DCRA launched a new website last night, and like other agencies who have transferred to the fresh DC.gov template, it is a tremendous improvement. more ›

From DCist's RSS reader: more ›

The District Department of Transportation on Thursday unveiled two different web sites designed to help them communicate better with the public. more ›

While you're waiting out the next round of snow, take some time to check out TrackDC, a brand new government accountability web site launched by the District on Monday. It's being billed as a place to find "numerous reports and datasets that allow site visitors to track government performance." DCist hasn't had a lot of time to sift through the data yet, but Clay Johnson at the Sunlight Foundation is very impressed.

Both substance wise and technically, it out-atheletes the White House's Open Government dashboard. more ›

Click on over to www.washingtonpost.com/local to take a look at the new Washingtonpost.com 'Local' homepage, which launched in Beta at 4 p.m. this afternoon. Surprisingly enough, the design actually does look significantly different from the regular home page, a far cry from previous WaPo attempts to differentiate between the local and national editions of the paper by offering minor, barely noticeable differences for online readers with local IP addresses. more ›

If you're a regular customer of Street Sense, D.C.'s only homeless newspaper, but have been frustrated over the years with its lackluster online offerings, be sure to check out the paper's recently redesigned web site, StreetSense.org. (Full disclosure: I'm a volunteer member of the board of directors of Street Sense, and consulted just a little bit on the design process of this site). more ›

Capitol Hill mainstays Bruce and Adele Robey have gone back to their internet roots with the recent launch of Hill-Talk, a Capitol Hill neighborhood-focused online news aggregator, discussion board and community calendar. more ›

The Examiner editorial staff is understandably outraged that the D.C. government appears to have blocked access to its web site on all city-owned computers. Given the ongoing tumult at the Office of the Chief Technology Officer, it's certainly plausible that the news site has been blocked by OCTO (hopefully, by employee error—blocking a legit news web site on purpose would be an incredibly stupid policy). more ›

Back in March we wrote about how the literary web site Hitotoki (pronounced hee toe toe key) was seeking submissions to launch a D.C. edition. Sadly it appears our post wasn't enough to give the site enough momentum. more ›

Intern season is in full swing in Washington, and one local blogger has taken notice of just how many gross older dudes are hoping to hook up with them. The concept behind m4intern is simple: posting entire Craigslist ads, with links, that are expressly designed to lure young women in D.C. interning for the summer out for dates and sex. It's not like you can't find these on your own, but when someone is taking the time to compile all the best ones, certainly you can make room in your RSS reader. more ›

The literary Web site Hitotoki (pronounced hee toe toe key) is looking to launch a D.C. edition, but the editorial staff is facing a small problem — they need content. more ›

As you might imagine, there's not a whole lot going on in the art world this week, and unlike the last holiday, even the Smithsonians close on Christmas Day. Nevertheless, we found a few exhibits for you to poke around this weekend. And if you're one of those last minute gift buyers and can't bear to wage war at the mall, don't forget our guide to art museum memberships for something a little more unique than the new Harry Potter DVD on rush delivery from Amazon.com. more ›

Good morning, Washington. If you're the kind of person who delights in reading angry product reviews on consumer web sites, head over here and read some of the comments about the Presidential Inn on New York Ave. Highlights include "I have never been so disgusted with a place in all my life," "I can't even believe that it is running legally," and, tellingly, "upon my departure I noticed small red bumps all over my body."... more ›

Interesting story in today's Examiner, which tells the story of Logan Circle resident and dog owner Daniel Greenberg. Greenberg likes to let his dog off its leash inside Logan Circle, even though the practice is against city code. He was caught with his dog off-leash by an MPD officer back in May, and was actually arrested on criminal charges -- even though the D.C. Council has passed legislation that makes having a dog off its... more ›

This city has always produced fine jazz musicians, but the scene has had its ups and downs. In the 1990s, D.C.'s jazz landscape was very different. This was a time before the resurgence of U Street and Adams Morgan as centers for live music, and it also seemed as though there was a dearth of young talent in the city. While top notch national acts always came to the Kennedy Center and Blues Alley,... more ›

With the sun out, the temperatures high, one can only think of one thing-- what's going on in the World of the -ist's? Bostonist dug deep to uncover Barack Obama's unpaid parking tickets, their Governor's latest ethical lapse, and a plagarizing sports writer. Chicagoist had everything in twos: two views on having the Olympics, losing two members of their Super Bowl team, and two music festivals. DCist put their noses in legal books as they... more ›

It's shaping up to be a beautiful day here in Washington, with a high around 70 degrees and mostly sunny skies. Here's hoping the great weather can brighten the days of Montgomery County election officials, who are reporting that they won't have a final count of all provisional ballots in the county until sometime next week, thanks to mistakes which forced many early morning voters to cast the paper ballots. We know the idea that... more ›

Stars, as they might remind you, are a band from Canada, a country whose bands are pimped far and wide as being the greatest in current indie rock. Websites a lot like this one have carefully picked their way through the remains of ruined social scenes, gawking at the ashy, creosote stained remnants of various arcades, and deemed the result to be not just good, but great — not just great, but “teh awesome.” Not just “teh awesome”, but superhyperifficafantastidelica. more ›

Hurricane Katrina has come in fast and furious on the Gulf coast, and we can't stop looking for news about it. From news of the Superdome roof leaking, to how the disaster will affect crude oil prices, to the human stories of loss and tragedy, the information is overwhelming. And where are the best stories and accounts coming from? Without a doubt, the blogs. True, we've got CNN on in the background, and we're certainly... more ›