Enjoying a Swedish massage at the Ritz-Carlton Georgetown, Washington, DC

The spa: Housed in the depths of this landmark hotel, the four-room spa is an oasis of serenity next to a busy gym, which, as befits the world’s powerhouse of politics, is open 24 hours a day.

Spa Spy’s symptoms: Ah, those hardy perennials: shoulder tightness, muscle tension and lower back pain that Spa Spy suspects is back-to-work stress.

The prescription: After a consultation with Yannick, my therapist, the signature therapeutic massage (50 minutes, £76) is recommended – a common-or-garden Swedish-technique massage designed to ease chronic pain, fluid retention and muscular fatigue that is pepped up some deep-tissue action and a range of specialist therapeutic techniques.

The procedure: Easing the pain involved some serious pummelling of the shoulder area and tugging of arms from the masseuse interspersed with yelps from Spy; the myofascial release involved some rather unpleasant manipulation of connective tissue. Yannick used her knuckles and elbows to get into the deep tissue and mobilise long tightened muscles, all the while, we discussed the finer details of Washington politics. The neck was lengthened and, finally, the knots untied, the worries wrung out.

The verdict: Executed with highly skilled hands. Spa Spy strolled to a rendezvous in front of the White House feeling lighter, thanks to a change in posture, and definitely taller.

The medical opinion: “Lower back pain is very common, affecting approximately 80 per cent of the population at some point,” writes Dr Max Pemberton. “It is usually the result of poor posture leading to strain on the muscles and ligaments of the back. However, a review of the research on spinal manipulation – massage included – showed that it is no more or less effective than standard medical interventions for back pain, such as encouraging gentle exercise and managing pain with painkillers and anti-inflammatory medication.”

The feelgood factor: Unlike other newly built, cookie-cutter Ritz-Carltons, this one has a boutique feel. Housed inside a former incinerator, with a 130ft chimney that rises above the hotel, it’s more trendy loft conversion than marble palace. But you are well situated for fashionable restaurants and shops, and for a stroll to the White House.

Details: Doubles at the Ritz-Carlton Georgetown (0800 234 000, www.ritzcarlton.com), from £279 a night. Virgin Atlantic (08448 747 747, virginatlantic.com) is offering return flights this month from £379 return.

Source:elegraph.co.uk/

Rents Signal Rise of D.C., Fall of N.Y.

The office market in Washington, D.C., is poised to topple New York as the nation's most expensive, reflecting the declining fortunes of the nation's financial center and the government expansion under way in the U.S. capital.

Rents declined in almost all of the 79 American cities tracked by Reis Inc., a New York based-research firm, in the fourth quarter of 2009. The largest fall was in New York, where average effective rents -- or the net amount tenants pay after landlord concessions -- fell nearly 20% to $44.69 per square foot annually. It was the sharpest decline in rents ever recorded by Reis since it began compiling data in 1981.

By contrast, average rents in Washington were $41.77 per square foot, down 3% annually. Reis estimates that by the end of this year, rents in New York will come down to around $41.07, slightly below their estimates for Washington of $41.27.

"The financial crisis hit New York hard, which is why it's down so much, whereas the government is one of the few sectors that has actually added jobs," said Robert Bach, chief economist for Grubb & Ellis, a Santa Ana, Calif.-based brokerage firm.

Nationwide, effective rents fell close to 9% last year to an average of $22.44 per square foot, Reis found. It was the largest annual decline on record. Meanwhile, the vacancy rate rose to 17%, the highest since 1994.

Washington's ascent may be shortlived, Mr. Bach notes. While Washington may remain strong relative to other cities, Mr. Bach said the city has a large amount of new construction under way, which could depress the market eventually.

In addition, another estimate puts Manhattan rates at $60 per square foot, while the average effective rent in Washington is $46. "I wouldn't anticipate New York falling as far down as $46," said Raymond Torto, global chief economist for CB Richard Ellis.

Rent prices in New York and Washington have long outpaced the rest of the nation -- and by a wide margin. In the past, usually after recessions that shrink business and expand government, Washington has moved ahead. But this time, the gap has narrowed sharply and quickly. As recently as two years ago, average rent in midtown Manhattan was $61 per square foot, nearly $20 per square foot higher than the average in Washington's prime downtown area. According to most commercial-real-estate brokers, the gap has nearly disappeared.

To be sure, the most prestigious office space in New York -- including Fifth, Park and Madison avenues -- remains among the priciest in the world, even though rent levels for those prestigious addresses are falling. In December, Brazil's Banco Itau agreed to pay more than $130 per square foot for half the top floor of the General Motors Building on Fifth Avenue with views of Central Park, perhaps the priciest lease per-square-foot of the year. Still, the space would have fetched 50% more three years ago, brokers say, and the landlord, Boston Properties Inc., offered concessions, a Banco Itau executive said.

"With tenant improvements we think we got a fair deal," said the executive, who declined to provide further comment. Boston Properties couldn't be reached for comment.

Landlords in Washington, by contrast, say strong demand means they can raise rents in the most sought-after buildings. Monday Properties, which controls about a third of the office space in the Washington suburb of Rosslyn, Va., has raised rents between 3% and 4% at 1000 and 1100 Wilson Blvd., two 31-story towers on the Potomac River. The vacancy rate in Rosslyn, which is about two miles from the Pentagon, has fallen slightly to under 6%, said Tim Helmig, head of Monday's Washington office.

Much of the demand comes from an expanding federal government and contractors and companies that need close access to the government. Of the 16 largest leasing transactions in Washington last year, 10 were by government agencies, according to tenant-brokerage firm Studley. In the fourth quarter of 2009 alone, the Department of Agriculture leased 330,000 square feet in southwest Washington, and the General Services Administration, which handles leases for government agencies, added 1.4 million square feet of new leased office space last year, bringing its total in Washington to 8.4 million.

Source:online.wsj.com/

Washington, D.C. having an office boom

Washington, D.C. is set to topple New York City as the most expensive office rental market in the country. Nancy Marshall Genzer reports why everyone -- from corporations to lobbyists -- is vying for real estate in the nation's capital.
Stacey Vanek-Smith: Washington, D.C. is set to topple the Big Apple as the most expensive office rental market in the country. Nancy Marshall Genzer has more.
Nancy Marshall Genzer: There are no bargains here. Washington rental prices are only down about 3 percent from last year. Compare that to New York, where they're off nearly 20 percent
Real estate analysts say New York is still struggling to recover from the financial crisis. Washington, on the other hand, is booming. That happens a lot during recessions, when the government is doing most of the hiring and needs extra office space.
The Wall Street Journal says the Department of Homeland Security wants to lease about a million more square feet of office space. Corporations are moving to Washington to be closer to the government. Northrop Grumman announced this week that it's relocating to D.C.
And lobbyists are jostling for more office space here. They're lobbying furiously on health care, energy and other hot topics on Capitol Hill
In Washington, I'm Nancy Marshall Genzer for Marketplace.

Source:marketplace.publicradio.org/

DC Design Working On Tata Nano With Ferrari Pricetag

Starting with the world’s cheapest car, the Tata Nano, which normally retails from about $2,000 in its home market, Indian vehicle customizer and coachbuilder DC Design has added enough luxury and performance amenities to send that pricetag up to the $220,000 mark.

Whether the modifications to the Nano justify the inflated pricetag is open to interpretation, but you have to at least commend the ambitions of DC Design.

Starting with the basic 10.2-foot hatchback, DC Design removed all the plastic surfaces, small wheels and dashboard before refitting them with much finer materials.

The project is still in the prototype stage but there are plans to inject the car with high-technology products. The basic chassis and floor plan will be retained but other than that everything will be different. Even the Nano's 33-horsepower twin-cylinder engine will be replaced with a more powerful 1.6-liter unit.

DC Design plans to only build around five of the cars each year, with most going to wealthy locals though a few will be heading overseas.

With reports suggesting the diminutive Tata Nano may be heading to the U.S. in the next couple of years, we just hope no one here plans on calling DC Design to order one.

Source:motorauthority.com/

Gilbert Arenas and his 85 million dollar mistake

Gilbert Arenas is stupid idiot, and in the end his stupidity is going to cost him 85 million dollars. It is not news the Gilbert though it to be wise to bring a bunch of guns to the Washington Wizard’s arena, store them in his locker, and then allegedly brandish one of them at a teammate over a gambling debt. These actions were not only against NBA regulations, but quite possible Washington DC gun laws, which happen to be among the strictest in the country. He followed that up by going out in a NBA game last night and pretending to shoot his teammates.

This guy just doesn’t understand the severity of what he did. Needless to say NBA commissioner David Stern was forced to drop the boom on him, and he is now indefinitely suspended from the NBA without pay. It seems very likely that the league and the team will work to void his contract, for which he has four years and 85 million dollars left on, and if Arenas is really lucky he will avoid going to prison.

Washington DC, or really the sports world in general, was not the place to fool around with guns. It is not the place where guns should be, and Gilbert is a moron for trying to make light on a very serious infraction. Before last night’s sickening display, Stern was willing to wait out the completion of the police investigation. However Arenas was unable to keep his head down, unable to avoid acting a clown and those actions maybe even more so than the original gun infraction are why he should lose his contract.

Inner city gun violence is not a punch line to use to promote you twitter account, guns are serious, and Gilbert cannot find it in himself to understand that. He says, he took the guns out of his house to protect his children, but brought them to an arena full of fans, fans that quite possible have been drinking. That is ignorance of the highest level, and it should cost him his 85 million dollars.

Source:inquisitr.com/

NMB: Bailey 'misled' administration in stolen gun report

NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WMBF) - North Myrtle Beach Public Safety Director William Bailey has been placed on administrative leave after an investigation revealed a handgun stolen out of his personal vehicle was not properly secured.

Horry County Police were dispatched to Bailey's home after the director reported two of his personal vehicles had been broken into between 10 p.m. Sunday and 8 a.m. Monday. Bailey told police he became suspicious of criminal activity after noticing his truck, parked in his driveway, had been left unlocked throughout the night.

After opening the driver's side door of the truck, a police report states Bailey found papers thrown over the seats and the glove compartment and center console opened. A handgun stored in the glove compartment, Horry County Police say, was among the items taken from the vehicle.

Bailey later discovered his wife's car, parked inside of a garage, had also been tampered with. Items were strewn across the inside of the vehicle, but Bailey was unable to identify any stolen items.

Further questioning of Bailey's family revealed his son discovered what he calls a "suspicious man" in the neighborhood around 2:30 a.m. on Dec. 21. When Bailey's son pulled over his vehicle to question why the man was in the area, he said he was visiting his girlfriend.

The man then proceeded to reach into his camouflage backpack, for what Bailey's son presumed to be a gun, and drove off. Bailey's son told police he returned to his home, grabbed two baseball bats, and unsuccessfully attempted to track the unidentified man down.

On Wednesday, North Myrtle Beach officials released a statement revealing Bailey had been placed on administrative leave after an investigation revealed Bailey's glovebox did not have a lock on it. As stated in an incident report, Bailey's gun could not have been safely stored inside of his truck.

Officials say the statements made by Bailey misled North Myrtle Beach administration about the security of the weapon.

"I take full responsibility and regret my actions regarding how the weapon was stored and the statements made by the City to media on December 29 saying the weapon was secured in a locked glove box. I made those statements to administration and approved their release," said Bailey.

"The nature of any disciplinary action is considered a personnel matter," added North Myrtle Beach City Manager John Smithson. "The City of North Myrtle Beach apologizes for the incorrect information and will be working diligently to correct it and the actions taken by Director Bailey."

In a statement prepared by the City of North Myrtle Beach, spokeswoman Nicole Aiello says the stolen gun was property of North Myrtle Beach and identified it as Bailey's back-up weapon. His primary weapon was in his possession at the time of the incident.

Aiello says it is now Bailey's responsibility to pay for and replace the stolen semi-automatic handgun.

Horry County Police say Bailey's report adds to five others filed on breaking and entering complaints in the Little River subdivision.

Source:wmbfnews.com/

Brookfield gets $200M for 90 per cent of Washington, D.C. office property

NEW YORK - Brookfield Properties Corp. (TSX:BPO) has sold interests in two office and commercial properties in the Washington, D.C., area for net proceeds of $103 million, the Toronto headquartered company said Wednesday.

In one deal, Brookfield said it had sold a 90 per cent interest in an office property in Washington, D.C., to a group of investors represented by Edge Fund Advisors for $203.4 million.

Brookfield retains a 10 per cent interest in the joint venture with Edge Fund, a D.C. real estate investment adviser and asset management firm, that was acting on behalf of HSBC Alternative Investments Ltd. and an exclusive syndicate of HSBC Private Banking Clients.

The price for the 90 per cent common membership interest in the building at 1525 Eye St. in Washington's central business district amounts to $587 per leasable square foot. The 12-storey, 36,000-square-metre building was acquired by Brookfield in 2003.

Besides retaining its 10 per cent common membership interest as well as a preferred interest in the venture, Brookfield will retain property management and leasing responsibilities at the building.

"This joint venture allows Brookfield to realize an attractive return on investment and increase our liquidity profile," Brookfield Properties CEO Ric Clark said in a news release.

"The ability to maintain an ownership and management interest in what we believe to be one of the finest commercial properties in Washington, D.C., is a key facet to the partnership with Edge Fund."

In a separate transaction, Brookfield also sold One Bethesda Center, a 15,800-square-metre building in Bethesda, M.D., to JBG Associates LLC for an undisclosed price.

"The two transactions generated approximately $103 million in net proceeds for Brookfield Properties," the company said.

Brookfield Properties owns, develops and manages premier office properties in a number of major cities in North America. Its current portfolio is comprised of interests in 108 properties totalling almost seven million square metres. In the metropolitan Washington, D.C., area it owns, operates and manages 30 commercial properties totalling some 687,500 square metres.

Brookfield shares were up seven cents at $13.22 Wednesday on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Source:winnipegfreepress.com/