In the Internet age, far fewer people still regularly turn to a paper version of the yellow pages, but that doesn't mean several companies aren't still delivering phone books to homes and businesses in Washington every year. We spotted about 5-6 brand new Yellow Books on the sidewalk on 9th Street NW in Shaw (around the corner from DCist HQ) over the weekend, having been delivered to what are clearly boarded up and abandoned buildings......

As wine professionals, this is the time of year when we go into overdrive helping you, the consumer, fulfill all of your wine needs for parties and gift giving. As wine lovers, we relish being able to share our love of wine with others. We know that buying wine anytime can be an overwhelming an experience, but possibly more so now that you have to cover your family, friends, co-workers, and a mystery person whose......

Black Friday, the be-all, end-all of go-crazy shopping days (well, not for those celebrating "Buy Nothing Day"), is less than two turkey-filled days away. But in our blind rush to leave a tithe at the alter of mass consumerism, we often lose our thrifty ways. Not to worry - for those of us with office jobs, that raise is right around the corner, coming soon to help ease those credit card bills come January. Right?......

D.C. United played out a relatively dull and featureless 0-0 draw with the Chicago Fire on Saturday night, but the real celebrations would come on Sunday night. The Colorado Rapids scored in the final minutes to pull out an upset over Chivas USA, 2-1, making D.C. United the first team to ever successfully defend the Supporters’ Shield. It probably wasn’t the stylish way United will have wanted to take the regular season crown, but with......

Written by DCist Contributor Elisabeth Grant It was the best of times (for pumpkin lovers), it was the worst of times (for pumpkin haters). It's that time of year again; the leaves are starting to change, the weather's promising to get a little cooler (finally), and everything is starting to taste a little more pumpkin-y. But eaters and drinkers beware, not all pumpkin flavors are created equal. They can range from too-sweet fake to more......

One of the best things about covering hockey is that you get the summer off. Just ask USA Today's Gary Graves, TV Analyst Darren Pang or the anonymous Western Canadian hockey experts on this conference call. All of them are really excited to watch what happens when Alexander Ovechkin plays with newly signed free agent center Michael Nylander. But as Ovechkin kindly told these vacationing reporters when they asked him how he felt about it,......

After some Columbia Heights residents raised a stink about the discount retailers at the DC USA shopping center and campaigned in vain for a Whole Foods, there's something they can be happy about: an organic grocery store, Richmond-based Ellwood Thompson's, could be coming to the neighborhood in 18 months. While the Express' FreeRide blog said the store will only move into an eco-friendly Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (or LEED) certified building, we contacted......

Tons of people told us about the large tree that fell over near Dupont Circle last night, crushing a parked car and causing the street to shut down. This photo was posted to the DCist Flickr pool, so we thought we'd go ahead and share it, though we still haven't heard back about what caused the tree to fall -- we're guessing old age. >> "...by reducing Thursday drinking, overall drinking on campuses would......

If you've been to the box suites at RFK Stadium, you may have noticed photos of acts that have played the stadium lining the hallway - U2, New Kids on the Block, the Promise Keepers and so on. But after we finished laughing at the New Kids, one plaque off to the side caught our eye: "Robert F. Kennedy Stadium, site of Olympic football, 19 July-4 August 1996." What? The Olympics were at RFK? There......

It took D.C. United over four hundred minutes to claim their first lead of the 2007 MLS season. After nurturing it, bolstering it, and holding off Chivas USA's desperate final attacks, they parlayed it into their first victory of the season. Before 14,267 at RFK Stadium yesterday afternoon, United built on Thursday's draw and used a spirited performance to secure a 2-1 victory, bringing their record to 1-3-1. Due to player fatigue (three matches......

Those of you anxiously waiting to hear if you'll have to permanently crush out your butts in Virginia eateries can happily light up another. Yesterday, the state's General Assembly voted to reject Governor Tim Kaine's proposed smoking ban in Viriginia's restaurants. In their very last session before they break for the rest of 2007, Assembly members urged the Governor to reconsider what some claim would be too-widely sweeping a restriction -- making it illegal to......

While most of us are eagerly awaiting the start of May sweeps, the network suits are already thinking ahead to next fall and tinkering with the pilots of new shows. If you're just a tiny bit nuts about television, like, ahem, some of us are, pilot season is a pretty exciting time to see what shows are in development and what might actually get picked up to air come September. D.C. is, of course, well......

>>A CNN/Gallup Poll released today reports that "100% of D.C.-Metro area residents" agree that they "like things that are great." Okay. There's no such poll. We're just giddy that after two-plus years of trying, we finally uncovered a local issue that we all agree on: following Vincent Orange into a redevelopment abyss over the Capital City Market is a bad idea. Further developments on the story shall be noted. >> Imminent show cancellation alert!......

What's better than happy hour? Maps with lots of happy hours. Thanks to Google Maps, there are a few drunken mashup sites that map bar specials in D.C. for that special time of day. The two we've found, Unthirsty.com and Drinktown.com show user-submitted happy hours around the country and detail the food and drink specials each day. Unthirsty even says if there's patio seating or wi-fi, in case you want to do some tipsy instant......

FRIDAY: >> The EU Film Showcase kicked off at the AFI Silver Theater and Cultural Center last weekend, and we'll have a little more about it for you this weekend. In the meantime film buffs should consider checking out Bergman Island, a documentary by another Swedish filmmaker, Marie Nyeröd, that visits legendary director Ingmar Bergman at his home on the island of Fårö. Now 88 years old, this is no doubt the final document of......

When we think of affordable housing in the region, we usually envision huge apartment buildings, such as those marching up 7th Street north of the Convention Center. Or we’ll think of the varying percentages of affordable units promised in the multitudes of luxury condo developments popping up all over our city, and often not delivered in the final construction. For the next several weekends in Silver Spring, you can get a close-up look at a......

Earlier this summer, we also took a listen to the newest release from our Unbuckled headliners, Middle Distance Runner. Our Chris Snyder's fondness for the album, Plane in Flames, has spread throughout the blogosphere. Even big timers like USA Today's Pop Candy have taken notice of these local lads. Join us tomorrow night at Unbuckled to celebrate two years of DCist and this band on the rise. Until then, here's what Chris had to say......

For D.C. United, the events that transpired in the last week confirmed two unalienable truths. Contrary to United's play during their prolonged slump, they are, in fact, a very good team. And despite a run of good form in U.S. Open Cup play, there's something about the 92-year-old competition that gives D.C. fits. Last Sunday, United snapped its miserable 5 game winless streak with a 2-1 win over Chivas USA. The win gave United......

Redskins Stumble out of Preseaon The Redskins dropped their fourth and final preseason game last night, losing to the Baltimore Ravens 17-10. The loss sealed the first winless preseason in Joe Gibbs' 24 years as a coach. Though common wisdom dictates the insignificance of the preseason, there should be cause for concern among Redskins fans. The team scored a meager 27 points over the 4 preseason games, their lowest total since 1961. Their first-team......

Boo hoo. It turns out Lonny Baxter, the Maryland alum and NBA journeyman who you may remember decided to bust a few caps from his Glock within shouting distance of the White House last week, did so because he was upset that he'd have to spend the next basketball season playing in Italy, far away from friends and family. At least that's what local blogger The Upsate Life quoted from a WJZ.com report on......

With the USA's first World Cup match coming monday at noon, I decided to get a U.S. soccer jersey. It shouldn't be too hard, I thought, since the U.S. is ranked fifth in FIFA's rankings and the D.C. area has a relatively strong soccer tradition. After all, D.C. United is one of the most popular MLS teams and local colleges perform well nationally, with Maryland's men winning the NCAA title in 2005. However, I was......

The world's most popular sporting event, soccer's World Cup, gets underway tomorrow in Germany. Unlike 2002 when matches took place in the wee hours, this year's start from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Eastern time, meaning it's a lot easier to hit a bar or two and watch a game. Some DC area bars and restaurants are opening early for the fans, including Pour House on Capitol Hill, Lucky Bar in Dupont, and Fado......

Good morning D.C., and happy Earthday Eve (if that's a thing). It looks like Mother Nature will be providing plenty of mud in which to celebrate the observance: the weekend forecast is for rain, rain and more rain. Md. Gets Electricity Rate Relief: WTOP reports that Governor Ehrlich has reached an agreement with Baltimore Gas & Electric to forestall the 72% rate hikes that had been looming for Maryland utility consumers. Customers opting into the......

In general, it's hard for Washingtonians to poke much fun at others' mascots. From the hopelessly politically incorrect Redskins to the dull and non-threatening Wizards to the uber-generic Capitals and Nationals, D.C. is mired in moniker mediocrity. Even our soccer club's name elicits groans, though the half-hearted attempt to appropriate European football heritage does stand head and shoulders above its competition. We now have our free pass to poke fun, however, as it appears that......

The long holiday weekend meant lots of local hoops action to go around for fans of every school. I spent the weekend in Philly, where Villanova has taken over the headlines from the rudderless 76ers. The Cats beat #1 UConn earlier in the week but were determined not to overlook Georgetown on Sunday, especially since the Hoyas also have a win over #1 to their credit this season. Unfortunately Georgetown couldn't match the energy and......

In a development that will force Washington area residents to trek out to BWI for our cheap flights, we bid farewell this week to budget carrier Independence Air. For an airline that started as an underdog in a tough industry, Independence's problems included leasing small regional jets that didn't turn as much of a profit as the larger aircraft of Jet Blue or Southwest, rising fuel costs, and a unique business model that many in......

Closed! Did anyone along Pennsylvania Avenue hear a door slamming loudly Wednesday night? If you did and are perplexed about it, let us fill you in. Signatures, the "lobbyist hangout" next to the Navy Memorial, closed its doors. And closed them abruptly, at that. It turns out that when you're being investigated by the Senate, the Department of Justice, and the Ft. Lauderdale Police for connections to a murder, people aren't clamoring to frequent the......

Something weird's going on, D.C. Yesterday a 38 year-old Catholic nun identified as Sister Liann was kidnapped from behind Our Lady Queen of Peace Convent in Southeast. She was then driven about two miles away and released unharmed. Police are looking for the suspects, a man and a woman, but no one seems to have any hunches as to what the assailants' motives might have been. As a neighbor interviewed by the Post asked,......

When you ask someone about restaurant service in D.C., you'll get endless opinions. Some will claim that service in D.C. is uniformly abysmal. Others will point to phenomenal experiences -- but at a price. Recently, two area favorites have been at the center of service-related discussions: Cleveland Park's Palena, where local Chowhounds have complained of very slow service, and Arlington's Ray's the Steaks, which has policies that at least one local food fan thinks are......

Good morning. If you're looking for something to do tonight, today is the date of the monthly iPod DJ night at Cafe Saint-Ex. Yeah, yeah, after being featured in the Post, USA Today and WUSA's 11 o'clock news, it doesn't quite have the same cachet as the early days, although we have heard attendance has declined to reasonable levels after a peak. Tonight at 12:01 they'll be asking DJ's to switch to French music to......