Fire should not be a problem during a blizzard. Fire beats electrical wires, snow puts out fire, salt covers snow: It's the paper-rock-scissors order of nature. Yet ABC7 reports that the snow hampered firefighters, not the fire itself, during a blizzard blaze in Great Falls last night. Firefighters trudged in waist-deep snow up a -- wtf is up with a mile-long driveway! -- and arrived in time to safely escort the residents away with their vehicles and some other stuff. Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Deputy Chief Andrew Duke told ABC7 that the firefighters were unable to get water-pumping equipment to the house in time. One would think he would continue by saying, "Which is okay, because it was snowing, so the snow put out the fire, nbd." One would think. more ›

Is it today's heat that's making you feel delirious, or does this photo just look that way? An ethereal, infrared look at the Potomac just below Great Falls caught my eye today. The 13-second exposure succeeds to catch the current of the river, which makes it look like it's bulging above its banks. At any rate, it looks pretty inviting; maybe they can move the triathlon swim a few miles upstream. more ›

Water, water everywhere. The Flickr pool has become almost literal lately, with all our photogs headed for the high seas ... well, the Potomac mostly, with these refreshing shots of kayaks out in full force, some majestic water birds, and photos of great liquidy landscapes like this shot channeling Ansel Adams by outlandk taken out in Great Falls, Virginia. EXIF. more ›

Memorial Day is this Monday, meaning a lot of Washingtonians have a three day weekend. With the extra day comes extra opportunity to take a day trip (or two) around the area. We polled our staffer for some good destinations in the area to share, so pump up the bike tires, get out the hiking boots or start the car (Zip, Flex, or your own). And if you have any other good suggestions, let us... more ›

Today, Washington is still dealing with the aftermath of losing so many area residents at Virginia Tech and trying to grasp the scope of Monday's events. Even those not connected to the school have been moved to prayer and shows of support. In situations like these, many of us feel powerless, yet some gain strength by joining others to reflect and remember. Yesterday students at UVa, Georgetown, Galluadet, Howard, UMd, Catholic University, American, UDC, GW... more ›

What does a young graffiti artist brought down in his prime do? Go back to tagging of course, but this time for a living. Borf, the notorious Virginia-based graffiti artist that spent the better part of two years brazenly tagging everything in the District from garbage cans to highway signs (a sampling of his work is pictured here), may just have found his dream job. After being sentenced to a month in jail last February... more ›

Good morning, Washington. The good news: it looks like we'll get to hang on to this warm weather for a bit longer. The bad: well, look out your window. Today might be a good day to resign yourself to the lousy food court in the building, eat at your desk, and try to get your holiday shopping done. There are only three more days before those celebrating Christmas will need to pay Amazon for express shipping! Pepco Proposes Price Increase: WTOP brings news of a potential increase in electricity rates for District residents. Pepco has apparently asked the city for approval of an eight percent price hike. I suppose it's hard to complain in light of what Maryland residents faced earlier this year. Area Gets Mixed Grades On Flu Preparedness: The Trust for America's Health has just issued a new report ranking states' levels of preparation for an avian flu pandemic, as the Post reports. So which side of the Potomac would be best for riding out a bird flu cataclysm? Looks like Virginia is the place to be: it finished near the top of the nationwide list, while Maryland and the District did relatively poorly. City officials are objecting to being compared to states, however. And the District did well when it came to the number of hospital beds that would be available for an emergency. NIMBYism Hits Alexandria: A planned homeless shelter has run into objections from residents living near its proposed site. That's hardly new for this or any other urban area. But in this case the stakes are a little higher than normal: as the Post reports, the proposed shelter would serve homeless individuals suffering from mental illnesses — individuals that conventional shelters aren't equipped to help. Briefly Noted: Trooper seriously injured in Maryland shootout... Mr. Fenty goes to the DCRA, visits with police... Great Falls mulls development... Inova Fairfax cancels liver transplant program... Sludge dumping into Potomac to cease... This Day In DCist: One year ago the weather had us talking about fingerless gloves. Two years ago we were complaining about Dulles and spotting the Bush twins. Image posted to DCist Photos by Flickr user cyaneyed more ›

To all those who hated Borf and his many tags across the region, your wishes may have come true -- according to NBC 4, Borf was sentenced to one month in prison today. more ›

Good morning, Washington. Either you're in the throes of a long weekend courtesy of the holidays, or toiling away at work. We at DCist are glad to be back -- albeit at a slower pace this week -- bringing you the news and events one post at a time. And while Christmas has come and gone, both Hanukkah and Kwanzaa kick off today, extending the celebration for the week to come. more ›

Borf. Perhaps you thought you'd heard the last about him when Metropolitan Police arrested John Tsombikos in July, a teen from Great Falls, Virginia, who admitted responsibility for the once-ubiquitous tags around the city. We certainly considered the matter somewhat closed when we posted our thoughts about the meaning of Borf's work several days later. more ›

Catherine Andrews contributed to these picks FRIDAY: >> It's your duty as a local music loving citizen: you must make it out to the Black Cat tonight to catch the line up of Washington Social Club (read our interview here), Monopoli, and Cartel. Their live shows range from frenetic to slowburning to melodious, and they're all a treat. DCist will be there with stacks of t-shirts to sell and info about the site. 9:30,... more ›

So the Nats are having a little post-All Star Game slump. In any city, fans would blame the players, the managers, the umpires, anything. Here in Washington, where the beloved Nationals have electrified a baseball-starved populace? It's the fans, like the one at right that Justin DC snapped a pic of at Monday's game against the Colorado Rockies. The bandwagoners, to be exact. Writes the Post: When the bandwagoners first showed up -- yapping on... more ›

We know, we know, we'll get it out of the way first -- we cover Borf too much, Borf sucks, he's a tagger without talent, we're "crackers" for even writing about him, etc, etc, etc. Believe us, we've heard it all. Over and over. And over. more ›

A recent survey conducted by America Online found that the average American worker wastes more than two hours a day, costing U.S. companies $759 billion annually in lost productivity. Virginia ranked seventh in the nation, yet no word on how Maryland and the District fared. We here at DCist may just be speculating, but something tells us any increases in wasted time may very well track with increased access to the internet, and may have... more ›

It's military base closure and realignment time! Can't you feel the tension? A day after Northern Virginia went on alert that as many as 50,000 Defense Department workers could be leaving the area because their buildings do not meet federally mandated terrorist safeguards, a quiet corner of Bethesda might be the next area to see a Pentagon retreat. The Post reports that the Defense Department is considering consolidating agencies like the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency on larger military reservations. In this case, the agency's facilities are too close to Sangamore Road. As anyone familiar with the area can tell you, the agency's campus is tightly interwoven with the surrounding leafy neighborhood, its shopping district and the Capital Crescent bike trail. more ›

EAST GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- Greetings from the hometown of Gerald R. Ford. While former President Ford was born in 1913 as Leslie King in Omaha, Neb., and he grew up with his adopted family in Grand Rapids, this inner suburb of Michigan's second-largest city on its welcome sign claims Mr. Ford as a hometown son because the former chief executive and his family once resided in leafy lakeside community. Now the suburb is... more ›

Strange things can be found in the area's rivers, from frankenfish upstream and downstream, to things like USA Today distribution boxes and a Civil War-era sword (as recovered during the recent Capital River Relief clean-up.) Now add blue barrels. more ›

More Fallout from Georgetown Fire: 3318 Prospect St., the site of a fatal fire over the weekend, had numerous safety violations, fire investigators tell the Post. Windows had metal bars that were padlocked, there weren't any smoke detectors, exits were blocked. In the meantime, a number of units managed by the Student Housing Association (which is not affiliated with the university), have been declared unsafe for occupancy. The SHA has posted signs in its buildings... more ›

Transportation News: -- Flooding had closed the Mount Vernon Square-7th St. Convention Center station on the Green and Yellow lines. Shuttle bus service had been provided from Gallery Place-Chinatown. This morning, a WMATA alert referred to the station by its old name, Mount Vernon Square-UDC, which the wires and the Post picked up as well. As of 7:55 a.m., the station had reopened, though escalators were not working. -- WMATA's police chief, Polly Hanson, has... more ›

In a not-too-surprising nod to one of D.C.'s most famous chefs, the latest issue of Esquire has named Chef Yannick Cam's new restaurant Le Paradou one of the best new restaurants in the United States. Cam, perhaps most famous as the chef of Le Pavilion during the '80s, made his return to D.C. this April after a period at Le Relais in Great Falls. This is the second time one of Cam's restaurants has been... more ›

Terror Alerts 'Strain' Local Police: Elevated terror alerts are draining the mind, bodies and souls of local police. And they're all dealing with limited financial resources. "With alerts that last days and months, every police chief in America is now being faced with a real dilemma with limited resources," Paul Garten, a supervisory special agent for Washington's Joint Terrorism Task Force, tells the Post. more ›

Observatory Park in Great Falls opens at dusk tonight. Point Lookout State Park in Scotland, at the tip of rural Southern Maryland, and Blackwater Falls State Park in Davis, W.Va., will be open for viewing.