SYMHM: Parking App, Fully Loaded, Booze, Wonder Bread, MLK

By Michelle Lancaster. You can follow her and  tell her your news on Twitter @MichLancaster. Email her at [email protected].

Parkmobile Parking App Reviewed

As we all learned in Borderstan etiquette class, there are many drivers/parkers in our area. Presumably, you are occasionally forced to leave the hood and/or pay for parking in it. So you may find We Love DC‘s review of DDOT’s Parkmobile app, which will allow drivers to use their mobile phones to make payment to the meters. Early reviews? Plenty of room for improvement.

Kwame Brown: Still “Fully Loaded”?

D.C Council Chairman Kwame Brown lays his soul bare to the The Washington Post. I’m not joking — he answered all the tough questions about the SUV, problems at the  Council and anything else lobbed at him in this interview. Whether his answers are satisfactory to skeptical voters is still to be determined, but it is clear Brown is ready and willing to put up a fight to keep his job. It’s pretty interesting insight into the man behind the blinged-out legend regardless of your political preference.

Boozy City with an Anti-Booze Licensing Agency?

It’s fun to compare various city agencies that provide important services, albeit in a dysfunctional manner, to ones that are truly necessary and save lives. In today’s example, Greater Greater Washington compares the process for the Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration (ABRA)’s enforcement actions to the fire department. It would be a pretty scary world, apparently! The analogy may be a little forced, but it fleshes out the problems with the current mission and bureaucracy at ABRA for new business owners, renewing licensees and area residents who like their bars and restaurants. Also, you should read a piece by Laurie Collins on the subject… Collins is a former neighborhood activist and was on the ABC Board during the Anthony Williams administration.

Wonder Bread Factory to Become Historic Site?

Apparently, we’re very inquisitive today or just big fans of the non-committal question mark. Either way, it’s apt for TBD’s article on the unsure future of the Wonder Bread Factory. The D.C. Preservation League and Douglas Development nominated the site for the D.C. Inventory of Historic Sites, a necessary step before the Historic Preservation Office can vote on the matter (which they will do this fall).

D.C. Residents Must Share MLK Unveiling

DCist had to update their story on the MLK Memorial unveiling with some unwelcome news for residents hoping to get a sneak peek. D.C. residents now have to share with everyone else, as anyone that shows up on August 23 between 8 and 10 a.m. will be allowed to view the  Memorial. It was due to ‘incredible demand’, which makes me feel better about the state of humanity. But really, we get relatively few perks as city residents, it’s August and we are tired of sharing with tourists!