Its sugar content. Frat boys. The idea of legal, liquid crack. The way it turns your vomit a candy-apple color. Here's another reason to hate Red Bull. I just saw a grown man try to buy Red Bull with food stamps. The 7-11 clerk had to turn him away. Sigh.

*photo courtesy of energy drink guru.

Proponent: Alberto Ferrufino of Don Juan restaurant says: "We support the festival 100%. There are a few people here who think they are the king or the government, but I don't know what they are protesting about."

Opponent: Kelly DiNardo, manager of Past Tense Yoga studio, writes in a Google group discussion: "We do have some very serious concerns. The current plans call for a stage almost directly outside of the studio. We could not hold classes with that level of noise outside the studio.... While I think the festival provides other value—cultural enrichment, community involvement—it cannot be allowed to damage or undercut Mt. Pleasant businesses."

Local Resident Sam Broeksmit says: "It's a very hard neighborhood to traverse from East to West. Last year they closed Irving street."

Next step: A community meeting to discuss the festival is set for Tuesday 1 September.

CORRECTION: Kelly DiNardo, of Past Tense yoga studio, was identified as an opponent of Fiesta DC's return. While she did have "very serious concerns" about its impact on her studio's classes, DiNardo says she supports the festival overall.

Mud reports that the upgrades will include an expansion in the back of the bar. I'm not sure what this will do for the cruddy bathrooms nor the graffiti on the bathroom walls. The renovations are being headed by Manna, Inc:

"We're trying to make it look like the original. If you look around the Raven and the [neighboring Mount Pleasant Dry Cleaners], you can see that there are still cracks. We need a new coating that looks like original," said George Rothman, President and CEO of Manna, Inc.

*We were kidding about the heated toilet seats.

The Raven is getting a retro update. WTF.

This means classy lighting and apparently a returning to the old wall art. The post is a bit difficult to understand. I'm not sure if the Raven is restoring itself back to its orginal form or adopting a faux retro look.

The Raven has long been an unpretentious institution. If they are updating themselves to look like the inside of a Silver Diner, I'm gonna be sad.

"I am told the boy did not live in the immediate area but may live elsewhere in Ward 1.

MPD tells me he will fully recover.

But now we have the allegation that there is a drug house operating at 1833 Monroe that has been reported to MPD. And further than the shots may have come from that vicinity."

This follows Saturday morning's mayhem in Columbia Heights and Adams Morgan. The D.C. Police Department issued a press release concerning the police shootout in which a suspect was killed.

Release after the jump.

The department writes:

At approximately, 3:10 am on Saturday, May 16, 2009, two Third District police officers working a plain clothes assignment were on foot in the area of Kalorama Road and Champlain Street NW. The officers observed a fight and witnessed an individual fire a handgun. The officers approached the individual, identified themselves as police officers and ordered him to drop his weapon.

Instead of complying, the man fled into the 2200 block of Champlain Street NW. The police officers pursued the suspect on foot. As the officers attempted to apprehend the suspect, he raised his weapon towards them and gunfire was exchanged. The suspect and the officers were struck.

DC Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department personnel responded, but could find no signs consistent with life for the suspect. The suspect was transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, where he was pronounced dead at 8:54 am. The deceased suspect has been identified as 18-year-old Michael Griffin of the 1400 block of Fairmont Street, NW.

Both officers were transported to a local hospital. One officer was admitted in stable condition with a gunshot wound to the body. The other officer was treated for a gunshot wound to his leg and released.

In cooperation with the Homicide Unit, the police shooting is currently under investigation by the department’s Force Investigations Team. The Third District Detectives office is investigating the offenses leading up to the shooting.

The Heights Life has some Grahamstanding on the fatal Columbia Heights shooting. The councilmember sent out some sort of update:

"The shooting was targeted, and reportedly related to gang beefs that have been ongoing since the murders in Dec/Jan. Another young adult, Paul Jones, was shot and killed by LaFonte Carlton this past January on the 1300 block of Columbia. Carlton is now facing two murder charges.

There has been a constant police presence in this block ever since."

Really? Constant police presence? Are you sure you want to stick with constant?

The Heights Life reminds one and all: the U Street and Mount Pleasant farmer's markets start back up this weekend. The blog has all the relevant info.

Frozen Tropics has an interesting little Car vs. Checkers incident involving the possibility of booze and a fence. A sad scene that you won't see in Bethesda.

Penn Quarter Living reminds one and all that the Humanities Council is offering grants to non-profits whose projects involve the preservation of the city's heritage. Here's one thing we could document: D.C.'s go-go heritage. Could someone build a P.A. tape library?

El Guapo in DC writes:

"Have you made love to a Latino man since we last spoke? Do you long for his touch, his stone washed jeans and magical loins? Bueno.

I do not write to you today with something good to say. In fact, of late, there have been tears slowly dropping and clinging to my mustache. My beautiful mustache that is so lustrous in the spring is now damp with Latino sadness. And trust me, Guatemalan tears are often cultivated by gypsies to keep raccoons away, so this is no good.

What makes this Mayan descendant fall to his knees and sob?

The women of Washington, DC. They have once again conspired to make mi vida hit the brick wall of life."

The 42 notes that some Hooters-meets-Key-West-themed bar was supposed to open up in Adams Morgan. It probably won't: "Remember Splash? The daiquiri bar promising hot, scantily clad wait staff? It was supposed to open in Adams Morgan in the fall of 2007. The space used to be the home of Santa Rosa restaurant which had closed earlier in that year. The address is 2224 18th Street NW, next to Awash Restaurant...."

At about 2 a.m. on a Sunday, one dude at the corner of 16th and Irving decided to crank a Modern Country rocker. Not many people were around. But a sense of shame seemed to blanket the corner. I felt embarrassment for the driver. Lesson: this is D.C., no one wants to hear your favorite fake Eagles jams.

With that, I give you Saturday afternoon's hilarity. Someone---and you know who you are---decided that Mount Pleasant Street needed to hear "Hotel California." Does Mount Pleasant Street look like Frat Row? Please. No one wants to hear that song ever again.

It didn't matter the type of car (old Tahoe, sweet Honda). It only mattered that the windows rolled down, that the stereos worked, that they could get loud. At least that must have been the thinking for some. Just past 11 p.m. on Sunday, Mount Pleasant Street had to deal with one nervous DJ. He seemed confident enough, bopping up and down in his seat, head nodding to no one in particular, clearly in love with his system.

This DJ had all the necessary tools. He had a killer stereo. The bass got nearby windows vibrating. The treble came through incredibly clear. You could hear his speakers from a block away as if you were standing right next to the driver's side window wanting to put in a song request. The problem: the driver just couldn't pick a song and stick with it. As I walked past him, he flipped through the dial three times unable to find the right hip-hop song for his special moment. The lesson: Before you crank it up, have a set list and stick to it.

This morning a very small faction of possible IMF/World Bank Protesters--six jerks--vandalized two banks on P Street. A drive through downtown and in the surrounding area shows that the protesters did not hit any other banks or symbols of crass yuppiedom/corporate greed. The biggest crowds were the ones gathering at a street food cart. The biggest police/fire department scene concerned a man passed out on 16th Street just below Columbia Road.

If the protesters really wanted to do harm to District residents, disrupt their Saturday brunch rituals, they screwed up. Two takeaways from this incident: The protesters don't know anything about D.C, and city residents showed serious courage by not staying indoors on this beautiful day. Here's a rundown of safe activities that residents are currently enjoying.

ACKC: Still a hot spot:

You are free to shop at Pulp and Home Rule:

Miss Pixie's gets the City Desk all-clear sign:

Feel free to drink at Saint Ex:

You can enjoy fast food:

Big Oil is safe:

You can sit outside and drink coffee at 15th and U:

You can even leave your bike unattended for a few seconds on Hobart Street NW:

U Street Girl discovers a garden filled with plastic flowers. Creepy or cool?

Eckington (way better than Spotsylvania) charts a round-trip bike route from his home 'hood to Nationals Park.

The Change I Wish To See finds sadness on the Metro:

"Every single face was its own perfect storm: furrowed brow, droopy eyes, frowned lips.  There was only reclusive color: a sea of grays and blacks and browns; the kinds of colors perfect for blending into shadows. I felt out of place.  But not because I don’t have any reason to fret or fear or fall.  It was because when people are that sad, you feel as if they should be left alone."

The 42 notes that Mount Pleasant just might have a cameo or two in State of Play.

Penn Quarter Living notes that Ford's Theatre is offering discount performances.

D.C. Fire/EMS needs to update its twitter account! We fell for the hype and follow you guys. C'mon!

Maryland State Del. Bill Frick (D-Montgomery County) sent a letter Monday to the superintendent of Rock Creek Park as an appeal to close Beach Drive to car traffic for an extended period. Currently, the park road popular with cyclists, Rollerbladers, runners, etc., opens at 7 p.m. That's all well and good when it's winter, but with an early Daylight Savings upon us, Frick wanted to throw his weight, or at least his letterhead, behind keeping cars off for longer.

This is not an original idea. Frick came to it as a regular reader of everyone's favorite anti-car blog, Greater Greater Washington. The blog aggregated a rant from Mount Pleasant ANC Commissioner Jack McKay:

Who decided on 7:00 p.m., and why? Why not 8:00 p.m., or even later, to make certain that recreational users are off the road before the cars are turned onto it? It’s Sunday, there’s no weekday rush of traffic, and there are no large numbers of automobile drivers needing to take Beach Drive through the park to the Maryland suburbs. The cars can take 16th Street and Connecticut Avenue, and don’t need Beach Drive on Sunday evening. Let the cars stay on those roads, and keep Beach Drive safe for weekend recreational use, at least until darkness falls.

Frick says he was moved by McKay's logic. In a phone call, he says he grew up in Kensington, "a stone's throw" from the park and Beach Drive, and has many happy memories of riding the road on a bike with his parents. "We should let other families enjoy their time there," he says. Plus: "It didn't take much effort on my part" to send the letter. (Read: ANC Commissioners' letterhead=not that impressive.)

One month to the day Lucy the Ninja Dog bolted from her basement home in Mount Pleasant, her clever and tireless owners have found her and returned her. It all went down about 6:30 this morning, one day after a post on the Lost Lucy blog went up titled: "We Saw Our Own Damn Dog."

Dan Wood, Lucy's owner, e-mailed the update to City Desk this a.m. and has been asked to call in. In the meantime, his Web site tells the tale of his girlfriend, Sarah Darnell, finding the dog whose face is plastered all over D.C.

This morning, she checked a "trap" she and Wood set last night near the latest sighting. She spotted Lucy on the grounds of an embassy beyond a fence, so she laid down in the snowy grass near a spot where Lucy could crawl out. She put out some chicken. Dogs love chicken. Lucy toddled over to smell the tasty treat and recognized "one of her people." She then commenced to crawl through the fence and lick Darnell's face. At home, Lucy, now more gray than white, drank a gallon of water, possibly more. She's skinny after her wild days and nights of ninjary, but not visibly wounded.

She eluded last Saturday's search party. She eluded the many D.C.ers who claim to have spotted her as well as those who were reportedly praying for her. She apparently eluded professional diplomats and, at least once, her own damn owners.

But Lucy is no longer lost.

Despite yet another sighting, the dog whose image can be found all over the District remains at large. The latest credible tip has Lucy the Ninja Dog on Blagden Avenue yesterday, between Allison and 17th Streets, which is near a well-known sighting of her on 18th Street. All of the tips have been plotted on a map.

"Of course," blogs Lucy's owner, Dan Wood, "she disappeared a few minutes after the man saw her. And since I happened to be out at that time (around midnight) checking traps, I drove over to Blagden about 20 minutes after he saw her. No dice. Her ninjary is strong."

The campaign to find Lucy is getting more intense and more organized. A press release has been issued announcing an all-out flier-and-search party tomorrow at noon (meet at the Carter Baron Ampitheater parking lot). In truth, huge swaths of the city have already been papered with photos of Lucy and an urgent request to "Call immediately. Lucy is shy!!" The Lucy "Flier Map" shows the ground left to cover.

In addition to the site, the blog, the maps, the photos, and the press release, there's also an electronic business card to print out and take on walks. The thinking there is: Should you happen to spot Lucy, the numbers will be handy. But Wood and his girlfriend, Sarah Darnell, law students living in Mount Pleasant, know they may need more than commitment, cunning, and HTML skills to find their beloved pup. Their instructions for those who have seen Lucy and for those who have not seen Lucy are followed by this:

If you have magic powers:

Make Lucy appear in our living room.

Make Lucy appear in your living room, then call us so we can come pick her up.

A cleaning crew inadvertently let Lucy, an Australian shepherd/husky mix, loose from her basement apartment in Mount Pleasant. Her owners, Dan Wood and his girlfriend, Sarah Darnell, have since papered D.C. with posters. The posters urge people to call immediately, as "Lucy is shy." But today, 15 days since she started her adventure, Lucy is still still lost.

She has, however, been spotted. The day she got out, she ran through the National Zoo, where, in an image straight out of a Curious George, she was chased out by zookeepers with nets.

Since then, there have been 12 or 13 credible sightings, mostly in Crestwood and around Rock Creek Park. Wood, 33, who is working in D.C. as part of his last semester at Albany Law School, created a Web site, lostlucy.com, that tracks her movements. It includes a Google map, a blog, and adorable pictures (see above) of the dog who loves socks. "When we come home," says Wood, "she's very excited and comes to greet us. Then she'll immediately run to the laundry basket and dig out one of our socks. By the end of the week, we'll have 20 or 30 socks strewn around the living room." As a result, Wood tries to buy like-colored socks, so they're not hard to match come wash time.

The latest sighting---on Tuesday---has Lucy at Davenport Street and Linean Avenue NW, which prompted Wood to blog:

Ninja Dog is just crossing Rock Creek Park, hopping between Forest Hills and Crestwood.  We're on to you, Lucy. Your days of ninjary are numbered.

"A lot of people have called," says Wood in a phone interview. "Half of them are just very nice people asking if we've found her. They'll say...'We're praying for Lucy.'"

If he gets a call that sounds credible, either he or Darnell will try and get there as quickly as possible. But both are working at government agencies and sometimes they can't leave at a moment's notice. Their landlord has gone in their proxy on a couple of tips. "She loves Lucy, too," says Wood.

Lucy was a rescue dog, brought up from a kill shelter in Tennessee by a volunteer at a no-kill shelter in Albany. Wood picked her up on Leap Day 2004, when she was 11 months old. Losing Lucy has been heartbreaking, he says. "That first day, I thought maybe she was just in someone's alleyway smelling garbage. I called and called to her. I didn't think this would go on for weeks."