First a carjacking at Tysons, now two stabbings at the Nordstrom at Montgomery Mall?

Dude, what the hell is in that Mall water? Is this Desperate Housewives meets MS-13?

Damn, just when you thought it was safe to shop.

Update: A local visiting blogger, Irina Slutsky, was there when it happened:

a straggling shopper in a pink sweater was running toward the down escalator. she didn’t pay attention to the woman with the knife and kind of skipped onto the elevator, ahead of her. thinking she was safe, she began folding her jacket.
the woman with the knife stepped onto the escalator behind her.

after a beat, the woman with the knife began stabbing the customer in the pink sweater.

it seemed as if it was almost not going to happen.

i couldn’t scream or move.

the woman in the pink sweater ran down the steps, but the stabber followed her, sticking the knife repeatedly between her shoulder blades.

Irina is also quoted in the Washington Post story regarding the very odd stabbing.

In case you hadn’t noticed the whole DC metro area is experiencing a construction boom. There was an interesting article in the WSJ today about it, and how DC, besides just riding a nationwide wave of urban housing renovation and condo construction, is also becoming a new center for real estate investment from outside the metro area. The article links the trend to September 11th. After the terrorist attacks, real estate investors were less willing to put their money into new skyscrapers and NYC real estate prices deflated. DC, with its building height limit, was not a problem there. Furthermore, after Sept. 11th the government created the Dept. of Homeland Security and increased defense spending, which created new demand for office space (for lobbyists, consultants, and new federal employees). With lower crime rates and a more business friendly city administration, more new businesses have been willing to start or move here. DC just became the third largest

Ollie’s Trolley

Originally uploaded by tbridge.

Downtown DC is full of expensive restaurants: Butterfield 9, Bobby Van’s, Smith and Wollensky, Morton’s, Galileo and too many others to name. It’s hard to find a good simple place for lunch when you’re just in the mood for a burger and some fries.

Enter Ollie’s Trolley.

There’s one about a block from my office downtown, they make a mean (and cheap) burger, and their fries are head and shoulders above the garbage that fast food chains put out. Covered in a mix of paprika, carraway seeds, salt, light garlic, lemon pepper and a myriad of other spices I can’t easily identify, they make for the perfect rainy day lunch food. Some days I’m just glad to spend the $6.50 for lunch instead dropping a ten-spot for a takeaway sandwich or a twenty for a sitdown lunch.

I just want to thank everyone who contributed to my hour-and-a-half commute this morning (to go 7.5 miles!)

Thanks to whoever it was that jammed traffic on 395 for twice as long as usual. Nice work!

Thanks to the lady who walked out in front of my car this morning as I was leaving the intersection, completely oblivious to the fact that I had to swerve to avoid her as she bopped along to whatever was on her iPod.

Also, I can’t forget to thank the pedestrians at 14th and K and 20th and L who think that a green turning arrow is the same as a walk signal, and who look at me like I’m the idiot for trying to get through the intersection while they have the “Don’t Walk” signal.

And of course there are the scores of truck drivers who decide that rush hour is the perfect time to stop in a lane of traffic, turn on their blinkers, and leave their trucks for god-knows-how-long. Trying to merge into the next lane, which is as congested as the one I’m in, to get around those huge, traffic-obstructing monstrosities is one of my special joys, and when I call the companies that own the trucks, I’ll be sure to tell them how much love I have for their drivers who do this. What’s that truck ID number again?

I mustn’t forget the people who block the intersection while they have the green so they don’t have to sit through another light, and then get stuck there. This causes ME to have to sit through another light, and sometimes two or three, which gives me more time to listen to my iPod. Thanks, guys!

To all of you, the driver of the silver Passat who cut me off this morning, the guy on the bike going the wrong way on L Street, and everyone else who made my commute such a joy this morning, my heartfelt thanks. I wouldn’t have made it all the way through that Stereo MCs/Frou Frou/Madonna mashup without you this morning.

In a move to bolster the city’s bottom line, DC’s going to be adding 11 more red-light cameras, 5 more speed cameras and two new mobile speed camera vans which will target those pesky construction zones. Despite Virginia nixing red light cameras after a study showed they were causing more accidents, the District has decided that they care more about cash than about citizen safety.

Of course, they’re paying out nearly $12.2 million for ACS State and Local Solutions, Inc. to do all their dirty work. Better yet, for every ticket over 53,750 (per month) they write, they get more money. So, instead of getting DC’s fattest cops a bit more work chasing down speeders and red-light breakers, they’re going outsource the process to machines that just issue citations which may or may not hold up to the courts.

Bogus.

The NBA Draft Lottery was conducted last night. You may have missed it while you got up to get more cheet-os during halftime of a thrilling Suns-Spurs game.

Milwaukee pulled an upset to land the rights to the first pick. As for Les Boulez, don’t bother searching for their draft choices, they traded away their first round pick. This years pick landed in Denver after going through Orlando. So until I receive confirmation of contradictory information, I am assuming that it was part of the deal that landed us Brendan Haywood.

Since all the action is going to be around the second round choice (likely to be an unknown European leadfoot), I can predict the following. Heck, I’ll call it an unparalleled success of they can just do a few things, is all I’m asking for :-

1. Les Boulez will not draft any one of the 12 prep schoolers on the early entry list. So don’t bother showing up for any individual workouts in the district. Even if you have a note from your Mommy. Actually, a note from your psychiatrist may be of better use. You have Kwame Brown to thank for that one.

2. In three of the last four years, the Wizards have enjoyed near unprecedented fan support. Two of those years, a certain Wizards jersey had the number 23 on it. The fourth year saw an amazing playoff run that injected life into a flailing franchise that was otherwise being compared to the Clippers. Which means that in the odd year of this present run, the only bright spot for most fans was to catch sight of local college legends Juan Dixon and Steve Blake. Both of whose contracts are up and who may not be back. Therefore, Brandon Bowman and John “Knucklehead” Gilchrist need not hold their breath for the hometown bail-out. Pops Mensah-Bonsu on the other hand, well he’ll get a good look. A REAL good look.

3. Kwame Brown is being actively shopped around as we speak. Don’t be surprised if a few draft choices get packaged into the deal. This is one year however, when I fully expect Washington to come away with someone else’s draft choices. Unlike previous years when you could count on the Wizards to have the tricks played on them, anything north of the towelboy would be a Washington heist.

4. Speaking of Kwame Brown, a straight-up trade for a top ten pick wouldn’t be a bad idea. Should that be the case, look for a solid post player to feature on Washington’s draft board. Between you and me, I like Ike Diogu of Arizona State, but all things considered I don’t see him dropping past 10, if not the 15. You could be forgiven for thinking that Sean May of the recently crowned National Champions North Carolina would be a sexier pick, but Diogu has been a beast during his three years in Tempe, putting up solid numbers while you were struggling to stay awake for Leno.

There are only so many things I can guarantee at this point. Kwame Brown will be traded out of here, and unless a first round, mid to late lottery pick shows up in return, you can pass this one up. Chances are you’ll never remember the name of the second round pick by mid-July anyway.

Watching Peter Angelos and Comcast duke it out in court over the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network is a bit like watching Stalin and Hitler in a boxing match. You’re not quite sure who to cheer for, both parties are evil, but you know you’re in for a good fight. The Orioles want to pull out of Comcast Sports Network in 2007 and move their telecasts to the newly-formed MASN which currently shows Nationals’ Games over the DirecTV network and on cable companies that are not owned by Comcast (which, at last count, was 3). However, Comcast isn’t so hot on this idea, and is now bullying the other cable companies (again, all 3 of them) to not pick up MASN. Angelos, being the fearsome whiner that he is, is bringing his army of lawyer goons into the picture, and Comcast has responded by doing the same. Expect this fight to be ugly. The only way baseball fans are going to win is if both parties happen to be in the courthouse when it is struck by a meteor.

Poser. Find a new shtick.

While poking around the Golden Triangle site for my last entry, I noticed that there will be concerts in Farragut Square at noon on Thursdays starting June 9. Since I work across the street from there, I may have to check this out.

When I worked in downtown Pittsburgh, my favorite thing about Fridays was the noon concerts at PPG Place. I’m looking forward to Sounds in the Square.

Has anyone noticed the people standing around downtown, usually near Metro stops, with the red-and-blue jackets and walkie-talkies? They’re called Downtown SAMs (note how that page doesn’t tell you what SAM stands for), and their job is basically to help you figure out how to get where you’re going, or where’s a good place to eat, etc.

Clearly, their services are meant primarily for tourists, however, I’ve found them invaluable in compensating for my complete and utter lack of a sense of direction (my ability to get lost is the stuff of legend). Usually, when I come out of a Metro station, I’m slightly disoriented because my internal compass just can’t deal with being underground. I’ve found them to be extremely polite and helpful, and even if they can’t specifically tell me how to get where I’m going, they’re happy to give me a map of the area and help me orient myself.

The Golden Triangle District, where I work, has their own version of the noble SAM- they wear bright gold jackets and are equally enthusiastic to help you out with directions or recommendations and whatnot.

Often, these local ambassadors know the area they’re standing in pretty intimately, so try asking them for a good place to go for lunch or something. They might be able to give you a great recommendation for something you’d never think to try.