Author Archive
And With a Heavy Heart, I Leave You. OR: Suck It, Haters.
Today I leave the best job I ever had, and that counts a brief stint at Trader Joe's where I tried to get health care after knocking over several cases of Two Buck Chuck with my ass. As asst. managing editor at Washington City Paper for the past two and half years, my job has been mostly plumbing, behind the walls, keeping things running without a nasty backup. But one cannot be merely a plumber and still be employed at an award-winning alternative weekly decimated by its ownership in the digital age. One has to blog.
I know all of you loyal City Desk readers have been following my posts with great vigor. And, so, as my parting gift to you, I give you the highlights of my tenure here (critters, baking, dudes living in their basements, Michael Phelps, D.C. brunch culture [FYI: It still sucks], and did I mention Michael Phelps?), as well as a super sappy goodbye.
Read More "And With a Heavy Heart, I Leave You. OR: Suck It, Haters." »
Our Morning Roundup: Auctions a Go-Go
And we thought it was interesting that the auctions for our newspaper chain and Mother Harriette's house in the Virgin Islands were announced the same week. Now it turns out the Watergate is on the block. Another coinkidink: The famous hotel is $40 million in the hole, which is roughly the same as Creative Loafing's debt after it bought the City Paper and the Chicago Reader. So Weird!
And speaking of City Paper, it's fresh in the box today, with another kickass cover starring Marion Barry. Unfortunately it does not star the phrase "You put me out in Denver 'cause I wouldn't suck your dick," but that would be overkill, doncha think? Read Mike DeBonis' ongoing scoop, complete with reax from the bossman himself.
Also new in the dead-tree: Tim Carman tells you were to get good bar food and valet parking, Dave McKenna's wondering whither the Nats? in the new D.C. sports talk, Amanda Hess details why Eckington hates battered women and their children, Aaron Leitko uncharacteristically writes the phrase "a burst of happiness," plus Fringe Fest, movies, and more!
Elsewhere in the D.C. Blogoworld:
Sentencing Tomorrow for Former NPR Tech Reporter Caught Downloading Child Porn
David Malakoff, 46, who resigned from NPR's Science and Tech desk after being charged with possessing child pornography on an NPR-owned computer, will be sentenced in federal court tomorrow.
According to the Examiner, more than 100 people wrote to District Court Judge Ellen Huvelle vouching for his character, including high-profile Post reporter Brigid Schulte. She described him as an "extraordinary" and "tortured" soul who was raped early in his life and kept that trauma a secret. Malakoff, who---according to this bio---lives in Alexandria with his wife and three children, says the rape occurred under the Taft Bridge in Rock Creek Park. A childhood friend remembers the rape happening to a boy they were with.
Read More "Sentencing Tomorrow for Former NPR Tech Reporter Caught Downloading Child Porn" »
Marion Barry Is the Tree, Says Former Girlfriend. “All of Us Are the Branches.”
Chenille Spencer, once a regular ladyfriend of Marion Barry's---and a regular with him at Player's Lounge---described her connection to Barry in 2006 as "loyal." She remains so. In a phone call to Washington City Paper to "speak on the the police and the way Mr. Barry was treated," Spencer defended her former flame and current friend.
"Mr. Barry is like a tree and all of us are the branches and leaves," she says. "I am just one of the apples that never fell off." Donna Watts-Brighthaupt, the woman at the center of the latest Barry scandal, "needs to know that she has to accept certain things. She will never be able to have a public dinner with him....She needs to accept the fact that Mr. Barry is loved by reverends, bishops, friends, me....You'll never have him all to yourself."
Read More "Marion Barry Is the Tree, Says Former Girlfriend. “All of Us Are the Branches.”" »
Marion Barry Press Conference: God Intervenes
From Jason Cherkis, who is covering today's Marion Barry press conference:
The Ward 8 Councilmember refused to answer reporters' questions about public contracts he awarded and then revoked from his former girlfriend, Donna Watts-Brighthaupt. Instead, this latest standup would be a "single-issue" presser on his arrest by the U.S. Park Police on a stalking charge and the U.S. Attorney throwing out that charge.
Upon leaving, Barry did respond to Washington City Paper's release of the voicemails he left for Watts-Brighthaupt and its cover displaying her quote: "You put me out in Denver 'cause I wouldn't suck your dick," as "trashcan reporting."
Barry began his remarks by thanking God for "intervening in the situation."
Our Morning Roundup: “These Are Public Funds” Edition
D.C. Wire's Marion Barry coverage leads the Post's site this a.m., wherein Councilmember David Catania "steps to the plate" (Barry loves that phrase) on the issue of granting and then yanking public contracts from his former ladyfriend. "These are public funds," he says. "There needs to be an accounting." Barry's spokesperson promises the good councilmember will actually answer some questions on that front today. Other Council react: Chairman Vincent Gray avoided the matter, issuing some boilerplate about how he's worked to increase the Council's ethics. Barry's across-the-river compadre's remarks were reserved for the kicker. Yvette Alexander: "The nine lives of Marion Barry, except I think he has maybe 11 lives." And, thanks, WaPo for giving City Paper credit on the voicemail tapes! The TV did the same last night, although funnily News Channel 8 cut off the last part of our cover image.
Speaking of: Get yours today! As the Sexist points out, they won't last long. Even Gawker thinks this week's cover is a thing of beauty, and they almost never say anything nice.
Read More "Our Morning Roundup: “These Are Public Funds” Edition" »
Conspicuous Consignment Shop Owner Opens Another Store, Prepares for Reality Show Stardom
John P. Coon, who closed Washington Consignment Shop while still owing people money, recently closed another consignment store---Nest on Wisconsin Avenue---and opened another shop: Georgetown Birdcage.
And here's some more news: He's being filmed around town for a reality show about the privileged life he leads with his long-time partner and their adopted kids (Ella gets a pony! He needs a new housekeeper! Drinks with Chelsea Handler at the Willard!). His publicly available Facebook page says the show will debut on TLC after Jon & Kate Plus 8 on Aug. 24, but other posts say it's set to air in either August or September.
Cleveland Parkers Refusing to Open Doors to Well-Dressed African-American Men
Magazine sellers and Bible studiers---especially those who are well-dressed and African-American---beware. The people of Cleveland Park are onto you. For months they've been posting suspicious interactions with you and your efforts this week? They are well-documented on the all-knowing Listserv.
To wit:
Read More "Cleveland Parkers Refusing to Open Doors to Well-Dressed African-American Men" »
Our Morning Roundup: Did Metro Know It Had a Circuit Problem Before the Crash? Edition
Wake up, Metro. It's morning time! Also: Two of your employees are telling WJLA-TV that they not only knew about the circuit problem that likely caused the June 22 crash five days before it happened, but that they reported the problem to their supervisors. This seemingly contradicts GM John Catoe's statement yesterday, in which he assured the public the circuit's intermittent inability to detect trains on tracks was "not an issue that would have been easily detectable to controllers in our operations control center." Metro had no comment on the unnamed technicians' allegations, citing the ongoing investigation.
In case you missed it: City Desk reported last night that one of the crash victims' families lawyered up with local institution the Cochran Firm, which won the business over another firm based, partially, on its willingness to file suit before the investigation's over. Attorney David Haynes called today to correct my mistake. The family of Veronica DuBose actually has two law firms lined up, one from Florida already familiar to the family, as well as the Cochran Firm, which was brought in as lead counsel by the Florida lawyers. Haynes also notes that his firm is representing five people injured in the crash.
City Paper's fresh online and in the stands. Of note: Carman on Breadline's closing and reopening, Graham on The Year of Magical Thinking, Olszewski on the new Transformers, Leitko on Meow vs. Meow, and West on the theory of everything.
Elsewhere in D.C. Blogolands:
Read More "Our Morning Roundup: Did Metro Know It Had a Circuit Problem Before the Crash? Edition" »
Bug Bomb Blows Out Windows in Anacostia
A man living in an apartment at 1907 Good Hope Road SE set up a bug bomb early this a.m. that blew out his windows.
Alan Etter, spokesperson for D.C. Fire and EMS, writes in an e-mail: "There was no fire. Just a pressure-release explosion from using too much of the product."
The man received a "minor burn, but that's about it."
WJLA has photos from a guy who lived in the building. Looks like the explosion happened on the second floor of a four-floor complex.
AAN Awards Update: Washington City Paper Brings Home Three First-Place Wins
Washington City Paper, finalists in five of the highest-circulation categories for the 2009 Association for Alternative Newsweeklies Awards, has been named the first-place winner in three of them: arts criticism, media reporting/criticism, and innovation/format buster. In addition, this blog received second-place honors and staff photographer Darrow Montgomery, who received honorable mention in the 2008 awards, was named as the third-place winner for photography at the annual convention, where winners are announced each year. More about the first-place winners:
Read More "AAN Awards Update: Washington City Paper Brings Home Three First-Place Wins" »
Our Morning: Give Us Shelter
Loyal City Desk readers (all four of you), please direct your attention today toward Housing Complex. It's another of the all-day reporting blitzes by the vast Washington City Paper newsroom (see Food Day, Average Day) if, you know, you got the time.
Watch for architectural/vocab dispatches from Beaujon, "jump squad" efforts from Cherkis and Montgomery, doings at the landlord-tenant court from Housing Complex's regularly scheduled columnist Samuelson, Wemple doing whatever Wemple's doing, Scheinman on pricey condos, DeBonis on the new and improved (?) DCRA, Carman on crummy and otherwise restaurant designs, and I'll be on the critter beat with the animal shelters, as well as other random stuff, including a shaky real-estate angle from GoRemy, the infamous Arlington rapper.
It's all real estate, all day. Got a tip? Got a crappy landlord? Got something to say about D.C. house porn? Hit the twitter (@housingcomplex) and the comments.
“I Still Think That Metro Rail Is the Safest Way to Travel in D.C.”
Brandon Burgess, who was standing by the glass partition in the middle of the Red Line car mangled in yesterday's crash, gives an interesting account of what happened to the Knoxville News Sentinel (he's a former student at the University of Tennessee).
Burgess, on his way to U Street and planning to change trains at Fort Totten, describes climbing over the rubble in the smoke-filled car, seeing sky, losing his shoes, and trying to dislodge a teenager whose leg appeared to be broken. A roommate picked him up in a cab after the crash.
After all of it, Burgess says Metro's still the safest way to get around D.C. "but from now on I'll be sitting in the middle car of the train where, hopefully, this will never happen again."
Seven Metro Crash Victims Identified
WaPo's Dr. Gridlock blogged the identities of seven of the nine who died in yesterday's Red Line crash:
- Jeanice McMillan, 42, of Springfield (train operator)
- Major General David F. Wherley, Jr., former commanding general, Joint Force Headquarters, District of Columbia National Guard, and his wife Ann, both 62
- Lavonda King, 23
- Dennis Hawkins, 64
- Mary Doolittle, 59
- Anna Fernandez, 40
Per Cherkis, per WTOP, as well, with more on where they lived and one alternate spelling (Lavanda King).
Councilmember Phil Mendelson put out a statement about the Wherleys:
How To Figure Out If You Have Bed Bugs: Get This Dog To Come Over
In a posh hotel in downtown D.C., Dixie, a beagle mix, is sniffing out bed bugs. She can find them in walls, under carpets, and mixed up with cockroaches inside a spinning training device. Mattresses, the most common hiding place for these seed-size suckers of human blood, pose little challenge.
“She only gets fed if she finds a bed bug,” says her trainer and handler, Blaine Lessard, as he reaches into his belted pouch for a piece of kibble. Read More "How To Figure Out If You Have Bed Bugs: Get This Dog To Come Over" »
