Washington City Paper: Contents for Apr. 14

Blood,Sweat, and Gears
The Roosevelt High School robot features Plexiglas, a paint roller, and a whole lot of duct tape. In the words of one student: “I hate saying this, but it’s an advanced shopping cart.”

Cover Story

Bronson Beverly just realized that it’s up to him to save the Theodore Roosevelt Senior High School robotics team.

It’s a January afternoon in an abandoned science lab on the third floor of the Petworth school. Thousands of dollars’ worth of NASA scrap metal is sprawled out across three lab stations. In six weeks, these parts must become a robot. The dozen or so students gathered around them are Roosevelt’s first-ever robotics team. The team will compete in the Chesapeake Regional robotics competition in Annapolis, Md., in March.

A partial lineup of the Roosevelt robotics squad:

There’s Brittany Jackson, a popular 16-year-old whose aunt forced her to join to beef up her college applications and math grade. She has already joined and quit the cheerleading squad, dance team, and math club since entering Roosevelt.

There’s Raúl Velásquez, 16, and Luis Garcia, 18, both recent immigrants from El Salvador who are in freshman classes because of their shaky English skills. They’re off to the side laughing and speaking in Spanish.

There’s Clive Baker, a 16-year-old who specializes in dead-baby jokes, curse words, and metal bands. He says he has joined the team because he’s a “full-time slacker” with nothing better to do.

Mathletes they are not.

Bronson’s credentials are stacked for a 15-year-old: Last summer he worked as an assistant to scientists at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center. He creates Web sites and has a box of astronomy and chemistry books under his bed. He used to dismantle and reassemble toy robots for fun. ... Continued

Issue of Apr. 14 - 20, 2006

News and Features

Blood,Sweat, and Gears
The Roosevelt High School robot features Plexiglas, a paint roller, and a whole lot of duct tape. In the words of one student: “I hate saying this, but it’s an advanced shopping cart.”
Cover Story By Rachel Beckman
Condominium Emptor
The District's real-estate "lemon law" has no teeth.
The City By Ryan Grim
Don PePe's Cash & Carry
300 Morse St. NE
The City By Rachel Beckman
Capitol Hill Worship Group
Capitol Hill
The City By Aaron Leitko
D.C. Rocks
The Mail By Joe Garten
D.C. Rocks
The Mail By Ray Milefsky
D.C. Rocks
The Mail By Martin Nikoloski

Columns

Benson Never Hedges
Taking the bait from a desperate baseball wife
Cheap Seats By Dave McKenna
Rocks Off
Savage Love By Dan Savage
Channel Serf
Television By Mario Correa

Eats

Unhappy Campers
How restaurants turn the tables on lingering diners
Young & Hungry By Anne Marson

Movies

The Decline of the Western
Film Review By Louis Bayard
Demeans to an End
Film Review By Tricia Olszewski

Music

The Believer
Rhett Miller
Music Review By Joe Dempsey
'Sno Angel Like You
Howe Gelb
Music Review By Pamela Murray Winters
The Charm
Bubba Sparxxx
Music Review By Andrew Beaujon
One Track Mind
Haram
Music Review By Brent Burton

Theater

Immortal Combat
Theater Review By Bob Mondello
The Truman Show
Theater Review By Trey Graham

Arts and Events

Mayoral Fixation
Petworth rapper Nile "the Mayor" Nu'Man does his own damn interviews.
Artifacts By Sarah Godfrey
The Devil Is in the Details
Artifacts By David Dunlap Jr.
Making History
Art Review By Mark Jenkins
Rhapsody in Brew
Opera By Joe Banno