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Ring in the New Year relishing the sky lounge of the new International Spy Museum at 700 L’Enfant Plaza SW.

Standing at the world’s epicenter of espionage, D.C.’s newest venue will have you dancing all night with sweeping views of the Washington Monument, the Capitol, the new D.C. waterfront and New Year’s Eve fireworks over Alexandria.

Before the clock strikes 12, enjoy mind-boggling illusions by our strolling magician, engage in a WHODUNIT interactive spy troupe mystery, watch the sparks and glassware fly by professional bartenders performing fantastic feats and tricks, dance on an LED dance floor, find out what’s to come in 2019 with our all-knowing psychics and take some “shagadelic” shots with the International Man of Mystery himself, Austin Powers.

The floor to ceiling windows overlooking the D.C. skyline in this newly constructed International Spy Museum will open its doors to the public for the first time on New Year’s Eve.

This event will help people affected by disasters like storms and countless other crises by donating all profits to American Red Cross Disaster Relief. Your ticket purchase enables the Red Cross to prepare for, respond to and help people recover from disasters both big and small across the United States.

Your all-inclusive ticket purchase includes top-shelf open bar, food, champagne toast, music and all the entertainment. For more information and to purchase tickets, click here.

Buy your #NewYearsEve ticket by Friday, December 21 for a chance to have it paid in full. Go to https://t.co/NfZxSHtgrh @IntlSpyMuseum #WashingtonDC @RedCrossNCR #socialimpact #disaster @DJHeatherFemia @magic @cheesymagic #DC #destinationdc #celebrate #party pic.twitter.com/wWcMc5dIO2

— BizzyMamaOf6 (@bizzymamaof6) December 17, 2018

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DC Fray is on a mission to make fun possible by creating and sharing fun things to do around the city. Just because it’s getting darker earlier and the temps are dropping, doesn’t mean you have to Netflix & literally chill every night. To help you avoid the winter blues, DC Fray has compiled the top 5 ways to keep the fun alive this season:

Get social and sporty:

Make time for friends and fitness with one of our many leagues. Whether you’re into the more traditional sports like Flag Football, or you’re looking to bring a competitive edge to bar sports like Bocce and Shuffleboard, there’s a league for you. Winter registration is officially open — form a team with friends or even sign up as a free agent!

Pop the champagne on New Year’s Eve:

Two parties. Your choice. Dance the night away at Kelly’s Irish Times or celebrate the start of the new year at Grand Central. With DJs, party favors and all-night dancing, you’re sure to get 2019 started off right!

Hit the slopes! The tubing slopes.

If you’re not into the running and catching, you can still get active this winter. GLOW tubing is the perfect excuse to put on your most fashionable neon attire, cover yourself in glow sticks, and head outdoors for a night of slipping and sliding.

Meet someone new to cozy up with:

There’s all these fun things to do this season and they have you looking for someone to bring along. Let #DCFray play matchmaker when you head to the bar for speed dating.

Discover DC:

There’s so many local restaurants and shops that sometimes it’s overwhelming trying to decide what to do. The #FrayLife blog takes the hassle out of planning by spotlighting the can’t-miss things to eat, drink, and do in the District– like this feature on winter date ideas.

By Criminal Defense Attorney Matthew Wilson of Price Benowitz LLP

While the number of fatalities due to drunk driving has been shrinking around the country, they continue to rise in Washington, D.C.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, those fatalities increased by 33 percent in 2017. It has led some to call for tighter laws regarding drunk driving in the city. But is that really the answer?

The Washington Post points to the fact that D.C. has the lowest number of people driving with interlock ignition devices when compared with three states. These states are also trying to combat high incidences of drunk driving fatalities. In Maryland there are 16,000 drivers required to use these devices. Virginia has less than half that with 7,000. In D.C., there are only 18.

The number for D.C. may seem low, but does it really tell the whole story? Interlock ignition devices are only meant to be used in certain cases. One DUI charge does not mean that an ignition interlock is automatically installed.

In fact, they are only used with those that have restricted licenses. These are granted by the courts when an individual has been convicted of a DUI, but still needs a vehicle to travel to work or other authorized locations.

It is also important to consider that the Metropolitan Police Department has been making more drunk driving arrests. In the fiscal year 2018, there was a 13 percent increase in these arrests. That is an average of an arrest every seven hours. Clearly officers are out there enforcing the laws. Is it really necessary to make them stronger?

While the rise in drunk driving fatalities is concerning, it is a problem the country has been facing since the end of prohibition. Tougher laws are not always the answer. With local law enforcement already making more arrests than last year, increased pressure to do more could have innocent people stopped without probable cause.

“Drunk driving is an extremely serious issue,” says DUI attorney Matthew Wilson of Price Benowitz, LLP. “Tougher laws though, do not always solve the problem. Laws are already in place to keep individuals from getting behind the wheel when they have had too much to drink. Making them harsher is likely not going to have the desired effect.”

A study conducted in 2015 certainly seems to back that up. It found that there is no real correlation between the strength of a state’s DUI laws and the number of fatalities on a state’s roads.

Instead, the study pointed to population density as being a key factor. Washington, D.C.’s population just hit the 700,000 mark in February of 2018. That is just under 12,000 people per square mile, and that high population density may be the real reason for the high number of drunk driving fatalities last year.

This column is written by Metro DC Houses, a local real estate team serving DC, MD, VA made up of Colin Johnson, the immediate past President for the D.C. Association of Realtors and Christopher Suranna, the current President for the D.C. Association of Realtors.

Hey! Did you hear Amazon HQ2 is moving one of its headquarters to Northern Virginia? Cool.

More importantly, did you check out the 14-page Comprehensive Housing Market Analysis published by HUD this summer and recently publicly released a few weeks ago?

No? Why not? Don’t worry, it’s interesting.

Short on time? No problem. Jobs are up. Visitors are down. Population is up. Sales Prices are up. Rentals are flat. Read the rest of article or comment below!

Economic Conditions:

The rate of job growth slowed relative to increases in recent years. However, mostly because of the job losses in the federal government, it is currently at a 0.8% increase Year over Year (YoY). The biggest winner: Information sector, biggest loser: Government.

Still the largest payroll jobs come from Government followed not too far behind by Professional and Business Services. However, if you look at the gains since 2000, Leisure and Hospitality shows the greatest growth. (more…)

By Criminal Defense Attorney Kush Arora of Price Benowitz LLP

Maryland is one of many states that has experienced many tragic shootings. Most recently, a man in Baltimore shot and killed two people while injuring ten others at a video game tournament.

In addition to this tragic incident, a high school student at Great Mills High School was killed by a 17-year-old gunman. A newspaper office in the capital was also the site of a tragic shooting that killed five employees. These shootings have all occurred within the last year, which has prompted lawmakers to tighten gun control in the state.

One of the new laws is the red flag law, a law many other states have already enacted. This law states that courts can be petitioned to have firearms taken away from those deemed to be a danger to themselves or others.

The new law states that only police, medical professionals, close relatives and those in a romantic relationship with the person can petition the court. Lawmakers have stated though, that they will consider expanding the categories of those eligible to submit a petition.

In addition to this law, lawmakers have also banned bump stocks. These stocks are accessories for semi-automatic rifles that increase the firing rate of those firearms. A bump stock was used during the Las Vegas shooting in October of 2017.

The new laws also focus on those that have been convicted of domestic abuse. While these individuals have not been allowed to purchase new firearms, they will now also be required to turn in any firearms they had previously owned.

The new laws are meant to keep those in Baltimore and throughout Maryland safe. Some critics say though, the new laws are going too far, particularly if more people can petition a court under the red flag law. The criticism stems from the fact that anyone would be able to identify someone as a threat, and innocent people would have their firearms, and their rights, taken away.

“Maryland already has some of the strictest gun laws in the country,” says Kush Arora of Price Benowitz, LLP. “Of course it is important to keep all citizens of the state safe. Often, this means creating new laws. However, it is just as important that lawmakers ensure they are not impeding on anyone’s freedoms provided by the Second Amendment while doing so. Whether or not these new laws, or more in the future, will be an infringement remains to be seen.”