Clarendon Station. © 2011 Michael W. Hicks

The Orange Line's Chili Bowl?: Until Nationals Park opened, there was only one place in the world to get an authentic Ben's Chili Bowl half-smoke, and that was on U Street. Now, of course, there's the ballpark stands, but the real change may come in a bit; Ben's is thinking of expanding to Dupont Circle, H Street NE, and Clarendon, Springfield, and Prince George's County. Maybe the Clarendon spot makes sense—U Street, after all, was once known as "the Black Broadway," and Clarendon could now easily be called "the Bro Broadway." Still, if the expansion means Ben Ali's surviving relatives make more money, we're for it. +2

Peanuts For All: Yes, the District has a cash flow problem. And yes, any money to help open new parks helps. But we're beginning to worry a bit about the precedent set by the new Planters Grove section of Marvin Gaye Park, sponsored by Planters Nuts and shaped like Jimmy Carter's favorite legume. It's not so much the corporate branding of public space, as it is the photo of Mayor Vince Gray giving a giant peanut mascot a high five. This is the nation's capital here, folks; can we try to retain some dignity? At least make the peanut doff its cap before greeting our elected leaders. -1

I Speak For The Trees: The outrageous heat sweeping the city isn't just bad for people, it's also bad for trees. So District officials want help keeping some of the youngest ones hydrated—and they'll give you the tub to do it with. The more trees, of course, the more shade there is, which makes this program a win for everyone. At least until the fall comes along. +1

Tacos For Some: The battle between food trucks and restaurant owners isn't the only one that hinges on whether portable food businesses have an edge over the bricks-and-mortar ones. In Adams Morgan, local restauranteurs are objecting to the Latino market that sets up in Unity Park, saying some of the food vendors don't follow proper permitting regulations. As a result, the market now only operates on Thursdays, Fridays, and Sundays; Saturday hours hav been canceled, pending a resolution. No taxation without tacos! -2

Yesterday's Needle rating: 48 Today's score: 0 Today's Needle rating: 48

The D.C. government has been trying to encourage street vendors to diversify their offerings, even holding informational meetings titled "You Don't Have to Sell Hot Dogs," the Post reports. Although vendors see increased profits in selling ethnic food, wariness of increased regulations have kept the number of hot dog carts high.

In other food news, the Washington Times reports that some DCPS parents and officials are worried about the new D.C. Healthy Schools Act, which ups the nutritional and exercise standards for local schools, saying that the new requirements will be burden on the system and stretch schools' already tight budgets.

A number of Apple fanatics spent the night camped outside the Clarendon store, waiting for today's release of the iPhone 4.

Meanwhile, open government fans may have to wait longer for Freedom of Information Act responses from the D.C. government, if Attorney General Peter Nickles has his way. Nickles asked the Council to give the Fenty administration a a "safety valve" of "unspecified additional time" to respond in unusual circumstances, the Post reports.

Photo by rollingrck/Creative Commons Attribution License

This piece of correspondence attempts to make the case that "ostentatious support" of Barack Obama is an act of subconscious racism on behalf of the "Dearest neighbors" to which it is addressed. It goes on to compare Obama supporters to "those who pretend not to stare at an inter-racial couple," to alert the recipient that "voting for Obama does not absolve you from from racism, it may even confirm it," and then makes an exhortation to "cleanse your soul of the last vestiges of racism," presumably by not supporting Obama.

Against my gut instinct, I have decided to refrain from dignifying this letter with any sort of impassioned declamation. Not to mention that the logic, aside from being reprehensible, is damn near incomprehensible. (The punctuation and hyphenation are equally so.)

Just read the letter. Whatever side of the aisle you sit on, I imagine you will find it terribly deflating.

Kane says that the neighborhood listserv was overwhelmed with inquiries as to who was responsible for the letter — to the point where the moderator closed the thread. I am interested to know if this mailing has made it anywhere other than the neighborhoods Kane mentions. If you've heard of any "Dearest neighbors" receiving such a thing outside of Clarendon or Lyon Park, please let us know in the comments.