Opinion

Earlier this month, Bloomberg News declared that single women had “long odds” when it came to dating in the District.

D.C. has a female-to-male ratio — 112 women for every 100 men — that’s higher than any of the 50 states. Plus, the article suggests, men in Washington are much more focused on their careers than on making good conversation.


Opinion

While consumers only see the great money-saving bargains — for instance, $40 worth of food at a local restaurant for $20 — merchants have to accept that running a Groupon-type deal is probably going to be a money-losing proposition in the short term. Since Groupon typically gives merchants 50 percent of its deal revenue, that means that Joe’s Restaurant is only receiving $10 for giving away $40 worth of food. Low-margin businesses like restaurants will often lose money on that — and the losses will add up, since Groupon can sell hundreds or even thousands of coupons at a time.

The silver lining for businesses that use Groupon — and the entire premise of ‘daily deals’ in general — is customer acquisition. The idea is that by getting a whole bunch of people to try your food (if you’re a restaurant) or services (if you’re, say, a yoga instructor) you can get a certain percentage of those deal purchasers to come back later and pay full price.


Opinion

The mercury is expected to flirt with 100 degrees today as a heat wave envelops the region. Tomorrow will bring more of the same heat and humidity — but with a better chance of hitting 100.

If you’ve lived through just one summer in the D.C. area, this is nothing new. In fact, there’s an excellent chance that it will get even hotter at some point this summer.


Around Town

Can-Scrubbers LLC recently started operating in Arlington, Falls Church and McLean. The company has a small, oddly-shaped blue truck that uses “high pressure hot water and highly effective degreasing cleaners” in an automated process to clean out filthy trash cans.

Can-Scrubbers says their process is “eco-friendly” since cleaning your own cans will likely “send contaminated waste material into the street and ultimately down storm drains and into our precious streams and rivers.” The company says it stores waste water in the truck, then filters it and sends it through the sanitary sewer. Also, the company says that its cleaning agents are biodegradable.


Opinion

At first, officials say, most people who contacted them were against banning kids. Now, with every major media outlet in town running their own version of the story, opinions are about 50/50.

Officials say the ban is far from a done deal. First, it must be cleared by county attorneys — although that seems likely, given that other Virginia localities, like Fairfax County, already ban young children. After it gets the legal go-ahead, Arlington Parks Department spokeswoman Susan Kalish says the matter will only be decided after some sort of community input process.


Opinion

According to its Facebook page, the store will offer “over 35 olive oils and aged balsamic vinegars… bottled on the premises for you.” The oils will be imported from around the world and dispensed from air-tight tanks, which will “[ensure] the best flavor intensity.” Each purchase will include recipes and mixing ideas.

The store will also offer olive oil-based soaps, skin and hair care products and a limited selection of foods to accompany the oils and vinegars.


News

It’s shaping up to be a very interesting off-year election in Arlington.

There are competitive Democratic primaries set for local state Senate and House of Delegates races. There’s a strong Republican contender looking to pull an upset in a formerly safe Democratic state Senate district. And there’s a national Green Party official challenging two County Board incumbents.


Opinion

Mother’s Day is big business in the U.S.

Between the cards, the flowers, the brunches and all the other accoutrements, Sunday’s little holiday for mom will have many local businesses seeing green. Of course, it’s the thought that counts, not the price tag — but we were wondering how much you were planning on spending on your own mother this weekend.


Opinion

But to those who own cars and frequently utilize street parking, even the loss of a couple of parking spaces in a crowded area like Rosslyn can seem like an encroachment. Doubly so if you don’t believe Bikeshare is an efficient use of tax dollars.

Thus, when someone at the Arlington County Republican Committee observed the loss of eight parking spaces for CaBi’s four new Rosslyn locations, he or she took to blogosphere to vent.


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