Despite its imposing presence, Cardozo High School, like many of the District's iconic public schools, has long been in disrepair. That will soon change. more ›

The Post is reporting that there was a large-scale fight at Cardozo High School, located on Clifton Street NW between 12 and 13th Streets, during the lunch hour today. An estimated 15 students were injured, five of whom were taken to the hospital. The fight apparently began after a dispute between a large group of girls, and escalated to include more people. Police made 16 arrests stemming from the fight, on such charges as assault and disorderly conduct. From what we've heard, the fight broke out shortly after noon and caused a portion of the school to be briefly evacuated. more ›

Greetings, Washington. Welcome to yet another shortened work week. With no less than three abbreviated work weeks (four for some) in the past month, the prospect of an unmitigated series of five-dayers looms large. So enjoy a back-to-work Tuesday while you can, but don't forget to wear a coat. That's right, January really is a winter month and today will see temps drop throughout the day accompanied by blustery winds, remnants of the deadly winter... more ›

Happy Friday, folks; may this day be the start of a fantastic, 80-degree yet cloudy weekend. On that note, who loses 1,137 laptops? It seems that, having announced the missing laptops Thursday night, only the Commerce Department is capable of such feats. NBC 4 tells us that since 2001, the laptops, 672 of which belonged to the Census Bureau, have vanished. Says Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez. "The amount of missing computers is high, but... more ›

Good morning, Washington. Today's weather is likely to match Jerry Kilgore's mood: lousy. That's right, the results are in, and Virginia's new governor is Democrat Tim Kaine. Kaine beat Kilgore by six percentage points in the culmination of a brutally negative race that turned dirty, then got even dirtier. Frankly, we're glad it's over. The Post has complete election results for Virginia here; Maryland's results are here.

Group Surveils Day Laborers: The situation surrounding illegal immigrant workers in Herndon has just gotten more heated. The Post reports that members of the Minuteman Project — best known for their amateur efforts at policing the Mexican border — have begun videotaping and photographing workers and employers at the county's de-facto day laborer site. They say that they'll be turning over the evidence to the IRS, who they want to examine whether the transactions are being properly reported. Since most aren't, they expect that the effort will discourage the hiring of illegal immigrants, and thereby cause them to leave the day laborer site and/or county.

P.G. County Goes Smokefree: The Prince George's County Council has unanimously voted to ban smoking in the county's bars and restaurants. Most such businesses will be affected by the legislation, which, if signed by County Executive Jack Johnson, will go into effect on January first. Private clubs will be exempted from the ban; so will the cigar bar at Fedex Field.

Briefly Noted: 83% of Marylanders favor making English state's official language... Senate staffer attacked outside her home... Two men in custody after shooting near Cardozo High School... Police force former Redskin Dexter Manley to go to hospital...

Image posted to DCist Photos by Flickr user photogene

(Editor's Note: And for the first part of our Nationals opening day coverage, we start outside the stadium.) more ›

An Undeclared Williams Plays Offensive: Mayor Anthony Williams, who has yet to say whether he will seek a third term, has called out a few people who are eyeing his position. According to the Post, Ward 4's eager councilmember, Adrian Fenty, was at the top of the mayor's list saying there should be "some threshold qualifications that you bring to the table." Also on Williams hit list: troubled lobbyist Michael Brown who the mayor says... more ›

Today will be mostly sunny with highs in the upper 30s. We first reported on this missile battery, placed in Bethesda, in early March. The Post also had a short article. It continues to attract attention, this time as a news brief in the newsletter of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, which tells their members to be "extremely vigilant" near the launcher. more ›

Today will be mostly sunny in the morning and then become partly cloudy, breezy with highs in the 60s. This photo of the National Cathedral was taken yesterday. More Mercury At Cardozo: As we reported yesterday, more mercury has been found at Cardozo High School. It's unclear whether the chemical was newly placed, or a remnant from an earlier spill. Purple Line In Jeopardy? Advocates of a proposed rail line between Bethesda and Silver... more ›

Enjoy today's spring-like temperatures because it won't last, says Capital Weather. We enjoyed a long afternoon walk on Sunday, where we came across this piece of sculpture in front of a house at the corner of Rock Creek Drive and Edgevale Terrace. See the minaret from the Washington Islamic Center back in the trees? more ›

In Roman mythology, Mercury is the god of commerce; here in the District, he seems to be the god of school closures. And he's back -- yes, for the third time in two weeks, Cardozo High School on 13th St. NW above U is the scene of a mercury spillage. At this point it would seem almost plausible that Cardozo was built on a natural mercury spring, or excretes it as a natural byproduct. In... more ›

Good morning, Washington. We start today with this photo of a line of newspaper distribution boxes from a new photoblog we've come across, Digital Obscura. more ›

Precisely one week after toxic mercury was discovered in the halls of Cardozo High School in lower Columbia Heights, something apparently not-so-unusual has happened: They found mercury again! more ›

Today will be partly cloudy with a chance of snow showers and temperatures in the 40s. more ›

Today will be mostly cloudy with highs around 40 and a chance of snow showers. The photo is by John W. via Flickr. Snow Storm Falls Short Predictions: The area papers noted yesterday's storm fell short predictions, but closed schools in the area, to the frustration of parents. WTOP notes the snowfall set a record at Dulles Airport. Indian Lobbying Up: The Examiner reports that lobbying expenditures by Native American tribes is up recently. They... more ›

Good morning. We're waiting for snow, but looking out our window, nothing has accumulated. Apparently, the humidity isn't high enough for the snow to reach the ground, but that will probably change. So radars have said snow has been falling for hours, but it magically never materializes. Check out Capital Weather for more details. Please be aware that a snow emergency will go into effect in the District at 9:30 a.m., so if you're parked... more ›

Good morning, Washington. There's already snow on the ground, as you can see in this DDOT traffic camera shot (around 8:45 a.m.) of the corner of Alabama and Pennsylvania avenues in Southeast. And more will be falling all morning and into the afternoon. Check out Capital Weather for all the details. We heard stirrings of weather bets in comments yesterday. How did you fare? Schools Out, for More Reasons Than Just Snow: The threat of... more ›