Anytime something dramatic happens in the District, the D.C. Council tends to respond dramatically. But in response to the South Capitol Street shooting that left four teenagers dead one year ago, Councilmember David Catania (I-At Large) opted to take his time to craft a legislative response. more ›

The Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge, which only just went through a major renovation three years ago, will soon close to traffic overnight and on the weekends in order to complete "serious structural repairs," according to WTOP. The first closure will begin at 8 p.m. tomorrow. Over the next two weeks, the closure will be in effect between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. on most days, though the bridge will be inaccessible the entire weekend of September 17th, 18th and 19th, as well as overnight on the 24th and 25th. The sidewalks of the bridge will remain open while the work is going on, though, if you feel okay about walking over a big bridge undergoing for "serious structural repairs." more ›

A fifth suspect has been arrested in connection with the deadly Mar. 30 shootings on South Capitol Street, D.C. police announced Monday. Jeffrey D. Best, 21, was taken into custody just before 9 a.m. this morning, according to a news release. more ›

The Washington Post's Clarence Williams and Paul Duggan are reporting that authorities may be considering dropping charges filed against the 14-year-old boy who was believed to be involved in the deadly March 30 shooting on South Capitol Street.

The full extent of the trouble with the case remains unclear, but one problem concerns insufficient evidence that the teenager was involved in the attack at all, according to the sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the investigation is continuing. more ›

If the thing weren't solidly anchored to the ground, we might expect to find the District's new baseball stadium hiding somewhere in a corner. After all, the last few months have seen enough bad news for Nationals Park to make even the most confident of publicly financed ballparks a little glum. more ›

>> The Senate might have to work all weekend, in advance of a possible vote on Sunday on whether to take up a $50 billion war funding bill that calls for a troop withdrawal from Iraq in 12 months, Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) warned. Be prepared to hear all your Senate staffer friends complain about this at happy hour tonight. [The Hill] >> Foxhall Road will be closed to traffic between MacArthur Boulevard... more ›

Good morning, Washington. Remember last week, when we were wondering what kind of a plan a criminal had after stealing a tanker truck hauling gasoline in Baltimore? The truck was later found parked on South Capitol Street in Southwest D.C., drained of about 7,000 gallons of No. 2 diesel fuel. This morning we learn that the missing gasoline was found at a Chevron station in Southeast Washington, which police are now investigating. Weekend Protests Saw... more ›

After two long months of being shut completely for a major overhaul, the Frederick Douglass Bridge, aka the South Capitol Street Bridge, finally reopened to commuters this morning. DDOT actually reopened the Anacostia River crossing one week ahead of schedule overnight. When was the last time you remember a major construction project being finished early? Overall, it looks like the strategy to close the bridge completely, despite its inconveniences, was a good one. By... more ›

David Beckham made his long-awaited MLS debut last night at RFK stadium, entering the game in the 72nd minute but unable to help his Los Angeles Galaxy overcome a 1-0 defeat to D.C. United. We will have a full post on the game later this morning, but in the meantime, how was your evening commute affected by the 46,686 soccer match attendees crowding into Metro? Police Move Not Really Canceled?: So says the Washington... more ›

Good Morning, Washington. It looks like another fine spring day from our vantage point at DCist headquarters -- weather fit for a queen, as it were. Thanks to Flickr user Jon-Miles for sharing some of his shots with us from yesterday's press event with President Bush and Queen Elizabeth II. Today is the final day of the Queen's tour of the region. Before a private dinner with the Bushes, she'll spend it by visiting the... more ›

[Editor's Note: With the Nationals readying to begin their third season in D.C., change is constant and questions abound. Today, like last year, we take a look at the 2007 roster and all the new contributors. Next week, we’ll discuss this year’s most pressing questions with some of the Nats' best bloggers.] With the Nats preparing to head north from spring training in Viera for their third season on the Anacostia, it’s time to take... more ›

While D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty officially pays tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. today at the University of the District of Columbia, one question comes to mind -- how well has the District actually guarded and promoted King's legacy? Given the state of a library and an avenue named after the famed civil rights fighter, not too well. The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library stands as a contradiction at the corner of Ninth... more ›

Common sense took a bit of a beating today, courtesy of the Washington Redskins and D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams. As we learned from NBC 4 this morning, city officials and confidants of team owner Dan Snyder have started exploring the prospect of building the team a new stadium on the RFK site. Council-member Jack Evans (D-Ward 2) and lame-duck Williams have tacitly endorsed the idea, with Williams noting: I've talked to him [Snyder] a couple... more ›

If you're looking for a change of pace and need an industry that is sure to remain in business for years to come, consider escalator repair. Taking after DeVry and ITT Tech, Metro has kicked off a $1.5 million training lab for escalator repair, writes the Post. The lab will train the next generation of escalator repairmen, who, as we all know from experience, will have no shortage of work anytime soon -- on... more ›

Brown Not Out: Well, we're a little red-faced today. Yesterday we guessed that mayoral longshot Michael Brown was bowing out of the race. He did, after all, send us an email in which he announced that a press conference held yesterday would include "major announcement regarding his plans for the future." Coupled with his fast-shrinking campaign finance account, we thought, "This guy is toast." How wrong we were. Brown didn't duck out of the race.... more ›

You can just about make out the strains of the Carpenters' classic tune "We've Only Just Begun" humming in the air down around the new stadium development in S.E. these days. Wait, no, that song is about falling in love. Whoops. I think we meant something more like "I Hate You" by Slayer. It's so easy to get those two mixed up. Yesterday, at its last meeting before taking their summer recess, the D.C. City... more ›

"I strongly believe that it’s in the best long-term interest of the District to put these parking spaces underground, not above-ground as is frequently done in the suburbs,” said Mayor Williams. “It will serve the ballpark as well as the surrounding community for us to place this parking garage below ground so that we can build a productive mix of affordable housing, office, retail or residential development on top of the project. If we put the cars underground, as we do throughout most of the city, the District will reap more long-term benefits and millions of dollars in tax revenue.

Arguments over where to put new monuments on the National Mall have grown increasingly frequent and divisive as the front lawn has filled up. In 2003, Congress banned new construction on the Mall's cross-axis, beyond what had already been approved. In 2004, the National Museum of the American Indian and the World War II Memorial opened, and recently, a trapezoidal spot just northeast of the Washington Monument was chosen as the location for the National... more ›

Thanks to our friends over at FreeRide, we've learned that Sue Palka, Fox 5's weathercaster, has some fans. More than just fans, though, she has a fansite. Why? According to the site, "She's smart, she's sassy, and (we bet) she can drink you under the table. Does she get the weather right? Who cares? It's always sunny when Sue's around!" Maybe. But we've always been big fans of Michael Gargiulo and Shawn Yancy. Williams Demands... more ›

Yesterday, Mayor Williams joined other D.C. officials, Nationals players, and members of the new Nats ownership group in picking up a few baseball bat shovels and breaking ground on the South Capitol Street baseball stadium. It was a welcome moment for many Washingtonians, a relief, you might say, for we all remember how many hard fought battles took place to get the city to that moment. We all saw the public fights over bringing the... more ›

We've spent time talking about how great it would be if D.C. was a little more free WiFi-friendly than it is -- and thankfully, it soon may be. The Post is reporting this morning that D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams has asked companies to start bidding on a contract to build a free wireless internet network that would cover the majority of the city, including often underserved poorer neighborhoods. The network could become operational in... more ›

Well, it wasn't the storm we had in 2003, but after a January that struggled to hit the freezing point, it was nice to see that we haven't completely gotten rid of winter. Yet. Also, coming this Friday, a high in the 60s. more ›

As the clock rolled through midnight, there sat Marion Barry, hunched over in his too-big suit, red Nationals cap pulled low over thick glasses, interrupting the chair. He spoke haltingly, with long pauses, as he made his roundabout point, while Linda Cropp alternately reclined in exasperation and leaned forward over the desk, glaring at him in incredulity. Barry hushed Kwame Brown and David Catania by their first names as they attempted to clarify his statement,... more ›

Just like every other time the D.C. Council was set to vote on the lease agreement for the new stadium along South Capitol Street, something had to come along and muddy up the waters. more ›

D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams must be loving President George W. Bush right now. Among the $143 million of spending for the District contained in the president's federal budget proposal is $20 million for upgrades at the Navy Yard Metrorail station, a key component of the construction of a new stadium along South Capitol Street in Southeast, reports NBC 4. For the station to handle gameday crowds, its capacity would have to be increased from the... more ›

We didn't mean to, but it seems that we set off an interesting discussion about new names for the city's neighborhoods. As we mentioned this morning, real estate prices in NoMa are fast rising. For those of you unaware of a neighborhood called "NoMa" within the District, it's a large swath of land north of Massachusetts Avenue and east of North Capitol Street, fanning out from Union Station and encompassing a once industrial wasteland that... more ›

Bad day to sleep in if you’re a resident of Arlington or Alexandria. After failing with email and phone early warning emergency alerts, the Department of Homeland Security has decided to try using a siren system, which it will test today in Northern Virginia. Residents can expect a wail (in London, whale), followed by instructions regarding the appropriate action to take. more ›

September 29, 2004 will be remembered as the day that the District got baseball back. December 21, 2004 will be known as the day the D.C. Council narrowly approved the agreement formalizing the return of the Washington Nationals and the city's promise to build them a state-of-the-art, publicly-funded stadium. December 20, 2005 may soon come to be known as the day when Washington lost another baseball team. Of course, that's just a guess. The again,... more ›

If you head on over to the District's official website, you'd be faced with the usual fare -- links for residents and visitors, the day's news and press releases, and online services. more ›

Editor's Note: This is the second of two guest writers we invited to comment on the stadium lease, which is set to be voted on tomorrow. First off was Vincent Morris, the mayor's spokesman, speaking in favor of the stadium deal, and now we have Council-member David Catania (I-At Large) opining against it. The Stadium is Bad News for the District By David Catania "If you build it, they will come," infers the voice in... more ›