As momentum builds in Hollywood for the Academy Awards, Tracy's Kids, a local charitable program for children with cancer, held their own movie-themed gala on Tuesday night. Politicos, corporate honchos, and other benevolent Washington types filled Lucky Strike for a reception before taking the escalator upstairs to the Regal Gallery Place cinemas to see one of six Oscar nominated films. more ›

Earlier this season, the Caps ranked first in the entire NHL - for about an hour, before the Ottawa Senators reclaimed the lead. Yesterday the Caps were tied for last place overall, and had spent two whole days in sole possession of last place in the Eastern Conference. The Senators, meanwhile, remained on top of the league with thirteen wins and one loss. Last night, with three of their top five wingers out injured, the... more ›

At 2 p.m. the Capitals head to Nassau Coliseum to break a seven way tie for second overall in the NHL. Both the Capitals and the New York Islanders have won their first two games of this fresh season. By the time you get out of work today, one of these teams will pass Ottawa (two wins, one overtime loss) for first overall, and the other will plunge to a respectable eighth. Making things more... 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 ›

It's hardly the nicest stadium, but RFK Stadium holds a venerable place in Washington sports history. Open since 1962, when it was called District of Columbia Stadium, the venue has hosted two MLB franchises, the Washington Redskins during their glory years, the most successful MLS club ever, international soccer tournaments, concerts, and on and on. It even hosted Team America! Sunday's final Nats home game, a 5-3 win over the Phillies, isn't the last... more ›

>> Hundreds of protesters met on the National Mall this morning in support of the Jena 6. [AP / WJLA] >> Voting rights advocates plan to target specific Senators who might be swayed to change their votes. [Free Ride] >> Parking space jockeys: more entrepreneurial than lawn jockeys. [Penn Quarter Living] >> "Now this is some cold-ass eviction." [DC Metblogs] >> Eighty-five hybrid taxicabs to storm Arlington in a fit of environmentally-conscious rage. [WaPo]... more ›

The Capitals have re-signed center Brooks Laich (pronounced LIKE) to a one year contract. Laich is a fast-skating, defensively responsible young center who can also play on the wing. The Capitals acquired him from the Ottawa Senators in 2004 in a trade for Washington's all time leading scorer, Peter Bondra. Returning to a recently broken club policy, "financial terms of the deal were not disclosed." According to TSN, however, the contract is worth $725,000.00, and... more ›

Now that it turns out there's almost nothing more embarrassing than watching self-made videos of goofy Americans asking leading questions to presidential candidates, we'd like to suggest you take a valuable lesson from the experience by choosing not to enter your workplace this morning wearing wraparound sunglasses, a Viking outfit or a salmon-colored suit jacket. We'll leave the choice of affecting an over-the-top southern drawl up to you, but you can probably guess where... more ›

Happy Friday morning, D.C. If you're like us, today is payday, and maybe you're feeling pretty good about the number of digits in your bank account. Perhaps you even plan to go out and make a major purchase this weekend, like say, finally upgrading that crappy stereo system you bought from K-mart before you started college. Maybe you're even smiling at your desk right this second, thinking of how proud you are to have saved... more ›

When the going gets tough for District voting rights, we pull out real hardware -- the kids. Specifically, the Young Suffragists. The organization, made up of kids aged 4-12, has been advocating for District voting rights since 2003 in the hopes that by 2012, when its youngest member turns 18, they'll all be able to vote for a representative and a senator for the District. And best of all, they're cute, can't easily be handcuffed... more ›

Last night the Hershey Bears lost the decisive fifth game of the Calder Cup Finals to the Hamilton Bulldogs. The Bulldogs will now get raises and promotions to the NHL, while the Bears will go home to dark, empty apartments and watch nature shows, searching for an equally absurd example of an obnoxious housepet dominating a bear. Actually, losing in the finals is a perfectly acceptable outcome from the Capitals' standpoint. Their young players got... more ›

That's right. Caps are in the finals! Admittedly, the Capitals are not in this year's Stanley Cup Finals. That honor is shared by the Anaheim No-Longer-Mighty Ducks and the Ottawa Senators. However, many Capitals are still in the finals. No, we're not talking about Ottawa's Antoine Vermette, who was only a Capital for one beautiful summer day, when the Caps claimed him off waivers and then traded him right back to Ottawa. We're not even... more ›

It looks like Senate Republicans really don't want today's scheduled Senate Judiciary Committee hearing to happen as planned. DCVote spokesperson Kevin Kiger tells us that Republicans have tried to invoke the 2-hour Rule, which would cut off committee action two hours after the Senate started work for the day. We've got our browsers set to the live webcast of the hearing, set to begin at 1:30 p.m., at which point we'll know whether Sen. Russ... more ›

As promised, Senators Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) introduced legislation to create a Congressional seat for D.C., as well as a new seat for Utah, this afternoon. Of course, this doesn't mean the bill was debated or even mentioned on the Senate floor. While we sat eagerly by the television, fingers twitching to live blog the whole thing, it seems DCist should have been brushing up on our School House Rock. The senators... more ›

This weekend, as Washingtonians celebrated Earth Day with Anacostia River cleanups and tree plantings at the National Zoo, the Post highlighted the Capitol Power Plant, a coal-burning blight to Southeast. Thanks to Senators Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) and Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), the familiar smokestacks continue to burn coal in the heart of the District, a clear violation of the Clean Air Act. In 2000, when officials wanted to stop using the dirtiest of fossil fuels, the... more ›

Happy Friday, D.C. It's sunny out, this weekend is apparently going to be gorgeous (72 degrees!), and on Thursday, the D.C. Voting Rights Act passed the House of Representatives. In order to avoid a repeat of last time, Democrats broke the voting rights measure into two bills -- one that would add the extra seats in the house and the other a PAY-GO bill to fund them. They were both written so narrowly that Republicans... more ›

Last time we live blogged the House debate on District voting rights, things didn't go too well. We're hoping for a bit of an improvement today. From what we've heard on the Hill, debate kicks off at 10:30 a.m., and the legislation has been split up into two separate parts -- one covering the actual voting seats both D.C. and Utah would receive and the other dealing with the minor increase in annual spending the... more ›

What, pray tell, do you consider the most pressing issue facing the United States Senate? Is it the war in Iraq? The Israel-Lebanon conflict? Global warming? The energy crisis? The low minimum wage? Immigration? Flag burning? Health care? Are you sad yet? Fortunately, the New York Times' crack political reporters have singled it out for us: the interminable crowding of the Senators-only elevators. In an article only D.C. could inspire, we get a glimpse into... more ›

Shortly after Pope Benedict XVI was elected by the College of Cardinals, the Archbishop of Washington, Theodore Cardinal McCarrick, sent his letter of retirement to the Vatican. This is something that bishops are required to do when they turn 75, and the Pope accepted the resignation and soon nominated a successor. The Bishop of Pittsburgh, Donald W. Wuerl, was appointed to be the new leader of the Roman Catholic archdiocese of Washington last month. Yesterday,... more ›

What a difference four days make. more ›

After 22 straight scoreless innings, things looked bleak for the Nationals. With their highly-anticipated Battle of the Beltway on tap, the Nats had to beat the Cubs and Kerry Wood making his first start of the season. Well, a little bit of lineup shake up did the trick as four players, including Damian Jackson and Marlon Anderson, homered in a 5-3 victory over the Cubs. Firmly in fourth place, the Nats can now look ahead to their three-game showdown against their natural regional rivals, the Orioles. more ›

This post was written by DCist contributor Jesse Rounds Since dropping 8 in a row two weeks ago, the Capitals have gotten strong team play and timely individual excellence. They've also picked up 10 points from 7 games. Washington's first stop on their short road trip to Canada ended in a difficult loss to the Montreal Canadiens. The Capitals were tied with the playoff bound Habs late into the game. A poor puck-handling decision by... more ›

This entry was written by DCist contributor Jesse Rounds. On Monday night the Caps came home to the newly minted Verizon Center to take on the New York Islanders and attempt to turn around a post-Olympic slide. An impressive display by the Caps gave Olie Kolzig his 250th career win and Alexander Ovechkin his 40th and 41st goal. The teams were evenly matched through the first period but in a second period bookended by goals... more ›

The Arena Stage is holding their 14th Annual Benefit production of the The Pundit Whodunit: The Case of the Political Puzzle tonight at 8:30 p.m. at the Kreeger Theater. If you've got an extra $200 to $400 lying around, you too can be seated front and center for a one night only performance of local playwright and director Harry M. Bagdasian's comedic murder mystery, starring prominent members of Congress and the media. Members of the... more ›

This post was written by DCist contributor Jesse Rounds The Washington Capitals successfully started the final third of the season last night with a 5-3 win over Toronto Maple Leafs at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto. A solid game by second string goalie Brent Johnson and the first career two goal game by Matt Pettinger gave Washington the 20th win of their season. The Caps took advantage of the fact that many of the... more ›

Senators and staff in the Russell Senate Office Building are "sheltering in place" in the Russell parking garage after Capitol police have found a "suspicious powder" in the Russell Senate Office Building attic, according to WAMU. The first of two tests on the substance returned toxic, but the second did not. Capitol police are conducting a third test, the results of which are expected in half an hour. More than 200 people are reportedly inside... more ›

One of the joys of Spring Training is supposed to be taking a break from the icy darkness of wherever you're from to head south and dream of the warm summer nights that must be around the corner if baseball's begun. This winter, of course, we've all been able to keep our tans, and the kids never had to quit their stickballing in the alley, but it's still pretty exciting to think that it's nearly... more ›

, now closing out the year at Arena Stage. more ›

Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, took a rare swipe at the United States, saying he was puzzled why residents in the capital of the world's oldest democracy have no Congressional voting rights. more ›

Good morning, Washington. Today and tomorrow look likely to be rainy. You know when the weather was better? That's right, the good old days. Also better: the children of the past. Today's Post reports that six Manassas high school students have been disciplined after they were discovered participating in sexual activity in the school's auditorium. And WTOP reports that no police charges have yet been filed against the P.G. County student who on Wednesday attacked... more ›