There has been plenty to fret about this year for Mayor Vince Gray. But today he may well take a break and enjoy a little celebration, as he turns 69. more ›

Sometimes we like to give the folks over at WAMU a little friendly stick, but let's be honest: it's a very rare day when we aren't given a shot in the arm via the fine programming that comes out of Tenleytown. more ›

Thousands turned up at Yards Park for games, food trucks, giveaways and speeches about the success of Capital Bikeshare's first year yesterday. more ›

On this day last year, District officials launched Capital Bikeshare, an initiative premised on an elementary concept -- people sharing bikes. more ›

Seven young lions at the National Zoo celebrated their first birthdays today the only way they knew how -- by chewing through a 50-pound birthday cake made of ice, two cow femurs, five pounds of shaved beef, and a half-gallon of cow blood. more ›

You know when you start getting old enough that you forget your own birthday? Yeah, that happened to us this week. more ›

That's right, the District's long-serving congressional Delegate turns 74 today. In lieu of cake, we thought we'd share one of our favorite moments in basic cable history -- Norton's appearance on the July 27, 2006 episode of The Colbert Report, in which she tried to explain the District's unique condition to the titular anchorman. more ›

February 6, 2011 marks what would have been Ronald Reagan's 100th birthday -- and while there's plenty of national chatter about celebrations of the Gipper's centennial, some legislators in Maryland apparently want to bring it closer to home. According to P.J. Orvetti, seven of the state's senators have proposed legislation which would make February 6 "Ronald Reagan Day" in the state, an occasion on which Maryland residents would be urged "to observe Ronald Reagan Day in a proper manner." more ›

It's not like we're approaching Methuselahan standards around here, but it is DCist's sixth birthday today. On September 7, 2004, founding editors Rob Goodspeed and Mike Grass made things official and went live with the fifth city site in the Gothamist network -- and what begun as a humble operation with five bloggers has blossomed into a full-time operation which features the work of nearly 40 contributors and photographers. more ›

Though it certainly has it's issues (just scroll one post down), it'd be downright silly to deny the influence that Metrorail has on all of our lives. Just like the Post and the Redskins, most every Washingtonian has an opinion about Metrorail. So as an entity that's undeniably part of our regional identity, warts and all, we gladly wish Metrorail a happy 34th birthday today. On this day in 1976, WMATA opened the first segment of the Red Line, a 4.2-mile stretch that ran between Rhode Island Avenue and Farragut North stations. A poster on the railroad.net message boards has some most excellent vintage photography from the ribbon cutting and the first trip down the line. (It's refreshing to see that the cars were just as crowded on the first day of operation as they are now.) Here's to another 34 years of Metrorail. more ›

Tomorrow is Gilbert Arenas's 28th birthday, so in addition to continuing to post a stream of insane updates to his Twitter account that attempt to play off his gun controversy as a big joke (though in fairness, the last message on the subject -- "no im not going to jail i didnt do what they keep writing but stay away from guns..i was wrong for puttn them in my locker" -- makes it seem like Gil is finally taking this thing a little more seriously), the Wizards player is back to posting comedy videos. This time it's a very special birthday episode of the Agent Zero Show, complete with rapping dolls posed in suggestive ways. Probably more or less safe for work, but proceed with some caution. more ›

There is one way to make sure all your friends show up for your tedious re-election fundraiser: Host it on your birthday, the way Mayor Adrian Fenty celebrated his 39th. While the strategy may add to the campaign coffers and speed through the birthday cake, it's kind of a scumbag move. Friends would be right to protest, or at least to mutter under their breaths while they're signing yet another supportive check. Particularly when Mayor Fenty's invitation whines about how he should have a totally awesome mansion but doesn't. more ›

Got nothin' to do tomorrow afternoon? Stop by Mayor Adrian Fenty's birthday bash/campaign fundraiser for what's sure to be -- if recent polls are any indication -- a somewhat more sober affair than originally planned. more ›

The National Zoo once again rolled out the fanfare for superstar giant panda Tai Shan this morning, as D.C.'s favorite ball of fur (and stick of butter) turned 4. Now a teenager in "bear years," the panda dug into a three-tiered, frozen "cake" made out of water, beet juice, bamboo and fruit that was prepared by Zoo staff. Crowds of onlookers were on hand early this morning to watch the panda dig in to his treat and wish him a happy birthday. more ›

It's a big week of historical birthdays around the nation, but we'd be remiss if we failed to wish one of the D.C. area's more legendary figures a happy 191st. That said, we're blowing out candles today for Frederick Douglass, "the Lion of Anacostia." Abolitionist, ambassador, author, and an all-around American patriot, Douglass is believed to have been born on this date in 1818 in nearby Talbot County, Maryland -- though he became synonymous with the District after moving to the city in 1872, the same year in which he became the first African-American to run for the office of Vice President. The most visible local shrine to Douglass is likely his home in Cedar Hill, where he moved in 1877 and which is now known as the Frederick Douglass National Historic Site. more ›

It was three years ago today that the National Zoo welcomed Tai Shan into the world. We fell in love immediately with the little fella, whom we named after the first press release deemed him the "size of a stick of butter." The Zoo later officially gave him a different name (despite our best efforts otherwise). more ›