Massachusetts Avenue NW is temporarily closed between Whitehaven Street to 34th Street due to police activity. The activity in question is an investigation of a suspicious package in the area. The District Department of Transportation is advising motorists use alternate routes for their evening commutes, including Connecticut and Wisconsin Avenues. UPDATE 4:47 p.m.: Just as soon as we posted this, DDOT announced that the street had been reopened. more ›

>> A man was hospitalized this morning after his Ford Expedition crashed into a Metrobus at 8th St. and Massachusetts Ave. NE. [WJLA] more ›

It's a good year to be a last-minute tax filer in Washington. (As if there's ever a good time to send your hard-earned dollars to the government.) First there was Emancipation Day, now the District Office of Tax and Revenue is granting an automatic two-day extension for filling your D.C. income taxes. This short reprieve is in response to yesterday's wind and rain, which knocked out power around the area. Local tax forms are now... more ›

As sunny weather descends (or perhaps that should be in the past tense, now that we look out the window) on the Washington area, DCist’s thoughts turn to the plethora of outdoor activities that will soon be made not only possible, but enjoyable, by the temperate days. If you're like us, you look forward to spring because it means the annual renaissance of local farmers' markets. If you call yourself a Washingtonian, you're already... more ›

MONDAY Kenneth Brannagh’s Hamlet. Laurence Olivier’s Hamlet. Bob and Doug MacKenzie’s Strange Brew. All fine examples of Shakespeare on film. Got questions? Well, pepper Simon Crowl, author of Shakespeare and Film: A Norton Guide, with them. Folger Shakespeare Library, 201 East Capitol St. SE., at 7:30 p.m. $12. TUESDAY According to the Wikipedia, Ralph Nader’s father “owned a bakery and restaurant where he engaged customers in discussions of political issues.” That bakery? The "Ugh…I Mean,... more ›

MONDAY Audrey Niffenegger follows up her best-selling The Time Traveler’s Wife with another Edward Goreyian flight of fancy, The Adventuress. We bet she has one of the prettiest signatures of any author on this page. National Museum of Women in the Arts, 1250 New York Ave. NW., at 7 p.m. $10. Reservations: (202) 783-7370. TUESDAY Of course, Persepolis author Marjane Satrapi's flair for visual artistry and imaginative text is on abundant display in Chicken With... more ›

When it comes to issues of globalization, nobody rocks the field like Joseph Stiglitz, whose last book, Globalization and its Discontents, should be a must-read for everyone who thinks they can change the world with a papier-mâché puppet. Now he’s back to discuss the ways of Making Globalization Work. Politics and Prose, 5015 Connecticut Ave. NW, at 7 p.m. more ›

For those of you counting at home the DCist tag photo pool on Flickr surpassed 10,000 photos over the weekend. A big "Thank You" is in order to everyone who has submitted photos since we started way back when. Pictured above is photo #9999, The Douglas Development building on the corner of New Jersey and Massachusetts Ave NW, taken by Flickr user grundlepuck. The shot was taken on a Canon PowerShot G3. The EXIF... more ›

Obviously, crime is no laughing matter. Reading the crime reports included in the Post's District Extra section can be quite sobering; it's tough to grasp just how many people come face to face with crime on a daily basis. However, there are times when it's healthy to chuckle about the minor stuff, so today we bring you Excerpts from a Crime Report. Many thanks to the Post and the MPD. more ›

MONDAY: >> We've been hearing an awful lot about certain journalists who've spent superfluous time in jail for ideals they supposedly believe in -- but, before you make any contributions to that gravy train, why not hear from Marie-Helene Carleton, who'll be in town discussing the travails of her filmmaker partner Micah Garen, who was taken hostage in Iraq in 2003. Even if you're an avid news junkie, there's still a lot you don't know... more ›

When DCist theorized that Mt. Vernon Square was ripe for hotel development last month, we realized we were stating the obvious. And an article that appeared yesterday on real estate website GlobeSt.com confirmed what many knew was coming: the effort to secure space for a hotel serving the new Convention Center has begun. The Washington Convention Center Authority has purchased a half-acre at 901 Massachusetts Ave. NW, including the offices of the United Association of... more ›

We considered not even posting the Classical Music Agenda this week, given how few concerts there are to hear. (Our concert schedule for the month of August at Ionarts is the shortest it's ever been.) Still, it would be pathetic for this DCist to shirk work this easy, so we promise to keep it short. Basically, it comes down to one of two instruments, cello or organ, and both are free. So, choose your poison.... more ›

Pew Research Center. more ›

The circus is coming to town (the MCI Center to be exact), and that means it's time for the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey animals to parade across Capitol Hill. On Monday, March 21, at approximately 1:30 p.m., the elephants (and, for the first time, a donkey -- "in order to celebrate the non-partisan event of the circus and the spirit of the Nation's Capital") will make the trek from 32nd and D Streets,... more ›