Metropolitan Homes

10 of top 15 richest counties are in D.C. suburbs

2012-02-14T13:14:00.001-08:00

New homes are under construction in Brambleton, in Loudoun County. (WTOP/Colleen Kelleher)

WASHINGTON - Ten of the 15 richest counties in the nation are in the Washington suburbs, with Loudoun and Fairfax counties in the No. 1 and No. 2 spots, according to the website Main Street, which created its list from 2010 census data.

As other areas of the nation saw huge job losses and declining property values during the recession, the D.C. suburbs maintained their stability, in part because of government, defense and technology jobs.

The median household income in Loudoun is $119,540, compared with $103,010 in Fairfax County.

Howard County, Md. ranks third, while Virginia's Arlington and Stafford counties come in fifth and seventh, respectively.

Prince William County, Va. makes the list at No. 9, and Montgomery County, Md. is 12th.

All three Southern Maryland counties -- Calvert, St. Mary's and Charles counties -- make the list.

Here are the rankings from Main Street:

Loudoun County, Va. - Median Household Income: $119,540
Fairfax County, Va. - Median Household Income: $103,010
Howard County, Md. - Median Household Income: $101,771
Hunterdon County, N.J. - Median Household Income: $97,874
Arlington County, Va. - Median Household Income: $94,986
Douglas County, Colo. - Median Household Income: $94,909
Stafford County, Va. - Median Household Income: $94,317
Somerset County, N.J. - Median Household Income: $94,270
Prince William County, Va. - Median Household Income: $92,655
Morris County, N.J. - Median Household Income: $91,469
Nassau County, N.Y. - Median Household Income: $91,104
Montgomery County, Md. - Median Household Income: $89,155
Calvert County, Md. - Median Household Income: $88,862
St. Mary's County, Md. - Median Household Income: $88,444
Charles County, Md. - Median Household Income: $87,007

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Tags: richest counties, colleen kelleher

Whistleblower Tim Day runs for City Council

2012-02-14T09:18:00.000-08:00

Tim Day for DC City Council

Tim Day Petition Drive Tim Day's petitions for the May 15th Special Election in Ward 5 are due this Wednesday, February 15th! Tim Day, whistelblower We need to gather as many signatures as possible this weekend, to make sure Tim is on the ballot. This is a very winnable race, as Tim will be the only Republican on the ballot, with possibly 23 Democrats and “DC” Independents. If you are interested in helping, please let us know ASAP! You need to be a registered DC voter to help circulate petitions, but not necessarily a Ward 5 voter. Even just one hour of your time can make the difference! Learn more about Tim, and what he stands for at: http://www.timdaydc.com/

FEBRUARY MEETING Meet the local GOP Candidates Running in the April 3rd Primary! Wednesday, February 15th 6:30pm – 8pm (with open bar) The Camden Roosevelt 2101 16th St., NW Washington, DC 20009 National Committeeman: Jordan Gehrke Bob Kabel Local Businessman DC GOP Chairman National Committeewoman: Teri Galvez Jill Homan DC GOP Vice Chair DC GOP Finance Chair U.S. Shadow Senator: Nelson Rimensnyder DC Historian DC Council At-Large: Mary Brooks Beatty Former ANC Commissioner DC Council Ward 7: Ron Moten Founder, Peaceaholics

PRESIDENT'S BUDGET PROPOSAL FAILS TO FUND D.C. VOUCHER PROGRAM

2012-02-13T16:23:00.000-08:00

PRESIDENT'S BUDGET PROPOSAL FAILS TO FUND D.C. VOUCHER PROGRAM

Posted on Monday February 13, 2012 | Washington, D.C.

Despite reauthorization agreement, Obama aims to halt highly-successful Opportunity Scholarship Program

WASHINGTON, D.C. (February 13, 2012)—President Barack Obama’s newly-released federal budget would not provide funding to the highly-successful D.C. voucher program, despite an agreement signed by the president last year that reauthorized the program.

The American Federation —the nation’s voice for school choice—strongly decries the president’s failure to provide funding to the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program (OSP), which currently provides scholarships to more than 1,600 children from low-income families across the nation’s capital to attend the private schools of their parents’ choice.

Though the OSP is in little danger of going unfunded—Congress is charged with appropriating funds, and House Speaker John Boehner is an ardent defender of the program—the move by President Obama is effectively a reneging on the promise he made last April in a budget agreement he signed that helped avert a government shutdown.

“The president says he’s for education reform, but his actions continually aim to send low-income and minority students back to schools that are failing them academically, are unsafe, or are otherwise not meeting their needs,” said Kevin P. Chavous, a senior advisor to AFC and a former D.C. Councilman. “This latest hypocrisy is just the most recent instance in which the president has stood in the way of students who are improving test scores and graduating in higher numbers.”

Since barring new students from entering the program in 2009, Obama has made a number of statements expressing support for reform that have contradicted his actions regarding the OSP. In 2010, President Obama publicly stated that he would not send his daughters to D.C. public schools, despite actively working to bar low-income families from having that choice.

And while the president rightly talks about the nation’s severe dropout crisis—as he did in his State of the Union address last month—he’s unwilling to support the OSP, where students’ 91 percent graduation rate is 21 percentage points higher than those who applied but couldn’t get a scholarship. And according to the Institute of Education Sciences—the primary research arm of the U.S. Department of Education—the OSP has the second highest achievement impact of any of the programs it has studied so far.

Since the program’s inception in 2004, more than 10,000 families have applied to participate in the OSP. Four years of studies done by Georgetown University and the University of Arkansas have shown overwhelming parental satisfaction, and 74 percent of D.C. residents polled a year ago supported reauthorization. More than 700 participants participated in a signup event for the program on Saturday, hosted by the D.C. Children and Youth Investment Trust Corporation. The Trust received more than 520 applications at the event.

“By any reasonable measure, the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program has been an overwhelming success,” Chavous said. “President Obama wouldn’t be where he is today without a private school scholarship. He needs to stop playing politics and do what’s right for kids.”

CPAC 2012: Daniel Powell , independent institute

2012-02-11T08:38:00.000-08:00

Chef Geoff Tracy vs DC Traffic Cameras

2012-02-11T06:55:00.000-08:00

D.C., Md. push higher taxes, record spending

2012-02-03T10:20:00.000-08:00

Mark Lee on January 25, 2012 @ Washington Blade

Maryland and the District of Columbia are poised to continue spending at shockingly rising levels, exacerbating their reputations as high-tax and anti-business environments.

If approved, residents and local businesses alike will bear increasingly burdensome taxes and fees. Virginia continues to reap the benefits as the region’s sole business-friendly jurisdiction – almost by just sitting there and grinning from ear-to-ear.

In recent days Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley roiled members of the state legislature and rankled the public by revealing that he planned to introduce a slew of new taxes and tax increases during the current legislative session in order to maintain the state’s runaway spending.

O’Malley’s budget proposal pumps up spending by 6 percent and an increase of $1 billion, largely on the backs of small business and the middle class. It has even resulted in a new term to reflect the proposed capping of income tax deductions and phasing out of personal and business deductions for the “thousandaires” earning more than only $100,000.

Included in a broad range of potential new taxes and fees is a 17% increase in the state sales tax. Also plopped on the table is a plan to shift some expenses to the county level, which will result in higher local tax levies, allowing the state government to dump this burden downwind and accommodate its freewheeling excesses.

These proposals would make a pickpocket proud. They also serve to further accelerate deterioration of the small business environment in the state, inhibiting job growth and a healthy state economy.

In D.C., after deluding the public that last year’s huge budget deficits would result in city spending cuts and resolve the District to eliminate inefficiencies and waste in government operations, the current city budget being doled out represents a new record level of spending.

Enabled by retaining a local sales tax increase which had been scheduled to sunset and increasing income taxes on a new top bracket of earners, as well as scheming up even more fee increases, the largess for this rampant spending required only another resident and consumer shakedown. Ultimately, these unrepentant big spenders are allocating what is yanked from the hands of local small businesses and enterprise owners, the overwhelming majority of whom report profits as personal income.

Now that D.C. CFO Natwar Gandhi has projected a more than $42 million surplus in the current fiscal year, Mayor Vincent Gray has already proposed spending all of it – plus a couple million dollars more to boot.

While many other states are smartly reducing spending, lowering taxes, implementing efficiencies, downsizing government, demanding that public employees contribute to generous benefit and pension plans, and otherwise putting their financial houses in order, the two kindred jurisdictions north of the Potomac are behaving as outliers from another era.

Evans announced last week that he plans to introduce legislation to lower the city’s sky-high corporate income tax from 9.975 percent to match Virginia’s six percent rate at a lower percentage than Maryland’s 8.25 percent levy, also eliminating the same tax rate for unincorporated businesses to match both neighboring states.D.C. Council member Jack Evans, representing the mid-city business area of Ward 2 since 1991 and chair of the Council’s Committee on Finance and Revenue, wants to put an end to such foolishness in the District.

He correctly posits that a more competitive business regulatory structure and a rolling back of the substantial disincentives and recent tax hikes will improve the District’s overall financial health and long-term business environment.

Last year the D.C. Council suddenly reversed course at the behest of Mayor Gray, hiking the top income tax rate to a fraction less than nine percent – falling heavily on local small businesses. This unexpected move further ensconced D.C. at the top of the tax scale for the entire country.

Evans sensibly wants to institute a progressive local income tax structure and lower rates across the board. This would provide both tax fairness for differing incomes and reduce the astounding local tax burden.

Of course, this would require city officials to put a stop to their ever more avaricious tax-and-spend habits. Perhaps a mayor and Council disfavored by ethical ill repute can be shamed into it. Let’s hope so.

Mark Lee is a local small business manager and long-time community business advocate. Reach him at OurBusinessMatters@gmail.com.

D.C. Council myopia on Ward 5 warehouses

2012-02-03T10:16:00.001-08:00

February 2, 2012 | Leave a comment

By Mark Lee @Washington Blade

What is it with Northeast Washington’s Ward 5 and the ferocious opposition by some neighborhood leaders and residents to development plans for usage of even the tiniest number of the long underutilized area’s vast array of abandoned former light industrial commercial buildings that causes D.C. politicians to roll over like puppies wanting their stomachs rubbed?

Why doesn’t the area embrace realistic economic development opportunities and functional applications for a very few of the plentiful unused warehouses that blight the ward at both visible and tucked away locations?

Why have issues related to zoning-specific and usage-appropriate business revitalization relevant to the LGBT community in recent years not been effectively or successfully addressed – if at all – by local advocates and organizations?

Perhaps most important, what causes the city’s elected officials to buckle so quickly to such anti-business protestations, abandoning common sense along the way?

The D.C. Council previously limited both the number and permissible locations in the area for gay strip clubs displaced by the Nationals stadium hoping to re-open, at the insistence of disgraced former Ward 5 Council member Harry Thomas Jr.

The result? No venue relocated to Ward 5 due to insurmountable prohibitions, with only Ziegfeld’s/Secrets surviving at a grandfathered new location near the previous cluster of businesses and the stadium site.

The latest dust-up is over D.C.’s medical marijuana program that hit another snag two weeks ago when the D.C. Council approved emergency legislation to limit the number of cultivation centers allowed in Ward 5.

Introduced by At-Large Council member Vincent Orange, who previously represented Ward 5 prior to an unsuccessful mayoral campaign, and co-sponsored by Council Chair Kwame Brown, it primarily affects a ward encompassing the upper northeast corner of the city from the nexus of New Jersey Avenue at 3rd Street, N.E., and surrounding the New York Avenue commercial corridor within a southern boundary continuing along Florida Avenue and extending outward via Benning Road.

The approved legislation limits the number of marijuana cultivation locations in any ward to six, passed with lightning speed within a week of introduction.

The original regulations, approved by the Council more than a year ago, dictated the city’s business proposal solicitation and qualification process to date. The Council’s action has upended and complicated progress and will likely cause further delays and difficulties in determining locations for the small necessary number of production sites. This may result in insufficient product becoming available and eventually being more difficult to obtain at the separate dispensaries at only five locations scattered across the city for patient access convenience.Gay At-Large Council member and Committee on Health Chair David Catania was credited with striking a deal reflecting the best possible compromise. With neither side certain of the vote alignment, and Mayor Vincent Gray’s statement that the bill would “further delay implementation of this important program, which is necessary to assist individuals who suffer with chronic debilitating pain” not making much of an impact, Catania negotiated the lessened limitation.

Nearly all of the 28 business applications to operate each of only 10 cultivation centers permitted citywide – including a signed property lease – selected available and appropriate sites in Ward 5. Eight qualifying proposals have been forwarded to a respective Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC), which have a near-veto opportunity under scoring rules that portend more obstacles to come. Six of the eight sent for ANC review are for locations in Ward 5, resulting in the probability that remaining applications under review won’t fulfill the new geographic restriction.

Because these businesses are production facilities only with no distribution component, strict security protocols are required, only 95 plants are allowed at each location in order to avoid heightened criminal penalties should the Obama administration continue with threats and prosecution interfering with programs nationwide and require only a modest and discreet size with a nondescript and non-commercial exterior, the reaction is both dumbfounding and disappointing.

Cultivation businesses – essential to implementation of the District’s pending medical marijuana program – do not constitute behemoth “Walmart of Weed” footprints or activity. Their presence will actually be difficult to detect.

The D.C. Council’s kowtowing to opponents of these businesses is cowardly and will further delay and potentially limit or ultimately deny patients the benefit of physician-prescribed medical relief.

Mark Lee is a local small business manager and long-time community business advocate. Reach him at OurBusinessMatters@gmail.com.

Georgetown in Photos: Old Stone House

2012-01-29T10:42:00.000-08:00

Enjoy our weekly pick of the best images of Georgetown from online photo-sharing site, Flickr.

By Shaun Courtney
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Georgetown is iconic: the waterfront, the historic buildings and streets, the University on the hill and more. Photographers just can't help themselves when it comes to snapping images of the neighborhood. Each week Patch will choose its favorite images of Georgetown posted within the previous week on Flickr and feature it on our site.

This week, we selected Flickr user Daytripsathand.com's photo gallery of Dumbarton Oaks through the seasons. Many of photographer Robert Gray's images focus on outdoor scenes in the D.C. area.

Thank you for adding Georgetown to your collection of beautiful images!

Obama to Use Pension Funds of Ordinary Americans to Pay for Bank Mortgage “Settlement”

2012-01-28T02:17:00.000-08:00

Obama to Use Pension Funds of Ordinary Americans to Pay for Bank Mortgage “Settlement”

D.C. is Tops for Investing in Bicycling and Walking

2012-01-26T05:28:00.000-08:00

Georgetown has benefited directly through the Bikeshare program and indirectly through other D.C.-wide investments.

By Shaun Courtney

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The District of Columbia spends more per capita to promote biking and walking than any other city in the U.S, according to a recent report from theAlliance for Biking & Walking.

D.C. has the second highest bicycling and walking levels among U.S. cities, just behind Boston, but ahead of San Francisco, Seattle, New York City and Portland.

The District has the second-highest share of commuters who walk to work, trailing only Boston, and the seventh-highest share of commuters who bike to work; 13.4 percent of D.C. residents bike or walk to work.

“I have made it clear I want the District of Columbia to be the most sustainable, walkable city in the nation," said Mayor Vincent C. Gray in a prepared statement. "It’s great to see where we stand among our peers and that we are making real progress toward that goal.”

Where most states spend just 1.6 percent of their federal transportation dollars on bicycling and walking, for a total of $2.17 per capita, D.C. spends approximately $9.82.

C&O bike path along the canal

Georgetown has benefited from investments in biking. The neighborhood now boasts five bikeshare stations, a little more than a year after Capital Bikeshare launched in D.C.

Even with its high rates of waking and biking, D.C. is still among the safer cities for those modes of getting to work. The District has the sixth-lowest fatality rate for cyclists and pedestrians and is the fourth-safest city to bike in and the seventh-safest for walking.

“It is easier and safer to bike and walk in the District today thanks to the investment we have made in bike lanes, bikesharing, pedestrian crossings, education and enforcement," said DDOT Director Terry Bellamy in a prepared statement.

The District's investments have benefited residents across socio-economic levels. According to the report, Washington, D.C. along with San Francisco, and New York City have the most even income distribution among people who walk to work.

The full report accompanies this article in a PDF.

New Jefferson exhibit

2012-01-26T04:30:00.001-08:00

View more videos at: http://nbcwashington.com.

Historical discovery in DC in antique furniture

2012-01-26T03:53:00.001-08:00

An antique cabinet acquired inadvertently by a Washington, D.C. lawyer turned out to hold Alfred Russel Wallace's collection of 1,700 specimens housed in 26 drawer. (Narrated by Lisa-Joy Zigorski, National Science Foundation)

An antique cabinet acquired inadvertently by a Washington, D.C. lawyer turned out to hold Alfred Russel Wallace's collection of 1,700 specimens housed in 26 drawers.
CREDIT: National Science Foundation

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This Research in Action article was provided to LiveScience in partnership with the National Science Foundation.

"This is why I have the best job in the world," exclaimed Cynthia Sagers, a program manager from the National Science Foundation, when given the opportunity to see, smell, and even touch the very specimens that British naturalist and field biologist Alfred Russel Wallace collected nearly two centuries ago.

The bugs, butterflies, moths, shells, botanical samples and personal mementoes are a treasure trove of evidence not only of the man himself — an explorer, collector and scientist who was a contemporary of Charles Darwin — but also of his scientific theories on geographical biodiversity and natural selection that were foundational to many fields of modern biological science.

The cabinet was inadvertently acquired several decades ago by Robert Heggestad, a Washington, D.C. lawyer in search of an attractive piece of furniture, but he only recently had the piece authenticated. Since November 2010, the antique, and the 1,700 specimens housed in its 26 drawers, have been on loan to the J. F. Cullman Library at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.

In 2009, the American Museum of Natural History in New York exhibited the Wallace Collection, the only known intact personal collection from the biologist in the world, an exhibit that coincided with the 150^th Anniversary of Charles Darwin's seminal book on evolution. The collection is three times the size of the Wallace research collection owned by the National History Museum in London, which is no longer in its original cabinet.

Read how Heggestad acquired the collection in The Work In Darwin's Shadow: Evolution History Lives In a D.C. Dining Room and learn more about the scientific importance of the collection in the video below.

http://www.livescience.com/18115-alfred-russel-wallace-collection-nsf-ria.html

The Secret Stimulus in the President's New Refinance Program

2012-01-25T07:58:00.000-08:00

The Secret Stimulus in the President's New Refinance Program

New VIDA gym opens in Mt. Vernon downtown

2012-01-24T18:26:00.000-08:00

VIDA CITY VISTA

@445 K St. NW

VIDA Fitness will open it's 5th location

on Tuesday, January 24th at 12:30pm.

This location features 25,000 square feet

of usable space on the 2nd Floor of the

City Vista building at 445 K St. NW.

What We Saw: National School Choice Week Kick-Off, New Orleans

2012-01-24T10:58:00.000-08:00

DC metro area and DelMarVa face federal budget cuts

2012-01-24T05:03:00.000-08:00

Back on December 15 the Washington Post had a breakfast conference for real estate brokers (we covered it below) predicting reductions in the D.C. area federal workforce of 30,000, with over 100,000 "support" jobs among contractors and suppliers ending as well.

Now a Maryland budget analyst reiterates that the area has a dangerous dependence on tax support from the rest of the country:

Top analyst warns Maryland lawmakers to prepare for “big train” of federal cuts

By Associated Press, Published: January 23

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — The chief fiscal analyst for the Maryland General Assembly warned lawmakers on Monday that they need to prepare for the “big train that is coming” from federal budget cuts by reducing the state’s running budget deficit in this legislative session.

Warren Deschenaux, director of the state’s Office of Policy Analysis, told members of two fiscal panels in Annapolis that Gov. Martin O’Malley’s budget proposal goes a long way toward doing that with a mix of new taxes and fees and spending reductions.

“In sum, we can see light at the end of the tunnel, and it does not appear to be a train — at least not yet,” Deschenaux said.

Maryland lawmakers are required by law to approve a balanced budget for the fiscal year that begins in July during each legislative session, which adjourns in April. However, the state typically has an ongoing budget deficit in future years, because some of the measures taken to balance the budget annually do not continue into future fiscal years. The ongoing shortfall is often referred to as a structural deficit.

Maryland has a structural deficit of about $1.1 billion. O’Malley’s budget proposal would knock that that down to about $400 million, or by about 60 percent, Deschenaux said. That goes beyond the goal of halving the deficit this year, a recommendation made by a panel of lawmakers in December.

Deschenaux said it’s important to reach structural soundness in order to protect the state’s triple-A bond rating and prepare for what he described as “the big train that is coming for Maryland and all other states.”

“What is that train? That is the federal government’s effort to balance its budget, which will inevitably result in fewer jobs in Maryland and less money coming from the federal government,” Deschenaux said. “If we’re going to be prepared for that and in a position to address it, we do need to deal with our own structural budget issues.”

To do that without compromising support for public schools, higher education and, for the most part, social safety nets, O’Malley has put some controversial proposals before the General Assembly.

For one thing, he has proposed reducing tax exemptions for people who make more than $100,000 annually.

He also has recommended a significant shift of teacher pension costs from the state, which currently pays the entire bill, to the counties.

“If it turns out that the governor’s proposal is not palatable to you in some respects, it’s going to be incumbent on you all to find substitutes to both balance the budget for the year and structurally for the future,” Deschenaux told members of the House Appropriations Committee and the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee.

The pension shift would move nearly $240 million in new expenses to the counties. The governor has included money this year to help them make the transition, including about $111 million in new revenue from reducing tax exemptions for people who make more than $100,000.

Lobsters Invade D.C.!

2012-01-24T04:50:00.000-08:00

New Regulations Ease the Way for Food Trucks, But Not in Georgetown

2012-01-24T04:15:00.000-08:00

Mayor Vincent Gray proposed updated regulations for street vending, including food trucks.

By Shaun Courtney
@Georgetown Patch, January 23, 2012

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Score one for food trucks in the "battle" with brick and mortar restaurants. Mayor Vincent Gray announced updated regulations for street vending that will make it easier for food trucks to operate in the District.

"My new regulations are designed to strike a careful balance between encouraging business innovation and respecting our laws as well as brick-and-mortar businesses that have long played according to the rules,” said Mayor Gray in a statement.

The proposed regulations, issued by the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA), would open up additional locations for sidewalk vending and address several issues with the 30-year-old regulations that have come to light during the recent renaissance in food trucks.

“Many of today’s street-vending entrepreneurs will become tomorrow’s bricks-and-mortar entrepreneurs," said DCRA Director Nicholas Majett in a statement.

The regulations do not add or change any of the allowed sidewalk vending areas within the Old Georgetown Vending District, but do stipulate that more could be added if DCRA creates a Vending Development Zone in Georgetown—an unlikely occurrence.

Restrictions on special exceptions for vending locations—like no parking within 40 feet of an intersection and no parking on snow emergency routes—would make it difficult for food trucks to find a home in Georgetown, as the Georgetown Metropolitan pointed out in September 2010.

Acording to a press release from the Mayor's Office, the new regulations would:

Update the outdated “ice-cream-truck rule” that has led to food trucks being cited and fined for having no customers in line even though they were obeying other laws:

Trucks preparing and selling food would have to park in a legal spot, pay the meter, and can remain there for as long as allowed by the meter or posted parking rules.
Trucks selling ice cream and desserts would have to park in a legal spot, pay the meter, and can remain there for as long as they have a line of waiting customers or for no more than 10 minutes when customers are not waiting.

Allow the permitting of new sidewalk vending locations throughout the District while grandfathering in existing, long-time vendors at their current locations.
Allow the creation of new Vending Development Zones, which would allow local communities to design plans best tailored for their needs that could include sidewalk vendors, food trucks and farmers’ markets.
Update and expand the ability of DCRA to issue citations for violations of the regulations to ensure vendors clean up any litter and maintain all required health and business licenses.
Clarify street-photography provisions around street vendors to make clear they are not applicable to journalists or photography enthusiasts.

The following locations are the only areas where sidewalk vending is permitted in Georgetown:

(1) Northern sidewalk of P Street, NW, east of Wisconsin Ave.;
(2) Northern sidewalk of P Street, NW, west of Wisconsin Ave.;
(3) Northern sidewalk of O Street, NW, east of Wisconsin Ave.;
(4) Northern sidewalk of O Street, NW, west of Wisconsin Ave.;
(5) Northern sidewalk of Dumbarton Street, NW, east of Wisconsin Ave.;
(6) Southern sidewalk of Dumbarton Street, NW, east of Wisconsin Ave.;
(7) Northern sidewalk of N Street, NW, west of Wisconsin Ave. (two Vending Locations);
(8) Southern sidewalk of N Street, NW, west of Wisconsin Ave.;
(9) Southern sidewalk of N Street, NW, east of Wisconsin Ave.

(10) Northern sidewalk of Prospect Street, NW, west of Wisconsin Ave.; and
(11) Southern sidewalk of Prospect Street, NW, west of Wisconsin Ave.

Related Topics: Food Trucks

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Metropolitan Homes Bookstore opens at Amazon.com

2012-01-23T13:18:00.001-08:00

Amazon.com Widgets

Evermay Plans Subject of Public Forum

2012-01-23T07:31:00.000-08:00

Originally created by a grant from the King of England to a Scottish subject who immigrated to the American colonies, this property was built before the American revolution.

Evermay Plans Subject of Public Forum Thursday

The new owners of the Evermay estate have an application before the Board of Zoning Adjustment to change the use from residential to commercial.

By Shaun Courtney
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The historic Evermay estate at 1623 28th St., NW could soon host non-profit events if the Board of Zoning Adjustment approves the new owners' request to convert the allowed use from residential to commercial.

Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner Charles Eason has organized a public forum Thursday, Jan. 26 at 6:30 PM, at the Georgetown Neighborhood Library to discuss the plans for the large property in the East Village.

Sachiko Kuno and Ryuji Ueno bought Evermay in July for $22 million and hope to use the space to host events for their S&R Foundation. According to the non-profit's website, it's goal is:

to recognize talented young scientists and artists for their distinguished work in fields of science and fine arts, especially those who contribute to U.S. – Japanese understanding.

According to a November article in the Georgetown Current, Evermay will reportedly not be rented out for large events like weddings, but would be host to smaller gatherings like lectures and concerts.

The owners' attorneys have shared information with many of the surrounding neighbors about the intentions for Evermay. Other neighbors who live a little farther afield have raised concerns on the neighborhood listserv about impacts on parking during events.

Commissioner Eason has organized the public forum for Thursday in the hopes of informing a wider swath of the community (and to perhaps cut down on the time spent on Evermay during the next ANC meeting).

The BZA will consider the Evermay application Feb. 28 at 9:30 a.m.

The 50 Most Powerful People in Washington Politics: GQ.com

2012-01-18T09:37:00.000-08:00

The 50 Most Powerful People in Washington Politics: GQ.com

If it's Tuesday, it must be the last day of spring

2012-01-17T04:41:00.000-08:00

NBC12 First Warning Weather (Andrew Freiden)

Good Morning,

Tonight's front will bring a change from spring-like temperatures back to winter
tomorrow. We have the potential for big winds tonight as damaging winds often
accompany strong cold fronts that bring season-changing drop in temperature.

It'll be windy this afternoon but tonight could be worse for a few hours after
midnight. There likely won't be much rain tonight but wind looks like a good bet.

Have a good day,
Andrew

Washington, District of Columbia, United States

Today's Forecast: Tuesday, 17 Jan 2012

59°F
37°F

Sky Conditions:  Rain
Sunrise:  7:24 AM    Sunset:  5:12 PM
Wind:  SSW (198°) @ 17Mph
Precipitation Probability:  70%

View your complete Local Weather »

Extended Forecast

Full 7-Day Forecast »

Wednesday
18 Jan 2012

Sunny

40°F
28°F

Thursday
19 Jan 2012

Partly Cloudy

43°F
30°F

Friday
20 Jan 2012

Partly Cloudy

38°F
34°F

Saturday
21 Jan 2012

Showers

45°F
37°F

Pitango's Edenic Gelato

2012-01-15T06:02:00.000-08:00

The Biblical Noah lived in a simpler, fresher world than ours, before there was religious conflict, before there were even Jews or Christians, back when G-d gave only 7 commandments, not 10 (or 613), and when the whole ball of wax had just been washed clean by the Flood.

Today his namesake, Noah Dan, gives us a fresher, simpler gelato, which most customers agree taste divine. No preservatives or emulsifiers, most batches flavored with only one (non-forbidden) fruit, including quince and other rare produce.

Noah Dan

I invoke the biblical imagery for a reason, because Noah is a farm boy, though the farm he was raised on was a kibbutz where he was raised by an Israeli father and an Italian mother. And he procures his free range eggs and unpasteurized milk and cream from grass fed cows from Mennonite farms in Pennsylvania. It's a gelato produced by a coalition of, if not chosen people, very selectively chosen ingredients.

pitango cherries

"Pitango" is the name of a wild, bitter cherry native to Israel. It's not actually a flavor on the menu. Noah has opened stores in Baltimore's Fells Point neighborhood, in Reston, Virginia, and in DC on Capitol Hill beside Eastern Market and in Logan Circle across from the Whole Foods. Besides about 20 flavors (that vary weekly, but which do always include chocolates), there are also beverages made from gelato with a shot of espresso. It's expensive like other artisanal ice creams and sorbets. They serve it in small cups with very teeny spoons so you can't gulp it down and you don't realize that the portions weren't big.

WiFi: The Logan Circle store has no wifi.

For rent signs cropping up in NW DC

2012-01-14T11:19:00.000-08:00

I mainly do sales, not rentals. Last fall I had a Foxhall Village cottage (pictured to the right) listed for both sale and rent. I was immediately besieged by many overqualified people who wanted to rent it (e.g., partners in law firms who wanted to park the family there for 9 months while they gutted and renovated their Georgetown manse) but it took a while to sell. (Though when it did sell there were multiple offers.)

Anecdotally, talking to other agents, we think that both prices and the speed of sales dropped in the second half of 2011 compared to the first half of the year. But the realtor community chatter is also that rents are going up and happen quickly.

So I am a little surprised that on the biking and hiking flight paths I use almost daily there are actual street signs of things for rent:

A 7th floor 1,000 sq ft one bedroom with
central air, balcony, washer/dryer and extra
half bath at 1200 23rd Street NW in West End

Apartments at 1700 19th Street NW (R
Street) and also at 1722 19th Streets NW
in Dupont Circle

An office in a converted row house at 1806
T Street NW

Bill Cosby on National School Choice Week

2012-01-14T05:56:00.001-08:00

At Midnight Tonight

by Andrew Campanella

What a day it's been!

This morning, we were excited to announce that Bill Cosby had announced his full endorsement for National School Choice Week! (Tweet him a thank you for supporting our shared cause @BillCosby and mention @SchoolChoiceWk and #SchoolChoiceWeek).

@schoolchoicewk
School Choice WeekThanks @BillCosby for supporting#SchoolChoiceWeek and the right of parents to choose the school that's best for their children.
Jan 13 via TweetDeckFavorite RetweetReply

And…this afternoon, the number of events on our website crossed the 200 mark!

There's no question: National School Choice Week 2012 is going to be huge. And we know that you're doing everything possible to make the Week an enormous success.

But as you plan your events and activities for National School Choice Week, please take a few minutes to make sure your events are truly National School Choice Week celebrations, by reserving materials — like our logo scarves, banners, rally signs, and more — right away.

Those materials are just a few clicks away. Reserve yours right now!

Please reserve these materials for your event before midnight tonight. It takes just a few minutes. Because after midnight, our expedited shipping fees kick in—and we want you to maximize your resources. It's very important to us that we get you the materials you need in time for your event!

I can't explain enough how important it is to coordinate the branding of your event with our National School Choice Week scarves, rally signs, and banners. When the media reviews the hundreds of events that take place (and trust us, we're getting hundreds of inquiries already!), these common visual elements show that all of our events are linked together. Our Event-In-A-Box kits are heavily discounted — to the tune of 90 percent in some cases — and our Buy One, Get One free promotion will continue.

Don't wait any longer. Head to our website right now to make your reservation.

You can even consider reserving a Mini-Kit to provide materials for your friends and family, and send photos to us of your own family celebrations after the Week!

Thanks again for all that you do, and for ordering your materials before midnight tonight

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At Midnight Tonight