Post #5 is from early 2011, but I'm not even sure I believe some of these anymore. I mean, cupcakes?
First of all, this concept is being shamelessly ripped from my hometown alternative newspaper,
Style Weekly. They have run a "
You Are Very Richmond If..." column once a year for as long as I remember. So, to Style: I recall that old saying and hope you agree; "not suing me is the sincerest form of flattery."
Moving on, yeah, what are our major shared quirks? Bad drivers? Know-it-alls? Snow wimps? What about the good ones... Pretty smart all around? Opinionated? Super fit & healthy? Tolerant?
Whether you are born and raised or a post-college transplant, if these are true about you, you're can safely declare that you are a true Washingtonian. These are ours!
You are very DC if...
...you always stand on the right and walk on the left, even at shopping malls and airports.
...you care 100x more about what our crazy City Council is doing than what our crazy Congress is doing.
...your job doesn't exist outside of DC.
...you've accepted that DC DMV has just one car inspection station for a city with more residents than an entire state.
...you've heard 5 different stories explaining DC's height limit.
...you know that PR at Partners is not in the business of public relations.
...the line outside of Ben's Chili Bowl does not apply to you.
...you don't think twice about throwing down $30 for 8 cupcakes.
...Real Housewives of DC made you wonder how they got to use the letters "D" and "C" in the title.
...your Netflix queue has movies like The Fog of War and State of Play.
...there are dozens of really great exhibits you'll never see because you refuse to endure the National Mall.
...when you hear the word "motorcade" you think "OMG, the traffic!!!" instead of "OMG, the President!!!"
...a protest is a protest is a protest; you'll watch any from the office window.
...you have at least two opinions on other people's opinions.
...you have either an extreme love or an extreme hate for inauguration week, regardless of political party.
...right around September 1st, you start to think the Washington football team has a chance to win the Super Bowl.
...right around October 1st, you start to think they'll get it together for next year.
...you love going to Nats games, but only if the Cubs or Red Sox are in town.
...to you, the Capitals are Alex Ovechkin and everyone else.
...you think the Wizards should go back to being the Bullets.
...you consider Jazz in the Garden a BYOB event.
...you've been ice skating at the city's other Dupont.
...you know The Awakening's true home is Hains Point.
...DCA will always be Washington National to you.
...your favorite TV celebs are Jim Vance and Sue Palka.
Among the phenomena related to last week's Presidential election is this: Washington area condo and home owners are now somehow convinced that the world is ready to shell out tens of thousands to be in DC for the Inauguration. Yes, I know, I know--its historic, there are limited hotel rooms and money is no object to some people. However, will even a small percentage of these people really get the thousands of dollars of which they are asking?
Haha, no. But the show looks (again) like it may come to DC. Seems like every few years there is a rumor that the "reality" show--which had been around for 21(!) seasons-- will make it's way to the nation's capital. Who knows if we'll get the gig. Maybe we'll lose out to Real World Louisville, or Real World Boise this time around.
Listen, we don't want the zones. We want meters. If we JUST got rid of the zones, I think most DC residents would be happy. But we also realize that there is a strong need for a fair and equitable way to charge passengers for a service and compensate drivers for effort and time. We don't need to reinvent the wheel. Most other major cities use the time/distance meter. Its not rocket science! Cities like New York, Philadelphia, and Chicago all have millions of residents who are OK with metered taxis. We can just copy off of their papers. Cheating is allowed in managing municipal agencies. Its called best practices.
Ugh. Yesterday it rained. And rained. And rained. We needed it though. No rain today, but a killer humidity that means August is around the corner. Good thing I took the photos for this post after work late last week. And next year at about this time, I'll be able to ditch the heat and wander around the air conditioned sterility of DCUSA, a project underway a few blocks from here.
If you really want to get a feel for what the 14th St development may become, look no further than Harlem USA (pictured at right), another project competed by one of DCUSA's main developers, Gotham Organization. Harlem USA is very similar to DCUSA in some telling ways: its a major one-time injection of hundreds of thousands of retail square footage into a perceived-as-undeserved market; most of the retail spaces and all of the "anchors" are national chains; the location of the development is away from the traditional downtowns of the cities; both are near public transit and to hear the developers tell it, both will benefit the residents of each neighborhood tremendously.
One difference between the two is obvious. Harlem USA is in New York, on Manhattan. Any relative impact of that amount of retail is diminished and somewhat absorbed by the sheer population level and density of New York's retail options; one can get to shopping fairly easy from anywhere in Manhattan. Harlem USA weighs in at 275,000 square feet. It includes a Disney store, Modell's Sporting goods, HMV (music retailer), Old Navy, two banks, Magic Johnson Movie Theater and a handful of other stores. The Target at DCUSA will be 180,000 square feet of retail alone. DCUSA will weigh in at over 500,000 square feet of retail, most of which is spoken for as of this post. Target, Best Buy, Washington Sports Club, and Bed Bath and Beyond are a few of he majors who've signed up. And unlike Harlem USA, DCUSA will have dedicated parking, 1,000 spaces worth.
Arguably the impact of DCUSA will be greater than even that of Harlem USA. Harlem USA is smaller and while it is serving a part of Manhattan that was previously ignored by major retail and most chains, those residents still had access to at least comparable retail options via mass transit or a short drive. Residents of midtown DC have never seen a retail project of this scale. Most of the retail options available at DCUSA aren't foreign to the area; many can be reached downtown or just outside of the city limits (Marshall's in Silver Spring, Target at Prince George's Plaza).
