>> So Mayor Fenty and Schools Chancellor Rhee have scheduled 23 simultaneous school closure hearings at each of the proposed 23 schools to be closed. Logistics nightmare questions aside, what is a parent who has a child at more than one of the schools supposed to do? Pick which child they think is more important? [WaPo] more ›

I actually saw this photo last night on Intangible Arts' blog, as he described walking home after his bus became stuck in traffic due to the shooting we mentioned earlier at 13th Street and Columbia Road last night. The short series of images he accumulated as he strolled through the neighborhood after a short rain, wondering about the police activity but noting the continuing, leftover holiday silence, is a classic entry in the book... more ›

The Washington Post has the news in the Friday afternoon dump that Mayor Adrian Fenty just fired D.C. Department of Health Director, Gregg A. Pane, along with two of Pane's deputies. We noted back in January that Fenty had major plans to streamline the department in his first 100 days, starting with a consolidation of its eleven agencies into the current seven. Fenty eliminated many of the agency heads appointed by former Mayor Anthony Williams... more ›

>> Sure, meters are great, but what about getting D.C. taxi drivers to use their rooftop lights like cabs in every other city? [NotionsCapital] >> The Quest for Dog Parks: A very rigid search. [Intangible Arts] >> Some D.C. Cab drivers hate Halloween! [WaPo] >> All MARC commuter service out of Union Station on the Brunswick Line has been shut down because of a gas leak in Kensington. [AP/WTOP] >> Vietnam Memorial Visitor Center... more ›

>> Runners at the Army Ten-miler are saying there wasn't enough water on the race course. [WTOP] >> Former Mayor Anthony Williams hearts Jenna Bush's new book. [Capital Comment] >> D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier speaks out to defend the records and reputations of the two officers involved in the killing of DeOnte Rawlings, while his father calls for their arrest. [WaPo and WJLA] >> Columbia Heights day was a bit of a bust.... more ›

>> Mayor Adrian Fenty and Schools chancellor Michelle Rhee will reportedly ask city officials for an extra $81 million to fix D.C. Schools' totally screwed up special education system. Expect D.C. Council chair Vincent Gray to totally lose his shit tomorrow. [Examiner] >> Amazon begins offering same-day local delivery to D.C. [DC Metblogs] >> 6 reasons the Maryland Renaissance Festival did not suck. [Arjewtino] >> Police are investigating an apparent murder on the grounds... more ›

Long after the official fireworks display had ended last night, the District's neighborhoods cracked and popped as residents of all types took to the streets with fireworks of their own. The city's DIY fireworks culture isn't anything new -- we reported on it last year -- but its opponents seem to have gotten much more vocal. Over the last week, residents have taken to neighborhood listservs to decry the July 4th tradition, arguing that the... more ›

This photo by Intangible Arts is actually from the Caribbean Festival last weekend, but every time I pass it in the Flickr pool it just cracks me up. It kind of reminds us of that awesome Exposed photograph by F1.4, or perhaps a rehearsal for Police Academy 8: You Got [Protected and] Served. EXIF.... more ›

Good morning, Washington. We wake today to some stunning revelations: It appears the Centers for Disease Control have issued a new report that "confirms" that men are far more likely to have many sexual partners than women are. In related findings, the report, which was compiled from self-reported surveys of American adults, also indicates that American men have the largest penises of any country in the world and that American women are far more slender... more ›

“Before there was Harlem, there was U Street,” and before there was national Prohibition, there was the Sheppard Act. Passed by a Congress intent on making the District of Columbia a beacon of temperance for the saloon-soaked nation, the Sheppard Act closed Washington’s four breweries and nearly three hundred licensed liquor establishments on November 1, 1917—two years before it outlawed the sale of alcohol in the rest of the country. Congressman Morris Sheppard successfully had... more ›

Thanks to WABA's Jeff Peel and Flickr contributor Intangible Arts for sharing a few of their shots of the Bike to Work Day rally in Freedom Plaza this morning. More photos below the fold: Top three by Jeff Peel, bottom two by Intangible Arts. Good luck biking home!... more ›

>> As you can see in this photo submitted to the DCist Photo Pool, the building that houses Ruff N' Ready Furnishings, 1908 14th Street NW, has been condemned by city inspectors. The building was old and certainly not in great shape, though we've also heard rumors that the 911 call which prompted police and fire trucks to show up was reportedly made by a man well-known to the building's residents as a habitual drug... more ›

> > Gerald Ford, remembered. [WTOP] >> The Metropolitan Police Department alerts us that the FBI will be doing a "fly over" above Washington, DC tonight until midnight. No, we don't have the slightest idea what this means either, but why take chances? Tonight, conduct your illicit activity from the safety of your own domicile, where, as the courts seem to agree, you have a reasonable expectation of privacy. >> Of course, as far as... more ›