The overwhelming consensus so far at today’s D.C. Council hearing on the recent theft of what looks to be $30 million-plus from the District’s tax coffers? The scandal has damaged the reputation of the city government, and the council members are pissed. While most statements have clung to the nasty tidbits of information we already know (the enormity of the crime, that an auditor’s warnings may have been ignored) and palliative cliches, council members provided…

Car-sharing services Zipcar and Flexcar have gained a large customer base in Washington over the last two years, ever since the city agreed to give the companies more spaces to park their vehicles. The extra vehicles have led to more carless city dwellers taking advantage of the competing services’ short-term car rentals to get their errands done — something the city was happy to help facilitate, in the hopes of encouraging more residents to give…

LAist began the month with a new food series exploring the popular and unknown late night eats around town. If a Top Chef winner opened up a late night spot in Los Angeles, denizens would flock it, yet the LA Times and other media might be wary. Turning to sports, the Dodger season was quite memorable in the way that it imploded and the LA County Sheriff’s Department made some games of their own such…

Of all the city government’s agencies and departments, it’s usually the big names that get the lions share of criticism from residents. The schools, the DMV, the public libraries, the Department of Public Works — it’s these that we’re all quick to point to as proof of government incompetence. But with the fire that destroyed an entire building in Adams Morgan on Monday, it was the Water and Sewer Authority (WASA) that came under fire…

It’s rare that any of the well-read political blogs based here in Washington take on issues that fit within DCist’s mandate to stick mainly to local issues, but when they do, boy howdy, they can really make a mess of things for themselves. The American Prospect’s Ezra Klein has already issued a mea culpa for a post he put up late last night on his personal blog, which wondered why there aren’t more amenities for…

Sitting at your desk, bored, thinking it’s high time to find a new job? Mayor Fenty is hosting a Citywide Job Fair at the Washington Convention Center today, and you’ve still got a few more hours to stop by before it closes up shop at 4 p.m. Head over with a stack of resumes, and apply for D.C. city government jobs like these: >> Paralegal Specialist in the Office of the D.C. Attorney General >>…

Good morning, Washington. Well, it couldn’t last forever: this week’s temperatures are edging up after all. And while things are still relatively pleasant, tomorrow’s high of 98 still sounds unappealing to our recently-spoiled selves. D.C. Goes After Posters: WJLA brings encouraging news for anyone who’s been sorry to see a lingering ad for a years-passed protest event: the city government is cracking down those who illegally post notices on traffic and utility boxes. Among…

Via Consumerist, an alleged eye-witness report of staff members of Mayor Adrian Fenty cutting in line to buy iPhones on Friday. And here we thought Council chairman Vincent Gray would win the most entitled public servant of the week award. …I work in downtown DC and went to the AT&T store on 17th and Pennsylvania around 4:45 to get in line. About 35 people were in front of me, everyone was nice, people from AT&T…

One of those longstanding D.C. arguments may be finally coming to a resolution, and you can feel the excitement in the air this morning, Washington. No, it’s not the handgun ban, or taxicab meters, or anything to do with voting rights — but there sure are a lot of longstanding arguments in this town, now that we mention it. Rather, metro riders should keep their eyes peeled for two railcars that will soon be sporting…

We’ve got two words for you, D.C.: beer pops. That’s right, beer pops. WTOP, along with a number of other local news outlets, has coverage of an innovation being brought to market by an Alexandria restaurant. The folks at Rustico may not be the first to come up with the idea of ale-on-a-stick, but they’re the first purveyors of it we know of in the D.C. area, and we salute them for it. Here’s…