Temperatures are expected to remain well below freezing again overnight, which can mean danger for the District's homeless population. The city has put out a reminder to call their Hypothermia Shelter Hotline should you spot anyone trying to sleep outside when it's this cold. more ›

Good morning, Washington. It really is freezing outside, people are dropping like flies from this terrible cold going around town, and over in Iowa, we hear there's some kind of a fake election going on that's going to dominate the news cycle all day. It could all be enough to get us down, but yet, we carry on ... until we read this story about an 11-year-old boy in Burke, VA who has been arrested on charges of breaking and entering and sexual assault. Eleven years old! Kid hasn't even gone through puberty yet. WTF? more ›

UPDATE: Local new outlets have the story that Poke was captured just before 4 p.m. in Prince George's County and is in police custody, while CNN.com says he was shot dead during a shoot-out with police. more ›

Good morning, Washington. Think good thoughts for Tian Tian, the National Zoo's male giant panda and the biological father of Tai Shan/Butterstick. Tian Tian underwent eye surgery yesterday to remove inflamed tissue from one of his third eyelids. He's expected to make a full recovery, but in the meantime he'll have to live with the shame of being the one to expose this whole pandas having third eyelids monstrosity. DCist has always held a firm editorial stand that pandas are adorable, but after learning this fact we may have to convene our board to reconsider. more ›

Good morning, Washington. Getting going on a Monday is normally difficult enough, but we were having a few technological difficulties this morning as well, so thanks for your patience and bear with this truncated Morning Roundup while we get up to speed. Tax Scandal Triggers Reviews in Counties: Neighboring jurisdictions are apparently taking D.C.'s tax office scandal to heart and initiating big reviews of their agencies. Property tax revenues are slated to be scrutinized in... more ›

For dance lovers looking to get into the holiday spirit, The Nutcracker is a must at this time of year. Thankfully, the Washington D.C. area has numerous performances of the beloved ballet from which to choose. While there’s over a dozen performances ranging in size from huge ballet troupes to small dance studios, here's a few that stand out among the rest. American Ballet Theater: Few companies can compete with the size and talents of... more ›

We've reached another Friday, D.C., but if those light flurries that accompanied you on your way into work this morning gave you visions of a leisurely Saturday snowball fight, you'll likely end up disappointed. Very little accumulation is expected from these flakes, and the weekend will see temperatures back in the upper 40s, with a possibility of some light rain on Saturday morning, according to CapitalWeather.com. If this update doesn't satisfy your weather nerd urges,... more ›

If the powers that be think we're going to go easily or quietly, they're wrong. The Post today exposed a devious little plan to chip away at the District's identity, starting with phasing out the city's postmark and replacing it instead with one bearing the name of our northern neighbor, Maryland. According to a Post study, of 235 letters mailed from every quadrant and zip code within city limits, only 24 -- 10 percent --... more ›

Still in the office, D.C.? Yeah, us too. We hope you're only sticking around because you don't need to travel this holiday season. If so, enjoy the empty halls, bask in the quiet, and call it a day early. If not — well, good luck on the roads and at the airport. It sounds like they're going to be predictably nasty. There Seems To Be Some Sort of Holiday Occurring: And consequently you can... more ›

>> The District's next sales tax holiday starts Friday, Nov. 23 and lasts until the following Friday, December 2. [WJLA] >> Mayor Fenty and Schools Chancellor Rhee announced today that every D.C. classroom will have a working desktop computer by February under a $4 million technology initiative. [WaPo] >> Maryland voters will get to decide in a special November 2008 referendum on whether to allow the state to install up to 15,000 slot machines... more ›

D.C. officials are apparently stunned to find that the money they've spent on the new Nationals stadium isn't translating into the sort of unconditional loyalty they might like. Turns out the team's 2008 Dream Foundation Dream Gala (it's dream-related, see) will be held at National Harbor in Prince George's County, Md., and the Examiner reports that Mayor Adrian Fenty, D.C. Council Chair Vincent Gray and just about every other D.C. leader is throwing a temper... more ›

>> A second suspect in the kidnapping and sexual assault of a Prince George's County woman is under arrest after he was ID'd by a Metro transit investigator. [NBC4] >> D.C. firefighters and medics responded to the scene of an accident in Cleveland Park today that left a woman seriously injured after she crashed her car through a wall of her brick carport, collapsing part of it onto the car. [AP/WJLA] >> "If you're... more ›

Mark your calendars: WMATA put out a release earlier today announcing the dates of a series of six public meetings at which you can voice your opinions about the proposed Metro fare hikes, which would go into effect in January. The full set of proposed increases is here, but the basics include raising the base fare of Metrorail from $1.35 to $1.65, keep bus fares the same as long as you use SmarTrip cards (add... more ›

We'd like to waste about $800 sitting in traffic this year, please. That, at least, is the average annual cost for Marylanders who choose to drive during peak periods, (yet another) new Texas Transportation Institute tells us via Capitol News Service and WTOP. The total congestion cost, the study says, is $3.1 billion annually. We can think of some pretty good things to do with an extra $800. And they have nothing to do with... more ›

If you don't want to pay a toll, just don't leave the city. Information is sketchy at best, but the federal government may soon propose a toll on cars entering the city via the 14th Street bridge, reports The Examiner. According to the story, the proposal seems to be nothing more than another one of those fabulous pipe dreams feds float from time to time for improving our city. Like Sen. Sam Brownback's "flat tax"... more ›

Former Editor-in-Chief Ryan Avent writes a weekly column about neighborhood and development issues. The Washington Highlands neighborhood of the District of Columbia is terra incognita for many Washingtonians. Tucked up against the District’s southeastern border with Maryland’s Prince George’s County, the area is walled off from the rest of the city by Oxon Run Park, the Anacostia Freeway, Bolling Air Force Base, and the Anacostia River, not to mention the yawning gap between its economic... more ›

Good morning, Washington. Even if you don't plan to do anything with your day like attending a memorial event or volunteering, it's rather difficult to forget what day it is today -- every time you see the date Sept. 11 on a credit card slip or memo, you're going to be reminded. The Post has a big interactive feature up on the creation of the Pentagon Memorial, which is scheduled to open in one... more ›

MONDAY >> They put it pretty well themselves, and since it's all about them anyway, we're just going to repeat what the Black Cat had to say about their anniversary party tonight: "After 14 years of pouring you guys drinks, then picking up the glasses, working the doors, and sweeping the floors, we've decided that it's time to dedicate a night to ourselves. Black Cat staff bands, staff DJs, and staffers will be hanging out... more ›

Former Editor-in-Chief Ryan Avent writes a weekly column about neighborhood and development issues. I don’t suppose it would surprise most District residents to hear that there are sharp differences in income between the city’s neighborhoods and racial and ethnic groups. We see it all around us, but especially in those parts of the city where the lives of the haves abut and intermingle with those of the have-nots. These gentrification frontiers are often a locus... more ›

Rockville based chain California Tortilla has reached a milestone. According to Washington Business Journal, the chain has sold 5 million burritos. 5 million! I prefer to say they've sold 5 megaburritos, but whatever floats your boat. The big winner of a year's worth of indigestion, er, delicious goodness, was college student John Baroody of Herndon, Virginia, who purchased number V at the Ashburn Village store. Congratulations, John! I'm sure your feelings at the moment of... more ›

In case you missed the news yesterday, the Washington Post has devoted an extraordinary amount of front page column inches to the record breaking temperatures D.C. saw yesterday. At 12:05 p.m. on Wednesday, the temperature hit 102 degrees at Reagan National Airport, according to the National Weather Service, breaking the previous all time high record for Aug. 8, of 101 degrees, set in 1930. The oppressive heat also had a number of other newsworthy... more ›

To be honest, Washington, it's taking everything we've got not to put up eight or nine posts today just indulging in our need to whine about how nasty hot it is outside. Apparently the humidity today and tomorrow is going to be so intense, it could feel like it's 105 degrees. Can we all agree that this is not OK? OK. Thanks. We'll move on to the headlines then, and by "move on" we don't... more ›

Good morning, Washington. It's the last Friday in July, and we can already feel the impending doom and gloom of D.C.'s traditional No News August, a time when the Washington Post publishes lengthy ruminations on humidity and local TV news begins investigating whether your children's toy water guns are really safe. But as if feeling the need to grant us one last interesting Friday before the new month begins, D.C. Council member Harry Thomas... more ›

Tireless Prince George's County beat reporter Rosalind Helderman writes in today's Washington Post about a growing movement to have bronze statues depicting Chief Justice Roger B. Taney removed from the State House in Annapolis and Frederick City Hall this year. Taney was the justice who delivered the majority opinion in the Dred Scott case, which declared the Missouri Compromise of 1820 to be unconstitutional and ruled that slaves were personal property and therefore not citizens... more ›

Former Editor-in-Chief Ryan Avent writes a weekly column about neighborhood and development issues. Not too long ago this site, along with the D.C. Council and much of the rest of the Washington area, was actively debating the incentive package for the new Washington Nationals stadium. At the time I was well aware of the questions about costs and benefits and was familiar with research on the subject suggesting that new stadia did not boost metropolitan... more ›

>> Experts warn of lightning-strike injuries with iPods [AP via CNN.com] >> "The District has awarded a contract for managing its troubled Medicaid transportation program to a St. Louis-area company that the Missouri governor's office called 'scurrilous' after the company paid millions of dollars to resolve a fraud investigation." [WashTimes] >> "In the lingo of anti-smoking zealots, smoke flow from dwelling to dwelling is called “seepage” and for now, it seems, there’s nothing a renter... more ›

Good morning, Washington. Last night's Unbuckled concert at DC9 was a huge success, having sold-out in under an hour and providing a rocking good time for all those who made it inside -- thanks to all of you who came out! We couldn't be happier, and we'll have some photos and other details to share later on, to be sure. In the meantime, the Washington Post has some video of yesterday's topping off ceremony in... more ›

Are you a resident of Washington, D.C. and looking for a new job? D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton is hosting her 10th annual Norton Job Fair, at the Washington Convention Center's Hall C on Tuesday, July 10, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. You need to show proof of D.C. residency to attend (either a valid D.C. driver's license, or picture ID plus a utility bill with your address), the idea being to give D.C.... more ›

Welcome back to work, Washington. Actually, we're curious -- are any of you checking in on headlines from home today, having gone ahead and taken the rest of the week off? If so, we never liked you in the first place. Despite the tornado watch and humid, drizzly conditions, we hope you had a wonderful 4th of July celebration and of course, didn't have any fireworks-related accidents. ABC7 is reporting that at least nine people... more ›

Former Editor-in-Chief Ryan Avent writes a weekly column about neighborhood and development issues. Sometimes I imagine that the vicious territoriality residents of this or that place occasionally display when comparing their home enclave to another is a sign of something positive, a rootedness and sense of belonging, maybe, to the neighborhood or city or state one calls home. If that’s the case, then residents of the cities of Baltimore and Washington must be some rooted... more ›