People in a Northeast D.C. neighborhood are worried that the construction of a memorial to the victims of the June 2009 Metrorail accident that killed nine would increase the frequency of teenagers having outdoor sex in the area. more ›

There's already a plaque at the Fort Totten Metro station, but by this June D.C. officials hope to have a design for what will eventually become a permanently memorial to the nine people who were killed in the 2009 Metro crash outside the Red Line station. more ›

Shortly after the Metrorail crash near Fort Totten that killed nine people on June 22, 2009, WMATA decided to switch its trains to manual mode, which would give its operators more control to stop and control the speed of trains. Almost two years later though, the agency's hardly close to returning to automatic operation. more ›

An unidentified man was found dead on the 5500 block of 3rd Street NE, near the Fort Totten Metro station at 8 a.m. this morning. MPD is investigating the man's death as a homicide. No further information regarding the man's identity or the circumstances surrounding his death are currently available. more ›

According to US Park Police, the Fort Totten park trail has become the site of several robberies over the past few months, the latest occurring Friday night. Park Police say at least six robberies have occurred during evening hours as commuters cut through the park on their way home. Normally the park is closed after dark. Although violence has been threatened, none of the victims have been hurt, reports WUSA9. Reiterating Metro's sage advice, commuters are recommended to stick to the main routes and stay in well lit areas. more ›

If you're heading out of the office to hop on the Green line at this very moment, may we suggest a bus? An unidentified man was struck by a train at 4:40 p.m. at the Fort Totten station and Metro put out the word to expect major delays. From WMATA: (Green line) trains are single-tracking through the area, taking turns headed in both directions between West Hyattsville and Georgia Ave-Petworth Metrorail stations. Shuttle buses have... more ›

Fall leaves have lingered on trees much later than normal this year, leading to slippery conditions all over the city. Metro once again had to place speed restrictions on all trains passing through above-ground stations over the weekend, and we spotted more than a few people stepping carefully through wet and leaf-covered sidewalks this morning after last night's storm. Seems like a good time to remind everyone how fall leaf collection works in the District.... more ›

If you’re a regular reader of Transit on Thursday, you’ll have noted week after week of Green line delays over the past few months caused by the testing of new rail cars. Good news – those delays could soon cease. Metro is getting ready to stop testing and starting using, reports WTOP. The new rail cars, featuring two different designs, will be brought into service by Christmas. The first design is carpetless, with lots of... more ›

As we are still recovering from the gluttony that was Thanksgiving, and since it was pretty slow news week in, well, everything, we are light on the transit news, too. But first, which D.C. Council Member likes to ignore laws? You get one guess and the answer is after the jump. Photo by AlbinoFlea... more ›

Commenter Nate asked if we would look into what's been happening on the Red line lately, which he describes as having been suffering from "morning and/or afternoon delays every day for nearly two weeks now." Indeed, we've heard others grumbling about the Red line of late, which is usually one of Metro's speediest rush hour options. WMATA explains that the current Red line delays are due to ongoing work needed to replace pieces of... more ›

WTOP's Adam Tuss is the first to the gate with news of Metro's Board of Directors having agreed today to a fare hike proposal to put forward to the public. Here's the details: >> Peak Metrorail base fares would increase 30 cents, from $1.35 to $1.65 >> Off-peak rail service would remain at $1.35 >> The maximum rail fare would jump 80 cents, to $4.70 >> If you use SmarTrip, bus fares will remain... more ›

>> We would have liked to have read about "The Best Bars in DC For Ensuring That You Will Not Run Into a Single Person Even Vaguely Connected With Politics or Media (crossposted to Gridskipper)." Good luck to you, Pareene. [Wonkette] >> A fire will be set Saturday morning on Metrorail's bridge over the Potomac River as part of an emergency-response drill involving 100 firefighters from seven area jurisdictions. The Yellow line will be shut... more ›

It's going to be another rough commute home on Metro this evening, with major delays on the Green Line currently after a woman was struck by a train at the Georgia Ave-Petworth station a little over an hour ago. WMATA reports that Green line trains are sharing one track between the Georgia Ave-Petworth and Fort Totten stations while police and emergency personnel investigate the incident and talk with the woman, who is expected to survive.... more ›

If you're heading to any Yellow line destinations this weekend, including National Airport, you should make alternate plans. Metro is shutting down the Yellow line rail bridge over the Potomac River this weekend to do track maintenance and conduct an annual bridge inspection. The closure begins tonight at 10 p.m. and lasts through Sunday at midnight. Directions from WMATA: When a Yellow Line train arrives at the King Street Metrorail station, passengers must transfer to... more ›

Good Monday morning to you, Washington. We can officially declare that the dog days of August have arrived today, now that the House has finally, finally adjourned for their summer break. News junkies will want to note that before heading home they passed a modified version of the defense budget, which will increase spending for defense health care and military housing, among a list of other expenditures. Of course what Washingtonians really care about is... more ›

The Armed Forces Retirement Home, also called the Old Soldiers’ Home, sparked a battle with area residents in late 2005 when it released plans for commercial and residential development of its bucolic estate in north-central Washington. Now, a community nonprofit is in the fray, fighting to create a park on a portion of the home’s land, closed to the public for over 50 years. Officially established late last summer, Washington Central Parks wants to use... more ›

Hey Green line riders, are you by any chance just getting in to work right now? Yeah, we're sorry to hear that, but there have been major Green line delays since 7 a.m. this morning, when a six-car train stalled and broke down on the inbound track near West Hyattsville. To make matters worse, a second train sent in to push the broken one down the track also lost power, shutting down the tracks entirely... more ›

We were happy, last week, to welcome Queen Elizabeth II to town. The trip was her first the colonies States in 16 years, the occassion a commemoration of the founding of the Jamestown settlement in 1607. Hundreds turned out for her appearance, demonstrating once again America's fascination with British royalty, despite throwing off the yoke of their rule over 200 years ago. Perhaps the American interest in the monarchy stems from wondering about what life... more ›

Live long enough in this town, and you've probably done some pretty crazy things for that perfect parking spot. Put your bumpers to their literal use. Laid down on the street. Threatened the elderly. Believe us, we're not judging: we've all been there. When you've been making concentric circles around 18th and U for 45 minutes, you'll give your first born just to park and go home. You never liked that brat much, anyway. Still,... more ›

Seriously. Who doesn't love the law of supply and demand? We all learned about it in Econ 101. Yet so few seem to understand it. Maybe that's because so few of us took Econ 102 . Or maybe just because its more fun to simply twist it to justify whatever policy or proposal you want. Either way, after the jump we have this week's supply of transit news. The Examiner offers up more transit wisdom,... more ›

It may have been the shortest State of Emergency declaration the District has ever seen -- imposed on Tuesday night in response to two days of heavy rainfall, only to be quietly rescinded on Wednesday. But as the city dries off, residents are starting to wonder whether the declaration was needed at all. More importantly, concerns are being raised over what the response to heavy rain says about the city's ability to deal with a... more ›

At one point or another, we've all had something we picked up off the street. Be it a couch someone needed to rid themselves of, an old picture frame, even a ratty yet functioning toaster oven -- look hard enough, and the District's sidewalks and the stuff people put on them can serve to furnish or decorate your house. But when does someone's free giveaway become someone else's garbage? We can't just dump trash bags... more ›

Written by DCist contributor Andrew Wiseman. Today, Northwest D.C. is the scene of battles over gentrification and parking. In 1864, however, it was the scene of another kind of battle: an invasion by Southern troops. Fort Stevens, hidden on Quackenbos Street NW between 13th and Georgia, is a pretty unremarkable place. A few steps from the Georgia Avenue Thrift Store and a 70 bus stop, it’s basically a strangely-shaped hill (the fort’s earthworks) with a... more ›

This week we reported that some police officers have been wrongfully enforcing the D.C. smoking ban in restaurants, found one of the area's best burgers in an unexpected place, recognized that maybe there may be too much junk food in local food banks and commended the Post for its four Pulitzer prizes. We checked out some local bands at the Black Cat, found unintentional hilarity over at WMATA's website, pondered express service on Metro... more ›

Word is leaking out -- Metro's Yellow Line will extend its runs to the Ft. Totten station during off-peak hours starting in January 2007. In a letter to his constituents, Council-member Jim Graham (D-Ward 1), who had long pushed for the idea, wrote: The WMATA board has given the green light to extending the Yellow Line to Fort Totten during off-peak periods. As a voting member, I proposed this extension. It would double the number... more ›

Hi there, Washington. Check out this lovely photo from Flickr user LaTur. It looks like we're in for more of that kind of sunny weather — today's going to be clear, windy and cold. Kaine Aide's Remarks Draw Republican Ire: William Leighty, Governor Tim Kaine's Chief of Staff has gotten his boss in trouble with Virginia Republicans after implying that the governor would discriminate against legislation drafted by lawmakers hostile to his transportation agenda. Leighty... more ›

We didn't mean to, but it seems that we set off an interesting discussion about new names for the city's neighborhoods. As we mentioned this morning, real estate prices in NoMa are fast rising. For those of you unaware of a neighborhood called "NoMa" within the District, it's a large swath of land north of Massachusetts Avenue and east of North Capitol Street, fanning out from Union Station and encompassing a once industrial wasteland that... more ›

Crime levels in the District improved, for the most part, in 2005, continuing a 15-year trend of improved public safety in Washington. While the capital's surrounding municipalities all experienced an increase in homicides from 2004 (with Prince George's County posting its highest toll ever at 168), the District saw a drop for the year to 195 homicides, down from 198 in 2004. It was the lowest number killed in the city since 1986. The Metropolitan... more ›

Welcome back, Washington. We hope you had a Turkey Day filled with food, family, and football triumphs. Now it's back to work, maggot! Hey, at least it'll be warm: today is likely to be rainy, but will have temperatures in the sixties. That's not bad for being on the cold side of Thanksgiving.

Annapolis Fire Destroys Building, Costs Millions: The weekend's big news was the blaze that tore through Annapolis's historic district. No one was injured, but the front of a jewelry store had to be demolished due to structural instability resulting from the fire. The Candy Factory and Main Street Ice Cream were also seriously damaged by the five-alarm fire. A fourth business, A.L. Goodies General Store, suffered smoke damage but remains open, according to the Post.

Post Exposes Wasteful City Spending: Sunday's Washington Post included a must-read article on the D.C. government's use of loopholes to avoid the bidding process on city contracts. Nearly a fifth of last year's expenditures went to unauthorized and no-bid contracts. As a result, $50 million went to waste. City CFO Natwar Gandhi says that the District's financial system is so broken that he has no choice but to cut checks for unauthorized expenditures. Mayor Williams — the man commonly credited with returning the city to fiscal health and discipline — declined to comment for the story.

Black Widow Strikes Again: Alexandria's own Sonya Thomas — aka "The Black Widow" — has another competitive eating title to place under her surprisingly small belt. On Wednesday Thomas consumed 4 pounds, 3.1 ounces of turkey in a New York competition. That's nearly five percent of her body weight. She walked away with first prize and $2500 for the feat.

Only 27 Shopping Days Left: The District's ten-day sales tax holiday began last Friday and lasts until December 4 (that'd be, uhh ... Sunday!). Don't forget to take advantage of the tax-free period. Also worth noting: today is "Cyber Monday." We suspect that this stupidly-named occasion is the invention of some uninspired ad agencies rather than an authentic retail phenomenon that suddenly sprung, fully-formed, from the great god of consumerism's forehead. But who cares where it came from — we need marginally cheaper consumer electronics, and we need them now! We didn't dare brave the malls on Friday; constantly refreshing our favorite bargain sites sounds like a better alternative.

Briefly Noted: Amber Alert issued... Couple charged with Montgomery County bank robbery... Woman's death on elevator leads to calls for improved regulation... Teen dies after Oak Hill brawl... Fire in SE appears to be homicide cover-up... Six youths arrested at Fort Totten Metro station... Baseball hearing set for today... WUSA: this is just sad...

Image posted to DCist Photos by dcJohn

For those who will be around town this weekend, it's probably safe to assume that you'll run into some sort of July Fourth crowd. We used to go down to the Mall, but sitting around for hours to secure a patch of grass in the sun isn't what we call fun. We've mixed up our fireworks-watching spots from year to year and here, we want to start a conversation with our readers as to different... more ›