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It's a big week for SmarTrip cards, leading up to the even bigger week beginning Jan. 4, 2009, when the electronic farecards will be required in order to take advantage of bus-to-bus, rail-to-bus or the new bus-to-rail transfer options within the WMATA transit system. more ›

Metro's Board today approved charging rush-hour fares and parking fees on Inauguration Day, Jan. 20, 2009. more ›

So the big inauguration news this morning, courtesy the Post, is that camping on the National Mall will be banned the night before Barack Obama's inauguration, and that spectators will not be allowed to grab spots along the parade route on Pennsylvania Ave. until 7 a.m. on the morning of Jan. 20. more ›

When our pals at Chicagoist forwarded us a link to their post about how the U.S. Supreme Court is actually going to consider whether to take up a lawsuit challenging President-Elect Barack Obama's U.S. citizenship, we thought it had to be a joke. But no, this is sort of really happening tomorrow, and although it's almost assured of going no further than merely appearing on Friday's court meeting schedule, it will bring with it a small army of weirdos who are still pushing this sad little conspiracy theory. There's a vigil planned for the steps of the Supreme Court tomorrow, so if you're looking to get an extra helping of crazy before the start of your weekend, stroll on by! more ›

The Presidential Inaugural Committee announced today that the entire length of the National Mall will be opened to the public for the inauguration of Barack Obama on Jan. 20, a first for any modern presidential inauguration. Here's The AP story. more ›

WTOP has a copy of a letter the D.C. Council sent to President-Elect Obama, urging him to place the District's "Taxation Without Representation" license plates on his presidential limousine. No big shock that the Council would push for the pro-D.C. voting rights symbol, but is it somewhat surprising that both Mayor Adrian Fenty and Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton have said they will not press the issue with Obama? more ›

Metro hasn't yet formally announced the sale of a special edition SmarTrip card commemorating the impending inauguration of President-Elect Barack Obama, but this image was circulated at this morning's regular Board of Directors meeting, along with details on their production schedule and cost. more ›

Steve Croft interviewed Barack and Michelle Obama last night on 60 Minutes about their transition as a family into the White House. Among some great tidbits like that Michelle refused to sleep in the crappy 1-bedroom D.C. apartment that the President-Elect used during his time in the Senate (she said it reminded her of the apartment he lived in when they first started dating), the future first lady signaled that she and her husband intend to get involved in local issues here in the city. It's at around the 14 minute mark in the video above (she also dodged a question about whether she's seriously considering a public school for the girls). more ›

This is the first installment of a new weekly real estate column from Mark Wellborn of UrbanTurf, a local blog and newsletter that covers the residential real estate scene in D.C., MD, and VA. more ›

A friend sent over this link to a New York Times story from a couple of weeks ago about what the new presidential limousine might look like. It's almost all speculation because this sort of info is well-guarded by the Secret Service, but they did score some photos of what appears to be a prototype of a pretty intense looking, truck-like Cadillac limo. President Bush has been riding around in his own Cadillac limo since 2005, but his looks like a sissy compared to this tank. We'll just have to wait and see if this is the conveyance President-Elect Obama ends up riding around in once he's sworn in. Also of note from this story: apparently being a "spy photographer" is a real job. Certainly sounds a lot cooler than "paparazzi." more ›