Results tagged “mountvernon”

The National Transportation Safety Board released its findings this afternoon from an investigation into the January derailment of a Green line train near the Mt. Vernon Square/Convention Center stop. The accident, in which the fifth car of a six-car train jumped the rails and hit a wall in the tunnel, injured 20 people and left around 60 passengers stranded in the tunnel for nearly 45 minutes. The Associated Press has the first word on the...

Good morning, Washington. For the first time in almost 30 years, the Senate will take up a measure considering D.C. voting rights this afternoon, though as we explained yesterday, today's action is really just a vote to consider giving us the vote in the House, not the actual vote to give us the vote. Mayor Adrian Fenty, who will take public transportation all day today in honor of Car Free D.C. Day, announced he will...

Anyone wishing to pay their respects to former D.C. First Lady Effi Barry, who died from complications related to leukemia last week, can stop by the Wilson Building today, where her body is lying in repose. Viewing began at 10 a.m. and goes until midnight tonight, and will also occur on Friday morning from 6 a.m. until 9 a.m. If you plan to go late tonight, remember that Metro will be running until 2 a.m....

Samuel Gompers is one of those names you vaguely remember from AP U.S. History, along with The Grange and the Know-Nothings. They fit in somehow, but you don't exactly remember why. While he may not be on the tips of people's tongues, he does have a rather large monument on Massachusetts Avenue NW near Mount Vernon Square. Gompers, born in London in 1850, was a major figure in the American labor movement, organizing and...

The Examiner reports that renovations are underway at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library, the central branch of the D.C. Public Public system. The improvements come after former Mayor Anthony Williams' proposal to replace the building with a new flagship library two blocks away on the site of the old convention center was first tabled by the D.C. Council and then shelved by the Fenty administration. Improvements to the outdated and long-neglected MLK Library...

Okay, okay — we know, this is a Nats town now. But it'd be churlish not to congratulate Cal Ripken Jr. on his election to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Many Washingtonians regularly made the trek to Camden Yards during his streak, and to them Cal felt as much like a hometown hero as any athlete. So it's good (if unsurprising) to see Ripken receive the nod. And he did it in style: Ripken's name...

Good morning D.C. We hope you enjoy today's slightly more seasonal high of 46 before we return to 70 by the weekend. Channel 9 is also warning that a few (gasp) flurries may make an appearance this evening. Metro Safety Under Scrutiny: Investigators are looking into several aspects of Sunday's Metro train derailment near the Mount Vernon Square station. D.C. Fire officials say they didn't receive information about the accident fast enough, leading to a...

The Washington Post reports what some of you who've been out using Metro today may have already heard: six-car train on the Green Line derailed just before 4 p.m. this afternoon near the Mt. Vernon Square/Convention Center stop, injuring 20 people, one of those seriously. The Associated Press has more, describing the 45-minute wait approximately 60 people had before being reached by fire crews and helped out of the tunnel. This from AP:The accident happened...

Twas the week before Christmas, and all through the city, not a lot of authors are stirring. Give them a break! They have family and friends to see at this time of year, too!

>>A CNN/Gallup Poll released today reports that "100% of D.C.-Metro area residents" agree that they "like things that are great." Okay. There's no such poll. We're just giddy that after two-plus years of trying, we finally uncovered a local issue that we all agree on: following Vincent Orange into a redevelopment abyss over the Capital City Market is a bad idea. Further developments on the story shall be noted. >> Imminent show cancellation alert!...

The recent increase in violent crime in the District has once again exposed what may be the District's most obvious Achilles Heel -- the continuing racial insecurities and tensions that exist between affluent newcomers (who tend to be white) and a dwindling yet historic African American community. Two murders in the last week -- Andrew Senitt, white, young, in Georgetown; Chris Crowder, black, older, around Mount Vernon -- have brutally exposed the city's racial anxieties,...

While fans of Italy's soccer squad celebrated their team's World Cup victory, District residents yesterday braced at the news of two brutal killings over the weekend. While this isn't the first time that a weekend has yielded a number of violent deaths, the victims involved remind us how random the violence can often be. As with all of these deaths, our thoughts go out to the friends, family, and neighbors affected. British Politician Murdered in...

Yesterday morning at Mount Vernon, the cornerstone for a new George Washington museum was laid. The Post takes us through the Masonic rituals involved in the process:At yesterday's consecration, members of the Alexandria-Washington Masonic Lodge No. 22, dressed in tuxedos and white aprons, poured corn kernels and cruets of canola oil and red wine over the cornerstone. An architect and other officials inspected the rock. Then prayers were read aloud. Number 22 was the first...

Last week, a Los Angeles Times story touched on an approach to tourism that's gained a foothold in Italy: sight-jogging. Over in Rome, running tourists who sign up for the program might start by doing stairs (as in the Spanish Steps), zoom past the Trevi Fountain and the Pantheon, head up Capitoline Hill and back down the other side around the Forum and the Colosseum, loop the Circus Maximus, and end, Audrey Hepburn-style, at the Bocca della Verità. Provided that crowds are relatively light, the sight-joggers might see the sites in a fraction of the time it takes strollers to cover the same ground. At the end of the run, they might have an idea of what they'd like to return to, and what they'd might like to skip. What's more, they'd certainly have gotten a better sense of the layout of the city than would those folks who opt for horrid bus tours.

The National Harbor, a perplexing development scheme rising from the Prince George's County river flats just outside the Capital Beltway, has attracted additional hotel investments, giving the complex a planned total of 3,000 available rooms.

Hi there, Washington. Check out this lovely photo from Flickr user LaTur. It looks like we're in for more of that kind of sunny weather — today's going to be clear, windy and cold. Kaine Aide's Remarks Draw Republican Ire: William Leighty, Governor Tim Kaine's Chief of Staff has gotten his boss in trouble with Virginia Republicans after implying that the governor would discriminate against legislation drafted by lawmakers hostile to his transportation agenda. Leighty...

FRIDAY: >> DCist is pleased to offer $5 off Forum Theatre & Dance's performances of UpShot by Ami Dayan (a scene from the play is at left). It's already received several positive notices, and director Shirley Serotsky has let us know that anyone who shows up at the box office with a print-out of this post can purchase a ticket for $13 (normally $18). This deal is good for the entire run of the play,...

It's Labor Day weekend, and you thought everybody had gotten the hell out of Dodge City, hadn't you? Well, they probably have, and we're experiencing serious envy of anyone who's on a beach right now with a margarita in hand. But don't despair - there's still tons to do in D.C. this weekend, and we've rounded up the best of the best for you to do in a special extended version of Weekend Picks. But...

Despite our lack of a W, D.C. sure has its share of fancy-shmancy boutique hotels. And that's predominantly because of the Kimpton Group, who operate six hotels in D.C. -- their second largest metropolitan hub after their headquarters in San Francisco. As Metrocurean says, the Kimpton Group has done a great job taking ugly D.C. buildings and transforming them not only into swank hotels, but also spaces with fun bars/lounges and fine dining. And now the Washington Business Journal reports that the Kimpton Group are renovating another spot in D.C. at 2121 P St. NW, not far from the Hotel Monaco.

WTOP is reporting that President Bush plans to send legislation to Congress today that would cede parcels of federal land to the District, a plan he first proposed in early February. The lands slated to be turned over include parts of Reservation 13 alongside RFK Stadium and pictured at right, Poplar Point along the Anacostia River, the old naval hospital located on Capitol Hill, and Mount Vernon Square. Meanwhile, the federal government will assume full control of the western half of St. Elizabeths Hospital in Southeast, which has been eyed as a potential site for a new Coast Guard headquarters.

DCist was shocked and a bit saddened to read about animal control officers removing 273 cats (86 of them dead) from a home in Mount Vernon yesterday after neighbors complained about the odor coming from the house. After arriving on the scene, officials condemned the house due to the dead cats, feces and urine that were inside and evicted owner Ruth Knueven as well as her husband and daughter. However, police caught Knueven returning to the house last night trying to remove another 30 cats from the premises, bringing the feline count to an incredible 303.

Don't get us wrong, we like public art initiatives. But this DCist (and we know many others) have grown somewhat tired of the animal-themed public art/charity fundraiser displays. We think they may have run their course. Sure, Pandamania and the Party Animals were great ways to showcase the talents of local artists, but in a city that also serves as a world capital, we would hope that there would be a little more investment in...

You all certainly know about Georgetown's Blue buses. Now add another color to the mix: the Red buses. Officially known as the Downtown Circulator buses, we might as well get the unofficial ball rolling and start calling them the Red buses, since inevitably, people in D.C. and tourists alike prefer their transportation options color-coded. Pity the colorblind in our civic ranks. (And should we assume that the July introduction of the Red buses is supposed to be a ploy to get more transit dollars from Red State lawmakers still hammering out the final details on the transportation reauthorization bill on Capitol Hill as they're staring down a potential veto threat from President Bush? We kid, of course.)

As Gothamist and Google reminded us, yesterday was Frank Lloyd Wright's birthday. The master American architect certainly shaped the way our nation viewed building and our relation with space. It's too bad that countless other builders hacked up his vision by creating cookie-cutter suburban split-levels and other such throw-away exurban homesteads. One thing this DCist misses about the Midwest is the close proximity to Wright's architecture. In Washington, we aren't as fortunate. Corinthian columns and pediments are the norm.

This photo was posted to DCist photos on Flickr by Justin Johnson of digital obscura. It will be clear becoming cloudy with highs in the low 70s today.

(Editor's Note: Earlier reports of this DCist's loss of an arm are unfounded. It was actually our big toe.) DCist loves Fun Street. You ask: "Where might that be?" In what seems to be an aborted late 1990s marketing rebranding attempt, F Street near the MCI Center was given a Botox injection in the form of "Fun" Street to place emphasis on the strip's funness quotient. It never caught on, but the signs remain....

The District Office of Planning released its final draft of its Convention Center Area Strategic Development Plan, its blueprint for the future of development in the neighborhoods surrounding the Washington Convention Center.

Don't forget to check out DCist's Arts Agenda and Weekly Music Picks for additional entertainment events, including gallery crawls and gypsy punk band Gogol Bardello Saturday at the Black Cat. FRIDAY: >> Everyone is buzzing about The Music/Kasabian show at the 9:30 Club tonight, but if you miss it, you can head to DC9 afterwards for the official Kasabian afterparty -- just show your handstamp from the 9:30 Club and you can get in free...

If you haven't gotten a chance to pick up the most recent City Paper, be sure to take a peek at "Lost in Space," a look by David Morton (with photos by Darrow Montgomery) of some of the city's awkward, neglected and forgotten public spaces. One of the spaces featured is Champlain Street where it evaporates inside the Marie Reed Community Center, just a hop, skip and a jump from the City Paper's offices just up the street.

While the infamous white van from the D.C.-area sniper saga of 2002 is still in our memories, we have a new van to worry about. The arsonists in the Hunters Brooke fire may have driven a blue van to do their deed. Firefighters noticed that a blue van was driving away from Hunters Brooke (an example home at right) when they were arriving on the scene of the massive subdivision fire, the Post reports. There is no regional all points bulletin on the van or blockades on the Beltway, but investigators are looking for the occupants of the van for questioning. As of now, there are few leads in the case. Since the controversial subdivision sat on the edge of a rare and threatened Magnolia bog, environmental extremism by eco-vigilantes is being looked at carefully.