Who's Hiring in the DMV: Aldi

Aldi, the discount grocery chain, is hosting a hiring fair on Wednesday December 20 at 7 am in Beltsville. See the details on the poster below.

For Maryland Parents: Ideas for What to Do With the Kids for the Last Days of Summer

Here in DC our kids went back to school on August 21. For those parents of Maryland students who be going back to school until September 5 or later, here are some ideas on what to do with the kids for these last days of summer.

1. Visit an off the beaten path museum.
Learn about aviation without the crowds at the College Park Aviation Museum. It's open daily.
For a weekend activity, admission to the National Capital Trolley Museum includes unlimited streetcar rides.

2. Play at a new playground.
The huge playground at Cabin John Regional Park has the added benefit of being in the shade of the park's many trees.
Check out the Wizard of Oz themed playground at Watkins Park,

Starting Another Business - Day One

My plan was to start a new business when the kids went back to school. I'm chronicling this new business on my blog as a bit of accountability for myself. As a little bit of backstory, I've had a couple of online shops for a number of years. The oldest one is focused on Washington DC themed apparel and gift items but over the years I've added a lot of other topics. My other shop is similar to the first but it's on a different company's platform. This year I opens two new, niche stores online. For My Home is a home decor shop while Ready to Wed sells wedding stationery and bridal party gifts. Ok, enough backstory. Getting back to my new endeavor. My plan was to start a resell business the week my kids went back to school. I am having trouble deciding what to sell. My advisers have wanted me to go into selling furniture. This is a good idea, however, there are some barriers. I am a small person who drives a small car. Until I figure out how to overcome those obstacles, I wanted to deal with something smaller like books and dvds. Yesterday I set out buy books to resell. Immediately I ran into another obstacle. My app to scan books for value prior to purchase wasn't working properly. I scanned several books but each time the app gave me an error message instead of a value. I've used the app before so I don't know what went wrong yesterday. Day 1 Purchases $0 Sells $0 Lesson learned: Have a back-up plan.

Washington DC Back to School Fairs 2017

This time of year there are a number of back to school fairs. Usually these festivals feature free admission, a school supply giveaway and fun activities for children. Follow the links for times and addresses. DC GWUL 2017 Health and Wellness Back 2 School Festival Maryland Back to School Fair Back to School Community Day Back to School Family Fun Day Capitol Heights

T-shirt says Tell me how to spell 90 I'm from DC

Recently, google reported that the word that DC residents most often search how to spell is 'ninety'.

Tell me how to spell 90 I'm from DC Black T-shirt
by redbook

New Free DC T-shirt is a reminder of DC's Status

Those of us who live in DC know that that the residents of Washington DC are obligated to perform all duties of US citizens, including paying federal income taxes. However, DC residents are taxed without representation since we do not have a senator and our house member is a non-voting delegate. As a reminder of this, here's a men's panel t-shirt says "Free DC" in white letters on a red background.

Free DC Red Panel T-shirt
by redbook

Washington region must respond to proposal to relocate government agencies

According to the Washington Examiner, House Democrat Tim Ryan has proposed decentralizing the federal government. Rep. Ryan's proposal is designed to be an economic stimulus to other parts of the country. Local officials must engage now to prevent this threat to our local economy. While relocating federal jobs might boost economies in other parts of the country, the federal government is the backbone of how we feed our families today throughout the DMV. Even folks who don't work for the federal government benefit from its presence here. The issue of decentralizing the federal government should be a priority on the agendas' of Mayor Bowser, Rep. Norton, Gov. Hogan, and Gov. McAuliffe. 

Despite the Wall Street Journal's argument that the influence of the federal government on the Washington region's economy is diminishing, even the WSJ admits that 11% of the region's workers are employed by the federal government. And that number doesn't count people who indirectly benefit from the presence of federal government, such as restaurant workers.

Washington DC Inspired Flip Flops

Be prepared for next month's arrival of summer in DC with these red flip flops.

Washington DC flag inspired flip flops
by redbook

Congratulations to Ballou High School

For the first time, every member of the senior class at Ballou High School has applied to college, according to an article in The Washington Post. While this is an exciting development, what's even more encouraging is the attitude of Ballou's administrators. Principal Yetunde Reeves wants to Ballow to become a place where college is expected as an "automatic next step." Leaders like Principal Reeves who raise the bar of expectations are exactly what students in the District's public schools need. Hopefully, the Post will update this story when the acceptance for this class becomes available.

The Washington Post's "New" Slogan

When I saw "Democracy Dies in Darkness" under  The Washington Post's masthead the other day, I thought it was a joke. 'Someone has used a graphics program to put these two together,' I thought. Well, the entire world may know by now "Democracy Dies in Darkness" is the Post's new slogan.

Except, at The Post reports, that the slogan is not new because it's a phrase that longtime Post reporter Bob Woodward has been using for years. And Woodward said he did originate the phrase. It's a variant of 'Democracy dies in the dark', which Woodward read in a judicial opinion by Damon Keith in a case prior to Watergate.

While I can understand that the Post had been planning for months to launch this slogan, how could the newspaper not have realized that such a slogan would be seem to be directed at the new administration in the White House? It's hard to believe that the paper didn't think people would assume a connection even if none existed. Knowing current political realities, the Post moved forward in adopting this slogan.

Democracy Dies in Darkness T-Shirt
by The_Washington_Post