Talk about crossing the aisle. This photograph, captured last August during the Columbia Heights Day festival at Harriet Tubman Elementary School, features recently announced At-Large Council candidates Patrick Mara, a Republican, and Bryan Weaver, a Democrat, posing after competing in the event's cupcake eating contest. more ›

After it was determined that he won the Republican nomination for mayor early this morning, everyone was wondering about Mayor Adrian Fenty's chances of running on the GOP ticket, whether he'd fare any better a second time around and what it might say about our city. Well, so much for that speculation: the Board of Elections and Ethics now says that Fenty couldn't accept the Republican nomination even if he wanted to, since he was not registered with the party on Primary Day. Originally, it was believed that Fenty would have until 4:45 p.m. today to decide whether or not to run. more ›

When in the closing days of 2006 we looked back on the year in D.C. voting rights, we optimistically hoped that 2007 would finally be the year that saw some movement on enfranchising the District's residents. Movement, yes; resolution, not so much. So as we wind down 2007, we're again left hoping that maybe the coming year will be the one. more ›

Welcome back, Washington. We hope those of you who celebrate Christmas had a holly and/or jolly one, and that your stock of material possessions has been satisfactorily increased. As you might expect, not too terribly much happened while you've been away. Davis Mulls Eighth Term: Sure, it was published yesterday, but we imagine many of you may have missed the Post's analysis of whether Tom Davis will seek another term as congressman for Northern Virginia's 11th district. Davis's senatorial aspirations were dashed earlier this year when Virginia's Republican party opted for a convention rather than a primary system, which put Davis at a disadvantage and prompted him to remove himself from consideration. Since then observers have been wondering whether the congressman would leave office for a lucrative private sector job. Although the Post article does a nice job laying out the pros and cons he faces, so far Davis seems not to be dropping many hints as to what he'll do. Ready To Say Goodbye To That Tree?: If so, WTOP has you covered. In D.C. and a number of surrounding counties you can simply put it out on with your recycling and trust that it'll be responsibly mulched — if, that is, you've properly detinseled it. Thousands Of Jobs Headed to P.G. County: The Post reports on the soon to open Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center and its considerable staffing needs. The hospitality complex is getting set to hire 2,000 people, and the county government seems understandably pleased about it. There are so many jobs and so much interest that Gaylord will be running a multi-day job fair at the end of January. Briefly Noted: Kid playing with lighter starts fire, displaces several apartments' residents... Charles County considers banning drive-through liquor stores... Medic involved in serious crash in Alexandria while responding to emergency... There was a water main break in Southwest last night... Murder suspect claims gun discharged during struggle... This Day In DCist: One year ago we interviewed Middle Distance Runner and asked them and a number of other D.C. bands what their top albums of the year were. Image posted to DCist Photos by Flickr user christaki more ›

Good morning, Washington. It turns out that House Pages don't need lecherous congressmen's help to make scandalous headlines: two have just gotten busted for inappropriate behavior in a House elevator. They've been dismissed, bringing the year's total fired pages to five — two others were caught shoplifting, and one was booted for fighting. Needless to say, it looks like the program — the oversight of which has been in turmoil — will be getting... more ›

Libertarian-leaning Republican presidential candidate and hero of the Internets Ron Paul has gotten himself a blimp, and it's headed this way. According to a just-released flight plan, the blimp, which will read "Who is Ron Paul? Google Ron Paul" on one side and "Ron Paul Revolution" on the other, will launch from Elizabeth City, N.C., Monday and flyover Washington circa 3 p.m. the same day, with a rally planned for 4 p.m. and another re-launch... more ›

One of these guys might be the next president, so it's good to try and parse where they stand on District voting rights. At least that was the thinking over at D.C. Vote, who recently recorded and sent in a number of videos of District residents asking the presidential candidates from the Republican Party where they stood on D.C. voting rights. The videos, eleven in all, were submitted to CNN for the upcoming CNN/YouTube... more ›

The Associated Press is reporting that former Va. Gov. Jim Gilmore has officially announced he is a candidate for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by retiring Sen. John Warner. Gilmore announced his candidacy by posting a video to YouTube. The formal announcement sets up Gilmore as the presumed Republican nominee for the seat, as the other leading candidate, Rep. Tom Davis (Va.-R), announced last month that he would not seek the seat. Gilmore will... 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 ›

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 ›

About two years ago, DCist overheard a sadly familiar exchange by two young Republican Hill staffers on an Amtrak train from New York to D.C. As far as we could tell just by eavesdropping, one of them worked for then-Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, and she was complaining, or really just explaining in an emphatically loud voice, that the senator would not let female staffers into meetings who were not wearing a skirt suit with... more ›

DCist's highly subjective and hardly comprehensive guide to the most interesting movies playing around town in the coming week. Repertory: D.C. Labor FilmFest Strictly speaking, the D.C. Labor FilmFest isn't a repertory festival, but with over half of their programming falling into that category, plus a dedicated retrospective to the great Ken Loach, we'll go ahead and shoehorn it into the category this week. The festival is put on by the Washington Metro Council of... more ›

Just in case you were still tap, tap, tapping your fingers in anticipation of what Sen. Larry Craig would decide to do about his scandal-ridden Senate career, the wait is over: Craig has changed his mind about resigning and will remain in the Senate through next year. He made his decision this afternoon, shortly after a Minnesota judge ruled Craig could not withdraw his guilty plea to disorderly conduct in a men's restroom at a... more ›

When it comes to who the D.C. Republican Party should side with in the 2008 presidential contest, the choice is obvious -- Mike Huckabee. Sure, the former governor of Arkansas doesn't have much of a chance of winning, but he's been consistent in his support of D.C. voting rights. In yesterday's All-American Presidential Forum on PBS, hosted by Tavis Smiley, it was Huckabee who backed voting rights for the District's 600,000 residents. In response to... more ›

Written by DCist Contributor Fredo Alvarez In a 60-39 cloture vote, the U.S. Senate barely passed the Matthew Shepard Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2007 (S 1105) today as an amendment to the FY 2008 Defense Authorization Bill (HR 1585). The measure would expand protection against hate crimes to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community, and would enable the Federal government to provide assistance in the investigation or prosecution of... more ›

New Hampshire Looks to Smack Down Senators: After the U.S. Senate failed to overcome a filibuster on legislation that would grant the District a voting seat in the House of Representatives, voting rights activists swore they would have their revenge. On the top of their list are Republican senators John McCain (Ariz.), Gordon Smith (Ore.), and Thad Cochran (Miss.), not to mention the lone Democrat to vote against the bill, Max Baucus (Mont.). But one... more ›

>> Payday lending reform legislation passes in the D.C. Council, Ward 8 Council member Marion Barry's bizarre change of heart on the matter notwithstanding. [City Desk] >> It's likely that the Texas State Bar is probing the professional conduct of former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. [Huffington Post] >> A water main break at Third Street and Constitution Avenue NW this morning caused U.S. District and D.C. Superior courts to be shut down all day, but... more ›

And so it was -- the U.S. Senate voted today 57-42 in favor of closing debate on legislation that would grant the District a voting seat in the House of Representatives, three short of what was needed to prevent a Republican-led filibuster. The measure, which passed the House in April, is now likely dead, and another attempt to correct a 200-year injustice has been thwarted. Of course, the legislation could be re-introduced, but it won't... more ›

As the Senate prepares to vote today over whether to close debate on legislation granting the District a voting seat in the House of Representatives, no one can safely say whether the votes will be there to head off a threatened filibuster. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) made his opposition to the bill painfully clear in a floor speech yesterday, and voting rights activists have been scrambling to gain enough Republican allies to reach... more ›

FRIDAY: >> The city's free concert series follows MC Hammer with a rare appearance by salsa legend Willie Colon, 7-9 p.m. at Woodrow Wilson Center. >> President Nixon’s White House counsel John Dean will be at Politics and Prose to discuss his book, Broken Government, which examines "the institutional damage he believes the Republican Party has inflicted on the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government during the Bush administration." 7 p.m. He'll also be... more ›

Good morning, Washington, and welcome to Friday. There's nothing like a nationally televised address about troop levels to put you in a mood for a sound night's sleep heading into the weekend, isn't there? Certainly we would never have tossed and turned contemplating the "sinister ingenuity" that allows President Bush to escalate a war and then de-escalate it a year later without ever having a plan to successfully end it, and yet be able... more ›

Popular former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner formally announced today that he is running for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Republican Sen. John Warner. The announcement immediately give the Democrats a strong frontrunner in a race that would help solidify a Democratic majority in the U.S. Senate, and makes the possibility of two Democrats representing the Commonwealth of Virginia for the first time since 1970 highly likely. No other serious Democrat is likely to... more ›

After letting us all enjoy a good summer break, next week the U.S. Senate will start debating legislation that would grant the District a voting seat in the House of Representatives. And in preparing for what is sure to be a spirited battle, big-name voting rights activists have recently stepped up the pressure with two back-to-back op-eds in Washington papers. Yesterday Maryland's former Lt. Gov. Michael Steele and former Oklahoma Republican Rep. J.C. Watts penned... more ›

We were bummed when the U.S. Senate decided in late July that legislation granting the District a voting seat in the U.S. House of Representatives would have to go on summer break with the rest of Congress. But now that they're all back, so is the push for D.C. voting rights. more ›

Our condolences go out to the family and staff of Rep. Paul Gillmor (R-Ohio), who was found dead in his Arlington townhouse today, the Associated Press is reporting. An official cause of death has yet to be determined after staff members discovered Gillmor's body at his home when they went to check on him after he failed to come in to work this morning -- but an email circulating around Republican offices suggest he died of a heart attack. Gillmor was 68. more ›

Even though the U.S. Senate is known as the best retirement home in America -- great healthcare, plenty of daily activities, and people continue to pay attention to you for some reason -- Virginia Sen. John Warner announced today that come next year, he's out. And while his announcement is big news, even bigger is the fight that's about to come to replace him. Consider the circumstances. The commonwealth is a political toss-up these days.... more ›

Welcome to Friday, Washington ... and the last day of August, and the beginning of your holiday weekend, and more or less the end of the summer? This particular date, as you prepare for your weekend barbecues and last-minute getaways, is always a bit of a depressing occasion. It may not be the de jure end of the summer, but it's certainly the de facto one. To cheer you up about the imminent demise... more ›

After being removed from committee postings by his Republican colleagues in the Senate and being called upon to resign by the likes of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.), embattled Sen. Larry Craig went "on vacation" with his wife Wednesday, according to the Washington Post. The fallout surrounding his guilty plea to lewd conduct in a men's bathroom in the Minneapolis airport has only intensified since Roll Call first broke the... more ›

>> Someone wrapped Karl Rove's car in plastic outside the White House. [NBC4FOX] >> Rep. Bob Filner (D-Calif.) finally released a statement today about his Aug. 19 arrest at Dulles following a physical altercation he allegedly had with a United Airlines employee, saying that he regrets the episode and hopes to move beyond it. [The Sleuth] >> Icelandic girl band Amiina have canceled their US tour and will not be playing their Sept. 4th... more ›

Once again, the country is in a tizzy over a conservative Republican senator doing naughty things. According to a Post report, Sen. Larry Craig (R-Id.) was arrested earlier this month in an airport bathroom in Minnesota after he became a little touchy with an undercover police officer. (Similar allegations were made against him here, though they allegedly occurred in a Union Station bathroom.) Our favorite part? That during an interview with police after the... more ›