Weekly Washington: Meridians and Monuments

photo by NCinDCWAMU Metro Connection's program this week, "In the Middle", featured me discussing the history of Washington's Prime Meridian, and the last remnant of that day: Meridian Hill Park. Obviously, I'm fascinating, but some of the other segments caught my attention as well. They catch local historian Paul Dickson taking in the midterms at one of my favorite Hill bars; Hawk 'n' Dove, and talking a little about our history of election watching.

The National Park Service is exploring options for moving the visitors screening facility underground. All of them seem to require some sort of subterranean facility to screen folks. This is a touchy issue, and many folks, including myself are confused as to the need for what will end up being an incredibly expensive and quite possibly intrusive measure. The Monument is already protected from car bombs, and the damage a potential bomber could do would be no worse than in any other crowded public space. Either way, the Park Service had a public meeting this way, and seemed stubbornly resistant to engaging the actual public on this issue. (WCP, WaPo)

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