Sommer Mathis

Recent Actions

• Posted D.C. Starts Awareness Campaign in Advance of 5 Cent Bag Fee to DCist
  DCist had just been wondering when the city was going to get around to raising awareness about the impending 5 cent disposable bag fee, which goes into effect in January 1, 2010, and lo and behold, the “Skip the Bag, Save the River” Education Campaign press release landed in our inbox today. You can find the bulk of the campaign literature at http://green.dc.gov/bags, but the here's the highlights: 122,000 reusable bags will be given...
• Posted The Washington Blade Shuts Down to DCist
  Incredibly sad and surprising news for the LBGT media world, not to mention the local media scene: The Washington Blade has been shut down. The LGBT publication's twitter feed first alerted us to what was going on just a little while ago: "Washington Blade, like all Window Media publications, is closing today. Thank you for your support. (Keep following us for developments.)" Sure enough, even the Blade's web site has been taken down. Creative...
• Posted Black Rooster Pub Reopens Today to DCist
  Photo by benbalter At 11:30 a.m. this morning, the Black Rooster Pub will reopen its doors at 1919 L Street NW. The pub had been closed for several weeks after the building's landlord declined to renew its lease, but a combination of online petitions and intervention from local politicos ultimately helped save the business. In an email to supporters today, owner Jody Taylor noted that in addition to today's official reopening, he's also planning...
• Posted Supreme Court Refuses to Hear Redskins Case to DCist
  The U.S. Supreme Court today declined to hear an appeal in the case of whether the Washington Redskins' name is offensive, the Associated Press is reporting. This case, led by a group of American Indians who would like to see the NFL team change their name, has been going on since the early 1990s. At least once the plaintiffs won, only to be overturned on the basis of a statute of limitations. Today's decision...
• Posted Maryland Crackpot Profiled in Washington Times to DCist
  Photo by jeffq Meet Walter Carl Abbott, Jr. He's the kind of Lou Dobbs-loving, manly-man Maryland construction worker who blames everything that's wrong in this country on illegal immigrants. In fact, he feels so strongly about illegal immigration that last year, he decided to send an email to Gov. Martin O'Malley about it. Unfortunately for Abbott, the email included this phrase: "If I ever get close enough to you I will [w]rap my hands...