Results tagged “capitolhill”

Our hearts are heavy as word reaches us that Bruce Robey, the co-founder of the Voice of the Hill newspaper and the H Street Playhouse, died Sunday night of an apparent heart attack. He was 65. Mark Segraves has a lovely tribute to Bruce up online already. The last time DCist spoke to Bruce, he was telling us all about his newly relaunched version of Hill-Talk, the online bulletin board that used to be an integral part of Voice of the Hill before it was sold to the Current newspapers. Bruce and his wife Adele have long been tireless advocates of improving the quality of life of District residents, and Bruce will be sadly missed.

The last two smoking rooms on Capitol Hill, in the Cannon and Longworth House Office Buildings, will close for good this week, The Hill reports.

There have been three trash receptacle fires in the last four weeks in the same alley behind a section of 3rd Street SE, WJLA reports. A string of fires like that in the same location makes it tough to speculate that a carelessly tossed cigarette butt might be to blame; odds are some pyro is setting the bins ablaze. So far, no buildings have become victims of the flames, but residents over there are understandably a bit freaked that eventually, one of these fires can and will spread. Fire officials are investigating, and asking the public to keep an eye out. Trash can and dumpster fires are no joke, folks.

A Capitol Hill institution, Trover Books, announced yesterday that it will be shutting its doors. Hill residents of the long-term and less permanent kind have long relied on the shop at 221 Pennsylvania Ave. SE, in the shadow of the U.S. Capitol, for political books, congressional directories, non-Washington newspapers, and candy and cigars. Joe and Anne Shuman founded their family store in 1958, passing the business on to their three sons. One of them, Andy Shuman, told DCist today that "business has been bad the last couple years and getting steadily worse," a decline that accelerated "as the economy has fallen apart." During a visit to the shop this morning, employees pointed to the postman who came in to deliver the mail: he also had some Amazon packages under his arm.

Capitol Hill’s 8th Street SE will add its newest hangout tonight with the opening of pizza bistro Matchbox’s new Capitol Hill location. The restaurant and bar will open its doors at 5 p.m., and will likely host crowds nearing Chinatown-level proportions, if the attendance at this past Wednesday’s soft opening are any indication. This weekend, the restaurant will be open daily for dinner and on Sunday for brunch. Saturday brunch begins next weekend, and weekday lunch may come at a later date.

Remember Monday, when the U.S. House refused to pass a $700 billion bailout package and everyone kinda freaked out? Well a little less than an hour ago they came together for another vote, this time on the Senate's version of the deal, and voted for it. We can't help but feel like the strangest part about the affirmative vote is not actually that it happened, but that even though it probably wasn't clear until this morning whether enough members had switched to the other side, the vote just doesn't seem like a big surprise. Was anyone really expecting the House not to go along with the Senate on this one, after the way the markets reacted to Monday's vote?

The U.S. House has voted down the bailout package, 205-228. By and large, Republicans voted against the bill, while Democrats voted for it, though the Democrats voted for it by a rather small margin. The Dow Jones Industrial Average has already dropped more than 500 points, just shy of five percent, since the news broke.

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 arrest, police searching Gorbey's vehicle discovered he had also brought the components needed to construct a bomb with him.

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 entire day at work ogling the photos of a bunch of good looking Hill staffers, relatives of politicians, probably a journalist or two, and whichever one U.S. Capitol Police officer they chose. You can check out the Top 10 here, and those relegated to the "40 More" section here. Pictured left is Tulani Elisa, the legislative assistant for Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) who was named #1 on the list this year.

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 loan counselors who can help get people into affordable mortgage restructurings right then and there. NACA has reached agreements with a number of big lenders to allow for such restructuring options.

       

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.

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.

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 that the nation's first bicycle sharing program, SmartBike DC, should be fully operational in early June.

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 in front of the Reeves Center at 14th and U Streets NW.

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.

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.

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...