>> The D.C. Council unanimously approved a final agreement today to spend $79 million to help Specialty Hospitals of America to purchase Greater Southeast Community Hospital. [WaPo] >> Veranda, a new restaurant at 11th and P NW, is officially opening Wednesday and having a soft launch already. [renewshaw] >> Tonya Bell, the woman who was charged in the UNIFEST street festival car crash in Southeast last spring, pleaded guilty to multiple felony assault charges... more ›

>> Jenna Bush is engaged to be married to her longtime boyfriend, Henry Hager. No word on whether their wedding will be held at the White House. [AP] >> Shaw isn't really the second bloggiest neighborhood in the country, but Washington is the fourth bloggiest city. [Free Ride] >> Donald Rumsfeld resigned as secretary of defense one day before last fall's elections, even though President Bush did not announce the move until the day... more ›

>> A street sweeper vehicle struck a man in a wheelchair this afternoon at the corner of 14th and P NW. The man was taken to the hospital with non-lifethreatening injuries. [NBC 4] >> Remember Roy L. Pearson Jr., the administrative law judge who's suing Custom Cleaners in Northeast for $67 million for losing his pants? Well Sherman Joyce points out that his reappointment to a 10-year term is scheduled to commence tomorrow, and... more ›

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... more ›

You may have also heard that tourists can now visit Chernobyl and Pripyat, the abandoned city adjacent to the nuclear power plant in Ukraine. The photo collage above was assembled from snapshots taken by a friend of DCist, Christina Redko, who recently toured the ruins of Chernobyl. Clockwise from top left, the photos are a basketball melted by the heat of the raging fires that accompanied the accident left deflated and abandoned outside an apartment building in Pripyat, a sign at the power plant, the red button that was responsible for it all, and the ruins of the Pripyat ferris wheel. more ›