The Hill reports that Michael Gorbey, the Virginia man who was convicted on weapons charges stemming from his January arrest for carrying a loaded shot gun and a samurai sword with him around Capitol Hill, has been sentenced to 22 years in prison. That's a pretty staggering sentence, which is the result of Gorbey's conviction on 14 charges, including one for possessing and transporting a "weapon of mass destruction." A couple of weeks after his......

If it's the end of July, then it's time for The Hill's annual 50 Most Beautiful People issue. If you've lived here for any amount of time, you know the drill: it's when the paper sends out a small army of normally serious minded Capitol Hill reporters to track down crucial information such as whether an intern working for some no-name congressman enjoys horseback riding or not. It's also when we get to spend an......

It's blazing hot outside, so a long line snaking outside the Capital Hilton since this morning couldn't help but engender some curiosity - and sympathy - from onlookers. Turns out the line waiters are here for the free, five-day long "Save the Dream of Homeownership" event hosted by the Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America. Michelle Singletary explained the event last week, which invited homeowners in danger of foreclosure to come to D.C. and meet with......

It has been a little over a week since Good Stuff Eatery opened and the hoopla surrounding Capitol Hill's newest burger joint has been monumental. Last night, owners Spike Mendelsohn and his family celebrated the official opening with a red carpet ribbon cutting and - a treat for D.C.'s reality TV fans - a mini-reunion of his fellow Top Chef contestants. Cooking compatriots Stephanie Izzard, who won Top Chef, Lisa Fernandez and Antonia Lofaso took......

Update: We've gotten information that Council member Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6) will be hosting Friday night potlucks in Potomac Gardens starting on May 30 to discuss issues related to neighborhood safety. He's indicated that he'll ask the police department's top brass to attend, as well as community leaders. As the District continues grappling with a stubborn and constantly shifting crime problem, residents in one Capitol Hill neighborhood are debating a controversial response -- marching on......

Photo by Sommer Mathis We just ran into District Department of Transportation's Manager for Bicycle, Pedestrian, and Transportation Demand Management Programs, Jim Sebastian, at the corner of R Street and Rhode Island Ave. NW, on his way to a meeting on one of the new SmartBikes we've been eagerly anticipating. Doesn't Jim look sporty? While he was test driving one of the bikes, which have smaller front wheels than standard bikes, Sebastian told us......

Both the Bike Sharing Blog and some of our Flickr contributors have spotted several of the SmartBikeDC racks being erected around town in the last week. The city's first bike sharing company, which we first told you about last year, is expected to be in full gear in May, with a soft launch rumored by the end of this month. The list of planned bike rental locations can be found here. The rack pictured is......

With the District's new baseball stadium having opened on time and within the estimated budget, it looks like the infamous Capitol Hill Visitor Center is getting jealous. But it looks like good news is on the way -- the visitor center may finally open this year. According to D.C. Metrocentric, the majority of the work on the long-delayed project is all but done, and the main contractor is expecting a formal opening in October or......

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......

The Hill is reporting that the Senate Hart and Dirksen Office Buildings were evacuated due to a fire just after 1 p.m. There are at least four fire trucks and an ambulance at the scene as hundreds of aides left the buildings. Senate staffers told The Hill that this was not a planned drill, though it is unclear why fire and rescue personnel were called. “Evacuating hart & dirksen due to confirmed fire & audible......

By DCist Contributor Stephanie Taylor Halloween is fast approaching, and because the scariest day of the year was inconsiderate enough to fall mid-week this year, much of the drunken pin the rib on the skeleton madness begins next weekend. But the District has very few true costume shops. If you've sorted through your closet and still haven't found a winner for this year's costume, we thought we'd offer a few suggestions as to where to......

"The trouble with radicals,” goes a quote widely attributed to early 20th century economist Thomas Nixon Carver, “is that they only read radical literature, and the trouble with conservatives is that they don’t read anything.” That both sides of the political spectrum have proven that to be a lie will be apparent tomorrow tonight at the Trover Shop on Capitol Hill, which is hosting The Hill’s Sixth Annual Political Book Fair. Participating authors include current......

We told you long ago, in 2005 that is, that the District planned to roll out 788 new bus shelters as part of a $150 million deal with Clear Channel Outdoor. The shelters are finally starting to slowly creep across the city. On 8th Street between Capitol Hill proper and H Street NE, at least four shelters have been ripped out and are in the process of being replaced with the fancy new digs.......

California Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, has declared September “California Wine Month” for the third consecutive year. Since September is almost over we thought we would get into the spirit and raise a glass to the California wine industry (not that we think they need their own month). We would have celebrated sooner but we were busy getting tipsy off our own local Virginia Wines, as you may recall. The Wine Institute, a.k.a. the self-proclaimed “Voice for......

By DCist contributor Elisabeth Grant D.C. can be an expensive place to eat lunch. A meal from Cosi will set you back $8, any sit-down place is at least twice as much that, and even if you're just going for coffee, a grande pumpkin spice latte (the most delicious beverage on the planet) will put you out over $4. While many of the folks who work on or around the Hill, like those with expense......

Marc Fisher: As the Senate gets ready to debate the District voting rights legislation, Fisher lists the dozen top reasons why senators from both parties should vote to enfranchise the city's residents. The more and more we look into it, the better the case looks. Let's hope the Senate agrees. Tom Knott: You know Knott's verbal insanity is in good form when the title of his weekly column is "It's Gathering of Eagles vs. nitwit......

Many neighborhoods in the District tend to go through a rather predictable routine. They start as fringe areas, slowly attract residents and business owners looking for good deals on housing and commercial properties, see an influx of newcomers as word spreads, and soon become the city's next hot destination. And throughout the process the usual conflicts tend to emerge -- between old and new residents, between local and national businesses. Yesterday the rather tranquil Barracks......

Tom Knott: Once again, Tom Knott has managed to take what seems to be an isolated incident and turn it into evidence that liberalism of any sort is just evil. This week, Knott recounts the badly-handled trial of a Liberian immigrant accused of raping a seven-year-old girl in Montgomery County. Due to some bad decision by the trial judge, the charges were eventually dropped, though the county has stated that it will appeal. Regardless, it's......

Capitol Hill is finally moving up in the District’s hierarchy of Places to Eat, and Locanda is helping the neighborhood make that move with its adventures in noodles. Not since the long-gone days of Roberto Donna’s Il Radicchio has Pennsylvania Avenue seen pasta this perfectly cooked. Filled with ricotta and asparagus, braised leeks and cheeses or whatever else chef Brian Barszcz (an Oblelisk and Tallula alum) wants to stuff them with, count me in for......

Can't anyone get D.C. right? Today the Post's Reliable Source reports that Nicole Kidman's newest thriller, The Invasion, makes a number of relatively amateur mistakes in trying to use the District as a backdrop, even though a good part of it was filmed here. Among those: - Kidman, who plays a D.C. psychiatrist, buys magazines at one of those big sidewalk newsstand kiosks -- the ones all over New York but not on any corner......

Londonist are starting to think their city is getting just a little bit too expensive, when even Christian Slater can't afford to go out there. And there's no escaping, as local singer Lily Allen discovered when she was barred entry to the US. The British mapping agency caused further bad karma, by blocking a 3-D representation of London in Google Earth. But the smiles returned to Londonist's faces as they interviewed Baroness von Reichardt,......

The notion that Capitol Hill is its own little world becomes reality in Flickr user tim kelley's imagination, as he applies a popular planet-style photo editing job to the Capitol and its environs. Bored this weekend? Try out your photo editing skills in our ongoing Touch Up D.C. photo contest, throughout the month of August. Upload your entries to Flickr and tag it with "touchupdc." We'll be posting entries we love a few times......

Good morning, Washington. Just one day after officials did their best to reassure metro area drivers that our bridges are safe to travel on, the Washington Post has pored over U.S. Department of Transportation statistics that show that a dozen bridges in the District, hundreds more in Maryland, and nearly 1,200 in Virginia are listed as "structurally deficient," -- the same rating as the bridge that collapsed in Minneapolis Wednesday. Still, DDOT says that......

>> The ceremonial flame for the Special Olympics will pass through town tomorrow afternoon, starting at the White House at 12:15 p.m. and making stops on the National Mall before heading uptown to the Chinese Embassy. Expect minor traffic delays along the route. [WJLA] >> Is a Rita's Water Ice coming to the Washington Convention Center area? [Bloomingdale (for now)] >> Bob Mould is set to release his first ever live DVD, Circle Of......

Good news for grocery store aficionados in the District: the long-delayed Harris Teeter store locations in the District, one in Adams Morgan at Kalorama and 17th NW and the other at Pennsylvania Ave. SE, across from the Potomac Avenue Metro stop, finally have some official-sounding opening dates. According to an email forwarded by Ward 1 Council member Jim Graham to the Third Police District, the Adams Morgan location will open in mid-February, with the Capitol......

As a symbol of Eastern Market's recovery from the fire that destroyed its main building in April, the Capitol Hill Community Foundation, which established the Eastern Market Fund to aid in the restoration process, is sponsoring a concert series that will begin on July 22. The Eastern Market Music series will present Washington area blues, bluegrass, jazz, contemporary, and international musicians. The shows will run on Sundays through the end of September and will take......

Happy Friday the 13th, Washington. We do hope none of you are suffering too much from paraskavedekatriaphobia or had bad dreams last night about a psychopathic killer in a hockey mask. We're sure there's nothing to worry about, but just in case we're wrong, why don't we all leave early for the weekend today? Surely having some extra time to make our way to the beach will ward off any potential bad luck heading......

As is usually the case on this day in D.C., there is very little news to roundup, thus our rather loose definition of 'morning' today. We certainly hope you're having a relaxing and fun holiday so far. As you gather up beer and meat (or faux-meat) and head to your respective barbecues, take care. We've mentioned it before, but the entire city will be under added security measures today in the wake of the attempted......

Maybe we just have a short memory, but yesterday was the first day of the summer that felt oppressively awful in that distinctly D.C.-ish way. Apparently we weren't the only ones — NBC4 says that a bunch of kids from the National Student Leadership Council who were visiting Capitol Hill became sick from the heat, requiring treatment in a Senate office building (they're all fine). Today promises to be two degrees hotter. Md. Teacher Sentenced......

The United States Botanic Garden is a favorite summer destination, and the list of reasons to visit has gotten longer. In a recently opened exhibit, Celebrating America’s Public Gardens, the nation's most important public gardens have sponsored mini-displays in two sections called Green Today, Growing Tomorrows (in the National Garden, at the Mall end of the grounds) and A Sense of Place (on the Conservatory Terrace, facing Capitol Hill). In the latter exhibit, each garden's......