Results tagged “whitehouse”

Many of you were unhappy with the outcome of this year's new lottery system to get tickets to the traditional White House Easter Egg Roll. Just read through the comments of this post for an idea of how annoyed local folks were that the ticketing system was opened up to the entire country, via the Internet. Then get ready to do the same thing all over again for the lighting of the White House Christmas tree.

So President Barack Obama and First lady Michelle Obama opened up the White House to trick-or-treaters on Saturday, which is pretty cool. Kids from 11 D.C. area schools were invited to come by and meet the first couple as they handed out this administration's version of a Halloween treat: White House M&Ms, a sugar cookie, and ... you guessed it, dried fruit. Talk about boo.

       

First lady Michelle Obama presided over the first day of the new White House farmers market on Thursday afternoon, speaking to an energetic, enthusiastic crowd despite the dreary weather.

The much discussed FRESHFARM Market, By the White House kicks off its first day in operation this afternoon. DDOT sent out a reminder that Vermont Ave. NW between H and I Streets will be closed from 1 p.m. until 8 p.m. today, but keep in mind that the market itself only runs from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. – the extra time built in is for setting up and taking down the stands. The market, which is open rain or shine, will continue every Thursday afternoon through October 29. Expect the usual FRESHFARM market fair: meats, cheeses, fresh fruits and vegetables, breads, flowers, and the like.

View White House Farmers Market in a larger map

On Tuesday we picked up a WTOP report that First Lady Michelle Obama's office was behind an application to close Vermont Ave. between H and I Streets NW one a week for a new White House farmers market. But this morning the Examiner's Bill Myers follows up with word that FLOTUS isn't necessarily the driving force behind this proposal. Instead, it appears that prolific local market purveyors FreshFarm put in the application, and Obama's involvement is a little fuzzier than first thought.

White House staff have been in talks with FreshFarm officials, but the first lady's office declined to answer questions about whether Obama was endorsing the Vermont Avenue market. After WTOP reported that the plan was the first lady's, the White House called the station to deny it.

The First Lady's office has put in a request to close Vermont Avenue between H and I Streets NW between 1 p.m. and 8 p.m., every Thursday, for the market. The day of the week and time of the proposed market certainly fits in with what DCist commenters were saying they'd like to see in terms of a White House farmers market, but the proposed location was up until this point unknown. This block of Vermont stretches between the far corners of Lafayette Square and McPherson Square. The WTOP article makes mention of some concern from residents about the potential for further traffic congestion in an already clogged area. We gather the Secret Service would prefer not to set up a weekly market right on Pennsylvania Ave., where the street is already closed to vehicular traffic.

One of the things that we're trying to do now is to figure out, can we get a little farmers' market -- outside of the White House -- I'm not going to have all of you all just tromping around inside -- (laughter) -- but right outside the White House -- (laughter) -- so that -- so that we can -- and -- and -- and that is a win-win situation.

Continue reading "Obamas Want to Start a White House Farmers Market"

Every election year, the cliche that somebody should or should not begin measuring the White House drapes gets trotted out. But eight months in to their new life at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., it looks like the Obamas may finally have brought in some help for the job, in the form of fashion personality and Barney's New York creative director/window dresser extraordinaire Simon Doonan. You may recognize Doonan from his appearances on America's Next Top Model and VH1's I Love the ____ shows.

According to CNN's politicalticker blog, President Obama will meet this week with Officer James Crowley and Henry Louis Gates, Jr. over a beer to discuss the false home invasion arrest fiasco in Boston from last week. The beers chosen by each man? Budweiser for Obama, Blue Moon for Crowley, and undetermined for Gates (Gates may not even drink beer, as it turns out). Maybe Bud is Obama’s beer of choice, but being the president, it's probably safe to say that he had to pick 1) an American beer and 2) something most people have tried. Remember what happened when he told Iowa voters what arugula cost at the store? Right.

President Obama is starting bilateral talks with China here in Washington today, which means residents can expect to be inconvenienced in one way or another for the next two days by the roughly 150 Chinese dignitaries currently in town. Expect additional motorcades and intermittent, temporary road closures in the vicinity of the Ronald Reagan Building and the White House. DDOT says minor delays due to closures should be expected on both inbound and outbound 14th Street between Pennsylvania and Constitution Avenues until at least 6 p.m. Drivers intending to head southbound out of the city on 14th Street this evening are advised to use the 9th Street tunnel instead, while those heading into the city should use 12th Street or 7th Street.

NewsChannel 8's Bruce DePuyt has an interview with D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton in which Norton drops some teasers about what's to come in the long-stalled D.C. House Voting Rights Act (h/t Loose Lips). Apparently the White House is set to get involved, though Norton won't say exactly who. And what will the final bill look like? “We think we can keep [same-sex marriage] off of it...I think I can keep some guns off.” Hmmmm. Some? We tried to get details out of voting rights activists, but no one seemed to know much right now. The last time we checked in, Norton and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer were quibbling over when the bill should be voted on. We're now half-way through May, and time is ticking away...

Everyone's still going ga-ga over the story of Barack and Michelle going on a date to Citronelle on Saturday night and following it up with a romantic, albeit brief, stroll around the White House grounds. They totally held hands 'n' stuff, because they love each other! Awwww.

A member of the White House advance team and his family are also preliminarily being looked at as swine flu patients, reports AP. But just like the World Bank employee, the White House staffer and his family all live in Maryland, so this too is not counted as a District of Columbia case. "We still have no known cases of H1N1 in the District," D.C. Department of Health spokesperson Dena Iverson said this afternoon. Of course, given that these people all work inside the District, that's a technical distinction you could argue doesn't have very much of a difference.

More protests, and lots more arrests. The AP says 91 people were arrested outside the White House today after some of them chained themselves to the fence in front of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. These folks weren't hardcore environmentalists, anti-capitalists or Darfur activists. No, a lot of these were people in wheelchairs who were trying to get President Obama's attention about alternatives to nursing home care for people with disabilities. So did the Secret Service actually lock up a bunch of people in wheelchairs? Thankfully, no: these protesters just got written arrest citations and were not taken into custody. The issue, it seems, is that they lacked the proper permit for a group that large. The protest began after 1 p.m., and we've also received reports that some of those who participated had to be treated for heat exposure.

     

Sure enough, today's Teabag protest at Lafayette Square was over well before 2 p.m. By the time DCist checked back at the park at around 1:30 p.m., the entire area had been cleared, including Pennsylvania Ave., by the U.S. Park Police and Secret Service. What had been a drizzle was by then pouring rain, and when asked what had happened, one Park Police officer standing behind a line of yellow caution tape alluded to the weather being a safety concern. But that's not what really happened, according to the Associated Press: "... someone hurled a package in an apparent act of defiance meant to echo the rebellion of the Boston Tea Party and related tax protests around the country." And what was in the package? Why teabags, of course.

Just in case you managed to miss this video, released by the White House, of Bo the Portuguese water dog's first day with the Obama family, here's some Wednesday morning cuteness for ya.

                     

Traditionally, the White House Easter Egg Roll has been attended mostly by D.C. area families who camped out early with their kids to score tickets to the free annual event. But on Monday, the 2009 White House Easter Egg Roll played host to over 30,000 people from 45 states and the District of Columbia, thanks to a new online ticket distribution plan put in place by the new administration. Local parents grumbled, but 4,000 tickets were also distributed separately to students from D.C., Maryland and Virginia public schools. DCist photographer Meaghan Gay was there to capture what an Easter Egg Roll hosted by the Obama family looks like.

Another suspicious package scare shut down Lafayette Park for about 45 minutes this afternoon. The call came in just before 3:45 p.m., and the package was cleared by 4:30, the AP via WTOP reports. The culprit? A tourist left a backpack in front of the White House gate.

For all those locals who were disappointed by having to compete for tickets to the annual White House Easter Egg Roll with the entire internet, some good news: the White House has announced it will offer its traditional Gardens and Grounds Tours April 18-19, and unlike the Easter Egg Roll, tickets for the tours will be available in person only, on a first-come, first-serve basis.

It's a hearty top o' the morning for the city from the White House today. The AP reports that indeed, First Lady Michelle Obama has ordered the fountains on the north and south lawns of the White House dyed green in celebration of St. Patrick's Day.

We're all still waiting for the Obama family to bring home their probably-Portuguese water dog sometime next month. In the meantime, first daughters Malia and Sasha were surprised by their folks after school on Wednesday with this totally sweet swing set. As you can see in the above photo, the play equipment has been installed right outside the windows of the Oval Office—as if scoring a play date at the White House wasn't already the hottest ticket in town.

Fire crews have been called to respond to a suspicious package at Allison and 8th Streets NW in Petworth, a relatively unusual spot for such an incident.

William "Doubting" Thomas, founder of the Peace Park vigil in Lafayette Park outside the White House, died last month after a long illness. The Washington Post ran its story about Thomas, born William Thomas Hallenback Jr., over the weekend. Thomas and his wife Ellen maintained their antiwar vigil for almost 28 years, and became something of a D.C. institution.

Remember the Christmas-themed White House Hannukah party invitations the Bushes sent out? Well the New York Post followed up today with news that the hubbub over the mistake forced the first family to send out a new round of invites yesterday, this time with a menorah on them and a note saying, "Please accept our apologies as the invitation you previously received had the incorrect artwork on it." Hopefully however many Jewish leaders there are who actually want to celebrate Hanukkah with the Bush family feel a little better now.

Just how checked out are President and Mrs. Bush? The New York Post reports that they sent out invitations to Jewish leaders for a Hanukkah reception at the White House with a big Christmas tree pictured on the front.

The message reads that the couple "requests the pleasure of your company at a Hanukkah reception," written beneath an image of a Clydesdale horse hauling a Christmas fir along the snow-dappled drive to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

Via the Post, the Secret Service arrested a Baltimore man this morning after he scaled the fence at the White House just as President Bush was returning from a visit to GOP headquarters to rally the troops for McCain. Kevin Peterson, 23, managed to climb the fence on the south side of the White House around 11:30 a.m. He was unarmed, and was arrested almost immediately.

Such being the intention of General Ross, he did not march the troops immediately into the city, but halted them upon a plain in its immediate vicinity, whilst a flag of truce was sent in with terms. But whatever his proposal might have been, it was not so much as heard, for scarcely had the party bearing the flag entered the street, than they were fired upon from the windows of one of the houses, and the horse of the General himself, who accompanied them, killed. You will easily believe that conduct so unjustifiable, so direct a breach of the law of nations, roused the indignation of every individual, from the General himself down to the private soldier.

Am I the only one who thinks this year's White House Christmas tree is a little ... gaudy? These sweet little trees, part of the annual Pageant (or Pathway) of Peace, though perhaps less regal, seem more personal and softly colorful. Flickr user philliefan_99 took this shot of some families strolling by last week, down the path that shows off 56 trees -- one for each state, territory, and of course, D.C. I'm sure most would agree with the commenter, though: it would look even better with a few inches of snow. EXIF.

Though perhaps the inclination when it starts to dip past the point of freezing is to stay inside with a blanket and a cup of something steaming, there are so many things to do and see outside -- whether it's the White House or Capitol Christmas trees or one of the many holiday fairs -- that it's almost a shame to spend all of December on your couch. Flickr user sintixerr caught this scene at the Downtown Holiday Market going on in Penn Quarter, going on every day from 12 to 8 p.m. until December 23. The dapper gentleman looking a bit out of place in the sea of causal shoppers in their puffy jackets gives this photo some amusing character. EXIF.