The longterm redevelopment of St. Elizabeths Hospital into a sprawling complex for the Department of Homeland Security “has its mojo back,” Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton said in a press release today after panels in both the House and Senate approved funding for the project yesterday.

First, there was an oil spill in the Anacostia. Then, there wasn’t. Now, authorities are saying that there’s definitely something which is making the river shine, but they aren’t really sure what it is.

Last night, D.C. Fire and EMS crews laid down booms along the Anacostia River in order to contain a possible oil spill. Turns out that all they were containing was water — and whatever other pollution might be floating in the space between the 11th Street Bridge and New York Avenue.

A small plane was redirected to Annapolis this morning after entering restricted airspace around the city. At approximately 11:50 a.m. two U.S. Coast Guard helicopters intercepted the plane and diverted it, where the pilot met with local law enforcement, according to NORAD. A similar incident happened on Monday where another plane was allowed to continue on to its destination….

The U.S. Coast Guard was conducting a training exercise on the Potomac River this morning, which initially caused a scare due to its proximity to the Pentagon during Sept. 11 memorial ceremonies. CNN originally reported that the U.S. Coast Guard had opened fire on a boat in the Potomac River this morning, but the incident was actually a training exercise. Given the exercise’s timing and location, on the morning of September 11, near the…

To follow up with those of you who reacted strongly to our photo gallery yesterday of the abandoned St. Elizabeths West Campus and the plans that are in the works to relocate the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Coast Guard there, Mayor Adrian Fenty and Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton held an impromptu press conference this morning to unveil the city’s plans for its share of the nearly 200 acres of land in Southeast…

While the East Campus of St. Elizabeths hospital is owned by the District and still in use as a mental health facility, the West Campus, built by Congress in 1852 (originally under the name Government Hospital for the Insane), was by and large abandoned by 2002. It’s still under the control of the U.S. General Services Administration, but few people these days get a chance to explore the abandoned 176 acre hospital grounds, which through…

Seattlest watches as a S.L.U.T. is born and Seattle Flickr users go nuts over a local art installation. A restaurant critic demands a Diner’s Bill of Rights over a gnat next to her drink, and, in lieu of a Portlandist, Seattlest debates with itself over the identity of the Northwest’s crown jewel. Seattlest also joins the guys from Fantagraphics for an ill-fated gun party in the woods. LAist saw national headlines soar this week with…

When architects, developers, and laborers set about transforming the former Columbia Hospital for Women into the massive Columbia Residences complex at the intersection of 25th Street, L Street, and Pennsylvania Avenue NW, they placed the area within a protective cocoon of chain-link fences. Inside the fences, just across L Street from the back door of Marcel’s restaurant, went a little-known monument commemorating a joint international agreement to reduce military forces patrolling the Great Lakes. With…

Many residents in eastern Capitol Hill have been kept awake the last couple nights. A pulsating collision noise, followed by a loud metallic echo, has been ringing throughout the neighborhood at all hours of the day and night. We heard the sound going strong on Saturday night; others reported it stopped in the wee hours of the morning, only to start again at around 4:30 a.m., continuing more or less uninterrupted until 11 p.m. Bright…