Mayor Adrian Fenty this morning formally nominated Peter Nickles to be the District's permanent Attorney General. The move was widely expected; Fenty had been visibly lobbying D.C. Council members on behalf of Nickles, who has been serving as interim AG for almost six months, and the Post called it official on Tuesday. “Peter Nickles has done a fantastic job for the residents of the District in his interim capacity,” said Mayor Fenty. “In just a......

Good morning, Washington. Supporters of Gov. Mike Huckabee and Sen. Barack Obama are riding high off their caucus victories in Iowa last night, but locally, D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty continues to suffer some bumps in the road after one year in office. Just weeks after the resignation of Attorney General Linda Singer, Fenty's former deputy chief of staff, Neil Richardson, has also resigned. Richardson, who was a key Fenty aide during his mayoral campaign, had......

As we mentioned at the end of the day yesterday, Acting D.C. Attorney General Peter Nickles has fired Alan Morrison, the lawyer who had been preparing to defend the District's handgun ban before the Supreme Court in March. The timing of this move leads to all manner of questions about how seriously the Fenty administration actually takes this Supreme Court case, and whether the Mayor and the Acting AG are capable of putting important legal......

Good morning, Washington. With a new year less than 24 hours away and an improbable playoff berth for the Redskins suddenly a reality, we frankly expect you to have been skipping in to your offices today, in a total and joyous rapture. Even if you've had to work straight through the holidays this year, we will tolerate no whining on this, or really any other matter, on this particular New Year's Eve. There will be......

Good morning, Washington. With the Christmas holiday looming, things are slowing down in workplaces around the region. Well, most workplaces, anyway — D.C.'s firefighters seem to be keeping plenty busy. Yesterday, of course, there was the fire at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. Since then there's been a two alarm fire at the Chinatown Red Roof Inn, and this impressive gathering of firefighters just south of Logan around 6 p.m. last night. Here's hoping......

It looks like Virginia's gunnin' for a fight -- pun intended. According to WTOP, Virginia has filed a brief in the Supreme Court challenging the District's gun ban, joining a number of states that are picking sides in what may be a historic decision on the reach of the Second Amendment. The case, which will be heard in March, could have a wide-reaching effect on gun laws and regulations nationwide. According to Virginia Attorney......

Big news from the Washington Post: D.C. Attorney General Linda Singer has resigned after less than a year on the job. Singer tendered her resignation this morning, having reportedly been frustrated for months with her role in the Fenty administration. Fenty has been relying more heavily on General Counsel Peter Nickles, whom the mayor has apparently now named as the interim attorney general. The timing of Singer's departure, just months before Supreme Court arguments are......

A happy Friday to you, Washington. Hopefully you all made it in to work on time despite Metro having reduced the speed of their rail cars in several areas this morning. Speed restrictions were in place until 8:10 a.m. along portions of the Orange line in Maryland and Virginia, the Red line from Union Station to Silver Spring and from Shady Grove to Grosvenor, and the Green line from Branch Avenue to Congress Heights......

The Supreme Court has announced that it will take on Heller v. District of Columbia, the D.C. handgun case, and decide whether our city's ban on handguns violates the Constitution. The Court will likely hear the case sometime in March, with a decision to come later in the session. The case will mark the first time the Court has taken up the meaning of the Second Amendment in almost 70 years, and the decision could......

...ummm, nothing yet. According to the Associated Press, the Supreme Court failed to reach a decision on whether or not to hear a case related to the District's gun laws. Though a verdict from last week's conference discussion was possible today, it seems that the nine justices haven't yet decided if they want to take the case, which stems from a March decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District Circuit that ruled......

Good morning, Washington. If you're the kind of person who delights in reading angry product reviews on consumer web sites, head over here and read some of the comments about the Presidential Inn on New York Ave. Highlights include "I have never been so disgusted with a place in all my life," "I can't even believe that it is running legally," and, tellingly, "upon my departure I noticed small red bumps all over my body."......

>> Payday lending reform legislation passes in the D.C. Council, Ward 8 Council member Marion Barry's bizarre change of heart on the matter notwithstanding. [City Desk] >> It's likely that the Texas State Bar is probing the professional conduct of former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. [Huffington Post] >> A water main break at Third Street and Constitution Avenue NW this morning caused U.S. District and D.C. Superior courts to be shut down all day, but......

Mayor Adrian Fenty has announced the city has formally filed an appeal to the Supreme Court in the hopes that it will overturn a March decision in which a lower court found that the District's ban on handguns was unconstitutional. Though the appeal has been a month in the making, Fenty and D.C. Attorney General Linda Singer today explained their reasoning in an op-ed published in the Post. In it, they reject the individual right......

Good morning, Washington, and welcome to September. After what was quite possibly the most beautiful weekend in the history of late summer weather in this city, we've finally arrived at the date many of us still associate with "back-to-school" -- the Tuesday after Labor Day. So sharpen your pencils, polish your lunchbox and make sure you have the right Trapper Keeper as we check out today's headlines. At Least Four Weekend Killings: The Examiner......

Today tens of thousands of District children return to school, leaving behind the late-morning starts, extended curfews and breaks at the public swimming pool that summer afforded them. And though the year will proceed as it usually does, they will be part of a school system that has seen drastic changes over the last few months. Now under mayoral control and led by new chancellor Michelle Rhee, the District's public schools have entered a new......

In the case of Marion Barry vs. "The Enemies of the People," Barry, it seems, always comes out on top. The "Mayor for Life" has been cleared of the last of his traffic charges after the D.C. attorney general's office filed court papers electing not to go forward. The Ward 8 Council member was pulled over by U.S. Park Police for driving too slowly on Dec. 16. In June, Barry was acquitted of driving under......

Sitting at your desk, bored, thinking it's high time to find a new job? Mayor Fenty is hosting a Citywide Job Fair at the Washington Convention Center today, and you've still got a few more hours to stop by before it closes up shop at 4 p.m. Head over with a stack of resumes, and apply for D.C. city government jobs like these: >> Paralegal Specialist in the Office of the D.C. Attorney General >>......

Good Friday to you, Washington. Are you getting psyched for the weekend already? No? Did we mention how nice the weather's going to be yet? Predictions are for mostly sunny skies and low humidity levels on Saturday with below-normal high temperatures in the low 80s and overnight lows sinking down to, get this, the low 60s. It's like Christmas in August! District Plagued By Lead Concerns: It's sure starting to feel like we're having......

Good morning, Washington. It's just a gorgeous day outside right now, with temperatures currently in the 70s and only predicted to reach the upper 80s later this afternoon, which is about the best we can hope for in mid-August. Please make plans to eat your lunch outside accordingly, as this surely won't last through the week. Need a good story to gab about with your officemates as you head out into the sunshine? A......

It sounded just like the political intrigue that makes for a good scandal. While running for office, a candidate for the D.C. Council accepted reduced rent for her campaign office from a local developer and allowed an unregistered political action committee to funnel money from developers to her campaign's coffers -- up to and beyond $100,000, in fact. The only problem? None of it seems to be true. The Post is reporting today that D.C.......

This morning Mayor Adrian Fenty announced that he would appeal a March ruling that found that the District's handgun law was unconstitutional to the U.S. Supreme Court. His decision sets up the first major battle in decades over whether the Second Amendment confers an individual or collective right to own a handgun. Moreover, it could have a profound effect on gun regulations across the country should the Supreme Court side with the lower court. The......

At a hearing before the Public Services and Consumer Affairs Committee yesterday, the D.C. Council heard testimony both for and against the so-called payday loan industry, which has often been criticized for predatory lending practices. The businesses market themselves as a way for lower income individuals who don't qualify for credit or a bank loan to get emergency cash. The industry's opponents charge that payday loans prey on our society's most vulnerable people by charging......

The D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics changed its tune yesterday and reversed an earlier decision by stating that Mayor Adrian M. Fenty's school takeover plan cannot be the subject of a referendum. Once again, it comes down to the Home Rule Charter: attorneys for the election board said in papers filed yesterday that because Congress and President Bush have approved an amendment to the city's Home Rule Charter that gives the mayor direct control......

In their coverage of the Capital Pride Festival, which kicked off yesterday and will culminate in a parade and street festival this weekend, the Post gives an account of a town hall meeting on GLBT issues last night at Studio Theatre where Council member Jim Graham (D-Ward 1) said he plans to introduce a bill legalizing gay marriage in the District within the next two years. Graham appeared on the panel with several other openly......

It was a big day Friday for Mayor Adrian Fenty's school takeover plan. For one, President Bush finally signed the bill into law which will give Fenty direct control over D.C. Schools. Fenty will need to wait until June 12 to assume full authority thanks to congressional review rules, but in the meantime, he is launching an extensive audit of the school system today to track down areas of financial waste and mismanagement. The audit......

Welcome to June, Washington. Also welcome to the end, at last, of your short post-holiday work week. We do hope it wasn't too painful. Even if it was, the good news is that it's going to be relatively pleasant, if a touch on the hot and humid side, most of the weekend. So spend some time sitting on your front stoop sipping iced tea. Just remember to slather on the sunblock, and of course, invite......

It looks like Senate Republicans really don't want today's scheduled Senate Judiciary Committee hearing to happen as planned. DCVote spokesperson Kevin Kiger tells us that Republicans have tried to invoke the 2-hour Rule, which would cut off committee action two hours after the Senate started work for the day. We've got our browsers set to the live webcast of the hearing, set to begin at 1:30 p.m., at which point we'll know whether Sen. Russ......

After passing the House and getting a hearing in the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee last week, The D.C. Voting Rights Act moves to the Senate Judiciary Committee tomorrow. The committee has scheduled a full hearing on Wednesday called “Ending Taxation Without Representation: The Constitutionality of S.1257,” which will address, natch, the constitutionality of the bill. Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, is a supporter of......

Hey, Washington, how are ya? If you like hot weather and uninterrupted sunshine (and who doesn't) you're sure to enjoy this fine Tuesday. If instead you're not savoring the thought of arriving at work covered in a fine sheen of sweat, think twice about cutting out your walk by hopping in the car. Gas prices hit a new high yesterday, with the cost of a gallon over $3.00. Are there any good deals at......

Hey there, District. We'll admit, we woke up a little on the grumpy side this morning when we looked out the window and remembered we're supposed to have thunderstorms and sporadic showers for the next 72 hours. But those frowns turned upside down when we took a look at the ten-day forecast and realized that what the weather gods aren't asking for much patience -- after today, we can expect average to above-average temperatures......