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 been moved out of Fenty's "bullpen" in October and placed in an office called Serve DC, where he was tasked with creating a volunteer program to help the school system. Yesterday Richardson decided that the demotion, which came, according to the Post, after Richardson complained to the mayor that he was not listening enough to the public on key decisions, wasn't worth sticking around for, and tendered his resignation. WTOP has excerpts from Richardson's resignation letter, which reiterates complaints heard from others about Fenty's dictatorial governing style. more ›

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 proceedings above personal disagreements. more ›

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 only good cheer and winning humor today. Got that, D.C.? That is all. more ›

Big news from the Washington Post: D.C. Attorney General Linda Singer has resigned after less than a year on the job. more ›

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... more ›

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... more ›

...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... more ›

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."... more ›

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... more ›

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... more ›

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... more ›

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... more ›

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... more ›

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... more ›

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... more ›

Mayor Adrian Fenty's plan to take personal control of D.C. Public Schools took one important step forward today, and may yet take another. In a 9-2 vote that took the proposal out of committee, the Washington Post reports the Council gave the takeover its first official blessing, paving the way for a first reading vote that could still happen in an extended session today. The committee vote took place after Lisa Comfort Bradford, a candidate... more ›

It may be cold and rainy, but there's still plenty of reasons to smile on this fine Friday morning. Maryland and Georgetown won, VCU triumphed over Duke in one of those only-in-March exciting final two minutes, and ... oooh, right. Sorry about that GWU. Ouch. How are your brackets doing this morning, Washington? More of course will be coming later from our crack team of sportsologists. Voting Rights That Much Closer: DCist already reported on... more ›

Fear not, minors -- a ban on all-ages shows probably won't come to pass. But things may get a little stricter in the months to come. According to both the Post and the Examiner, a hearing yesterday on all-ages clubs in the wake of last weekend's killing of 17-year-old Taleshia Ford provoked heated opinions from both parents and District music fans. On the one side, concerned parents argued that minors can too easily get into... more ›

Batten down the hatches, Washington. Proving that no good spell of weather goes unpunished, we've now got some major storms headed our way. Two separate storm lines, to be precise, are barreling down on the metro area as we speak, the first having just begun, and the second, more powerful system, expected between noon and 5 p.m. With winds at 30 mph, we'd suggest upgrading your umbrella to something more than cheap and crappy. District... more ›