Yesterday, a fierce storm blew through New York City. While the National Weather Service is investigating whether it was indeed a tornado, it was scary nonetheless. Just watch this video of the intense storm as it rolled through Brooklyn. (And definitely watch the video above, which should provide guidelines on exactly what not to do if a tornado comes through town here.)

So when was the last time the District was hit by a twister? Sept. 24, 2001.

The F1 tornado started in the vicinity of Franconia, Va., and roughly paralleled Interstate 395 as it made its way into the District, where it more or less died out, doing only minor damage.

According to the National Weather Service's office in Sterling, Va.:

The tornado passed the Pentagon City Mall taking the I-395 Pentagon exit sign and hurling it through the air. Its last act as it was weakening to F0. It crossed the Potomac River at the 14th Street Bridge. At about 5:06 pm, the tornado was seen moving into the District of Columbia. Now a thin funnel in its rope stage. It passed the Jefferson Memorial and crossed the Tidal Basin snapping tree branches. It was seen passing just south of the Washington Monument, headed for the Smithsonian and the Capitol. Fortunately it was only strong enough at this point to swirl trash and leaves and break a few branches. The Funnel broke off near the Capitol. The funnel cloud continued to be observed as the storm moved northeast across McMillan Reservior. Soon it would touch down again and hit College Park. The total track length was about 15 miles long.

That same storm cell went into Maryland and redeveloped into the F3 tornado that hit the University of Maryland at College Park, killing two people.

While tornadoes here are not as prevalent as they are in the Great Plains, the D.C. region is not immune to devastating twisters, like the devastating F5 tornado that hit La Plata, Md., on April 28, 2002.

But where do local schools stand on the initiative's goal of lowering the drinking age?

The Amethyst Initiative bases their goal of rethinking the drinking age on the fact that the law, as it currently exists, is not working.  In fact, they claim it has been counterproductive, stating, “A culture of dangerous, clandestine ‘binge-drinking’—often conducted off-campus—has developed.”  Anyone who has been to a college campus can certainly agree with that.  While 21 year olds are able to go to bars and drink as little, and as slowly, as they choose, the majority of college students don’t have that luxury.  Instead, 18-20 years olds (read- Freshman, Sophomores, and Juniors) are forced to drink on the sly, usually at a far more rapid (and dangerous) pace than their 21 year old counterparts.

As for D.C. schools, there does not appear to be any consensus.  The entire University of Maryland system, which includes UMD- College Park, has signed on to the Initiative’s petition.  George Washington University, through new President Steven Knapp, appears to be hedging, at least for now.  In the GW Hatchet, Knapp explains, "I would like to have a fuller study and discussion with my staff before deciding if this is the best way to approach the issue of underage alcohol consumption.”  However, he does add, “A lower drinking age would mean more traffic fatalities and, frankly, a rise in the overall consumption of alcohol.”

Other area schools are more blatant in their disagreement with the Initiative.  Howard University is a dry campus, and does not support the Amethyst Initiative.  American University will not be signing-  school President Neil Kerwin questions, to the American University Eagle, whether lowering the drinking age will “deter the epidemic of destructive behavior prompted by alcohol abuse that we’ve seen on our own campus.” Georgetown will not be signing on, either, citing the University’s focus on health and safety concerns.  Curiously, Georgetown President John DeGioia adds, to the Georgetown Hoya,“We’re a nation at war, we’re having some real difficulties with our economy. There are just a range of issues on which I could offer my perspective and my engagement, and I just feel that right now my priorities have to be placed elsewhere.”   Maybe we can wish that one day, President DeGioia can find a couple of minutes to involve himself in an issue that directly affects the safety of his students.

Despite the various Universities’ skepticism, the sad fact remains- binge drinking is a significant and growing problem on college campuses.  And being a dry campus, though maybe ideal, does not absolve any school from its responsibility in stemming the tide of the binge drinking epidemic that has enveloped college life.  In fact, the two ideas- being a dry campus and advocating a public discourse on the drinking age- are not mutually exclusive.  There is no conflict in discussing a drinking age law and still prohibiting alcohol on campus.  Finally, this is far too important an issue for schools to be so cautious.  George Washington University’s non-answer answer is frustrating, and as a current student of the school, I think I deserve better.  Georgetown’s health and safety concerns should be applauded, but as the goal of the initiative is to curb the effects of binge drinking, there's no reason not to engage the idea.

Vertigo Books has just announced that it is closing. Very sad news as the bookstore had an awesome staff, offered a great selection, and produced interesting readings each month from well-known authors and should-be-well-known authors. They championed African-American literature in particular and had close ties with the DC-area community. They defined the independent bookstore. In an e-mail sent out this afternoon, the shop's owners write:

"Hello-

After seventeen and half years, the time has come. Curtains down and goodbye–in two weeks Vertigo Books will close.

EVERYTHING IN THE STORE IS 20% OFF. If you've been eyeing that special something, come in and grab it now, before someone else does. And our new rules for the next couple weeks: no checks, no returns and no exchanges. Please note: we will be closed Easter Sunday, April 12, our usual hours will resume Monday.

Why are we closing? There are many reasons, but basically, not enough people buy books here.

We have many loyal customers, just not enough of them, and our cloning experiments have not yielded satisfactory results. And way too many people (not you, but someone you know) are buying their books at Amazon. We'll spare you the inside baseball stuff about the near monopolistic force Amazon has become in the industry. You can also skip to the party info at the end if you like."

Vertigo merited a nod in our recent best of issue. We've highlighted their book picks in the past as well. Just sad news. The owners go on to write in their e-mail:

"Connecting the Dots

As we have said before, your shopping dollars help create the community you want to live in. For every $10 you spend at locally-owned businesses, $4.50 stays in our community. The math is simple and compelling:
Vertigo Books $4.50
Barnes & Noble/Borders/Costco $1.30
Amazon $0.00
The money you spend with locally-owned businesses continues to circulate as we pay employees, buy supplies and pay taxes that are used to provide basic services to residents.

Our local economies are key to a successful recovery from the current financial crisis. Amazon and many online retailers contribute nothing financially to our state and local economies, yet suck up an enormous amount of Maryland's shopping dollars and compete heavily with small natural foods stores, hardware stores, bookstores and specialty stores of all kinds.

While Amazon may have made their name selling books, they want you to buy a DVD player, organic foods, power tools and pick up the latest John Grisham title when you visit their site. They actively fight any attempt to force them to collect sales tax–even in those states where they have a physical presence. Maryland Senate Bill 1071 will allow us to join other states, such as New York and Kansas, that are now collecting sales tax for online sales and using the revenue for education and public safety.

Building Community as You Shop
Building community is an ongoing process, the result of small choices made everyday. We know you understand this, but are very busy and shopping online is seductive. We sympathize and have many of the same worries. But independents live in and serve your community and make many intangible contributions. What does Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, do for our community? We are:

• working for quality public schools
• advocating for smart growth and sustainable development
• pushing for comprehensive planning and public transit
• serving on local boards and committees
• supporting your causes
• and operating a business that recycles, reuses and donates.

And, except for that last item, we'll continue to do these things.

Please take a fresh look around your community, temporarily ditch the iPod, stop Facebooking and tweeting for a moment and explore your neighborhood's businesses. Use one of the coupons below to visit new locally-owned businesses that need your support. If you want a small business to offer something else or do something differently, let them know and help them improve. If we want more than chains in the area, we need to start by supporting the local businesses we already have.

Any Excuse for a Party: Join us Saturday, April 18 5 pm-??
One of us grew up Irish Catholic and, under these circumstances, a wake is required. Bring a dish or something to drink and join us for a free form wake and potluck on Saturday, April 18 from 5 pm-?? If you shopped, read or worked here, we want to see you.

We hope Vertigo Books has served as a thoughtful literary and political gathering place, community and author resource, provided challenging, interesting conversation along with some laughter, and generally served, as one customer put it, as "an intellectual oasis on Route 1" (and previously at Dupont Circle).

Please stay in touch by sending us a note at staff@vertigo-books.com. We were never good about photographing and documenting the store's activities. If you have event calendars, photos or memorabilia to share, please send them on. A computer with archived materials was stolen last summer, so your contributions would be much appreciated.

We owe an enormous thank you to the friends and family who made this adventure possible. We thank the many authors who so enriched these years, and our sales reps, publicists, event partners, publishers and our outstanding customers for their friendship and encouragement.

Thanks for your support over the years,
Todd Stewart, Bridget Warren &
The Staff of Vertigo Books"

I wrote this week that Gary Williams doesn't recruit real good. (That's allegedly him in red on a recent recruiting trip to DeMatha in the fuzzy photo.)

The Washington Post ran a story today on the front of the sports section that says Gary Williams doesn't recruit real good.

And the Washington Post tells readers it's going to run another story tomorrow that says Gary Williams doesn't recruit real good.

And the Washington Post boasts it will run another story the next day that says Gary Williams doesn't recruit real good.

This keeps up, and Gary Williams is gonna get a reputation as a guy who doesn't recruit real good.

He might have to start carrying that fuzzy photo in his wallet.