>> Helen Thomas will be moved to the second row in the new White House Press briefing room, which will be completed early this summer. The end of an era, or the beginning of a bold new world where Tony Snow might occassionally mistake her for someone else and actually answer her questions? [Politico] >> When Keeping it Real on Amazon.com Goes Wrong [Sarah Disgrace] >> If you can believe it, more rate hikes are…

FRIDAY: >> The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception offers its annual Christmas Concert for Charity tonight. The Basilica’s professional choir (featuring our very own DCist Charles!) will perform, followed by the choirs and orchestra of Catholic University. Admission is free, with a free-will donation to benefit the Spanish Catholic Center, a haven for immigrants to the Washington, D.C., area since 1967. The center provides services at locations in Mount Pleasant and…

It’s cold out there, eh Washington? But apparently not cold enough to stop the notorious Vienna Pants Grabber, who NBC4 is reporting may be branching out from his favorite Metro stop to area apartment complexes. Freaky. Can everyone take good look at those two composite sketches so we can get this jackass off the streets? Thank you. WMATA Jealous of DCist: Clearly recognizing the sheer genius of our very own Last Call SMS Feature, which…

Call it good luck — outgoing Ward 3 council-member Kathy Patterson might have a second shot after being defeated by colleague Vincent Gray (D-Ward 7) in the race for council chair. The Examiner is reporting today that among many of the personnel changes that are expected in the coming mayoral administration of Adrian Fenty, Patterson might be taking over as deputy mayor for public safety and justice. If we couldn’t have her on the council,…

For those of us who compulsively pore over world almanacs, sports record books, and specialty dictionaries to extricate facts, numbers, and lists that double as security blankets, the Washington Post’s “District Extra” section is a treasure trove. The District Extra is one of many local sections that the Post issues each Thursday to convince its area readers that the very national hometown newspaper is, well, keeping it real. But the Raymond Babbitt in us skips…