What we love about this one is imagining the police department meeting that led to this sting. Surely it went something like this: "Dude, I am so totally bored. I haven't arrested anyone in like, three days. Who can we arrest?" "Uhh. Well hey, you know who really likes doing drugs? Jam band fans!" "Perfect. This will be easier than busting a high school party for underage drinking. Let's roll."......

District Department of Transportation workers this morning removed dozens of shoes that had been flung up in two trees in the 400 block of Q Street NW. The work was done after residents complained on the Third Police District email listserve that they believe the shoes had been placed there over the years as a way to mark gang or drug territory. One resident posted to the listserve over the weekend: "When will the shoes......

Just a few days from now, the critically acclaimed HBO series The Wire will kick off its fifth and final season. Considered one of the best and most realistic portrayals of crime and corruption in a struggling city (Baltimore, in this case), the show traces the thin line that divides the good guys from the bad. Whether cops stealing stacks of cash during drug busts or thieving dockworkers pooling together money for a stained-glass window......

How about that first snow storm of the season, Washington? CapitalWeather.com says that "yesterday's clipper system actually significantly 'over-performed,'" which is why we ended up with 2-4" of snow for the region instead of the 1" we were originally expecting. The Examiner was concerned about your commute this morning thanks to overnight lows that were forecast to drop into the low 20s, allowing for ice to refreeze on the roads in time for this......

The guitarist for the pop-punk band Hawthorne Heights passed away before the group's show at the 9:30 Club over the weekend. Casey Calvert, 25, was found dead on the band's tour bus at around 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, parked outside the venue in Northwest D.C. A cause of death has yet to be determined, but Calvert's bandmates have been quick to defend against speculation that drugs were involved. They posted the following message to their......

Channel 9 reporter Bruce Johnson has broken the story on the dust-up at the Washington Post this past week. Classical music critic Tim Page, winner of a Pulitzer prize, has long been one of the best writers in the Style section, making the paper's shrinking coverage of classical music all the more shameful. In response to a mass email from the staff of Ward 8 Council member Marion Barry, which was sent to Page apparently......

The autopsy for 14 year-old DeOnté Rawlings, who was killed by an off-duty police officer last month, has been released -- but its findings don't provide many more clues as to what might have happened that night. According to the Post, the autopsy report shows that Rawlings died of a gunshot wound to the back of his head. It also says that no traces of drugs or alcohol were in his blood, and more notably,......

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......

MONDAY: A Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and the wife of Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, Connie Schultz will be at Politics and Prose to discuss her book ... And His Lovely Wife, which is her behind-the-scenes look at Brown's campaign and their marriage. 7 p.m. In Last One In, Nicholas Kulish, who was embedded with a Marine attack-helicopter squadron for the Wall Street Journal, spins a slightly unbelievable tale of a gossip columnist who ends up covering......

Seattlest has a talk with the photographer from last week's "Segway Mom" and then experiences some dissension in the ranks over the question of wine vs. beer. It's not West Side Story, but about as close as they'll get. They're also still waiting on some inbox relief after a spammer is arrested. As Chicagoist counts down the days to its third anniversary party, they found all-organic pizza to be underwhelming amidst the hoopla, tried......

MONDAY >> Don't be fooled by the picture. That isn't Trent Reznor and his ever-changing group of touring musicians. It's Greg Dulli's pals and labelmates Afterhours, and they'll be playing DC9 with Cedars. Expect tons of sex, drugs, rock and roll and Italian accents. Bravissimo! $8, 8 p.m. TUESDAY >> Hailing from Derry/Donegal on the northwest coast of Ireland, Claire Sproule has been playing guitar and writing songs since she was 14. She lists Tom......

Fox's Wisdom Martin reports that Maryland State Senator Anthony Muse calls the sale of bongs in gas stations a slap in the face in the war on drugs. Muse says drugs cause murders and incarcerations, and therefore he [along with Senator Miller, of course] has proposed emergency legislation banning bong sales – or at least significantly raising taxes on bong sales – in order to advance his political career and get some face time on......

We gotta say, Mother Nature is a moody lady. She gives us Saturday's near-perfect conditions to watch the Idiotarod in all it's idiotic glory, then follows up with Sunday's frigid bluster. This week, she's gonna drop the winter hammer again, with highs in the thirties and – dare I say – the possibility of snow. Stay tuned to DCist to see if the forecast warrants scaring up the ol' Snowpacalypse Warning System. Alleged Cocaine Dealers......

It isn't easy being the District. While we District residents pride ourselves on living in a city that is diverse and dynamic, the rest of the country tends to lump us together with the federal government that shares our geographic space. Call it guilt by association -- Congress wastes money and the president lies, and suddenly everyone who lives within the city limits has something to do with federal excesses and excuses. This couldn't be......

TUESDAY >> There isn't much going on today, but you might want to check out Black Cat's backstage screening of the 2005 documentary New York Dolls: All Dolled Up. Photographer Bob Gruen followed the band during the early 1970s and shot performances in venues all across the U.S. We expect plenty of sex, drugs and that other thing that comes after drugs. Kittens? $3, 9 p.m. WEDNESDAY >> The Alphabetical Order let us know that......

>> The Yellow Line is back in full service after an accident killed Leslie A. Cherry, a veteran Metro employee from Maryland, while he was conducting a routine track inspection. Another Metro employee is currently in critical condition at an area hospital. Our thoughts are with the families of both employees, as well as the train operator involved in the accident. >> Don't forget to head to down to Ireland's Four Fields Pub in Cleveland......

>> Newly anointed Jim Webb waited more than an hour after George Allen's concession to address supporters in Arlington. Thanking Allen, Webb said he planned to "stop the politics of divisiveness." He also asked Bush to "publicly denounce the campaign tactics that have divided us." Strong words from a man with only 8,000 people between him and the unemployment line. No matter your party loyalties, it's always a gift to know that we won't be......

>>You are hereby ordered to step away from the desk and immediately proceed to the DAM! venue of your choice. >>If you're way too cool for that, check out the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum's event tonight. The best part? The inventor of the majestic Klingon language will be on hand. Qapla! >> Apparently it's hard to run for president without being master of your domain. [Yeas and Nays] >>Get ready to find those horny......

Written by DCist contributor Eli Resnick. Apparently, we are all on drugs. There is no other simple explanation for the collective hallucination that has overtaken all three people paying attention to the Washington Capitals' game late last night against the Colorado Avalanche. No, the rink didn't fall off its mountain, and no, Ray Bourque did not appear to the crowd in an Avs uniform, hipcheck Ovechkin and score a hat-trick. Instead, something much stranger seemed......

Enjoying your grey and drizzly morning, Washington? Well you're in luck. Our current perfectly reasonable precipitation is predicted to turn into an ill-tempered thunderstorm by this afternoon. If only we could prescribe psychotropic drugs and anger management classes for the weather. Alas. We'll just have to settle for some slightly upsetting headlines. Police Find More Guns In Shooter's Home: The Post brings us the latest developments in the investigation of Monday's shooting at the Sully......

Good morning, Washington, and happy Cinco de Mayo. We understand that with all the recent furor over immigration, some folks might suddenly find themselves adopting an anti-Cinco stance. But to our xenophobic, er, friends we say: remember, this holiday is really about a military victory against the French. Surely that's something that both Minutemen and Mexican immigrants can agree to celebrate. Day Labor Center's Fate Unknown: Immigration opponents in Herndon have been quick to claim......

The City Paper's City Desk blog noted yesterday that a Wednesday Superior Court hearing revealed that Christopher Barry, son of Marion, had tested positive for traces of marijuana. Barry was in court for an April arrest after driving his father's car without a valid license. The positive drug test also violates a pre-sentencing agreement from a 2005 arrest for assaulting a police officer. City Desk spoke to A. Scott Bolden, who is representing the younger......

Yesterday was the perfect day for playing a little hooky -- beautiful springtime weather and the Nationals' home opener would tempt anyone, including us. Some of those who gave in to those temptations weren't too good about hiding them, especially to the media or their employers. As written in a Post article on the Nats' 7-1 loss to the New York Mets: "This is our team," declared Lynette Jackson, 50, of D.C., who called......

Be watchful, Washington -- according to news published today by the Washington Times, girl gangs are on the rise throughout the District. A city official noted in the article that over the last three years gang activity among girls has risen, and that there are now some 270 girl gangs operating throughout the District. While male gangs are commonly involved in drugs and crime, girls gangs apparently clash over "anything from fashion styles to......

"I find the most willing kinky geeks." DCist talked with Samantha Wolov, American University's own queen of "dirty pictures" Sunday night, and found that despite the erotic stuff, all the blow jobs and the cum shots, Wolov is by all measures not your standard, wild 21-year-old. She doesn't do drugs. She is entirely monogamous. She doesn't drink at all. “OK, I had a cocktail once. But I got buzzed after a few sips, so I......

Good morning, Washington. We imagine that by now you may have already heard about the fallout over 84 year-old Maryland Comptroller William Schaeffer's inappropriate remarks to one of Governor Ehrlich's female staffers. Schaeffer was initially unapologetic, but Ehrlich says that he later expressed regret — although it's not clear whether he has yet apologized to the young woman in question. The Post covers the issue here; ABC 7 has video of the incident here. Spotsylvania......

Last week we considered how Marion Barry's supporters would defend against the recent accusations that he failed a drug test late last year, a revelation that could land him in prison for 18 months. Today's online newsletter from DC Watch features more debate on the matter, and new approaches to backing the former mayor. The Post today described Barry's longstanding struggles with drugs, alcohol, and women, noting that the Ward 8 council-member has consistently lost......

Severance for Metro Chief Higher Than Average: When WMATA Chief Richard White stepped down/was fired last week, few seemed surprised at the news. Most were, though, surprised at the size of his severance package -- a one-time payment of $238,000, an annual pension payment of $116,000, free Metro travel and health care for life, and a $58,000 annual salary for his wife. Yesterday the Post reported that White's severance exceeds that of comparable transit......

Many of us snickered upon hearing the news -- Marion Barry, the District's mayor-for-life and most infamous crack addict, had been caught again, victim of his own inability to stay away from illegal drugs. Just the same, some of Barry's defenders started coming out of the woodwork, celebrating a man who while imperfect was still a reason for hope for many of the city's residents. In today's edition of DC Watch's widely read online newsletter,......

The Washington Post reports this evening that former Mayor and current D.C. Council member Marion Barry has again run into trouble with drugs. In a court-ordered drug test that followed a guilty plea on misdemeanor tax charges, Barry tested positive for cocaine use. The positive test increases the chance that Barry will serve time for his six-year failure to file tax returns. Barry was convicted of misdemeanor possession of cocaine in 1990.......