DCist has learned that President Bush, who has been delivering a commencement speech in friendly GOP territory at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Mich., was not informed by emergency response authorities that a large chunk of his capital was without water during the morning and afternoon today. OK, we’re only kidding here, forgive us, it’s Saturday … Anyway, we don’t think the president cares to know where Ward 1 is, despite that it is the…

The D.C. Council passed legislation today that bans trains carrying hazardous materials from traveling through the District. This from GovExec.com: The legislation — introduced by Councilwoman Kathy Patterson, D-Ward 3–requires rail and trucking companies to get a special permit before they can transport large quantities of extremely hazardous chemicals, such as chlorine or propane, through the nation’s capital. Several council members have said the legislation was needed because the Homeland Security Department refused to order…

New Train Fears Unwarranted, Says Schwartz: Despite new fears of disaster following the train derailment and subsequent chlorine spill in South Carolina, D.C. Councilmember Carol Schwartz (at right) says that there should be no concern of a repeat on rail lines running through the District. As the Post reports, Schwartz released information from a confidential meeting with the Homeland Security Department saying that such hazardous shipments have been rerouted around the city since the Madrid…

The Public Broadcasting Service will be moving their headquarters to Crystal City from Alexandria. The county of Arlington couldn’t resist crowing about the move in a press release, boasting they’d be moving into the “heart of newly-revitalized Crystal City.” Yet beneath the glowing news about “one of America’s preeminent places for living, visiting and doing business,” there’s a less rosy reality. PBS will be moving into some of the 1.4 million square feet vacated by…

DCist is happy to hear that after being stopped for security checks on Capitol Hill, District fire trucks and emergency vehicles can now avoid the sometimes lengthy delays that drivers near the Capitol have faced since the Homeland Security Department placed the financial institutions on Orange Alert. The W.Times says that District emergency dispatchers will now radio Capitol Police in advance, alerting them that an emergency vehicle will be passing through their jurisdiction….