WTOP reports on some of the ideas being floated around to create better cross-town connectivity as part of the White House Area Transportation Study. Ever since Pennsylvania Avenue and E Street were shut down to traffic around the White House after Sept. 11, 2001, getting across many parts of downtown D.C. by automobile at rush hour has been challenging, to say the least. One of the ideas DDOT and the National Capital Planning Commission are......

Aside from donating to charity or saving for your child's college fund, the best use of $6.75 is the quarter-chicken platter with fries and salad at Skorpios Maggio's Family Restaurant (affectionately known as Skorpios) in Vienna.  Hot rotisserie chicken, dusted with a lemon peppery spice blend, served to you on a divided plate with thick cut steak fries and a simple lettuce salad covered generously in feta and dressed with oil and vinegar, and a......

Though perhaps the inclination when it starts to dip past the point of freezing is to stay inside with a blanket and a cup of something steaming, there are so many things to do and see outside -- whether it's the White House or Capitol Christmas trees or one of the many holiday fairs -- that it's almost a shame to spend all of December on your couch. Flickr user sintixerr caught this scene......

Washington Performing Arts Society inaugurated its relationship with the brand-new downtown venue, Sidney Harman Hall, with a recital by Venezuelan-American pianist Gabriela Montero on Saturday afternoon. Although you may have heard about her abilities as an improviser on NPR last year, this was her first appearance in the area since she had to cancel her 2005 recital at the Corcoran. As you would expect of someone who took a Bronze Medal at the 1995 International......

Good morning, Washington. If you experienced a power outage at some point on Sunday, you were not alone. Strong winds averaging close to 40 mph knocked out power to as many as 100,000 customers across the metro area yesterday. While not much ice or snow ever materialized during the weekend's storm, Sunday's chilly wind made for an uncomfortable time walking through downtown D.C. for many holiday shoppers -- we spotted at least one woman near......

>> Three students at a controversial Massachusetts clinic where D.C. special education students have been farmed out for years were mistakenly subjected to electric shock treatments as part of a prank. [Examiner] >> A woman was shot outside the Brightwood Supermarket on the 100 block of Kennedy Street NW. Police said she was a bystander caught in a drive-by shooting. [NBC4] >> "Oh yeah, Linden would kill me if I didn't add that DDOT......

The swell of holiday concerts and Messiah and Nutcracker performances has reached a deafening level this week. Still, there are some excellent concerts to hear, if you just need to get away from the tinselly, Santa-hatted madness. HEADLINES: >> Venezuelan pianist Gabriela Montero will give a nearly sold-out Washington Performing Arts Society recital on Saturday (December 15, 2 p.m.), Sidney Harman Hall. This new downtown venue, if an article in The Economist is to be......

We've reached another Friday, D.C., but if those light flurries that accompanied you on your way into work this morning gave you visions of a leisurely Saturday snowball fight, you'll likely end up disappointed. Very little accumulation is expected from these flakes, and the weekend will see temperatures back in the upper 40s, with a possibility of some light rain on Saturday morning, according to CapitalWeather.com. If this update doesn't satisfy your weather nerd urges,......

The White House Christmas Tree lighting ceremony is scheduled for tomorrow, Thursday Nov. Dec. 6, at 5 p.m., which means without a doubt, if you can avoid driving your car in the city, you really should. The annual ceremony always screws up downtown traffic in an extreme way. Add the leftover snow and ice on the ground into the mix, and we can promise you a traffic clusterf*** of epic proportions tomorrow evening. If you'd......

>> D.C. police will spend $3 million in the 3rd Police District on an anti-gang initiative. [WaPo] >> Montgomery County Del. Jane Lawton, 63, died of an apparent heart attack this morning, collapsing after giving a speech in downtown Washington. Lawton also served as a four-term mayor of Chevy Chase. [Md. Moment] >> If you have an elderly relative living at either Carolyn Boone Lewis Health Care Center in D.C. or Ruxton Health of......

It looks like DCJeff has been a-wanderin', shooting the streets of D.C. and leaving us with a bounty of gorgeous images in DCist's Flickr pool. This sepia-toned image of a dilapidated building, located near a cemetery downtown, reveals subtle textures in the bricks and windows that we find mesmerizing. EXIF.......

>> The Black Cat's backstage is going to be pumping out the punk noise tonight as Antelope stops by, with Thank You and The Andalusians. $8, 9 p.m. >> DC Scores, a local nonprofit that provides innovative after-school programming to Washington kids, is hosting its 10th Annual Poetry Slam tonight. The event will feature 300 of the District's public elementary and middle school students competing for the coveted Golden Mic trophy -- obviously it......

MONDAY: Makes Me Wanna Holler and What's Going On author Nathan McCall will be at the Olsson's in Penn Quarter to read from his new novel, Them. It might sound more like science-fiction than a Marvin Gaye song, but it's about the complex relationship that develops between two neighbors in downtown Atlanta. 7 p.m. Robert Kuttner, founder and editor of the American Prospect, will be at Politics and Prose to discuss his new book, The......

Ten hours in to the 24-hour D.C. taxi strike, it's looking like a large percentage of drivers in fact stayed home. As people make their way out of offices to head home and tend to children anxious to begin trick or treating, what will they find? Based on streets we've seen around town virtually devoid of D.C. cabs, we'd say that if you have your own car, your drive will most likely be a lot......

The Washington Business Journal reported yesterday that the Washington Convention Center will be officially renamed to honor D.C.'s first elected mayor, Walter E. Washington. Apparently the D.C. Council approved the name change last year, though we can't recall having heard about it at the time. The idea is a fine one though, and Washington is certainly worthy of having his legacy honored. So what's the problem? As of Nov. 5, the building will officially become......

Welcome back to work, Washington. Perhaps you're struggling to focus this morning, having only barely recovered from the weekend's Halloween festivities. Perhaps you just had a difficult time extricating yourself from your bed on this first cold morning of the year. Whatever the case may be, DCist recommends a strong cup of coffee with a dash of Rumbler to get your motor running today. The Rumbler is described as a "high-tech blaster" being used in......

Gothamist learned about the craziest urban nightmare come true: A huge python found in the bathroom pipes. It was also a nightmare for some Yankees fans, as manger Joe Torre declined to come back and manage the Bronx Bombers. At least the city's attempt to give some direction to subway riders was interesting, pranksters went shirtless at the Fifth Avenue Abercrombie & Fitch and the I Heart Brooklyn Girls calendars came out. And just......

Once again Penn Quarter Living is on the ball with a newsworthy neighborhood post. They link to a Downtown Neighborhood Association announcement that Douglas Development has been negotiating with Whole Foods Market to lease them store space on 7th Street between E and D Streets NW. This is the same space that Balducci's was briefly considering before deciding against the move last year. Balducci's retreat from the location was met with a lot of desperate......

Just in time for the evening rush hour, MPD has sealed off four blocks of downtown to pedestrian and vehicular traffic. The officers we spoke to said that a suspicious package is to blame, and that the closed area stretches from K St. to M and from 15th to 17th. If you work in the affected area you'll be permitted to walk out of the area, toward its nearest edge — but otherwise the......

View Larger MapView Larger Map We've long been concerned with the dangers of exploding manholes, and this morning one such explosion has disrupted electricity to businesses and residences in an area of downtown just north of Sherman Circle, in the 900 block of Farragut St. NW. The Associated Press says that Pepco has been notified and crews should already be on the scene. Thankfully, no injuries have been reported. Anyone seen anything down there?......

By DCist Contributor Sarah Stonesifer The Eagle - American: >> At American University, officials decided that an official record will be kept along with possible judicial action after students receive their "second medical transport due to alcohol consumption." So remember kids, the first case of alcohol poisoning is free. >> There was an attempted robbery in an American University dorm last Saturday, but the suspect was quickly apprehended and identified. The Hoya - Georgetown: >>......

Marc Fisher: As the Senate gets ready to debate the District voting rights legislation, Fisher lists the dozen top reasons why senators from both parties should vote to enfranchise the city's residents. The more and more we look into it, the better the case looks. Let's hope the Senate agrees. Tom Knott: You know Knott's verbal insanity is in good form when the title of his weekly column is "It's Gathering of Eagles vs. nitwit......

The recent antics of the anti-war ANSWER Coalition, including pasting signs on utility boxes advertising their planned protest this Saturday on the National Mall despite orders from the city not to, resulting in several arrests and thousands of dollars in fines, haven't won the group many new fans among locals. Even though the District is a heavily liberal town populated by people who mainly agree with their stand on the war, ANSWER's attitude toward the......

[Updated]: So much music, so little time. While tomorrow's This Week In Jazz column will preview this year's fantastic Duke Ellington Jazz Festival, there is even more jazz to be had for those who can't wait that long. This Saturday, September 8, the 17th Annual Rosslyn Jazz Festival will take place at Gateway Park from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. On the same day, D.C.'s Maryland suburbs get their own jazz celebration in the form......

Good morning, Washington, and welcome to September. After what was quite possibly the most beautiful weekend in the history of late summer weather in this city, we've finally arrived at the date many of us still associate with "back-to-school" -- the Tuesday after Labor Day. So sharpen your pencils, polish your lunchbox and make sure you have the right Trapper Keeper as we check out today's headlines. At Least Four Weekend Killings: The Examiner......

With unseasonable weather descending upon much of North America, schools getting ready to reconvene, and sports seasons getting exciting, it's a busy time of year for us here in the Ist-a-verse. Luckily, even with all the things we have to do, we still managed to get together to let you know what we've all been up to. After cooling down from a hot weekend of many badass Sunset Junction Street Fair photo dispatches, LAist asked......

Good morning, Washington. Just one more day! By tomorrow we'll be free of this dreary, occasionally drizzly mess — or so CapitalWeather assures us. Here's hoping they're right. Although the cooler temperatures have been pleasant, we've had enough of this gray mid-winter preview. MPD Officers' Trial Begins: The Post reports on the start of Milagros Morales' and Erick Brown's trial. The two police detectives are accused of manipulating witnesses into implicating Jerome Jones in the......

Can't anyone get D.C. right? Today the Post's Reliable Source reports that Nicole Kidman's newest thriller, The Invasion, makes a number of relatively amateur mistakes in trying to use the District as a backdrop, even though a good part of it was filmed here. Among those: - Kidman, who plays a D.C. psychiatrist, buys magazines at one of those big sidewalk newsstand kiosks -- the ones all over New York but not on any corner......

In case you're working downtown and wondering what the heck is going on with all those ambulances, turns out firefighters were rescuing a man who had a medical emergency while operating the crane pictured at right at about 150 feet in the air. It's unclear what kind of emergency the man was having, but according to eyes on the ground, at just after 12:30 p.m. rescuers finally had the man down from the crane and......

Former Editor-in-Chief Ryan Avent writes a weekly column about neighborhood and development issues. He'll be on vacation for the next two weeks; this column will return on August 19th. It’s been a hard summer for many loved and local businesses, some of which have been a part of the city’s life for decades. This week, long lines trailed down New York Avenue as customers waited to get a last meal at A.V. Ristorante. In June,......