THURSDAY: Happy New Year! Jerrold M. Post will be at Politics and Prose to read from his latest book, The Mind of the Terrorist. Is there a more depressing way to start the new year than discussing the psychology of terrorism? Only in Washington. 7 p.m. Cultural historian Jane Rhodes will be at the Olsson's in Penn Quarter to read from Framing the Black Panthers: The Spectacular Rise of a Black Power Icon. 7 p.m.......

A new report from the Brookings Institution shows that the D.C. metro area has the most “walkable places” per capita of any American city -- one for every 264,000 people, beating out even New York City for walkability. Visiting Fellow Christopher B. Leinberger says that the Washington region could serve as the model for the direction the country’s other metro areas are heading over the next generation. The Associated Press already picked up on the......

On Friday, I attended the Nationals game against the visiting Cubs, where the transfer of ownership from MLB to Ted Lerner had prompted a "reopening" of the old park, complete with red carpets, giveaways, and marching bands. The celebration drew an announced crowd of about 35,000, slightly more than the amount by which the Census Bureau revised the District's population upward on Saturday, according to the Washington Post. That stadium-full (nearly—still 10k short of filling......

According to word we have just received, the flat tax that Senator Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) is hoping to force upon the District is receiving a second round of debate and consideration today. The District of Columbia Subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee, which he chairs, has scheduled a hearing today to dicuss his flat tax proposal, and it will be receiving testimony from District CFO Natwar Gandhi, Brookings Institution scholar Alice Rivlin, and Terence Golden......

Immigration News: The Post reports that yesterday thousands gathered outside the Capitol building to protest legislation that could potentially authorize prosecution of social service workers, doctors, and others who assist illegal immigrants. A protest spokesperson estimated that 20,000 people showed up to the rally. The original House bill was sponsored by Representatives from Wisconsin and New York, but issues surrounding immigration are locally pertinent. The Post also looks today at a Brookings Institution study......

The Post takes a quick look today at "older, close-in suburbs," which have apparently been falling through a policy crack nationwide, between the road hungry exurbs and the development-needy central cities. Based on a report set to be released today by the Brookings Institution, the Post story finds that Washington's OCIS are doing better than many others across the country; in particular, Arlington's strategy of developing densely near Metro has generated praise.. Striking fact from......

Hell, 77 comments and counting on our last post on the commuter tax, and along comes more news to fuel the debate. Today the D.C. Appleseed Center for Law and Justice, one of the primary litigants on the commuter tax issue, announced it would appeal a recent decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia that upheld the longstanding ban on the imposition of the tax to the U.S. Supreme Court.......

The blogging world engages in more navel gazing this Tuesday courtesy of the Brookings Institution. Old media veterans will take on the young whipper snappers of the new media in a live panel discussion about the role of the press in a rapidly changing online universe. The Impact of the New Media will feature Ana Marie Cox, Andrew Sullivan, Ellen Ratner of Talk Radio News Service, Jack Shafer of Slate.com and Jodie T. Allen of......

If you're 35 to 54 years old, single, and scouring the web for some singles action, well, D.C. may not be the best place to get lucky. The Post reports today that newly released census figures find that the city's pool of 25 to 34 year-olds is increasing faster than the national average, though at the expense of the 35-54 crowd. The census estimates show an increase of 9.5 percent for 25-29 year-olds and a......