The Anacostia River is the District's most often forgotten and overlooked river. Beyond being smaller than the Potomac River it eventually joins forces with, it is significantly more polluted and has been more often associated with the demographic divisions in the District. Still, one man sees the upsides of it on a daily basis. more ›

Good morning, Washington. The D.C. Snow Team did a dry run Friday to give plow drivers a chance to “practice their skills.” It’s unclear yet to what extent they’ll have to use them, but there’s no harm in fine tuning their operation for this rare October storm. From my perch in Northeast I see only puddles, but meteorologists throughout the region tell us that snow has already begun falling in some spots north and west of D.C. more ›

Good morning, Washington. Just as the weekend kicked off, the jobless numbers rolled in, and the District did not fare well. According to a Labor Department report released Friday, unemployment rose in D.C. to 11.1 percent in August. That’s up from 10.8 percent in July. Estimates put the total number of jobs lost in August around 15,000, and about 13,700 were lost in the public sector. more ›

Remember all that hubbub about a shiny, black substance which was found in the Anacostia River in mid-August? Well, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, it was definitely just algae. more ›

First, there was an oil spill in the Anacostia. Then, there wasn't. Now, authorities are saying that there's definitely something which is making the river shine, but they aren't really sure what it is. more ›

The Anacostia River is dirty. We all kind of knew that already, but that assessment has officially been confirmed by U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth. more ›

It's been well documented that the Anacostia River is not in the best health. So what better way to protest the government's lack of attention to the waterway than by hopping into it with a hazmat suit on? more ›

The Anacostia River is in bad shape. Not that it's stopping people from eating catfish they catch in its waters! more ›

UPDATE (2:30 p.m.): The AP has expanded on their original wire dispatch, including some more detail on the number of bags used in D.C. last year. Jessica Gresko reports that the city used approximately 55 million bags in 2010, which is still an incredible decrease from the 270 million bags a year Washington shoppers were using before the tax's introduction. more ›

But that's the point, of course. The Examiner reports today that the bag tax will fall short in creating the revenue it was expected to. Projections had the tax producing four million dollars for cleanup efforts by the end of the fiscal year on September 30, but the program has only brought in about $1.5 million so far. Of course, the pure numbers overlook the fact that the whole point of the bill was to eliminate the tax base -- that is, the number of people who have to pay five cents for plastic bags at stores. Obviously, the District government had doubts that the tax would actually do what it was designed to do, at least so quickly. more ›

A woman veered off the road on the South Capitol Street Bridge earlier this afternoon, plunging her SUV into the water below. According to ABC 7 (via TBD), some brave construction workers who were on a nearby boat saw the vehicle fall into the water and jumped in. They tried to break the windows of the car, but couldn't do so before the SUV sank. The woman was eventually spotted floating in the river, conscious but obviously shaken up. Police are still deciding whether or not to haul the SUV out of the river or not; exactly why the woman veered off the bridge is also under investigation. more ›

Much like the now three-year-old ban on smoking in District bars and restaurants, the five-cent disposable bag fee that took effect in January garnered initial controversy, but is already on its way to being just another part of living in the city. But how effective has the fee been? Very, it seems. more ›

The city hosted a media event earlier this week to hype the impending start of construction on the 11th Street Bridge Project. Workers are set to start pile driving in the Anacostia River for the foundations of three new bridges - one for local and two for freeway traffic - that together add up to a massive, $300 million project, which you can read tons more about here. more ›

» D.C. officials are going to wire a Wii, a cable box, a TiVo, and a router underneath the 11th Street bridges where they cross the Anacostia River -- or so the picture that accompanies this ABC 7 story makes it appear. more ›

We noted over the weekend that a CSX train had pushed an empty, parked car into the Anacostia River, but it took us a minute to realize that this report of a car ending up in the river was actually a second, totally different incident. The Post reports that at just before 1 a.m. on Sunday, two people were in a small car when it somehow ended up in the water, near Half Street SW. One person exited the vehicle on their own after the crash, and rescuers safely removed the second. They were both taken to a hospital with serious but not life-threatening injuries. Let's hope nothing else provokes the Anacostia's raging waters this week! more ›

A vehicle which had parked on train tracks was pushed into the Anacostia River by a CSX locomotive in Southeast Washington early this morning. The incident occurred on the 1900 block of M Street SE -- the street runs parallel to the rail tracks, but stops short of crossing the river. Around 5:45 a.m., the vehicle was struck by an outbound freight train and nudged off the bridge, coming to rest in about 1-2 feet of water as the train derailed. Police and fire department investigators found no signs of fuel spillage into the river. Additionally, the car was unoccupied and no one was seriously injured. The accident location is in close proximity to the Seafarers Boat Club at 1950 M Street SE, but there's no word yet as to why the individual decided to park their car on the train tracks. more ›

Before getting started on crime bill debate, the D.C. Council went ahead and passed the Anacostia River Clean Up and Protection Act on a second reading earlier today, sending the legislation to Mayor Fenty for his signature. The first vote took place just two weeks ago; both votes were unanimous. The key feature of the law is a new 5 cent fee on consumers per paper or plastic carryout bag taken from District retailers. If all goes according to plan, and there's no reason at this point to think it won't, the five cent fees would be in place by January, 2010, so you've got roughly six months to get used to carrying around your own reusable bags. more ›

Stock up on your canvas bags, everybody. The Washington Times has its story up already: the D.C. Council voted unanimously just a little while ago to give initial approval to the Anacostia River Clean Up and Protection Act of 2009, which among other things enacts a 5 cent fee on consumers per paper or plastic carryout bag taken from District retailers - retailers get to keep one cent of the fee, with the other four cents going toward Anacostia River cleanup. The bill also bans the use of non-recyclable disposable plastic carryout bags by retailers. more ›

Good morning, D.C. The federal government is observing Veteran's Day today, which means Washington is much quieter than normal this morning. The chilly, wet weather certainly isn't helping make the work day, for those of us who are at our desks, any more inviting. Keep in mind that post offices, banks, schools and local government offices are closed for the day as well. Coal Train Clean-up Continues: Workers are still out cleaning up the site... more ›

The Associated Press is reporting that seven cars of a freight train have derailed over the Anacostia River. No injuries have been reported. Six of the seven cars are in the river, and another is hanging off the trestle. Coal and some hydraulic fluid and oil ended up in the river, but the fire department says it's been contained. We'll update again when we learn more. UPDATE 4:45 p.m. Thanks to an anonymous reader... more ›

>> The District's poverty rate is the highest in nearly a decade, and the employment rate for African American adults is at a 20-year low. [WaPo] >> ACK! OMG! The Hair! The Hair! Blood on the Hair! [Princess Sparklepony] >> bam! smack!@ Pow! [craigslist] >> WASA says it has repaired the two holes that were leaking raw sewage into the Anacostia River. [WaPo] >> Adam Clampitt has filed papers to run as an independent... more ›

The Anacostia River, which has been blamed for altering the gender of fish and producing a funky smell, just got funkier. The Post is reporting that raw sewage is flowing into the Anacostia River from a leak in a major sewer line that carries untreated waste from a pumping station in Southeast Washington, D.C. Thanks, WASA! The cause and size of the leak was not immediately known, and WASA's chief engineer claimed it was the... more ›

Morning, Washington. We hope you were out enjoying the fantastic weather, especially since the environment has been front and center in the news this weekend. As you must have heard, our former Vice President turned Global Warming Guru had to shove over the Oscar on his mantle to make space for half of a Nobel Peace Prize. Maybe after the news you were inspired to go check out the 20 amazing houses built on the... more ›

Former Editor-in-Chief Ryan Avent writes a weekly column about neighborhood and development issues. The Washington Highlands neighborhood of the District of Columbia is terra incognita for many Washingtonians. Tucked up against the District’s southeastern border with Maryland’s Prince George’s County, the area is walled off from the rest of the city by Oxon Run Park, the Anacostia Freeway, Bolling Air Force Base, and the Anacostia River, not to mention the yawning gap between its economic... more ›

Tom Knott: Once again, Tom Knott has managed to take what seems to be an isolated incident and turn it into evidence that liberalism of any sort is just evil. This week, Knott recounts the badly-handled trial of a Liberian immigrant accused of raping a seven-year-old girl in Montgomery County. Due to some bad decision by the trial judge, the charges were eventually dropped, though the county has stated that it will appeal. Regardless, it's... more ›

After two long months of being shut completely for a major overhaul, the Frederick Douglass Bridge, aka the South Capitol Street Bridge, finally reopened to commuters this morning. DDOT actually reopened the Anacostia River crossing one week ahead of schedule overnight. When was the last time you remember a major construction project being finished early? Overall, it looks like the strategy to close the bridge completely, despite its inconveniences, was a good one. By... more ›

We kid. Kind of. According to the Washington Business Journal, the Uline Ice Arena and the surrounding area may be the next frontier in development in the District. The arena, which is just north of Union Station and hosted the first Beatles concert in the U.S. in 1964, is being looked at by developer Douglas Jemal as the anchor for a new entertainment district along the lines of the popular East End/Verizon Center area. While... more ›

Coming in on the closing days for the Nats at RFK, everyone seems to be bracing for what the new stadium in Southeast and the surrounding area will have to offer. As the Post detailed earlier this week, huge chunks of land in Southeast and Southwest are slated for development, creating the potential of a new and vibrant Anacostia River waterfront in the coming years -- much of it centered around the $611 million stadium.... more ›