Earlier today, in response to Whole Foods CEO John Mackey’s Wall Street Journal op-ed opposing single-payer health care and a public option, Single Payer Action and the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union picketed the P Street Whole Foods in Washington, D.C.

City Paper was on the scene to interview the protesters.

Single Payer Action promised yesterday to picket Whole Foods stores in New York, Austin, and D.C., and today, picketing they are: Neatly, sweetly, and sweatily, making the lunch scene at 1440 P St. NW the most bucolic  in the history of organic-food-store protests.

Holding up a piece of orange poster board three times as wide as she is that reads “Boycott Whole Foods,” Carol Kramer is just waiting for Whole Foods CEO John Mackey to take it all back so that she can resume being a Whole Foods customer.

When asked if she misses the salad bar, Kramer makes a delighted face and then winces.

“I miss being in there,” she says, nodding towards the door. Read More “Whole Foods Protesters Miss the Salad Bar” »

Good morning, City Desk readers, and welcome to the last Creative-Loafing-in-bankruptcy Freedom Friday! This time next week, we very well might be under “new management,” as health-code-violating restaurants like to say.

Today: Lefties will picket the Whole Foods at P Street. Tomorrow: Righties will respond by handing out Whole Food CEO John Mackey’s Wall Street Journal editorial. In the near future: At least one person plans to boycott Wal-Mart to punish the mega retailer for pulling its ads from Glenn Beck’s show.

To all of the above, a newsflash: Boycotting is a) wrong and b) doesn’t work.

Read More “Our Morning Roundup: Boycott City” »

LL just took a call from Paul Craney, executive director of the D.C. Republican Committee, who says that his small but feisty band of partisans is not about to let the local liberal types protesting Whole Foods CEO John Mackey’s free-market health care views go unchallenged.

Not directly, though. The following morning, Craney says, as many as a dozen GOP loyalists will be at the very same P Street Whole Foods, weather permitting, distributing literature defending Mackey’s point of view, including copies of the Wall Street Journal op-ed that touched off this whole debate.

“We’re trying to show the other side of the health care debate in D.C.,” he says, “and how it affects District residents.”

Read More “D.C. GOP to Counter Whole Foods Protest” »

In response to Whole Foods CEO John Mackey’s August 11th op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, in which he decried the public option, the non-profit organization Single Payer Action has organized protests at Whole Foods stores in Austin, D.C., and New York.

From the group’s organizing email:

We know that Whole Foods allows non-profit public interest groups to set up tables inside their stores to allow these groups to reach Whole Foods’ liberal customer base.

Our demand: That Whole Foods allow single payer advocates to set up shop inside Whole Foods stores around the country and allow them to counter the lies and distortions of their CEO John Mackey on health care.

The “first wave”of D.C. protests will take place tomorrow (Friday, Aug. 21) from noon-1 p.m. at the Whole Foods at 1440 P Street NW. Washington City Paper will be there with cameras, recording the madness.

• Health care. Jesus Christ on toast with Marmite, am I ever sick of hearing about health care. Whole Foods—SHUT UP. Public option opponents—SHUT UP. Fox News—SHUT UP. Meanwhile, in British rationing news, I’m horrified to report that my wife’s grandmother recently had to wait over an hour to be seen, mostly because the Edinburgh Council moved the Royal Infirmary from right across the Meadows all the way out to Little France, which is as far from the city center as it sounds. This is outrageous and would never happen in the United States, where there is no socialized medicine and never will be—SHUT UP.
• MEDIA NEWS! Battle of the Hottest rages on Capitol Hill. Jayson Blair is a life coach! City Paper’s parent company begins its Week of Reckoning today! CEO tells Atlanta Journal-Constitution decision to buy CP and Chicago Reader was thoroughly vetted: “It wasn’t just me running over a cliff.”

Read More “Morning Roundup: Yesterday’s News RIGHT NOW Edition” »

Wake up, Metro. It’s morning time! Also: Two of your employees are telling WJLA-TV that they not only knew about the circuit problem that likely caused the June 22 crash five days before it happened, but that they reported the problem to their supervisors. This seemingly contradicts GM John Catoe’s statement yesterday, in which he assured the public the circuit’s intermittent inability to detect trains on tracks was “not an issue that would have been easily detectable to controllers in our operations control center.” Metro had no comment on the unnamed technicians’ allegations, citing the ongoing investigation.

In case you missed it: City Desk reported last night that one of the crash victims’ families lawyered up with local institution the Cochran Firm, which won the business over another firm based, partially, on its willingness to file suit before the investigation’s over. Attorney David Haynes called today to correct my mistake. The family of Veronica DuBose actually has two law firms lined up, one from Florida already familiar to the family, as well as the Cochran Firm, which was brought in as lead counsel by the Florida lawyers. Haynes also notes that his firm is representing five people injured in the crash.

City Paper’s fresh online and in the stands. Of note: Carman on Breadline’s closing and reopening, Graham on The Year of Magical Thinking, Olszewski on the new Transformers, Leitko on Meow vs. Meow, and West on the theory of everything.

Elsewhere in D.C. Blogolands:

Read More “Our Morning Roundup: Did Metro Know It Had a Circuit Problem Before the Crash? Edition” »

Good Morning, City Desk Readers!  It’s the first day of July and the forecast doesn’t call for 90 degree temperatures so it’s already looking like a good one.  On the news front, the nation’s capital is expecting some new residents that are already getting attention before moving in.

• Minnesota has finally come to its senses and decided that Al Franken will be its second senator.  It only took the ballot counters and lawyers eight months to figure that out.  The former Saturday Night Live writer will take his seat following the July 4th recess.  Franken will be the 60th Democrat in the Senate, making it possible for the party to break a Republican filibuster but he wants everyone to know that he’s not looking to block legislation on a regular basis.

Read More “Our Morning Roundup: New Neighbors Edition” »