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What you said about what we said last week
Last week’s photo essay by Darrow Montgomery centered on scenes of city life at D.C.’s bus stations, and readers were glad to glimpse the District through his eyes. “I really like the way the photographer used the reflections off the plexiglass, which to me conveys a sense of the street bustle that I notice when waiting for a bus in the denser parts of the District,” wrote Anthony.
“Great photos and excellent concept,” wrote Three Stars Two Bars, who shared a complaint with several others. “But it seems weird that in an essay that calls waiting for the bus a universal experience, only one photo is outside of NW. For such a relatively small city, it has so much geographic diversity from undeveloped woods, to tree-lined residential neighborhoods, to sterile industrial properties, to (boring) commercial buildings. It feels like this is kind of missing out on that. Just one man’s opinion.”
The always emphatic noodlez didn’t mind: “D-MO DOES IT AGAIN! WCP GOT A DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH IN THEIR STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER! JUST SAYING?? THIS FEATURE IS WASHINGTON CITY PAPER AT ITS BEST. BLURBS AND PHOTOS THAT BLEND. YEAH IT IS A LIL NW HEAVY BUT I’M FROM NW SO I’LL TAKE IT.”
Orange Crush
In last week’s Loose Lips column, Will Sommer detailed the close relationship between At-Large Councilmember and mayoral candidate Vincent Orange and lobbyist and former Councilmember John Ray, which led reader DC Guy to ask, “And VO thinks he is a serious candidate for mayor?” Remi echoed the sentiment: “Orange is clearly not mayor material and his history would suggest that he would be a disaster as such.” So did Casual Friday: “Mr. VO should have stayed at PEPCO or gone to work for his political patrons formally. He clearly is representing their interests instead of dc residents.”
Others pushed back against the newsiness of Orange’s ties to Ray, which include an apparently coordinated pushback against a Council bill that was opposed by D.C. gas-station magnate (and Ray client) Joe Mamo. “I cannot believe the editors of CP are allowing Sommer to create this garbage,” wrote Gordon. “These are everyday exchanges between politicians and lobbyist. No hint of breaking the law here.”
Out of the Woodwork
Have we hit peak reclaimed barn wood? In last week’s Young & Hungry column, Jessica Sidman chronicled the expensive, time-consuming lengths to which some restaurateurs will go for their establishments’ decor to scream “authentic.” Like Jeff Black, whose new Takoma Park restaurant, Republic, cost $2 million and has light fixtures made out of jet engine noses. “As a frequent diner at (and admirer of) Black’s restaurants, I don’t like hearing this. We all know exactly who foots the bill for this,” wrote wow. “This whole trend is disturbing. Most D.C. restaurants spending hundreds of thousands extra on decor don’t really have the culinary chops of Black’s kitchens. Why should I be paying such a huge premium for mediocre food?”
Department of Corrections
Due to a reporting error, a photograph featuring a Penske truck in “This Bus Stops Here” was captioned with an incorrect address. It was taken on the 2000 block of Georgia Avenue NW, not the 1600 block, which does not exist.