We haven't yet gotten the official press release from the Department of Public Works, but the agency's online public calendar shows that residential street sweeping is set to resume on Monday, March 24. As happens every winter, street sweeping and the parking restrictions that come along with it were suspended on Nov. 30. Here's how DPW describes its street sweeping regime:Mechanical street sweeping is a weekly service in heavily trafficked residential sections of Wards 1,......

It looks like Virginia's gunnin' for a fight -- pun intended. According to WTOP, Virginia has filed a brief in the Supreme Court challenging the District's gun ban, joining a number of states that are picking sides in what may be a historic decision on the reach of the Second Amendment. The case, which will be heard in March, could have a wide-reaching effect on gun laws and regulations nationwide. According to Virginia Attorney......

Flying food? Perhaps you've noticed the odd little vehicle with wings near 8th and H, NW selling empanadas and other Mexican fare. It's On the Fly, a new food business started by one of the founders of Zip Car, Gabe Klein, L'Enfant cafe owner Christopher Lynch, and architectural designer Michel Heitstuman. The car is one of the first in a planned series of food carts and small stands that will swarm the city. This......

In the coming weeks District officials will find out whether a Court of Appeals decision that found the city's gun laws unconstitutional will stand or whether the U.S. Supreme Court will take up Mayor Adrian Fenty's appeal. According to SCOTUSBlog, the justices of the Supreme Court will debate whether or not to take the case on November 9. Should they choose to, the two sides would argue before the court in February or March; otherwise,......

D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty announced this afternoon that new time and distance meters for D.C. taxis must be installed no later than April 1, 2008. The announcement came about nine hours after the end of a 24-hour taxicab driver strike in response to the Mayor's decision to abandon the zone system. Fenty and D.C. Taxicab Commission Chairman Leon Swain Jr. also announced the pricing structure for the new meters: a $4 flag drop charge, then......

We were alerted yesterday via the Art Law Blog that the U.S. Department of the Interior is gearing up to change motion and still photography rules on federally run lands. In an amendment to current regulations, three DOI agencies, the Bureau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife Services, and the National Park Service, will be authorized to charge standardized fees to and require a permit from commercial photographers who want to shoot in an area......

It's that time again, the best comments of the previous week. It was a bountiful week, with World Bank protests, Metro employees chowing down, and new dog park regulations Read on, and register if you haven't! ----- Everybody had something to say about D.C. switching to taxi meters. shawndc: I'm glad Fenty had the balls to stand up to the Taxi commission and move ahead with meters. Let's hope they can get it up and......

Written by DCist Contributor Sarah Stonesifer The Diamondback – University of Maryland: >> Hartwick Towers, an off-campus apartment building, was the scene of a fire on Friday, Oct. 12. The fire has come under scrutiny by both students and city officials, as the building is not equipped with sprinklers and fire alarms did not function during the fire. Students were left on their own to find alternative housing until they were let back into their......

Mark down an initial battle victory to the owners in the long and strained D.C. doggy wars. The Examiner reports on a change in the regulations governing the establishment of off-leash dog parks in the District that should make it easier to create fenced-in spaces for dogs to play. Dog owners in the city have long complained about a dearth of spaces where they could legally let dogs off their leashes to get exercise. Among......

Mayor Adrian Fenty has announced the city has formally filed an appeal to the Supreme Court in the hopes that it will overturn a March decision in which a lower court found that the District's ban on handguns was unconstitutional. Though the appeal has been a month in the making, Fenty and D.C. Attorney General Linda Singer today explained their reasoning in an op-ed published in the Post. In it, they reject the individual right......

As we mentioned briefly yesterday, the second fire in two years at Capitol Lounge has been found to have resulted from the same reason as the first: a cigarette, which was left burning in a trash can behind the building. Last week's fire caused about $100,000 of damage to the Lounge as well as the Trover Gift Shop next door. Now The Examiner reports that D.C. Fire Chief Dennis Rubin is calling for a new......

, Former D.C. United prodigy and lightning rod Freddy Adu is off to Benfica of the Portuguese League, reports Steven Goff at the Soccer Insider. When Adu came to United at the tender age 14, his arrival inspired fanfare within Major League Soccer that has only since been surpassed by some British geezer. After three up-and-down seasons with United, Adu was sent to Real Salt Lake for a major allocation (a powerful tool in MLS......

This morning Mayor Adrian Fenty announced that he would appeal a March ruling that found that the District's handgun law was unconstitutional to the U.S. Supreme Court. His decision sets up the first major battle in decades over whether the Second Amendment confers an individual or collective right to own a handgun. Moreover, it could have a profound effect on gun regulations across the country should the Supreme Court side with the lower court. The......

After the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled that the District's restrictive handgun laws were unconstitutional in early March, Mayor Adrian Fenty was quick to promise a swift appeal. But when the full court declined to rehear the case two months later, thus forcing a potential showdown in the U.S. Supreme Court, Fenty was forced to slam on the brakes. Since then, he and his legal team have grappled with a vexing......

For many, the bars-as-far-as-the-eye-can-see on 18th Street in Adams Morgan is exactly what has made the neighborhood the center of the District's nightlife. For others, it's the very reason the neighborhood has started going downhill. According to the Post, the D.C. Council will vote tomorrow on whether to limit the number of taverns on the strip, potentially imposing restrictions that could force owners to close shop. Longtime area residents have complained that more and more......

In times when security fears, whether justified or not, begin to creep over our lives, it's important to remember that the tiny chipping away of legitimate rights can be a slippery slope to unwarranted governmental authority over our lives. We wrote in June about photographer Chip Py's experience in downtown Silver Spring, as well as Kate Mereand's similar confrontations all over D.C., and their subsequent formation of DC Photo Rights, a Flickr group dedicated to......

The Alexandria City Council passed a bill on Saturday that would effectively ban smoking in restaurants in the city. The council has to vote again on the measure, which makes changes to use permit regulations that would require restaurants to go smoke free, before it would go into effect, and that vote isn't planned until after the next Virginia General Assembly session ends. Alexandria officials are hoping the General Assembly will pass its own state-wide......

It's never a good sign when it's already this steamy this early in the morning, and indeed, the heat index looks like it will near 100 degrees today (actual temps closer to 94). The D.C. Homeland Security and Emergency Management has some helpful tips to beating the oppressive heat, but this list has a shameful lack of ice cream sandwiches involved. DCist heartily recommends the Ice Cream Sandwich Method of keeping cool today, which involves......

People around the country have long complained that politicians are full of it. Now their workplace is too. The story, apparently broken by Roll Call, is that on Wednesday, workers found at least three piles of poo (yes, actual poo) in the hall on the Senate side of the building, and possibly some more in a gallery overlooking the Senate chamber. There have been piles of questions about this - some have speculated it was......

Seattlest has a talk with the photographer from last week's "Segway Mom" and then experiences some dissension in the ranks over the question of wine vs. beer. It's not West Side Story, but about as close as they'll get. They're also still waiting on some inbox relief after a spammer is arrested. As Chicagoist counts down the days to its third anniversary party, they found all-organic pizza to be underwhelming amidst the hoopla, tried......

Mayor Adrian Fenty has had a pretty easy run so far. Spare a recent brush-up over some lifted school reform plans, Fenty's first five months in office have proven that he's dedicated, energetic and well-liked. But the recent ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District Circuit deeming the city's restrictive gun laws unconstitutional has dumped a load of pressure and expectations on Fenty -- both locally and nationally. As the Post reported......

The AP has a good piece this morning on the debate over whether D.C.'s regulations are too tough on older drivers who are trying to renew their driver's licenses. Currently, D.C. law requires drivers over 75 to again pass a road test and a written exam of driving rules. A year ago, D.C. began imposing what are among the nation's most stringent requirements on drivers 75 and older. Only two states, Illinois and New Hampshire,......

We got an email today from the Golden Triangle Business Improvement District announcing a little lunchtime commuter fair for tomorrow. It's a fairly benign event, but one little detail jumped out at us: Workers and visitors in downtown DC’s central business district can navigate Metro’s online trip planner, pick up bus schedules, register their bikes, get information on car sharing, and learn about MARC, VRE and commuter buses during a lunchtime commuter fair at Farragut......

If we could honestly see any down side to the sudden rise of spring in Washington (and really, I sat outside last night in a friend's backyard -- is there anything better than that?), we suppose the sudden return of parking tickets for three hour intervals on alternate sides of the street would be it. And obviously, regarding the accompanying photo, it's not that kind of sweeping. But it's tough not to have a cheery......

The District's restrictive gun laws have long been hated by Second Amendment activists everywhere, who have tried pretty much everything, including near-annual congressional legislation, to overturn them. Today might be their day, though -- the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has found that the District's gun restrictions are unconstitutional. In a decision published today, the court wrote that the District's restrictions on gun ownership, which date back to 1976, unconstitutionally infringe upon......

Back in January, the new Congress passed revamped ethics rules theoretically intended in part to minimize the influence of lobbyists on lawmakers and their staff. How our elected representatives hate lobbyists, with their wee beady eyes and those smug looks on their faces. "Oh, you're gonna vote for ethanol subsidies, oh!" How can they hate lobbyists? The lobbyists put addictive chemicals -- money, swag, and trips -- in their dealings with lawmakers that make them......

We regret that we must bring you this headline in earnest, D.C. It's not just hype, it's the real deal. Cold weather is up in your grill: literally if you try to start your car this morning and figuratively if you're walking outside without a scarf or mouth guard of some kind. Several wind-chill advisories are out, predicting the coldest temps in three years and real threats of hypothermia and frostbite for those most vulnerable......

They see us when we're speeding, they know when we run lights, they know when we park illegally, but we won't pay up without a fight! Last week, we wrote about the transit implications of Adrian Fenty's "200 Goals in 100 Days." The mayor promised a lot of things, but the point everyone jumped on in the comments was his pledge to install traffic cameras on street sweepers. The cameras would photo-enforce the parking regulations......

Fear not, minors -- a ban on all-ages shows probably won't come to pass. But things may get a little stricter in the months to come. According to both the Post and the Examiner, a hearing yesterday on all-ages clubs in the wake of last weekend's killing of 17-year-old Taleshia Ford provoked heated opinions from both parents and District music fans. On the one side, concerned parents argued that minors can too easily get into......

The WaPo digs in to a report released by a group called Environment Maryland, part of a coalition of environmentalists, health professionals and religious leaders who want to require California-like emissions standards for all new motor vehicles by 2011. The report highlights EPA figures that show that Baltimore City, plus Montgomery, Baltimore and Prince George's counties, all have dangerously high levels of cancer-causing air pollutants. Despite protestations from entirely dispassionate Maryland automobile dealers that the......