 Matt Dunn

A regular summary of irregular news and notes from neighborhood blogs and email lists around the District.

Speed Cameras, Please: "A few years ago, some folks in the community inquired about a speed camera on northbound 16th St. between Holly and Kalmia but were told that none could be considered for that location because it has a (slight) downhill grade. Yet according to an article in the Reliable Source column in today's Post, speed cameras were installed on a hilly stretch of Foxhall Rd. If that article is accurate, does it mean that the policy has changed? Could the 16th St. location now be considered for a camera?" asks a member of the Shepherd Park email list. Another member notes that there's a speed camera on 16th Street NW near Jonquil or Juniper Street, but "that being said, it hasn't seemed to affect the speed at which drivers travel on 16th Street as a whole"; still another insists, "Speed cameras are not intended to calm traffic, they are intended to make money, primarily for the businesses that own them." But a fourth member says, "A speed camera has already been installed and tickets have been mailed. It  is located on the east side of the street after you pass Kalmia going north.  One ticket was for going 46 for 150 dollars and going 42 for 125 dollars.  These tickets were issued between Christmas and New Years. I know a few other folks who have received tickets. I have been told that in Silver Springs the equivalent speed is half the cost. Problem solved, I will not drive over 30 mph."

Read more Neighborhood News Roundup: Problem Solved Edition

Peace Out, Plotkin: Just the other day, we at Washington City Paper had a little laugh at the expense of WTOP's Mark Plotkin, poking fun at his obsession with symbolic slights against D.C.'s colonial status. Little did we know that'd be our last chance! Plotkin, a fixture on the District's airwaves for decades, was canned today by 'TOP after nearly 10 years at the station. The Post's Erik Wemple reports that Plotkin was fired over his behavior in the newsroom, not his work on air. Plotkin tells TBD's Bruce DePuyt he'll be fine. Listening to the radio won't be the same without him, though—and the real crisis, of course, is how much longer this will set back the District's efforts to get a statue in the Capitol. -3 Read more The Needle: Say It Ain’t So, Plotkin, Edition

A regular summary of irregular news and notes from neighborhood blogs and email lists around the District.

Who Let the “Dogs” Out? Someone on the New Hill East email list wants to return a lost, mysterious, canine-like creature—sometimes referred to as a “dog”—to its rightful owner. “Found ‘dog’ today in a parking lot in the 20003 area,” the user writes. The subject of the email reads, “Missing a Keeshond like dog?” Sources confirm that the pooch is, in fact, a Keeshon—and is unambiguously a dog.

Read more Neighborhood News Roundup: “Dog” Edition

My post yesterday on the whiteness and maleness of media criticism has been making the rounds (expectedly so, since the metaness of media criticism of media criticism is irresistible to the Internet), and we've gotten a number of thoughtful comments. A few people have addendums to my theory. Writes commenter Donna (emphasis added by me):

Women and people of color are more than capable and willing to critique. They are not called upon for numerous reasons. a) The arts industry is dominated by males in regards to production/direction and writing and as artistic and liberal as they claim to be, they do not value the criticism of women or people of color because they do not consider them to be their peers. b) Real writers, critiques or otherwise, know going in they will irritate people with their writing and most don't mind. Most of us didn't get asked to our prom and I can't speak for other writers but I consider that a badge of honor and am perfectly okay with not being popular. c) More importantly. Media Management is as archaic, as the Ad Agencies they are beholden to. Older people support the majority of the arts with their patronage. Unfortunately, they tend not to be very opened minded about reading the opinions of women and people of color. And they have a lot of pull at the publications because d) They also tend to sit on the boards of the media and have companies that also do business with the Ad Agencies, and why we can't break the cycle of cronyism.

I think this is on point, too. I don't mean to imply that all women and people of color in the newsroom are shrinking violets. (I'm certainly not.) For every one who doesn't feel comfortable making a critique, there's likely another who has plenty to say, but isn't being heard. (Or, their ideas get appropriated by dudes.)

Photo by Carol Browne via Flickr/Creative Commons Attribution Generic 2.0 License

If you picked up your copy of City Paper this morning, then you hold the list to all of the burning questions you, our readers, have always wondered. Congrats!

• On the cover we answer 32 questions from readers: What is it with “soft” restaurant openings in D.C.? Why are there no J, X, Y and Z streets in D.C.? How long before you do another racist story? And many more!
• And Young & Hungry goes deep into the food truck regulatory tangle.
• In Arts, Annie Liebovitz, panned.

Ward 3 Councilmember Mary Cheh's online taxi survey garnered more than 4,000 responses, Mike DeBonis reports in the Post. Naturally, it skews toward the young and Internet-savvy (and two-thirds of the respondents say they hail a cab at least weekly), but the results aren't surprising: "93 percent of respondents favored requiring all taxis to accept credit cards, and 92 percent favored requiring cab roof lights to signal when the car is available." And most people want yellow taxis.

One respondent to the survey had a comment that reminded me of why I rarely take cabs (and getting a driver to take you to Truxton Circle isn't nearly as hard as getting to other parts of the city like sections of Northeast and east of the Anacostia River): "I would like to see strict penalties and a better reporting system in place for when a taxi driver refuses to take me to my destination. It happens to me all too often."

Of all the issues with cabs in the city, I'd say this is one of the biggest (it's perhaps edged out by drivers who profile potential riders and refuse to stop). Cash-only, busted-looking cabs are an annoyance, yes. But not being able to get where you want to go because the driver has chosen to break the law—and why not, since it's unlikely they'll face any consequences—can be hugely upsetting. Cheh says, "That’s very demeaning to people, and it makes us consider whether we’re doing enough now."

While a car-hiring service like Uber eliminates the worry about why the driver is keeping the door locked until you tell them where you're going, you shouldn't need a smartphone and $20 to guarantee you'll get home safely. So it's fair to say, no, D.C. Council, you're not doing enough now.

Photo by Matt Dunn

L'Enfant Plaza Station. © 2012 Michael W. Hicks

Teriyaki Chicken & Broccoli Stir‐Fry Over Whole Wheat Noodles

Stir‐Fried Fresh Vegetables w/Napa Cabbage & Bok Choy

Fresh Rotten Pear

All sounds pretty good. Well, aside from the last part. DCPS officials are complaining that their school meal contractor Chartwells has been delivering unsatisfactory meals "for some time." From the Post:

“The expectation was that issues that we have struggled with in the past would be corrected and improved by now,” Glorious Bazemore, deputy chief procurement officer for the school system, wrote in a letter to Chartwells officials. “However, we have continued to struggle with daily problems that disrupt the rhythm of a regular school day.”

Problems include: Moldy breakfast bars (which the company denies), improperly portioned meals, and a failure to deliver breakfast to early childhood education classes. More troubling than that, however, is that Chancellor Kaya Henderson points out the $32 million-a-year contract itself is a problem: DCPS is required to pay for every meal provided by Chartwells, whether or not a student buys it.

The contract is up at the end of the school year, giving DCPS an opportunity to find a (hopefully) better provider of student meals. Then again, considering how bad this city is at properly awarding contracts, who knows?

Photo by whitneybee via Flickr/Creative Commons Attribution Generic 2.0 License

L'Enfant Plaza, Jan. 24th.  © 2012 Matt Dunn

Twenty years ago, the Washington Redskins starting quarterback was Mark Rypien, their wide receivers were Art Monk, Gary Clark, and Ricky Sanders, their running back was Ernest Byner, and their owner was Jack Kent Cooke. And Dan Snyder was just another fan, rooting along with the rest of the city as the team marched through the NFL's 1991 season.

Today marks the 20th anniversary of the last title the team won, Super Bowl XXVI. Played at the Metrodome in Minneapolis, the game against the Buffalo Bills was never really close, and it ended with a 37-24 Redskins win. Watch the highlights here, and remember the good old days.

Windows D.C.: Sure, Microsoft Office may be annoying, and yes, you prefer your iPod to a Zune. But free training in computer technology from Microsoft for D.C. residents, plus some special products and services for local small businesses and an effort to encourage Washingtonians to go into engineering-related careers still counts as good news. The Seattle-based software behemoth joined forces with Mayor Vince Gray today to announce a "strategic partnership," albeit one that doesn't include a long-ballyhooed innovation center on the St. Elizabeths campus. No word yet on whether city officials will seek to confiscate MacBooks at coffeeshops around town in exchange. +4

Read more The Needle: Mister Softee Edition