People are coming to D.C. from all over, but can they afford to stay? more ›

The news that the District's Latino population keeps growing isn't new, but now you can better visualize how the city's shifting fortunes have affected where Latinos tend to live. more ›

You can't get into a conversation about the District without inevitably talking about how divided it is. That's because it's true. more ›

Do you like numbers? The District? Spreadsheets? Well, then today's like Christmas and your birthday rolled into one. All the vital information you might want to know about the District's new Census figures can be found in the PDF below and at this link. more ›

Friend of DCist Matt Yglesias tweets that the New York Times' incredibly cool Netflix popularity maps are a "fascinating window into DC area's socioeconomic divides." And how! Sure, most everybody was renting The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Twilight, and State of Play. But consider the clean break -- located along the Anacostia River -- between the areas of popularity of Milk and Lakeview Terrace, among others. Personally, we're just bummed that the excellent Man on Wire was strictly a Northwest D.C./Bethesda affair (it's really good, people). Oh, and those of you who live in zip code 22211: really, My Best Friend's Girl is not the answer. In the end, at least we're not Minneapolis, the residents of which can no longer hide from their guilty, yet near-universal affinity for Renee Zellweger's brand of snoozy rom-coms. more ›

That's the conclusion of former DCist editor and urban planner Rob Goodspeed, who has crunched the most recent numbers on his blog. Goodspeed predicts that Washington's long history as a majority-black city will come to an end as soon as 2014, at which time the city's black population will make up just above 49 percent of residents, with whites, Asians and other ethnic groups making up the rest of the population. The projection puts the demographic change arriving at least six years prior to the estimate made by Robert Lang, director of the Metropolitan Institute at Virginia Tech, when he was quoted in a Washington Post story on the subject last year. more ›

Vapiano: Hopefully Better than the Name Sounds DCist swung by the opening dinner last night at Vapiano, now open at 1800 M Street NW. It's a European-based pizza, pasta, and salad bar that claims to be leading a new trend in the restaurant industry deemed “Fresh Casual" (which was strange, given the greeters at the dinner were dressed to the nines). What does that mean? Vapiano explains it as “somewhere between the nicest of fast... more ›

LAist is experimenting with blogging dates from J-Date, but finds the best men are found offline. Some date vicariously online and that is one reason why porn is big -- really freaking big -- so they ask if they should cover XXX since the heart of it lays in the city's San Fernando Valley. A writer grapples with her food porn photography obsession, another gets censored on Flickr, one gets scooped by the LA... more ›

Former Editor-in-Chief Ryan Avent writes a weekly column about neighborhood and development issues. The news came as absolutely no surprise to most observers of the city of Washington, but it still managed to produce banner headlines and an outbreak of hand wringing. Which, I suppose, should also have been no surprise, in a city where issues of race and income lade every public policy discussion. Earlier this week, the Census Bureau released new data on... more ›

With 2006 fast coming to a close, the District on Friday reported what is surely cause for celebration -- the city's homocide tally, once one of the highest in the nation, is down, and dramatically so. According to current statistics, the District has suffered 156 homicides this year, 18.3 percent less than the same time in 2005 and 35 short of last year's total of 191. Short of a citywide killing spree in the next... more ›

Back to the feeding trough, all. After spending a weekend in the beautiful and delicious Bay Area, it's nice to be back to the reality of dirty campaigning, impossible political prognostications, and the constant braying that the turrists are going to blow us up. I wouldn't be here if I didn't love it… Restaurants in Anacostia? Is it time to put a sit down restaurant in the middle of Anacostia? That's the question Washington Business... more ›

A splendid morning to you, dear District. Looks like it'll be a nice sunny day, if a little chilly, with highs only reaching the mid-50s. It's also that day where one should watch out for broken mirrors and black cats crossing paths: Friday the 13th. Whatever you do, watch out for mummies being sold on Ebay, too. D.C. Taxis May Become Metered: Yeah, you've heard that one before. There may be some truth to... more ›

After last year’s WaPo Best Bet winners turned out to include an un-hip number of national chain stores and discount outlets, the organizers made some changes to the categories. The changes were designed to draw out the local spots and independent retailers that locals cherish. Categories like “Neighborhood Spot” and “Vintage/Thrift Store” were positively begging for an increased hipster presence in the poll. The 2006 Bets are out, and while peppered with Washington-based establishments, many... more ›

Fishbowl D.C. draws our attention today to MediaWeek's annual look at the local media outlets, which came out on Monday. There are plenty of interesting notes in MediaWeek's coverage, but the one that caught our eye (because Fishbowl D.C. pointed it out to us) relates to the circulation of a local sushi mogul's pet paper. more ›

In a town overwhelmed by art-rock groups trying hard to earn the respect of the Black Cat scenesters, and alt-rock groups jockeying for local radio airtime and record contracts, Shwa are banking more on honesty than image to stand out from the pack. The band’s edgy melodic rock reflect hints of Coldplay and Travis; a blend of acoustic folk and muddy Brit-rock electric guitar with this-is-how-things-really-are lyrics. There are actually two acts performing under the name Shwa -- the first is the solo Joshua Losben and his acoustic folk rock; the second is a full band lineup, playing the same songs with driving electric guitars backed by a solid rhythm section. It’s a formula that has allowed Losben to target multiple venues and demographics, playing countless gigs both intimate and rocking across the country and winning over the affections of fans eager for something different to call their own. more ›

From time to time, we have a little miscommunication here at the site, and the morning roundup doesn't get up as it normally does. Then we play a little game called live-blogging. First Stop: I'm sure it comes as a shock that we tend to hit the Washington Post first thing in the morning. Being a demographics geek, my eyes are immediately drawn to a story revealing that Virginia's Caroline and King George Counties, at... more ›

It seems that the folks over at Safeway have started taking the endearing nicknames for all their stores a little more seriously -- and they want to get rid of them. more ›

There's a simple reason Kojo Nnamdi is on radio -- something about his voice is soothing, reassuring and disarming. Whether testing microphones or querying his guests or the audience, Kojo speaks in a steady, curious tone, rarely betraying his opinion on any matter. But enough about Kojo -- we don't want you to think this is a review of a Scott Stapp show or something. Yesterday Kojo took his daily WAMU show on the road,... more ›

Up and at 'em, Washington. "Early to bed / early to rise / makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise," goes the saying. Well, two area initiatives are in healthier, wealthier positions this morning. First, City Administrator Robert Bobb has confirmed that D.C. will enter negotiations with Deutsche Bank for a stadium financing deal. The proposed package would apparently ease the tax burden placed on city businesses by giving the bank a piece of... more ›

If you're 35 to 54 years old, single, and scouring the web for some singles action, well, D.C. may not be the best place to get lucky. more ›

Perhaps adding confusion to the District's shifting demographics, new Census data shows some interesting, if contradictory, trends, the Post reports. For instance, there are more married couples in D.C., but also more single mothers. Also, children are disappearing, sort of. The city's school-age population has decreased since 2000, but ranks of toddlers have increased. more ›