And now … the rest of the story

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mr. harvey dines alone

Oh, the horror of it all!

Miss Tara Suter, The Hill: Restaurant attendance takes a dive in DC after Trump’s police actions

Restaurant attendance in the nation’s capital has taken a dive in the wake of President Trump’s Washington, D.C., crackdown on crime, according to data from OpenTable.

Last Monday, Trump announced he was taking federal control of D.C.’s police department and deploying the National Guard in the city in an effort to fight crime. 

Beginning that Monday, seated diners at Washington restaurants, according to online reservation numbers, started to drop dramatically in comparison to the prior year, dipping 16 percent. On Wednesday, the amount of seated diners at restaurants with reservations fell 31 percent, slightly recovering to down by 20 percent on Saturday.

PowerLine’s Bill Glahn adds context:

I lived for many years back in the 1990’s in the DC Metro area. August was glorious if you could stand the heat and humidity (which was brutal), there was no traffic, no people, when Congress left town and took everyone with it.

Back in the day, I would postpone my summer vacation to September to enjoy the people-free capital.

Restaurants were always empty, no reservations needed, just walk right in. From The Hill,

“On Wednesday, the amount of seated diners at restaurants with reservations fell 31 percent, slightly recovering to down by 20 percent on Saturday.”

80 percent of zero is still zero. Check back in September when the politicians and bureaucrats have returned from the beach and can enjoy crime-free streets. The restaurants will again be packed.

There’s nothing wrong with assigning juveniles to cover non-stories, but they do lack the knowledge to place events in their historical context, having no memory of or interest in anything that happened before, say, 2021.* I’d suggest that this young woman could use the helping hand of a senior editor, but the upper-level staff have probably all left town for the month in the company of their Congressional and lobbyist paymasters.

I’m a breaking news reporter for The Hill, covering a range of topics from U.S. politics to LGBTQ policy issues. I graduated from The George Washington University with a degree in journalism and mass communications. While at GW, I worked in various roles of increasing importance on the student newspaper, The GW Hatchet, including events editor and research assistant. I have previously worked as an editorial intern on WGBH’s FRONTLINE program and a journalism intern at OpenSecrets. I’m originally from Washington state, and love a good cup of (iced) coffee and a good photo of a Corgi.

*August 20, 2015, Washington City Paper: