Via NBCWashington.com, we’re sent to this link, which shows luxury items currently up for bid from a Texas auction house that is working with the U.S. Marshals Service to move all of infamous D.C. government embezzler Harriette Walters’ ill-gotten luxury goods. The items aren’t clearly labeled as having belonged to Walters, however, so we’re not sure if all of them were hers, or only some of them. Most of the items are attributed to…

MONDAY: Author Julia Serano will be at Busboys and Poets to discuss and sign her new book Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity. 6 p.m. TUESDAY: The “Godfather behind creative nonfiction,” Lee Gutkind (as described by Vanity Fair), will be at Olsson’s Books & Records in Dupont Circle to read from The Best Creative Nonfiction, Vol. 1, as well as a selection from his book, Almost Human: Making Robots…

As 2006 ends and 2007 begins, the -ists look back not at the past week, but at the past year. So here it is, your Best of 2006 Spectacular. And from all of us at the -ists, happy New Year! Austinist was all about controversy as new construction to increase urban density ran rampant in 2006, as did threats to the city’s image from gigantic corporations looking to set up shop in town, leading…

Good morning, Washington, and happy Cinco de Mayo. We understand that with all the recent furor over immigration, some folks might suddenly find themselves adopting an anti-Cinco stance. But to our xenophobic, er, friends we say: remember, this holiday is really about a military victory against the French. Surely that’s something that both Minutemen and Mexican immigrants can agree to celebrate. Day Labor Center’s Fate Unknown: Immigration opponents in Herndon have been quick to claim…

The weekly Ist wrap-up is written by Seattlest editor Dan Gonsiorowski. DCist helps us make more sense of the world this week. Posts like this concert review are the reason for Scott Stapp. DCist also enumerates the reasons for playing ultimate frisbee, Condi’s tight buns, their love of a local convenience store, and their jealousy of a person in Seattle calling the city. LAist documented graf artist Banksy’s most recent visit to LA in one…

We hope you all had a good Thanksgiving. The weather today should be sunny with temperatures in the low 50s. UDC Gave Free Housing to Athletes: Who knew that that the University of the District of Columbia’s official mascot was the Firebirds? We certainly didn’t. The W.Times continues to follow the basketball scandal at UDC, which has forced the university to cut its basketball program. The NCAA violations? Housing student athletes for free. From Suitland…