Maybe every political debate from now on should be held on a night where pretty much everyone has somewhere more important to be. At last night’s debate between the candidates competing for two At-large seats on the D.C. Council, the looming second-round meetup between Sen. John McCain and Sen. Barack Obama pushed moderators Tom Sherwood and Mark Segraves to throw as many questions as possible at the seven hopefuls in an effort to get the…

Yes, there is enough news today on the church parking issue to both justify a roundup and provoke commenters into demanding that we stop covering the issue. Church Parking Blog Launched: When in doubt, start a blog. Everyone has one, and as of this Tuesday, so does the vexing issue of church parking in Logan Circle. The blog’s author has chosen to remain anonymous (for fear of being damned to an enternity in hell, should…

The Washington Times today features this quote, from a lawyer with an organization planning to oppose parking enforcement, “The law shouldn’t be applied in a way that unfairly burdens churches…This double-parking law is unconstitutional because it puts an unfair burden on the religious institution.” It’s often the smallest issues that expose deeper rifts within a city, and the growing imbroglio over illegal church parking threatens to grow into a full-scale exposure of Washington tensions. This,…

The Year of the Dog kicked off with a bang yesterday, as revelers celebrated the traditional Chinese New Year’s festivities by eating, eating, and eating some more, writes the Examiner. Residents and visitors alike packed Chinatown’s many eateries for chicken, dumplings, and mandarin oranges as a parade proceeded down H Street. Chinatown is home to a number of traditional Chinese restaurants, including China Doll, Chinatown Garden, Tai Shan, Li Ho, Chipotle, Hooters, Potbelly, and…

The battle over illegal church parking has been rich with unintentional comedy. There was the knee-jerk anti-gentrification side to the argument, which was quickly forced to reverse field when it became clear that many or most of the parkers had long ago quit the District as a place of residence. There was the rambling, incoherent argument of Ward 1 ANC member Dee Hunter, asking us to let the violations slide and put our trust in…

U Street NIMBYs beware! In a classic “take out the trash” move, the D.C. Office of Attorney General announced that it had settled a dispute with the managers of Club U, the go-go club operating out of the Reeves Municipal Center (at right) at U and 14th streets NW. Despite concerns from neighborhood residents, including Ward 1 Councilmember Jim Graham, about violence and suspicious activities going on in and around the club, Club U will…