Wal-Mart wants to be your doctor

Walmart has new plans to bring primary care into its stores. (Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg) Welcome to Health Reform Watch, Jason Millman's regular look at how the Affordable Care Act is changing the American health-care system — and being changed by it. You can reach Jason with questions, comments and suggestions here. Check back every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon for the latest edition, or sign up here to receive it straight from your inbox. Read previous columns here. Wal-Mart's newest effort to make a play in the booming health clinic space comes after the big-box retailer has fallen far behind its rivals. And this time, Wal-Mart is shaking up its approach with a new model that's getting some attention in the health-care world. Wal-Mart this year has opened six clinic locations across South Carolina and Texas in which the retailer is providing a broad range of primary care services, as described in a recent New York Times story. The company plans to have a dozen of these clinics open by the end of this fiscal year, executives said on a Thursday earnings call. This new approach marks a major change from Wal-Mart's attempts to crack the retail clinic market in the past decade. For starters, retail clinics have generally been a place to get a vaccination or get your cold checked out — not a replacement for your primary care physician. And this time, Wal-Mart appears to be working with a single entity to run the clinics. That's different from its past lackluster efforts in which the retailer leased out space to hospital systems or venture capital-backed operators "who had virtually no experience in health care," said industry expert Tom Charland of Merchant Medicine. Since Wal-Mart started in the clinic space, it's opened 260 locations but has closed 166 of those, according to Charland, whose company tracks retail clinics. Meanwhile, Walgreens, which has more than 400 clinics across 23 states, announced plans Wednesday to open an additional 27 location across the Dallas-Forth Worth and Houston areas. CVS, which has more than 850 Minute Clinics in 29 states and the District of Columbia, is also expanding. Wal-Mart's decision to have these clinics act as a primary care provider is notable because of the company's footprint in rural areas, where access to care can be a major challenge. It's also an area that retail clinics historically haven't been in. Just one-third of retail


Amid weak earnings, Wal-Mart finds a bright spot in its small-scale grocery stores, U.S. e-commerce business

and e-commerce, areas where we’re investing significantly this year. But we wanted to see stronger comps overall in Walmart U.S.,” Wal-Mart chief executive Doug McMillon said in a statement Thursday. Wal-Mart’s Neighborhood Market and e-commerce businesses are rapidly expanding, but they still represent only a small fraction of the company’s total business. Wal-Mart opened 22 Neighborhood Market stores in the last quarter and says it’s on schedule to open from 180 to 200 Neighborhood Market stores this year. But as of June, the stores still represented less than 8 percent of its U.S. retail units. The retailer’s e-commerce sales are also up, but still account for a fraction of their overall revenue. Paul Trussell, a retail analyst with Deutsche Bank, said Wal-Mart’s rollout of Neighborhood Markets and other smaller-scale stores will benefit the company’s bottom line over time. But he added that while Wal-Mart’s e-commerce sales growth is “already important,” it is likely to have only a limited impact on the company’s near-term financial performance. “Given the size and scale of Wal-Mart and all the various regions and markets that it operates in, I think it will be a long time before it is material,” Trussell said. Thursday’s earnings release was the first under the tenure of the U.S. division’s new chief, Greg Foran, who replaced Bill Simon last month. Foran said in the company’s pre-recorded earnings call that sales at Neighborhood Market stores “were particularly strong in pharmacy, produce, meat and adult beverages.” Wal-Mart is hoping its grocery-focused Neighborhood Market stores can help it compete against online retailers like Amazon, who have captured some of its market share in merchandise but have made fewer inroads into groceries. “Not too many people are buying tomatoes from Amazon anytime soon,” Faye Landes, a managing director at the financial services firm Cowen and Company, said in an interview last month. “Food in general is very important to [Wal-Mart] because it drives frequency of purchase,” Landes said Thursday. “You don’t buy TVs very many times a year.” Wal-Mart’s recent emphasis on consumables has included the launch of Wild Oats, a new organic food line. That was seen in part as an effort to gain market share from grocery competitors such as the struggling retailer Whole Foods, which posted disappointing sales numbers in its third-quarter earnings report last month. Wal-Mart’s stock was flat at closing time Thursday, up 0.5 percent at $74.39 per share.


David Chang’s D.C. Momofuku comes with a sweet side: Christina Tosi’s Milk Bar

a lot about catering to non-New Yorkers when she opened the Milk Bar in Toronto last year. You open with one menu, she says, but it quickly morphs into something else when you find out exactly what customers want. She expects D.C. customers will help evolve her menus here, too. "For me, it's really important that the first Milk Bar in D.C. really feels like the first Milk Bar in New York," Tosi says. "It feels like its own thing, its own character." In some ways, Tosi's work at the Milk Bar is a reflection of her journey as a baker, encompassing her childhood in suburban Virginia and her career in New York City restaurants. The Milk Bar, she says, is "how I translated my style and experience being a home baker and mashed that up with being a formally trained pastry chef." Her place, in other words, happily embraces polar opposites: the crazy, cupboard-clearing creations of the school bake sale and the rigid, ratio-driven products of formal baking programs. Tosi is a French Culinary Institute graduate (and former employee at Bouley in New York) who still yearns for the simple pleasures of home. Northern Virginia native Christina Tosi returns home with her Momofuku Milk Bar. (Photo by Daniel Krieger) Tosi expects that her D.C. Milk Bar will feature breads, cookies and desserts prepared both on premise and at her production facility in New York. There's some equipment in New York that will not make the move to Washington, she says. But for those items that may migrate from the Big Apple, Tosi says: "My dream is to drive the delivery truck, so I can see my family all the time." David Chang's press team also issued the following statement about his forthcoming restaurant at CityCenter DC: "Momofuku is excited to announce that we will be opening a restaurant and a Milk Bar location in Washington's CityCenter DC, on the corner of 11th and I Street. The restaurant will be a new concept, but will also feature some of our favorite dishes from across our menus in New York, Sydney, and Toronto. The project will open in 2015. This will be David Chang and Christina Tosi's first project in the District and both look forward to opening in the D.C. area, close to their respective hometowns. Updates and more information can be found on our website as it becomes available."


The 84-year-old Islamic cleric shaking up Iraq’s political world

for an elected assembly to draft a constitution. Then, in August of the next year, he helped broker a peace deal between Moqtada Sadr's Shia militia and U.S. and Iraqi forces. He urged restraint from Iraqi Shiites in the face of attacks from Sunni extremists. For these things and more, Sistani earned plaudits for his actions from many observers: In 2005, the New York Times' Thomas Friedman suggested that he should be given the Nobel Peace Prize, for instance. You can get a sense of Friedman's argument here: In many ways, Mr. Sistani has played the role for President George W. Bush that Nelson Mandela and Mikhail Gorbachev played for his father, President George H. W. Bush. It was Mr. Mandela's instincts and leadership — in keeping the transition to black rule in South Africa nonviolent — that helped the Bush I administration and its allies bring that process in for a soft landing. And it was Mr. Gorbachev's insistence that the dismantling of the Soviet Empire, and particularly East Germany, be nonviolent that brought the Soviet Union in for a soft landing. In international relations, as in sports, it is often better to be lucky than good. And having the luck to have history deal you a Mandela, a Gorbachev or a Sistani as your partner at a key historical juncture — as opposed to a Yasir Arafat or a Robert Mugabe — can make all the difference between U.S. policy looking brilliant and U.S. policy looking futile. Of course, that passage looks a little foolhardy given Iraq's current situation. As Iraq collapsed into chaos in 2006-2007, Sistani again began to look like a more marginalized figure compared to more politically active leaders like Sadr (Sadr, who has less religious authority, comes from a family of important religious scholars who opposed the "quietist" school). After the United States withdrew from Iraq, Sistani rarely spoke out publicly. The chaotic and disastrous events in Iraq over the past few months appear to have led to a shift in Sistani's thinking. Notably, there a clear break with Maliki, who had filled the government with Shiite allies and had previously enjoyed Sistani's approval. As the Sunni extremist group the Islamic State began to capture huge parts of Iraq and Maliki's government began to look less and less capable, Sistani lost patience with Iraq's prime minister and stepped in himself. In June, he called


Need a buzz? Inventor claims his device offers a safer, gentler way to inhale liquor

a lot easier for them to “smoke responsibly.” “We knew of the health issues that pertained to inhaling alcohol,” Wong says. “What we have with our product is the successful result of trying to see if we can create something that eliminates those negative things.” Both the $4,000 Vapshot and the recently unveiled Vapshot mini, a consumer home version that starts at $700, produce breathable libations by mechanically combining the user’s choice of spirit with compressed air. The difference, though, is that the droplets are dispensed in precise, measured doses and served in a tightly capped one-liter bottle. Pop the cap and changes in air pressure initiates a reaction that culminates in a fine mist. And to bolster his assertions regarding the product’s safety, Wong commissioned independent lab tests that showed subjects who used the machine to take in a dose of hard liquor (80 proof) every 10 minutes for an hour had, within their lungs, levels of ethyl alcohol that were well below where a regulatory agency like the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) would consider unsafe, according to data published on the company’s retail site. He also mentioned another purported safety benefit often cited by other advocates, namely that smoked alcohol, compared to beverages, is eliminated from the body much more rapidly, which minimizes the likelihood of a hangover. To date, the strongest evidence to back such a claim come from animal studies conducted in the 70’s that showed they were able to rid themselves of ethanol introduced through the lungs at a noticeably faster rate than drinking, according to a report published on Gizmodo. Furthermore, Wong’s own supporting data, Breathalyzer readings that saw blood alcohol levels in subjects who had one Vapshot drop from a peak of 0.05% to undetectable over the course of 10 minutes, can be found on the product page. “To me, it’s insane that you need to basically poison your entire body just to get that buzz,” he says. “By applying some sound science, we wanted to demonstrate that inhaling alcohol can be not only safe, but also more pure and more efficient — if it’s done responsibly.” Still, William C. Kerr, a senior scientist at the Public Health Institute’s Alcohol Research Group, a nonprofit, remains unconvinced. Technologically imposing limits on how much gets inhaled at once, he contends, would ultimately do little to discourage abuse. “Even if you reduce the concentrations,


After the Fukushima meltdown, Japan’s nuclear restart is stalled

— support the restart of these facilities. Their support derives primarily from financial reasons: the central government provides up to $10 million a year to the small, rural, coastal towns that have these projects in their back yards. Research published by one economist showed that even for these communities the actual benefits to individuals vary widely. But towns more than 5 km from the plant receive few, if any, financial benefits and have been vocal in their opposition to restarts. Further, because of a longstanding gentlemen’s agreement between utilities and local communities, mayors and governors hold unofficial veto power over the process. Without their support, power utilities will be unable to restart their plants. Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), the owner of Fukushima Daiichi, has not helped restore public trust in nuclear energy through its continued mismanagement of the radioactive contamination in Fukushima. The utility unveiled plans to stop the daily leak of contaminated water from onsite storage tanks into the ocean through an extended “wall of ice.” Several months in the efforts, there is little to show beyond massive blocks of ice and huge purchases of liquid nitrogen. Despite the anti-nuclear sentiment in the Japanese public, the Abe cabinet approved a new energy policy this past spring supporting nuclear power and promoting the restart of Japan’s existing nuclear reactors. The policy also calls for reducing Japan’s dependency on nuclear power and developing renewable energy technologies. Yet, the plan did not set any generation targets or lay out an energy portfolio. The power utilities and consumers are the ones literally paying the price of the uncertainty surrounding Japan’s power sector. As all of Japan’s nuclear plants gradually were shut off throughout 2011 and 2012, fossil fuel imports, particularly liquefied natural gas, increased to compensate for the loss of nuclear generation. According to Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry, imported fossil fuels generated 88 percent of Japan’s electricity in 2013, compared with 62 percent in 2010. Between 2010 and 2013, household consumers experienced a 19.4 percent rise in electricity rates, and industrial users were hit with a 28.4 percent rise in rates. Making matters worse, Japan pays a very high price for natural gas, the so-called Asian premium. According to BP, Japan paid $16.75 per million BTU of natural gas in 2012, while the U.S. Henry Hub price was $2.76 per million. Natural gas prices in Japan hit a record


Public support for medical marijuana is reaching new highs. Why do Republican 2016 hopefuls find the idea a buzzkill?

FILE - This May 12, 2014, file photo shows former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush as he speaks at the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research Alexander Hamilton Award Dinner, in New York. The Associated Press has tracked the movements and machinations of more than a dozen prospective presidential candidates including Bush. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File) The legalization of medical marijuana has broad support from the American public. But Republican presidential contenders aren't so high on the idea. Former governor Jeb Bush just came out against amending the Florida constitution to legalize medical marijuana. In a Thursday statement, the Republican said the move could reduce the number of tourists and businesses that come to the state. “Florida leaders and citizens have worked for years to make the Sunshine State a world-class location to start or run a business, a family-friendly destination for tourism and a desirable place to raise a family or retire,” Bush said. “Allowing large-scale, marijuana operations to take root across Florida, under the guise of using it for medicinal purposes, runs counter to all of these efforts." Bush isn't the only potential White House hopeful to express skepticism about medical marijuana. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) recently called his state's medical marijuana program "a front for legalization." However, Christie signed a bill last year that removed some hurdles keeping children from getting medical marijuana. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) said he supports medical marijuana -- but only non-euphoric strains, meaning he opposes the Florida ballot measure. Still, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) said earlier this year that he was open to the idea, as long as it is strictly controlled. And Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) teamed up with Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) to spearhead a measure that would prevent the Justice Department from fighting states that have legalized medical marijuana. Voters will decide on the Florida measure, known as Amendment 2, at the ballot box this fall. Numerous polls show Floridians overwhelmingly support allowing medical marijuana, including Amendment 2, specifically. Majorities of Republicans support it, the surveys show. And polls show medical marijuana has broad support nationwide. Eighty-eight percent in a January CNN-ORC poll said adults should be allowed to legally use marijuana for medical purposes if their doctor prescribes it, just 10 percent were opposed. Among Republicans, 84 percent supported medical marijuana while 14 percent were opposed. You'd expect presidential candidates to be on board with an idea


California highways make for meaner (and fewer) mountain lions

A mountain lion hunts in the Santa Monica Mountains. (National Park Service) When habitats are divided, so are animal populations. But unlike natural divisions like oceans and mountains, human-made barriers — major highways, for example — can spring up so suddenly that the effects are dramatic and devastating. The wild mountain lion population in the Santa Monica Mountains (located within Greater Los Angeles) has been totally isolated by urban growth, and the 101 freeway in particular. A small population persists, but a new study in Current Biology paints a sad picture of its future. Kittens are being born, but the population lacks genetic diversity. (National Park Service) For starters, they're cramped. Science Magazine reports that the predators typically need about 1,100 square kilometers of space to support themselves, and the Santa Monica Mountains only provide 660 these days. And unfortunately, that's not the worst of it. The top cat in the area, referred to as P1, monopolized females (as top cats are wont to do) and probably fathered all of the new lions born for some years. Typically, about 75 percent of young lions (all of the males, and half of the females) would leave the community to go find their own mates — but in the case of P1's rivals, there was no room. One of P1's sons managed to escape by crossing an interstate, but had nowhere to go but a smaller patch of land with no females. Meanwhile, P1 exhibited unusually aggressive behavior, killing a son, a daughter, and (most bizarrely) a mate. He also bred with at least one of his daughters. A hungry kitten in the Santa Monica Mountains (National Park Service) That level of inbreeding marks a downward turn in the genetic diversity of a species, and it's especially troublesome when the patriarch whose genes are getting re-hashed seems unusually violent. In 2008, another mountain lion called P12 managed to cross into the territory, and has fathered eight offspring since then. But he's already mated with at least one of his daughters, too. If the California Department of Transportation doesn't create a tunnel or overpass suitable for mountain lion crossing, the researchers told Science Magazine, cramped quarters and inbreeding could make the population's demise inevitable.


Team USA cancels trip to Senegal citing Ebola concerns

Team USA’s Derrick Rose (Charles Rex Arbogast/AP) USA Basketball officials announced they have canceled a trip to Senegal this month because of concerns about the Ebola virus. The World Health Organization has called the deadly disease a “public health emergency of international concern,” which USA Basketball Chairman Jerry Colangelo tells ESPN’s Marc Stein left him no choice but to cancel the August 27 trip to the West African nation. “Although the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] does not yet suspect any cases in Senegal, the country’s position as a neighboring country to Guinea and Dakar’s role as a gateway to West Africa heightened our concern,” Colangelo told ESPN. “I speak for all at USA Basketball when I say we’re extremely disappointed we will not be able to visit Senegal. Our entire traveling party was very much looking forward to the experience.” The choice is cautionary, but most likely necessary, as the WHO’s latest stance says the outbreak, which has so far been linked to almost 1,100 deaths, has been “vastly underestimated.” Per Washington Post reporter Abby Phillip: Experts fear that there are many unreported deaths and undiagnosed cases that not only mask the true impact of the virus, but make it more difficult to bring the outbreak under control. “Elsewhere, the outbreak is expected to continue for some time. WHO’s operational response plan extends over the next several months,” the organization said. Besides stopping Team USA from traveling to West Africa on Aug. 27, the outbreak has also halted West African athletes from traveling elsewhere. Phillip continues: [F]ears have caused the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to ban three West Africans who compete in combat and pool events at the upcoming Youth Olympics games in China this weekend as a precaution. Ebola is spread through contact with bodily fluids of an infected person. “We have been reassured by the health authorities that there have been no suspected cases and that the risk of infection is extremely unlikely,” the IOC statement said. But, it said it could not completely rule out the risk of infection, particularly in pool sports. “We regret that due to this issue some young athletes may have suffered twice, both from the anguish caused by the outbreak in their home countries and by not being able to compete in the Youth Olympic Games,” the IOC added.


PM Update: Stellar Saturday, still nice Sunday, though slight shower chance

- Temperature Map - Temperatures: Latest D.C. area temperature map. See interactive map on our Weather Wall. Today was about as good as it gets at the August midway point. We welcomed the magnificent combination of sunny skies, low humidity, a light breeze, and highs around 80. Interestingly, today’s weather mimicked the weather exactly one year ago, when Reagan National logged a high of 80 and low of 60 (with dew points in the 40s). Temperatures and humidity levels edge upward over the weekend, but remain in the comfortable range even on Sunday, when we have a slight chance of a late day shower or storm. Through Tonight: Tomorrow (Saturday) and tomorrow night: Sunday: See Camden Walker’s forecast through the weekend. And if you haven’t already, join us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter Supreme Court and the moon, August 11, 2014 (Jim Havard via Flickr) Pollen: 6-10 outlook: (NOAA) (NOAA)


How your cat video addiction could be used to hack you

typical browsing behavior is enough. The limit, though, is that once on a user's computer, the attack launched via network injection is quarantined to the users' browser. But, Marquis-Boire explains, the modern Internet provides plenty of ways out. Everything from advertising networks to browser plugins like advertising networks, Flash, Java, and Quicktime offer clever attackers a "low cost" avenue for an attacker to transit from a user's browser to the rest of their machine. "While this infection method requires user interaction to accept the fake Flash update, it is also possible to bundle the payload with an exploit in order to silently install the surveillance agent," Marquis-Boire writes — so a user might not have any idea that something malicious is happening. The private sector network injection attacks described in the report seem to resemble the NSA's QUANTUMINSERT system for launching man-in-the-middle attacks that was revealed by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden. Software able to perform man-in-the-middle style attacks on networks have been available for years, including the open source "Ettercap" tool that allows for the interception and manipulation of traffic on local area networks, which was written in 2001 by Alberto Ornaghi and Marco Valleri. Ornaghi and Valleri are the founders of the Milan-based surveillance company Hacking Team. And it's Hacking Team's commercial "Network Injector" tool that Citizen Lab says leverages YouTube to install a surveillance agent on a target's machine using a targeted payload if they have access to networks at the Internet Service Provider or Internet Exchange level. And it means that just about any foreign government can now afford its own mini-NSA. One invoice reproduced in the Citizen Lab report billed the government of Turkmenistan the equivalent just under $1 million — 1 percent of 1 percent of the National Security Agency’s annual budget – for a system that could locate and implant spyware on nearly any computer inside its borders. These turn-key tools, sold under the banner of "lawful intercept" tools, sometimes end up in the hands of countries with questionable human rights records, according to Citizen Lab. In their rare comments to the general public, vendors for such tools say they do not sell to customers on U.S., European or United Nations black lists. Slide describing the NSA's QUANTIMINSERT tool. (Via The Intercept) Why cat videos? Marquis-Boire says the injection attack would work on any unencrypted Web site. But commercial surveillance


Experts are predicting a famine in South Sudan. Why can’t we stop it?

too late. In the early phases of a crisis, the pressure on decision-makers is low because public awareness is similarly low. Conversely, risks are high: Who wants to spend taxpayer's money on a foreign, predicted crisis of uncertain scale? Despite that, money is not the only obstacle. On Wednesday, the U.S. government provided $180 million to South Sudan. It is the leading donor of humanitarian assistance to the country, having spent a total of more than $636 million in Southern Sudanese humanitarian assistance in fiscal 2014, according to Matthew Herrick, a spokesman for the U.S. Agency for International Development. Herrick believes that other countries have failed in the current crisis. "We urge other donors to similarly seize this moment to respond robustly while there still may be a chance to prevent the worst consequences of this conflict," he says. According to Herrick, the government of South Sudan and the opposition have utterly failed and put millions of people on the brink of famine. Only their commitment to true peace, reconciliation, and accountability will end this crisis and give donors access to the affected conflict areas, says Herrick. Not all famines are treated equally There are differences, however, in the way famines are treated by foreign governments. As soon as a foreign crisis becomes a domestic threat, governments are quick to react. Take a look at what happened to U.S. development assistance to Ethiopia after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, compared to various humanitarian disasters in the country. Ethiopia was a key regional ally of the U.S. in the subsequent war on terror: South Sudan has difficulties attracting this kind of attention. "The country faces competition from the Syria and Gaza crises, both of which have greater international media coverage and are full blown," Bailey says. The quest to gain attention Earlier this month, German NGO Welthungerhilfe began a social media project to raise awareness for South Sudan's problems, using the hashtag #ByTheEndOfSeptember. The name refers to the predictions that more than 4 million South Sudanese are predicted to starve by the end of that month. By urging supporters to tweet and post related articles on Facebook using the hashtag, the NGO wants to increase the amount of private donations as well as pressure states. A different campaign began in spring. "Unfortunately, our first appeal to our donors for aid brought in fewer funds than expected," says Simone Pott, a spokeswoman


Food desert no more: the tightening battle for D.C. grocery shoppers

For years, the grocery options were slim in the neighborhoods between the District’s Walter E. Washington Convention Center and Union Station. There was a decades-old Giant Food on O Street NW that was demolished in 2011, and there were a handful of corner stores specializing mostly in alcohol, cigarettes, candy and chips. The area was a classic “food desert” – a place where few traditional grocery stores would venture and fresh food was difficult to find. That’s hard to imagine today. Seeing an influx of young professionals to the city, grocery store chains began racing to open new stores in the Washington area, even if they were just a few blocks from one another. Neighborhoods like these – including parts of Shaw, Mount Vernon Square and NoMa – are now ground zero in a fierce grocery store competition. Safeway opened at 5th and L streets NW in the fall of 2008, and over the next five years, Giant, Harris Teeter and Wal-Mart all opened stores within a half mile. Similar crowding of grocery competition is happening in places such as Capitol Hill, Alexandria and Vienna, and the trend is hardly new in the suburbs. In Olney, Md., one intersection boasts grocery stores on all four corners. The stakes for these companies as they enter emerging neighborhoods are particularly high: Although many grocery shoppers are loyal to one chain or another, with so many residents arriving from elsewhere, chains here have a chance to make their mark. To get a sense of the competition, we sent reporters to each of the four new stores in the Mount Vernon Triangle-NoMa area. Each went with the same shopping list in hand, a dozen items long, based loosely on Census data of commonly purchased items: wheat bread, eggs, milk, butter, hamburger meat, Red Delicious apples, iceberg lettuce, Coke, coffee, spaghetti, potatoes and carrots. Our survey offered just a snapshot. A main takeaway: Cost is not always a driving factor. Grocers have long competed on price with circulars, buy-one-get-one deals and value cards, and our Wal-Mart and Giant Food shoppers did save more than 10 percent on their bills when compared with our Harris Teeter shopper, who had the priciest bill. But in speaking with shoppers, it’s clear that particularly in dense urban environments, stores will need to win over customers with access, selection and experience. Here’s how they fared. The City Vista Safeway (J.


to one-up the competition, by offering not just low prices but dependably low prices, according to company spokesman William Wertz. “Customers can find low prices on a wide range of groceries – from fresh produce to canned goods, and they don’t have to shop on certain days of the week or watch for special sales,” he said in an e-mail. I find that selection and organization of the produce leaves something to be desired, however. After going through a couple unlabeled bins, I find that I can’t get the big bag of gold potatoes that I wanted. One bright spot: My plastic produce bag clearly uses less plastic than the usual ones, and says on the label that they are made of 30 percent recycled plastic. I haven’t seen that elsewhere. There is a better spread of coffee and milk options. There is organic milk, almond milk, lactose-free milk and chocolate milk. For all the complaints about Wal-Mart’s employment practices, there sure seem to be a lot of employees here. Some are joking around in an electronics aisle. One of the women at my register is eating a chocolate bar. To Shaunette Griffin of Maryland, some of the employees’ behavior is a turnoff, despite the prices. “Some of the workers here are playful and childish,” Griffin said. “They don’t have a lot of customer service.” But the prices, the prices are good. – Jonathan O’Connell Harris Teeter The Harris Teeter store at First and M Streets NE. ( J. Lawler Duggan/ Capital Business) 1201 First St. NE Opened: Nearing its fourth birthday, the NoMa Harris Teeter occupies a prime corner in an increasingly trendy part of town. Only a block from the New York Avenue Metro station, the 50,000-square-foot store is the chain’s largest in the city, and built beneath upscale apartments. Once inside, shoppers enter a familiar procession – produce and fresh meats, followed by aisle after aisle of assorted goods before finishing in the frozen foods and dairy sections. There is an unusual abundance of chrome finishings. During my visit, the only exception to the store’s otherwise neat-and-tidy atmosphere was the hundreds of tiny green tags promoting newly reduced prices on standard goods such as tomatoes, paper towels and Cheerios. “It’s very beautiful in there, and I was pretty happy with the prices,” Linda Wolfe said while waiting on the elevator. Normally a regular at the Safeway a


Grocery store wars: Which chain takes the cake?

Welcome to CapBiz A.M., your morning primer on business news with a focus on Washington. Market entry: put them to the test Tech plan: what we learned Skin spa: looking to expand nationally Looking outside: Sifting through: Sale dispute: National Labor College has closed down and sold its Silver Spring campus in March, yet a legal Boardwalk eye-sore: Shifting model: General Electric is shedding is appliances business as it grows increasingly distant from consumers’ lives. Here’s what’s driving that evolution. (WP) A $100 million bet: Cranking up: Manufacturing output in the United States accelerated last month, driven by a boom in automobile production and boosting On Wall Street Major U.S. stock indexes last week posted a second consecutive week of gains. Investors this week will be looking for clues coming out of the Fed’s annual meeting in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. What’s on tap today Housing market index (10:00 a.m.) General Assembly mobile development session at 1776 (4:00 p.m.) Help: Follow: Extra: Thoughts?


Smithsonian Summer Showdown’s trash-talking handlers duke it out over the final four

The Smithsonian Institution wanted a summer showdown, and a showdown it got. A bracket-style competition to pick the institution’s most iconic item sparked so much trash talk that even The New York Times took note, pointing out the “competitive and sassy streak in the normally sober-minded specialists.” The contest pitted 24 objects and events from the realms of culture, science, history and art against one another. To win the hearts and minds of the voting public, some of the artifacts’ handlers took to Twitter to out-clever one another with brainy bragging and witty comebacks. Meet the last items standing before voting ends at midnight, and be the judge of the trash-talking for yourself. Expect more fighting words at noon, when the final four take to Twitter for a “town hall debate.” Bao Bao (National Zoo) .@amhistorymuseum Sorry, can't hear ya over deafening conservation success #BaoBao is rolling around in #SIShowdown http://t.co/ObyOtdcnQW Star-Spangled Banner, National Museum of American History) Rolling, @NationalZoo? We prefer "gallantly streaming" when we celebrate success. #SIshowdown #Warof1812 http://t.co/jOvmWe1vUo “This Land is Your Land” by Woody Guthrie (Smithsonian Folkways, the institution’s record label) A 1944 recording of the patriotic protest song, which was written in response to Irving Berlin’s “God Bless America,” won the culture war. The folk anthem edged out Wile E. Coyote, Wonder Woman and the Korean Taco in the culture category. Pandas use a vestigial thumb to grip food, but they can't play guitar. Vote Woody! #SIShowdown http://t.co/N6f2rSqRKX http://t.co/hj0vUJ7brH George Washington, Lansdowne portrait (National Portrait Gallery) Gilbert Stuart’s 205-year-old oil painting .@amhistorymuseum That’s the SECOND war of Independence. You know who to thank for the first win #votegeorge http://t.co/EkO85XoNEa More local news from Express: D.C.’s Beltway Poetry Slam triumphs at the National Poetry Slam Kenny Loggins, thanks to Kickstarter, will play a show in Erick Sanchez’s living room Faith for D.C. mayor: behind the 90-year-old’s ninth campaign


Celebrate the Star-Spangled Banner’s bicentennial with beer from the 1800s

Beer is not the first thing that comes to mind when most people think of the Star-Spangled Banner. That the 1,260-square-foot flag was sewn together on the floor of a Baltimore brewery, however, is reason enough for some local beer and history enthusiasts to clink mugs to the grand old flag's bicentennial during a historic beer tasting event on Monday, Aug. 25 at Right Proper Brewing Company. Over the past several months, homebrewers Mike Stein and Peter Jones have worked with seven D.C. and Maryland breweries to create beers commemorating the 200th anniversary of the siege of Fort McHenry. There, on September 14, 1814, the fort's victorious defenders hoisted the same tattered garrison flag that now hangs in the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. The event, immortalized by Francis Scott Key, signaled an important step on the road to American independence. The Star-Spangled Banner, which can be seen in the National Museum of American History, is the flag that inspired the national anthem. The 30-by-34-foot flag was restored in 2008. (Photo from National Museum of American History) This is not the first time Stein and Jones have combined their interest in history with beer. Last year, they unearthed records that helped two local breweries recreate vintage recipes — an 1895 Berliner Weisse by Baltimore’s Union Craft Brewing Company and a lager from Washington’s long-defunct Christian Heurich Brewing Company by DC Brau. Participating brewer Tom Flores, who has crafted colonial- and Civil War-era beers at Brewer’s Alley in Frederick, wanted to see as many records as the duo could provide. Then, considering historically accurate ingredients and methods, he created a brew based on two English beers: 1812 Barclay Perkins Brown Stout and 1778 Felix Calvert Double Brown Stout. Others, like Right Proper's Nathan Zeender, took a more interpretive approach. His contribution, called "The Invisible City of Bladensburg," references the battlefield defeat in 1814 that led to the burning of Washington by British troops, as well as a favorite song by guitarist John Fahey. Loosely based on a traditional "ship’s beer," it features fresh spruce tips (to prevent scurvy) and was open-fermented, just as it would have been 200 years ago. Other beers conceived for the occasion include a gruit by Baltimore’s The Brewer’s Art (bittered with rosemary instead of hops) and two low-ABV British table beers: one by DC Brau using Fuggles hops and another by Baltimore’s Oliver Breweries featuring


Monday’s best D.C. Beer Week events

DC Beer Week is underway. For the next seven days, local bars and restaurants will be hopping with beer tastings, happy hours and special events. Every morning, we'll provide a rundown of the night's best events. If you need to plan ahead, check out this list of each day's best events that require reservations. The big one: Picking crabs with DC Brau Blue crabs and DC Brau beers were a perfect pairing during last year's D.C. Beer Week party at the Quarterdeck. (Photo by Fritz Hahn/The Washington Post) A limited number of tickets remain for DC Brau's annual crabfeast at the Quarterdeck in Arlington. The $50 admission free includes unlimited blue crabs from 5 to 10 p.m. You'll have to buy your own beer, but it's unbelievably cheap: $1 DC Brau drafts and $5 pitchers. (Buy tickets) Other highlights DC Brau isn't the only seafood game in town tonight. Devils Backbone hosts a traditional low-country boil with crabs, andouille, shrimp, corn and all the fixins at Union Pub from 6:30 to 9:30. Admission includes all-you-can-eat food and two Devils Backbone beers; extra beers will be available for purchase. (Buy tickets) Scion The Black Squirrel Pizzeria Paradiso is being contrarian this week: Its version of D.C. Beer Week includes local and international ciders on every tap at its Georgetown and Dupont Circle locations. Tonight in Georgetown features happy hour with Kyle Sherrer, the owner of Maryland's Millstone Cellars. Sherrer will be pouring and talking about eight of his ciders from 6 to 9 p.m. when all cider is half-price. D.C. Beer Week news Okay, it's not technically related to Beer Week, but Brookland Pint officially opens tonight at 5 p.m. Beer director Jace Gonnerman is tapping some very special beers for the occasion, including Firestone Walker's Stickee Monkey Belgian quadruple ale, the 2012 Oxbow Oxtoberfest (a barrel aged saison, not an Oktoberfest), and a very rare keg of the Firestone Walker Parabajava, a version of the acclaimed Parabola Russian imperial stout infused with coffee. Here's what you need to know about Brookland's new beer bar.


Bao Bao’s birthday, and how she compares to Tai Shan

This Saturday, Bao Bao the panda cub turns 1. The National Zoo is throwing a big party in her honor, but it may not have quite the turnout as her older brother’s first birthday in 2006. “Bao Bao is a big deal, but, you know, Tai Shan was the first,” says panda keeper Nicole MacCorkle. Tai Shan was also more sheltered than his sister. “We did a lot more cub-proofing, putting bales of hay under the trees in case he fell,” MacCorkle says. “It’s like when people have every single outlet covered with the first baby and not so much with their second.” Their mom, Mei Xiang, seems mellower this time around, too. Perhaps as a result, Bao Bao has turned out to be a more chill panda than Tai Shan. Bao Bao and Jolly Ball. (Connor Mallon/Smithsonian’s National Zoo) Bao Bao Toy of choice: Relationship to Mei Xiang: Attitude toward humans in her personal space: Preferred activity time: Tai Shan and soccer ball. (Ann Batdorf/Smithsonian’s National Zoo) Tai Shan Toy of choice: Relationship to Mei Xiang: Attitude toward humans in her personal space: Preferred activity time: More local news from Express: Smithsonian Summer Showdown’s trash-talking handlers duke it out over the final four Kenny Loggins, thanks to Kickstarter, will play a show in Erick Sanchez’s living room Faith for D.C. mayor: behind the 90-year-old’s ninth campaign


Wonkbook: What the world’s top central bankers will be talking about at Jackson Hole

Welcome to Wonkbook, Wonkblog’s morning policy news primer by Puneet Kollipara (Photo by Daniel Acker/Bloomberg) Wonkbook’s Number of the Day: Wonkbook’s Chart of the Day: Wonkbook's Top 4 Stories: 1. Top story: What the Fed will be talking about this week in Jackson Hole One area of concern: part-time work. Don't expect major policy announcements. Charts: More jobs are open, but they're filling slowly. Meanwhile, better-paying jobs finally stage comeback. Primary source: Chicago Fed paper: Slack hurts wage growth. Timing of first rate hike? Fed officials can be patient. The Fed's thinking on inflation. Labor market shows signs of strength in most states. Chart: Who's to blame for the skills gap? Employers, not workers, study says. Long read: Other economic/financial reads: Lawmakers slam Fed's crisis-lending proposal. Emily Stephenson in Reuters. A minimum wage hike makes the Nebraska ballot, after qualifying in South Dakota and Alaska, too. Niraj Chokshi in The Washington Post. Banks fight back against CFPB complaint database. Rob Garver in The Fiscal Times. Homebuilder confidence hits seven-month high. Vince Golle in Bloomberg. Top opinion PETHOKOUKIS: Is the recovery almost over — already? WEISSMANN: Global income inequality may not be falling after all. McARDLE: FDA's mad medicine. FRAKT: Medicare Advantage expensive but may be worth it. Baby interlude: 2. What the government could do to help the Ferguson situation Another night of violence. Timeline: Charts: @WesleyLowery Congress mulls dialing back Pentagon transfer of military weapons to police. @mattdpearce Explainer: Quotable: Congress has dragged its feet on cracking down on excessive gear for local police forces. Charts: Campaign donations from defense industry may well have influenced past vote. More calls for police to wear body cameras. What happens when they do wear them? The lessons from San Diego, where public can't see body-camera footage. ICYMI: National Guard's mixed track record. Oops: Should Obama go to Ferguson? Obama chooses words carefully. @WesleyLowery Protests are getting attention from U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon. In a first, Amnesty International dispatches protest observers, helpers to Ferguson. Charts: Stark racial divisions in reactions to Ferguson shooting. Other legal reads: With no textbooks on how to cover riots, reporters in Ferguson learning as they go. Paul Farhi in The Washington Post. Ferguson fuels a kill-switch debate. Kate Tummarello in The Hill. As arrest records rise, Americans find the effects can last a lifetime. Gary Fields and John R. Emshwiller in The Wall Street Journal. Long read: Gun-control


Bon Appetit names Rose’s Luxury best new restaurant in America

Peanuts, garlic chips, herbs, coconut, red onions, country ham and litchi are just some of the many ingredients that compose Rose's Luxury unique pork and litchi salad. Chef Aaron Silverman says it hits many flavorful notes, which is one of the reasons why it is so popular. (Music: "Carefree to Careful" by Podington Bear) When Forbes magazine labeled Washington the "coolest" city in the country, the announcement raised more questions than it settled. Questions such as: Since when is Forbes the arbiter of hip? And doesn't the very act of Forbes declaring you cool immediately cancel out said coolness? The salad that made Andrew Knowlton to reconsider his stance on lychees. (Photo by Astrid Riecken for The Washington Post) Well, Washingtonians can put that behind them now. As of this morning, the District is now officially home to the best new restaurant in America, as selected by Andrew Knowlton, restaurant editor for Bon Appetit, a magazine with some cred in deciding such matters. After visiting hundreds of restaurants and whittling the nominees down to 50 (among them, Derek Brown's boozy triumvirate in Shaw, including Southern Efficiency and Eat the Rich). Knowlton bestowed the top spot upon Rose's Luxury, chef and owner Aaron Silverman's relaxed, boundary-blurring establishment on Barracks Row. While Silverman "is clearly concerned with the food that goes out on his plates, he pays even closer attention to the people eating it," Knowlton writes in the September issue of Bon Appetit. "And that's when it hits me: Rose's isn't just in the restaurant business; it's in the making-people-happy business." "If that feels like a revelation in dining," Knowlton continues, "it should. It did to me, and it's why Rose's tops our list of this year's best new restaurants." On the phone, Knowlton sheds more light on his pick. He says he knew after his first meal that Rose's was something special. It wasn't just that he liked the laidback vibe or that the kitchen sent him a free dish (like it does for all solo diners). And it wasn't just that Knowlton, after polishing off Silverman's pork and lychee salad, had to reconsider an ingredient he used to avoid. "I don’t like lychee, but I like lychees now," Knowlton says. No, what impressed Knowlton most was Silverman's dedication to hospitality, his desire to satisfy the diner first and not the chef's ego. Knowlton says he was skeptical about Rose's


This smart technology could prevent half a million car crashes a year

(viriyincy) For years, transportation wonks have been waiting for automated technologies that will make cars safer and easier to use, cutting down on traffic jams and lowering the risk of deadly crashes. Now we're one step closer to that future: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has unveiled a plan to require vehicle-to-vehicle communications technologies in all new passenger cars. Adopting these technologies, the agency says, could prevent nearly 600,000 car crashes every year once the rollout is complete. Vehicle-to-vehicle communications allow cars to talk to one another, relaying information like speed, position and trajectory. This means that when you're approaching an intersection and there's oncoming traffic, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) technologies could judge when it's safe to turn left. Most drivers probably feel like they don't need this type of help. In the vast majority of cases, turning left might seem like a non-problem. But consider the outlier cases where warnings against turning left too soon would be immensely helpful. Unsafe left turns account for more than seven percent of all car collisions. That's just one of a number of scenarios that NHTSA is floating in a massive, 300-page report out this week accompanying its plan. "Adoption of crash avoidance technologies, like electronic stability control, has helped vehicles react to crash-imminent situations," wrote NHTSA, "but has not yet been able to help the driver react ahead of time." V2V technologies promise to help keep drivers in the loop. Testing is already well underway; in addition to what engineers are calling left-turn assist, or LTA, highway regulators are also confident about a handful of other warning technologies. For instance, regulators may require that your car tell you when someone else is braking hard up ahead. You may not be able to see that person, but thanks to your car's wireless communications with others, you'll be able to avoid a multi-car fender bender. Other potential features are designed to help keep cars from entering occupied lanes, or to prevent unsafe passing. Some of these technologies have limitations. In the case of the left-turn assist, even the most sophisticated computer isn't capable of predicting when a driver wants to turn without the aid of a turn signal. Studies show around a quarter of drivers don't use turn signals at all. But this problem could be addressed by another emerging field known as vehicle-to-infrastructure, or V2I, communications. Sensors embedded in left turn lanes or


Airborne phased array radar could spur a “quantum leap” in hurricane forecasts

Satellite view of Hurricane Iselle on August 4, 2014 in the eastern Pacific (NOAA) Forecasts for the tracks of hurricanes have made huge strides over the past 15 years, improving by over 50 percent. But forecasts for the intensity of hurricanes have lagged, with only modest gains in accuracy seen very recently. A new technology under development at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), known as Airborne Phased Array Radar (APAR), could be a game-changer for improving forecasts for hurricane intensity and other types of severe weather, according to those familiar with the project. A phased-array radar system consists of up to thousands of transmitters and receivers, spread across a rectangular plate. “Like many radar in one, phased array systems allow researchers to sample the atmosphere far more frequently,” says an NCAR fact sheet on the technology. Scott Rayder, a senior advisor at NCAR, says APAR could provide unparalleled information on the three-dimensional structure of weather systems. “APAR’s like an MRI, whereas conventional radar is more like an X-ray,” Rayder says. The proposed system would be mounted atop the fuselage and on the tail and nose of NSF/NCAR’s C-130 turboprop aircraft. An APAR system would consist of four array antennas: 2 mounted on aircraft fuselage behind the rear doors, 1 on the tail and 1 on the nose. (NCAR) The system could be flown into a storm, sampling the environment and obtaining critical intelligence about its structure and health. This data could then be ingested into computer models which would provide potentially more realistic and accurate forecasts. Fuqing Zhang, a professor of meteorology at Penn State University, has documented recent improvements in hurricane intensity forecasts using data from the current generation of airborne Doppler radar (known as tail Doppler radars or TDRs). He thinks the APAR technology holds great promise. “I believe the APAR will have the potential to benefit the hurricane intensity forecast in that it not only could be assimilated to improve the initial conditions of hurricane forecasts,” Zhang said in an email. “It can also help to verify the model in terms of hydrometers and microphysical processes, one of the key sources of model uncertainty in hurricane forecasts.” Scientists will need to effectively make use of the data to make ground-breaking improvements, stresses Ryan Maue, a meteorologist and tropical weather expert at WeatherBell Analytics. “[P]hased array radar may unlock discoveries or knock out old, broken theories,”


mounted atop the fuselage and on the tail and nose of NSF/NCAR’s C-130 turboprop aircraft. An APAR system would consist of four array antennas: 2 mounted on aircraft fuselage behind the rear doors, 1 on the tail and 1 on the nose. (NCAR) The system could be flown into a storm, sampling the environment and obtaining critical intelligence about its structure and health. This data could then be ingested into computer models which would provide potentially more realistic and accurate forecasts. Fuqing Zhang, a professor of meteorology at Penn State University, has documented recent improvements in hurricane intensity forecasts using data from the current generation of airborne Doppler radar (known as tail Doppler radars or TDRs). He thinks the APAR technology holds great promise. “I believe the APAR will have the potential to benefit the hurricane intensity forecast in that it not only could be assimilated to improve the initial conditions of hurricane forecasts,” Zhang said in an email. “It can also help to verify the model in terms of hydrometers and microphysical processes, one of the key sources of model uncertainty in hurricane forecasts.” Scientists will need to effectively make use of the data to make ground-breaking improvements, stresses Ryan Maue, a meteorologist and tropical weather expert at WeatherBell Analytics. “[P]hased array radar may unlock discoveries or knock out old, broken theories,” Maue said. “I am in favor of investment that will lead to an incredible data resource — it is up to scientists to use the data for game-changing discoveries.” Before APAR can be deployed operationally, several years of development and testing are needed. “The major engineering hurdle is to miniaturize key radar components (antenna, transmitter, receiver) so that some 14,300 individual transmitter/receiver elements will fit on 4 flat plates mounted on the outside of the aircraft fuselage,” said Jim Moore, APAR project manager at NCAR. Frank Marks, director of NOAA’s Hurricane Research Division, is an advocate for evaluating this cutting edge radar system. “APAR is a new and potentially useful technology for hurricane forecast improvement and an observing technology that NOAA (and the hurricane research community) needs to evaluate,” Marks said in an email. “My push inside NOAA is to partner with NCAR to provide a means of testing APAR…” NCAR’s Rayder, who says APAR data could spur a “quantum leap” in hurricane forecasts, says about $7.2 million in funding is needed for research, development and testing.


Online shopping is the future. So why do so many Web retailers want to be in stores?

in independent boutiques and some major chain stores such as Nordstrom. Birchbox, the subscription service that delivers beauty products to customers’ doorsteps, opened a brick-and-mortar flagship in New York in July. Upstart online retailers have emerged as a major challenge to traditional outposts such as Wal-Mart and Best Buy. But many of these sites are looking for new ways to distinguish themselves amid the flood of competitors while growing their businesses at a time when e-commerce still comprises just a small portion of overall retail sales. Now, many are taking a page from their traditional competitors by offering an in-person shopping experience that can’t be mimicked on a tablet or smartphone. When shoppers have a chance to test or try on clothes and other merchandise, they don’t have to agonize over a picture online and wonder whether it’s worth the investment. This heightened focus on in-store experience could be a sign that the retail industry definition of successful store is changing, analysts said. “Retailers have to become much more agnostic,” said Anne Zybowski, vice president at consulting firm Kantar Retail. “My point of view is that convenience is situational. What’s convenient this week may not be convenient next week.” Harry’s, the online seller of high-end men’s shaving products that recently raised $123 million in venture capital funding, set up its first brick-and-mortar outpost last year in New York’s SoHo neighborhood. Instead of launching a traditional store that sells its razors and shaving creams, the company built a barber shop that co-chief executive Andy Katz-Mayfield said is designed to feel like a neighborhood store. “It’s less about creating another channel to sell product,” Katz-Mayfield said. “For us it’s pretty different. It’s about providing a really great experience.” Using a physical space to create a memorable, one-of-a-kind experience is core to what many online retailers’ say motivated their move into physical stores. Jennifer Hyman, chief executive of Rent the Runway, said shoppers at the company’s brick-and-mortar shops are able to get special touches not available online — including temporary hemming or strap adjustments as well as stylists’ advice that might steer them to new brands. After launching a men’s apparel online retailer in 2007, Bonobos has found its physical stores essential. Known as Guideshops, the tiny showrooms allow customers to try on blazers, suits and dress shirts. That is key for Ross Martin, 27, who stopped by a Guideshop in Georgetown this


Tuesday’s best D.C. Beer Week events

DC Beer Week is underway. Through Sunday, local bars and restaurants will be hopping with beer tastings, happy hours and special events. Every morning, we'll provide a rundown of the night's best events. If you need to plan ahead, check out this list of each day's best events that require reservations. The big one: Sam turns the big 3-0 Play pinball at Lyman's Tavern tonight to win DC Brau giftcards and other prizes. (Photo by Fritz Hahn/The Washington Post) It doesn't seem that long ago that Sam Adams was everyone's definition of a "microbrew." As the Boston brewery celebrates 30 years in business, the “30 Beers for 30 Years” party at Longview Gallery pours 30 Sam Adams beers — from Boston Lager to Latitude 48 IPA and Word to the Weisse Berlinerweisse — paired with small plates from 30 restaurants, including Granville Moore’s, Hill Country and Art and Soul. The $55 tickets include unlimited food and drink from 6:30 to 9:30; $75 VIP tickets allow access at 5:30. Other highlights DC Brau D.C. Beer Week doesn't stop at the city's borders: Scion in Silver Spring pays tribute to Maryland brewers tonight, featuring some new and interesting beers from Brewer's Art, Evolution and Union Brewing at an all-night happy hour, which means half-price beers from 5 p.m. to close. Among the 20 beers being poured, on tap and in cans, are Brewer's Art's new collaboration with New Columbia Distillers, the makers of Green Hat Gin; Union's new Royal Farmhouse and Black Eyed Susan Saison; and the seasonal debut of Evo's Jacques au Lantern pumpkin ale. Right Proper Brewing Allagash


What do you think about the federal government’s veterans’ hiring preference?

confusing and difficult to understand, according to a Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) report released Tuesday. To give you an idea of what federal hiring managers face, consider this opening paragraph from the report: “The laws and regulations regarding the preferences in hiring that can or must be given to veterans and certain family members are extremely complex. The preferences vary by the specific circumstances of the veterans and the hiring authorities being used. Some veterans can be non-competitively appointed, while other veterans may not be eligible for that same hiring authority, and the availability of an authority may depend on the grade of the position being filled. The right of a veteran to have his or her application considered for a position may depend on whether an agency is considering applicants who are internal to Government but outside the agency’s own workforce. The degree of preference owed can vary by agency or position being filled. Under certain circumstances, the mother of a veteran may be eligible for preference, whereas the father would not be eligible. There are many other examples of how veterans may be treated differently under the law, but to put the message more simply: the laws relating to veterans’ preference invite misunderstandings, confusion, perceptions of wrongdoing, and possibly actual wrongdoing—whether intentional or inadvertent.” Whew. While the veterans’ hiring preference is complex, it is generally popular. But it is not beyond controversy. A MSPB survey said 6.5 percent of respondents reported inappropriate favoritism towards veterans and 4.5 percent reported a denial of veterans’ preference rights. Neither figure is large, but each can have ramifications. In a letter introducing the report, Susan Tsui Grundmann, the MSPB chairwoman, said, “The survey data showed that employees are less likely to be engaged and more likely to want to leave their agencies if they report having observed either of these two types of conduct.” Also troubling: perceptions of problems with veterans’ preference are greater in the government’s largest agency, the Defense Department. It hires many of veterans. “Perceptions of inappropriate favoritism towards veterans are particularly an issue in the Department of Defense (DoD), where 8 percent of DoD employees responding to the survey reported having seen this behavior,” MSPB said. Tell us what you think about veterans’ preference. Does the preference crowd out other qualified applicants? Is it denied when it should be applied? What changes, if any, do you recommend?


Alcohol is still the deadliest drug in the United States, and it’s not even close

done short of that. Efforts such as South Dakota’s 24/7 sobriety program indicate that more careful monitoring of individuals who have committed alcohol-related offenses can reduce recidivism without imposing draconian penalties. Specific measures to support, deter, and monitor alcohol-involved offenders remain a special area of research and policy interest. Treatment matters, too. In 2011, about four million Americans were both uninsured and satisfied criteria for alcohol disorders. Many have other characteristics that place them at especially high risk to become victims or perpetrators of violent crimes. The Affordable Care Act, the greatest expansion of alcohol treatment resources in American history, should improve treatment access to many within this group. ACA’s Medicaid expansion is particularly important for this group. Implementing strong service linkages with correctional and mental health care will be particularly important for violence prevention in this group. ACA provides the financial foundation. The practical nuts-and-bolts will matter greatly. Aside from expanding access to conventional treatments, ACA provides funds for screening and brief interventions for problem drinkers who present in emergency departments and other medical settings. It also seeks to strengthen links between substance abuse treatment services and primary care. These unglamorous components of health reform are especially important given evidence that the dominant majority of problem drinkers will never access the specialty addiction treatment system. No ordinary commodity Perhaps the single most important measure would be to increase alcohol excise taxes, which have badly eroded with inflation. Duke University’s Philip Cook has estimated that the 1991 federal excise tax increase saved 7,000 lives just in its first year. Cook reports that increases in state alcohol taxes would appreciably reduce accident and injury fatalities, as well as deaths from liver disease. We might also revisit some of the unfortunate ways alcohol permeates our popular culture, too. The push to sell beer at this year’s FIFA World Cup games rightly attracted criticism. Alcohol-related sponsorships of sporting and cultural events have also attracted controversy in several countries. Beer companies routinely sponsor ultimate fighting, boxing, and other combat sports, creating a particularly unfortunate resonance with alcohol’s role in promoting violence. Maybe our first step is to recognize that we indeed have a national alcohol problem. In the words of a famous treatise in this area, alcohol is no ordinary commodity. I sometimes hear people say that we should legalize and regulate marijuana the way we’ve handled alcohol. I certainly hope we do better.


Master chef Peter Chang returns to D.C. area with Rockville restaurant

For years, dedicated Changians had hoped their leader, master chef Peter Chang, would return to the Northern Virginia region where his spicy-and-numbing Sichuan cooking had transformed him into a cult figure. On Tuesday, Chang's followers received some welcome news: The former Chinese embassy chef would return to the D.C. area, but in Rockville, where he is expected to open the eponymous Peter Chang early next year. Peter Chang will introduce diners to some traditional home-style dishes at his forthcoming Rockville restaurant. (Photo by Astrid Riecken for The Washington Post) Federal Realty Investment Trust, owners of Rockville Town Square, announced that Chang would open his first Maryland restaurant in a 3,100-square-foot space in the mixed-use development, already home to chains such as Five Guys, BonChon Chicken and Noodles & Company. The developer offered few details, not even an address for the forthcoming restaurant. But on the phone from Las Vegas, where he now lives, Chang's business partner, Gen Lee, filled in some blanks. Chang's sixth restaurant will apparently take over the space currently occupied by Taste of Saigon at 20-A Maryland Ave. Taste of Saigon should be gone by November when Chang's team will take over the space and begin renovations. Lee hopes to open the 80-seat restaurant by January, if everything proceeds smoothly. Lee confirms that Chang had been scouting locations in Northern Virginia, hoping to return to the area where the chef first made a name for himself in a quick succession of restaurants, constantly forcing his followers to search for Chang's whereabouts, like CIA spooks hunting for a top operative. (If you'll recall, Calvin Trillin recounted the Changians' pursuit of spiciness in his delightful 2010 New Yorker story, "Where's Chang?") But Northern Virginia didn't pan out for Chang. Lee says the spaces he and the chef scouted were either too expensive or the wrong location. At the same time, Lee says, Federal Realty kept pursuing Chang for its Rockville property. The developer had already established a solid relationship with the chef in Charlottesville, where Chang opened his Peter Chang China Grill Bistro in the Barracks Road Shopping Center owned by Federal Realty. "They always loved us," Lee says. "They said, 'Why don't you open one in our center'" in Rockville? The space, Lee says, is smaller than Chang would typically like and, as such, may require a pared-down menu compared to the ones at the chef's other restaurants.


D.C.’s Rose’s Luxury is Bon Appetit’s Best New Restaurant in America

What’s the best new restaurant in all of the United States? Rose’s Luxury, an unpretentious, innovative eatery in Capitol Hill, according to Bon Appetit. This is the first time in the “Hot Ten” list’s five-year history that D.C. won the top spot. We called the magazine’s restaurant and drinks editor, Andrew Knowlton, to find out why it took so long. Rose’s Luxury: A Day in the Life of America’s Best New Restaurant 2014 - Bon Appétit Why do you hate D.C.? Restaurants in Philadelphia and New York got second and third place, respectively. How should we taunt those losers? Rose’s Luxury is all about Southern hospitality. What made Rose’s Luxury stand out? What’s the best thing you ate there? You wrote that D.C. is famous for power lunches. What exactly is a power lunch? How would you know if you were having one? Who is waiting in the wings to steal our title? Like D.C.? BONUS: Read more about food and drink: Adrian Silversmith of Sprelly plans to open a peanut butter restaurant St. Regis’ General’s Booth makes guests feel extra special Taco Bamba’s pulpo taco is our dish of the week


Obama losing public support on education issues, new poll finds

for Obama in education has fallen every year since 2011. The newly released 46th annual PDK-Gallup poll, which for decades has been seen as presenting a solid picture of where public sentiment lies on public education issues, also reveals a growing distrust of the federal government when it comes to education issue. A majority of Americans cite the biggest problem facing public schools today as lack of financial support. PDK, a global association of education professionals, has conducted this poll with Gallup every year since 1969. Interviews with a nationally representative sample of Americans, with a sub-sample of public school parents, were conducted last May and June As has been seen in the past in this poll, Americans give relatively high marks to their local public schools but not the nation’s public school system in general: Fifty percent gave their local schools a grade of “A” or “B” and 56 percent said their local school board should have the greatest influence in deciding what is taught, while only 15 percent thought the federal government should have the most influence. Yet only 17 percent gave the public school system an A or B. Other findings include: *Sixty percent of the general public and 62 percent of public school parents polled said they opposed the Common Core State Standards. In a related finding, 47 percent of the general public and 63 percent of public school parents said they know a lot or a fair amount about the Common Core State Standards. *Fifty-four percent of the general public and 68 percent of public school parents polled said they do not believe that standardized tests are helpful to teachers. *Only 15 percent of Americans said the federal government should decide what students learn in school, while 56 percent said their local school board. *A majority of Americans support charter schools, but the percentages are different depending on how the question is asked. These charts show the differences: *Fifty-seven percent of polled Americans, however, said that charters can charter tuition, though they are not legally allowed to do so. *Lack of financial support is cited as the biggest problem facing public schools. *Sixty-three percent of polled Americans said they oppose giving public money for students to attend private schools — down from 70 percent in 2013. The description of the question essentially laid out the private voucher system but did not use the word vouchers.


How to teach about climate without making your students feel hopeless

of laws helped clean up our air and waterways, saving lives, money and ecosystems. At the global level, I now highlight successful collaborations to improve the environment. I explain how we discovered the ozone hole in 1985 and then signed an international treaty in 1987 agreeing to control the chemicals that caused it, reducing risks of cancer. An earlier example is from the 1950s, when, miraculously, countries set aside the continent of Antarctica – all 5 million square miles of it, larger than the land area of the United States – for peaceful purposes, science and conservation with no human permanent residents (but millions of penguins). And rather than spend so much time on the environmental injustices suffered by the poor, I talk more about how we have halved poverty and given millions access to safe water. I tell students that they can reduce their own environmental footprint through conservation, recycling and changing consumption patterns; but I also empower them to maximize their “handprint” by spreading ideas, helping others or choosing a career that protects the environment. I give examples of how individuals change laws, campaign for low carbon public transport and organize to elect officials who protect the environment. And I have students who lead campus “green” organizations – such as the “Compost Cats” that recycle campus, community and even zoo waste into compost — give guest lectures. I’ve taught this revised class two times now, and the student evaluations are different. Now, students say things like “I’m motivated to follow a green career” and “My roommates are fed up with me telling them all the things they can do to save the planet.” To be sure, I sometimes find myself falling back in to the old pattern of finding downsides and caveats of all these positive examples – highlighting the new threats to wilderness, the failures of pollution control and how as people escape poverty they often increase their greenhouse gas emissions. But then I remember: I’m not ignoring the terrifying things we are doing to our environment and our neighbors, it’s just that I am providing solutions and hope as well. To my surprise, this Pollyanna attitude has helped me as well. I invested in solar and water harvesting for my home, and I actively support local political candidates with strong environmental records. I’m glad I paid attention to my students and developed a more positive outlook.


LGBT artifacts added to National Museum of American History’s collection

In a ceremony on Tuesday, the National Museum of American History officially added hundreds of LGBT-related artifacts to its collection. Among them: Renee Richards’ trophy ‘Will Grace’ memorabilia Diplomatic passports Other local news from Express: D.C.’s Rose’s Luxury is Bon Appetit’s Best New Restaurant in America Bao Bao’s birthday, and how she compares to Tai Shan Smithsonian Summer Showdown’s trash-talking handlers duke it out over the final four


Gateway bug: How crickets could hook America on eating insects

will introduce the Circle Chirp, a household device the size of a suitcase that can hold 500 or 600 crickets for someone daring enough to farm their own crickets. After some trials, Jakub Dzamba developed a safe way to farm crickets in his home. (Third Millennium Farming) The insects, which are sustainable and nutritious, have emerged in the past year as something of a food fad. Some say they taste like sunflowers. Other say almonds, or whatever the crickets have been fed. If the cost of farming them drops, they appear likely to become a regular part of American diets given their many merits. The industry leapt forward following a 2013 United Nations report warning that with nine billion people on Earth in 2050, current food production will have to double. Between a lack of space and climate change concerns, we’ll need more sustainable solutions. Crickets happen to be a great option. Insects, being cold-blooded, are much more efficient at converting feed into protein. A cricket needs 12 times less feed than cattle to produce the same amount of protein. Insects require significantly less land and water than cattle. Currently, agriculture accounts for 8.1 percent of greenhouse gases in the United States. Trading cows, chickens and pigs for crickets and other insects would cut that number down. For environmental reasons, the allure of crickets is obvious. The irony of cricket farming is its current high costs. A pound of ground up crickets costs between $20 and $40, depending on the source and season. For comparison sake, a bag of wheat flour generally costs about a dollar per pound. Those in the cricket industry blame the high price on lack of scale and inefficient farming methods. “There’s a huge amount of what we consider low-hanging fruit in the farming methods. It’s never been worth anyone’s time to improve it,” said Andrew Brentano of Tiny Farms, which advises cricket farmers. Cricket farms have existed in the United States for over a century, providing fishing bait and later food for pet reptiles. But the industry is still small. “Essentially we’re trying to sell beef jerky when there are like three cattle ranches in the U.S.,” said Gabi Lewis, co-founder of Exo, which sells cricket-based energy bars. Exo sold out its first production run — 50,000 bars — within a few weeks earlier this year and Lewis says the business has grown from there.


Wonkbook: What you need to know about the intensifying legal battles in Ferguson

portrayed as nothing shocking. U.S. pushes back on international concerns about handling of protesters. Pentagon defends weapons-transfer program. Interactive: Animals interlude: 4. A look at the housing market ahead of Jackson Hole U.S. housing market improving, inflation pressures muted. The interplay between inflation, wages and housing. Home sizes level off. Are entry-level, first-time buyers re-entering market? First-time buyer comparisons can be deceiving in housing market. Apartment construction hit 25-year high. Other economic/financial reads: Construction shifts into second tier. Eliot Brown in The Wall Street Journal. The American consumer is back. Kevin G. Hall in McClatchy Newspapers. The psychological damage of the recession is not going away. Allison Schrager in Bloomberg Businessweek. Lawmakers threaten Ex-Im Bank subpoena in oversight rebuff. Mark Felsenthal in Reuters. Americans are taking fewer vacations than they used to. Evan Soltas in Vox. Tattoo interlude: 5. What's in a name? A lot for Common Core Common Core support falling. Common Core has a branding problem. Court blocks La. Gov. Jindal — once a Common Core supporter — from repealing state's standards. What else concerns Americans about their schools? Other education reads: These are the states where kids do best on AP exams. Rebecca Klein in The Huffington Post. Presumptuous interlude: Wonkblog roundup The historic and uneven decline in teen births. Jason Millman. Uber hired David Plouffe when it realized "techies" can’t do politics. Emily Badger and Zachary A. Goldfarb. Health care data breaches have hit 30M patients and counting. Jason Millman. Alcohol is still the deadliest drug in the United States, and it’s not even close. Harold Pollack. Meet the ordinary people who are mobilizing around monetary policy. Ylan Q. Mui. How bad weather around the world is threatening Nutella. Roberto A. Ferdman. We know very little about when and why police use their weapons. Max Ehrenfreund. Et Cetera David Plouffe’s next campaign: Steer Uber to victory. Kevin Robillard in Politico. Feds boosting oil-spill liability limits. Jennifer A. Dlouhy in the Houston Chronicle. 2014 shaping up to be third-hottest year ever. Zack Colman in the Washington Examiner. Argentina aims to skirt U.S. court, bring debt under national law. Sarah Marsh and Walter Bianchi in Reuters. Advocates seek to delay deportations for millions. Julia Preston in The New York Times. Battle over postal-service cuts looms in September. Billy House in National Journal. Got tips, additions, or comments? Wonkbook is produced with help from Michelle Williams and Ryan McCarthy


Wednesday’s best D.C. Beer Week events

DC Beer Week is underway. Through Sunday, local bars and restaurants will be hopping with beer tastings, happy hours and special events. Every morning, we'll provide a rundown of the night's best events. If you need to plan ahead, check out this list of each day's best events that require reservations. The big one: Eating and drinking local The ominous-looking crab on Dead Rise's label was created by illustrator Ralph Steadman, who provided the art for Hunter S. Thompson's work. (Photo by Fritz Hahn/The Washington Post) Flying Dog Other highlights: DC Beer Week doesn’t stop at the Potomac River: Six Virginia breweries and Bold Rock cidery join forces at the Virginia Brewers’ Bash at Mad Fox Brewing Company in Falls Church. The event features a meet-and-greet with brewers and happy hour deals from 5 to 9 p.m. Participants include 3 Brothers, Forge Brew Works, Starr Hill and Devils Backbone. On Thursday night, Boundary Road is hosting a tap takeover by St. Louis powerhouse Perennial. But first, there's the little matter of getting rid of the eight beers currently on tap and cleaning the lines. Thankfully, none of that deliciousness will go to waste: "Bleed Us Dry" is the theme for Wednesday night, with every draft beer available for $5 after 10:30 p.m. Save money while enjoying some special brews, including Brewer's Art's limited-edition Choptank'd Saison, Boulevard's Saison-Brett and Hardywood Singel pale ale. "Do a barrel roll!" Everyone who had an Nintendo 64 remembers playing Starfox. The spacecraft shoot-em-up game is coming back to Jackpot for DC Beer Week, courtesy of the STARR Hill and Sly FOX breweries. (Get it?) There will be beer specials, samples, free popcorns and tons of barrel rolls, beginning at 6 p.m. Florida's Funky Buddha has become a cult favorite, thanks to clever beers like Maple Bacon Coffee Porter, which scored a 99/100 on Beer Advocate and a perfect 100/100 on RateBeer.com. The emphasis is on "cult," though, because it's basically impossible to get the Oakland Park brewery's product in D.C. That changes tonight, when Funky Buddha co-founders KC & Ryan Sentz bring 13 of their drafts to ChurchKey for a tasting and meet-and-greet. Sadly, Maple Bacon isn't among them, but you will get to try the Snowed In imperial stout, Floridian Gone Wild Berliner weisse, and Fire in the Hole raspberry habanero red ale. (See the whole list on ChurchKey's Facebook page.) Taps open at


LoCo Joe Coffee and Vigilante Coffee Company are worth the trip

Photo by Eli Meir Kaplan LoCo Joe Coffee 550 E. Main St., Purcellville, Va. Vigilante Coffee Company 4327 Gallatin St.,Hyattsville, Md. You may also like: The Wydown Coffee Bar: A java joint with a DIY Spirit Where to find coffee cupping in D.C. Tea can be cool, we promise. Here are the best ways to enjoy a cup in D.C.


What happens to your online life after you die? Delaware has some suggestions.

states that do grant digital access after death limit the privilege; Virginia, for instance, passes accounts to personal representatives of the deceased — but only when the deceased is a minor. To further complicate the issue, people frequently have no idea how much they’re even leaving locked up. There’s your Facebook and Twitter, sure. An e-mail account. A bank and credit card, maybe. But if you actually go through and catalog each and every single account you maintain online, the sum total is … kind of shocking. I know, having tried to compile such a list myself. If I died tomorrow (er, God forbid), these are all the things my parents couldn’t access: And that’s sad, says Matthews, the Alexandria attorney: There are no shortage of stories about children who couldn’t access years of family photos locked in their mother’s Snapfish, or grieving parents who couldn’t take their child’s Facebook down after she died. But more urgent, and potentially more dangerous, is the fate of paperless digital properties like bank accounts and credit cards. Often when someone dies or is incapacitated, those accounts seem to “disappear” — until survivors begin hearing from collection agencies. Matthews once had a client whose husband left neither his bank account ID nor password; when the bank refused to grant her access to the account, she couldn’t pay her bills. “That becomes very challenging,” Matthews said. “Everyone likes the ease of not using paper, but you have to have back-ups.” That’s particularly true if you live in a state that isn’t Delaware. Several states, like Connecticut, Idaho and Indiana, do grant some rights to heirs or personal representatives. But no other state has passed such sweeping legislation — and the majority of states have no digital asset guidelines in place at all. That means concerned digerati need to specifically write digital access rights into their wills and powers of attorney, the document that grants someone access to manage your affairs, Matthews says. (The Digital Beyond, a book and Web site on digital estate-planning, provides some guidance here.) Just as important, she argues, people need to compile a list of all their accounts, like the one I wrote above, and all their account passwords — even if it’s against site Terms of Service. The tech industry isn’t necessarily thrilled with that counsel or the push for legislation to free up accounts. Jim Halpert, director of an


GMO labeling measure makes Colorado’s November ballot

A combine harvests wheat along the Oregon-Washington border. A GMO labeling ballot measure failed in Washington last fall and is up for a vote in Oregon and Colorado this November. (Jeff Horner/AP) A proposal to require the labeling of genetically modified food qualified for Colorado’s November ballot, the secretary of state’s office announced Wednesday. Backers of the measure, Proposition 105, submitted nearly 40,000 more valid signatures than the required 86,105. The placement of the measure on the ballot could bring a huge wave of corporate spending, as was seen last fall in Washington state last year. Despite early signs that it would pass, the measure was ultimately defeated in Washington as an infusion of corporate spending flooded the state making the initiative campaign the most expensive in state history. Groups opposed were funded in large part by food giants, such as Pepsico, Nestle, Coca-Cola, General Mills, the Grocery Manufacturers Association, Monsanto and Dupont. Two groups opposed to the measure spent $33 million, while $10 million was spent by groups in support of it. Colorado won’t be alone this year. A similar measure has already qualified for the ballot in Oregon. And Vermont earlier this year became the first state in the nation to enact labeling requirements. When legislators crafted the law, they were so sure of corporate pushback that they simultaneously created a $1.5 million legal defense fund. A month after the law was enacted in May, the state was sued by the associations representing grocery manufacturers, the snack food industry, dairy industry and manufacturing industry. CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified one of the parties suing Vermont. It is the dairy industry.


Chinese hackers reportedly took classified data on MH370 a day after it went missing

(Charles Pertwee/Bloomberg) Five months after Malaysia Airlines flight 370 went missing, a report emerged on Wednesday saying that Chinese hackers have targeted Malaysian government departments involved in the search for the jet. According to the Malaysian newspaper the Star, on March 9, Malaysian officials received a malware disguised as a news report claiming the MH370 had been found -- a day after the flight disappeared from radar while en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people on board. The newspaper cited Amirudin Abdul Wahab, chief executive of CyberSecurity Malaysia, a government agency under the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry. The newspaper said that a user clicked on a PDF document attached to the e-mail and released the malware unknowingly to about 30 computers belonging to high-ranking officials at agencies involved with the MH370 investigation. CyberSecurity Malaysia received reports from the administrators saying their network was congested with e-mails going out of their servers. Targeted agencies included Malaysia's Civil Aviation Department, the National Security Council and Malaysia Airlines, most of them owned by the government, according to the Star. "Those e-mail contained confidential data from the officials’ computers, including the minutes of meetings and classified documents. Some of these were related to the MH370 investigation,” Wahab said, according to the Star. “This was well-crafted malware that antivirus programs couldn't detect. It was a very sophisticated attack." Wahab added that CyberSecurity Malaysia was able to block the transmissions of the data but that some information had already been sent from those hacked computers to an IP address that was tracked to China. Wahab said he suspects the motivation for the hacking was the MH370 investigation. “At that time, there were some people accusing the Government of not releasing crucial information,” Wahab said, according to the Star. “But everything on the investigation had been disclosed.” Flight MH370 went missing an hour after it took off from the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur in the early hours of March 8. Among the 227 passengers on board, 152 were Chinese citizens. The plane is believed to have crashed into the southern Indian Ocean after it left its route to Beijing and turned southwest, but massive searches have failed to find any wreckage or unearth clues about the plane's whereabouts. The news about the hacking came as Australian media reported Wednesday that Prime Minister Tony Abbott said the underwater hunt for MH370 has a "reasonable


Here’s how to make railway tracks safe for cyclists

With veloSTRAIL, there’s no wide gap for wheels to get stuck in. (Kraiburg Group) Your average train or streetcar track is built with little regard for those on bikes, rollerblades or in wheelchairs. Thin wheels can get caught in the flange gap unless it is carefully crossed at a 90 degree angle. Seattle, for one, has installed sharrows (shared-lane markings) to encourage those at risk to cross at a safe angle. However, a better more universal solution is available from a company in Southeast Germany. The Kraiburg Group sells veloSTRAIL, a rubber strip that covers nearly the entire flange gap. The remaining space is too small for even the thinnest wheels to lodge in. Someone on a bike or wheelchair can cross the tracks at any angle without worrying about being thrown to the ground or stuck in the tracks. Trains and streetcars can still traverse tracks with veloSTRAIL provided they don’t exceed 75 mph. Notice how the train wheel crosses veloSTRAIL and pushes the protective rubber downwards. A bike or wheelchair won’t have the same effect. (Kraiburg Group) “The train wheel will simply deflect the rubber, because it is very flexible. Afterwards it pops back out,” explained Willy Molter, an export director at the company. The idea came for veloSTRAIL came from a workshop in 2007 held with current and prospective customers to learn what they liked about its products, and what they didn’t like. After getting the suggestion, its engineers began designing a safer crossing. In 2008, the technology made its debut in Austria. It’s now between 5 and 10 percent of the Krailburg Group’s railway crossing business. Motler say veloSTRAIL costs 15 percent more than traditional alternatives. For now, its business is focused in Europe and New Zealand, but it’s considering an expansion to North America.


Wonkbook: The Fed just might raise rates sooner than expected

Welcome to Wonkbook, Wonkblog’s morning policy news primer by Puneet Kollipara (Photo by Matthew Cavanaugh/EPA) Wonkbook’s Number of the Day: Wonkbook’s Chart of the Day: Wonkbook's Top 4 Stories: 1. Top story: When the Fed might begin to raise rates Rates could rise faster than expected. Primary source Background reading: Inflation hawks make case for quicker retreat. The picture for raising rates becomes clearer. What the market expects: How the Fed's large balance sheet is influencing the bank's plan for rate hikes. What to look for in Yellen's speech Friday. Chart: Other economic/financial reads: Why Bank of America's settlement might not actually cost it $17 billion. Jeff Horwitz in the Associated Press. U.S. regulators step up warnings to banks for poor risk-spotting. Jonathan Spicer in Reuters. New e-book: "Secular Stagnation: Facts, Causes and Cures." Coen Teulings and Richard Baldwin in VoxEU. U.S. Ex-Im Bank backers pin hopes on temporary reauthorization. Mark Felsenthal and Susan Cornwell in Reuters. HUBBARD: Stop depending on the Fed. POSEN: Keep rates low until the hidden jobless return to work. BAKER: What does the Fed have to do with Social Security? Plenty. Top opinion REEVES: Equality, opportunity and the American dream. FRUM: Why the GOP must modernize to win. SPECTER: The problem with GMO labeling. ROY: Obamacare or not, Republicans should focus on reducing the cost of health care. VUCETICH AND NELSON: Conservation or curation? James Bond interlude: 2. Police tactics remain in the spotlight in Ferguson A relatively calm night in Ferguson. @KMOV @ksdknews Charge: But scrutiny on Ferguson police is growing. Explainer: Police shoot people dead all the time. Why did Ferguson become such a big deal? Policeman suspended for pointing rifle at protester, threatening to kill him. White House faces pressure on police body cameras. Their use is on the rise despite privacy concerns. Companies like Taser are counting on body-camera requirements. Another sign Congress won't radically change Pentagon-to-police weapons program. It's not just the Pentagon that loads up police with weapons. It's also DHS. Police rarely arrested for killings on job. Should police live in the cities where they work? Meanwhile: Privacy breeds skepticism as grand jury case starts. Explainer: It might take a while. Will protesters receive 'justice'? Unclear. Tired of the negative news? Other legal reads: Rights of protesters, media misunderstood in Ferguson. Carrie Johnson in NPR. Gun sales are up near Ferguson, but not farther away. Philip Bump in


Chuck Brown Memorial Park is almost ready to go-go

(Jackie Braitman) The Chuck Brown Memorial Park 1. This 16-foot-tall figure represents Brown. Braitman created the illusion of movement by giving the sculpture slats that, like Venetian blinds, seem transparent when viewed straight on, but solid when viewed from an angle. In the final version, one side of the slats will picture Brown leaning forward, holding a mic toward the audience. 2. Multicolored lights (not pictured) will begin flashing silently as you enter the sculpture. If you play the song “Chuck Baby” on your phone, you’ll notice the lights grooving along to the music. Sync the song to the four large lights near the back of the stage — they represent four descending notes played by a trombone eight seconds into the song. 3. Steel circles, about the size of dinner plates (not shown, though one will be near Brown’s feet), will trigger more lights. Two quick taps on a plate might tell a large stage light to blink twice in response. Do it again, and small lights on the floor will twinkle back at you. “We’re trying to encourage you to stay and play with the sculpture,” Braitman says. 4. Brown’s family asked that this generic guitar be replaced with one more like a Gibson, Brown’s instrument of choice. The metal shop that forged the piece made it with the neck facing the wrong way. Before it shipped, a musician caught the error. “I would have been so dead if Chuck were playing a backwards guitar,” Braitman says. 5. The piece was originally going to use solar panels to power the lights, but it got moved to a shadier corner of the park. Now, the sculpture is jacked into D.C.’s electrical grid and is sheltered by a canopy that’s more reminiscent of a stage than the solar panels were. You Might Also Like: Ferguson turmoil prompts cancellation of costumed Cops and Robbers Race in D.C. LGBT artifacts added to National Museum of American History’s collection Bao Bao’s birthday and how she compares to Tai Shan


Dallas PD leaders speak out on police shootings, militarization and protest

more representative of the population they serve, while at the same time making inroads to the citizens with their current cadre of officers. Their strategy for policing protest, if they had a formal one, seems to indicate a lack of understanding of the effect that a strong show of militarized force can have on a community that believes they have been disenfranchised by their police department. By being members of the “out group”, they were incapable of understanding the impact such a tactical display would have on the citizens of Ferguson, Missouri. Furthermore, their initial refusal to release the name of the involved officer supports the theory that they were unable to understand how that could be perceived as an inability to be objective and impartial in their investigation . . . Finally, do not make the mistake thinking this is solely a Ferguson issue, a Missouri issue or mid-West issue. This is a homeland security issue and was evidenced in the responses to the Occupy Movement in 2011 across the country. The increase in militarization is a national issue only thrust into the forefront of the American awareness by the recent events in Ferguson, Missouri. The withdrawal of soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan has left thousands upon thousands of former soldiers looking for work. For law enforcement agencies looking to hire qualified candidates, former soldiers appear to be outstanding recruits. We are only beginning to consider the implications of the flood of former military personnel joining the ranks of civilian policing. I submit that more study into this phenomenon is needed. The issue of militarization of American policing is not just the acquisition of military equipment; it is the infusion of so many former soldiers into the ranks of the civilian police. For American police, retention of the “servant” mindset is more critical than that of the “warrior” mindset. Meanwhile, Geron’s boss, Dallas Police Chief David O. Brown, recently wrote an op-ed in the Dallas Morning News. Brown recalls a moment when a Dallas police officer had just shot and killed a man, and how he elected to respond. As I began putting on my uniform, for some strange reason, I flashed back — clear as day — to my initial interview to become a police officer. “Why do you want to be a police officer?” “I want to help people, sir. I want to serve my community. I