Party At Ground Zero: It's holiday party season for everyone, the D.C. Council included. Ethics controversies notwithstanding, the council will throw a $5,000 party for members and aides tomorrow night at the Washington Court Hotel; the money comes from donations of up to $380 per member from constituent service funds. Which, every councilmember would hasten to add, are not slush funds. The good news: At least they're not spending tax money on this shindig. The bad news: The party conflicts with a Washington City Paper party, which means we probably won't see any councilmembers at our event. Or maybe that's the good news. -2

Taxation Without Sanitation, Again?: Get ready for more angst over what parts of the D.C. government can and can't operate if the feds shut down. The Obama administration is ordering agencies to prepare contingency plans in case Congress can't suddenly, at the end of the year, remember how to do its job and pass the laws that allow the government to remain in business. (A feat which, to be honest, would be something of a surprise.) A federal shutdown would mean D.C. can't spend local tax revenue, either, because technically all our local taxes are collected, then given to the feds, then appropriated back. Officials said in April, when this possibility first came up, that a shutdown would cost about $1 million a week. So remember, call up D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton and urge her to vote in favor of a spending bill. Wait, what? Oh. Never mind. -4

Skinny Jeans And All: Picture Georgetown in your head, and what comes to mind? Sweater vests, maybe? BMWs? Bros (or chads)? According to the folks at CollegeMagazine.com, though, those stereotypes are way out of date, and the neighborhood actually more closely resembles Williamsburg. Because they listed the university that resides there as the 10th "most hipster campus" in America, whatever that means; the list was topped by New York University and the Fashion Institute of Technology. No word on what this means for the Hoyas' basketball uniform design next season. +1

National Disaster: Anyone who sat through some of the low points of the Washington Nationals' last few seasons would not be surprised to learn that Nationals Park is hosting a disaster drill tomorrow. The surprise, however, is that the exercise has nothing to do with the team. Marines and D.C. emergency response crews will drill at the stadium; the event, as the Associated Press helpfully noted "is not open to the public." +1

Yesterday's Needle rating: 41 Today's score: -4 Today's Needle rating: 37

Nationals Park, July 7

Hapless conventioneers, take note: if you’re planning an event in D.C. and don’t know where to turn, the city has created a new brand to help you navigate the murky waters of the Walter E. Washington Convention Center.

Today, the Washington Convention and Sports Authority officially became "Events DC," a new identity that updates the old authority’s look and brings it into line with "Washington DC" and "Destination DC," the city’s parent brand and tourism arm. The three brands now all feature huge D.C. block letters joined by a central star—synergy!

Ward 2 Councilmember Jack Evans joined City Administrator Allen Lew, Events DC President and CEO Gregory O’Dell, and Events DC board chair Jim Abdo for the official unveiling. At-large Councilmember Michael A. Brown mingled, but didn't address the crowd.

Evans called the old brand “cumbersome,” and said he hoped Events DC would make things easier to understand for tourists, who want to know exactly what they can do when they visit. (Like, we assume, have events.)

“It brings it all under one umbrella, and that was an original goal of mine from the beginning,” he explained.

Events DC’s tagline is “Powerful City. Unforgettable Events,” and the campaign’s goal is to “engage, excite, and entertain” visitors.

Because nothing says "exciting" like the half-empty baseball stadium the authority runs!

Photo by Nick DeSantis

The District is bracing for yet another gathering of Tea Party activists, seemingly furious about the very existence of the federal government and complaining about "taxation without representation." (Though, honestly, we in D.C. know from taxation without representation, and none of these grouches from states with two senators and voting House members really impress City Paper much for disenfranchisement.) On Saturday, Glenn Beck will do his best Martin Luther King, Jr., impression, addressing a rally at the Lincoln Memorial on the anniversary of King's 1963 March on Washington. Beck has a dream, too, you know. And it doesn't necessarily involve a Christmas sweater.

But Washingtonians aren't the only ones preparing for the invasion: The Tea Partiers are girding their loins for their imminent arrival in the District. A visitor's guide posted on a Maine Tea Party group's website has gotten some attention for advising the anti-government activists avoid Metro's Green and Yellow lines—a warning that's "even more important at night"—and stick to certain areas of the city for safety reasons if on foot, in a cab or a bus:

Bethesda, Arlington (preferably north Arlington), Crystal City, Falls Church, Annandale, or Alexandria, or in DC only in northwest DC west (i.e. larger street numbers) of 14th or 16th streets, or if on Capitol Hill only in SE Capitol Hill (zip 20003) between 1st and 8th Streets, not farther out than 8th (e.g. 9th, 10th etc). (Or stay on the Mall and at the various monuments.)

It seems unlikely many Tea Party activists will take this advice completely literally; a lot of them have been showing up here pretty often since President Obama took office, anyway, to scream about how unfair it is that the government will soon be helping people without health insurance get coverage, among other perfidies, so they may have learned their way around town by now.

Which is a good thing—because this visitor's guide would put quite a few sights off-limits. Among them:

• The National Archives, where—thanks, no doubt, to a socialist plot—the beloved Constitution now resides, best reachable by public transit via the Green or Yellow line;
• Ur-Republican Abraham Lincoln's cottage on the grounds of the Old Soldier's Home, located dangerously northeast of downtown, in Petworth along North Capitol Street;
• The Washington Times (if it's still publishing by the weekend), whose op/ed page unflaggingly supports Tea Party goals from its home off New York Avenue in Northeast;
• Baseball at Nationals Park, on the Green line—fortunately, both "mom" and "apple pie" stick to safer transit options;
• Target, in Columbia Heights, which faces a MoveOn.org-organized boycott over its political contributions to a business group that's given money to opponents of gay marriage in Minnesota;
• The street named after Tea Party heroine Sarah Palin's turf, Alaska Avenue NW, which runs northeast from 16th Street NW to Georgia Avenue NW.

Where else might Tea Party types want to go, or not go, this weekend? Leave your suggestions in the comments. And if you spot a Beck acolyte on any Metro line this weekend, remember—their farecard only covers 66 percent of the cost of their ride. The rest? Paid for by the government!

Photo by Gage Skidmore via Flickr/Creative Commons attribution license

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT—"Suspicious Package More Suspicious Than Usual," "WaPo: Weigel's Comments Aren't Cool, But Praying For A Sources Is OK," "Vincent Gray To Offer Education Plan," "Vernon Davis Headlines Gray Fundraiser," "Assault Rifle Stolen From Maryland Cop"

Good Morning. Last year, this LL had gotten a tip that Mayor Adrian Fenty's Summer Youth Employment Program had become a magnet for violence incidents. LL had heard that it had been especially hard on the District Department of the Environment. After all, that agency had taken on more than 5,500 kids. But LL couldn't get any comment from the Metropolitan Police Department. LL was stuck. So LL FOIA-ed for the e-mail traffic between DDOE and the MPD. LL got a total of  43 pages back. LL suspects he didn't get all the e-mails. But what he got, he saved until this week—the start of this year's SYEP. In this week's cover story, LL provides an account of just how scary the jobs program became—especially for the Mayor's Conservation Corps...Now on to the topic that's dominating everyone's morning.

MICHELLE RHEE STEPS UP FOR FENTY: WaPo and WAMU get exclusive interviews with the school chancellor in which she basically comes out and says she won't work for Fenty challenger Vincent Gray. You can listen to WAMU's interview with Rhee here. WaPo's Nikita Stewart and Bill Turque write: "D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee has all but ruled out staying in her post if Mayor Adrian M. Fenty loses his reelection bid to council Chairman Vincent C. Gray, who she said lacks Fenty's commitment to reforming the city's public school system. In two interviews Tuesday, with The Washington Post and WAMU (88.5 FM), Rhee placed herself in the middle of the D.C. mayoral race, shedding her reluctance to weigh in on the election. She edged closer than ever to framing the election as a referendum on her leadership, signaling that a vote for Fenty would be a vote for her tenure in the District and that a vote for Gray would place her at risk. Rhee told The Post that she 'could not imagine doing this job without the kind of unequivocal support [Fenty] has given,' standing by her despite criticism over school closures, bruising negotiations with the teachers union, layoffs and tough budget decisions. She also indirectly, but unmistakably, said she could not work for Gray, whom she painted as a candidate who lacks Fenty's vision and resolve. 'You can do school reform in lots of ways,' Rhee said.'You can have more incremental changes. If that's the way that a city decided to go, I probably would not be the best person for that. There are probably people that are better suited toward that different sort of tack.'"

Michelle Rhee has experience standing up for troubled mayors. Her interviews may have came off as calculated bombshells, but they worked on the media. Everyone's covering this.  Cheap shots aside, the question remains for District voters: Is school reform bigger than one person as Gray says or is Rhee too good to let go? And can the District every lose its savior complex? One WaPo blogger finds Rhee's attitude troubling.

AFTER THE JUMP—Metro stalls suicide prevention program, McCartney says Nats Park has not sparked any great development, DDOT goes after a dead mother's driveway, people are still really pissed about MARC, and much, much more!

METRO'S SUICIDE PROBLEM: The Examiner's Kytja Weir reports that Metro has stalled their suicide prevention efforts even as incidents spike: "When a 61-year-old Potomac, Md., man leapt from an upper level Metro station mezzanine to his death on Monday, he became at least the 15th person to use the transit system to commit suicide in less than a year and a half. But the agency's plan to fight the tragic acceleration of self-inflicted deaths, which are now occurring five times as often as in the past, remains months late and far short of earlier promises. The first tangible steps are not due until at least this fall, a full year after the agency pledged to fight the growing problem. And any steps that would be visible to the public remain unscheduled. Meanwhile, at least six more people have taken their lives in the transit system since the first plans were announced last September. 'We are committed to moving forward with this program,' Metro spokeswoman Angela Gates said. She said the delay comes from the inability of the agency to fully fund the programs. Since its opening in 1976, about two people a year have committed suicide on Metro. But that has changed rapidly over the past two years. Last September, after two teens killed themselves days apart following five other suicides in the year, the agency said it was partnering with a regional coalition of suicide prevention organizations led by CrisisLink. Then in November, Metro said it had changed gears and was partnering with D.C.'s Department of Mental Health, the D.C.-based American Association of Suicidology and the Toronto subway system. Metro planned to start a public education campaign about suicides, as other transit agencies such as Boston's MBTA have done, and train all workers to spot and reach out to suicidal riders. The program was slated to start in February 2010. But it has yet to begin."

NATS DEAD ZONE: WaPo Columnist Robert McCartney laments the fact that the Nationals have yet to turn the South Cap corridor into a bustling commercial district: "The gap between promise and reality is most dramatic on what might be called the developers' block of shame — the stretch of Half Street SE between the Navy Yard Metro station and the stadium's principal entrance at center field. About half of the fans at each game pass between the lines of wooden barriers concealing large, empty lots whose ground floors were supposed to already be housing fun places to eat, drink and shop. It's a big disappointment for the District, especially considering that public money financed the stadium. The controversial project was pitched in part as a way to spur development in a neglected part of town."

DDOT CRAZINESS: WTOP's Mark Segraves reports on a DDOT conflict over a driveway: "A homeowner in Northwest D.C. is being ordered to remove his driveway that's been in front of his house for nearly three years. The reason: the homeowner's handicapped mother has died. In a letter obtained by WTOP, the District's Department of Transportation has given Michael Chisek 90 days to remove a circular driveway in front of his Cleveland Park home because 'the underlying need for this access no longer exists.' The underlying need was Chisek's handicapped mother. Chisek says his mother needed the driveway in order to get in and out of the house. Chisek's mother passed away in March. The letter was sent May 3. 'It has come to DDOT's attention that Brenda Chisek passed away in March,' the letter reads. 'You have 90 days from the date of this letter to restore the public sidewalk and curb.' The letter made no mention of condolences, and Chisek's mother's name was Bridget, not Brenda. Two days later, DDOT sent a second letter apologizing for getting her name wrong in the first letter."

FIRE TRUCK: The most famous firetruck in D.C. is being auctioned off. Of course, Michael Neibauer has the story.

GRAY'S TRIPLE FLIP ON STREETCARS: WaPo's Mike DeBonis expertly—with an assist from DC Watch—dissects Gray's apparently tortured relationship with streetcar funding: "I revisit the streetcar issue briefly to highlight a notable piece of correspondence: More than four years before Gray decided to use streetcar money for other purposes, he opposed using streetcar funds for other purposes. In a Jan. 3, 2006 letter, helpfully archived by D.C. Watch, then-Ward 7 Council member Gray, along with members Marion Barry and Kwame Brown, wrote Mayor Anthony Williams urging him not to shift $10 million in funds earmarked for streetcars to expanding the Navy Yard Metro station in anticipation of the opening of Nationals Park. 'Because of the time and money already invested in improving transportation technology in the city beginning with East of the River communities, it greatly concerns us that there may be consideration of using funds already dedicated to the Streetcar project to upgrade the Navy Yard metro station,' the members wrote. 'We respectfully request that any such proposal be reconsidered, as we would be greatly disappointed at the District's inability to follow through with yet a second plan to modernize transportation in East of the River communities.'"

GRAY NABS VERNON DAVIS ENDORSEMENT: The NFL star hosted a fundraiser at Ozio last night for the mayoral hopeful.

MARC MESS: NC8 reports passengers are still pissed off about MARC train fiasco: "Train officials offered an olive branch to upset passengers Wednesday at Union Station for the rash of trouble with service. But passengers say it's not good enough. What started as a meet and greet with Amtrak's top officials, ended up being a complaining session at Union Station. MARC Train passenger Calvin Spears was among the hundreds stuck inside of a hot train last week for hours. Wednesday night, he is demanding answers. 'As of yet no one has answered my question, what are the workers trained to do?' said Spears. The MARC transit system has recently been plagued with mechanical problems, storm damage and massive delays. 'They break down so often...and they have no back up plan,' said commuter Barbara Smith. Mark Hartz explained, 'The concern is, we are not getting the service we are paying for.' Officials admit the way recent problems involving brake failure and malfunctioning traffic signals were unacceptable. MTA's Ralign Wells said, 'What I can tell you is that our investigation is gonna reveal whether there are procedures gaps.' Amtrak promises to aggressively review its operations and look for changes, which could include disciplinary actions." More coverage via WUSA9, WTOP.

VA NEWS ROUNDUP: Today, you can finally bring a gun into bar in Virginia.

NEW RAIL CARS: Greater Greater Washington has a preview of today's WMATA public meeting on the design of the new rail cars.

PROOF MAYORAL RACE MUST BE GETTING GOOD: Georgetown Dish counted five Posties attending Fenty's no-show debate w/ Gray.

INTRODUCING: The Fenty Chicken.

PROOF THAT THE D.C. COUNCIL ISN'T SO LIBERAL: Some D.C. Councilmembers love streetcars, bike lanes, and gay marriage. All great things. The council isn't so sure it loves unions anymore. WaPo's Mike DeBonis writes: "At the John A. Wilson Building, a little-noticed but highly contentious war between labor unions and construction business is playing out on Wednesday in a packed council hearing, with the upcoming city elections as a backdrop. The battle has been prompted by a bill introduced in February by D.C. Council members Michael A. Brown (I-At Large) and Harry Thomas Jr. (D-Ward 5) that would essentially require union labor on all construction projects receiving more than $200,000 in city assistance and further require that contractors hire certain numbers of District residents. Needless to say, these 'project labor agreements' have the strong support of local labor leaders, and unions are pushing hard for the bill. But construction and business interests are deeply opposed to the legislation. The trade group Associated Builders and Contractors has devoted a Web site to opposing PLAs across the country, and the group also released a study in March claiming that a PLA mandate would 'likely to have a destabilizing impact on an already depressed industry ... leading to reduced employment of local residents and considerable harm to small and disadvantaged businesses.' Brown's bill, which attracted a crowd so large to Wednesday's hearing that some spectators had to be sent to an overflow room, is no doubt an election-year issue. In February, a key union organizer called the bill 'the No. 1 priority for labor in 2010'... So far, it's not clear that the litmus-testing is going to get the unions what they want. The local AFL-CIO Metro Council asked council candidates about the bill on its candidate questionnaires. Among incumbents, Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6) pledged to supported to the measure, but some usually reliable union backers have hedged their bets. 'I can't say YES at this time because I want to hear the testimony at the hearing,' Jim Graham (D-Ward 1) wrote on his questionnaire."

TRIPLE MURDER PLEA: Joseph R. Mays Jr. has pleaded guilty to murdering his live-in girlfriend Erika Peters and her two young sons in March 2009.

CEREAL SETTLEMENT: Civil case in D.C. Superior Court ends with an agreement to be paid in cereal boxes.

DCUSA'S TARGET TO EXPAND GROCERY SECTION: Will include produce.

THE BUZZ: Councilmember Jim Graham is really, really pissed about losing the Latino Caucus endorsement.

MAYOR'S SCHEDULE: No public events.

D.C. COUNCIL'S SCHEDULE: Is Elections Board ready for the primary? Nannie Helen properties, and much, much more.

Yesterday, in this very space, we blew the lid off the latest listener contest for Dan Snyder's sportstalk station, WTEM-AM, in which the Redskins owner promises to send his cheerleading squad over to winners' houses and make them wash cars.

And in this week's analog edition, we blow the lid off Dan Snyder's cheerleader past, from his 2000 rackumentary "Beauty on the Beach," all the way up to his latest scheme, which tells the cheering crew to put down their pom poms and pick up sponges and service his 25-54 male audience.

And, as promised, throughout all this lid-blowing we've run the same photograph of all those sudsy blondes, again and again and again.

That's the shot that got The Great Dan Steinberg so lathered up he rudely barged into the comments section to pooh-pooh our Snyder/T&A expose. TGDS basically accused Cheap Seats Daily of hypocrisy and of being as exploitative as Dan Snyder!

Just because we ran this photo of sudsy blondes!

That hurts.

What kind of message does that contest (and this photo) send to the Little Ladies of Football? Think of the children, Dan and Dan!

(AFTER THE JUMP: Could Snyder's layoffs at Redskins Park have helped this car wash debacle along? Is it Sherm or Sherman? Dan Steinberg reveals Lewis' bingo past? Dan Steinberg conceals reveals his own bingo past? How loaded is the Skins' 2009 schedule with Snyder humiliatees? Yankee Stadium ain't the only ballpark in use this October? Nationals Park gets loaded with readers?)

Butt seriously, this new low/high in Snyder's cheerleader marketing schemes might have something to do with personnel changes.

Donald Wells, the longtime director of the Redskins cheerleaders who predated Snyder, got fired a few months ago. Wells is now director of marketing for Sweethearts for Soldiers, a cheerleader-centric charity based in San Diego.

Wells' replacement as Redskins cheerleader director, Stephanie Jojokian, told me on Tuesday that she wasn't aware that any of her cheerleaders were going to be washing cars. Melanie Treanor Coburn, the Redskins Cheerleaders director of marketing, did not return phone calls. Jojokian says Treanor Coburn is on maternity leave.

***

While there is no agreement on whether to call him "Sherm Lewis" or "Sherman Lewis," everybody agrees the Redskins hiring of an "offensive consultant" is going to do nothing other than humiliate Jim Zorn.

But only TGDS took time to write up Sherm Lewis's past as a bingo caller this morning.

For whatever reason, the ever-humble Bogger leaves out his personal past with the churchy game. In 2002, when he was Just Plain Dan Steinberg, JPDS blew the lid off DC bingo queen Vanessa Woodland in a fabulous City Paper cover story. Read it here.

***

Zorn isn't the first guy Snyder's humiliated here, of course. We've already heard Jon Jansen gloating over the greatness of taking part in ending the Lions losing streak with a win over Washington.

But there's a lot of Snyder haters on the schedule this year.

Mike Nolan is doing better than OK in Denver. Nolan's the guy who Snyder kept delivering vanilla ice cream to during the 1999 season just after buying the Redskins,  a super twerpy way of saying that he thought the Redskins defense was bland.

Snyder had  started at middle linebacker for the Super Bowl Champion Pittsburgh Steelers during a stellar NFL career and therefore was quite qualified to render such judgements never played a down of foootball at any level in his life but still felt qualified to render such judgements.

From the San Franciso Chronicle's telling of the Nolan/Snyder ice cream tale, which has been told a billion times but not enough:

"It happened twice," Nolan said of the ice cream deliveries. The first time, rapidly defrosting gallons of extravagant flavors were placed outside Nolan's office door with a note saying, "No more vanilla."

"I wrote him a note, saying that my kids would enjoy the ice cream and that the advice was well taken," Nolan said. "(I was) thinking he was kidding. Then I found out he wasn't kidding."

When Nolan stayed conservative with his defenses, Snyder went industrial. Nolan showed up one day to find a hand cart parked at his desk with melting 5-gallon drums of ice cream.

Fast forward to 2009...From an AP story that appeared on washingtonpost.com yesterday titled "Once dismal Broncos defense thriving under Nolan," a different image of Nolan's abilities as a manager of men emerges. As in this quote: "In this defense, I see pride, I see hunger, I see a battle for respect," linebacker Mario Haggan said.

Has anybody said any of those things about this year's Redskins? Well, when I look at Albert Haynesworth, I guess I do see hunger. But that's another story.

Denver's 4-0, and Nolan's defense is given as the reason. The Skins play Denver at Denver FedExField on Nov. 15.

Gregg Williams is doing ok, too. Dan Snyder rejected and humiliated Williams after a Gitmo-esque interview process that had the Skins former defensive coordinator shacking up at Snyder's Potomac mansion, the one with a good view of the River. No sensible explanation was ever given for bypassing Williams for Jim Zorn as head coach.

(My fave rumor out of Redskins Park, still being told, has Williams getting blackballed as head coach by Joe Gibbs because he wasn't godly enough, which would explain why Snyder ended up with Zorn, who appends a biblical proverb  to every autograph. Geezus Chrysler!)

But Williams is now with 4-0 New Orleans, and is getting a lot of kudos for the undefeatedness of his team. Michael Wilbon, who has taken to putting Williams' name in his columns about as often as Charles Barkley's or Michael Jordan's, credited the defensive coordinator with Sunday's big win over the previously undefeated Jets in a Tuesday story:

Okay, we knew the New Orleans offense was great, but how about Gregg Williams's defense? Yes, Gregg Williams. That guy. Getting it done. The Saints harassed the Jets all over the field and forced Mark Sanchez into some killer INTs.

Skins play New Orleans at home on Dec. 6.

Norv Turner ain't doing that great. Turner, the last head coach Snyder fired midseason, has his Chargers at 2-2. But San Diego's .500 seems a helluva lot stronger than the Skins' .500.

Washington plays at San Diego on the last weekend of the season in what will surely be a meaningless game for at least one of the teams.

***

Major League Baseball's playoff series are all on as of today. But Nationals Park is always available in October. So a literacy group decided to book the big room today to try to get publicity.

This morning, a crowd in the hundreds, or what a typical Nationals/Marlins game would draw, was expected to show up for "Read for the Record," which organizers claim will be an attempt to set the record for "largest one-day shared reading experience ever." Representatives from the Nationals, including Stan Kasten, did some reading.

The book everyone will be sharing is called "The Very Hungry Caterpillar." Too bad Dmitri Young wasn't around for this one.

***

Story tips? Wanna Play the Feud? Tube amps for sale? Send to: cheapseats@washingtoncitypaper.com

"The District of Columbia Fire and EMS Department met with the Washington Nationals to identify additional measures to ensure spectator safety during pyrotechnic activities at Nationals Park. These new measures will be put in place to serve as an additional layer of protection to reduce debris when fireworks are used during the National Anthem, when the team takes the field, and during the Nationals' homeruns and victories. Normal pyrotechnic activities will resume for the next home game."

More details after the jump.

The District now moves at super-sonic speed to fix major safety problems. Or the fireworks problem wasn't much of a problem at all. Alan Etter, the spokesperson from the fire department, says the angle in which the devices were being deployed had to be changed so the fallout would end up outside the stadium. "They did tell me that the product itself is being revised so that there's less debris that is subject to fall on people," Etter says. But adds: "None of this stuff is on fire."

What if it's windy? "That will be something the experts ... will consider," Etter says. "The wind is the huge determination."

What fell on Rubin? Paper debris—the wadding. "There was no fire, no fire that landed on anybody," Etter says.

The new precautions were ironed out during a meeting held today between the Nationals and the Fire Department. Etter says Rubin was in attendance.

Etter says he does not know why Rubin had overruled the department's fire inspector at Nationals Park yesterday.

Today, the Nats lost more than just a game (the team got blanked 7-0 vs. the Mets), the Nats also lost use of its pyrotechnics. D.C. Fire Chief Dennis Rubin put at least a temporary end to the stadium's fireworks displays. Rubin attended today's game, and after a fireworks display for the National Anthem ordered them to be stopped. Why?

Fireworks debris had fallen on the fire chief. According to a source familiar with the dustup, the chief then got super testy—at one point, invoking his fancy fire chief title.

Fire Department spokesperson Alan Etter confirmed the basic account via e-mail.

"[Rubin] said debris did fall on him – he was not hurt," Etter wrote. "He did have a safety concern, that's why the decision was made – so the process can be examined and adjusted, if necessary."

The firework company had been launching its pyrotechnics since the Nats called RFK home. The company's work had been vetted repeatedly. We're awaiting comment from the firework company. There's much more to this story.

Update 7:35 p.m.: According to a source, Rubin was hit with paper debris.

According to a fire department document obtained by City Desk, the fireworks company had a permit for its work at the Nats stadium. There are also clear lines of responsibility regarding fireworks safety. It appears that Chief Rubin overruled one of his own firemen when he shutdown the fireworks.

The document states that department "provides site safety for the pyrotechnics shot at the Nationals Ballpark on game days. The shoot is from the rooftop.... The shoot consists of multiple shots (National Anthem, team-on-field, and any home run/victory)."

The document goes on to state:

"It is the responsibility of the [fire department] inspector to communicate with the operator any observed risks or deficiencies and take the necessary actions to prevent injuries or damage. It is also the responsibility of the inspector communicate with the Nationals Command any observed risks or events that could lead to injury or damage."

Rubin would have had to overrule his own on-scene fire inspector to halt the fireworks displays.

"I know there's something going on. The fire inspector, it wasn't his call. The actual fire inspector on duty. I know it wasn't his call. It was 100 percent Chief Rubin's call and he was just there for the game. He wasn't there for official business," says a source familiar with today's events. The source says the fireworks were completely safe; there had been no complaints until today.

Fluttering-post-launch-paper debris, the source contended, was normal.

Rubin was not exactly diplomatic when he argued for the fireworks to be shutdown. According to the source, Rubin at one point told authorities: "Do you know who I am?"

*photo by Darrow Montgomery.

Frozen Tropics believes that H Street/Trinidad just might be safer than Columbia Heights and Adams Morgan:

"I feel safer living here than in Columbia Heights. Maybe it's just me, but I feel like I know too many people who have been robbed in Columbia Heights. And when I say robbed, I mean pistol whipped, punched, or hit in the head with a brick. None of these people were resisting. By contrast, I only know (personally) one guy who was ever violently attacked during a robbery in this area. That was when he resisted (rightly, because the bastards tried to force him into an alley, and you should resist at that point)...."

JDLand has a review (with photos) of the new beer garden (called I believe the "Bullpen"). She is very kind. That place feels like walking through something Clear Channel barfed: bad cover band, dudes, and the smell of stale beer all in a fenced-in slab of asphalt. On second thought, it's not something that Clear Channel barfed. It feels like a prison yard sponsored by Clear Channel. Awesome redevelopment!

Anyway, JDLand writes: "When I arrived around 6 pm, there was a healthy crowd, and the spirits (emotional and liquid) seemed to be flowing well." How....polite.

And Now, Anacostia profiles a historic piece of Good Hope Road property that's set to be auctioned off on Wednesday.

Penn Quarter Living wonders if work has been completed at 901 E Street NW.

On Saturday, Colbert King stepped away from the juvenile crime beat to write about Fenty's ego. King thinks the mayor isn't so invincible. Why? The mayor's hubris may trip him up. King writes:

"The mayor out and about in the District of Columbia is not the candidate who captured all 142 precincts in the 2006 Democratic mayoral primary. There's a different man in office today. People seem to know it....

He's still quick with the smile and handshake, still good with names, still works the crowds, and makes all the photo ops. No D.C. government good deed gets announced without his presence.

But nowadays, something else comes with him when he shows up on the scene. There is a certain haughtiness in Fenty's bearing, a trace of scorn in his demeanor, a sense of self-importance that was not present (or at least was not noticeable) in him before."

Meanwhile, there were lesser crimes uncovered. I went to my first Nationals game of the season. When friends tried to buy the $10 tickets, they were told that they were all sold out. When we got inside the stadium—with the $20 tix—we couldn't help but notice plenty of empty seats in the 10-buck section. Conspiracy!

And then Maureen Dowd offered a very laughable excuse for plagiarizing TPM's Josh Marshall in her column.

Another argument she could have made: The problem with all the civic boosters behind Nationals Park is that they are having to sell one of the ugliest pieces of city real estate. The MCI Center was built in a downtown neighborhood with obvious strengths that Nationals Park does not have. MCI Center had Chinatown, MLK Library and other civic destination spots like say the old DCRA building (ha), the courthouses, and police headquarters. Nationals Park was built in a decimated spot with almost zero charm. Anyway, I posted my two cents on the subject yesterday.

Misadventures in D.C. folds up its blog, blames Twitter and Facebook (like real media people!). They write: "The weird thing, of course, is that blogging now seems... well, so QUAINT. So old-fashioned, this idea of taking the time to construct paragraphs of text, telling a story, fleshing out an idea or thought through the process of writing about it. We've been reduced to brief one-sentence status updates (or worse, in the case of Twitter: 140 characters). It's easier to stay in touch than ever before. Yet our communication becomes more superficial with each sign of 'progress.'"

Borderstan collects early April crime stats for Borderstan.

And Now, Anacostia gives its blessing to Cherry Blast.

Bureaucrat310 mourns the crowding of Ben's Chili Bowl now that they've spotted tour buses parked outside the D.C. institution. There's tension between the old men and the tourists:

"I was at Ben's Chili Bowl last night with an out-of-town friend who wanted to "visit the place where Obama eats." It was 2am, crowded and loud! I sat at the counter next to an elderly black man and about three or four of his buddies. Yes, an old guy out past 2am! We'd already ordered as a white college-aged man started shouting his order behind me. The man, for some unknown reason, stuck his arm in between me and the elderly black man to rest his hand on the counter. He accidentally brushed against the black man who did not enjoy being touched – a small argument ensued..."

The 42 taps out a thoughtful rundown of area sports teams and events.

Phillies announcer Harry Kalas collapsed early this afternoon in the Nationals Park press box and died at George Washington University Medical Center. The Inquirer writes:

"The cause of the death was not announced. Today's game against the Nationals will be played, but the team will not visit the White House tomorrow.

'We lost Harry today,' David Montgomery, the team president, said. 'We lost our voice.'

Mr. Kalas, who was found unconsious, missed most of spring training after undergoing undisclosed surgery in Feburary. That surgery was unrelated to the detached retina that sidelined him for part of last season.

Mr. Kalas, who turned 73 on March 26, has broadcast Phillies games since 1971. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2002 as the recipient of the Ford C. Frick Award. He is entering the final season of a 3-year contract that he signed in December 2006."

The Post reports:

"Montgomery said that Kalas was found unconscious in a broadcast booth, where he was preparing to work Monday's game against the Nationals. He was found by the Phillies director of broadcasting at about 12:30 p.m.

Montgomery called his condition serious at that time, and the Phillies closed the visitors' clubhouse to the media....

Kalas, who has broadcast Phillies games since 1971, was known for his distinctive "Outta here!" home run call. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame after receiving the Ford C. Frick Award in 2002."

There are tons of comments pouring into the Phillies website. The Philadelphia City Paper offers its own tribute. Pop Cesspool offers his respects. ESPN has text and video. Surely, today's home-opener will be a sad affair. Meanwhile, the Nats can't even sellout their home opener.

Yesterday, the Washington Post printed some very obvious news to anyone who's been on South Cap. Street in the past year: Nationals Park hasn't sparked much revitalizing in Southwest. The city spent $1 billion in infrastructure upgrades and developers have made huge holes in the ground and left a lot of buildings still vacant.

As the article states, District residents weren't just sold a new stadium paid for with public dollars. No. As an old story noted, they were sold the "Stadium District"–a full-service community of new retail and new museums and new parks. The city hasn't come close to a Stadium District. Last week, Fisher wrote about the missing neighborhood as well.

What spilled forth in Sunday's A1 article was a lot of excuse making on the part of city officials and developers.

My favorite:

"It just so happens that implementation is occurring during the worst economic downturn in recent history. So things are going to struggle a little bit," said Neil O. Albert, the District's deputy mayor for economic development.

Really? This effort had been planned for years–long before the recession and banking collapse. The reasons Nationals Park hasn't revitalized the neighborhood are too numerous. But let me try.

*The city took too long fighting and underestimating the old tenants they had to boot to make way for the stadium. There is still a lot of concern over stadium funding and revenue from the games. Councilmember David Catania has said that the city's financial wiz Natwar Gandhi has been basically wrong on everything concerning stadium-related money. As LL reported (in the above link):

"Catania says he has no faith in the latest ballpark numbers—an attitude, he says, informed by history. 'Tell me one thing [Gandhi]’s been right on,' he says. 'He’s been wrong on attendance, wrong on revenue, wrong on environmental remediation, wrong on land.'"

*The city and the Nationals spent most of last season fussing with vendors. So while there were plenty of vacant spaces, vendors fought the city and the team over where they can set up shop and how many could set up shop. This fight dragged on and on and only ended up hurting the one group of people who seemed ready and willing to set up shop near the ballpark. The vendor fight went all the way to D.C. Superior Court.

*The stadium's construction hurt a lot of older tenants when it came to higher property taxes, etc. While new buildings went up without tenants, the old ones got squeezed. One new apartment building wasted a lot of goodwill over a battle with its tenants. The fight was over parking spaces in its garage.

*In March 2007, the Lerners completed construction on a building at 20 M Street SE. After two years, they only have one tenant. Long before the economy collapsed, they couldn't fill their own building.

*The Lerners are trying to make Peter Angelos look good. The Nats owners wasted their first season in the new ballpark refusing to pay rent on the ugly thing. Meanwhile, they fielded a crummy team. At a time when people were just starting to talk about this season, the Nats GM Jim Bowden resigned over allegations of skimming from contract bonus of Latin American players.

*Even the Post's critic hated the stadium's look.

*Nationals Park made history as one of the worst attended new stadiums ever.

*The Lerners and private companies built way too many parking lots.

*The city depended on private developers to pay for other projects. When the private development started failing, projects got stalled.

*Last year, I wrote a silly little blog item wondering about how housing prices could be so high just because the homes were located near Nationals Park. I noted that the surrounding area hadn't quite developed:

"The neighborhood surrounding the ballpark hasn’t changed all that much. It’s still mechanic shops and liquor stores. Aside from the ballpark, the new amenities include a Subway sandwich shop, a Starbucks, and a Five Guys. Those things are all great. Who doesn’t want to eat fresh? Who doesn’t like a super strong cup of coffee? Who can’t resist a juicy burger? But still–$579,000 for a town house?"

I was hammered by Matthew Yglesias for being short-sighted. Looks like I turned out to be right. A Five Guys and a Starbucks still doesn't mean economic development. And a future of skyline of yuppie Lofts is not happening in the near future. What scares me is supposed liberals like Yglesias and neighborhood boosters like JDland are really pining for those Lofts.

JDLand has a personal stake in the revitalization of the neighborhood. It drives traffic to her blog. It makes her feel better. Whatever. JDLand's blog is practically an ad for these new Loft and premo apartment towers. I wonder if she's ever noted the displacement of all those low-income tenants from Arthur Capper? I wonder if she cares what happens to the residents of James Creek who live directly across from the stadium?

So far the discussion concerning the ballpark is all about: when are those lofts coming, when will they be filled with tenants? I hope the discussion turns into a broader one that includes not just the new tenants but the displaced tenants as well. And all the ones that feel left behind to deal with all those empty lots.

*photo by Darrow Montgomery.

Great art provokes. It asks questions that might make you uncomfortable. Questions such as: "What if Washington Nationals/Senators pitching legend Walter Johnson had four arms?" This question is asked, and answered, in Omri Amrany's sculpture of Johnson that was unveiled at Nationals Park this morning.

Amrany also donated extra limbs to Senators great Frank Howard, who attended the ceremony. Howard's sculpture also has four arms, but he is swinging five bats.

Howard is a human mountain. After talking to the press and fans, he took a bite out of one of the halfstreet.com buildings across the street, pounded his chest, and leaped over the Potomac. I didn't get a photo of that because I was running down the street screaming like a girl, but here he is moments before.

Negro Leagues great Josh Gibson was also honored with a four-armed statue. All three statues will great fans who enter via the center gate.

"Well, that's different," said the guy behind me when the Gibson stat was unveiled. Before that, while Nats employees held onto the drapes for dear life and a succession of city government types recognized half of the attendees, one by one, for their contribution to this public-art coup, Amrany explained that he had tried to evoke the feel of old black-and-white newspaper photos with his bronzes. The bronze, he said, "will give us the romantic past."

Amrany is a fabulous man who wore a herringbone jacket and a scarf with a complicated knot.

Speaking of the United States after World War II, he said, "Sports brought this nation into the nation that saved the world." I'm not sure how, but I cheered inwardly.

Walter Kravitz, a professor at George Mason, also spoke. His installed sculpture, Ballgame, is at the first base entrance. Kravitz, too, is a spectacular man. He has swept-back auburn hair. I like him, and his sculpture, quite a bit.

Ballgame's imagery, the press kit says, "is derived from Walter's memory of watching games throughout his life."

I took a wee video of the installation, which features a version of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame," whirring away.

On my way out I broke away from the pack and discovered where the Nats are imprisoning the life-sized bobbleheads of the racing presidents. Not cool, Nats!