Big Head DC has learned that some staffers at the Washington City Paper, unhappy with recent decisions to lay off employees, have taken to digging for dirt on Ben Eason, the new president of the paper. Eason, who took charge last summer, is rumored to be unpopular with many staffers, especially the editor-in-chief of the paper, Erik Wemple. It is believed that staffers want to tarnish Eason’s image in an attempt to get revenge on his recent decisions to streamline the publication. 

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Jessica Gould, a reporter with the Washington City Paper who gained infamy by stealing food from Whole Foods grocery store sample sections, has been let go from the publication, Big Head DC has learned. Several others were also let go in an effort to reduce costs. Ben Eason, the new president of the paper, talked to us in August about his vision for the paper. Editor Erik Wemple is said to be devastated by the forced cuts.

Earlier: Cab Driver Thought City Paper Staffer Was Offering $5 For a BJ?

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Washington City Paper editor Erik Wemple is just now breathlessly covering the plans for a new Apple store in Georgetown. Several outlets, including Big Head DC, covered this story two months ago. We normally wouldn’t make a fuss (or maybe we would), but Wemple is well-known for picking on other publications for much lesser mistakes. He deserves the scrutiny.

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Jason Cherkis, a Washington City Paper writer, has become quite the expert at exploring the bathrooms of Union Station as he’s grown more bold in experimenting with the art of cruising for sex. Sadly, though, his newly found expertise may have cost him a ride during yesterday’s first DC snowfall of the season.

As Cherkis explains in a blog post, he was late to work yesterday and didn’t have enough cash to pay the full price of a cab fare to make a meeting on time. So, he hailed a cab and asked the driver whether the last five bucks he had on him would be enough for a ride (City Paper staffers, you see, are notorious for their lack of on-hand money).

But no, it wasn’t. The cab driver would not give him a ride. And speculation is running rampant as to why. Joe Warminsky, a commenter on Cherkis’ blog offers this interesting suggestion: “Maybe the cabbie thought you were offering $5 for a BJ.”

Cherkis hasn’t confirmed whether that theory could be correct, but thankfully he says he made it to his meeting on time by jogging every other block.

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And it’s not pretty. City Paper staffer Jason Cherkis ended up labeling Jason Linkins, the writer of a DCist item about the death of footballer Sean Taylor as clichéd, and later called one of the commenters on his post a “pussy” for not using his last name in a comment. Regarding Linkins, this is one time we have to side with Cherkis. However, we don’t know at this point whether the commenter in question really is a “pussy.”

UPDATE: Linkins, a political writer for Huffington Post, adds fuel to the fire in this post.

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Wow. Big Head DC has just received word that several City Paper staffers have been asked by the Whole Foods grocery store chain to stop taking free samples from market displays, if they do not intend on purchasing any merchandise!

The grocer’s dramatic step was taken in response to a blog post penned last week by City Paper staffer Jessica Gould, which explained to readers how to effectually steal food from various Whole Food chains.

“To sample successfully at the P Street Whole Foods, you go straight to the bakery section and work your way to the front,” Gould wrote in the controversial post. “The bakery’s good for some fresh bread and, if you’re lucky, a bit of Mo’s Dipping Sauce. Then you head to the olive section where, without risking disapproval, you can sample as many olives as you like. Sometimes you even find a quartered quesadilla atop the prepared foods counter.Gould went on to add that her favorite food to sample is free cheese.

In an almost taunting manager, she also said that she’s “always appreciated the store’s lax sample policies.”

Whole Food managers across the city, we’ve learned, have received complaints about Gould’s tactics from customers who actually do purchase after feasting on food samples. Read more…

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How bad was the fallout from Wonkette editor Alex Pareene’s alleged affair with married lady Ally Zay (aka Ally Kearney)? Well, as it turns out, pretty bad. Bad enough to maybe have even caused him to give up his job at the D.C.-based Wonkette to now work for Gawker’s NYC-based flagship publication instead.

Over the past few days several of Pareene and Kearney’s former pals have contacted Big Head DC to shed more light on their affair, which occurred while Kearney was still married to a D.C.-based lad named Tom Millar. The couple was married in April 2005, and met on ilxor.com.

“This is stressing Tom the fuck out,” one of Kearney’s acquaintances who asked to remain anonymous out of respect to Millar, told us. “This is the second time that she’s cheated on him, but the first since they’ve been married…. He doesn’t deserve this. ”

Pareene and Millar, we’ve learned, were friends at one point, but that changed once Pareene started cavorting rather closely with Kearney in recent months. During one particularly egregious rendezvous, Kearney invited Pareene to a party thrown in Millar’s honor. Eventually, Kearney and Pareene made out at the party, and Millar ended up catching them.

Kearney, when questioned by Big Head DC, did not deny the affair, but said that she didn’t want to discuss the situation any further with a competitor of Wonkette. She did, however, discuss her relationship with Angela Valdez, a reporter with the Washington City Paper, on Sept. 19, after she and Pareene were robbed. That article, we’ve learned, was one of the ways Millar confirmed that his wife had continued cheating on him with Pareene.

Pareene, who has detailed the private lives of many Washingtonians during his tenure at Wonkette, has not responded to repeated requests for comment, but some acquaintances are saying that he’s denied knowing Kearney was married to Millar. Not everyone is convinced, though. “Any nonsense about Alex not knowing about it is utter bullshit,” said another former friend. “He’s been to their house, he’s seen the wedding pictures…she wears a fucking rock on her left hand, or at least she did.” Read more…

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The Corrupt 1, a D.C. government whistle blower blog, has some harsh words for City Paper’s Mike DeBonis, saying, “We are beginning to wonder if the Weight Watcher’s poster boy Mike DeBonis has committed some foul to wipe out a competitor.” And they go on:

1. Mike DeBonis is a fat slob who can’t control his eating;

2. Mike DeBonis is a heavy drinker and a bad joke teller; and

3. Mike DeBonis still keeps a picture of Rock Hudson on his night table.

How the blog gets its info is beyond us, but we’re intrigued nonetheless.

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We hear that Jason Cherkis, a writer for the Washington City Paper, really got down and dirty for his latest controversial article about sex in the Union Station bathrooms. According to a Big Head DC tipster, police were summoned to the stalls after receiving several reports of a suspicious young gentlemen tapping his toes and trying to attract the attention of potty patrons. Whether Cherkis actually engaged in a sex act has yet to be determined.

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From what we hear Kriston Capps, an arts writer based in DC, is pretty much an all-around nice guy. Still, we gave you the chance to judge one of the scandalous female winners of FishbowlDC’s annual “Hottest Media Types” contest earlier today, so it wouldn’t be fair not to put Capps through the ringer. And! He sometimes contributes to the City Paper, which in itself is enough to deserve a little scrutiny, dontcha think?

Earlier: Jossip Calls Catherine Andrews “Awkward Claire Danes”

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