Our sister site Gothamist brings us the news that even New York City's politicians are having trouble behaving themselves in the District. Former Deputy Mayor Stephen Goldsmith -- originally believed to have resigned his position after a poor performance handling the response to a massive snowstorm -- actually stepped down because of a dispute where his wife threatened to "put a bullet through" him and he shoved her inside the couple's Georgetown townhouse. more ›

New York City has one of the lowest Census participation rates in the country so far this year, and over the weekend NPR offered this rather irritating story by way of explanation. Turns out the unique combination of jaded hipsters and an isolated Hasidic community in Brooklyn's Williamsburg neighborhood is dragging down mail-in rates for the entire city: Only about 30 percent of Williamsburg has mailed their Census forms back, compared to 65 percent nationwide. Listen to the story for head scratching quotes from Brooklyn record store denizens about how they might be more apt to fill out the form if they thought it actually affected their lives, or if the government paid them $5 to do it. more ›

The 747 flyover of Lower Manhattan yesterday that caused thousands of panicked office workers to evacuate to the streets turned out to be a planned photo op that's since become a big embarrassment to the White House. And The Wall Street Journal reports today that it wasn't the only such event originally scheduled:

The White House had scheduled a follow-up session on May 5 or May 6 in Washington, D.C., according to two government officials. The D.C. flyover has now been canceled, a government official said.

Back in December we reported that BoltBus and Megabus had moved their stop from 11th Street NW just above G Street to around the corner on G Street NW between 9th and 10th, right next to the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library. The move sparked a little bit of controversy, as it wasn't clear whether the location was any better in terms of interrupting traffic, and some customers were reportedly uncomfortable with its proximity to the soup kitchen across the street. Well Penn Quarter Living reports that after Megabus relocated a third time, to 9th Street NW just above H Street along the side of the old convention center site, as of today BoltBus will follow them there. BoltBus's web site confirms the move to 9th and H Streets at the old convention center parking lot. more ›

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Penn Quarter Living reminds us that as of Monday, popular discount bus lines BoltBus and MegaBus moved their shared stop two blocks from its previous location, from 11th Street NW just above G Street to around the corner on G Street NW between 9th and 10th. With the rush to get out of town for Christmas in full swing today, do note the change if you're riding one of these two bus lines up I-95. You'll recall that back in June, DDOT attempted to relocate all commercial bus lines to a single location at L'Enfant Plaza, but later backed off the plan due to public outcry. Do you think this new G Street location makes a better bus stop than 11th Street? Neither DC2NY nor any of the Chinatown lines have moved their stops. more ›

As if travel and transit weren't already bad enough this Thanksgiving weekend, federal authorities are warning of a potential terrorist plot on the New York City subway system during this holiday season. And while the FBI may be calling the threat "plausible but unsubstantiated," WTOP is reporting that D.C.'s Metro system is responding by placing itself on alert as well. A Metro spokesperson told WTOP that they have "no reason to believe that the D.C. system is a target," but Metro Transit Police officers are now being put on a state of "increased vigilance and visibility," meaning you may notice more transit police in Metro stations and at bus stops. more ›

We know you love being able to grab a cheap bus to New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore and other destinations along the east cost. Entrepreneurs know it too, which is why we've kept track of an explosion in new intercity bus options recently, including BoltBus, Megabus, and DC2NY, along with the traditional Chinatown buses. But with so many more buses picking up and dropping off in several areas of downtown, the District Department of Transportation has taken notice of safety and congestion concerns, and is now planning to force all such buses to load in a single “intercity bus zone” in Southwest. more ›

Somehow we missed the news that UK-based Megabus.com (which began its first service in the U.S. in Chicago in 2006) began running low-cost bus service between D.C. and New York on May 30. We spotted this Megabus bus stop sign outside Metro Center on Friday. more ›

WTOP is reporting that emergency crane inspections are already underway in the District after a deadly crane collapse in New York City this morning. more ›

Late breaking news in the Times Square Armed Forces recruiting center bombing early this morning: eight House Democrats reportedly received mailed letters today from someone claiming responsibility for the bombing. The letters also included photographs of the Manhattan recruiting center before it was bombed, along with the words, "We did it." more ›

The Washington Business Journal tips us off to a new entrant in the discount bus service from D.C. to New York market. BoltBus, a division of Greyhound Lines Inc., began selling tickets tickets through its web site on Monday, and launches its service on March 27. more ›

We would like to take a moment to thank this week's advertisers on DCist. more ›

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Is everyone already leaving town for the holidays? Our calendar here at Reader, Meet Author is looking a little lonely right now. If you have any tips or complaints that we're not posting all the awesome poetry readings, feel free to email us. MONDAY: Caroline Kennedy will be at Politics and Prose to share the Christmas prose most dear to her. It's all in her latest book, A Family Christmas, which includes tributes to Irving... more ›

Over in academia, it's finals time, but the receSs improv team over at George Washington University isn't compromising their weekend, which will mark the group's final show of 2007, over it. On their unofficial blog, The Colonialist, they're offering up reasons why their peers shouldn't either. In the past, receSs alums have gone on to pursue real-life comic gigs, including TJ Miller (now on the ABC show "Carpoolers"), Herschel Bleefeld (who landed a role in... more ›

When the once dominant Rawkus Records, and the East Coast generally, fell on hard times earlier this decade, hip-hop’s underground-loving backpack brigade was left without a label to champion. Perfectly positioned to pick up the slack was an imprint from Los Angeles led by a guy who called himself Peanut Butter Wolf. Wolf (aka Chris Manak) started Stones Throw Records in 1996 when he released an album he’d recorded three years prior with his close... more ›

A new report from the Brookings Institution shows that the D.C. metro area has the most “walkable places” per capita of any American city -- one for every 264,000 people, beating out even New York City for walkability. Visiting Fellow Christopher B. Leinberger says that the Washington region could serve as the model for the direction the country’s other metro areas are heading over the next generation. The Associated Press already picked up on the... more ›

If you want to see American ballet at its best, there’s nothing better than the choreography of George Balanchine. The Suzanne Farrell Ballet seeks to remind the audience of that with three of his works at The Kennedy Center. They'll perform two different all-Balanchine mixed repertory programs the company will present over the remainder of the holiday week and weekend. Often referred to as the father of American ballet, Balanchine found a muse in Suzanne... more ›

After a long wait, CityDance Ensemble Rehearsal Director Christopher K. Morgan finally gets to see his face on the silver screen. In December of 2003, Morgan was cast as a dancer in John Turturro’s film Romance & Cigarettes. After filming in 2004, the movie faced some setbacks and became what the Associated Press referred to as “the luckless orphan of corporate shuffling.” More than two years after its original release date, Romance & Cigarettes... more ›

Fun Fun Fun Fest 2007 Recap from Super!Alright! on Vimeo. Austinist attended a town hall meeting about proposed noise ordinances that could undermine the city's future as the Live Music Capital of the World, and lamented the possible loss of Texas's only feminist bookstore. Throughout the week, they interviewed a bunch of indie fashion designers and D-I-Y websites—Etsy, Ornamental Things, 31 Corn Lane, and Aorta Designs—for the upcoming Stitch Fashion Show. They also did... more ›

MONDAY >> Performing as Phosphorescent, Matthew Houck (right) dropped his latest effort, Pride, at the end of last month. Reviews for the album have been glowing for the Southern-bred multi-instrumentalist. He’ll be making an appearance at the Black Cat with the help of his touring band. 9 p.m., $10. >> With an album titled Heavy Deavy Skull Lover, you’d be right to guess that The Warlocks aren’t exactly members of a pep squad. Still, their... more ›

D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty announced this afternoon that new time and distance meters for D.C. taxis must be installed no later than April 1, 2008. The announcement came about nine hours after the end of a 24-hour taxicab driver strike in response to the Mayor's decision to abandon the zone system. Fenty and D.C. Taxicab Commission Chairman Leon Swain Jr. also announced the pricing structure for the new meters: a $4 flag drop charge, then... more ›

Written by DCist contributor Morgan Hargrave These days, we are not used to seeing reminders of war in our everyday lives. With a new exhibit that opened this weekend, the Smithsonian American Art Museum takes us back to a time when it would have been hard to forget, even for a moment, that we had soldiers dying overseas. Over the Top is a collection of American posters created during World War I to advertise so-called... more ›

MONDAY: Peter Behrens will be at Politics and Prose to discuss his latest book, The Law of Dreams. Maybe Behrens can analyze our reoccurring dream where we keep getting lost while driving down some featureless freeway. Wait ... His book is about a young man roaming the Irish countryside in 1847? Good thing we read that before we asked about the part where we're naked. 7:30 p.m. TUESDAY: The one and only Dave Eggers will... more ›

Last week a little dose of relief came to the city's art lovers and critics, as the National Gallery of Art announced they've filled the position to head up their department of modern art, vacant for around six months now. Harry Cooper comes to the NGA from the Harvard University Art Museums, and Washington City Paper's Jeffry Cudlin does a good job putting it in perspective. In other museum news, camera-in-cell-phone technology is officially history.... more ›

Good Morning, Washington. In an apparent attempt to rule the D.C. media landscape through terror and intimidation, the Washington Post has published the scariest local news story we've ever read this morning: apparently, these disgusting-looking creatures called camel crickets are infesting area basements due to the lack of moisture in the ground thanks to the region's rather serious drought. Described as "a mix between a spider and a cricket" and accompanied by disturbing photographic... more ›

Written by DCist Contributor Kate Mereand The scenes are always striking: women at night, mostly alone, and then buildings, mostly in daylight. Such is Edward Hopper’s art, finding voyeuristic fancy in two main types of subjects: ladies and places. The similarities he finds between the two are centered on the clear, stark contrast he favors in his style when painting most anything. You’ll recognize his work from the iconic painting, Nighthawks (pictured above-right). While that... more ›

When delivered in an underwhelmed monotone voice, "We're thrilled to be here" sounds like some sort of obligatory statement or truly pathetic joke. Thus, it was hard not to snort a little when The Twilight Sad's James Graham first delivered that line from the stage at Rock and Roll Hotel Monday night, staring at his shoes. However, unlike some other underwhelmed-sounding Scots (Camera Obscura and Arab Strap come to mind), Graham's demeanor immediately switched from... more ›