Civil rights leaders like Rev. Al Sharpton, Martin Luther King III and others are gathering with supporters on Freedom Plaza at 10 a.m. this morning to march to the Justice Department in a “March Against Hate Crimes.” NBC4 says that organizers hope the march will bring attention to racism and recent hate crimes against African Americans that have been popping up around the country. The march was also designed to bring attention to the Jena…

Good morning, Washington. For the first time in almost 30 years, the Senate will take up a measure considering D.C. voting rights this afternoon, though as we explained yesterday, today’s action is really just a vote to consider giving us the vote in the House, not the actual vote to give us the vote. Mayor Adrian Fenty, who will take public transportation all day today in honor of Car Free D.C. Day, announced he will…

The District has agreed to a detailed list of improvements for St. Elizabeths, the city’s public psychiatric hospital, as part of a settlement with the U.S. Justice Department. Last year a Justice Department report found “widespread deficiencies” inside the Southeast facility, coming after a series of fatal incidents of patient-on-patient violence at the hospital. From the Post: Announced by Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) yesterday morning at St. Elizabeths, the agreement calls for treatment to…

On Friday, Deborah Jeane Palfrey made her much-hyped prime time television debut on 20/20, chatting with Brian Ross about her D.C. escort business but saying her “gals” didn’t engage in illegal activities. Ross was a bit incredulous that she actually believed no sex was taking place, but Palfrey quickly confirmed that said face was indeed straight, pointing to a contract her escorts signed saying they would be fired if any criminal activity took place. While…

Alleged john and original author of “shock and awe” Harlan Ullman recently stopped by Nathan’s Q & A Cafe to chat about his new book, America’s Promise Restored. Of course, Ullman’s was the first “high-profile” client name released by ‘D.C. Madam’ Deborah Jeane Palfrey, former provider of, in her words, legal sexual and erotic services, or in prosecutors’ words, prostitutes. In the clip, Ullman says he was distressed by the release of his name,…

If your fellow employees were able to reap the benefits of July 4th being on a Tuesday and took July 3rd off — and even added today for good measure — chances are your workplace will be a veritable ghost town. So much the better, right? There’s World Cup soccer to be watched. Pharmacies Oppose D.C. Cold Medicine Law: Kids getting high off of Sudafed? Basement drug producers using cold medication to make meth? It’s…

It was a great week to be outside, and one happy side effect of all that mixing and mingling was a great collection of quotes flowing into the Overheard inbox. In addition to the usual tourist confusion, we have a few locals who seem to lack the self-awareness gene as well. And that? Makes our cold hearts happy. Let us know what you’ve overheard at overheardindc (at) gmail (dot) com. Quote of the Week Exiting…

We seem to be living in a city of hazardous threats. And in case you were distracted, the hazardous materials trains that has riled the District Council will most likely be getting a free pass to travel through the city. The Surface Transportation Board, a federal regulatory board under the authority of the Department of Transportation, decided yesterday that attempts by D.C. officials to limit the transport of hazardous materials within two miles of the…

(Review and interview by DCist special contributor Peter Denton) Image from carteldc.com Too many trips to 9:30 Club and Black Cat to catch the latest indie sensation really start to wear us down. It’s always refreshing to head to a smaller venue and see some hard-working local bands with their egos firmly in check. So this past Saturday we ventured into the cookie-cutter community of Clarendon to find much-buzzed-about locals Cartel headlining at Iota. With…

As DCSOB points out, the Justice Department has told Rep. Ernest Istook that it won’t proceed further to defend the Oklahoma Republican’s appropriations rider that punished WMATA or other transit agencies for accepting any advertisement that promotes the medical use of marijuana. (The ad that angered Istook is the one pictured at right from changetheclimate.org.) Justice says that since a federal court has ruled that Istook’s measure was unconstitutional, its hands are essentially tied. While…