From DC.gov: The District of Columbia Department of Motor Vehicles Georgetown Service Center, located at 3222 M Street, NW in the Georgetown Park Mall – Lower Level, is experiencing an air conditioning outage. Temperatures were at 89 degrees inside the facility at 8:15 am (the scheduled opening time) and will not open for service today, July 19. Seventeen customers were waiting outside the facility prior to the scheduled opening and were allowed to come into…

The Examiner has the goods today on D.C.’s Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs, the agency responsible for most contstruction permits and business licenses in the city. According to the Office of the Inspector General, it appears the department lacks the resources to collect on more than 22,000 infractions still unpaid, which total a whopping $8.825 million in fines. The department has no system for collecting outstanding fines and penalties, infrequently imposes liens and may…

With over 180 different designs, it’s no secret that Virginia loves it some personalized license plates. There are plates supporting veterans, cancer research, bowling, and even a proposal for a plate supporting “traditional marriage” (which has since been withdrawn). Starting this weekend, if you are a hybrid owner who relies on your ability to drive in Northern Virginia HOV lanes, you will need to get your own personalized “Clean Special Fuel” tags. The bright blue…

Good morning, Washington. Today will be partly cloudy in the morning and then clearing with highs in the 80s. This photo of the Potomac at sunset was posted to DCist photos by the flickr user “adrummer_boy” who also uploaded a couple others we liked – one of the C&O Canal at dawn and another Potomac sunset photo. If you’ve got a blog you can get your meetup on tonight at the monthly meetup.com event for…

Any reader of why.i.hate.dc knows of James F.’s disdain for vanity plates in the commonwealth of Virginia. DCist has for many months appreciated his careful observation and reporting of odd, inane and quirky personalized plates. In the commonwealth, it’s cheap and easy to get personalized plates. If you’re a Virginia resident, all you need to do is go to the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles’ website and make one yourself. It’s sort of like…

DCist has less-than-fond memories of the Department of Motor Vehicles office on C Street in Judiciary Square. It can a dreaded office, where long lines, Byzantine rules and sometimes, just sometimes, your requests can strike a sensitive nerve with clerks. When we got our drivers license a while back, DCist got embroiled in a four-hour ordeal that involved us pitting the helpful front desk clerks against a secondary clerk in back regarding whether our combination…