N.J. Lawmakers Honor Their Dirt
AS THE D.C. COUNCIL considers legislation that'd make the cherry the official fruit of the District, legislators in New Jersey voted Monday to approve an official state soil, reports the Newark Star-Ledger's Tom Hester. We thought the official state soil for the Garden State would be just plain contaminated, but the special soil in question is something called "Downer Soil," a dark-grayish brown sandy soil found in the southern half of the state. Glad to see that the good folks in Trenton are solving all of New Jersey's pressing problems.
» "Just Don't Call It Dirt: Jersey's Proud of Its State Soil" [S-L]
» "Civics Is Sweet for SW Students" [WaPo]
» GIBSON RISING: ABC's Charlie Gibson is trading in his slot on "Good Morning America" for the lead anchor post for the network's struggling evening newscast, "World News Tonight." Gibson will be taking over for Bob Woodruff, who's still recovering from injuries sustained during a January blast in Iraq, and Elizabeth Vargas, who is going on maternity leave. He's expected to start on WNT next week and depart GMA at the end of June. [WaPo]
Photo by Scott Eells/Getty Images
» BABY NAMES: According to In Touch Weekly, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are giving Samuel Nuuyoma, the governor of Namibia's Erongo region the honor of naming their baby, whose birth in the coming weeks has been hotly anticipated by people who care about such things. No word yet if the Brangelina baby will be getting a traditional Namibian name or something more contemporary, like Nevaeh or Madison. [In Touch Weekly via Glitterati Gossip]
» MORNING RUSH: Although New York's subway system is open 24 hours, we'd say there are some similarities between this take on rider demographics from New York City blogger GraphPaper and what we see in D.C. We definitely agree on the 10-11 a.m. assessment below, except that in D.C. there are more tourists, especially on the Red Line.
From GraphPaper, via Gothamist:
8:00 AM - 9:00 AMIt's been a while since we've been on Metrorail at 5 a.m. Can anyone do a breakdown of who's riding the train so early in the morning? Or does anybody want to take a crack at a D.C. version of this list? Drop us a line in comments.
Professionals, white collar workers, office workers. 100% seats occupied, many people standing. 1:1 male/female ratio.9:00 AM - 10:00 AM
Early-career yuppies running a little late, creative industry workers, all sorts of professionals. 100% occupied. 1:1 male/female ratio.10:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Hung over office workers, some seats available. 2:1 male/female ratio.
Print
Addison Road
I take the northbound Red Line train anywhere from 9:45 to 10:15. I am a professional and I always wonder what are other professionals are doing going into work so late (yes, that's you I'm talking about, you Farragut Northerners). Maybe they are also taking advantage of flex-time for those car people.
Let us not forget the other categories of people on the train at this time: mostly male hispters/professionals with messangers bags getting off at Dupont, nannies carting around toddlers and babies and heading to the Zoo, the UDC/AU bed-headed students, the Stepfords wives getting off at Friendship Heights for shopping (seriosuly, why are you not taking the Bentley?), and of course the mass exodus of professionals getting off at Bethesda.
By NWashingtonian , Posted May 23, 2006 5:30 PMGood observations. I find myself riding the Red Line toward Metro Center ususally between 10:30 and 11:30. I also see those "mostly male hispters/professionals with messangers bags getting off at Dupont."
By mgrass , Posted May 23, 2006 7:12 PM5-7am: mostly heathcare professionals (i.e. nurses) and custodian staff... basically, the people that keep things running while we sleep (the red line mostly, near NIH). or people that work in va and live in suburban md. there are a number of people, but you'll always find a seat. also, it's quieter; calming even. i liked riding the train that early compared to rush hour. i really don't miss waking up that early...
don't forget during the school year at least, students going to class at random times (10am, 11:30am),especially between dupont circle (georgetown) and tenleytown.
By chiiq , Posted May 23, 2006 7:34 PM