Happy December 6! Last night, we celebrated December 5, a.k.a. Repeal Day, with some of our readers and local bars Barrel and Union Pub. We had so much fun, we might have to plan another tour soon. Want to be part of our next tour? Make sure you’re following us, especially via our newsletter.
What’s been going on?
Spotify Wrapped, that delightful tool of the devil, has spoken: DC’s top artist is Taylor Swift, as evidenced by the listening party at the pug and the Bejeweled bar at Maxwell Park. This fact only makes Taylor Swift’s deliberate skipping of the DC area in her arena tour (DCist) that much sadder. Washingtonian
Despite a troublesome record and alarms raised both by the DC Auditor that caused her to step down as director of OUC (DCist), Karima Holmes looked poised to be re-appointed to her old post by Mayor Bowser. The mayor has “stridently defended” her appointee, and has not taken kindly to criticism, especially from Dave Statter, a veteran journalist and emergency communications watchdog. (Washington Post) The vote was slated to happen today, but the mayor withdrew her nomination yesterday.
Hey, are you part of an architectural firm? You should know that the U.S. Navy is looking for architects for the Museum of the Navy. Maybe it could be your project telling the story of our second oldest military branch. The Request for Qualifications is open! Commercial Observer
Have you taken a walk up Third street toward Union Market? The area is unrecognizable from even three years ago. The Morrow, a hotel by Hilton, is the newest tenant in an area that has transformed massively in less than a decade. Hospitality Net
And speaking of transformation and gleaming new buildings, WaPo columnist Petula Dvorak calls Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene on her lies in her latest column. Does DC have problems? Absolutely– and we all wished the gun crime rate hadn’t climbed up these past few years. But the lies and the calumny still do damage. Words matter.
Is providing bus service for free a plus or a minus when it comes to a dystopic hellhole? We’re going to say that it’s actually pretty wonderful, and now that the Council has introduced this legislation, we hope it becomes law. The bus is a great service and, as many clever people have pointed out on Twitter (which is still, miraculously, standing), some routes and some buses already have trouble charging and collecting fees. Can you imagine a world where anyone can ride the bus and the buses can use their lanes smoothly so that it makes sense to ride the bus and it actually is as fast as the underground system? We can all dream. Axios
Last week, Whole Foods had signs saying the store would be closed starting Friday and until further notice. An employee told me that it had to do with not having hot water, but the store is open again. The Apollo building seems to have had a couple of hiccups with hot water and heating, but amazingly, they always bounce back quickly. Wish that whoever takes care of that building also oversaw DCPS buildings. PoPville
There was also a small fire at Safeway on 14th and D SE on Friday, but it was quickly extinguished. What’s up with this new construction? Hill Rag
Mary Margaret Olohan, whose Spotify top artist was probably Ye (the fourth most streamed artist on the platform) reports on the disruption at a banquet benefiting the Capitol Hill Crisis Pregnancy Center. Daily Signal
Just kidding, Mary Margaret. I know you’re all about Tay-tay.
And there was a “pivotal arrest” made recently, thwarting robbers that have committed a string of thefts at gunpoint around the Capitol Hill area. 20-year old Deangelo Dwight Richardson is a suspect in over two dozen attacks. We rest easily and hope he is off the streets for a long while. Washington Post