In case you missed the list of Starbucks that will be closing in the D.C. metro area, WTOP has the whole list up. Only one out of the 600 stores that will close nationally is in the District -- at 2101 L St. NW. Given that there are also Starbucks locations at 2109 M Street NW, 2175 K Street NW, and 2400 M Street NW, we doubt anyone will be too inconvenienced by the change.......

Our pals over at Seattlest have been following this far longer than we have, but in case you hadn't heard, Starbucks will be closing its 7,100 stores nationwide tonight from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in order to re-train all of its employees simultaneously on ... how to make coffee. "We will have all new standards for how we create the drinks. They will be trained in creating the perfect shot, steaming the milk, and......

Rather than bringing a bottle of a nameless, never-tried bottle of Pinot Noir to your holiday parties, bring something the hosts will actually remember that it was you who brought it. Bring something that they'll be thankful for the morning after two too many egg nogs or a night of putting up with the relatives in town for Hanukkah. Bring them Joe. Two pounds of coffee is the new bottle of wine. Don't be an......

Happy Day-After-Thanksgiving, D.C. Normally we like to get you your headlines in the a.m., so we hope you'll forgive us for rounding up the news later in the day today -- we needed to spend the morning rolling our much fatter selves out of bed and calling our doctors for a new Lipitor prescription. What do you mean, it isn't necessarily a good idea to put gravy on pumpkin pie? Breaking News: People are Shopping!:......

Gothamist learned about the craziest urban nightmare come true: A huge python found in the bathroom pipes. It was also a nightmare for some Yankees fans, as manger Joe Torre declined to come back and manage the Bronx Bombers. At least the city's attempt to give some direction to subway riders was interesting, pranksters went shirtless at the Fifth Avenue Abercrombie & Fitch and the I Heart Brooklyn Girls calendars came out. And just......

>> The Smithsonian American Art Museum honors the winners of the Lucelia Artist Award over the past six years with its new exhibition opening tomorrow. The highly prestigious award gives $25,000 to an artist under 50 who has "consistently demonstrated exceptional creativity." See the six winners every day from from 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. The 2007 winner will be revealed tomorrow when the exhibit opens. >> If you haven't had the chance yet......

Written by DCist contributor Ben Schuman-Stoler. You have probably walked by the modest Old Stone House on M Street countless times while in Georgetown, perhaps wondering when it's going to be converted for the next Starbucks. The House, actually run by the National Park Service, has seen nearly two and a half centuries on what used to be known as Bridge Street during colonial years. The plot was purchased for one pound and ten shillings......

Marc Fisher: As the Senate gets ready to debate the District voting rights legislation, Fisher lists the dozen top reasons why senators from both parties should vote to enfranchise the city's residents. The more and more we look into it, the better the case looks. Let's hope the Senate agrees. Tom Knott: You know Knott's verbal insanity is in good form when the title of his weekly column is "It's Gathering of Eagles vs. nitwit......

Kristin Cantwell, the solo performer in the cabaret show Butter: A Love Story, proves an affable host for the evening. Taking on the persona of a Paula-Deen-heavy amalgam of Food Network personality types, she introduces us to the wonders of the butter bacon burger, the importance of creating a mood with "roombiance," and the assets of Taylor the Latte Boy, who services her at Starbucks. If only the girl could sing. Cantwell has assembled an......

>> "The structural steel and concrete work on the new Nationals stadium is done, and a 'topping out' celebration is set for Wednesday, July 11." [WTOP] >> "Starbucks has arrived to Columbia Heights. Mi barrio has a Starbucks coffee." [El Guapo in DC] >> A great list of rejected names for a new food blog -- the demise of "girl sandwich" will be mourned by all of us at DCist. [endless simmer] >> A......

We pretty relentlessly mock lists that involve listing the best of ________ (location, dining establishment, watering hole, venue) in the District. Be it a national publication or even our own Washington Post, sometimes it seems that the rankings reflect what's easiest rather than what's actually best. After all, is Starbucks really the best Washington has to offer by way of coffee? So when we saw that Esquire had published a list of the best bars......

First New York, then Philadelphia, and now Montgomery County. The trans fat ban bandwagon just got a little bit longer. According to the Post, yesterday MoCo became the first county in the nation to ban trans fats, endorsing restrictions that have become all the rage in recent months with health advocates. The ban will kick off next January for restaurants and in 2009 for establishments offering baked goods, and will force food providers to use......

This post is from DCist contributor Eddie Kim This week hasn't been easy for D.C.'s bravest. Though they suffered the pains of missing sprinklers and old electrical wiring on Capitol Hill or broken fire hydrants in Georgetown, we are thankful none of them were hurt in their smoke-eating heroics. For those who have given their lives in duty, however, Baskin-Robbins is offering a 31 Cent Scoop Night from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. tonight. The......

We're but five days away from the March for Voting Rights, the biggest and best chance District residents and their supporters will have to demand that Congress finally do something about our longstanding disenfranchisement. As we noted yesterday, you only need to take an hour off of work to support a worthy and principled cause. But why should you? Well, on Friday we'll be listing the reasons we're heading out to march. But everyone is......

FRIDAY: >> If you still haven't been out to a live show by The Lost Atoms, rock now or forever hold your peace. Shortly after tonight's show at Velvet Lounge, guitarist Paul [] and bassist Keith will marry their beautiful and talented fiancees, and the band will be divorced. Explaining the breakup with a typically droll statement on the band's blog, singer Matt Lame writes, "life happened, and there isn't time." It's rumored the band......

Republicans in Congress just haven't been nice to the District lately -- they delayed a vote on the voting rights bill by adding a rider to end D.C.'s handgun ban, and now they're preventing a free concert from being held near the Capitol on July 7. The concert was to be part of Al Gore's Live Earth series of concerts to raise environmental awareness and was to feature some combination of acts like the Police,......

>> A Calvert, Md. dog saved its owner by performing the Heimlich manuever on her. Everybody loves an adorable animal story at 5:30 p.m. on a Tuesday. [AP] >> Giant local employer Fannie Mae expects it will lay off hundreds of workers in the wake of huge federal fines imposed in their accounting scandal. We're sorry, unsuspecting Fannie Mae employees. [Examiner] >> Rounding out Washington's Sports Coverage is Jordan Baker's preview of the upcoming panda......

Written by DCist Contributor Vince Wadhwani, of BuyIndie.net Joe. Bean. Murk. Black Venom. Go Juice. The Nectar of Life. Call it what you want, but we love our coffee. And when you talk coffee it's hard not to think about the ever present Starbucks. Recently, they launched a service making it even easier to get your fix. Send a text message from your cell phone and get back the location of the three closest Starbucks.......

As we noted last year and an alert commenter let us know early this morning, Starbucks is having their second annual Coffee Break from 10 a.m.- Noon today. Customers can grab a 12 oz. cup of joe on the house and "enjoy a moment to do whatever you'd like" for two glorious hours. That is, if what you like is standing in line waiting with a million other people for a free caffeine boost. With......

What is it about historic D.C. firehouses that spark culinary ambition? A pair of in-the-works restaurants aim to address this burning question. As Express recently reported, a pre-World War II firehouse in the Bloomingdale neighborhood is slated to become an eatery called EC-12, whose name references the old Engine Company 12 that used to occupy the building. Architects are currently working on building plans, after which developers will be able to apply for a building......

If Alexandria officials are to be believed there has already been some impressive upside to their recruitment of the Patent and Trademark Office from the canyons of Crystal City to Carlyle, a neighborhood west of Old Town and north of the Capital Beltway. "We are now the intellectual capital of the world,'' says Stephanie Landrum, acting executive director of Alexandria's economic development office, according to the Washington Post. In addition to the over 7,000 employees......

As the world holds it's breath, teetering precariously on the cusp of the Super Bowl (well, at least in America), the wheels of the -ists keep on turning. Austinist was in a musical frame of mind as they listened to the new Shins album, updated the SXSW band listings and got called "punk rock" for their efforts by MTV. And an ice storm swept through the area. Bostonist said goodbye to John Kerry's plans......

Was that Jane Fonda getting a non-fat half-caff soy latte at Starbucks last night? Or Tim Robbins facing off with a beleaguered Hertz employee over their lack of hybrid rentals? Probably not, but they, along with a litany of other Hollywood-types are in town for an anti-war rally set to descend on the Mall Saturday afternoon. They'll be joined by tens of thousands of protesters from all over the country. On the coattails of the......

If you're both crazy for those dense poundcakes at Starbucks and a bit of a health nut, today is a good day -- the behemoth coffee retailer has announced that starting today, its stand-alone shops in the District will ditch food made with trans fats. Of course, with smoking now marginalized to outdoor areas, health gurus and nanny-staters alike have set their sights on trans fats, known more commonly as partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. New......

Good Morning, Washington! Whether you're on the way to an awkward meeting or just learning that Friday is part of the work-week, DCist wishes you a happy Wednesday. That is, unless you're the guy stealing donated gifts. We won't say what we wish on you. Another Urban Re-Vamp Gains Momentum: The D.C. Council has decided to move ahead with plans to redevelop Captial City Market in Northeast. The 24-acre area currently hosts a myriad of......

Written by DCist contributor Cynthia Rockwell Most coffee drinkers are by now aware that for a few extra pennies you can buy beans labeled "Fair trade" and feel a warm glow knowing that you are helping Third world farmers by paying a "fair" price for their crop. In their new documentary Black Gold, British filmmakers Marc and Nick Francis hope to illuminate the complexities of the issue. The film follows the efforts of Tadesse Meskela,......

Try to think of something you've done every day for the past year. What comes to mind? Obsessively checking email? Brushing your teeth? Buying a no-fat latte at Starbucks? Pulitzer prize-winner Suzan-Lori Parks was a bit more ambitious - she wrote one play each day for an entire year. Now, theater groups across the country will be performing those works, and DC is no exception. The event kicks off this Saturday at Studio Theater, where......

Benefit for Argonaut Bartender Tonight As you may have read in this morning's weekend picks, Argonaut and the Englert family of bars are having an event tonight to benefit one of their bartenders who was seriously injured by a gunman when walking to his girlfriend's from work. Luis "Quike" Morales was shot on September 30 in an apparent robbery gone awry, and has only recently come out of his coma. Unfortunately, our ass backwards health......

Before we get to the bad news, we'll butter you up with the weather — isn't it beautiful outside! It's going to be sunny and quite warm today, with highs reaching 85 degrees, so get some use out of those short-sleeves while you still can. There, you see, aren't you excited to be starting your day now? Well never fear, DCist is here to ruin all that for you. Yes children, we're afraid it might......

Watch carefully in the coming weeks and you may see them. People roaming the streets of Chinatown, Adams Morgan, Mt. Pleasant. They'll stop to check their cell phone, punch the keys, wait, check again, then move walk down the street looking with strange interest at empty buildings, houses and random Starbucks. Yellow Arrow's Capitol of Punk tour, which we previewed in May, kicked off this week, turning D.C. streets into an impromptu museum for a......