The evening rush hour proved to be a bit more titillating than usual for commuters at Washington, D.C.’s Union Station on Monday, when an advertising screen suddenly started showing explicit porn videos. [More]
washington d.c.
Uber Trying To Make Nice With Cities By Sharing Traffic Data
By 1.9.17
Have you ever watched a busy downtown city street and wondered how many of those cars are Ubers, how far they’re going, and how long it usually takes them to get there? City planners and transit administrators do, and so to make their lives a little easier, Uber’s planning to start giving away some aggregated, public-interest data to help transit planners plan. [More]
DC Mayor Says Arresting Pot Smokers At Inauguration Won’t Be A Priority
By 1.6.17
If you’re hoping to grab one of 4,200 free joints that will be passed out by a pro-marijuana legalization group on Inauguration Day, The Man probably won’t be focused on hassling you for smoking up, Washington D.C.’s mayor says. [More]
Another Family Says United Stranded Their Unaccompanied Minor At Airport
By 1.6.17
Just a week United Airlines was accused of dropping the ball in escorting an unaccompanied minor on a flight, a Virginia family says the airline was at it again, stranding their 13-year-old son in New York, despite paying an extra $300 to ensure he was accompanied at all times. [More]
Washington D.C. To Raise Minimum Wage To $15/Hour By 2020
By 6.8.16
While companies like Target, Walmart, and IKEA have been announcing increases to their employee minimum wage one by one, some cities — and states — have take it upon themselves to approve across the board wage increases for residents. Joining the list that already includes Seattle, Los Angeles, and the state of California, the Washington, D.C. council approved a measure that would raise the minimum wage to $15/hour by 2020. [More]
Thousands Of D.C. Residents Won’t Have To Pay Parking Tickets Issued During Winter Storm
By 1.29.16
There’s perhaps nothing better than hearing you won’t have to pay a parking ticket. Thousands of Washington, D.C. residents will be filled with that happy feeling after the mayor said she’ll void more than half the citations issued last Friday during the winter storm that pummeled the East Coast with snow. [More]
Smithsonian Museums Ban Use Of Selfie Sticks, Still Encourage Selfies
By 3.4.15
When documenting a trip to the nation’s capital, tourists might enjoy having a few photographs of themselves against the backdrops of the memorials and monuments that fill the city. But if you were thinking of using a selfie stick to get just the right angle while posing in front of the Hope Diamond at the Natural History Museum, you might want to think again. [More]
It’s Official: Owning And Using Marijuana Is Now Legal In Washington D.C.
By 2.26.15
It’s been quite a green week in the country, as the last few days have seen the recreational use of marijuana become legal in Alaska and now the capital of the United States, Washington D.C. But curb those dreams of toking up at the Lincoln Memorial, folks, because there are some limits to the new law. [More]
D.C. City Council Holds Hearing To Discuss Legalizing Recreational Marijuana Sales
By 2.9.15
While voters in Washington D.C. managed to decriminalize possession of marijuana with a ballot initiative last fall, the city is considering taking it a step further and making it legal to sell the stuff as well. The City Council is holding a hearing today to mull whether it should join Colorado and Washington State to allow the sale of pot for recreational use by adults. [More]
Washington D.C. Hates New Pizza App Because The District Isn’t In Virginia
By 8.8.14
Everyone dreams of the day they can simply push a button and a pizza will magically appear on their doorstep, unless of course, they happen to be residents of the District of Columbia. In what is now starting to sound like a broken record, the inhabitants of D.C. are once again being shutout because their fine city simply isn’t recognized. [More]
Apple Not So Clear On Where Washington, D.C. Is, Either
By 7.17.14
A Transportation Security Administration agent and some overly literal liquor stores in New Hampshire made headlines this week when they denied existence of the District of Columbia. Now, the iOS app store is also confused, thinking that Washington, D.C. is somewhere near Seattle. [More]
New Hampshire Clarifies: Yes, You Can Use A D.C. License To Buy Booze
By 7.16.14
What is it with all the Washington, D.C. confusion lately? There was that Transportation Security Administration agent who reportedly had no clue the District of Columbia was part of the United States, and now New Hampshire has had to clarify that yes, a D.C. license is a valid and acceptable form of identification one can use to provide proof of age when buying booze. Sigh. [More]
TSA Agent To Reporter: What Is This “District Of Columbia” You Speak Of?
By 7.16.14
In a far off land called the District of Columbia, there lives an entire population of people who are considered Americans and as such, have the proper identification noting that fact. But one Transportation Security Administration agent in Orlando may need a brush-up on the makeup of these United States, after reportedly not realizing that a reporter’s Washington D.C. license is a valid form of ID. [More]
Costco’s Clever Plan To Sell Both Gas & Liquor In D.C. Results In Death Threats
By 12.2.13
In Washington, D.C., you can’t sell alcoholic beverages and gasoline at the same business. But when Costco came to town, it didn’t throw up its hands and do away with one or the other parts of its business. Instead, it got clever and figured out a way to sell both booze and discount gas, a move that hasn’t gone over well with other gas stations in the city. [More]
D.C. Mayor Vetoes Higher Minimum Wage, Re-Opening Door For Walmart
By 9.12.13
Earlier this summer, city lawmakers in Washington, D.C., passed legislation that would raise the minimum wage in the city for workers at certain large retailers from $8.25/hour to $12.50/hour. It was seen as a direct challenge to Walmart, which had planned to open new stores in the nation’s capital, and which threatened to pull out if the bill was enacted. But now that’s a non-issue, as Mayor Vincent Gray has vetoed the legislation. [More]
Report: City Screw-Ups Put Thousands Of D.C. Homeowners At Risk For Foreclosure
By 9.10.13 — Updated: 12.9.13
We’ve written several articles over the years about how a small unpaid property tax or public utility bill can result in homeowners losing their homes to foreclosure, but a new investigative report from the Washington Post shows how systemic ineptitude in Washington, D.C., city offices has repeatedly left homeowners fighting against liens that shouldn’t exist in the first place. [More]
There’s Still Time To Be Considered For Consumerist’s D.C.-Based Freelance Gig
July 26, 2013
E-mails and resumes have been flowing in steadily since we mentioned that we’re looking for a freelance contributor based in or around Washington, D.C., but time is running out for interested writers and reporters to be considered. So if you dream about covering the consumer world from our nation’s capital, send your C.V. and clips (or links to published stories) to dc@consumerist.com by the end of the day Monday, July 29. [More]
Because Of A Typo And A Parking Scofflaw, I Can’t Go To Washington D.C. Anymore
By 7.25.13
Reader Cliff doesn’t have $17,000 worth of erroneous toll violations like the motorist whose story we shared yesterday, but he does have a lot of parking tickets, and they aren’t his. [More]
