Good morning, Washington. It looks like California’s still on fire, and likely to remain so. Most versions of the aforelinked AP story include the phrase “firefighters all but concede defeat,” and the Post is calling the resulting evacuation the largest in modern history. It all sounds pretty grim. Good luck, West Coast. Yet More Stadium Parking Controversy: The Post reports on the latest in a seemingly neverending series of deliberations over parking at the…

Long after the official fireworks display had ended last night, the District’s neighborhoods cracked and popped as residents of all types took to the streets with fireworks of their own. The city’s DIY fireworks culture isn’t anything new — we reported on it last year — but its opponents seem to have gotten much more vocal. Over the last week, residents have taken to neighborhood listservs to decry the July 4th tradition, arguing that the…

This week we begin a new feature highlighting our favorite comments of the week. DCist is nothing without our readers, whose thoughtful and often entertaining contributions help make this a vibrant community. Whether you disagree with us, share tips or just have a unique take on life in Washington, keep those comments coming. We couldn’t do it without ya. This week, fuzzy recollections of the Eighties, perils of D.C. residency, mainstream media critiques and more….

Yikes. Someone just forwarded us a disturbing e-mail from Commander Diane Groomes of the MPD’s First District. Anyone who walks around the Eastern Market area in the morning hours, or really probably at any hour, will want to know about it. On Friday morning at 0645 hours — a male citizen was walking to Navy Yard when he saw a male dancing in the street — he walked by and then felt a burning sensation…

This afternoon a loyal DCist reader sent us along a complaint, and some pictures to boot. Apparently police officers at a First District substation on Capitol Hill have a tendency to ignore the very parking rules District residents are forced, by fear of ticket, to follow. He writes: A typical day at the First District Substation. Their jobs are so important, they can park their private cars anywhere they darn well please. Think about…

Interminably troubled Council member Marion Barry suffered a minor traffic incident last night, which resulted in a traffic ticket but also, predictably, some speculation about his behavior. Shortly after midnight, Barry wrecked his car after pulling out of a parking space into an oncoming car. The collision took place near First Street and K in Southeast, near nightclubs and fast food restaurants and the site of the new Nationals baseball stadium. Barry was given a…

Back in January, we thought 2006 might be an ugly year for criminal activity in the District. By February, some of the worst trends had moderated, but homicides in the city were still disturbingly high. Three months into the year, it now seems that crime in 2006 will continue its ten year downward trend, and it also appears that the type of criminal activity seen in D.C. is fundamentally shifting. March was an extraordinarily…