>> The National Park Service said that most of the unidentified oily substance found on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in September has been removed. [AP/WJLA] more ›

Written by DCist contributor Benjamin Schuman-Stoler Last week in our “revisiting sites we’ve walked by a hundred times" series we presented the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. This week, we’ll look at that huge phallus in the exact center of the original D.C. map -- the Washington Monument. Screaming nothing but glory and testament, it is the classic D.C. monument. But we know its background isn’t as simple as its geometric profile. The National Park Service commissioned... more ›

Our friends over at OffSeventh are, if you pardon the expression, losing their shit over some pet owners' inability to pick up after their pooches. They're up in arms over a monumental amount of dog waste occupying a strip of sidewalk on 9th Street. The city is littered with signs warning people to curb their dogs, or face a weighty ticket. Yet it's clear that a few dog walkers still aren't scooping the poop.... more ›

Capitol Visitor Center Officially a Boondoggle: The WaPo's Michael E. Ruane and Joe Stephens had some fun writing their front page story about the perpetually delayed and massively over budget progress of the new Capitol Visitor Center. With the opening now set for summer 2008 (though the article hints it will be even later than that), the post 9-11 security alterations to the plans have caused progress on the center to slow to a snail's pace and the budget to balloon to about $600 million. The article is chock full of apt comparisons, but we especially appreciate the one made to the District's new baseball stadium. Fun for the whole family. more ›

It's no secret — the National Mall, for all its historical significance, isn't exactly the prettiest place in the world. Broken water fountains, patchy grass, ugly security fences and totally nasty restrooms are amongst some of the many problems with what should really be a gorgeous space. The National Park Service is here to change that, and they're going all Web 2.0 on our asses through an online campaign asking the public their opinions on... more ›

FRIDAY: >> We don't usually hype big studio movies in the Picks, but when faced with a certain kind of reptile on a specific form of transportation — there's not much you can do but cross your fingers it doesn't turn out to suck and jump on the hype train (err, plane). More specifically, literally dozens of local D-list Internet celebrities will be attending the 10:10 p.m. screening of Snakes on a Plane at the... more ›

About as close as many of us will ever get to the inner-workings of the White House is the annual Easter Egg Roll, set to take place this coming Monday. The National Park Service has announced that they will start distributing tickets for the event on Friday night, with more tickets to be given out on Saturday and Monday mornings. From what we hear, they were planning on having a password-protected internet pre-sale, but... more ›

A lead story in the Post's Metro section this morning is the stuff to either make you queasy or curious. It involves one house, eight entomologists, and 70,000 bugs of assorted variety. It also features a man paid $11 to sit in a lawn chair with a patch of skin exposed for up to eight hours a day, a guinea pig for testing insect repellants. This isn't the stuff that real news is made... more ›

One of our favorite monuments in this city is the District of Columbia's World War I Memorial, honoring those from the capital who fought and died in the Great War. This DCist's late great uncle, who grew up in Foggy Bottom before George Washington University gobbled it all up, was a World War I vet. So we stop by when ever we stroll through West Potomac Park. more ›

Coyotes, which have been spotted in the northern reaches of the District in Rock Creek Park near Oregon Avenue have migrated past Klingle Road, past the National Zoo, past Adams Morgan and now have been spotted near Massachusetts Avenue. This map from RestonPaths.com gives you a good sense as to the area where coyotes have been exploring. The Post's headline on the matter, "Coyote Sightings in Park Spread Toward Embassies," indicates that coyotes could threaten... more ›

Today will be mostly sunny blustery and cold with highs around 30. This photo of Lafayette Park was taken by Thomas Michael Corcoran. D.C. Government: Rolling in Dough: D.C. Chief Financial Officer Natwar M. Gandhi announced yesterday that the D.C. government had a surplus of $318 million in 2004 and has amassed $1.2 billion in savings. After withholding most to accommodate for expected increases in healthcare for city employees and other expenses, Gandhi is... more ›