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Metro shutdown impacting users

With the implementation of SafeTrack on the Metro not expected to be completed until March 2017, the shut downs and delays are creating issues for D.C. and metro area commuters.

SafeTrack’s goal is to complete three years of construction in under a year to update the safety of the 40-year-old Metro system, the nation’s third largest. But that doesn’t mean the work isn’t causing headaches for commuters.

Jill Konek, a Graduate Program Specialist at the School of Communication at American University, has had a difficult experience with Metro complications this summer.

“Unfortunately, between SafeTrack shutdowns and the fact that some parts of the metro are just broken, my commute has doubled in time and I have had to switch my work schedule around the shutdowns,” Konek said.

Some Metro lines will be closed for periods of time and buses will replace trains. In addition, Metro rails will close at midnight on Friday and Saturday and construction is running during mid-day and after rush hour.

Joseph Lockett, 42, is facing similar inconveniences.

“The Metro is always breaking down. It is always slowing down. It has become a huge inconvenience for me and my ability to get to work,” said Lockett, a frequent Metro user.

Stephen Pienciak, a information staffer at American University, found the most challenging part about the Metro shutdowns is having to find another mode of transportation.

“I typically just ride the Red Line which won’t be a problem until August, but the toughest part is that because the Metro closes at midnight on the weekends I will have to find another way home,” Pienciak said noting an increased cost.

Metro rides cost anywhere from $2 to $6 but a taxi or Uber from American University to the National Mall ranges from $12 to $50 depending on traffic and type of car. For some, the burden is financial.

Hannah Curtis, 16, a Northern Virginia resident, frequently uses the Metro to visit the district for leisure.

“It is a lot easier and cheaper to take the Metro than have the stress of driving into the city and trying to find parking, but with all of the new construction on the Metro, I never know which line is closed or if I can even use it to get into D.C.,” Curtis said.

Although Curtis had her share of disappointment, she understood the need for improved safety measures.

Metro users speak of frustration over shutdowns. Photo by Shujen Chang (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Metro users speak of frustration over shutdowns. Photo by Shujen Chang (CC BY-SA 3.0)

“Despite the negative consequences of the Metro shutdowns, I think it is definitely important to put safety first and convenience second,” Curtis said.

 

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Competitive eating champ keeps her crown; downs 28 hamburgers in 12 minutes

A 120-pound mother of four on Friday downed 28 hamburgers in 12 minutes to take home the $1,500 prize at the seventh annual Burger Eating Championship at Tenleytown’s Z-Burger.

Molly Schuyler, 36, consumed 28 hamburgers at the seventh annual Independence Burger Eating Championship. Photo by Lauren Markwart.

Molly Schuyler, 36, of Sacramento, averaged one hamburger every 26 seconds to beat out the dozen other professional and amateur eaters.

Standing 5’7″, Schuyler credits her four children with keeping her in shape during her three years in competitive eating. She worked at an Applebee’s in her home town, but when she found out she could make money just by eating, she quit her job and now travels around the country competing for cash prizes.

Schuyler’s goal was “not to choke, though you can control your body more than amateur eaters can.”

During the competitive eating season, which runs during spring and summer, Schuyler competes about once a week, but during the off season, she only competes about once a month. She says burrito eating contests are the easiest because of their soft texture. Wing eating is the toughest.

The Tenleytown event has gained popularity over the years. Several news stations, including those broadcast to Japan and Russia, crowded around the eaters.

Peter Tabibian, founder and owner of the burger chain in Washington D.C., started the competition in 2009 holding it every year except one.Tabibian has made an effort to include locals in the competition to make it a true community event.

“The competition started very small and every year it grew,” Tabibian said.

The competition boasts around eight to 10 competitors every year. The clock was set for twelve minutes and whoever ate the most quarter-pound burgers including the bun within the time period won the grand prize. Other contestants received a smaller cash prize or a gift card to Z-Burger.

Tabibian’s biggest concern regarding the event was health and safety.

“A lot of gross stuff is happening and my biggest fear is someone choking but we have EMS here,” Tabibian said.

The technique of the eaters was meticulous and thought out. The key to their success was water. Some contestants chose to continuously drink while others chose to soak their burgers in water to soften them up to make them easier to chew and digest.

In previous years, the competitors were giving opaque pitchers of water, but some individuals were cheating by spitting burgers into the pitchers which resulted in the transition to clear plastic water bottles.

In order to make the event a community gathering, Tabibian provided free burgers to the local observers after the event.

Tabibian founded Z-Burger in 2000 after working at a Burger King.

“I want to grow this company and make it into a big chain some day, but you have to go slow because I want to satisfy everyone who walks through our doors,” Tabibian said.

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Smithsonian Folklife Festival features international cultures

The opening ceremony of the annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival on the National Mall commenced Wednesday to celebrate both Basque culture and the sounds of California.

The Folklife Festival showcases each year cultural identity from the featured locations including art, food, dance, clothing and games.

Jacob Jaureguy, 21, and Sebastian Caldoron, 22, are both from Spain’s Basque region but now reside in California and perform in Basque dance group called Gauden Bat. Both men explained t

Traditional Mexican dancers at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival Opening Ceremonies on Wednesday, June 29. Photo by Lauren Markwart.
Traditional Mexican dancers at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival Opening Ceremonies on Wednesday, June 29. Photo by Lauren Markwart.

hat many people from that northeastern part of Spain who move to the United States choose the West Coast as their home. They feel it is important for them to inform others about their culture through the performing arts.

“The basis of this is to get our name out there and show what we are about,” Jaureguy said.

Tradition is a major component of Basque culture. The people of the region have great pride in their language that predates both Spanish and French. Dancing in Basque has deep cultural roots and it is a, “mix between Irish and Ballet– but not at all,” Caldoron said.

The dancers also felt it was important to share their culture due to their country’s unique political situation.

Basque is a region officially described as an “autonomous” community sandwiched between Spain and France– both countries claim part of the region.

“At one point we were our own independent kingdom, but Spain took over and gave part of us to France,” Caldoron said.

Halfway around the world lies another culture featured in the Folklife Festival: California, and specifically, its music scene.

A music group from Southern California came to the festival to perform their traditional Mexican religious dance that has survived in the United States.

Diego Solano, 27, explained that when the Spanish came to his ancestors’ town of Santiago, in the Juxtlahuaca district in Southern Mexico, the foreigners did not understand their religion.

“When they came over to civilize everyone they turned our god to a devil,” said Solano, who held a devil mask as he spoke in the Smithsonian’s Arts and Industries building.

The men perform their religious dance called the “Dance of the Devil” as they dress in colorful costumes with masks made by Alex Vasquez, 28, an active member in the group who was born in Tecomaxtlahuaca, a town in Southern Mexico.

Similar to Basque culture, traditions are very important to the people of Mexico who have come to live in California. Vasquez has made decorative masks his whole life with his father. Each mask takes about two weeks to create due to the attention each one needs. The masks are made in vibrant hues of reds and oranges and have horns poking out of the top.

Regions are chosen for the Smithsonian Folklife Festival to, “show and honor all of the different cultures that have immigrated here,” said Caldoron.