>> "More than 50 nonunionized workers rallied against the new Nationals ballpark this morning, angry that more District residents did not receive construction jobs." [WaPo] >> "I saw firsthand the fragile relationship that exists between Mayor Fenty and the City Council Members. I heard tales of a delayed Comprehensive Annual Financial Review , rising murder rates and a Chief of Police who feels burdened by a system that won't help her, proposals to close......

The guitarist for the pop-punk band Hawthorne Heights passed away before the group's show at the 9:30 Club over the weekend. Casey Calvert, 25, was found dead on the band's tour bus at around 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, parked outside the venue in Northwest D.C. A cause of death has yet to be determined, but Calvert's bandmates have been quick to defend against speculation that drugs were involved. They posted the following message to their......

Good Morning, D.C. Are you one of those people who counts on regular weather patterns to plan your week and travel? Ha! After a week of wintry mix horrors and an odd weekend in the 50's, temperatures are back in the 30's today, with winds causing spotty power outages in our area. If you miss the fluffy white stuff, then hold your breath for about 24 hours and enjoy a wet snow front tomorrow. But......

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......

Amanda Mattos contributed to this post. A recent tip from Dave at Indiefolkforever lead us to a rather unflattering portrait of our fair city. Norfolk & Western, a Portland band that visited D.C. last month, apparently didn't have a very nice time playing DC9 or visiting the U street/Shaw neighborhood in Northwest D.C. As part of a tour journal posted on Local Cut, the band wrote: Washington DC proved to be a less pleasant experience......

Earlier this week Matthew Yglesias took us to task for referring to a "Mid-City" part of town when discussing a campaign for a new Trader Joe's near U Street. Matt is actually quite wrong to suggest "shady real estate cabals" are the architects of the term Mid-City, but the fault for his misinformation is likely ours. You see, last winter we ran a post mocking the MidCity Business Association's moniker, basically accusing them of trying......

We're positively giddy to announce the winner of week one of our Editors contest. Shawna Behling of Northwest D.C., congratulations! You are the proud owner of two tickets to see Editors on July 27 at the 9:30 Club, a copy of The Back Room, and a pair of Converse All Stars! You've still got two more chances to win. Each week, you can enter the contest by sending an email to amanda (at) dcist (dot)......

Written by DCist contributor Andrew Wiseman. Today, Northwest D.C. is the scene of battles over gentrification and parking. In 1864, however, it was the scene of another kind of battle: an invasion by Southern troops. Fort Stevens, hidden on Quackenbos Street NW between 13th and Georgia, is a pretty unremarkable place. A few steps from the Georgia Avenue Thrift Store and a 70 bus stop, it’s basically a strangely-shaped hill (the fort’s earthworks) with a......

Well, now that it's far beyond those 12 days of Christmas, you think maybe it's time to dump that Christmas tree? Yes, you could live by the principle that next Christmas is only eleven months away, but if that's a real spruce you've got, it may well be time to part ways with it. And while unceremoniously dumping it on your neighbors lawn and running is the easiest option, there are legal ways to finally......

This review written by DCist Contributor Jim Smalley. Photos by Katie L. Thompson. On Tuesday night, DCist took the opportunity to catch two D.C. hardcore punk bands on the backstage at Black Cat. What ensued was one of the most intense live performances you will find in the District. Opener The A.K.s feature not one, but two throat-shredding vocalists, Alexi Petersen and Noah Foster who equally share airtime. Behind them stand Justin Parker on guitar,......

Editor's Note: In our first installment of this very occasional series, we mourned the lack of good bagels in the District. Now, we wonder why a simple oil change is so hard to come by within the city limits. Is there something you think D.C. is missing? Let us know. How many times has this happened to you: It's a Friday morning and owing to your plan to drive out of the city for a......

By now you're probably seen the Post's cover story today on preparations in the region for a potential nuclear attack. The Post concludes Two closely held government reports obtained by The Washington Post -- one by the White House's Homeland Security Council, the other by the Energy Department -- describe in chilling detail the effects of a nuclear detonation, using the scenario of a strike on Washington. They make clear the need for split-second execution......

(From DCist contributor Zoe Mitchell) Things are mighty fiesty inside the Wilson Building again today and it has nothing to do with baseball. According to an inside source, three activists from MayDay DC have already been arrested, while another activist is occupying the building's ledge again. The activists are upset at the closure of the Randall Shelter, which is up for final vote today during the last regularly scheduled D.C. Council hearing this session. Also,......

High winds yesterday caused some power outages, and caused this house under construction near Howard University to collapse. Today will be mostly sunny with highs in the 50s. (The photo is Courtesy of D.C. Fire and EMS, via the AP.) Metro Board Doesn't Ride Metro: Following up on an issue raised during last month's first-ever town hall meeting, the Post has investigated just how much each member of the WMATA Board of Directors used......

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,......

A New Threat to Capitol Hill?: Sen. Mark Dayton, a Minnesota Democrat, has closed his Capitol Hill offices sending some of his staff home to Minnesota, others to an undisclosed location in Washington through Election Day. According to numerous news outlets, Dayton is citing a threat from classified information given to the Senate from Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, a Tennessee Republican. But nobody is disclosing what the threat is or what alarming information is.......

If you're running out of options for Northwest D.C., why not give Northeast a try? This weekend, Northeast offers the eighth annual Brookland Festival. The festival will feature live music, pub and grub specials, and a dance performance by Dance Place. Historic Brookland is one of the more fascinating neighborhoods of D.C. Home to The Catholic University of America, the neighborhood is also known as "Little Vatican" due to the high cluster of Catholic institutions......

In some scary news, there are fears of sexual predators at large in Rockville and in Upper Northwest D.C. WTOP reports that four men broke into the home of a Rockville woman and raped her after they demanded drugs. And in Glover Archbold Park, a female jogger was threatened with a knife in the vicinity of the 42nd Street victory garden (pictured at left). The suspect is being described as "a black male, about 6'0,......

With the cover story of this week's City Paper examining fat D.C. Police, and crime in the news, you'd think the District's finest are under getting enough heat recently - but apparently someone felt the need to drag an officer with their car. After a ">bizzare dragging incident near Union Station, one Park Police officer is in the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries and a suspect held pending charges:WASHINGTON - One suspect is in custody......