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OBAMA URGES HOUSE TO GIVE DC FULL VOTING RIGHTS
President Barack Obama is urging lawmakers to give the District of Columbia a voting member of Congress.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer has said he will bring a bill on the issue for a vote next week.
The statement comes on Emancipation Day, a D.C. holiday commemorating the day President Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves in Washington. That was nine months before the Emancipation Proclamation. (WTOP)
COMET PING PONG GOES DRY
DCist food writer Rebecca Cooper stopped by Comet Ping Pong today to discover the restaurant had a big hole in the wall, and a sign noting that due to various circumstances, they are not currently serving alcohol.
Concerned that Frank Winstead may have exacted some sort of sinister revenge, we followed up with owner James Alefantis, and thankfully, thing are actually less dramatic than they appeared. The hole? (DCist)
WHITE HOUSE GARDEN TOURS THIS WEEKEND
If you’ve ever wanted to visit the White House and its many beautiful gardens, this weekend is your chance. And unlike those now infamous “gate crashers” from earlier this year, anyone can attend. You just need to get a ticket. (So get there early!)
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Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia local news, events and information
But what does this have to do with the Hill, you might be wondering? Well, I’m here to clue you in on a few gems featured in the spectacular gardens surrounding the house that is white at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., and tell you where you can purchase them for yourself! See? Tied it all together. (The Hill is Home)
U STREET BAR RESTRICTIONS SPOOKING FINANCIERS
The week-and-a-half-long 14th and U Street Arts Overlay quasi-crisis came to a quasi-resolution yesterday, when the Office of Planning recommended that the Zoning Commission take emergency action to lift the 25 percent cap on eating and drinking establishments. It might have been the fastest any agency has reacted on a regulation like this anyone can remember, and the MidCity Business Association seemed satisfied.
And one business seems to have taken special precautions. The recommendation includes a request that, if emergency action is not taken, a pending restaurant application for 1361 U Street be consolidated with the public hearing. That’s about as good as a restaurant without a permit can get, at this point. (Washington City Paper)
