ResQgeek

An article in the Metro section of today's Washington Post includes a list of 22 pedestrians that have been killed by vehicles in the Washington, DC area since January 1. Some of these are the pedestrians own fault (six of the incidents are listed as including jaywalking or pedestrians crossing against the signals), but what about the others? It appears to me that motorist here are not looking for pedestrians, or respecting pedestrians right-of-way. In an incident on Feb. 16, a woman was struck and killed by a car, and then run over by a second car! At what point did we decide that pedestrians are invisible?

This is an issue that I take quite personally. Except for long trips, I drive very little any more...just the odd errand on the weekends, mostly. I haven't driven to work regularly in almost ten years. Instead, I walk to the nearest bus stop and catch a public bus to the office. Along the way, I have to cross one residential street at a stop sign, an exit ramp from the Capital Beltway (I-495) at a traffic signal and an entrance ramp to the Beltway (at a crosswalk with no traffic control devices). On the way home, I also have to cross Eisenhower Ave., a four lane commercial street, at an intersection with a traffic signal. I have had close encounters with vehicles at every single one of these crossings. People regularly fail to stop at the stop sign in my neighborhood, and turning traffic (which doesn't have a stop sign) rarely slows down as it whips around the corner. Seldom do I get through a week without watching a number of cars run red lights at the two traffic signals. And the entrance ramp to the beltway can be a nightmare to cross during evening rush hour as the commuters stream past me, intent only on getting home, and most unwilling to pause long enough to allow me to cross.

It doesn't make any difference to these drivers, but it has caused me to become very aware of my behavior as a pedestrian. I wait for signals to change, even when there isn't traffic. I generally avoid jaywalking. Part of this is me trying to feel superior, but I also want to believe that if pedestrians were better at obeying the rules, perhaps the drivers would be more willing to yield to us when we have the right-of-way. I'm just tired of drivers giving me a hard time when they are the ones breaking the rules (that means you, the guy running the red light after I get my "walk" signal...).

So, next time you're in your car, please try and be aware of the pedestrians and remember, we have rights too.

This week's storm caused a 50 mile long traffic jam along I-78 in Eastern Pennsylvania, with some motorists stranded for as long as twenty-four hours. National Guard vehicles delivered food, baby supplies and fuel to the vehicles trapped in the back up, which was caused when the traffic was unable to climb a hill near New Smithville, PA. It appears to have taken the State Police nearly twenty-four hours after the highway became blocked to close all the entrance ramps to I-78.

[via CBS-3 Philadelphia]

As of yesterday, WGMS-FM, which has played classical music for the Washington, DC, radio market for 35 years, has changed its format to play music from the 1970's and 1980's. With the format, the station is acquiring a new identity as George 104 (WXGG-FM). That's the bad news for classical music fans.

The good news is that classical music will remain on the air. In an unusual partnership between for-profit and non-profit radio stations, Bonneville International, the company that owns WGMS/WXGG, and public radio station WETA reached a deal that allowed classical music to remain on the air, uninterrupted. Yesterday, WETA dropped its news/talk format and returned to the classical music format it dropped in 2005. Bonneville International donated WGMS's library of 18,000 classical music CDs to WETA along with the rights to use the "WGMS" call letters. Both stations will cross promote each other for about six months (in fact the old URLs for WGMS now redirect web browsers to WETA's website).

This transition comes on the heals of an attempt by Dan Snyder to purchase WGMS, which in turn appears to have caused Bonneville International to explore the format change.

[via The Washington Post]

Do you need to get a gift for a woman who already has everything? How about a fragrance recreated from the recipes of Marie Antoinette's personal perfumer? Now available from the Chateau de Versailles, Sillage de la Reine ("In the Wake of the Queen") is an attempt to recreate one of Marie Antoinette's perfumes. This revival was made possible by the discovery of the recipes for Marie Antoinette's favorite perfumes buried in the French archives. The deluxe version, 8.5 ounces in numbered Baccarat crystal flasks, is stored in a locked vault and is only sold via the internet, at a price of $10,500 each. For the more frugal customer, the scent is also available in 1 ounce crystal phials for $450 at the chateau gift shop.

[via The Washington Post]

Virginia politicians seem to be sticking their feet in their mouths with disturbing regularity lately. Last month, it was Congressman Virgil Goode attacking the use of the Koran to swear in a fellow Congressman (see my summary). Yesterday, in an interview, State Legislator Frank D. Hargrove, Sr. criticized a proposal for the state to issue an apology for slavery, saying that blacks "should get over" slavery. He went on to compare asking the state to apologize for slavery to asking Jews to apologize for killing Christ.

Wow! Talk about equal opportunity offensiveness. Both of these incidents come on the heels of the "macaca" flap during George Allen's unsuccessful bid for re-election to the U.S. Senate. Is it me, or are Virginia's politicians allowing their "good ol' boy" roots to show? At least the House of Delegates reacted strongly to Del. Hargrove's remarks, which is more than I can say for the House of Representatives (which failed to react at all to Rep. Goode's remarks).

[via The Washington Post and the Charlottesville Daily Progress]

The D.C. city council has introduced a bill that would require all female students enrolling in sixth grade to be vaccinated against the human papilloma virus (HPV), which can cause cervical cancer. Now, I'm a believer in immunization, and preventing cervical cancer is a good thing, but is this really a necessary requirement for school enrollment? The purpose of mandatory vaccinations for school children (as I understand it) is to prevent the spread of communicable diseases through the school age population. Thus, for readily contagious diseases such as measles, mumps, chicken pox, and the like, requiring vaccinations makes good sense. However, HPV is not readily contagious through casual contact in the school environment. This virus is sexually transmitted, and is not going to cause any epidemics in our schools. While I would encourage parents to have their daughters vaccinated so as to reduce their risks for future health problems, I have a great deal of trouble understanding why this vaccination should be included on the list of those required for school enrollment.

[via The Washington Post]

For an even stronger critique of the proposed legislation, read Courtland Milloy's column from today's Washington Post.

An inmate at the federal prison in Leavenworth, Kansas, was charged yesterday with making a letter bomb and mailing it to the offices of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit in Virginia. The prisoner has a long history of making violent threats and has previously mailed an explosive device from a county jail in West Virginia. A spokesperson for the Bureau of Prisons could not comment on how the prisoner managed to construct and mail the bomb.

[via The Washington Post]

The nation's top rated classical music radio station, WGMS-FM, appears to be on the verge of being silenced. The profitable commercial station, currently owned by Utah based Bonneville International, was recently moved from its longtime location on the dial at 103.5 FM to the weaker signal at 104.1 FM to make way for an all-news station. Now it appears that Dan Snyder, the billionaire owner of the Washington Redskins, has reached a tentative agreement to purchase the station to add to his collection of sports-talk stations.

WGMS-FM is currently the only classical music station remaining in the Washington, DC market, since WETA-FM, a local public radio outlet, dropped classical music from its format to adopt a news-talk format. The sale of WGMS to Snyder would leave Washington without any classical music stations. Why would Bonneville sell a profitable station? Possibly because Snyder has offered about 50% more than the value of the station.

I listen to this station regularly, and it's my daughters' favorite station(!!), so I'm less than pleased with this news. Luckily, I have a nice collection of classical CD's and there are lots of online listening options, but it still doesn't seem right that a guy with more money than he needs can dictate my radio choices.

[via Marc Fisher's column in today's Washington Post]

American Airlines flight 1053 from Washington to Dallas made an emergency landing in Nashville Monday, after passengers smelled matches being struck. The crew diverted the flight, the passengers were evacuated from the plane and the baggage was all inspected. Searchers found evidence in one part of the cabin that matches had been lit, which is prohibited on planes. After "lengthy questioning" a passenger admitted to having some type of medical condition that affected her digestive system. The woman said that she was embarrassed and was lighting matches to cover the odor.

Unlike some rules associated with air travel these days, the prohibition against lighting matches really is about safety. The impact of a fire in an aircraft could be devastating, so prohibiting lit matches is a reasonable rule, especially since smoking isn't permitted anyway. I understand that the odors associated with digestive disturbances can be embarrassing (and offensive to fellow passengers), but lighting matches to conceal the odor? Surely there's a better way.

Source: This article from the Washington Post.

Last night, the Alexandria City Council narrowly approved a permit allowing the Virginia Paving Company to operate at night from April to October. The measure had been strongly opposed from residents of a neighboring community, but the company argued that it needed to operate at night to fulfill government paving contracts that only permit paving operations at night to minimize the impact on traffic.

So, here's the thing that annoys me about the whole situation: The asphalt plant has been operating on that site since 1960. The adjacent community, formerly a military base that was closed in 1995, was built in the late 1990's and includes more than 2,000 homes and an elementary school. Since the asphalt plant significantly predates the community, what basis do the residents have to complain about it? When they bought their homes, they should have realized that it would impact their lives, and with the increasing traffic problems in the area and the move to nighttime paving (which was already well underway when these homes were built), they should have anticipated that nighttime production of asphalt would be required.

The environmental experts who reviewed the community's complaints (including the one the community hired) all agree that the plant is fully compliant with all environmental and safety regulations. This is simply a case of people moving into a community and then trying to impose their will on pre-existing neighbors. This is simply not playing fair.

Here is an article from yesterday's Washington Post, and another from today's paper.