Happy Anniversary!

There's some big stuff going on in the news- Blago is still making waves, the auto bailout sailed to defeat in the Senate yesterday in the face of a GOP filibuster, and the Moon is crashing into us tonight- but I thought a trip down memory lane might be a good Friday exercise.


On December 12th in:

1531- The Virgin Mary took a trip to Mexico City

1787- Pennsylvania becomes the second state to ratify the United States Constitution

1901- Guglielmo Marconi receives the first transatlantic radio signal at Signal Hill in New Foundland.

1979- Rhodesia changed its name to Zimbabwe.

1991- Russia declared it's independence from the USSR. Little did we know back then that Putin would call it all a "Simple misunderstanding".

2000 - The SCOTUS decided the outcome of the presidential election in the case Bush v. Gore, ending the Florida recount and putting George W. Bush in the White House. Thanks guys, look how well that turned out! Happy Anniversary, Mr. President!

New Look

We're presently playing around with the layout and the look of the place, so bear with us through some of these random changes. Suggestions/thoughts/ideas are welcome...

In the meantime: It's Friday!

Festivus!

The Holiday Season is upon us, denizens. Besides the obligatory wreaths, lights, and caroling the adventurous people of Adams Morgan are adding to the mix: with Festivus!

The Adams Morgan Partnership Business Improvement District (BID) and Adams Morgan Main Street Group have organized a series of community celebrations for the holiday. There will be a Festivus Pole for you to post your complaints as well as free coffee and hot chocolate and entertainers! Here are the deets:

Festivus for the Rest of Us '08 on Saturday, December 13 and Sunday December 14 from 10 AM to 1 PM (and again on Saturday December 20 and Sunday December 21) at the plaza at the intersection of 18th Street and Columbia Road, NW (in front of BB&T Bank).

Please post your complaints on the kiosk at any time beginning Friday December 12. The posts will be collected and read aloud on Saturday and Sunday at 12 noon for the next two weekends.

What a great way to vent! Let's make this our own little Festivus Pole, add your complaints/rants/raves/ideas/grievances here in the comments section. And thanks to Charlie for sending this!

In Other News...

Bailouts, Blago, 'Bama, oh my!

Maybe it's just me, but I'm tired of hearing about money we're never going to see again, maddeningly corrupt politicians, and that Obama guy. So here's the real news of the day...


Feudalism is dead! Long live the Queen!
Yes, feudalism. The tiny island of Sark, a 2sq mile pseudo-sovereign part of the Channel Islands (U.K.), has decided to give-in to 19th century convention and dismantle its feudal system. The island held elections on Wednesday and will seat its new legislature in January. Sark is internationally recognized as the very last place on Earth with a feudal system. It's only one baby step at a time though: as a British crown dependency Queen Elizabeth II is still their monarch.

Also of note, the Seigneur (feudal lord) of Sark has the sole right to keep pigeons and unspayed female dogs on the island. Talk about perks...


Viva la vino!
Per DCist, the fight to celebrate Barry O's inauguration in true American style continues. Long story short: DC decided to let drinkers drink all night before/during/after Inauguration Day. A couple of teetotaling U.S. Senators wagged their fingers and said it was a bad idea. So the DC Council Chairman told them to mind their own business. Now there's a petition and all kinds of protesty ways to get involved and Kwame Brown wants to hear from you. So do your patriotic duty!


Poor, Poor Hillz
As if things haven't gone bad enough for poor old Hillary Clinton, now they're cutting her salary. Because of a teensy little section of the Constitution, Hillary's salary as Secretary of State will be $4,700 less than that of current SoS Condoleeza Rice. The Constitution prohibits members of Congress from later benefiting from salary increases they voted for so Hillary will have to return to the former (not-so-shabby) salary: $186, 600.

This, of course, comes on the heels of Hillary investing more than $10 million of her & Bill's money in her less-than-successful presidential campaign. Oh yeah, and then there's all that other debt from the campaign that she's still trying to pay off. Again, duty calls.

I mean come on ... you have to be joking

Okay ... don't get me wrong, as a GW Alum I am extremely excited that the ol' Alma Mater has a float in the Inaugural parade.

But honestly ... if you were on the float chosing committe and saw this --

would you chose it?  Honestly ... I wouldn't.  It looks ridiculous.

Anyway - congrats GW!  Read the press release!

Does this mean that GW's I-Ball becomes an official ball now?  who knows ... that'd be cool

Metrobus Route 43 to ...

EXTRA! EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT!

There is a new Metrobus route that Metro hasn't announced!

BREAKING NEWS -- YOU HEARD IT HERE FIRST

Hmmmm ... Where to start.

On most days, I bus to work - usually taking the 42 (or if I am lucky the H1) because both of them literally stop right outside my door.  Hence why this article is of particular importance to me - and anyone else who rides the 42.  Yesterday, I happened to notice a Metro truck sitting outside one of the 42's stops in Adams Morgan.  Since it was nowhere near an actual Metrorail station, I figured they must be doing something at the stop, perhaps preparing for the installation of a shelter, or something else excited - but I honestly did not think much of it.

Last night, since it was so nice out - I decided to walk home.  Normally on my walk home I don't follow the route of the 42, since it goes slightly out of the way of the convenient way home for me.  But last night was special, I needed to pick up something on 18th Street in AdMo - so for the rest of my walk home I followed the 42 bus route, which runs along Columbia Road.  I was walking on the North side of the street and happened to look up at the Metrobus stop sign ... and noticed something a little off.  The usual suspects were up there - the 42 and the H1, but something new was between them ... the 43.

What -- the 43??  I know!   I immediately wanted to know what it was and what it meant.  I got home and headed right to the *NEW* WMATA website (sidebar: I kind of liked when metroopensdoors.com sent you to the little graphic of the train doors opening and then redirected to wmata.com) to search for the new 43 route.  You know what ... this article is a waste of time, just go read about the bus on the website.   OH WAIT!  You can't!

That's right - the signage is up, the changes have been put in motion - but nothing on Metro's website.  The route isn't mentioned on the maps or in the timetables, and there isn't even a press release about it.  Shocking.  So I made a call to WMATA's Office of Media Relations in order to get the deets ... surprisingly they actually had them, yet had just decided not to let the public know about this upcoming change.

Route 43 will go into effect on Sunday, December 28th.  It will be a weekday rush hour only service, between 750am and 915am (meaning it will only run Southbound).  About 1/2 of the buses currently designated as 42s will henceforth be badged as 43s.  It will run between Mount Pleasant and Farragut Square.  It seems to me that the 43 will just be the 42 buses that currently run between MtP and FSq - so there will be no service increases or reductions.  

So this really wasn't the "extra, extra!" that was advertised ... no real changes - but it is exciting that there is a new bus in the neighborhood.

Tim.

Community Transportation Meeting!

More from our fearless leader:

Dear Friends:

The Washington Metropolitan Areas Transit Authority and the Department of Transportation want to enhance bus service throughout the District. To do so they are conducting a neighborhood circulation study.

The study includes a series of community meetings at which residents can give their input on neighborhood bus service. The second round of meetings is coming up.

A meeting will be held in Ward One on Thursday, December 11, at Trinity AME Zion Church at 3505 16th Street NW. There will be an open house at 6:30 p.m. and the meeting will being at 7 p.m.

The location is handicapped accessible, but if you have special needs or questions, please call 202-561-3700 or visit http://dcgetinvolved.com/CirculationStudy/.

So we'll see you tonight, kids!

Long Time No See

Alright, I admit-- I've been pretty laid back about this whole 'blogging' thing. But I'm making it a pre-New Year's resolution to be better about this and write more than monthly. I'm also going to start just interjecting my own personal musings on more than the usual DC/transportation-y schtuff.

There are many things to post, notice, write about, rant about, etc. But as a denizen of the Adams Morgan area, it seems appropriate to start off with the shocking/disturbing/tragic news of two gun-related crimes in the neighborhood last night. I had the shock of hearing one of them from my living room. Needless to say: shocking.

Here's the story from Ward 1 Councilman Jim Graham:

"Dear Friends, This proved to be a night of terrible tragedy as two young men were shot, one shot dead, at Champlain and Kalorama.

I have just returned from the crime scene…with gratitude for the presence of Mayor Fenty and Chief Groomes.

True madness, as the shooters literally passed by an MPD squad car (parked on a robbery patrol) –and then just feet from the police, opened fire into a group of youths. The officers, to their credit, gave chase after hearing some six shots. Bedlam ensured. But no one was captured or arrested.

That happened about 8:10 PM. But within two hours, as many as 16 shots were fired on the 1400 block of Girard (perhaps in related retaliation?). Thank God no one was injured or hit.

We are about commence construction to open up thta dead-end street at the foot of Champlain. With so little night time traffic or commerce, it has been an invitation to problems and crime.

As we know, there are active gangs or crews in this area and on Girard. Hopefully this will not lead to another spate of violence.

There have been in the past several months, a lot of shots in the area of Champlain and Kalorama but the community has been working with MPD, and myself, and we were getting some very positive results. Until tonight.

The was, according to the police, the first homicide this year in Adams Morgan' although there has been violence.

I am unable to release the identity of the homicide victim at this time. But for now, let me repeat–This is a true tragedy.

With sincere sympathy to those who love these young men, Councilmember Jim Graham"

WP also has a story on it too.

Tragic and scary.