Ahhhh, the real start of summer: The consistently warmer temperatures … the first night you venture wearing skimpy clothes out … the year’s first Code Orange Bad Air Quality Day. However you prefer measuring the start of the season, the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments is predicting our first Code Orange air quality day today, meaning ozone levels are predicted to be extremely high and the air quality very poor. The Northern Virginia Transportation Commission…

The D.C. Jail — officially known as the Central Detention Facility — stands sandwiched into a corner on the easternmost edge of Capitol Hill. Located on Reservation 13 alongside the old D.C. General Hospital, it is bordered on one side by the Anacostia River waterfront, on another side by the historic Congressional Cemetery, on a third side by 19th Street, standing directly across from a quiet and picturesque residential neighborhood. Neighborhood residents — this DCist…

It looks like it’s going to be that kind of gray day where pulling a Ferris Bueller seems to be a far more viable option than getting up and going to work. In an attempt to fool us into thinking spring is on its way, the temperature was around 71 degrees last night. Today, the high will be around 61, with some drizzle. Further fueling our dreams of spring, WTOP is relaying where to find…

If you’ve got a council of city representatives nervous about spending over $500 million for a stadium, what’s the best way to soothe their nerves? Throw another huge, risky capital project their way, of course! One would think we’re joking, but D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams has done just that. Amidst on-going discussions over the $667 million stadium for the Washington Nationals, Williams yesterday entered into an agreement with Howard University to build a new, state-of-the-art…

Good morning, Washington. The Post reports today that an agreement has been reached on the development of the National Capital Medical Center. Howard University and city officials yesterday told the paper that a deal is complete outlining the placement of the $400 million hospital on the site of the former D.C. General Hospital in Southeast. The city will contribute $212 million toward construction, though Howard remains noncommital on how much care will be made available…

Good morning. If you’re looking for something to do tonight, today is the date of the monthly iPod DJ night at Cafe Saint-Ex. Yeah, yeah, after being featured in the Post, USA Today and WUSA’s 11 o’clock news, it doesn’t quite have the same cachet as the early days, although we have heard attendance has declined to reasonable levels after a peak. Tonight at 12:01 they’ll be asking DJ’s to switch to French music to…

Two recent developments involving the long-ignored Anacostia waterfront in Southeast, pictured at left, may mark the beginning of a long-standing process to revitalize the largely industrial riverfront property. WTOP reported this morning that federally-owned land along the Anacostia River between the Washington Navy Yard and the proposed site for the new Washington Nationals stadium has been turned over to a private developer, the first move of its kind in the nation. The area, known as…

The District’s plan to have Howard University own and operate a city-built medical facility to replace D.C. General Hospital near RFK Stadium in Southeast is running into some snags. Although a number of politicians and activists have said that Wards 5, 6, 7 and 8 are underserved in terms of access to medical care, some health interests have come out and said the new hospital isn’t needed and a reshifting of medical assets could threaten…

A culture jammer has struck the lampposts around the Potomac Avenue metrorail station again, this time posting fliers objecting to a planned federal bioterrorism and forensics research center to be built on the former site of the D.C. General Hospital in Southeast. Resorting to two distinct fliers, the erstwhile jammer proclaimed simply “No Bioterror Center at D.C. General” on one (pictured at right) while the second poked fun at the possibility that a new hospital…

Good morning, Washington. We start today with this photo of a line of newspaper distribution boxes from a new photoblog we’ve come across, Digital Obscura. We Have Money!: What would you do with a nearly $400 million budet surplus? The Post reports that the city’s hot hot hot real estate market has contributed to our robust fiscal health. Nats Win First Game: In a promising start, the Nationals beat the Mets in their spring…