In An Open Memo to Jim Graham, DCBlogs suggests that the hurdles of obtaining information from the Freedom of Information Act should be lowered, and that it would allow bloggers access to the information needed to keep DC officials accountable:

One way to fight corruption is to reduce the barriers for bloggers to gain access to information. DC’s government must honor all FOIA request[s]. Let’s make this information free, especially to bloggers who plan to use the documents to inform their readers.

An interesting rational for cutting down on the costs of bureaucracy, and the idea of  bloggers as watchdogs isn’t entirely new.

In another recent post, DCBlogs takes aim at corrupt officials again, this time at the treatment of teacher layoffs and corruption within Jim Graham’s staff.

It looks like DCBlogs is speaking out against the job the local government is doing, I thought that I’d take a moment to note the blog for doing so since it is mostly busy noting other people’s works.

The Safeway on Wisconsin Ave, also known as “Social Safeway” hasn’t been so social recently since the location has been going through renovations like much of the other area locations (the Spanish Safeway has been sporting bi-lingual “under construction” signs.)

I was happy to recently discover that the store has embraced it’s local nickname, establishing an online home at socialsafeway.com- even though I just ran into it recently, the site was mentioned back in January 2009.

The site has a short history of Safeway in DC as well as an explanation of it’s DC Safeway nickname. You can also check-in on it’s construction progress through a webcam on-site. While the cam just shows your typical cranes and dirt, the time-lapse feature is a really cool visual to watch as compiles all the photos into one quick montage of construction.

Some of the features of the new Social Safeway includes:

• Expanded Wine & Beer Offerings
• Wine Steward with Wine Cellar
• Sushi Bar Island Deli
• Jamba Juice
• Starbuck’s Kiosk
• Huge Organic Produce Section
• Hearth Oven Fresh Brick Oven Store prepared Pizza
• Two Levels of Free Parking

The store will be two stories and include indoor and outdoor seating with a balcony overlooking Wisconsin Ave. The plans sound like it may resemble the design of the Wegmans in Fairfax that I’m a big fan of. If that’s the case, then I have to say that the new Social Safeway will be even more sociable than ever.

According to DCist, Social Safeway is expected to be finished by March 2010.

Obama showed some wit on the comments, but theTop-Ten list deserved to be cut:

Top Ten Reasons President Obama Agreed To Appear on the “Late Show”

10. Heard the lady with the heart-shaped potato was going to be here

9. Thought it would be fun to watch someone else get heckled

8. Has something to do with that whole “Cash for Clunkers” thing

7. Every president since Teddy Roosevelt has been here

6. In this economy, someone offers you $600, you take it

5. We told him Megan Fox would be here

4. Needed a place to hang out until check-in time at his hotel

3. Honestly, I have no idea

2. Said, “Yes” without thinking… Like Bush did with Iraq

1. Wanted to congratulate Dave on the big Emmy win

Tony Perkins eats a sock. (courtesy WTTG-TV)

Last week saw a Labor Day with a few sprinkles as rain kept it a drab affair.

That was bad news to Fox 5 weatherman Tony Perkins, who guaranteed great weather for Labor Day or he’d eat his sock.

Well he kept his word and ate a sock on-air the Tuesday after, if you didn’t hear about it then you can check out the video of the daring feat.

In a man bites dog news world, it only some-what surprises me that he actually ate a sock.

Morning personalities are so wacky they will do anything.

h/t to DCist for the info.

Cake Fail courtesy of DCist

Yesterday DCist celebrated their 5th year online and while it should be an event to celebrate, there must of been a minor let-down when editor-in-chief Sommer Mathis picked up the cake to see there was a huge error with the message on the cake. While it is certain a Cake Fail worthy enough for some Food Network reality show, I have to say the folks at DCist are really classy for taking it in stride, even hinting there maybe a new inside joke on the site (So be on notice: the phrases “on a whole cake” and “on a whale cake” seem certain to appear multiple times in future DCist content.)

I do agree, I think Whale cakes are the new fail whale, and with that I hope the folks at DCist had a happy birthday and I hope they are here for many more years to come.

However as a lowly DC Blogger I will suggest that if you want something to do tonight, then I’d like to introduce you to a really fun group of people.

All of my DC Blogger friends are holding a happy hour tonight at Evolve 1817 at 7 PM. For anybody that actually reads my personal blog, you know they are a good time.

I’m so confident that tonight will be a legendary that I feel compelled to spread the word of this event, even though I am flying out to be with my family back in Massachusetts.

You don’t understand how much it kills me that I’m missing this happy hour.

So head on down to Evolve and tell Lilu, Lexa, and the Restaurant Refugee that Patrick sent ya- you’ll be welcomed warmly.

Well it looks like there maybe a Virginia rap battle brewing, local comedian Chris Culosi released today his own Fairfax response to the Arlington Rap.

Culosi raps that, Arlington isn’t the only place that, “has douchebags going to Starbucks to use the free Wi-Fi.” Culosi should note that Starbucks usually charges for their Wi-Fi, in Arlington we go to Panera and Cosi for the free Wi-Fi.

The production values aren’t as crisp as Remy’s original rap, Culosi manages to drop some beats at some more notable places in Fairfax like the Fair Oaks Mall and Fairfax Corner. However I think trying to tie Tyson’s Corner into it’s jurisdiction is a stretch.

I did enjoy the swipe he takes on Fairfax County’s stringent (or lack there of) adherence to the legal drinking age, and the fact Fairfax does have GMU while we have to toil with Marymount (does anybody go there?)

Culosi ends the piece not by visiting all the Starbucks, but by visiting all the Korean restaurants (bulgogi anyone?)

While the video has some funny moments, is it good enough to truly spark a Virginia Rap Battle of Narnia like proportions? I’ll you guys decide:

Let’s say Jason wasn’t happy, however oblivious to whom the culprit is, taking out his frustrations on an unnamed rookie.

Elizabethany's new home: The Real World DC House

A month ago she was just a newly minted West Virginia University graduate. A month ago she was just a waitress, living with her parents in Woodbridge, VA.

Now she’s the face of the Real World DC frenzy that has hit Washington, DC.

And she’s not even on the cast.

Beth Ploger (aka Elizabethany) has become one of the most notable of the stalkers and gawkers who’s fascination with the filming of the MTV reality series borders on clinical levels. Her escapades in following and meeting the The Real World DC cast has made local television, radio, and magazines. Her stalking adventures has even landed her a gig with Metromix DC.

However she’s not at all shy with her recent exposure, and will be the first to admit she enjoys being the center of attention. She is a regular at McFadden’s or Public Bar and it would not be a total surprise to see her dancing on top of the bar when the right song comes on.

An unlikely hobby: drag racing (photo courtesy Elizabethany)

Another place you can find her is on the race track where she races Volkswagens in Elimination-style Drag Racing. In regards to the surprising pastime, Elizabethany finds the hobby as a change of pace from her journalistic endeavors, “I love the feeling of being in control,” she tells me when describing what she loves most about the sport.

As a self-proclaimed Real World stalker, she says it’s her mission to simply, “get to know the cast better.” Elizabethany has become a sort of beat writer, taking her experiences with the cast and reporting them on her blog or on her new beat with Metromix. The journalistic side of her pursuits has been something long ingrained with  her childhood.

Her dreams of being in the media have been around since she was a child. At the age of 13 she proudly proclaimed to her mother, “I’m a really nosy person, I should just be a journalist!” She grew up producing fake radio shows, delivering DJ-like banter into a home karaoke machine onto cassette tapes. “I still kinda want to find those tapes,” she admits to me.

After graduating from Osbourn Park High in 2005, Elizabethany enrolled at WVU to study broadcast news. However her dreams were not to become the next Katie Couric, but to become the next Maria Menounos. For her, the entertainment beat was more interesting than hard news.

However she wanted to give it a try and took on simultaneous internships with Fox 5 and Hot 99.5. Her days would start at 3:30 AM where she would come into to do work for the Kane Morning Show. Unlike typical interns that were delegated to answering phones, Beth worked her way up, being put in charge of producing the show’s podcast material.

Elizabethany worked simultaneous internships with Fox 5 and Hot 99.5 (photo courtesy Elizabethany)

After her shift at the radio station it was off to WTTG-TV where she assisted reporters with their stories- and gained some valuable insights on TV News, and how she’s come to realize it’s not for her. The kind of interviewing she wants to do is going to be more casual and less investigative,  “I don’t wanna put anyone in a bad light- I just want to get to know them.” One of Beth’s biggest idols is Ellen DeGeneres, and aspires to one day have a talk show just like hers, “I think we have the same sense of humor.”

Last September she started her blog, Love, Elizabethany, where she covers entertainment stories in the form of personalized messages to celebrities in the news. Between work and job hunting, she spends 5-6 hours writing blog posts for the blog.

It was when she decided to spice the blog up with video that she came up with her “Finding the Real World Cast” episodes. “I heard that the show was coming to DC and I was thought, ‘I want in that freaking house!’” So she decided to document her attempts to find the Real World cast when they go out on the town.

Her weekly routine involves going out on Thursday nights with fellow RWDC stalker/blogger Martin Mongillo and a “companion” that she chooses every week. “My companion needs to be willing to do anything,” says Elizabethany when listing criteria for the job. Anything for what? Why get into The Real World house of course! It is unacceptable for a stalking companion to refuse to dance with a cast member because of a jealous girlfriend/boyfriend back home. Makes sense considering the cast members are probably willing to do anything as well despite any mates they left behind. Elizabethany has created six episodes of “Finding The Real World Cast” and more will be produced throughout the filming this summer.

You truly get a sense of her new found celebrity when you visit the house with her. Elizabethany and I took a walk down to 2000 S street earlier this month. We stood on the corner across from the house  for only a few minutes before we are approached by two guys.

“Oh my god you are Elizabethany aren’t you?”

They walked over to look at the house and instantly recognized her from her videos. A car slows down in front of us as the driver takes a long look at the house, then recognizes Elizabethany in the crowd.

She is a truly a queen among gawkers, a person made a little more famous by following people a that will barely become famous.

“I like to refer to myself as their BFF… but call me whatever you want, I know inside what I am. ”

Check out the video below to see what it’s like to stalk the Real World House with Elizabethany.

The videos are done by The Gregory Brothers, an all-family musical group based in Brooklyn.

I didn’t know that Katie Couric had skillz.