DC Like a Local

photo uploaded to flickr by Mr. T in DCThose of us who live in DC are always sensitive to slights from you people who have full Representation in Congress. It's often difficult to describe the sense of injustice that our second class status gets us, little things too many to list here.

But one of the greatest is about to be remedied. That's right, Washington, DC is about to get it's first ever State Fair!

This year, the good folks at the 4th Annual Columbia Heights Day have included a DC State Fair in their festivities this Saturday, August 28th. That's right folks, we've hit the big time.

photo uploaded to flickr by mr_mayerGreater Greater Washington and Georgetown Metropolitan share a great story of the Dumbarton Bridge, a fascinating bridge connecting Georgetown with the Dupont Circle/Kalorama area. Somehow they manage to discuss the history of the Bridge without once commenting on what color Roald Dahl painted the bison's testicles. Oh well.

Washington Post covers the latest must-see attraction in DC: Georgetown Cupcakes. I don't know what is the more annoying trend in DC right now: cupcakes stores or I-hate-cupcake-stores stories. Without comment, then.

Sizable chunks of the new Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial arrived in Baltimore this week after a 47-day voyage from China. The Memorial is set to open next year.

Washington, DC's Congressional Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton took the Architect of the Capitol to task for numerous safety and managment problems at the new Capitol Visitor's Center. Politico reports failures in emergency communications and protocals, as well as some more mundane quality of work issues. Expect hearings on this matter come September.

Well then, tell it here!

If you are a local, have been a local, planning to be a local, or just want to pretend to be a local and want to share a tip or tidbit, let me know.

The whole point of this blog is use the combined power of local knowledge to save those poor, hapless tourists you see wandering the Mall. You know who I'm talking about. The poor bastard holding the Metro map upside down, trying not to admit he's not sure if that's the Capitol or the White House, with two kids pulling him in different directions (one of them down), and a wife saying a whole lot without a single word.

If you have a unique local viewpoint, either a better way to see the most common destinations or an out of the way gem that visitors from afar would love to see if they only knew about, drop me a line at tim.krepp@dclikealocal.com. I'm interested both in people who wish to contribute semi-regularly as well as those who may just have one or two things to add.

I promise to pay you absolutely nothing, and may, or may not, buy you a cup of coffee someday. With a bonus of a beer if it really, really works out.

On a hot day like today, take a wander down to the National Mall, and I guarentee you'll see some prime tantrums being thrown. "It's too hot!" "My feet hurt" "I want ice cream" "I don't care what's in that building, I'm sick of museums!"

And this is just the parents.

So, before your kids turn into a molten pile of goo and your wife gives you that look, take some time to relax, buy them (and you) some ice cream, and maybe even splash around a bit. Here are some options:

photo uploaded to flickr by SDCDeaCerteThe Smithsonian celebrated their 164 th Birthday this week, commemorating the anniversary of when Congress finally pulled their thumb out of their rear and acted on James Smithson's bequest. Or, as they put it; "Aft er ten years of spirited debate and extensi ve compromise, it was on August 10, 164 years ago today, that President James K. Polk signed a bill presented by the United States Congress establishing the Smithsonian Institution." You say tomato, I say...

Like most local bloggers, I’ ve been excited to watch the bir th of DC’s latest local news juggernaut, TBD.com. I’m looking forward to seeing how this turns out, especially since DC Like a Local is one of TBD’s 100-plus blogs in their Community Network. This week in tourism news they take one for the team and review DC’ s On Location Tours as well as examine why their building is periodically taken over by tour groups .

The District’s slow movement to get our two statues into Statuary Hall gets stalled . Again. Some Representatives led Rep. Dan Lungren (D-CA) think I should only be represented by one statue, instead of two, as I am not a resident of a state. Funny how Rep. Lungren is cool wi th me paying all of my income taxes, nor do I rememb er him saying I only had to do half a deployment when I was in the Navy.