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. Recent increases in gun-related crime in the city seems to be today’s main topic of news, just as the Supreme Court may announce today whether it intends to take another look at D.C.’s handgun ban. D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty has scheduled a press conference this morning to address the District’s position on its gun safety law, but in the meantime the Washington Post is questioning the law’s effectiveness and just last…

As you’ll recall from last summer’s round of Crime Emergency-associated legislation, teens in the District were forced to obey a curfew of 10 p.m. throughout the summer months in an effort to stem the tide of law breaking that was often blamed on youths being out on the streets, up to no good. Did it help? Not particularly as far we could ever tell, though it did allow police to release figures about how many…

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…

Anyone who rides Metrobuses knows they can sometimes be like a war zone. Crowded aisles, erratic schedules, and that smelly guy next to you have been known to fuel hot tempers in weary riders. Fortunately, these encounters rarely escalate beyond harsh words or rolled eyes. However, it went far beyond that Saturday night on the 92 bus traveling to Congress Heights along Good Hope Road in Southeast. As we mentioned earlier this morning, two groups…

Hey, D.C., are you like us? Does this odd time of year, when the days are shorter but we have yet to switch back off of Daylight Savings Time (that’ll be Oct. 29 at midnight, in case you’re wondering) and it’s still dark in the morning when you wake up, leave you feeling a little discombobulated? We suspect the change in light might be responsible for a lot of people we’ve noticed feeling grumpy and…

There’s certainly more to worry about on the crime front today, as the Post points out in its recent story. Four murders, including those of three juveniles, occurred in the District over the last 24 hours. The bloody spurt comes two months after D.C. Police Chief Charles H. Ramsey declared a crime emergency, and three weeks after the chief cut back on overtime patrols, saying the recent spate of violence had begun to taper off….

Written by DCist contributor Lindsay Gibson. As noted by Wonkette, the FBI released it’s annual crime survey Monday and things for the District are looking grim. Or maybe not. This year’s report is a complicated read and D.C. is practically alone in having clear statistics for our city. We had 195 murders in 2005, which comes to 35.4 per 100,000 citizens. That’s actually down from 198 in 2004, but still higher per capita than all…

Good morning, wet Washington. It does appear that we can expect a few more showers this morning, but after that it should dry out for the rest of the week, leaving us all in what ought to be more cheerful dispositions were it not for this disturbing news: It seems that more and more bass in and around the Potomac have been discovered to possess both male and female sex organs, leading scientists to express…

We can hear it now — a deep-voiced announcer, standing on a darkened stage. The air, thick with tension. He begins: For months they have danced around each other, engaging in verbal jousting like the determined enemies that they are. But tonight it ends. Tonight, and only tonight, they face each other. Only one will remain standing. Are you ready to RUMBLEEEEEEEEEEEEE?????? Standing strong in black trunks in this corner is the young challenger,…