Capitol Riot and Inauguration Lockdown Cost the City of DC Millions

“How big was the economic blow that the city received due to fears of a Jan. 6 reprisal? While it will take some time to come up with a final tally, the Downtown D.C. Business Improvement District is estimating a nine-figure loss. ‘From the pandemic point of view, the city is out $100 million-ish from the normal inaugural bump,’ says Gerry Widdicombe, director of economic development for the Downtown D.C. BID.”

–“What the Capitol Riot and Inauguration Lockdown Cost the City of D.C.,” Kriston Capps, Bloomberg CityLab

________________
Short link: https://wp.me/p6sb6-wBD

Photo by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

Eisenhower Memorial Given Final Approval

After a 17 year struggle, the National Capital Planning Commission granted unanimous approval of the Eisenhower Memorial design. The tribute to America’s former duffer-in-chief will be constructed on East Potomac Park Golf Course at Independence Avenue and Sixth Street SW. Construction tees off this month.

_______________

Short link: http://wp.me/p6sb6-qzx

Image (“Eisenhower Memorial, artist’s concept”) by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license. Credit: Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

Add to: Facebook | Digg | Del.icio.us | Stumbleupon | Reddit | Blinklist | Twitter | Technorati | Yahoo Buzz | Newsvine

Trump White House: ‘Get Off the Sidewalk!’

The sidewalk in front of America’s Executive Mansion, site of centuries of political dissent, has been permanently closed by the Trump Administration. That section of Pennsylvania Avenue was closed to traffic by a reluctant Bill Clinton after the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995.

____________________________

Short link: http://wp.me/p6sb6-pEr

Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

Add to: Facebook | Digg | Del.icio.us | Stumbleupon | Reddit | Blinklist | Twitter | Technorati | Yahoo Buzz | Newsvine

Tax March 2017

Tens of thousands of citizens marched in Washington DC Saturday to demand that Donald Trump release his tax returns, as every American president has done since Watergate. Mr. Trump made many promises to do this before and during the campaign, then reneged. After a 2-hour demonstration on the U.S. Capitol grounds, protesters marched past the GSA-owned Trump International Hotel to the Lincoln Memorial.

Senator Ron Wyden and U.S. Representatives Jamie Raskin and Maxine Waters spoke, but the big surprise was an appearance by the Chief Executive himself, who released his tax returns:

Cherry Blossom Webcam

Cherry blossoms along the Tidal Basin; that’s springtime in Washington, DC. The National Park Service says we’re entering the peak bloom phase. If you can’t get down to the Tidal Basin today, keep track of blossom progress on the Cherry Blossom Webcam.

Note: Doesn’t work with Google Chrome. Use another browser.

NPS Tidal Basin cherry tree locator map

National Cherry Blossom Festival website.

________________

Short Link: http://wp.me/p6sb6-nus

Image (“Cherry Blossom Webcam, after After Hiroshige”) by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

Add to: Facebook | Digg | Del.icio.us | Stumbleupon | Reddit | Blinklist | Twitter | Technorati | Yahoo Buzz | Newsvine

Cherry Blossoms Dawdle in DC

The National Park Service oracle says the Tidal Basin cherry blossoms will not reach peak bloom today after all due to recent cold snaps. Look for beautiful blooms on March 23-24.

_______________

Shortlink: http://wp.me/p6sb6-nsS

Image (“Cherry Blossom Viewing at the Tidal Basin, after Hiroshige”) by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

Wheelchairs in the Snow

“Wheelchair users say that in the aftermath of the Jan. 23 blizzard, they were an afterthought in snow cleanup efforts, as curb cuts remains buried in snow, bus stops blocked, and alleys impassable while road crews prioritized clearing the roads.

The responsibility under D.C. law to shovel curb cuts lies with the adjacent property owner, whether a homeowner, business, or public building. With large snow banks everywhere, an open curb usually is the only way a wheelchair user can get on or off the sidewalk. But even when curbs are shoveled after the initial snows, passing plows just cover them up again with mounds of snow.

‘The curb cut issues don’t get addressed in the strategic cleanup that the city does,’ said Ian Watlington, a disability rights worker and motorized wheelchair user. ‘All I am asking, and I think most people with disabilities are asking, is to be part of the strategic…conversation of, what are we going to do once that plow passes?’”

— “Wheelchair Users Say They Are Forgotten In Blizzard Cleanup Efforts,”  Martin Di Caro, WAMU News

______________

Short link: http://wp.me/p6sb6-n8V

Photo by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht,NotionsCapital.com

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

Add to: Facebook | Digg | Del.icio.us | Stumbleupon | Reddit | Blinklist | Twitter | Technorati | Yahoo Buzz | Newsvine

Snowzilla In DC

Area schools closed Thursday and Friday, and the mayor declared a state of emergency, but the best reaction to this week’s Snowzilla blizzard came from National Zoo resident Tian Tian:

The Numbers Game

“The Numbers Game,” by Thievery Corporation ( Eric Hilton, Rob Garza, et al.), sung by the immortal Chuck Brown on a cruise through DC’s Southeast.

I’m talking people about the same old game
Their running them numbers and the winners never change
The dice is loaded, the deck is stacked
The game itself will hold you back
Check out your mind and don’t be blind
To the numbers game

Chuck Brown Band website

_____________

Short link: http://wp.me/p6sb6-mYg

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

José Andrés’ Veggie Eatery: Supersized

José Andrés‘ fast-casual Beefsteak restaurants got a big new helping of $9.25 million, reports Rebecca Cooper of Washington Business Journal. The vegetable-centric restos (beefsteak tomatoes, get it?) are currently in DC at Dupont Circle and George Washington University in Foggy Bottom. The new infusion of cabbage will fund new Beefsteak outposts planned for Tenleytown (near American University) and at the University of Pennsylvania campus in Philadelphia.