While I was (put) away...

Christ... You head out to Shepherd Pratt for a couple weeks of R&R, and the world changes while you're put away...

Two big developments in Mount Vernon over the past several days:

1) CHAP handed wreckin' parks a generous helping of I-dont-think-so at last week's marathon hearing on the north square of Mount Vernon Place. I haven't read the transcript because it takes months for them to produce one--and it'll take twice as long this time because the stenographer at that meeting didn't seem to know her arse from her equipment, or her equipment from a hole in the wall, or so I am told--but it is likely to reveal that wreckin' parks is still using the same, tired old strategy to try to move a dog that just won't hunt. More later on this topic.

2) The group, Everyone-but-one-greedy-developer for Reasonable Heights in Mount Vernon (ERHMV, aka. everyone), scored a victory this past week with the Urban Affairs Committee's endorsement of CHAP recommended heights for new construction in Mount Vernon. Crazy thing is everyone is claiming victory on this one, including the lobbyists for the developers. More on this topic later, too.

Ah, it's good to be back.

Who's Dumber?!

The Sun reported today that the purple lights on the Washington Monument were in support of Heart Month, the heart disease awareness month that President Bush had proclaimed in 2004 (black history and heart disease now share the same month of February). Problem is, the American Heart Association had asked the city for red lights, but either no one from the AHA complained, or no one in the city bureaucracy listened, and the Sun waited to report on the mix-up until it was too late for anyone to do anything about it.

So, if you're having a birthday, planning a family reunion, competing in a triathlon, or just turning over a new leaf, pick a theme color, then choose the color to the left of that one on the color wheel, and submit your request for your personal illuminated commemoration on the Washington Monument. What could possibly go wrong?