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13 Jul 2010 12:23

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U.S., World: So, this Shahram Amiri guy walked into an embassy, and …

  • He’s been here for some time, I’m not going to specify for how long, but he has chosen to return.
  • State Department spokesman Philip Crowley • Regarding the fate of an Iranian nuclear scientist, Shahram Amiri, who randomly surfaced in D.C. yesterday after being gone from his home country for a while. Obviously, considering his job, the U.S. probably wanted some intelligence from him. And there’s been speculation that U.S. spies kidnapped Amiri – that’s Tehran’s line. Julius is probably going to stumble into an Iranian embassy any day now. You were wondering why we went on vacation for so long, right? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 Jun 2010 09:29

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Offbeat: Lesson learned: Sell your valuable real estate before the market busts

  • This was Austin Spriggs’ property back in 2006. This was during the real estate boom. For some reason, he decided to hold out from the bevy of offers made for his D.C. property. Now, his property looks like this – and he can’t get anyone to buy it so that he can avoid foreclosure. It’s kinda like throwing away a lottery ticket, right? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

16 Jun 2010 10:08

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U.S.: Hippie takeover: D.C.’s plastic bag tax, S.F.’s cell phone radiation law

  • 5¢ amount shoppers have to pay to get a plastic bag at any store in D.C.; yes, it’s annoying, but at least it’s encouraging people to use fabric bags instead source
  • $300 amount cell phone companies could soon pay in San Francisco for not posting information about cell phone radiation levels; this also sounds annoying source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

13 May 2010 10:57

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U.S.: The new housing trend? Walkable neighborhoods, not suburbs

  • Ten years ago, conventional large-lot housing in wealthy suburbs was the highest-priced housing, per square foot, in nearly all metropolitan areas. Today, housing in walkable neighborhoods is typically the most expensive; the lines crossed in the 2000s.
  • The Atlantic writer Christopher B. Leinberger • Noting the evolution in housing from the suburb back to the city. As housing values have gone down significantly, cities have started to come out back on top again. In particular, Leinberger notes the example of the D.C. metro area: The Metro system largely paid for many of its stations by having property owners pay more in taxes for a handful of years, then watched as their neighborhoods flourished. As a result, housing values in those areas have decreased at a much lower rate than that of the suburban areas which used to cost more. This should be a major hint for even mid-sized cities that they should invest in mass transit. (Hat tip to The Awl, which focused on the auto end of this argument.) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 Apr 2010 23:49

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Culture: Quick advice to Kal Penn on braving the streets of D.C.

  • first Don’t walk around 15th & S NW by yourself at 1:30 a.m. on a weekday. During the day that area’s OK, but at night … it’s not super-safe.
  • second You should work this robbery at gunpoint subplot into the next Harold and Kumar movie. Just a thought from us at SFB. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 2 Comments • Permalink

08 Apr 2010 01:57

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U.S.: Dear “misunderstanding bomber”: Next time, use nicotine gum

  • We admit it, we were watching a movie when this happened. It was called “The Foot Fist Way.” It stars Danny McBride as a tae kwon do instructor. It was entertaining, but not nearly as entertaining as this mess of accidental terrorism. Like that movie, this story had an anticlimactic ending. Here’s a timeline:
  • 5:19 Plane leaves Reagan National Airport in D.C. and heads to Denver; happens daily.
  • 8:30 Dude lights a smoke because he can’t wait a #(&(&@ hour for the flight to land.
  • 8:40 Military escorts the flight to Denver because they think he has a friggin’ bomb.
  • 10:07 ABC reports that dude is the second coming of the shoe bomber. Others follow.
  • 11:00 It’s proven he didn’t have a bomb, but instead an insane nicotine habit. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

28 Mar 2010 21:10

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U.S., World: Obama in Afghanistan: Breaking bread with Mr. Karzai

  • Somebody just got invited to the White House! Hamid Karzai hasn’t seen Obama in person since the dude was an ambitious, aw-shucks Senator with a dream and a piece of Shepard Fairey propaganda to give him facial recognition. Now Obama’s president, Hamid’s in his second term, and Obama isn’t very happy with the Afghan government in general. But he’s willing to work on it. So, this May, Karzai gets to come to D.C. While you’re here man, we recommend going to see 3OH!3 at the 9:30 Club. They’re playing the night before you’re supposed to visit Obama. They play those really annoying songs you hear on the radio. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

17 Mar 2010 09:14

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World: Five American terror suspects charged in Pakistan

The five suspects, all college-age kids from the D.C. area, could face life in prison for the terror charges on which they were nailed. Sucks to be them. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 Mar 2010 09:53

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U.S.: A win for gay rights: D.C. marries its first same-sex couple

  • They got married right outside the courthouse. Robert Hawthorne and James Betz are now husband and husband. The two George Washington University students were among the first to pick up their marriage licenses and tie the knot this morning. They weren’t alone – a crowd that had waited since 3:30 a.m. had multiple couples ready to marry. Jeremy Moon and Bryan Legaspi married in the judge’s chambers. A great day for D.C. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

07 Mar 2010 12:18

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U.S.: D.C. takes a groundbreaking step in the fight against HIV

  • 500,000 free female condoms source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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