One of these guys might be the next president, so it's good to try and parse where they stand on District voting rights. At least that was the thinking over at D.C. Vote, who recently recorded and sent in a number of videos of District residents asking the presidential candidates from the Republican Party where they stood on D.C. voting rights. The videos, eleven in all, were submitted to CNN for the upcoming CNN/YouTube... more ›

From DCist Contributor Oscar Bunoan It's often said that bad luck comes in threes. In Vietnam, for example, a photo of three people represents bad luck. However, Vietnam is a restless, 22-hour flight away and Greg Cahill (owner of the successful Whitlow’s on Wilson) and Jonathan Williams (Whitlow’s general manager) are not superstitious men who rest their beliefs in ancient folklore. No self-respecting restaurateur, especially these two locally respected entrepreneurs, would conceive their restaurant on... more ›

Flickr user polytropos had a number of excellent photos from down at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial over the weekend. With today being Veterans Day, and just two days shy of the 25th anniversary of the dedication of the Memorial, there was no doubt today's photo would come from that set. It was this black and white shot, not of the wall itself, but of the directory of names, in black and white with a bright glow illuminating the book, that really struck us. more ›

>> 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 Morgan Hargrave It is usually not a good sign when a museum’s first display details how popular it used to be. It seems the National Museum of Health and Medicine is decades removed from its glory days, when it was called the Army Medical Museum and resided in a series of more prestigious locations around D.C. It attracted between 450,000 and 765,000 visitors per year during the 1960s before being moved away from... more ›

Local LGBT activists are upset over a document distributed by the Washington Nationals, according to City Desk. The document details the team's Vendor Procurement Program and features Major League Baseball's affirmative action policy, which includes this portion:The Licensee shall not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment or against any service recipient or applicant for services because of race, color, ethnic status, religion, sex, age, national origin, disable veteran status, Vietnam era veteran status,... more ›

>> Sure, meters are great, but what about getting D.C. taxi drivers to use their rooftop lights like cabs in every other city? [NotionsCapital] >> The Quest for Dog Parks: A very rigid search. [Intangible Arts] >> Some D.C. Cab drivers hate Halloween! [WaPo] >> All MARC commuter service out of Union Station on the Brunswick Line has been shut down because of a gas leak in Kensington. [AP/WTOP] >> Vietnam Memorial Visitor Center... 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 ›

Written by DCist Contributor Ben Schuman-Stoler We all know about the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, but probably mostly as a stop on the round-the-Mall tour we give visiting family and friends. If they ask, we tell them that a young woman won a competition in the '80s. They say, “Wow, that’s interesting. What a great memorial.” But it remains an emotional site, its message solemn and powerful, which we were reminded of when two acts of... more ›

>> Still unable to identify the oily substance that was found on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial earlier this month, the U.S. Park Police today said that it was in fact vandalism that put it there. Clean-up is expected to be slow in an effort to avoid permanent damage to the memorial. [WaPo] >> Senate Minority Leader McConnell: "My opposition to this bill rests instead on a single all-important fact: it is clearly and unambiguously... more ›

Good morning, Washington. Does your commute include the Wilson Bridge? If so, enjoy this morning's trip — it's the last speedy one you're likely to have this week. As Fox 5 details, some of the traffic around the bridge will be redirected beginning at 10 a.m. this morning. But the worst will be saved for overnight on Friday, when traffic will be reduced to a single lane. Hateful Vandalism Galore: What the hell is going... more ›

Good morning, Washington. Even if you don't plan to do anything with your day like attending a memorial event or volunteering, it's rather difficult to forget what day it is today -- every time you see the date Sept. 11 on a credit card slip or memo, you're going to be reminded. The Post has a big interactive feature up on the creation of the Pentagon Memorial, which is scheduled to open in one... more ›

>> Vancouver rock collective They Shoot Horses, Don't They? will play their experimental marching band/circus music backstage at Black Cat, with Ostinato and Karate Bear. If you like weird, fun and loud, you'll want to be there at 9 p.m., $8. >> It's time once again for the U.S. Army Band’s annual performance of Tchaikovsky’s "1812 Overture" — complete with cannon salutes from The 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard) Presidential Salute Battery.... more ›

Chaos, hostility, and murder. The three items that Werner Herzog believes are the common denominators of the universe, according to the narration of his 2005 documentary, Grizzly Man. And the subject of his own obsession, expressed again and again in the choking jungles and obsessives heroes of his films. In Rescue Dawn, Herzog stabs at yet another heart of darkness, another soul driven to desperation in pursuit of a seemingly impossible goal. In this case,... more ›

I thought I was getting such a good deal on my salon visits. A shampoo, a good cut, some pleasant conversation. They have good music playing, and everyone's friendly. Most importantly, the price is low enough not to seriously offend a sense of haircut-related frugality instilled through years in childhood spent getting bargain cuts in wood-paneled barbershops where grizzled Vietnam vets with fewer than 10 fingers cut hair with brisk efficiency while Hank Williams Sr.... more ›

>> Vandals armed only with a U-shaped bicycle lock and a sense of irony managed to trap about 40 commuters on the Virginia Railway Express Monday near Woodbridge, when they locked the metal gates from the pedestrian bridge at the Rippon station. The gates, which the VRE removed Tuesday, were originally put there to keep vandals out of the station. [AP via NBC4] >> Post columnist Courtland Milloy makes a compelling case for abolishing... more ›

As we mentioned earlier this week, sometimes we don't envy Washington's urban planners. Their challenges often encompass issues as varied and complicated as economic development, land use planning, sustainability, design and social justice. Add to that the design politics associated with the symbolism invested in the nation's capital, and planning for D.C. becomes a unique urban problem to tackle. Not that it stops us from trying. Yesterday, the National Capital Planning Commission and the Commission... more ›

MONDAY At Chapters, they’re mad for mystery writers on Mondays in March, and for alliteration at all other times. Today, they have a fine guest: Laura Lippman, who’ll be reading from her latest, What the Dead Know. 445 11th Street, NW, 1 p.m. TUESDAY Tom Bissell and his father, an ex-Marine who served in the Vietnam War, travel back to Vietnam on a journey that retraces both national and personal history. He’ll be in town... more ›

MONDAY You know, kids. If you are, for whatever reason, uncomfortable saying the Pledge of Allegiance in class, just cross your fingers or something, or say “the Sun God Ra” instead of “The United States of America.” Or just suck it up and deal, it’s not like the Pledge really has binding legal power. Or just take Joel Westheimer’s advice. He wrote a book about this stuff: Pledging Allegiance: The Politics of Patriotism in America's... 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 ›

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund announced yesterday that their proposed Visitor Center received the final go-ahead from the National Capitol Planning Commission, which oversees the approval and design of monuments and memorials in D.C. The privately funded, $100 million complex will supplement Maya Lin’s 1982 Memorial Wall, with exhibits and programs to tell the story of the Vietnam War and commemorate the soldiers who fought it. The Visitor Center will be built just west of the Wall in the area between it and the Lincoln Memorial; however, NCPC requires that it be completely buried and hidden from view, in order to preserve the openness and visual order of the Mall. The Polshek Partnership, architect of the Clinton Library and the Newseum/Freedom Forum, was selected in 2004 to design the Center. more ›

Our regular Mistress of Overheard is busy with family stuff and moving houses this afternoon to eavesdrop on D.C. Good thing we're all busy bodies around here. A preoccupation with guns and sex this week leaves us wondering, what happened to romance? Seriously, keep reading and you'll get to one of the worst pick up lines we've ever heard, plus a highly dubious marriage proposal. more ›

The Washington Post reports today that the groundbreaking ceremony for the Pentagon Memorial, commemorating those that died on September 11th, has been scheduled for June 15. The design includes 184 benches, each one engraved with the name and birth year of someone who perished in the Pentagon or on Flight 77, cantilevered over small reflecting pools. Located at the building's southwest corner, the memorial will occupy 1.93 acres and cost approximately $17.5 million to build.... more ›

FRIDAY: >> There have only been a handful of actors in this world who are genuine badasses. Robert Mitchum. Robert Redford. Robert Loggia. Any of the Roberts, really. And then there's Kris Kristofferson. This is a guy who has hung out with both Sam Peckinpah and Janis Joplin, been inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and oh, makes time to kill a few vampires on the weekends. Dude is so virile a gal could... more ›

Appearing this afternoon at a Pentagon near you, Gary Sinise will be performing with the Lt. Dan Band as part of the America Supports You program, a “nationwide initiative to showcase and communicate Americans’ support of the Armed Forces,” according to Reuters. We at DCist wish we were joking with the band name, but it really is called the Lt. Dan Band. For those of you not familiar with Lt. Dan, he was Forrest Gump’s alcoholic, paraplegic pal who later made peace with the Vietnam War and his injuries. With our newfound knowledge of the Lt. Dan Band, we wonder if other bands could pop up with names inspired by supporting characters in Robert Zemeckis films. The George McFly Experience? Could be big for Crispin Glover. Or what about Baby Herman's Hermits? Anyway, it sounds like this performance might be closed off to the public (it's in the Pentagon Courtyard). But don’t fear, we’ll let you know as soon as tickets for the 9:30 Club show go on sale (password = CSI:NY). more ›

This week over on Don Rockwell, Sushi-Ko’s master chef, Koji Terano, has been taking questions from foodies about one of our favorite food genres: sushi. Although we enjoy reading "TomChats" and "chogs" with Todd Kliman, we also enjoy the rare opportunity to talk with chefs firsthand. Koji pulls back the nori, as it were, and dishes about buying fish, ordering sushi, and embracing Japanese chopstick customs, among other things. On fish quality Koji confirmed... more ›

MONDAY When Elizabeth Berg titled her novel We Are All Welcome Here, she wasn’t kidding—just about every Southern-fried device and pre-Vietnam social concern is stuffed into its pages. Polio, single-parent striving, racial prejudice, nosy Southern biddies, miraculous monetary windfalls, Elvis Presley, and, of course, plucky Southern Belles that survive as if they were…maybe some sort of tree made out of some sort of metal. Anyway, Berg will be on hand at the Rockville Barnes and... more ›

Not really – it just makes DCist giggle to say that. Actually, online indie boutique Unsung Designers on Saturday will open its Adams Morgan showroom for its first trunk show, which will feature local designers Barefoot Czarina and Oovoo. more ›

We knew this day had to come. This morning, the Washington Post's witty and sardonic Lisa de Moraes clued us into the fact that this will indeed be the last season of the political drama The West Wing. NBC execs are cancelling the fictional White House drama, now in its seventh season, due to poor ratings and, we might add, totally boring story lines. The series finale is scheduled to air on May 14th with President Bartlett leaving the White House. more ›

Good morning, Washington. This photo is of an installation at the Corcoran Gallery of Art by artist Sam Gilliam, as part of a retrospective on display through January. The photo was taken by Flickr user pattista. Today will be partly cloudy and windy with highs in the 40s. King Memorial Crosses Approval Hurdle: The preliminary design for the Washington, D.C. Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial was unanimously approved yesterday by the National Capital Planning... more ›