Three of the four Advisory Neighborhood Commissions charged with commenting on proposed medical marijuana dispensaries gave their approval to the sites over the last two weeks, moving the city's nascent program away from the pitched battles that took place over where cultivation centers should be located. more ›

William Shelton, a former Ward 5 ANC commissioner who spent $28,000 of city funds on himself, was sentenced today to 30 days in jail and 150 days of home confinement, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney for D.C. more ›

A recall vote of a Ward 4 ANC commissioner yesterday ended without resolution, as enough absentee and special ballots had yet to be counted before pro-recall forces could claim victory. more ›

The amount stolen may be lower, but the crime and provenance of the elected official committing it is the same. more ›

Seven applications for licenses to run medical marijuana cultivation centers have been given initial approval by the District and have been sent to ANCs for their input. more ›

A Ward 5 ANC is getting back some of the money that was stolen from it by a member earlier this year. more ›

As the city awards licenses for the cultivation centers and dispensaries that will form the backbone of the District's medical marijuana program, it'll have to contend with residents that are unhappy with where they end up. more ›

Good morning, Washington. DCist heard from a tipster Thursday night that "several hundred" people were planning to converge on McPherson Square Saturday morning for a sister protest to New York’s "Occupy Wall Street." NBC Washington reports that at the height of participation Saturday, the group called "Occupy DC" amounted to about 40 to 50 people whose protests were often drowned out by a women’s percussion practice across the square. more ›

Bars, restaurants, clubs, and taverns tend to be pioneers when it comes to improving a neighborhood -- throughout the District, it's often bar-owners that have aggressively moved into areas ahead of the broader rush. But when are there too many bars for a neighborhood's own good? That's what residents along the blossoming H Street NE will soon be debating. more ›

What's going on in Ward 5? First, the ward's Councilmember, Harry Thomas, Jr., was sued by the city for misusing hundreds of thousands of dollars in city funds. Now, one of the ward's Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners is accused of inappropriately using $27,000 in city money. more ›

Last night, ANC 6C01 Commissioner Keith Silver was arrested by Capitol Police during a march and demonstration outside various Congressional office buildings. more ›

We learned back in December that the District broke the 600,000 resident barrier in the 2010 U.S. Census -- the first time the District had seen a growth in population in the decennial count since 1950. But today comes the real beef of the survey: this afternoon, the Census Bureau released all the information about the head count at the Census tract level, giving us an intricate view of what areas in the city are growing and which aren't. more ›

As far as drama goes, things appear to be pretty calm at most polling places so far today. But Nikki Peele, who pens the Congress Heights on the Rise blog under the pseudonym The Advoc8te, went to the polls this morning to cast her vote and found one of the District's local leaders making a scene. Peele writes that when she arrived at Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School at 3200 6th Street SE to vote, she noticed ANC 8C03 Commissioner Mary Cuthbert supporting Vince Gray, in total defiance of the "no electioneering" zone. Peele also reports that Cuthbert -- who, if you remember, called one of the challengers running for her ANC position the n-word last month -- was adamant that she was in compliance with the law because she was still 50 feet away from the door of the polling place, regardless of where the sign was placed. Police eventually got involved and it looks like cooler heads prevailed. I guess it's your move, Kathy Henderson. more ›

The D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics tweeted today that a week into the Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) nominating process, 156 people have picked up petitions to get on the November ballot. As we reported last week, being elected to an ANC spot isn't very tough -- you just need 25 signatures to get on the ballot, and once you're on there, it's a safe bet that you won't face any competition. more ›

Our own Martin Austermuhle penned an optimistic post last week about the potential of Advisory Neighborhood Commissions, and how, despite a few bad apples, they can be utilized as a positive force for Washington's citizens to have their voice heard. Sure, there are several examples of crazy ANC commissioners and meetings, but on the whole, they normally provide a way for Washingtonians to better understand the intricacies of their government and stay on top in neighborhood affairs. That said, a commissioner muttering racial epithets at the challenger for her seat is a fine way to sully the reputation of the other good people who hold the title. more ›

If you're feeling like you'd like to get more involved in local affairs, but aren't sure how, fear not -- a mere 25 signatures stand between you and a campaign for elected office. more ›

A Bloomingdale blog has republished emails exchanged between ANC Commissioner Gigi Ransom, Big Bear Cafe owner Stu Davenport and blogger Tom Bridge which really give some insight into what kind of mess can result when a small business in D.C. wants to expand in the face of community opposition. more ›

We finally got our hands on a copy of the unanimous resolution made by Advisory Neighborhood Commission 5C last night, opposing Big Bear Cafe's application for a liquor license. The resolution is damning, stating not only the body's opposition to the Cafe's license application, but also that the popular coffeeshop has "been in operation illegally since 2007" due to zoning violations. The body claims that the Cafe "held events...which included alcoholic beverage service without a full or temporary ABC issued liquor license" as one of the myriad reasons that they voted against supporting the application. The ANC also placed restrictions on any voluntary agreement that might be fostered between owner Stu Davenport and the community: mandated closing hours of 10 p.m. on weekdays and 11 p.m. on weekends, extra soundproofing, and a seven-day written notice to all "immediately impacted residents" for any event planned at the Cafe. more ›

We've already had numerous looks at the Real World D.C. house, but MTV just today got around to actually confirming that an upcoming season of the long running reality show will in fact be based in Washington in the house in Dupont Circle. more ›

We mentioned this briefly over the weekend, but it's worth looking into -- there have been various reports and rumors that portions of Columbia Heights were going to be renamed Tivoli North (or sometimes Tivoli Heights) after the theater located at 14th and Park Road. The name change (or invention) infuriated many, but then it turns out to have been blown out of proportion. more ›

Local blog 14th & You has been doing a pretty good job of keeping tabs on the conflict between nightclub The Space and ANC2F, as any quality neighborhood blog would do. But proceedings between the two took an interesting twist when, during the ANC's monthly meeting last week, the proprietors of the much-maligned hotspot at 9th and N Streets used a comment from 14th & You's post on the subject to solidify their club's case. more ›