Welcome to Friday, Washington … and the last day of August, and the beginning of your holiday weekend, and more or less the end of the summer? This particular date, as you prepare for your weekend barbecues and last-minute getaways, is always a bit of a depressing occasion. It may not be the de jure end of the summer, but it’s certainly the de facto one. To cheer you up about the imminent demise…

Good morning, Washington. Just one more day! By tomorrow we’ll be free of this dreary, occasionally drizzly mess — or so CapitalWeather assures us. Here’s hoping they’re right. Although the cooler temperatures have been pleasant, we’ve had enough of this gray mid-winter preview. MPD Officers’ Trial Begins: The Post reports on the start of Milagros Morales’ and Erick Brown’s trial. The two police detectives are accused of manipulating witnesses into implicating Jerome Jones in the…

Good morning, Washington. An estimated 10,000 people attended the dedication Sunday of the official memorial for the 32 victims killed at Virginia Tech on April 16. Students at the university, about four hours outside D.C., begin classes for the fall semester today. On the same day as the dedication, about 23 Virginia Tech students living in an off-campus apartment building were taken to hospitals after showing signs of carbon monoxide poisoning. Several of the…

Good morning, Washington. Did you stay up late arguing the finer points of last night’s Democratic presidential debate at Howard University? Or were you just hoping to get a table at Busboys and Poets but unable to shove your way through the crowd? Shaw and the U Street corridor were overrun with Democratic political operatives last night … which really probably isn’t any different than any other night. But forget about the substance of the…

The story usually follows the same line — a night club is the scene of a violent incident, the District responds by temporarily shutting it down and it invariably loses its liquor license and goes out of business. It happened at Club U, at Kili’s Kafe and at Club 1919. And after a fatal shooting over the weekend at H20, the swanky waterfront club may be next. One man was shot and killed in an…

Councilmember Jim Graham (D-Ward 1) is well known for being thoughtful, energetic, and responsive to the needs of his constitutents. He lords over the District’s most diverse and vibrant ward, participating in discussions on everything from transportation to crime to consumer and regulatory affairs. It was no surprise, then, that Graham dove headfirst into last Saturday’s tragic killing of 17-year-old Taleshia Ford at Club 1919. He quickly informed constituents of the night’s events, pushed Police…

We’ve all seen the signs around the District — by city law, pedestrians in crosswalks without crossing signals have the right of way. But will we ever get caught zooming through intersections while pedestrians try to cross? According to the Post, we just might. Provoked by the 10 pedestrian deaths so far this year, police have started going undercover to enforce the District’s pedestrian laws, often to the chagrin of city drivers oblivious to…

These days, if you haven’t seen Butterstick in the flesh, well, you may as well not even be alive. Ever since the District’s favorite new celebrity was born just over six months ago, residents from across the region have watched as Butterstick grew from grotesque rat-looking thing to the mound of cuteness we see today. And ever since the National Zoo started handing out free tickets to see the ‘stick, attendance at the Woodley Park…

What’s with teens these days? Leave it to WJLA to do some undercover reporting to find out. In a story posted on the website, the station’s probing news team embedded itself with teens in Maryland to find out exactly what makes them tick, what secrets they posses, and what they do on their free time. Not to say that the results are somewhat alarmist, but, oh hell, that’s exactly what they are. Read for yourself:…

We always thought Metro was safe. Really safe. We may have been wrong. Two recent incidents on Metrorail have area commuters questioning Metro’s ability to respond to or prevent criminal activity, or, more seriously, terrorist attacks, notes NBC 4. In one case, a woman was groped by a man, and in another, a woman had her iPod and SmartTrip card stolen by a group of teenage girls. Both incidents occurred on the Red Line,…