The United States Park Police, DDOT and MPD have released the following road closure advisories for Saturday's Veterans Day Parade. All closures should be re-opened by 5 p.m. Saturday. Roads closed at 6 a.m.: * Jefferson Drive from 14th Street to 4th Street, SW * Madison Drive from 4th Street to 15th Street, NW * Seventh Street from Independence Avenue to Constitution Avenue, NW Roads closed at 10:30 a.m.: * Lincoln Memorial Circle to Henry......

Good morning, Washington. Have you gotten your last meal at A.V. Ristorante yet? If not, you'd better hurry — today's Post has a fond reminiscence about the place, noting that its last meal will be served on Saturday evening. It's admittedly not the finest Italian food in the city, but there's something weird and distinctive about A.V. We'll be sorry to see it go. It's Hot And Dry Out There: It sounds like we could......

If you've ever wondered how D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton keeps fired up, it's not just the indignity of being denied full voting privileges in the House -- it's race-walking and low-calorie smoothies. According to an article published yesterday in The Hill, Norton does her best to stay in shape, exercising and eating well to ensure that she never goes soft on anti-voting rights Republicans: On weekends, or days when she has more free time,......

It's good to get a new perspective once in awhile; in fact, we highly recommend it. Flickr user SuperTopher takes a new look at the Lincoln Memorial in this shot. EXIF. So did you see our announcement yesterday? We'll try not to promote DCist Exposed til your ears (or eyes) bleed, but we might come close. You guys are already blowin' us away with your submissions. Good work, team!......

We're not sure if Indian Summer is an entirely PC term, but when mall Santas start appearing the same week it's predicted to skirt 70 degrees, we're left with two conclusions. Either we were really nice to puppies and orphans in a past life or global warming isn't so bad. Now for the rest of the news. Fenty Already In The Hole: Incoming Mayor Adrian Fenty hasn't even been sworn in yet and he's facing......

It's no secret — the National Mall, for all its historical significance, isn't exactly the prettiest place in the world. Broken water fountains, patchy grass, ugly security fences and totally nasty restrooms are amongst some of the many problems with what should really be a gorgeous space. The National Park Service is here to change that, and they're going all Web 2.0 on our asses through an online campaign asking the public their opinions on......

This shot of a souvenir stand on the Mall really captures a striking air of loneliness. Flickr user taylordavidson took this by the Lincoln Memorial. There is no EXIF data.......

It's rainy, it's windy, and every day it gets colder. But it could be worse, Washington — you could be Anthony Mereos. The Silver Spring man is facing a $80,000 fee for illegally clearing trees from land he purchased for $65,000 (he denies cutting the trees down). Mereos had intended to use the land to build a home for his family. But wait! It gets worse: [Mereos' laywer Shawn] Whittaker said the county is using......

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund announced yesterday that their proposed Visitor Center received the final go-ahead from the National Capitol Planning Commission, which oversees the approval and design of monuments and memorials in D.C. The privately funded, $100 million complex will supplement Maya Lin’s 1982 Memorial Wall, with exhibits and programs to tell the story of the Vietnam War and commemorate the soldiers who fought it. The Visitor Center will be built just west of......

Last week may have been a prelude to summer humidity, but this week will offer a bit of a respite. According to Capital Weather, we're going to be blessed with weather that doesn't rise far beyond the 70s, though we may have a few showers here and there. Prisoners Escape, Caught Over Weekend: This DCist wasn't terribly happy with the news that two prisoners accused of murder had escaped from the D.C. jail over the......

The little mustachioed Monopoly guy (Alfonso?) didn't get where he is today by making one little board game and selling it until folks got tired of seedy Atlantic City landmarks and quaint anachronisms (railroads!). No, the little robber baron knows people are suckers for the new, so he's made and sold version after version of the classic pasttime, from the celebrated original to GenericStateUniversityopoly, to the perennial chick magnet Lord of the Rings Trilogy Monopoly,......

Courtesy of the Post's Metro columnist Marc Fisher, today we discover that there are any number of myths about the District that seem to be communicated from generation to generation without anyone interjecting to speak truth to them. Along with the myth that Georgetown residents stopped a Metro station from being built in the neighborhood in order to keep the poor and dirty masses out, Fisher points to these interesting D.C. myths: - Built on......

As President George W. Bush and other members of the administration did their best yesterday to paint a rosy picture of events unfolding in Iraq, some 200 protestors marched from the Lincoln Memorial to within shouting distance of the Pentagon, where they attempted to deliver a mock coffin to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, reports NBC 4. Fifty-one were arrested for crossing over a barrier onto Pentagon property. They were cited for failing to obey......

Pardon us, but our fandom is showing. Ok, so it's showing a bit more then usual this week, but we have good reason. A savvy traveler picked up this issue of American Way magazine (check the seat pocket on your next American Airlines flight), which features an interview with local gal (and WB star) Lauren Graham. Graham, who plays the fast talking, quick witted Lorelai Gilmore on the WB's hit pop-culture gabfest the Gilmore......

Almost 43 years ago, Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his "I Have a Dream" speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. As his commanding stage presence showed, he was a man of boundless energy — enough to foster a national fervor for racial equality. But where exactly did he get all that energy? Was Wheaties the Breakfast of Civil Rights Champions? No, King liked soul food — at the very least, "not something like......

Good morning, Washington. Today's lead story needs little introduction, but did deserve a good picture, aptly provided by ponto and posted to Flickr. Cat Owner Declared Unfit: A Northern Virginia woman who owned and hid some 488 cats was forbidden from owning animals ever again, reports the Post. Ruth Knueven, 82, still faces five misdemeanor charges related to 222 dead cats she kept in two townhouses in Fairfax County and for defying police orders that......

Yes, our Nikon pretty much sucks, but we think some of our photos of the D.C. fireworks worked out quite well. Here you can see three major blurred symbols of American democracy -- the Capitol, the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial -- framing a spectacular fire burst above West Potomac Park. We encourage you do drop in your photos of the fireworks in DCist Photos. Here's our quick roundup of the July Fourth......

The self-described Million Worker March was today at the Lincoln Memorial. The group's demands included a broad array of progressive issues, focusing in particular on ending the Iraq war, and demanding health care and housing for all. WTOP reports attendence seemed less than expected at what they describe as a "decidely anti-President Bush" rally at the Lincoln Memorial. Yahoo News has some photos, and we assume DC Indymedia will have photos and information from the......

With so many historic structures, neighborhoods, and an elaborate transit infrastructure, D.C. is a prime location to engage in a little urban exploring. Urban exploring, which some refer to as infiltrating, is the practice of entering, exploring, and usually photographing places closed to the public. An Aug. 15 Post story, titled "Caverns and Canyons of the Capital," has plenty of ideas for even the most amateur urban explorer: a "massive, darkened basement" under the Lincoln......