No Beer Here: New Columbia Heights ruminates that the empty lot at 14th and W streets NW, which is slated to be redeveloped as condos, would make an excellent beer garden: "That said, wouldn't it make an awesome place for a beer garden? You could keep the small building as the kitchen and maybe a bar, like Standard down at 14th and S, and make the rest outdoor tables and umbrellas. But unfortunately, it looks like that isn't going to happen. It's currently owned by local developer Douglas Jemal (oddly, the LLC he set up for it is called Jemal's Hookers LLC) and they're looking for retail tenants already." Commenters dissent, however; one writes, "With Bicycle Stations around the corner having moved out, it would be a great place for a bike shop. Beer garden next to a school? No thanks. That's the last thing we need," while another offers, "The perfect place for a beer garden would be 14th and Clifton (where the Duron paint store is)."

Why Choose? Ward 3 DC synthesizes the lengthy debate that has been occurring on the Tenleytown email list regarding possible streetcar alignments for upper Northwest. The armchair urban planners on the email list have argued vigorously for and against the District Department of Transportation's proposed Wisconsin Avenue NW line, and an ANC commissioner has suggested that Connecticut Avenue NW be considered instead. But as the blog points out, "Both streets had streetcar lines in previous eras (see map for post consolidation era layout). Connecticut Avenue was developed by the Chevy Chase Land Company, and the development patterns on that road were created specifically for the Streetcar. Ms. Sherman is correct that connecting downtown to Chevy Chase Circle and beyond by Streetcar is a good idea. However, this should not be done instead of Wisconsin Avenue, but in addition. Connecting Rosslyn and Georgetown to Tenleytown, Friendship Heights, and extending up to NIH and Rockville was part of a system in the 20th Century. Similarly, connecting downtown to Chevy Chase and Chevy Chase Lake and beyond via Connecticut Avenue is a good idea. There is no reason why these shouldn’t be part of the long term plans for the region." If only DDOT had access to unlimited funds and faced no opposition!

Catch Me If You'd Like: The Palisades email list is in surprisingly strong support of more oversight from speed cameras on MacArthur Boulevard NW—to catch the non-neighbors unawares. One member writes, "Where we are on MacArthur the drivers have long since memorized where the camera is.  Locals are rarely caught and as soon as they have glided past the camera they hit the accelerator.  Woe betide the dog walker crossing at that point. In my daughter's neighborhood in Baltimore, and others around it, they use a  moveable camera installation.  No car.  It's some sort of a box on a concrete  pad, and it can be transported from neighborhood to neighborhood without  notice.  Seems to work well indeed." Other list members rally; one writes, "A movable speed camera! Now, that is a terrific idea! Can we get it implemented here on this avenue that has become a freeway?" while another suggests something similar might also have a place on Arizona Avenue NW.

Brookland, ISO: A member of the Brookland email list asks, "Does anyone know where I can rent an IBM typewriter for one day?  Alternatively, I have an old one that needs some work." At present, a response has yet to be elicited from the electronic, web-based group.

Cleveland Park Problems: "We live in McLean Gardens and we are having such a difficult time with out 900 Mhz baby monitor. We get a sporadic, static popping noise that forces us to turn it off in the middle of the night. We have confirmed that no other devices in our house run at this frequency and we've turned off our cell phones, but we can not get a single night pop-free! We also bought another monitor and have the same problem, so it's not a device defect. Has anyone else encountered this problem? Does anyone have a suggestion?" inquires one member of the Cleveland Park email list. At this time, no one has offered any suggestions, though perhaps it's appropriate to blame the excessive rumbling of trucks in nearby Tenleytown.

Parakeets of Palisades: A thread on the Palisades email list, entitled "parakeet found after fleeing airplane noise!" details the story of one small bird who alighted to the east. A Craigslist posting brought the pet home—"He made it all the way to Columbia Heights and landed on a friendly shoulder. Our posting on craigslist took care of the rest. He's tired and hungry but otherwise fine. Thanks for your help!" writes, presumably, the bird's owner—but one neighborhood resident is on a mission to eradicate the overwhelming airplane noise (it's probably a quality-of-life issue for humans, too): "And if the sensitive parakeet was fleeing aircraft noise in the Palisades; relief may be on the way. Stay tuned for developments."

We Won't Go II: JDLand has the most comprehensive review to date of Near Southeast's fight to stay in Ward 6 following a meeting of residents. Councilmember Tommy Wells was present with a list of things the neighborhood could do to lobby for its continued existence in Ward 6, which included: "...Arguments against a move to Ward 8 move should not center on 'personalities.' That concept was not really expanded upon but, if you've read the comments on my post last week on this issue, you might infer it to mean 'don't rant about how you don't want Marion Barry as your councilmember.' Wells also said to not mention not being able to park elsewhere in Ward 6 as a reason for opposition, which did seem to come up an awful lot at last week's hearings, to the dismay of many in the DC Twitterverse. 'This is about how you view your community.'" Commenters have a very hard time staying away from those "personalities," though. Writes one, "I know its an argument that Wells and Garber told us to shy away from – but I find it extremely suspect that the man who says he wants to 'stop gentrification' and "keep the city black" is attempting to take over one of the fastest-gentrifying, fastest-whitening precincts in the District... and choke it in its crib." Stay tuned for updates from last night's formal meeting on redistricting.

Mount Vernon Archives: A reader of The Triangle digs up an undated "Year 2000 Neighborhood Map originally created by Jonathan Passonneau and Partners" for the blog. A commenter points out some differences since the map was created, observing "interesting! A few of the changes I note are: 1. There’s no office building at the NW corner of 7th and I, thus exposing the tech world plaza. 2. The building between 5th and 6th across from where CityVista is now is no more. 3. Former street grid where the convention center is now… and so on and so forth. very cool!" The reader who initially submitted the map adds, "Yeah, it was like finding a little treasure as I was cleaning out my office. It’s not just our neighborhood either – the entire NOMA, Shaw and NE SE areas are comprised of just empty blocks. Quite stark."

O Bikeshare, Where Art Thou? With the news of the expansion of Capital Bikeshare, The Hill is Home has asked readers where they might like to see a station—if the neighborhood is lucky enough to snag one or more of the 25 that will be sprinkled around the city. Two noted a station by Results Gym would be well-used, while one says that a station by Stanton Park or the Southeast Branch Library would be helpful. Another points out that the downside to CaBi's increased use isn't just empty racks: "15th St. SE and Independence is much needed. Just last night I tried to leave bike at Lincoln park, but full, then Safeway, but full, then claimed final spot all the way at Stadium Armory. Cabi is a fantastic concept, but needs 1) more locations and 2) more spaces for bikes if they continue to grow in memberships." (Bloomingdale also asked for feedback on a potential station, at First Street and Rhode Island Avenue NW, but has not yet received any comments.)

Tag, You're It II: Park View D.C. has an update on graffiti removal in the neighborhood. It might not be top-down, coming from the authorities, but residents of Park View are getting it done: "One thing I’m encouraged by is the amount of community activism I’ve seen assisting the City try to get on top of this issue. I’ve been documenting as much tagging as possible and passing along information to assist with removal and there is a very active group of neighbors on Irving Street doing much the same along that part of the community. In several cases, residents have taken it upon themselves to remove tagging after they’ve documented it." Unfortunately, though one piece of graffiti skewed more toward street art, the neighborhood's diligence quickly gave the axe: "One victim, if you will, of the recent graffiti removal efforts was the more artistic graphic below [click through] which didn’t quite survive a day before it was removed. Sadly, it was actually the one I liked the best."

What's Worse than The Cereal Bowl? On the Cleveland Park email list, it's been suggested that a Chipotle might open in the space formerly occupied by the very short-lived (and shame-inflicting) Cereal Bowl. Chipotle could easily be seen as an upgrade from the rather gimmicky make-your-own-cereal shop, and some neighbors are definitely interested; one list member writes, "I think it would be a nice addition. It's an inexpensive place to dine." But others feel it has the potential to devastate the neighborhood's quality and character: "Cleveland Park already has a California Tortilla at 3501 Connecticut (across the street from the proposed Chipotle). A second fast food Mexican-type chain restaurant will detract from the charm and variety of the neighborhood." For now, we'll give them the benefit of the doubt and assume it's the "chain" part, not the "Mexican" part, they were objecting to.

Palisades, ISO: A member of the Palisades email list is planning quite the party and has asked for some neighborly loans in a thread entitled "ISO Alice in Wonderland tea/croquet unbirthday party props tomorrow:

"Hey we are having a Wonderland tea and croquet party for my 8 YO daughter, and bought some props online etc but need more–if you have any of the following to loan/sell /give away, please let me know!

-fake flamingos (or hedgehogs) for a flamingos and hedgehogs croquet match
(or an old croquet set–we have a pristine one on loan, but the flagstone patio could destroy it)
-chinese lanterns–any lit/not lit, single/strung, paper/fabric/ plastic, size/shape/color
-teapots cups and saucers worthy of the mad hatter tea party (have not had luck at local op shops)
-oversized tophat or clock/pocketwatch prop
-several clear drink/food-safe bottles–either former beer/sodas to be capped by a beer capper or vial-like ones, for "drink me" drinks–can vary.

Any other random things you may have, like a large mushroom and caterpillar (we have a hooka prop) , signs that say "this way" and "that way" or best of all, astroturf for croquet match–are appreciated also.

If anyone has ideas on how to create an exploding cake, let me know! Thanks!!"

Though the "unbirthday" scene is a famous one in romp that Lewis Carroll's Alice takes through Wonderland, one has to ask, as it's not made clear: Is this list member planning a birthday for their 8-year-old daughter...or an unbirthday? If it's the latter, it'll be an unbirthday the likes of Palisades probably have never seen.

For the Birds, III: Last week in Brookland, it was hummingbirds. This week, the neighborhood email list is chattering about robins—and, more specifically, how to kindly relocate them, without displacing them entirely. (Perhaps a metaphor for D.C.'s demographic growing pains can be found amongst its fauna.) Writes one member, "So, we had two robin families nest in our yard last year. They were a joy to watch. This year, they have decided to nest directly outside our french doors going onto the deck on top of flood lights. It's just a lousy place for them and I fear that they will get quite edgy once the eggs are there with all the in and out from the door. I've already pulled the hay down once, but it's back again. Any nice way to make that spot not so attractive to them? Would hate for them to go away completely, but it's just the worst spot for them and us." Insofar, neighbors only have words of support: "We had a similar siuation with birds nesting in our porch at the tops of brick columns. 'Cute' was our initial reaction, too, until the poop started dripping down the columns... : ( It was really hard to clean off, too."

All Clear for Capitalism: JDLand reports that the Historic Preservation Review Board has recommended that the Market Deli in Near Southeast not be designated historic by the board, or by the National Register of Historic Places. The nomination of the building, aided by ANC 6D07 commissioner David Garber, was not favorably received by the neighborhood, and commenters have cheered the HPRB's decision. One snarks, "So....anyone have any guesses or rumors as to which 'landmark' will be next in line to try and be saved? Will it be the former theater (taxi repair shop on Half St) or the transfer station/stacks?" More congratulatory is another, who says, "Well this is a pleasant surprise. I thought there was a good chance that HPRB was going to support the designation based on some past decisions (ie the old, dilapidated wood shack in perpetual existence at 12th & E SE – sorry I mean 'shotgun' house). Thank goodness the Capitol Hill Restoration Society has no interest in our neighborhood." And, finally: "I fully support the destruction of the Market Deli to advance the bottom line of real estate and surrounding property value."

Beware the Umbrellas: A thread on the Palisades email list is rife with warnings of a potential door-to-door scam. Writes one member, "I had 2 young women soliciting saying they were from UVA doing a communications gig and turns out it is magazines they are selling. Very pushy. They don't want you to buy magazines for them but for wounded soldiers at Walter Reed. Very suspect." Another describes potential tactics of the alleged scammers, adding, "Same here – the two guys who came to my door claimed they'd send the magazines to Veterans' hospitals and gave me a grimy list of hospitals. Set off my suspicions too. They also asked for an umbrella – the police officer who attended later said he'd seen around five people gathered together nearby, whom he thought responsible for the door knocking, all already had umbrellas – he thought the request for an umbrella was simply to get the front door open further to check out the place."

Cleveland Park Problems: Writes one member of the Cleveland Park email list, "Our water has had a smell like burning plastic since yesterday. It is removed by our Brita filter, but still worrisome. Is anyone else experiencing this?" Another adds, "Yes, we smell it too. Our showers stink." No answer to this mystery has been established.

Monday's not-so-surprising flooding on the Georgetown waterfront, among other areas of the Potomac River, is a good reminder that although we Washingtonians live in an incredibly planned and built environment, Mother Nature can still pack a punch. Seasonal flooding has been going on for eons, which has helped carve one of the region's most spectacular natural environments: the Potomac's gorge between Georgetown and Great Falls.

The pictures you see here were taken in the District's far western corner, near Chain Bridge, on March 18 of last year, a couple days after the river gorge flooded. It's an area that I've explored extensively over the years, a conveniently situated wilderness below the bluffs where I used to live, overlooking Chain Bridge and the gorge.

If you hike in this area between the river's channel at Little Falls and the C&O Canal in the next few days, you should expect to see boulders, logs, and other material that's been washed downstream over the years, sitting amid a complex network of pools and rivulets. You'll also see a fresh layer of silt. And if you get the timing right, you'll see a brilliant green carpet of new life sprouting.

If you make return visits, you'll see how this natural wonder changes over the seasons. It's too bad more people don't even know it's there.

Photos by Michael E. Grass

Kill the Poor: The District's strict handgun control laws, thrown out by the Supreme Court two years ago, turned out to be yet another example of the rich in America being oppressed. Nearly half the weapons registered under the new regulations are owned by residents of Georgetown, Chevy Chase, and Palisades; more than 10 percent of D.C.'s handguns are registered in the wealthy 20016 Zip code, which has a total population of only 14,000 households (far less than 10 percent of the city). So ¡viva la revolución!—but remember, when you show up with your pitchforks and torches in Spring Valley, you might get shot. -2

Next Stop, Pollution: It seems like common sense that operating a large railyard near a river might lead to some problems down the line, but apparently that didn't occur to anyone back when CSX Transportation Inc. set up on 40 acres near Benning Yard. Turns out, large amounts of petroleum products leaked into the Anacostia River as a result of "unpermitted discharges," for which CSX has agreed to pay a $500,000 civil penalty and cover the $7.5 million tab for the D.C. Department of the Environment to clean up the mess. Which might get in the way of its ongoing marketing campaign, promoting rail as the "most environmentally friendly" mode of transporation—if cars, trucks, and airplanes weren't actually dirtier. -3

Fumblerooski: The NFL released figures yesterday that showed 111 million people watched Sunday's Super Bowl—the largest U.S. audience for a TV show ever. (Sorry, M.A.S.H.) The overwhelming popularity of pro football may help explain why police say Maurice Carter was able to scam $500 from a woman he met outside the Eden nightclub last month by posing as a member of the Cincinnati Bengals. Saying he was on the phone with Baltimore Ravens running back Willis McGahee, Carter told the woman he'd forgotten his wallet and needed cash from her to pay for his hotel room. He was arrested, and penalized 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct. -2

Food Truck Fans: And now, time for another in an occasional series of arbitrary rankings by national magazines. Today: QSR, a trade publication about trends and features in fast casual restaurants, ranks the 20 best food truck concepts in America—and D.C.'s Fojol Bros. of Merlindia make the list. The turbans and fake mustaches the Merlindians wear apparently helped vault them into the t0p 10. Other news we learned from the list: In Phoenix, you can get french fries made in duck fat from a truck. +2

Yesterday's Needle rating: 56 Today's score: -5 Today's Needle rating: 51

4800 Block of MacArthur Boulevard NW, July 4

What is it about firetrucks and District politics?

If you happened to mosey on by the antique firetruck parked outside the Palisades Park recreation center on July 4, you might have gotten the sense that Ward 3 Councilmember Mary Cheh has come out in support of D.C. Council Chairman Vincent Gray’s mayoral bid over incumbent Adrian Fenty. Following the annual Palisades Citizens Association July 4 parade, Gray supporters on the firetruck in question chanted "Vote Vince Gray! Vote Mary Cheh!" and other rhyming variations involving their last names.

Not so fast, Cheh tells City Desk.

"It didn’t come from me… My position is one of neutrality," says Cheh, who has said she’s not taking sides in the September Democratic primary—but will be voting for someone whose name ends in "y." (Sorry, Leo Alexander!)

So what gives? Both Gray and Cheh have drawn the support of the union representing D.C. firefighters, which, according to Cheh, had wanted to show joint-support for both candidates during the parade. But Cheh—who is running unopposed in the Democratic primary and is set to face Republican Dave Hedgepeth in November—felt uncomfortable with the Gray-Cheh coupling. "I did not want the co-mingling," Cheh said.

So any joint Gray-Cheh chants that were uttered were not authorized by her camp. As Mike DeBonis recently noted, Cheh is "walking a political tightrope: She has to appease the local party faithful, who are backing Gray, while trying to avoid alienating Ward 3 residents fond of Fenty—or more to the point, Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee."

File photo by Darrow Montgomery

MacArthur Blvd. NW, July 4

At-Large Councilmember Kwame Brown had a gigantic truck at the July 4 Palisades parade. (Photo by Michael Grass)

After leaving the post-parade festivities at Palisades Park, complete with free hot dogs and moon bounce, City Desk surveyed the remains of the parade along its MacArthur Boulevard route. Parts of it were quite malodorous. (Who wants to have some dinner on Kemble Tavern's patio?) But it wasn't necessarily trashed like last month’s Capital Pride Parade. And no unclaimed free condoms on the sidewalk, either!

All the candy that Ward 2 Councilmember Jack Evans and his supporters showered on parade-goers seemed to be snapped up. The children of Ward 3 certainly love their sugary treats! City Desk wonders if Ward 3 Councilmember Mary Cheh, fresh off her legislative victory to mandate healthy school lunches, will soon start a push for a Healthy Parades Act. Will someone not think of the children and their dental health?

Cheh, meanwhile, had her supporters pass out miniature copies of the U.S. Constitution, not particularly exciting as a freebie but quite fitting for a George Washington University professor specializing in constitutional law.

Some savvy politicians targeted parade-goers with implements to beat the heat. The campaign of D.C. Council Chairman Vincent Gray, who is challenging Mayor Adrian Fenty in the September Democratic primary, passed out miniature fans. Team Fenty, meanwhile distributed water bottles and green towels, to which DCist’s Martin Austermuhle remarked via Twitter: "Not very soft, like the candidate!" (When City Desk touched a Fenty towel, it was indeed quite abrasive—a mix between sandpaper, chamois and ratty gym towel. Did Hizzoner not test the hand-out on his bald head prior to distribution?)

Fenty and Gray "[b]oth did a good job keeping people cool," said Nate Bennett-Fleming, who is running for D.C. shadow representative and passed out around 1,000 Nate-branded bottles of water.

Campaigning has never been an especially environmentally friendly activity, with all the signs, stickers, Mardi Gras beads, pamphlets and the like that generally have a short life span before being trashed.

One resident of MacArthur Boulevard, hosting a July 4 parade-watching party on her front lawn, told City Desk that she wished Mayor Fenty’s Green Team would’ve been more green with the parade freebies.

"I support him on school reform. But these water bottles—look, they're everywhere!" The woman, who said she would be voting for Fenty, didn’t want to disclose her name. "I know not to criticize the mayor. He rides his bike up here."

The mayor, to his credit, did have his trusty Smart car at the parade, which was dwarfed by the monster truck At-Large Councilmember Kwame Brown, who is running for D.C. Council chairman, had at the parade. City Desk was concerned that the gigantic vehicle would not be able to navigate some of the tight turns of the parade route, especially at Edmunds Place and Sherier Place where regular traffic jams developed as the parade snaked its way into Palisades Park.

The campaigns of Gray and former Ward 5 Councilmember Vincent Orange, who is running for D.C. Council chairman, did the best job at preemptively claiming all the good sign space along MacArthur Boulevard. (And on the lot in front of Palisades Park that once was home to the Jesse Baltimore House.) Four years ago, Fenty's mayoral campaign had the best ground game. This time, Gray bested the incumbent and had an excellent post-parade sign-collection operation. Two hours after the parade started, you would have had difficulty knowing that Gray was even at the event. (We pity the sign-collecting Gray campaign supporter that City Desk spotted walking all the way to his car parked out in front of the German Chancery on Reservoir Road, but not as much as the overheated Bolivian dancers who were weighed down by pounds of colorful costumes!)

Perhaps City Desk missed him, but we were hoping that Orange would be cruising MacArthur Boulevard on a Segway passing out candy and beads, just like he did during his ill-fated mayoral run four years ago. There were reports, however, that Orange was busy stumping for votes at an ice cream truck. Orange, known for his larger-than-life personality, seemed to be no match for Brown’s behemoth truck, which was a regular topic of conversation at the parade. (Orange, to his credit, had an aggressive signature-gathering operation.)

"This is the Washington, D.C., parade," said Patrick Mara, the school board candidate from Ward 1 who is better known for knocking off longtime At-Large Councilmember Carol Schwartz during the 2008 Republican primary, therefore depriving Palisades parade-goers of seeing Schwartz in her eye-popping yellow TransAm convertible. Even if Ward 3 voters—who form the core of the Palisades parade turnout—can't vote in your race, "you need to have a good showing here," said Mara, who had 20 supporters working the parade and post-parade party. "It says something about the strength of someone’s candidacy."

In that case, City Desk nominates the "Millwood Mob" for something, but we aren't sure what. Millwood Lane NW, a short street connecting Loughboro and Glenbrook roads, year after year fields a very organized showing at the parade, complete with its own queen. Imagine if the Millwood Mob would form its own political party! Watch out Mary Cheh!

Because of the hot weather, At-Large candidate Clark Ray, who was wearing a white sleeveless shirt, may have been the wisest person at the parade—though this writer’s recently deceased great aunt, a feisty, opinionated longtime Palisades resident, would have likely scoffed at any politician displaying bare shoulders.

But Team Ray was out in full force and was warmly received by the crowd, along with incumbent Phil Mendelson.

The one person who was missing was Don Peebles, the big-time developer and would-be mayoral candidate who kept political watchers on edge for months as he weighed a challenge to Fenty. (Through artfully crafted language, he decided not to run.) City Desk thinks Peebles should have teamed up with Matthew Lesko and his question-mark mobile—a perfect way to continue to toy with the populous!

The Issue:

Now Hold On a Just Minute Here: When Pepco goons with chainsaws showed up and began chopping down the 400 trees, the Palisades Citizens Association (PCA) was pissed. "Pepco was springing it on the neighborhood without any prior consultation," Spence Spencer, the association president, said. He and his neighbors were concerned that losing the trees on MacArthur would "de-nude whole blocks" of a street that is one of the few in D.C. with a tree canopy. He says a letter of concern to Pepco went unanswered. It was only after Mayor Adrian Fenty made a visit to the Palisades in October that Pepco began to listen. According to Spencer, Fenty "basically" said: "Look, Pepco, you guys have gotta come up with a more tree-friendly approach." Fenty imposed a moratorium on tree work until a plan was approved by the PCA.

It's All Good: According to Pepco, the Palisades tree canopy was responsible for over 100 hours of lost power in the neighborhood in 2007 and 2008. Pepco media representative Clay Anderson said that the District asked Pepco to improve reliability, and that Pepco has been paying attention to the community all along. "We're pretty much okay with the folks out there now," he says of the beef. The company submitted two plans to the PCA last week—one that had little tree pruning on MacArthur, and one that had none.

What's Next: It's up to Palisades residents to decide. "We're evaluating what on the face looks like a positive proposal, even though it took Fenty to get them to pay attention to community," says Spencer. For the moment, Palisades folks are assuaged, according to Spencer, but "there needs to be a long-term dialogue about this. They've got a two-year cutting cycle on trees," he says, "so best case, all that we've done is forstalled what might be another round of mass cutting of trees in the Palisades two years from now."

Photograph by Darrow Montgomery.

The Issue

Don't Build Them: Residents of more than two dozen properties on the street signed and submitted a no-sidewalks petition to the D.C. Department of Transportation last month. Some people maintained the sidewalks were unnecessary because no one really walks there; plus, they'd ruin front yards. "People are opposed to the whole idea of sidewalks," Gordon Kit told the Dupont Current last month. "I don't think there's any one primary reason why people are against them....They just don't have any real purpose."

Build Them: Ward 3 Councilmember Mary Cheh has been pro-sidewalk. She says it's city policy to install sidewalks in the course of any street reconstruction; it's a matter of public safety. Plus, some residents say people actually do walk on University Terrace, including children, en route to Key Elementary.

Next Step: The project was supposed to have begun by now, sidewalks and all, but John Lisle, a DDOT spokesman, confirms that the work has been postponed—yes, at least in part because there "wasn't a clear consensus." The city will continue to "study the issues" surrounding the reconstruction and will get more input from the community, he said. Look for more meetings.

* Miss the debate? Don't head to the live blogs: Head to the live blog of the live blogs.

* G.W. student blog The Colonialist has a couple photos of Dick Cheney being released from G.W. Hospital. He waves.

* Dear China: Wish we could give you some advice on this whole fledgling democracy thing. Regrets, The United States of America. [via Polymeme]

* Via Talking Points Memo: Ayers, Shmayers; even those people who believe Barack Obama is a terrorist are still voting for him. Says one Obama supporter:

"Well, I don't know much about this terrorist group Barack used to be in with that Weather guy but I'm sick of paying for health insurance at work and that's why I'm supporting Barack."

And in this newspaper:

- Photographer Darrow Montgomery and Senior Writer Jason Cherkis document the end of a Columbia Heights relic and ask: Does anybody care?

- Your Reel Affirmations film fest guide.

- In Cheap Seats, Dave McKenna talks race and Redskins. What's black and white and reluctant to integrate all over?

- In Loose Lips, Mike DeBonis does Peter Nickles does Alberto Gonzales.

- and The Sexist launches its Manliest Workplace in D.C. tournament!

Photo by Jason Mogavero