Results tagged “economy”

The U.S. Postal Service today released yet another revised list of possible branch closures, and one D.C. office has been trimmed. The Northeast branch, located at 1563 Maryland Ave. NE, will stay. In Maryland, two other branches were also spared: the Friendship Heights branch, and the Silver Spring Center branch. The total list is now at only 241 post offices still under review nationwide, down from almost 3,300 at the beginning of the process.

The unemployment rate for the District of Columbia jumped to 11.9 percent in the month of October, its highest level since the current recession began, according to figures released today by the Department of Employment Services. That number marks an increase over the previous month, September, which saw an unemployment rate of 11.4 percent. The national unemployment rate for October was 10.2 percent. Today's news comes paired with an estimate that the District actually added 10,200 jobs in October, despite the increase in unemployment figures. A news release from DOES explains these diverging trends as being due to an increase in the District's labor force, with no change in the number of employed people.

Dupont Circle's Blockbuster Video store, located at the corner of 17th and P Streets NW, will rent its last DVD on Sunday afternoon, as advertised on the dry erase board of the adjacent photo. Another one bites the dust for the chain of video rental stores that in its heyday put many mom and pop shops out of business, but is now falling victim to the competition of Netflix, cable and on demand programming, and of course, the Internet. The Adams Morgan and Eastern Market Blockbuster stores will remain open, however.

The District Department of Employment Services released its monthly jobs numbers this morning, and the news appears to be rather grim. D.C.'s September unemployment rate rose by 0.3 percent over August, up to 11.4 percent, marking a brand new high since the current recession began. August, with its 11.1 percent unemployment rate, had previously seen the worst D.C. jobs figures of the year.

Metro is once again facing a budget crunch (in the form of a predicted $100 million shortfall) and thinking about raising fares, but this time it's changing tactics just a bit. Instead of soliciting rider input at the end of the process, as Lena Sun points out in the Post, this year they're talking to customers at the beginning. And tonight marks the first public forum on Metro’s proposed 2011 budget.

When Michael Moore went looking for funding for his newest film, he claims he told the studio that it would be a kind of sequel to Fahrenheit 9/11, the director's most financially successful film to date. They handed over the cash, and he turned around and made a film that has little to do with that anti-Bush polemic, that is instead unapologetic about biting the corporate hands that feed him. That doesn't mean that Capitalism: A Love Story isn't a sequel, though. It's just that its direct antecedent is Moore's debut (and arguably still his best), Roger & Me, which was released 20 years ago this December.

The Save WEAVE campaign may have allowed that domestic violence assistance non-profit to stay open, but with the start of the new fiscal year today, other local groups are facing similar financial problems. House of Ruth, the District's largest nonprofit aimed at helping homeless women and children, most of whom have been victims of domestic violence, this week found out that it has lost nearly $500,000 in city funding, as the Washington Post's Susan Kinzie reported today.

The August unemployment numbers for the District are out, courtesy the Department of Employment Services, and the news is rather dreary. After dropping slightly in July to 10.6 percent (down from 10.9 percent in June), D.C.'s unemployment rate for August was a whopping 11.1 percent, the worst number the city has seen since the recession began. The jump corresponds to an increase in jobless figures nationwide. The August national unemployment rate was 9.7 percent, compared to 9.4 percent in July. Maryland’s unemployment rate was 7.2 percent in August, unchanged from July, while Virginia posted a solid 6.5 percent rate, actually down from 6.9 percent.

Over at his blog, D.C. Council member Kwame Brown is pimping the new fall classes available from the city's Workforce Development Program. These are free job training classes available to D.C. adults, most of which start later this month. You can download a list of classes and registration materials from the CCDC web site. The types of classes offered include carpentry, pre-apprenticeship construction, hospitality industry, computer basics, medical billing, Spanish in the workplace, and more. To apply, residents need first to take a screening test to determine reading and mathematics levels. Testing is available Tuesdays and Thursdays at 5 p.m. at the Hospitality Public Charter High School at Roosevelt High School (13th and Upshur St. NW) or PR Harris (4600 Livingston Rd. SE) Monday - Thursday at 1 p.m. or 5 p.m.

And another local business bites the dust. Big Monkey Comics on 14th Street announced Monday that it will close its doors for good at the end of the month, blaming the recession.

It wasn't Galactus, Lex Luthor, or Dr. Doom that defeated us, but simple dollars and cents. The economy has adversely affected so many people, and we are the latest casualty. Last year alone Virginia last [sic] 45% of its comic book shops due to the economic downturn and we are sad to say that we now join their number.

Or so says the Human Resource Association of the National Capital Area, which is the source for this Washington Business Journal story proclaiming it to be so. Considering how many people we talk to who say that they, due to the recession, didn't get raises this year, the 3.4 percent number just kinda feels slightly high, doesn't it? Oh wait, that explains it:

The financial services industry saw the highest salary increases at 9.3 percent. Publishing and broadcasting jobs saw the lowest raises, at 1.5 percent.

Continue reading "Average Salaries in D.C. Area Up 3.4 Percent"

There's been a lot of hand-wringing on many a D.C. neighborhood blog this summer about the U.S. Postal Service's plans to shut down many of their branches in an effort to trim costs. Today the USPS announced that it has trimmed its list down to 413 retail offices nationwide, with nine of those located inside the District (that's down from 13 in the previous list of 677). These are the local post offices still in danger:

This is a question I often ask myself when strolling by the intersection of 14th and U Streets NW (though thankfully a little less often now, since the long-awaited redevelopment of the buildings on the northeast corner nears completion). Matt Yglesias offers up the vacant building next door, however, as a case study in why, even accounting for the current recession, so many city storefronts in seemingly ideal locations remain vacant for so long. Assuming that a landlord has difficulty attracting a new tenant at the current rent, shouldn't there be an incentive then to lower the rent? Isn't some rent better than no rent at all?

The D.C. Mayor's Office put out the latest Department of Employment Services numbers today, and the unemployment rate in the District of Columbia decreased to 10.6 percent in July, compared to June's 10.9 percent unemployment rate. The figures are still well above the national unemployment rate for the same month, which was 9.4 percent, down slightly from 9.5 percent in June. Unemployment is a mixed bag in the larger region: Maryland's unemployment rate was 7.3 percent in July, up from 7.2 percent in June, while Virginia posted a 6.9 percent rate, down from 7.1 percent.

Back in July, we reported that Capitol Hill mainstay Trover Books would be closing its doors for good this month. A call to the store today confirms that their last day of business is in fact tomorrow, Friday, August 14. The book shop will to continue to liquidate its stock through Friday at 7 p.m., with deep discounts still available. Items from the previously shuttered Trover Card Shop, which includes greeting cards and office supplies, are selling for 70 percent off, while most books are marked down 40 or 50 percent, and if you're a cigar smoker, stop by for deals on your favorite brands, which are 30 percent off. Regular customers may also want to make a special point of stopping by to wish the Shuman brothers well in their future endeavors.

A few of us have been drooling over this latest All You Can Jet promotion from Jet Blue. The deal offers nearly unlimited Jet Blue flights for an entire month, from Sept. 8 to Oct. 8, for only $599, including all domestic taxes and fees (international and Puerto Rico flights are a little extra). There are a few restrictions of course, like that you have to book each ticket three days in advance, and you can only book one flight per city per day, but still, it's a pretty amazing deal. If only those pesky little things called our day jobs didn't prevent us from taking full advantage. But isn't this the most amazing gift you could give your friend or loved one who recently got laid off? Especially if you pooled together some cash between a group of mutual friends. The All You Can Jet passes are on sale through Friday, August 21, or while supplies last.

Attention investors: The D.C. Office of the Chief Financial Officer has set up a new web site, www.buyDCbonds.com, in order to offer approximately $270 million in income tax-backed bonds for sale on August 18 through 19. The impending bonds offer comes at the same time that CFO Natwar Gandhi announced today that the city has retained its high marks from all three ratings agencies: Standard & Poor’s once again gave D.C. a AAA rating, Moody’s Investors Service’s assigned a Aa2 rating, and Fitch Ratings a AA designation. In a memo to D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty, D.C. Council Chair Vincent Gray, and D.C. Council Finance Committee Chair Jack Evans (Ward 2), Gandhi also announced that all three rating services have given the bonds a "stable" ratings outlook. "I must emphasize that the affirmed ratings and stable outlooks are particularly commendable given the widespread strain in the current national economy. Many other states and local governments have experienced downgrades including California and Michigan, or a change in outlook to "negative" as the Washington Post reported about New Jersey yesterday," Gandhi wrote in the memo.

We had been hearing about the imminent demise of Cleveland Park's 7-11, located at the corner of Connecticut Ave. and Porter St. NW., for a while, but after being reminded by City Desk that the convenience store did indeed shut its doors on Thursday, joining the Starbucks and the Magruder's Market on the growing list of neighborhood retailers who are giving up rather than face increasing rents amid a bleak economy, it's still hard to fathom. Who knew 7-11's, in all their ubiquity, could even go out of business? Granted, this location was at the top, rather than the middle, of Cleveland Park's commercial corridor, perhaps making it not quite convenient enough, but still. Are people really buying fewer Slurpees, packs of gum and nutritionally questionable taquitos? And wouldn't these Cleveland Park landlords trying to raise the rent prefer to have some kind of paying tenant, rather than no tenant at all?

We were all set to write off the Associated Press's latest attempt (via WTOP) to recycle the "National Mall is a National Disgrace" story template, which has been a favorite of the local media for years now (for examples, see last year's versions here and 2007's here). We all already know that the National Mall is looking pretty banged up, with cracked walkways, dead, trampled grass, dying trees and mud making what should be the country's pride and joy look shabby and depressing. We also already know that when President Obama tried to steer $200 million out of his stimulus package to renovate the National Mall, it was killed by the House. But the AP's Brian Westley and Brett Zongker have done a nice job of reporting out the story behind the story: that members of Congress routinely earmark money for national parks in their home states, while torpedoing such efforts for the Mall, which, by virtue of being located in the District, doesn't have any powerful members of Congress to fight for it. Here's the meat:

All told, Congress sent home more than $181 million in earmarks through the park service budget last year _ an election year _ according to data compiled by the group Taxpayers for Common Sense and analyzed by the AP. Nearly half that money was driven by lawmakers who were on the House and Senate appropriations committees.

Continue reading "AP Revisits 'National Mall is a Disgrace' Story"

PB Capital Corp. agreed to purchase The Watergate Hotel today for $25 million at foreclosure auction, after submitting the one and only bid (via The Washington Business Journal and Housing Complex). Developer Monument Realty, which had to abandon its plans to renovate the hotel after lending markets collapsed, actually owed $40 million to PB Capital, making the sale something of an indicator of these strange financial times. Monument co-founder Michael Darby was reportedly on hand for the auction, and put on a brave face for the BizJo: "Am I disappointed? In some ways yes, in some ways no. We knew this was happening. I’ve lost a lot of money over time, but that’s part of what we do."

The D.C. Office of Tax and Revenue put out a short press release today reminding residents that the annual August Sales Tax Holiday isn't happening this year, so a number of outlets have been reporting the news as though this just happened today. In fact, this decision was made in early May, when the D.C. Council approved the FY2010 budget, which nixed the popular back-to-school and holiday-season sales tax break periods in order to hang on to an estimated $640,000 in revenue for the cash-strapped District. In its release today, the OTR reminded local merchants who have previously participated in the sales tax holiday to ensure that their point of sale equipment is programmed to collect the tax this year.

The unemployment news just doesn't seem to be getting better inside the District of Columbia. Monthly Department of Employment Services numbers are out once again today, and they report that the June unemployment rate was 10.9 percent, up 0.2 percent from the previous month. The District's unemployment numbers have been climbing since December, holding slightly steadier at just below 10 percent for several months before finally surpassing the figure in May. The news comes on the same day that Mayor Fenty has proposed eliminating 250 more city government jobs as part of his latest budget proposal, in addition to the roughly 1,600 he's already cut. DOES says there were 35,900 unemployed District residents in June.

It was late summer of 2007 when the old Watergate Hotel sold off all its contents amid a massive renovation effort, with plans to reopen as something fancier, newer, or at least less shabby. But then, of course, the bottom fell out of the financial markets, and it seems the long-delayed plans for construction are finally abandoned. The hotel is going on the auction block on Tuesday, the Post reports. The hotel's owner, Monument Realty, was financed mainly be Lehman Brothers, so you can guess what happened. Alex Cooper Auctioneers will start the bidding at $1 million at their Wisconsin Ave. offices.

Bad news for D.C. charter school teachers: you may not be getting paid on Friday, according to a story just posted to the Post's website. D.C. missed a $103 million payment to its 60 public charter schools this morning, thanks to some kind of tax revenue shortfall or delay, Bill Turque reports. The District is facing at least a $190 million deficit in the current fiscal year, thanks to shrinking tax revenues due to the recession. The Post story says that charter board officials are negotiating with the city to make some kind of partial payment from contingency funds to help them meet immediate payroll needs.

It was just a month ago that Carol Joynt, the owner of Georgetown institution Nathan's, sent out word that after months (years, really) of speculation, the restaurant had managed to secure a lease extension, and would, it seemed, therefore stay open. But in an email to patrons late today, Joynt announced that Nathan's will suddenly be closing its doors for good on July 12. Joynt writes:

Dear Friends,

Continue reading "Georgetown Restaurant Nathan's to Close After 40 Years"

U Street boutique moojoo ken is shutting its doors for good on July 12, and the store has been liquidating its stock since late May. DCist stopped by the other week and was able to score some designer duds for about 80 percent off the original retail price. The store is heavy on shoes and handbags that bear the logo of the in-house label, but they also have an array of scarves and jewelry and a small selection of women's clothing. Stop by before July 12 for clearance deals before the store disappears forever. 1512 U Street NW.

The District of Columbia's May unemployment rate was 10.7 percent, the D.C. Department of Employment Services announced today. That figure is up 0.8 percent from the April rate, and 4.1 percent higher than the same month in 2008. This is the first time D.C.'s unemployment rate has gone above the 10 percent mark since the recession began. It was holding at 9.9 percent or below for the last couple of months. Nationally, things also look bleak: the U.S. unemployment rate for May was 9.4 percent, up 0.5 percent from April, and 3.9 percent higher than in May 2008. The news comes paired with Labor Department data that shows that for the first time in months, the number of people collecting unemployment benefits from the government actually fell compared to the previous week. There is at least some indication that the drop in benefits rolls may be because more unemployed people are exhausting their benefits.

GA Cleaners, also known as Georgia Avenue Cleaners and commonly referred to as Q Street Cleaners, located at the corner of 14th and Q Streets NW, will close for good this Saturday.

The Department of Employment Services released the latest jobs figures this morning, and despite last month's modest improvement, things are once again looking worse. The April unemployment rate for the District of Columbia was 9.9 percent, up 0.2 percent from the March 2009 rate and the exact same as the February 2009 rate. The figure also shows a 3.5 percent increase in the number of unemployed D.C. workers over the same month last year. Nationally, the unemployment rate for April was 8.9 percent, an increase of 0.4 percent from the March 2009 rate. Back in December, D.C. CFO Natwar Gandhi predicted the District's unemployment rate would reach 10 percent by 2010.

Hey, great news for those of you who have found yourselves un- or underemployed in this rough economy ... thousands of recent college graduates are moving to Washington to compete with you for jobs and housing! And they're willing to work for nothing and overpay to live in rooms the size of closets! Hooray! We kid (a little, anyway), naturally. Of course we want to welcome these youngsters and encourage the continued growth of our city. Besides, as the Examiner notes in its article: "the market was significantly better for those with at least a couple of years of experience, or a master’s degree." So suck it, graduates!