Former D.C. Police Chief Charles Ramsey has been named police commissioner of Philadelphia by Mayor-elect Michael Nutter, reports the Associated Press. Ramsey came to D.C. in 1998 after serving for 31 years in his hometown of Chicago, and became Washington’s longest-serving police chief in more than three decades, serving as top cop in the District until the end of 2006, when he was replaced by incoming Mayor Adrian Fenty. Since we’ve had a little bit…

The Examiner reports on a new DMV program that would install SmarTrip chips into every new D.C. driver’s license and identification card beginning in October, 2008. The program is a combined effort by the agency and WMATA, the latter of which has made no secret of its intention to make universal conversion to SmarTrip a priority. Recently Metro General Manager John Catoe made SmarTrip cards available for sale at more Giant Food stores and announced…

The Associated Press is reporting that a dark cherry red Peterbilt tanker truck hauling gasoline was stolen at gunpoint this morning in Baltimore. ABC News follows up with word that police believe it to be a straight-up robbery and not connected to terrorism in any way, but that the Joint Terrorism Task Forces from Washington and Baltimore are assisting local Police in the investigation as a precaution. The suspect was last seen driving the truck…

Written by DCist Contributor Fredo Alvarez In a 60-39 cloture vote, the U.S. Senate barely passed the Matthew Shepard Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2007 (S 1105) today as an amendment to the FY 2008 Defense Authorization Bill (HR 1585). The measure would expand protection against hate crimes to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community, and would enable the Federal government to provide assistance in the investigation or prosecution of…

>> Mayor Fenty has named Shannon Lee Hader, an epidemiologist and public health physician who has directed the U.S. AIDS program in Zimbabwe, to head the District’s HIV/AIDS Administration. [WaPo] >> D.C. Law enforcement officials are trying to seize control of a house at 1923 Rhode Island Avenue NE, a long-time location for illicit activity. [WJLA] >> A small plane crash landed in the Hollywood area of St. Mary’s County. Two of three passengers…

Few things are less reassuring about the state of crime and degree of safety we have in this town than police officers who can’t be bothered to learn basic law. Blogger Amber at Prettier than Napoleon reports a story we sincerely hope is not true. Her friend, she says, was home when two men attempted to break into her house. Apparently her presence made them rethink their efforts, but they remained nearby in an alley…

From the tallest skyscraper in the City of Brotherly Love to Canadian tourism copywriting brilliance, here’s what you should know from our -ist cities: This week, Phillyist took a gleeful listen to the White Stripes’ exciting new release, watched in awe as their new tallest skyscraper was finally completed, found a cheaper way to get to Gothamist, invented a tasty new dessert, and brought back their Craigslist Round-Up feature with a bang. Bostonist watches…

Holy smokes! Giant fish on the MTA, Paris Hilton in jail, then out, then in again, Al Gore, goatses, blumpkins, Matt Damon, and baby art critics! It’s been a busy week across the Ist-A-Verse, and here’s a smattering of what’s been going on. In Gothamist’s neck of the woods, they found out that many things are possible: A man caught a 40+ pound fish off the Rockaways and took it home on the subway. Graffiti…

Back in January we found ourselves a bit confused by a group of Virginian gun owners who were protesting New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s presence in D.C. Bloomberg was heading up a meeting of mayors working to fight illegal firearms, which seemed to us like a relatively benign cause. Nobody wants crooks to have guns, right? But after reading today and yesterday’s Post stories about Bloomberg’s latest anti-gun efforts, we can kind of understand…

Virginia Governor Tim Kaine has declared a state of emergency in the Commonwealth after 32 people, mostly students, were killed today in two shootings at Virginia Tech University. Dozens are still hospitalized with injuries ranging from minor to critical. The tragedy is being called the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history. Officials say the assailant, described as an Asian man in his 20s, took his own life after the second attack. The first shooting happened…