A manhole explosion sent bricks flying near the corner of 9th and L streets NW, causing minor damage to an SUV that was parked next to it. The incident occurred shortly before 1 p.m. No injuries have been reported. The explosion appears to have happened after an underground electrical fire caused pressure to build up underneath the manhole, according to D.C. Fire/EMS spokesperson Pete Piringer. Pepco crews are now on the scene working to…

Photo by The Skipping Hippy In case you missed our earlier tweets, the District’s snow emergency is set to end at 6:30 p.m. tonight, which means parking will once again be allowed along the city’s snow emergency routes after that time. That’s good news for local residents who have been desperate for additional parking options since the Snoverkill. But it’s potentially bad news for drivers who could very well still be stuck in traffic…

Excellent local non-profit Food & Friends, which delivers meals to area residents living with HIV/AIDS, cancer and other serious illnesses, has issued a call for help next this week, as the snow storm has hampered its ability to deliver meals to its clients. If you have a reliable vehicle, especially one with 4-wheel drive, please consider getting in touch with them and volunteering. Their message is below, more details here. On Thursday, February 11th,…

Photo by IntangibleArts Heads up, Columbia Heights. You know that massive, $42 million publicly funded parking lot that’s been sitting largely unused underneath the DCUSA shopping center? It could soon be filling up with commuters from Maryland, thanks to a new program being offered by the District government. As the Washington Business Journal notes, starting this week, 350 spaces in the garage are being made available for daily and monthly parking contracts. Spaces in…

Wire reports now confirm that a fatal early-morning car accident on the GW Parkway did indeed involve U.S. Men’s National soccer team forward Charlie Davies. Davies was not behind the wheel at the time of the accident. WTOP reported that the collision, which occurred at about 3:15 a.m., claimed at least one fatality and seriously injured two others. One look at the car involved in the wreck, and it’s understandable that Davies’ injuries –…

Photo by nevermindtheend You have to feel sorry for the 15-year-old son of Vienna’s Jenifer Joy Madden, who got outed by his mom in an op-ed in Sunday’s Washington Post for having only just now learned how to ride a bus.We couched it as another test of their mettle. After all, if these 15-year-olds could swing at objects flying 90 miles an hour and get whacked by titanium lacrosse sticks, they could walk to…

One of the biggest crime problems in the Metro system has long been thefts from autos parked in the lots at the end of the different rail lines. Thieves know that Metro’s large, outer parking lots are filled with cars whose owners won’t return until the end of the day, so they prowl them like kids in a candy store. Enter the T3, Metro’s newest experiment in increasing their police officers’ ability to patrol the…

There’s nothing classy about driving drunk, perhaps especially when you’re the Chief of Police. But former Alexandria Police Chief David Baker has at least managed to handle the aftermath of his recent DUI arrest with a healthy amount of respect for the law. After retiring from his position almost immediately following his arrest, Baker today pleaded guilty to driving while intoxicated, and will serve five days in jail. Baker will also lose his driver’s license…

We’ve told you before about the District Department of Motor Vehicles’s plan to shutter its Brentwood Service Center this month, and now the DMV is reminding customers that the closing is all set for this Friday. The agency sent out the email below last night to residents signed up for DMV eAlerts: Dear Resident, Effective Friday, August 14, 2009 at 6:00 pm the Brentwood Service Center located at 1233 Brentwood Road, NE will permanently…

Fenty behind the wheel of his Smart Car. Photo by Bullneck. D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty likes to keep active. The man gets up almost every day and runs, bikes or otherwise exercises for a solid hour (if not more), and he likes to be seen always zipping across town to take care of his mayoral business, whether in his little Smart Car or his big Lincoln Navigator. But ever since Fenty got in a…