On Oct. 29, members of a pilates class at the Takoma Aquatic and Community Center learned the class had been suspended indefinitely. Thanks to invoice snafus, the city’s Department of Parks and Recreation was months behind in payments to Maryland-based Jus’ Rhythm Dance & Fitness, which provides instructors for several classes at Takoma and other rec facilities. So Jus’ Rhythm owner Amber Yancey temporarily pulled her fitness teachers. “D.C. doesn’t pay us well,” she says. “I have some of the top instructors in the area….If I don’t get a check, it’s hard to cover those costs.” The stop-work order ended up lasting less than a week: A representative from Parks and Rec hand-delivered a check to Yancey on Nov. 3, and the pilates instructor was back in time for the next class. But in case that hadn’t happened, the class had a contingency plan: working out with a videotape. “We’re committed to the center and our fitness goals,” says Stacy Mills, a pilates student. —Sarah Godfrey