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Report identifies the D.C. area's worst driversWASHINGTON -- It's a question that can start an instant argument among motorists in the region: Who are D.C.'s worst drivers?Some would say it's the drivers in the District itself; others say motorists from Maryland. Still more would nominate Virginians as the worst terrors behind the wheel.Well, the numbers are in.AAA Mid-Atlantic announced on Tuesday the results of a Howard University study of the 29,725 crashes in the District in 2012. The research shows that the District's drivers narrowly edge out Marylanders for the dubious honor of motorists involved in the most accidents in D.C., 37 percent to 33.1 percent.Virginia motorists were involved in the fewest District accidents, with 13.8 percent.The remainder came from other states or was unknown. The study included numbers from 2010 and 2011, which showed the numbers staying fairly consistent, though Maryland was slightly ahead of the District in 2011.John B. Townsend, of AAA Mid-Atlantic, says that the numbers are particularly striking given that nearly three-quarters of the District's workforce comes from outside the city.He adds in a statement that the high rate of accidents leads to an average annual car-insurance premium of $1,800, the highest in the region. And all of these crashes have an economic effect: "The estimated economic and societal impact of motor vehicle crashes in the city was just shy of $1 billion in 2010 or $1,659 per capita," Townsend says.The survey also found that men got into nearly two-thirds of accidents in the District in 2012.
D.C.’s Rare Essence becomes the first go-go band to play at SXSWAUSTIN — It’s a Tuesday night deep in the heart of Texas, and Rare Essence bandleader Andre “Whiteboy” Johnson is all smiles.“We’re just amped about this thing,” Johnson says backstage before one of his band’s most far-flung gigs. “We’ve done some other festival-type things, but nothing like this.”This is South by Southwest, the annual music, film and technology mega-conference in Austin — a massive gathering where entrepreneurs, tastemakers and assorted creative types come to schmooze, self-promote and get their brains rearranged by new music. Rare Essence is eager to help out with the brain-rearrangement part. The legendary Washington troupe is about to become the first go-go band to ever perform at SXSW.The group is here to formally evangelize for its home town, too. Tuesday night’s musical showcase is presented by the D.C. Economic Partnership, a nonprofit group working on behalf of the city in hopes of persuading tech entrepreneurs to set up shop in Washington. After first establishing a formal presence at SXSW back in 2013, the city devoted roughly $350,000 to to this year’s efforts, which included a “We DC” lounge that hosted five days of panel discussions and parties.Musically, they couldn’t have booked better ambassadors than Rare Essence — and organizers did a fine job reflecting the city’s musical diversity, too. Tuesday night’s bill also included the rhythm-heavy soul of Black Alley, the glossy indie-pop of Prinze George and the cerebral hip-hop of Oddisee.“We’re trying to present D.C. in a different light,” says Julie Weber, marketing and communications director for the D.C. Economic Partnership. “We’re trying to put the message out there that D.C. is open for business on every level.”Then Weber zips toward the stage where she gives a hoarse and enthusiastic introduction for Paperhaus, an indie quartet whose bandleader, 27-year-old Alex Tebeleff, is a D.I.Y. rock promoter who hosts regular concerts in his Petworth home, also called Paperhaus. Tebeleff is a mover and shaker who has done plenty to enrich the local underground rock scene, and he says has no plans of slowing down — so long as he can pay the rent.And that’s the uncomfortable question floating through this particular patch of Texas air: Will Washington’s continued economic growth continue to put the squeeze on our city’s musicians? As pristine condos continue to spring up across Washington like expensive weeds, the ever-increasing cost of living has made it difficult for many musicians to stay in town. One of tonight’s acts, piano-pop trio Jukebox the Ghost, formed in Washington, but left the District in 2007 in search of cheaper rent. (Weber says this issue is a “major conversation piece” that she hopes to see advanced before next year’s SXSW.)As the clock ticks toward midnight, big men with big drums start crowding onto the relatively teeny-tiny stage. Most of them are sporting candy-red polo shirts and milk-white slacks. One fan, presumably a native Washingtonian, cuts through the thickening crowd shouting a warning to the uninitiated: “It’s about to get live in here, Joe! Y’all are not ready for this!”The moment the drums kick in, this thing instantly becomes a Rare Essence show. The band works like explosive clockwork, congas and timbales weaving a rhythm that’s as pummeling as it is undeniable. Out in the crowd, hands fly skyward. Butts shake every which way. Newbies become converts. To confirm it, the band closes its set with front-line vocalist DJ Kool performing his call-and-response anthem, “Let Me Clear My Throat.” It sounds like an ecstatic shouting contest.The sound carries out of the venue and across the street, where two dormant construction cranes loom over an unfinished mixed-use condo building.It sure feels like home.
Rare Essence played SXSW. But buried in this article is the interesting question about DC's rising rent and whether an artistic class can afford to live here. Nacho and I have long discussed how gentrification threatens the blue collar and black art aesthetic that has been DC's driving cultural force for decades.
There are pockets of NorthEast that are "keeping' it real" as the kids like to say.
Northeast of Catholic U/Brookland still has some working class charm.
The Washingtonian did an awesome piece in Joe Theismann's infamous 1985 leg break... which is one of the ten culturally defining moments of my youth.http://www.washingtonian.com/articles/people/sports/the-oral-history-of-joe-theismanns-broken-leg/
Concepcion Picciotto, Longest-Ever White House Protester, DiesYou may not know the name Concepcion Picciotto, but you've almost certainly seen the peace vigil that she maintained by the White House since 1981.Picciotto died today at N Street Village, a shelter for homeless women in Logan Circle, as first reported by the Washington Post. She was around 80 years old.Her peace vigil included a tent and a barrage of different protest signs, set up in Lafayette Park.Picciotto told DCist in 2005 that "corruption" inspired her to protest outside the White House, and she railed against nuclear weapons and lying politicians.Do you think that we'll ever have a good leader?We hope that there is one, that is what we are trying to do. There must be people out there who qualify, and then we never are able to get them into the palace, because there is so much money involved, millions and millions of dollars. And it shouldn’t be that way. It should be the qualifications of a person to lead the nation to peace and stability.When Park Police seized the vigil in September 2013, D.C. Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton intervened on her behalf. Picciotto "is well known for her willingness to engage in principled activism at considerable personal costs," Norton said at the time.DCist asked Picciotto in 2005 what she would do if "all the madness that you are protesting did stop in your lifetime.""I don’t know," she replied.
