Happy November, everybody! Hope you had a very sweet Halloween and didn’t get too too wet. There is less than one week to go until Election Day but according to people who measure these things (and ANC commissioner Corey Holman), around 11% of ballots have come in. So if you’re still indecisive, check out our Last Minute, Very Very Neurotic Guide to Voting. We’ve shied away from endorsements in the past, but this time around we went for it. How did we do? Shoot us an email at info@thehillishome.com if you’re so inclined.
Are you still in mourning because Taylor Swift is not coming to DC? We are also in shock, but who are we to tell her that her plans to play stadiums with over 60k have dashed our dreams to watch her live. Really, Taylor? Not even Baltimore? Anyway. All this chatting about arena size got us thinking about RFK, and we ended up tweeting about it. You can catch the beginning of our thread here:
Are we being NIMBYs or is it reasonable not to want a(n even larger) stadium back in the area? Did enough people take the time to poll Southwest residents on how they felt being sandwiched between TWO stadiums? Probably not, huh. Anyway. There is not much excitement on the RFK site front, other than the fact that the raze permits were finally filed last week. They were announced back in the summer. WUSA-9
Of course, the even bigger piece of news today was that Dan Snyder and his wife, Tanya, contracted Bank of America securities to explore selling the team. Maybe we can all create an LLC like the Save Motts Market folks and own a little of the team? And while we’re at it, let’s change the name to something marginally cooler? NFL
Last week we had a disturbing spike in criminal activity. A man fired into a Buffalo Wild Wings on Thursday the 27, injuring a coworker. NBC-4
On Halloween, 14-year old Antoine Manning was killed near his home in southeast DC, close to where he’d already been shot in early October. He was a promising football player, a prankster, and a student at Digital Pioneers Academy, a public charter school on the Hill. When is this extreme violence toward and from our youth going to stop? Washington Post
Councilmember Christina Henderson wants to establish a pilot program for universal Metrobus access and the X2 is one of two lines chosen for this legislation, which she introduced late last week. The DC Line has the release.
For public and public charter school parents, the yearly budget can be a source of confusion and frustration. The District of Columbia Public Schools will hold a hearing on November regarding the following year’s budget, as well as the new changes that will allow individual schools to make budgetary choices. You can sign up to testify by November 14 at 3 p.m. by emailing ceo.info@k12.dc.gov and once you do, you have until November 15 at 5 p.m. to submit testimony materials. More information can be found here, and you can read additional insight from the Hill Rag.
For those of us who’ve been despairing about Pacci’s taking forever to open, Capitol Hill Corner says that the wait may be over by the end of November. Pacci’s would join Capitol Square and Hill East Burger as the newest restaurant to open in Hill East (Della Barba’s reopening was newsworthy, but the restaurant had previously opened in 2019).
Halloween is a time for merriment, treats, a few tricks, and costumes. Eater DC did a round-up of service industry folks in their ‘stumes and I accidentally ended up in the photos, as part of The Eastern’s Spooky Sommelier Spectacular (which was, in fact, spectacular).
The Washington Post’s Petula Dvorak couldn’t have said it better than we have already: Halloween is a joy and should be a joy for everyone. Please don’t police older Trick-or-Treaters or those from different neighborhoods. This neighborhood is so incredibly generous, the least we can do is share our wonderful spirit.
A J6 rioter got over 7 years in prison for assaulting former Capitol Police officer Michael Fanone. Good, but should have been more. NBC
Parting thought: We absolutely love this story and accompanying rat video game by the Washington Post. The game is not particularly thrilling, but it’s delightful to have a Cheddar the rat’s eye view and set of priorities as you go through the city.