Remember those billboards that popped up in the 1980s that counted up the national debt, dollar by dollar? Pretty scary, huh? Well, District voting rights activists want something similar for their cause. Today the D.C. Council held a hearing on legislation that would allow the city to place two large LED billboards -- one outside the John A. Wilson Building and the other outside the new Washington Nationals stadium -- that would display the amount......

Good morning, Washington. The pernicious effects of this year's drought could continue to haunt the region during next year's holiday season, according to WTOP. Turns out that young Christmas trees and seedlings being grown in Maryland and Virginia were especially affected by the lack of rainfall, meaning that thousands of area children could suffer the indignity of having to make due with a sub-par decorative plant with which to entice entice Santa to leave them......

D.C. officials are apparently stunned to find that the money they've spent on the new Nationals stadium isn't translating into the sort of unconditional loyalty they might like. Turns out the team's 2008 Dream Foundation Dream Gala (it's dream-related, see) will be held at National Harbor in Prince George's County, Md., and the Examiner reports that Mayor Adrian Fenty, D.C. Council Chair Vincent Gray and just about every other D.C. leader is throwing a temper......

Jonetta Rose Barras: In a powerfully introspective column, Rose Barras details a recent trip to her destroyed family home in New Orleans. In recounting her visit to the site, Rose Barras writes of the struggles endured by her mother and sister in trying to return and rebuild, drawing comparisons to the District's own troubles. "Truth told, New Orleans looks and feels like Ward 8 circa 1985: few quality retail outlets, high crime, high unemployment, poor......

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......

The Examiner has a story this morning that accuses the deputy mayor for planning and economic development, Neil Albert, of a potential conflict of interest in lobbying the District to give a $57 million contract to EdBuild, the company he founded in 2005. The school board is scheduled to vote on EdBuild’s contract today. Albert told The Examiner that he sat down with Council Chair Vincent Gray and Deputy Mayor for Education Victor Reinoso, and......

Good morning, Washington. Looks like we have two new D.C. Council members this morning: Muriel Bowser, a 34-year-old ANC, took the Ward 4 seat vacated by Mayor Adrian Fenty, and Yvette M. Alexander, a 45-year-old former insurance regulator, took the Ward 7 seat left behind by Council Chair Vincent Gray. Both women ran in extremely crowded fields, but received the endorsements of their predecessors which allowed them to stand out from the pack (and raise......

It's easy to dismiss yesterday's Voting Rights March. Skeptics can point to the estimated number of participants (anywhere from 2,000 to 6,000, depending on who you ask) and claim that in a city of almost 600,000, that's not very good turnout. They can point to the cause -- a voting seat in the House of Representatives -- and argue that the tough road it faces in the Senate and the veto it will likely receive......

It's almost graduation time for colleges around the D.C. area, but many George Washington students aren't that thrilled about it. Why? The keynote speaker at their commencement is none other than... their outgoing university president. We guess that's what the highest tuition in the country gets you these days. Stephen Joel Trachtenberg, who has been president of the Foggy Bottom university for 19 years, always speaks at graduation, but he usually does so alongside folks......

Watch where you step this morning, Washington! The Examiner brings us word that the D.C. Emergency Management Agency lists manhole cover explosions, like the one that brough traffic to a standstill around the National Mall last Wednesday, as one of the District’s 18 major hazards, alongside urban crime, hurricanes, terrorism and floods. See, D.C. has the second–largest underground power system in the country, which means underground fires which can cause those manholes to explode are......

Ever since the District agreed to build the Washington Nationals a brand-new, $611 million stadium, pretty much everyone in the region who owns a sports team has been demanding a handout of their own -- D.C. United has announced plans to build itself a new stadium on Poplar Point in exchange for the development rights of the surrounding land, and even the Washington Redskins have expressed interest in moving back to the city. Now Abe......

Buck up, D.C. Of course we're all still reeling from the Justin Timberlake-Cameron Diaz split confirmation, but there's plenty to be cheerful about this Friday before a holiday weekend (especially one that's shaping up to at least be mild temperature wise, if rainy). Why, even a few of this morning's headlines seem downright cheery. New Taxi Zone Map in the Works: Even while the new District government is considering making the switch from zones to......

>> Yeah, you. You need to stay late tonight to make up for the crazy amount of time you're about to have off. That's right, those of us who do not work for the Federal Government are currently glaring up a storm at those of you who do, because the word from on high is now official: President Bush has declared January 2 as the official day of mourning for President Ford, which means Federal......

What a night, eh Washington? If you're like us, you were up late listening to Kojo and Jonetta break down the election results as they came in on WAMU. Our favorite moment of the evening came just before 10 p.m., when Mayor Williams told co-host Jonetta Rose Barras she was crazy to suggest that anyone believed he had waited too long to decide if he would seek a third term. For the record Jonetta —......

We've followed the candidates for the last 16 months, and today is the day everything will be decided. We opted not to endorse any candidates, but we are going to put our betting skills to work and pick the winners for the D.C. races. Mayor: Love him or hate him, Adrian Fenty is taking this contest. Not only has he led competitor Linda Cropp in the polls since late July, his recent endorsement by the......

Written by DCist contributor Christopher Durocher In anticipation of the September 12 District primaries, the Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance (GLAA) of D.C. released its ratings for mayoral candidates last week. The ratings, which score candidates from +10 to -10 based on their support for the GLBT community and its issues, ranked D.C. Council Chair Linda Cropp the top candidate with a +9.5 rating, while Councilmember Vincent Orange found himself at the bottom of the......

It was a tantalizing prospect. The news that Walter Reed Army Medical Center would close in 2011 had District residents and officials dreaming of the possible uses for the 113 acres of land located between 16th Street and Georgia Avenue in residential Northwest Washington. Getting their hands on the land was always a longshot, however, and news organizations are reporting today that the Feds have lowered the boom on the idea -- deciding instead to......

The debate now seems to be settled -- Maryland has the worst drivers out there. According to the Washington Times, last month alone Marylanders were responsible for 64 percent of the traffic violations caught on the District's traffic cameras, while D.C. residents accounted for 20 percent, Virginia 9 percent and all other states 7 percent. Of course, we are just kidding that this number may say something about Maryland's drivers. Some of them seem......

It's official -- winter is over. Today is the Vernal Equinox, the day that daytime and nighttime are of equal length. But Mother Nature isn't one to make things easy on us. Our friends at Capital Weather are reporting that tomorrow might be particularly winter-like -- the temperature won't break 40, and we may even get some snow. So, enjoy today's mild weather as long as you can. Man Killed at Shaw Metro Station:......

Halloween falling on a Monday night, DCist took the night off, opting to hand candy to passing children and fend off egg attacks from neighborhood hooligans. We did explore area houses, though, taking in decorations both simple and elaborate. And proving that some people will use any opportunity to make a statement about the state of affairs in the country, we spied one gravestone marked "Scooter Libby, R.I.P." and one proclaiming the death of world......

Council-member Jack Evans (D-Ward 2) has probably had better weeks. Monday brought revelations from the Post that he had used a political action committee he controlled to pay himself back for certain expenses, and today the Post reported that he may have been reimbursed twice for an official trip to China and Taiwan last October. While not as juicy as leaking the name of an undercover CIA agent to the press and not as gossip......

Good morning, Washington. Unlike the promise made on the sign in this photo, Mayor Williams has confirmed our suspicions and formally announced that he will not seek another term. In a statement he made at the Hillcrest Rec Center, Williams said that he would be willing to advise the next mayor, but ruled out seeking any other office. Today's Post has an article discussing what Williams' tenure has meant for D.C. If you'd like......

It's not everyday that you run into a marching band on the District's streets. Yesterday was one of those days, though. After attending a brief meeting in the Judiciary Square area, DCist emerged to find a high school marching band clad in yellow t-shirts bearing the slogan, "Brown for Mayor." And suddenly it all made sense -- Michael Brown, son of the late Clinton era Commerce Secretary Ron Brown, officially declared his candidacy for mayor......

It's early enough in the 2006 mayoral campaign season that candidates can get away with mouthing applause-inducing platitudes about what's gone wrong, what's gone right, how they'll right the wrong, and how they were probably responsible for the right. But now that the race has all but been called a two-way contest between Council-member Adrian Fenty (D-Ward 4) and Council Chair Linda Cropp -- the Post and NBC 4's Tom Sherwood have termed it......

Well, DCist has gone and done it now. In an arbitrary post last week discussing the American Political Science Association's annual meeting in the District, former DCist food connoisseur Kanishka offered $100 to any reader who could catch Cornel West scarfing down a jumbo slice. Safe bet, right? I mean, who would have thought that Cornel West would actually scarf down, of all things, a jumbo slice? Well, one reader managed just that. Above, Cathy......

She's not set to announce her candidacy until tomorrow, but D.C. Council Chair Linda Cropp is already doing her best to increase her name recognition and create anticipation for her foray into the 2006 mayoral race. Starting Saturday, signs such as those pictured above began populating the trees, street signs, telephone poles, and public parks of the District. The signs -- bearing no information spare the simple message "Think Cropp" or its Spanish equivalent......

Four months ago the 2006 mayoral race was pure speculation. Come next week, though, we will finally have a confirmed slate of candidates -- and a year's worth of campaigning ahead of us. Council-members Adrian Fenty (D-Ward 4) and Vincent Orange (D-Ward 5) have been in the game for the better part of the summer, while former Verizon executive Marie Johns only recently joined the race and Council Chair Linda Cropp and lobbyist Michael......

Good morning, Washington. Today our thoughts are outside the beltway and with the people in the regions bracing for the wrath of Katrina, which made landfall this morning. Katrina may have been downgraded to a category four hurricane, yet it remains among the most powerful to ever hit the continental U.S. Our friends at Capital Weather have been following the storm closely and have posted a trove of commentary and insight. Our thoughts are with......

Adding to the already crowded roster of mayoral candidates, Michael A. Brown, a lobbyist and the son of the late Clinton-era Commerce Secretary Ron Brown, today told the Washington Times that he would formally announce his candidacy for the city's top job next month. His announcement will swell the ranks of mayoral hopefuls to five, including Council-members Adrian Fenty (D-Ward 4) and Vincent Orange (D-Ward 5), Council Chair Linda Cropp, and former Verizon executive Marie......

Good morning, Washington. There's a 70 percent chance of showers today in both the morning and afternoon, so remember to bring along an umbrella. Temps will max out at the positively cool lower 80s. Aziz Gökdemir uploaded this photo of the Awakening statue to DCist photos. The huge statue can be found on Hains Point. Our Mayor, Film Star: Mayor Anthony Williams participated in the filming of a 30-second scene with Michael Douglas for the......