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Ride by the National Mall any night after work or any open field in the city you can find, and you’ll likely see thousands of people rocking bright, colorful t-shirts playing everything from kickball or softball to flag football and even Bocce.

If you find yourself in one of D.C.’s best sports bars later on, you may overhear the same groups of people talking trash and sharing league stories over games of flip cup and beer pong or just enjoying a meal together.

Social sports are a great way to make friends and stay active, and they give you a reason to share a beer or two with friends each week, so it’s no wonder tens of thousands of area residents play in leagues each season. But social sports are even more than that here in the Nation’s Capital, they are a D.C. institution. Playing them isn’t just something to do, it’s a rite of passage that nearly every 20 or 30 something living in D.C. has experienced at some point or, at the very least, knows someone who has.

There are tons of reasons why social sports are a D.C. institution and have been a mainstay in the local culture. Here are just 10 of the many reasons why that’s so:

1. It was planned that way from the start…

The National Mall was literally founded (at least partially) for adult recreational purposes.

The original L’Enfant Plan from 1791 called for spaces of preserved land and parks around the city that would be used among other things as a “place of general resort, and be “as integral to the capital as the buildings to be erected around them.” The 1901-1902 McMillan Plan planned for “active recreation” by creating a “Commons” at the Tidal Basin for recreational use by the public.

There were once 10 tennis courts on the lawn between 3rd and 4th streets, skating on the reflecting pool and all kinds of other recreation leading the Mall to become a hub of recreational space ever since.

2. It brings us together…

D.C. is a transient city where people often move for work or school, then relocate elsewhere. It’s hard to make solid groups of friends when people are coming and going every few years, so many 20 and 30 somethings rely heavily on social sports for their social life.

3. Stress release for a stressed out populace…

D.C. is a work hard, play hard city. When you’re working 50-80 hours a week, it can be hard to find time to socialize, but that doesn’t stop people from trying. Social sports help break up your week so you can work hard and have fun without having to live for the weekend.

Want to see the rest? Click here to see the full article.

This column is written by Marcus Correll, the Marketing Coordinator at RLAH Real Estate. He is not a licensed agent, nor intends to be portrayed as such, but he is entrenched in the industry helping approximately 200 agents with their marketing.

Every couple of years, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) conducts a nationwide survey to identify home buyer and seller statistics, the most recent one from earlier this year.

Some of the more interesting stats to our firm include how consumers come to select their real estate agent. Zillow, one of the most visited real estate search sites, also performed a similar study in 2017 which provided additional insight.

It’s helpful in our business to monitor and understand consumer behavior. Commissioned sales people are seeking out new clients to represent. Agents who are representing sellers need to know how to effectively get the property in front of buyers.

Some highlights of the report are below with some added commentary, as well as a poll. We want to hear from the local readers — where are people finding their real estate agents?

The following stats and characteristics were found from the 2017 NAR Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers Report:

• 42% of buyers first looked online while 17% contacted an agent first
• 86% of buyers used an agent or a broker, 7% directly from a builder or builder’s agent
• 42% of buyers used an agent referred by a friend, relative or neighbor
• 7 in 10 buyers interviewed only 1 agent
• 80% of buyers would use their agent again and recommend to others

The 2018 NAR Home Buyer and Seller Generational Report takes these stats a step further… (more…)

The LDW Music Festival is a series of family-friendly musical concerts to be held at the Lincoln Theatre this weekend. Show out for Latin Night on Saturday, September 1, and Go-Go Fusion for Sunday, September 2!

This event is free and open to the public. Click here to register.

Mayor Muriel Bowser launched 202Creates in September 2016 to amplify and celebrate DC’s creative culture.

What started as a September-only celebration has turned into a fast growing, year-round movement with no intention of slowing down.

By Immigration Attorney James O. Hacking, III, founder of Hacking Law Practice, LLC.

It was a move that Attorney General Jeff Sessions has been heavily criticized for, and will likely be heavily criticized for in the months to come. In his own interpretation of immigration law, Sessions has ordered that credible fear is no longer a valid reason for entry into the United States.

One primary example of credible fear is those leaving their home countries in fear of gang violence. The owner of a bus company in El Salvador was beaten in front of his child after denying a gang to use his bus for transportation of drugs and weapons. He was denied entry into the United States.

Another woman from Honduras was denied entry after stating that she had been verbally threatened over the phone by a gang member. Unfortunately, these are just two cases of the thousands that wait at the border trying to get to a better life for them and their families.

This is because the credible fear of gang violence, which was once considered a legitimate reason to allow immigrants into the United States, is no longer allowed. And, after Sessions’ decision, immigrant judges throughout the country are bound to the same law.

Not only do immigration judges have to disqualify threats of credible fear, but Sessions has also stated that border officials must make this part of the first interview questions immigrants face at the border. This would essentially disqualify most of them before their interview even gets started.

“It is not only reprehensible on moral grounds, it could be illegal,” states James O. Hacking, III of Hacking Law Practice, LLC. “According to international and domestic law, these claims do not need to be made at the border. And they are certainly not just reasons for keeping those looking for a safer, better life from entering our country.”

In the past, approximately 80 percent of people seeking entry into the country at the border have claimed credible fear as the reason for doing so. Now, those and more may be denied entry on those very grounds.

Unfortunately it will likely take weeks, and maybe even months, for a court challenge of this new law to be successful. In the meantime, thousands of people seeking refuge and a safe place could be affected.

By Personal Injury Attorney Matthew Tomkiel, partner of Tomkiel & Tomkiel.

Many Americans are aware that workplace accidents cost employers millions of dollars every year. But what might be surprising is that in 2015, the cost of those accidents cost employers throughout the country over $1 billion a week.

This number was released in Liberty Mutual’s Workplace Safety Index in May 2018. The index is a ranking of workplace injuries that are serious but non-fatal. The rankings are accumulated based on data from Liberty Mutual, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the National Academy of Social Insurance.

The good news for workers is that the cost of the most serious injuries decreased by 1.5 percent in 2015 from the year before. However, the cost of medical and low-wage costs increased by 2.9 percent.

This number shows that perhaps while serious injuries were less of an issue, more workers sustained less serious injuries and illnesses that kept them from being able to work in 2015.

Overexertion remained as the leading cause of workplace injuries for the fourth year in a row, with a total cost of $13.7 billion. Following overexertion the most common workplace injuries were falls on the same level, falls to a lower level, being struck by an object or equipment, and other types of exertions of bodily reactions.

These causes of workplace accidents collectively cost employers $26.6 billion for the year.

Roadway incidents with motorized land vehicles, slips or trips that did not result in a fall, being caught in equipment, being struck against equipment, and repetitive motions followed as the lowest-costing workplace injuries.

These top ten injuries were ranked in an identical order from the year before. These less common injuries cost $11.1 billion in worker’s compensation costs.

“The increased cost of workplace accidents shows the importance of both employers and employees understanding the main causes of workplace accidents,” says Matthew Tomkiel of Tomkiel & Tomkiel. “With this knowledge, everyone in the workplace can take measures to prevent more accidents from happening.”

Employers may be the most effective in reducing the costs of workplace accidents through better training, ensuring their equipment is up to date, and designing better, safer work spaces.