Former D.C. Police Chief Charles Ramsey has been named police commissioner of Philadelphia by Mayor-elect Michael Nutter, reports the Associated Press. Ramsey came to D.C. in 1998 after serving for 31 years in his hometown of Chicago, and became Washington’s longest-serving police chief in more than three decades, serving as top cop in the District until the end of 2006, when he was replaced by incoming Mayor Adrian Fenty. Since we’ve had a little bit…

Good morning, Washington. Remember that recent weird burglary at Ward 8 Council member Marion Barry’s house — the one that Barry seemingly didn’t want investigated in favor of telling the police they had more important things to do? Well, Harry Jaffe got hold of the police report, and it turns out Barry may have had good reason not to want it looked at it too closely. Apparently the former mayor had a large collection of…

Good morning, Washington, and welcome to September. After what was quite possibly the most beautiful weekend in the history of late summer weather in this city, we’ve finally arrived at the date many of us still associate with “back-to-school” — the Tuesday after Labor Day. So sharpen your pencils, polish your lunchbox and make sure you have the right Trapper Keeper as we check out today’s headlines. At Least Four Weekend Killings: The Examiner…

Despite the brightly shining sun and lovely breeze currently making its way through downtown Washington, you might want to bring along an umbrella today — CapitalWeather.com is predicting a 60 percent chance of showers and possible thunderstorms later this afternoon. But don’t think of it as an inconvenience. Think of it as a chance to gleefully splash in puddles just like you did when you were young — you know, like the last time we…

Good morning, Washington. We hope you had a safe weekend and were able to enjoy the cooler weather on Sunday thanks to the rain brought in by remnants of Tropical Storm Barry. The respite from the heat, which looks like it may last through Wednesday, is one of the few things we can find to be upbeat about as we go over today’s headlines. As you’ve already heard, Tonya Bell, a 30-year-old woman from Oxon…

Good morning, Washington. We hope you had as pleasant a weekend as we had, running around in that gorgeous warm sunlight and forgetting you ever complained about the weather in this city in the first place. Not even the threat of rain later this week, nor the mess of traffic on Saturday night that resulted from what was reportedly the least fun White House Correspondents’ Dinner ever, could ruin our overall improved moods. Seasonal affective…

Ramsey’s Legacy Pondered: The Post has a front page story this morning mulling over exactly how outgoing Police Chief Ramsey will be remembered as he leaves his post. Often criticized for emphasizing public relations and merely reacting to crime issues instead of thinking ahead, but undeniably praised for bringing order to a corrupt department and out-of-control crime situation, council member Kathy Patterson (D-Ward 3) probably assessed Ramsey’s overall performance most accurately: “very mixed.” Ford’s…

Some seriously grim news from MPD to help put an end to your holly jolly holiday spirit. NBC4 is reporting that there were a total of five shootings in the District last night, at least three of which resulted in fatalities. None of the shootings were related, and took place in various corners of the District — including Park Rd. NW, Crittenden St., V Street NW, Butler St. SE, and Birney Pl. SE. Coming at…

Happy day before Thanksgiving, everyone. The holiday weekend isn’t getting off to the most auspicious start here at DCist, since our browser keeps crashing before we get a chance to save our work, thus the lateness of the usual morning roundup. But really we feel worse for those of you about to head out of town today, whether by car, plane, bus or train, everyone seems to be predicting the worst holiday travel day in…

Batten down the hatches, Washington. Proving that no good spell of weather goes unpunished, we’ve now got some major storms headed our way. Two separate storm lines, to be precise, are barreling down on the metro area as we speak, the first having just begun, and the second, more powerful system, expected between noon and 5 p.m. With winds at 30 mph, we’d suggest upgrading your umbrella to something more than cheap and crappy. District…