Hot Shoppes Is Back: The sprawling Marriott empire—with hotels everywhere from Rosslyn to Romania—started out as a root beer stand at 14th Street and Park Road NW. What came between that business and today's behemoth? Hot Shoppes. The restaurant chain closed in 1999, but in its prime, outposts were all over the District, the area, and up and down the East Coast. Now comes word it's coming back, complete with Mighty Mo sandwiches, in the Marriott Marquis downtown. Streetcars, Hot Shoppes—everything old is new again in D.C. +3

Work For All: For the most part this year, job statistics have helped underscore why economics is nicknamed "the dismal science." But new numbers out from the Labor Department today showed unemployment dropping in D.C., Maryland, and Virginia, thanks to private-sector job growth that offset continued cuts in the federal payroll. The District remains the area jurisdiction with the highest unemployment rate, but it fell from 11 percent to 10.6 percent. Better news: Unlike a recent drop in the national unemployment rate, this one wasn't caused by people giving up on finding jobs and, therefore, dropping out of the labor force. +3

Highways And Byways: Most plans to build new highways these days bring out waves of protests and years of planning. The District, though, managed to bring I-695 into existence merely by putting up signs. Turns out the stretch of road between I-295 and I-395 known as the Southeast Freeway is actually an interstate highway; eventually, new roads will be built to connect the better-known interstates. Confusingly, the Baltimore Beltway shares the same numerical designation. But if you don't know whether you're in D.C. or Baltimore, you've got problems your GPS can't solve. +1

Let's Get Ethical, Ethical: Congratulations, Washingtonians—you now live in a more ethical city. The D.C. Council passed, on a second reading, a sweeping package of ethics reform, which depending on who you ask, is either exactly what the District needs (per the politicians voting for it) or a whitewash of serious flaws in the municipal government (per most people who looked at it closely). In a potentially ominous sign for embattled Ward 5 Councilmember Harry Thomas Jr., whose house was raided by FBI and IRS agents this month, the council now has the power to expel one of its own. But since that takes 11 votes out of the 13 members, it's not likely to happen any time soon. +1

Yesterday's Needle rating: 50 Today's score: +8 Hanukkah bonus: +2 (nu, you think it deserves +8? Easy on the slivovitz) Today's Needle rating: 60

By trade I’m an electrician. I’ve always wanted to be one. Yup. And I can’t get a job in D.C.

Sometimes, I just go down to the work sites and check out these people who are working. I see 20 or 30 electricians coming out and none of them look like me. It’s been terrible, as far as this working relationship goes with Washington, D.C.

All I see is cranes in this city: They’ve got cranes on 7th street. They’ve got cranes all up and down on 14th street. All these cranes in this city and I ain’t working.

I started in 1983. I’m 53 years old and I don’t have a pension. Nothing. It’s been terrible. It really has. Even my own union can’t help find me work. They tell me there’s nothing we can do. I never thought it would be like this. I never did. It’s always excuse after excuse after excuse.

Statistics show that the longer a person is unemployed, the harder it is for them to get a job. In some cases, that's because their skills are eroding. But, in others, it's because unemployment, even in this economy, is considered by employers to be a personal failing. And for many African Americans who never actually recovered from the early-2000s recession, long-term unemployment has been a part of the picture since before 2008.

While economists and politicians fret over 9.1 percent employment nationwide, unemployment for blacks has only dropped below nine percent a handful of times since employment statistics started being recorded. Compound that with racial bias—yes, it still exists—and all of these things add up to a dire employment situation for black Americans.

Photo by the SEIU via Flickr / Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License

Drive Your Cares Away: Suburban living may not be for everyone, but it's supposed to come with a definite advantage over an urban homestead—cheaper rent and/or mortgage payments. Turns out that's not really the case. Transportation costs eat up most of the savings from living farther from downtown, a new study reports. Homes may be more expensive in the District or near Metro, but the fact that you don't have to spend $1 gazillion each year on gas offsets it. Unless, of course, your job is in some suburban office park. +2

Not Workin' 9 to 5: Showing up at a job every day in exchange for a paycheck is for suckers. The real American dream is getting paid for work you don't even do! Which is, according to Metro Transit Police, what Empress Jacobs and Keesha Richardson were doing, with help from Alfred Atanga. Jacobs and Richardson allegedly received $25,000 in pay for hours they hadn't actually worked in a call center. That's a lot of "peak of the peak" fares' worth of Metro money. -1

Not Workin' At All: The D.C. area has been insulated somewhat from the horrific national economy, thanks to what many in the Tea Party describe as "government waste," but which Washingtonians describe as "employment." That may be coming to an end; thanks to federal layoffs, the unemployment rate in the region ticked up to 6.2 percent in June, the first time in 14 months that the area lost more jobs than it gained. Good thing they got that debt ceiling plan passed! -3

QB Quandary: Back in the good old days, the Washington Redskins had quarterback controversies involving legends. Billy Kilmer battled Sonny Jurgensen. Joe Theismann showed up to challenge both of them. Fast forward to this week, where training camp involves a duel between Rex Grossman and John Beck to run the team's offense, and suddenly last year's 6-10 record is looking pretty good, in retrospect. -2

Yesterday's Needle rating: 52 Today's score: -4 Today's score: 48

Work to Bike Day: Every year, Bike to Work Day seems like more of an anachronism in the District, where the sight of people in suits cruising along in bike lanes in the morning has become more and more common. That doesn't mean it's entirely safe out on the roads though—early today, as Bike to Work Day was just getting rolling, a cyclist was hit at 18th Street and Columbia Road NW. Still, organizers say 11,000 people participated in this year's festivities—and that doesn't count people like those of us at Washington City Paper, who didn't bother to register because stopping at Freedom Plaza to pick up a free water bottle on our way to work would have made for a four-mile detour. +3

This Is Why You're Fat: As many as one of every three adults in the United States is obese, according to government statistics, in part because portions have grown steadily over the years (it's not just Starbucks, after all, where what used to be the biggest order possible is now the smallest). Pica Taco, at 14th Street and Florida Avenue NW, is doing its part to make sure obesity trends continue: The restaurant is offering a four-pound burrito this weekend, calling it "El Toro." Finish the whole thing in 45 minutes or less, and you get it free, as well as a t-shirt and a coupon for Lipitor. (No, not really–just a t-shirt.) Dally over your calorie bomb, and you have to pay the restaurant $15. Pica Taco runs the contest every now and then; of the 60 people who have tried, only six have succeeded. No word on how many of the winners are still alive. -2

The Book of Jobs: The recession continues to be over, at least officially, and yet people continue to have trouble finding work. In the District, unemployment ticked up in April by .1 percent, to 9.6 percent. Maryland and Virginia both saw their unemployment rates drop by .1 percent; it's now 6.8 percent in Maryland and 6.1 percent in Virginia. We're glad all the professional economists are still gainfully employed so they can tell us all about how much things have recovered. -2

Hell No, We Won't Tailgate: In the last two years, four people have died in drunk-driving-related accidents after leaving the Venue Formerly Known as Nissan Pavilion, Jiffy Lube Live. So this year, the facility decided preventing people who attend concerts there from drinking for hours beforehand while hanging out in the parking lot might make some sense. In response, die-hard day drinkers have banded together through that great tool of social movements from Egypt to Vienna, Va.: Facebook. More than 6,100 people have "liked" a new group calling for a boycott of Jiffy Lube Live over the policy. Which, really, seems to prove the venue right; if you're not interested in going to the shows unless you can drink in the parking lot ahead of time, maybe you're better off just sitting at home, drinking and listening to your iPod. -1

Yesterday's Needle rating: 63 Today's score: -2 Friday bonus: +2 World might end tomorrow: -1 Today's score: 62

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT—"Defendants Often Left Door Unlocked, Ex-Housemate Testifies In Wone Case," "Friendly Card Game Leads To Homicide At Salina Restaurant," "Witness Recalls Defendant in Wone Case Talking About Blood Evidence," "Ellwood Thompson's Opening in Columbia Heights In January-ish," "Applying For Permits? Budget Accordingly."

Howdy. After an extended break involving a trip to Upstate New York and a move to Takoma—still in D.C., Thank G-d—the Original Substitute LL is back with the morning links. Let's get to it. WaPo's Bill Turque reports that DCPS' teachers' union ratified the new contract yesterday, voting in favor of the deal by a wide margin. After all the wrangling, the vote wasn't even close on the contract which expands Michelle Rhee's powers to remove teachers and places an emphasis on classroom performance over teacher seniority; the contract also provides teachers with a significant salary bump. Turque provides the details: "Members of the Washington Teachers' Union approved the pact 1,412 to 425 after a two-week voting period. The agreement now goes to the D.C. Council, where it is expected to be swiftly approved. The contract, a product of nearly 2 1/2 years of contentious negotiations, combines a rich traditional financial package with unorthodox initiatives historically resisted by unionized teachers. It includes a five-year, 21.6 percent increase in base pay that will boost the average annual salary of a D.C. educator from $67,000 to about $81,000 and gives the city's public school teachers salaries comparable to those in surrounding suburban districts, according to a union survey. The payday stands out amid a wave of deep school budget cuts across the country. New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said Wednesday, for instance, that his city will eliminate raises for its public school teachers and principals over the next two years to avoid deep job reductions. Although the contract breaks new ground for the District, the extraordinary pace of change in national education policy has in some ways overtaken the document. When negotiations started in late 2007, the concepts embedded in Rhee's contract and evaluation proposals — performance pay linked to test score growth, weakening of seniority and tenure — were far more politically polarizing." Key Comment: "Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, who shared negotiating responsibilities with Parker, was less effusive. She said she was pleased that after months of divisiveness, the two sides found common ground in 'wanting teachers to be the best they could be' with provisions for increased professional development and classroom resources.... 'At the end of the day, this is still one of the industrial model contracts where a lot of the authority is reposed in the chancellor herself,' said Weingarten, adding that the union was able to incorporate checks and balances into the contract that lend more transparency to Rhee's power."

The Examiner's Leah Fabel calls the pay-for-performance plan the "most robust" in the nation. More coverage via WTOP, NC8, WUSA9, WashTimes. Statement from D.C. Council Chairman/Mayoral Candidate Vincent Gray: “Today’s vote has been almost three years in the making and I believe it’s high time we seal the deal. Therefore, I will urge my colleagues on the Council to follow the teachers’ lead and give final approval as soon as possible. In the coming days, the Council will engage in an open, transparent approval process that aims to restore the public trust in the ability of its government to implement the contract effectively and fund it within the existing Council-approved DCPS budget without any indirect cuts that negatively impact other areas of the school budget."

AFTER THE JUMP: New York Ave. water main break, Fenty checks BlackBerry during mayoral forum, Don Peebles is still a tease, Chesapeake Bay meetup, and much, much more!

MAYORAL FORUM: The D.C. Wire's Tim Craig has the scene from last nights mayoral forum: "If Wednesday night's D.C. for Democracy candidates forum had been televised, viewers would have seen Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) looking annoyed, distracted and uneasy. The mayor had a vexed look on his face during much of the forum as he fumbled with his BlackBerry. At one point, he picked up the BlackBerry and handed it to an aide so she could take an incoming call for him. But viewers also would have heard a mayor who is starting to sharpen his message about why he thinks he's a better candidate than his chief rival in the September Democratic primary, D.C. Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray....In response to a question from the moderator, Gray and Alexander criticized the Fenty administration's record on affordable housing. Fenty hit back. 'As you can tell the gentleman on my left and the gentleman on my right are really big critics,' Fenty said, referring to Gray and Alexander. 'If we were electing a chief critic for the District of Columbia, I would probably recommend either of them. But we are electing a chief executive officer and that means we need someone who can get things done.'"

YOUR COMMUTE MAY HAVE SUCKED: A water main break on New York Avenue NE caused a huge traffic tie-up yesterday. WASA officials had hoped to fix the busted old pipe but now say the break could still cripple the morning rush hour. NC8 reports: "When WASA crews reached the 79-year-old pipe they realized there was no quick fix. Their goal is to get the lanes re-opened by the morning rush hour, but Wednesday night there was still a huge gaping hole as crews worked to replace more than 30 feet of pipes. Digging around gas and electric lines by hand, WASA's crew knows exactly what to do. two years ago, a similar split happened a quarter mile up the road. 'You don't want to be tying up New York Avenue on a work day. We understand that and apologize to the residents that's we've impacted,' stated Charles Kiely with WASA. A total of four businesses lost water Wednesday, including a Comfort Inn Hotel." More coverage via WTOP. WaPo has more from DDOT: "John Lisle of DDOT said the surge of water early Wednesday damaged a pair of traffic signal control boxes. He said one was replaced and the other repaired so that all lights would be functioning when the road is ready to reopen."

MORE ON TEACHERS CONTRACT: WaPo columnist Robert McCartney wonders if the ratified contract signals a new era of cooperation between the teachers' union and Michelle Rhee: "Both Rhee and the union will have to shed their mutual hostility to make it work, but the rewards would be great. If they succeed, it would make the District a national showpiece for successful school reform. In particular, it would demonstrate that teachers unions can become allies of change rather than obstacles to it. 'I feel like we're finally moving out of a hole in D.C. It seems like we've improved scores, and if Chancellor Rhee and the union can work together, then we really have a chance to move forward and keep that momentum,' said Steve Aupperle, who coaches middle school teachers at Truesdell Educational Center in Northwest Washington and is a former member of the WTU's executive board. Although critical of Rhee's approach in some ways, Aupperle stressed that the union had to cooperate, too. 'If the union kind of goes back to old-fashioned tactics of fighting at every junction to get control [of work processes], it's just not going to work,' he said."

PEEBLES WATCH: WaPo's Mike DeBonis has taken on the task of hounding Maybe Mayoral Candidate Don Peebles until he finally makes up his mind on whether to make a run for D.C.'s top elected office. DeBonis offers and timeline of Peebles' waffling and writes: "While us full-time D.C. residents are trying to stage a nice, tidy, exciting, mano a mano mayoral race this summer, Peebles and his potential self-financed $5 million war chest wait in the wings. Get in or get out — the moment sure isn't going to get any riper."

While you wait, maybe you should skim Peebles' book. It's awesome. In fact the book is so awesome, it has even received praise from Steve Jobs Sunglass Hut Founder(!!) Dr. Sanford Ziff: "This book is a brilliant example of entrepreneurship, creativity, and principles. Peebles walks you through many of his successful deals, from their inception to their completion. Once you start the book you won't be able to put it down until you've finished the last page." LL's fave chapter title: "North Capitol and G Streets: Carpe Diem."

AREA UNEMPLOYMENT DROPS: Jobless claims fell dramatically in the Metro region, WaPo reports: "In April, the region's not-seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was 5.9 percent, compared with 6.6 percent in March, according to the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics. The region gained a net 5,800 jobs during the 12 months ending in April. Local economists had predicted that the increase would be as high as 20,000. Still, 5,800 represented the largest net gain of jobs among major U.S. metropolitan areas and marked the first time since October 2008 that the Washington region added more jobs than it lost."

CHESAPEAKE CLEANUP MEETUP: Today, Mayor Fenty is meeting in Baltimore with Gov. O'Malley and Gov. McDonnell to discuss the on-going restoration of the Chesapeake Bay, WaPo reports: "The gathering in Baltimore comes after decades of failure to meet goals set to cleanse the bay, and after a pair of potentially significant developments that will put additional pressure on state and local governments in the 64,000-square-mile watershed. An Obama administration initiative rolled out two weeks ago requires that each of the six watershed states and the District come up with its own restrictions on farmers, developers, homeowners and others to curtail the flow of pollutants into the bay. The Environmental Protection Agency is at work determining what's called the Total Maximum Daily Load that bay waters can absorb if water quality is to improve. The TMDL will be apportioned to the states. A second fresh element in play when Maryland's Martin O'Malley (D) and Virginia's Robert F. McDonnell (R) meet with Fenty (D) on Thursday is the settlement last month of a lawsuit brought against the EPA by bay advocates. That agreement leaves the federal agency legally vulnerable if it fails to enforce new limits on nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment flowing into the bay."

FIREWORKS BUST: A Northeast man was busted with a huge cache of professional-grade fireworks. WUSA9 reports: "The man says authorities are overreacting to the Times Square car bomb and just picking on him. But federal agents say they found some 20 cases of explosives in [the suspect's] vehicle. 'With that amount, it would have almost been a large vehicle bomb... like a truck bomb.'" Authorities do not believe the man is a terrorist or had plotted to do anyone harm.

COMMUTER NEEDS: Amtrak says it will continue to offer free wi-fi service on its trains.

IF ONLY 'LAW & ORDER' HAD BEEN RENEWED: The AP reports that a Virginia charged with murdering his wife is claiming that a lethal mix of steroids and Starbucks coffee were big, mitigating factors: "Philip Kingery pleaded guilty Wednesday in Franklin County Circuit Court to second-degree murder in the fatal shooting of his wife Rose. He also pleaded guilty to use of a firearm in commission of a felony. Defense attorney Tony Anderson said Kingery had 'diminished capacity' at the time of the slaying last year because of steroid abuse and an addiction to coffee, particularly Starbucks coffee. Judge William Alexander sentenced the 48-year-old Kingery to 40 years in prison on the murder charge but suspended 18 years. Kingery received a three-year sentence on the firearm charge."

ROBERT WONE: A rundown of the 11th day of the trial.

FENTY SCHEDULE:

7:10 a.m. Guest
Fenty on Fox
Location: Fox 5

11:00 a.m. Remarks
Annual Executive Council meeting of the Chesapeake Bay
Location: Frederick Douglass-Isaac Myers Maritime Park and Museum
1417 Thames St, Baltimore, MD 21231

COUNCIL SCHEDULE:

4 p.m. Committee on Health (Round Table)
Implementation of the Youth Sexual Health Project
Location: John A. Wilson Building, Room 123

Happy NaBloPoMo! Or for the less tech-savvy: National Blog Posting Month. Apparently, there are bloggers who have vowed to post every day for the month of November! Don’t worry, slacker-bloggers with other responsibilities—City Desk has plenty of posts to go around. That’s what interns are for.

The New York Times is asking readers to look back at the year since President Barack Obama’s election and sum up their mood. As of Tuesday night, Democrats are “hopeful,” “proud,” and “thankful.” Republicans are “suspicious,” “depressed,” and… “unsurprising.” Please assign grammar lessons to those unsurprising Republicans. Also, Republicans can add some new words today after last night's election returns. Bob McDonnell!

At 12:01 a.m., the National Park Service debuted its new online lottery for the National Christmas Tree ceremony tickets. There are some 10,000 tickets available, and the lottery closes Friday. On the plus side: No more fending off tourists and huddling in the cold for hours to see a tree lit. On the downside: Did anyone actually think this through? Thousands upon thousands logging into one government-run Web page? I’d start bundling up the kiddies.  

The Washington Business Journal reported yesterday that D.C. is home to some of the nation’s lowest and highest unemployment rates. In September, unemployment in Ward 8 was at 28.3 percent, while Ward 3 was at 3.2 percent.

But more important, there is apparently a good reason the elevators are always broken in my dorm: All the tuition money went to former George Washington University president Stephen Trachtenberg. The average university head takes home around $359,000 a year. Trachtenberg received $3.7 million a year for his 19 years—$2 million more than any other university president. Unsurprisingly, on Tuesday 66 percent of NBC Washington readers were “furious.” And 6 percent marked their reaction as “thrilled.”

Were these the same 6 percent “furious” Obama is holding babies?

According to the blogger at 14^th and You, someone broke into her car—apparently to steal an ice-scraper and some mid-Atlantic maps. It’s a tough time to be a NaBloPoMo’er.

Prince of Petworth has a post bemoaning a certain dog walker. Apparently, “at 14 dogs at a time, this isn’t attention or exercise for your dog. Just a factory.” Besides doing some intense division concerning poops per minute, commenters also said the following:

“Kudos, dogwalkerman.”

“With the success of “Nanny Cams”, now comes “Dog Walker Cam.”

“I recognize a couple of these dogs…the owners pay $20 a day. Oh are they going to be pissed.”

“Prince of Petworth, you should become a dog walker on the side to supplement your meager blogging funds!”

And that’s the roundup. I'm locking my car and stealing some puppies.

Image: Web shot of New York Times page

Yesterday, there were four vacancies at men's shelters. Women shelters were over capacity by one. There were zero vacancies for homeless families.

At the beginning of October, there appeared to be less than 25 vacancies. As the month progressed, the trend tilted toward the majority of shelters at capacity or over capacity. By October 12, men's shelters had four vacancies and women's shelters were over capacity. And again, no vacancies for families.

Three days later, there was only one vacancy listed for the men's shelters. On Oct. 18, the shelter system was over capacity by one.

"I think we're seeing the expected bump up in demand," says Patricia Fugere, executive director of the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless. "We've been anticipating a bump up, and it's there and it's there before the weather really has snapped cold."

Fugere worries about the District's level of commitment. Government officials have promised an additional 10 percent increase in bed space during cold weather. But the funding would remain at '08-'09 levels. "There's a concern that those numbers are playing it too close to the margin," she says.

Fugere adds that the issues concerning the homeless services cuts still have not been worked out. "We haven't heard anything," she says. "We're very concerned about the capacity issue."

WaPo's Frank Ahrens writes:

"Washington D.C. had the highest percentage rise in unemployment in September, with the jobless rate jumping from 11.1 percent to 11.4 percent, the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics reported moments ago in its monthly state-by-state jobless report.

New York experienced the most jobs lost in the month, but D.C. had the highest percentage loss relative to population. D.C. lost 10,000 jobs from August to September, the Bureau said."

D.C.'s unemployment rate has jumped to 11.4 percent.

11% is certainly not pretty, but D.C.'s actual unemployment rate is probably higher, because the unemployment rate that appears in the newspaper is often misleading.

The problem? It doesn't include what the Bureau of Labor Statistics calls "marginally attached workers"–people who want a job, but aren't looking because they don't think there's much chance of getting one. Also left out are those who are involuntarily working part-time.

The BLS calculates D.C.'s "U-6" unemployment rate which includes these folks, but only every year. Over the past year, the District had a U-6 rate of 12%, but that was when conventional unemployment averaged only 8%. Apply this ratio to today's number, and you're looking at a city with 16.5% of people unable to find adequate work.