How tolerant is the District? Apparently less so than Durham, Baltimore, Austin, Trenton, Tampa and a host of other cities. Or so The Daily Beast would have you believe. more ›

You can't get into a conversation about the District without inevitably talking about how divided it is. That's because it's true. more ›

An overwhelming number of runners that participated or registered for the Hot Chocolate 5K/15K race that took place this morning at National Harbor said the race was dangerously overcrowded, poorly organized and shoddily executed. more ›

Cornell Jones, director of the nonprofit group which is being sued by the city for using city grant funds designed to help people with HIV/AIDS to help build a strip club, certainly has some opinions on the matter -- some incredibly homophobic ones. more ›

Okay, enough snark -- this video of Washingtonian online account executive Matt Hendrickson proposing to his girlfriend after beating Teddy in a footrace is kind of wonderful. more ›

Today, Mayor Vince Gray announced two new major senior appointments for his troubled administration -- Chris Murphy as his Chief of Staff and Andrea Pringle as his Deputy Chief of Staff, the latter responsible for one of the hardest-hitting campaign mailers put out during the divisive 2010 mayoral contest. more ›

Though he campaigned on the theme of "One City," Mayor Vince Gray's election showed a city starkly divided along racial and geographic lines. And though Gray's branded everything that doesn't move with the "One City" slogan since taking office, the results of the April 26 At-Large Special Election seem to show that we're no closer to Gray's dream of citywide unity than we were a year ago. more ›

UPDATE (5:20 p.m.): According to the Washington Post's Mike DeBonis, Biddle has fired Brown due to the comments he made in Fisher's piece. Biddle's statement regarding the decision: “While change can be difficult and at times uncomfortable, these kinds of comments are hurtful. My wife and I choose to raise our children here because of the diversity the city has to offer. Marshall Brown does not speak for me or my campaign and his comments in Marc Fisher’s story do not help move our city forward. While he is a longtime family friend, I found his comments to be counterproductive at a time when I am working so hard to bring people in this city together, and I have asked him to step down from any future involvement in my campaign.” more ›

A six-person byline focusing on the "timeline of the whitening of D.C." which includes statements like "[bike] lanes manage to merge with the city's history of framing everything in black and white terms," touches on Tony Williams' blackness, the banning of single beer sales, Borf, and HOPE VI in Arthur Capper/Carollsburg, and concludes that "the flood of pale-complexioned fans into the stadium in Southeast...is a reminder of how big a change those curly “W” hats represent"? If this story represents TBD's swan song as a news organization, well, they're going out with a bang. (Appropriately enough: it's even got a correction.) more ›

Do you like numbers? The District? Spreadsheets? Well, then today's like Christmas and your birthday rolled into one. All the vital information you might want to know about the District's new Census figures can be found in the PDF below and at this link. more ›

The hot topics of the week in local politics have been, without a doubt, welfare and Walmart -- and while Ward 8 Councilmember Marion Barry has been on the warpath regarding the former, his views on the latter hadn't really surfaced. Until this morning, that is, when Barry made an appearance on NewsTalk with Bruce DePuyt. more ›

We've been talking quite a bit about racial divides in this town of late, and so its with some interest that we stumbled upon this very interesting map, created by Eric Fischer. Using the same technique and data set as this map of Chicago by Bill Rankin, Fischer mapped several American metropolitan areas. Each dot on the map represents 25 people and their self-identified ethnicity in the 2000 Census (red is White, blue is Black, green is Asian, orange is Hispanic). We've gone ahead and added the most basic of boundaries -- the District line -- so that you can see D.C. clearer. more ›

Our own Martin Austermuhle penned an optimistic post last week about the potential of Advisory Neighborhood Commissions, and how, despite a few bad apples, they can be utilized as a positive force for Washington's citizens to have their voice heard. Sure, there are several examples of crazy ANC commissioners and meetings, but on the whole, they normally provide a way for Washingtonians to better understand the intricacies of their government and stay on top in neighborhood affairs. That said, a commissioner muttering racial epithets at the challenger for her seat is a fine way to sully the reputation of the other good people who hold the title. more ›

After a year off, the Capital Criterium bicycle race made its way back to the streets of the District last weekend. A short, technical course had its start and finish lines on Pennsylvania Avenue between 12th and 13th Streets NW, providing several picturesque views -- if you had time to enjoy them as the pros zipped by. DCist staff photographer Holly Le was on hand to document the speed. more ›

If you've ever seen those cartoons where someone tosses thumbtacks on the road and a car or bicycle runs over them and gets flat tires, it seems both funny and harmless. But that wasn't the case at a local bicycle race over the weekend. more ›

Fair public notice to those whose idea of St. Patrick's Day fun is less drinking Guinness until you pass out on the couch and more watching others physically exert themselves through a rainstorm: Sunday's St. Patrick's Day 8K Race will be sure to tickle your fancy. Many a runner will wind their way down some heavily-trafficked roads between 9 a.m. and noon, so the District is doing it's usual "close down most of the routes along the Mall, making crossing into or out of Virginia by car a real pain in the ass" routine. more ›

Michael Neibauer and Bill Myers filed a two-fer today on the racial divide over D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty, noting in separate stories that black residents have soured on the guy, while whites are still, for the most part, behind him. That much has been evident since Sunday, though, when the Washington Post released its latest poll. So what's new here? For one, they offer that white support alone could still be enough to see Fenty re-elected. Well sure, but really we're burying the lede here: if you read nothing else in either of these stories, read this quote, on Fenty's personality problem:

"Arrogance" is a common refrain among many of Fenty's critics. Many cite the city's spiraling unemployment and then immediately contrast it with a mayor who squabbled over baseball tickets with the D.C. Council and who had a special heater installed at a public pool so his afternoon workouts could be more comfortable. more ›

D.C. Wire reported some new census figures earlier today that show that Washington, D.C.'s African-American population continues to dwindle, while the presence of whites, Latinos and Asians continues to grow. The city is now about 54 percent black, 40 percent white, 4 percent Asian and 9 percent Hispanic. Those figures compare to 61 percent black and 34 percent white in 2000, which translates to 27,000 African-American residents moving out and 40,000 whites moving in over the course of 2000 to 2008. Some estimates predict that pace could mean D.C. would cease being a majority African-American city by 2020, if not sooner. more ›

No, we didn't camp outside his Ward 4 home or track him down at local airports to uncover his secretive travel habits, but we do try and keep our eyes open for Mayor Adrian Fenty. Ever the athlete, yesterday Fenty took part in a triathlon at Georgetown University and followed it up with the Carl Dolan Memorial Spring Classic 25-mile bike race in Columbia, Md. And how would we know? Like last year, I raced alongside Fenty, who is a member of local race club DC Velo. I pondered an impromptu on-bike interview, but instead settled for resting in his mayoral slipstream. Fenty drove to the race in his Smart Car, though his bike rode with an imposing security detail in a jet-black Suburban. more ›

If only we could claim that this is just a plot for an upcoming drama on the fictional field of television's Dillon High, we would. Unfortunately though, it appears as if a serious breach is brewing between District of Columbia high school football teams and some Maryland counterparts over ugly allegations made earlier this fall during a game at Fort Hill High in Cumberland, Maryland. more ›

You may have heard by now of the scandal brewing in the Capitol Café (the small eatery in the basement of the Capitol building). If not, here's the skinny: Indiana Congressman Mark Souder (R) allegedly wanted a toasted turkey sandwich real bad; Café worker Kennison Battle (known as Mohammed) allegedly gets to work on sandwich but makes fatal error of grilling aforementioned sandwich; Souder allegedly tries to correct Battle, who allegedly attempts to set it... more ›

Good morning, Washington. Make it to the polls yesterday? If so, we hope you did so before the sun went down — it got cold in a hurry last night, as the area rapidly moved from warmer-than-usual temps to colder-than-usual ones. CapitalWeather is saying that the weekend should be warmer, at least. Election 2007: The results are in, and it looks like it was a good night for Virginia's Democrats. The Dems picked up... more ›

When the City Museum closed its door in late 2004 after a mere 18 months in existence, the one place to go for a comprehensive history of Washington, D.C. disappeared. But for those of you interested in the city's history, the next few days should be quite satisfying -- it's time for the annual Washington Studies Conference. The conference, now in its 34th year, kicks off tomorrow at The Carnegie Library building (801 K Street,... more ›

Happy Halloween, Washington! From the looks of things, Mayor Adrian Fenty is in a festive mood for the holiday, and had a great time right alongside everyone else at last night's 17th Street High Heel Race. The Examiner isn't so sure Fenty's high spirits will last though, as members of the D.C. Council are ticked off at the Mayor for snubbing their hearings by not sending a representative from his office to attend them. Hopefully... more ›

>> Tonight is the annual 17th Street High Heel Race. The classic D.C. drag event kicks off officially at 9 p.m., but you'll want to take your position on 17th St. NW between Church and R well before that (we'd recommend 7 at the latest). If you're looking to make a queer night of it, don't forget about the Hug-In planned at the U Street Rite Aid at 7 p.m., and the pre-Hug-In Happy Hour... more ›

Following up on Friday's entry about a gay couple who was kicked out of the Rite Aid at 13th and U Streets NW, the New Gay is organizing a hug-in set to take place at the store tomorrow night at 7 p.m., just before the annual 17th Street High Heel Race. If you plan to go, be sure to pledge your attendance via evite. The New Gay asks two things for everyone participating in... more ›

We've already covered some of the great Halloween photos today, and, wouldn't you know it, there are all kinds of other interesting things going on in October besides creepy costume parties. There's the fall harvest at our local farmers markets, some fun times at our arts festivals before it gets too cold to play outside, and, well, whatever the hell is going on here. Of course, there was also the Marine Corps Marathon yesterday... more ›

Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.) has decided not to seek the Senate seat being vacated by Sen. John Warner (R-Va.) next year. The Post is reporting that Davis will announce formally on Thursday what his plans are, but sources have indicated that he won't look to take on a number of potential Republican contenders or former Governor Mark Warner for the seat. Davis reportedly doesn't want his run to overshadow a tough re-election contest faced by... more ›