View Larger Map A Hazmat team has responded to what's being described as a suspicious letter opened at the Deptartment of Veterans Affairs, located at 810 Vermont Ave. NW. There is a large police and EMS presence extending around McPherson Square, Lafayette Square and the White House as a result of the investigation. The letter is reportedly being tested for signs of anthrax as a precautionary measure. A decontamination tent has been set up, and......

The suspicious package incident that closed McPherson Square midday today is all cleared up as of about 3:45 p.m.. The park and surrounding roads have reopened after a hazardous materials crew found that containers left near a dumpster at 15th and I Streets NW did not contain anything dangerous.......

A suspicious package at 15th and K Streets NW has prompted police and hazardous materials responders to close off McPherson Square. The package in questions is reportedly some containers placed near a dumpster that appear to contain a chlorine-like substance. One reader tells us that fire trucks are lined up along 13th Street and that the MPD are clearing people out of the park. We'll update when we learn more. More: Current street closures due......

The Metro can be a boring place. Next stop, yadda yadda, doors on the right, zzz. There are sometimes crazy people on the train, or somebody singing, or something amusing happening, but generally it's a snooze fest. Thankfully some Metro train operators like to change things up a bit, wishing people a good day or just being funny, rather than the usual "Next stop Judisherary Square" script. And we like that. Better not give this......

There's a new entrant into the crowded East coast cheap bus service market. DC2NY, which launches officially on July 26th, has begun advertising their services by handing out cards and fliers around Chinatown. The new bus line will travel only from D.C. to New York (no stops in Baltimore or Philadelphia), picking up from two stops in D.C. -- one in Dupont Circle and the other at 14th and Eye NW near McPherson Square --......

>> "Man, if I am ever refused service at a publicly funded institution for wearing a political shirt, I am leaving that fucking place in handcuffs. Someone gets their rights trampled on and she responds with a vegan cake? That is so fucking weak. Grow a pair." [why.i.hate.dc] >> "If you’ve always wanted one of Sen. John Edwards’ $400 haircuts, now’s your chance. Duvall’s Hair Co., in McPherson Square, put a sign outside its......

> > Tonight's hidden agenda: those plucky plucks from McSweeney's are in town tonight screening Wholphin, the "Audio-Visual" version of their magazine, The Believer. Admission is free and light refreshments will be served, but you should probably take anything they say about "lifetime subscriptions" with several grains of salt. At the Center for American Progress, 1333 H St. NW, 10th Floor. Take Orange/Blue to McPherson Square Station or Red to Metro Center. > > The......

Public agencies are not generally known for their efficiency and oversight. Whether it's the D.C. police, the public school system, or Congress itself, this kind of criticism has dogged just about every agency out there. While Metro has not been an exception to this trend, it seems they have things covered when it comes to potty privileges. DCist Tom snapped this picture of the rules and regulations governing use of Metro's various johns, posted in......

Local corporate darlings XM Satellite Radio announced yesterday that their first quarter revenues were up over 100 percent compared to last year, but the company's stock fell over 5 percent on Thursday, as the company revealed it was under investigation by the FTC based on, according to the Washington Business Journal, "its marketing and telemarketing activities, billing practices and customer complaints." Any XM subscribers in the DCist audience? Have you been getting harrassed recently?......

This photo from Flickr user epmd is strictly business and a nice representation of the weather we've enjoyed for the last few days. I walk by the two big beds of tulips in McPherson Square every morning during my commute and it's a great way to start my day. This shot was taken on a Canon EOS 20D. You can find the EXIF data here. Lots of other goodies in the DCist tag pool......

This post is by DCist contributor Tom Lee. Free wifi is coming to Dupont Circle. Today's Post reports that area consulting firm TechAssist LLC will begin offering free wireless access this Friday. Web users will fire up their laptops or PDAs, select the network with an SSID named "FreeDupont Wireless," accept the license agreement that appears in their browser, and commence pretending that they're actually indoors. Hurray! But browse with care. You're sharing that signal......

Last one, we swear! Just a quick reminder that the first-ever DCist concert, featuring Cartel and Bicycle Thieves, is on tonight. Where: Black Cat, Backstage; 1811 14th St. NW, between S and T sts. (Nearest metrorail station, 13th and U sts NW/Green Line/U Street-African American Civil War Memorial-Cardozo station; or take the 52,53,54 buses on 14th Street from the McPherson Square station on the Orange and Blue lines.) When: 9 p.m. How Much? $7,......

WMATA is set to implement some new schedules on a select number of bus lines starting Sunday. While the complete information can be found here, we'll highlight some changes on the D.C. routes affected. D2/Glover Park-Dupont Circle Weekdays, buses will run every 10 minutes during the morning and afternoon peak hours. On Friday nights after 1 a.m., buses will run every 37-38 minutes. And for the last-departing drunk buses from Connecticut Avenue and Q Street......

Well, D.C. It seems that we're almost through Inaugural Week. Though thousands of out-of-towners, constituents and other party-goers will be still around today and into the weekend, the city should be getting slowly back to normal. A quick question to those out there who are experienced travelers ... Considering the gargantuan number of fur coats brought in for Inauguration festivities, how do you pack a fur coat into one's luggage? It seems that if fur......

As we've mentioned, lines to vote today have been forcasted to be long, and indeed they are. This photo here is of the voting site at the 2nd District Police headquarters on Idaho Avenue. Over at the International Union of Operating Engineers hall in Glover Park, the line to vote stretched down Calvert Street nearly to the western gate to the vice president's house at the Naval Observatory. (Here's the Post's morning update on......

What's on your radar? Here's what we've got: FRIDAY: Mike Watt, formerly of the Minutemen, hits the Black Cat this evening at 9:30 p.m. $10. De La Soul with Butta Verses and ESL's Thunderball and Federico Aubele at the 9:30 Club. Doors open at 10 p.m. $20. In a Halloween state of mind? Why not try a Capital Hauntings Walk? The creepy tour leads you through the Lafayette Square area, where, it's claimed, "restless ghosts......

The Bush-Cheney campaign's national headquarters in Arlington, a location that is not broadcast to the general public, was raided by a number of AIDS/HIV activists, WTOP reports. Fourteen protesters found their way inside the headquarters, located in a non-descript office building at 2107 Wilson Blvd. in Arlington's Court House area. Seven others chained themselves to the doors of the building. Twenty-one in all were arrested for trespassing. For more on the Bush-Cheney not-so-secret below-the-radar headquarters,......