The New Sheriff of Washington DC Is In, So Are the Washingtonian Entrepreneurs

January 9, 2011 by 1 Comment

The Good looking one is me, Jamey is the other one

I am very excited to announce my involvement with the Technology Business Innovation Taskforce of the incoming DC mayor, Vince Gray. The task force is being co-chaired by my awesome entrepreneur friend, Jamey Harvey, CEO of another exciting DC startup, Sponto.

I think that this will be a good opportunity for me as I try to help tackle some of the problems that I’ve been bitching about, from an entrepreneur’s perspective for the DC area. I hope my participation to the team brings me closer to my goal in positioning Awesome Washington, DC as a technology hub.

The Technology Business Innovation Taskforce will focus on attracting and retaining technology companies from these and other high growth industries:

  • Alternative Energy
  • Health Care
  • Cyber Security
  • Internet/Software/Social Media
  • Optics
  • Mobile
  • Gov 2.0 service providers
    Read more of this post

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Washington, D.C. Commercial Real Estate on Track for Robust Recovery

July 14, 2010 by Leave a comment


The nation’s capital is also its strongest national commercial real estate market, according to Jones Lang LaSalle, and it continues its track to recovery propelled by federal government activity during the second quarter of 2010. Vacancy rates reduced in Washington, D.C. – from 16% in Q1 to 15.6 % in Q2 – after a decisive uptick in demand coincided with the continued thinning of the development pipeline.

The catalyst for growth was broadly distributed among various government agencies, with IRS, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Veterans Affairs and Health and Human Services among the most aggressive tenants in the market. The widespread growth of the government impacted the District of Columbia, Northern Virginia and suburban Maryland alike, a unique trend given the tendency for administrations to fund only select interests in particular locations. Read more of this post

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Unemployment Rates by State – Still sucks

June 19, 2010 by 12 Comments


The jobless rate in 37 states and Washington, D.C. fell in May compared to the prior month, as the nation’s unemployment rate fell to 9.7%, the Labor Department said Friday. Meanwhile, six states saw unemployment rate increases, while the rate was unchanged in seven other states.

Even more states tracked gains in payrolls. Nonfarm payrolls increased in 41 states as well as Washington, D.C., while they dropped in just five states.

While the latest state data confirms that the labor market is improving across a broad swath of the country, there’s still a long way to go before employment returns to pre-recession levels. The vast majority of states, 31 and Washington, D.C., still have higher unemployment rates this May than they did a year ago. Read more of this post

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National Small Business Week 2010 Kicks Off Sunday in DC

May 21, 2010 by Leave a comment



Top entrepreneurs from around the country will come together to be recognized for their accomplishments during the U.S. Small Business Administration‘s National Small Business Week celebration, May 23-25, in Washington, D.C.  The National Small Business Person of the Year will be named on Tuesday, May 25. Read more of this post

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Hemp Cultivation in Washington DC Area

May 14, 2010 by Leave a comment


by Kamran Abdi
Next Monday May 17, 2010 at 7:30pm, the Hemp Industries Association (HIA) will display the diaries of USDA Chief Botanist Lyster Dewey in public for the first time at Capitol Hemp Clothing and Accessories, located at 1802 Adams Mill Road, NW. The diaries and personal photos of the USDA’s top expert on fiber production for more than 40 years reveal a treasure trove of information on hemp farming research by the US Government from the 1890’s to the 1940’s. Excerpts of the newly discovered diaries will be read aloud at the event and members of the media are encouraged to attend. Read more of this post

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We Will Miss You Net Neutrality

April 7, 2010 by 5 Comments


by Elias Shams
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled yesterday in favor of Comcast, saying that the FCC had not been granted the power by Congress to regulate the broadband networks in such a manner. So much for “net neutrality”.

The court ruling, which came after Comcast asserted that it had the right to slow its cable customers’ access to a file-sharing service called BitTorrent, could prompt efforts in Congress to change the law in order to give the FCC explicit authority to regulate Internet service. read more…

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Awesome Washington DC Tops List Of Best States For Teen Drivers

March 19, 2010 by Leave a comment


by Elias Shams
A new survey released Thursday by U.S. News Media Group and Allstate Insurance Company has found that Washington D.C. is the best state or district for teen drivers to live in.

The survey reached its results after analyzing state driving laws, road conditions, and government statistics on teen driver safety. Following Washington D.C. was California, Colorado, Maryland, and Illinois:

  1. District of Columbia
  2. California
  3. Colorado
  4. Maryland
  5. Illinois
  6. New Jersey
  7. Oregon
  8. Minnesota
  9. Utah
  10. Washington

read more…

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What? Washington, DC is Ranked The 37th Happiest City In The US?

December 19, 2009 by 14 Comments


What the hell! We are down the list as 37th happiest State/City?

A new study I just read on Live Science ranks Washington, DC as the 37th happiest city in America and Alaska is #7? I wonder what type of criteria they used to make such conclusion.

They claim the results are based on an examination of two data sets, one that included personal reports of happiness for 1.3 million Americans and the other that included objective measures, such as how crowded that state is, air quality, home prices and other factors known to impact quality of life.

Interestingly, the states with the highest educational standards and mandatory regulations like DC and NY, are at the bottom of the happiness scale. Perhaps “ignorance” knows something more than the rest of academia suspects. So, I guess, it does make sense to be happy when you accept life, rather than added stress in fighting for a living, or stress of big city living.

Other thing I don’t get, how the heck Louisiana became #1? Last time I checked, Louisiana is an economically depressed state with a lacking education system.

Anyway, here are their complete ranking of 50 U.S. states and our DC in order of their well-being:

1. Louisiana
2. Hawaii
3. Florida
4. Tennessee
5. Arizona
6. Mississippi
7. Montana
8. South Carolina
9. Alabama
10. Maine
11. Alaska
12. North Carolina
13. Wyoming
14. Idaho
15. South Dakota
16. Texas
17. Arkansas
18. Vermont
19. Georgia
20. Oklahoma
21. Colorado
22. Delaware
23. Utah
24. New Mexico
25. North Dakota
26. Minnesota
27. New Hampshire
28. Virginia
29. Wisconsin
30. Oregon
31. Iowa
32. Kansas
33. Nebraska
34. West Virginia
35. Kentucky
36. Washington
37. District of Columbia
38. Missouri
39. Nevada
40. Maryland
41. Pennsylvania
42. Rhode Island
43. Massachusetts
44. Ohio
45. Illinois
46. California
47. Indiana
48. Michigan
49. New Jersey
50. Connecticut
51. New York

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