Prescott Moore Lassman's End of Pew, from a series about congregants at the All Souls Church. Copyright the artist. Image courtesy of the City Hall Art Collection. In 2006, local artist Sondra N. Arkin was given an enviable but extremely difficult job: acquire the defining volume of works that captured the breadth and scope of D.C. art to display in HeART of DC, the City Hall Art Collection at the John A. Wilson Building.......

>> "More than 50 nonunionized workers rallied against the new Nationals ballpark this morning, angry that more District residents did not receive construction jobs." [WaPo] >> "I saw firsthand the fragile relationship that exists between Mayor Fenty and the City Council Members. I heard tales of a delayed Comprehensive Annual Financial Review , rising murder rates and a Chief of Police who feels burdened by a system that won't help her, proposals to close......

In most any public or private sector job, losing $31 million on your watch is a surefire way to get yourself fired. CFO Natwar Gandhi's reputation for saving the city's finances has thus far protected him from what is to date the District's biggest corruption scandal. But his fortunes might be changing. Buried towards the end of an article from the Examiner today on an investigation into the tax refund scheme that milked the city......

A little over a year since the Reynolds Center, where the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the National Portrait Gallery are housed, re-opened its doors, it continues to celebrate huge improvements to the building. This Sunday stop by for the grand opening of the Kogod Courtyard, which will include tons of musical performances both in the courtyard and inside on the third floor, hands-on activities for all ages (a Lite Brite station!), and, as usual,......

Londonist got the big scoop of the week with what may be the first images of notorious street artist Banksy in action. They also got on a runaway train without an operator provoking a response from the transport authorities. Elsewhere, London's answer to Central Station is about to open for business, and Londonist got a sneak preview. Meanwhile, spooky goings-on beneath London Bridge, where a cache of skeletons provided an apt story for Hallowe'en.......

The Red Sox has permeated nearly every facet of Bostonist's lives. When they're not live-blogging the games, waxing poetic about the games, thanking Curt Schilling for his splendid work, or telling Dane Cook to watch his hair, they're watching certain presidential candidates hop on the Red Sox bandwagon (sorry, Gothamist). The Sox are so branded on the local brain that people are using the Series to spice up their sex lives. Speaking of spice, Bostonist......

>> The Smithsonian American Art Museum honors the winners of the Lucelia Artist Award over the past six years with its new exhibition opening tomorrow. The highly prestigious award gives $25,000 to an artist under 50 who has "consistently demonstrated exceptional creativity." See the six winners every day from from 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. The 2007 winner will be revealed tomorrow when the exhibit opens. >> If you haven't had the chance yet......

Tireless Prince George's County beat reporter Rosalind Helderman writes in today's Washington Post about a growing movement to have bronze statues depicting Chief Justice Roger B. Taney removed from the State House in Annapolis and Frederick City Hall this year. Taney was the justice who delivered the majority opinion in the Dred Scott case, which declared the Missouri Compromise of 1820 to be unconstitutional and ruled that slaves were personal property and therefore not citizens......

Today activists around the country are planning demonstrations supporting immigrantions. You'll recall that last year organizers staged a national boycott to highlight immigrants' contribution to the American economy. In D.C. several demonstrations are slated. The National Immigrant Solidarity Network sponsors a few of the events. WTOP has a fairly exhaustive list: A May Day Asian American rally is planned for noon at Taft Memorial Park, north of the Capitol. A hunger strike and rally at......

This week we'd like to congratulate the -ist network's Mother Hen, Gothamist's Jen Chung, who found herself a recipient of Wired Magazine's Wired Rave Award. If that doesn't sound terribly exciting, keep in mind another recipient was J.K. Rowling. Yep, that's right, the -ist network and Harry Potter now have something in common. Go us. Austinist has a chat with the ever-fashionable Golden Girl Rue McClanahan, and managed to catch some local fashionistas making......

Today, Washington is still dealing with the aftermath of losing so many area residents at Virginia Tech and trying to grasp the scope of Monday's events. Even those not connected to the school have been moved to prayer and shows of support. In situations like these, many of us feel powerless, yet some gain strength by joining others to reflect and remember. Yesterday students at UVa, Georgetown, Galluadet, Howard, UMd, Catholic University, American, UDC, GW......

Good morning, Washington. It's December 20th. Are you still maintaining the farce that you're accomplishing productive work at the office? If so, we salute your spirit. Most of the DCist staff gave up days ago, opting instead to camp out in our office kitchens and wait for the arrival of gift baskets from vendors. How many Hickory Farms beefsticks is it healthy for an adult to eat per day, anyway? Christmas Comes To D.C. Government:......

Oh, the holiday shopping season. Preparing the troops to invade local malls, throwing punches over a video game player, listening to Jingle Bells until your ears bleed. Good times. But it doesn't have to be that way. Don't know what to get mom-in-law? Finally impress her with your cultural know-how by gift wrapping some ART this holiday season. Galleries are listening, and have a few deals for you bargain shoppers. >>Cheap for Charity: What's better......

Batten down the hatches, Washington. Proving that no good spell of weather goes unpunished, we've now got some major storms headed our way. Two separate storm lines, to be precise, are barreling down on the metro area as we speak, the first having just begun, and the second, more powerful system, expected between noon and 5 p.m. With winds at 30 mph, we'd suggest upgrading your umbrella to something more than cheap and crappy. District......

>> October whizzed right by, but that means today is First Friday already. Put on a sweater and head over to Dupont between 6 and 8 p.m. for the many galleries that will open their doors for evening perusal. Studio Gallery opens a new show with work by Micheline Klagsbrun Frank. These mixed media paintings look a little like abstract frescos, with a hint of form refracted through sea water. The Kathleen Ewing Gallery throws......

Ever been to the Washington Museum of Art? Of course, there isn't one, but that's likely to change tonight with the dedication of the City Hall Art Collection at the John A. Wilson Building. For the first time the District will have a permanent collection of art to show off the talent of our local artists. The exhibit features a broad swath of media and contemporary stylings, not to mention representation from every ward, with......

WaPo Food Gets BoGlo Editor With all the turmoil and upheaval at the Post's food section over the past couple of years, we were waiting for news that Tom Sietsema and Walter Nicholls would just take the thing over and rule it a la Tenacious D's two kings in City Hall. This is not the case, though. WaPo announced (good get, fishbowl!) that Boston Globe food writer Joe Yonan will be the new editor for......

If you're slightly overweight and have trouble catching your breath on the way out of the Metro, you should be ashamed of yourself and your slovenly ways. If Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice can keep in such fine form, why can't you? Are you jet-setting around the world to put out small diplomatic fires or start bigger ones, all the while keeping toned abs and low body fat? We didn't think so. Fear not, though,......

Leave it to the caffeine-infused minds of Seattle to come up with the answer to our dial-in woes. According to Governing Magazine, Seattle residents will no longer be subjected to Glen Hollis' rejects when they make a call to city hall. A new program called OnHold replaces synthesized easy listening with a selection of local musicians. The playlist of 11 bands from different genres is updated every few months. What's better is how the new......

We're all suckers for the outsiders and underdogs in political races. We all know them -- the candidates who don't already occupy an elected office, who seek to break into the system instead of merely moving up in it. They threaten elected coups, promising to move into office and shake things up like only an outsider can. And so we meet Michael Brown, the self-styled outsider of the District's mayoral contest. Tall, well-dressed, bald-headed and......

While some in City Hall might be donning their Nationals hats and spontaneously busting out in "Take Me Out to the Ballpark," we'd like to offer a dose of caution. Yes, District officials and MLB have finally reached an agreement on a lease agreement for the new stadium, but no, this should not be considered said and done until the D.C. Council approves it. WTOP is reporting that the two sides -- forced into new......

As the Senate convenes this week to determine which side is more stubborn in its demand to shape the federal judiciary, we figured this was a good time to look at a slightly less ugly aspect of our country's court system: John Marshall Park. The spot of land we know today as Judiciary Square was a lot of things before it became just another few blocks of federal Washington. Long before there was a......

Good morning Washington, the good weather is continuing, according to Capital Weather. This photo, by Matthew Bradley posted in DCist Photos via Flickr, shows somebody repairing a security camera at the National Archives. Ding, Dong, the 'Wicked Witch' Is Dead! While the recent firing of the District's taxicab commission chairman, Lee Williams, probably won't signal any sweeping reforms in the immediate short term, those familiar with the "dysfunctional" agency say the move was necessary.......

The grassroots effort to get a recall measure on the November ballot that would remove Mayor Anthony Williams from city hall has failed, WTOP reports. Save Our City, which launched the recall effort, was out in full force this past weekend collecting signatures across the city. But with only 30,000 signatures, volunteers were about 5,000 short to push the recall measure onto the ballot. The mayor's critics believe that Williams has placed commercial development and......