Obviously, former District Department of Transportation director Gabe Klein was doing something right -- today, Transportation Nation is reporting that he has been chosen by new Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel to run the Windy City's Department of Transportation. Klein, who left the D.C. government in early December during a sea change in agency leadership after Mayor Vince Gray defeated Adrian Fenty for the city's mayoralty, will reportedly start next month. more ›

Well, well, well -- the tables certainly appear to have turned in D.C.'s favor this winter. First, we got to rub it in the faces of New York politicians who mocked our response to overwhelming snow. Now, it's time to dip into the sweet schadenfreude yet again, as Chicago suffers through the latest big storm to hit the United States this winter. more ›

Now that the 2010 midterm elections are two months old, we can say that the 2012 presidential campaigning has officially started. But according to the Chicago Tribune, President Obama may break from precedent and look well outside of the Beltway to find his election HQ. Far far outside; think Chicago. Maybe the President is finally fed up with us wimpy District residents when it comes to a little ice and snow -- particularly after this weekend's hoopla over nothing. more ›

Windy City pride was on full display pretty much everywhere this weekend, but it was perhaps no more rampant than at the Big Shoulders Ball, hosted jointly by the Hideout nightclub in Chicago and the Black Cat, benefitting the Future of Music Coalition. At the top of the bill were some big names like Andrew Bird and Ted Leo, and some legendary Chi-town music scene vets, like Eleventh Dream Day and the Waco Brothers. more ›

Someone might need to tell the Takoma Park City Council that they're about two years behind the times. Last Monday, the council approved a resolution to oppose the production and sale of foie gras. The resolution also "encourages Takoma Park residents not to buy foie gras to avoid supporting this extreme form of animal cruelty." And, according to the Examiner, certain members of the council have taken some first steps toward investigating whether an outright ban is possible. more ›

In a fairer, better world, Jon Langford would need no introduction; in a world that makes Kenny Chesney a country star, he probably does. (Unless, of course, you read our interview with Langford last fall.) So: Since founding the protean punk outfit the Mekons in Leeds, England, three decades or so ago, he's become that Godfather of the Chicago alt-country scene that flowered in the mid-to-late 1990s, as well as a celebrated painter. (That's his portrait of Buddy Guy on the wall at the Birchmere. You can see it, along with 214 of his other objets d'arte, in his 2006 book, Nashville Radio.) more ›

A month ago, the Washington Redskins needed to win out the rest of their season and receive a ton of help from the rest of the NFC in order to make the playoffs. And it needed to start in the short week between a Sunday's loss to Buffalo and a Thursday night game with Chicago. And then it needed to start after Sean Taylor's funeral. And then it needed to continue despite losing starting quarterback Jason Campbell. And lastly, it needed to include three more victories over teams with playoff aspirations. Two of them on the road. more ›

When in the closing days of 2006 we looked back on the year in D.C. voting rights, we optimistically hoped that 2007 would finally be the year that saw some movement on enfranchising the District's residents. Movement, yes; resolution, not so much. So as we wind down 2007, we're again left hoping that maybe the coming year will be the one. more ›

Well ain't this a kick in the pants? The Washington Redskins, faced with having to take the same long cut to the playoffs that they did the last time they found themselves all but eliminated and facing a slew of teams suddenly willing to play dead, took their act on the road to Minnesota and won 32-1421, in a game that was only briefly tense and was basically decided by an alert eye on the sidelines and a well-timed challenge by Joe Gibbs. more ›

more ›

With point guard Antonio Daniels out for 2-4 weeks with a sprained knee, the Washington Wizards were more than shorthanded going into Saturday night's game against the visiting Sacramento Kings. Rookie Nick Young started in Daniels' spot in the back court and scored five of the team's first seven points, but it was the hot hand of DeShawn Stevenson that led the Wizards to a 92-79 win. more ›

>> The Capitol Christmas Tree lighting ceremony is scheduled to take place at 5 p.m. this evening on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol. >> Washington-area writers Michelle Brafman, Merle Collins, T. Greenwood, Joanne Leedom-Ackerman, Faye Moskowitz, Barbara Mujica, Jessica Neely, Amy Stolls, Hananah Zaheer, and Christy J. Zink will be at Politics and Prose to read from their contributions to the latest anthology, Electric Grace: Still More Fiction by Washington Area Women.... more ›

Hope everyone had an excellent meal on the greatest American food day of the year. It's been a quiet week in food news as it seems everyone was more interested in turkey. DCist Food alum Erin Zimmer has an excellent recipe from Butterfield 9's chef Michael Harr for leftover cranberry sauce muffins. Mmm... Pizza Mania Looks like it's another pizza week in D.C. - everyone is covering pizza. From DCist's review of Pizza Zero,... more ›

DCist's highly subjective and hardly comprehensive guide to the most interesting movies playing around town in the coming week. Indie: Romance & Cigarettes John Turturro's third film as a director is the sort that seems tailor made to become a cult classic. Not nearly polished or glamorous enough to be the sort of Broadway to big screen musical hit that Chicago or Hairspray was, it was too oddball to fit into the heads of most... more ›

>> The silent film version of the original Chicago will be presented with live musical accompaniment at the AFI Silver Theater. 7 p.m. >> New Yorker music critic Alex Ross will be at Politics and Prose to read from The Rest is Noise, a history of the 20th century through its music. 7 p.m. >> Brooklyn's Black Dice are at the Rock and Roll Hotel with Ecstatic Sunshine, Baltimore's Ponytail and The Methamphetamines. 8... more ›

America by Air, the newest permanent gallery opened by The National Air and Space Museum, encompasses the entire history of flight and air travel in the United States, starting in 1914 and leading up to today. We know what you're thinking, "Isn't that what the whole museum is about?" And yes...it is. So Air and Space has managed to create an exhibit that is, in fact, a microcosm of itself, which is so damn postmodern... more ›

>> Open City, the coffeehouse, diner and bar in Woodley Park, is celebrating its 2nd birthday tonight by offering diners their choice of a free cup of Tryst blend coffee, a glass of champagne, or a piece of chocolate birthday cake. >> Homegrown online fashion purveyors Unsung Designers are heading to New York, but tonight they'll be hosting a final D.C. trunk sale from 6 to 9 p.m. at 2412 18th Street NW in... more ›

Former D.C. Police Chief Charles Ramsey has been named police commissioner of Philadelphia by Mayor-elect Michael Nutter, reports the Associated Press. Ramsey came to D.C. in 1998 after serving for 31 years in his hometown of Chicago, and became Washington's longest-serving police chief in more than three decades, serving as top cop in the District until the end of 2006, when he was replaced by incoming Mayor Adrian Fenty. Since we've had a little bit... more ›

Washington has a ton of good things, but also a lot of problems. One we often hear about is a general lack of customer service in some local businesses — sometimes people are slow, rude, forgetful, or a combination of the three. We've seen it all over, from fancy joints to Mickey D's, but it seems to be worse here than elsewhere on the East Coast. Somebody could make a lot of money by renting... more ›

Written by DCist guest contributor Michael Lodico The Washington National Opera’s production of William Bolcom’s operatic adaptation of Arthur Miller’s earthy play (premiered by the Lyric Opera of Chicago in 1999 and staged by Frank Galati) shows the company’s commitment to remounting new American operas after their premieres. The Chicago production, now being presented to D.C. area audiences by the WNO, also features three leads from the original production and the two arias added by... more ›

Anytime a new bar opens with more than 3 or 4 taps, my ears perk up. I start getting the urge to go check it out, to pay a visit and welcome the new neighbor on the block. Thus, when a Bar Louie opened this summer in the Verizon Center (downstairs from Lucky Strike) with a 20-tap list, I was immediately lured by the siren song of another taphouse in the area. Although the bar... more ›

For 25 minutes, D.C. United attacked the Chicago Fire unrelentingly. They poured all of their efforts forward, creating chance after chance. In the process, they scored the two goals they needed to advance to the Eastern Conference finals. Unfortunately, United's disjointed play during the preceding 70 minutes allowed Chicago to tally two goals of their own, earning them the 2-2 tie, the 3-2 series victory on aggregate, and a ticket to the next round.... more ›

D.C. United's MLS season is on the line tonight at RFK Stadium (7:30 p.m.). After a dominant regular season that saw United go 10-2-3 at home, they return to RFK for possibly the last time this season. Standing in their way is their playoff nemesis, the Chicago Fire. In 5 total playoff games against the Fire, D.C. has yet to score a goal. United will need to find net if they wish to move on... more ›

It's getting hard to keep track of what to think about the Capitals this year. At the beginning of the year, they won three straight games, and even spent an hour as the league's first place team. Then they lost a few, won one, and tried losing again. Last night, in what should have been a hopeless battle against a hot team, they put together a seven to one victory over the grammatically challenged... more ›

The Mancuso-Suzda Project, an adventurous local avant-garde jazz duo, is currently serving as artist-in-residence at Strathmore. The program selects a different local performer each month and provides educational and performance opportunities in order to cultivate local talent in the fine arts. Previous artists-in-residence include Laura Burhenn of Georgie James, jazz harmonicist Frédéric Yonnet, jazz percussionist Kush Abadey, singer/songwriter LEA, and Celtic harp player Lily Neill. Like so many groups these days, the Mancuso-Suzda Project came... more ›

The press ahead of D.C. United’s first round playoff clash with the Chicago Fire last night leaned heavily on D.C.’s poor record against the Fire, especially in recent playoff history. A lot of it also talked about Chicago’s big signing, Mexican national team veteran Cuahtemoc Blanco. And to some extent, there was some talk about D.C.’s injured stars, Jaime Moreno and Luciano Emilio. Both players picked up injuries in United’s completely meaningless season finale last... more ›

Former Capitals coach Bruce "Butch" Cassidy (who famously wrote his plays on napkins, and then brought the napkins to practice) has just been fired by the Kingston Frontenacs of the Ontario Hockey League after they lost six straight games. The firing from the junior team confirms the suspicions of many Caps fans who remembered the 2003-2004 season and though the coach might have been slightly less than qualified for the NHL. Cassidy joined the Capitals... more ›

Written by DCist Contributor Stephanie Taylor Travel + Leisure magazine has released their 2007 list of "America’s Favorite Cities", which ranks D.C. as sub-par in most categories when compared to 24 other U.S. cities. Evaluated by our own residents, we came in a lowly No. 23 on the hotness meter, and No. 22 on the stylish (that’s out of a 1-25 ranking, 25 = bad, not good.) Visitors ranked Washington No. 24 on the people-I-like-to-look-at... more ›

>> This week's first must see takes place tonight at Blues Alley as one of the area's finest drummers, Nasar Abadey, takes the stage with SuperNova (pictured right), a local jazz supergroup. The band features Allyn Johnson on piano, Gary Thomas, Jazz Studies Chair at Peabody, altoist Joe Ford, and bassist James King. Sets are at 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. $18 + $10 food/drink minimum. Tickets available here. >> Also tonight, Twins Jazz hosts... more ›

D.C. United played out a relatively dull and featureless 0-0 draw with the Chicago Fire on Saturday night, but the real celebrations would come on Sunday night. The Colorado Rapids scored in the final minutes to pull out an upset over Chivas USA, 2-1, making D.C. United the first team to ever successfully defend the Supporters’ Shield. It probably wasn’t the stylish way United will have wanted to take the regular season crown, but with... more ›