Well, Chicken Corner has been in Washington, DC for almost a week now, but bad news -- or the threat of it -- found its way to "the Corner" nonetheless. A friend of mine emailed that he had seen a cancellation of services notice posted onto the board of the Echo Park Lake Boathouse. For the paddle boats. After a half million dollars -- or more? -- of restoration to the boathouse, LA wants to cancel the paddle boats? One of the most wholesome and picturesque recreations it offers in a city park?

In response to my friend's inquiry, Kabira Stokes of the city wrote:

Rec and Parks made a unilateral decision to cancel the Pedal Boat operations as of July 1, effectively closing the Boathouse this summer. (The operations appear to not be financially sustainable.) We are reviewing this with the Council Member. We will do our best to keep the program from being canceled all together.

Maybe we should drain the lake and turn it into a parking lot.