A Giant Food opened this morning on Alabama Ave. SE in Ward 8, making it the only full-service grocery store in the Anascostia ward. It’s also the first supermarket to operate in the neighborhood in over a decade. On Saturday the Post ran a story highlighting the lengths Ward 8 residents have had to go to up until today to purchase groceries. The “Camp Simms” Giant joins a bank and a hardware in a shopping…

Let’s check in with the widening Office of Tax and Revenue embezzlement scandal, shall we? Over the weekend, the Washington Post reported that two more tax office employees had been placed on leave from their jobs in connection with the alleged $20 million-plus fraud, though CFO Natwar Gandhi refused to identify them except to say they work in the real property assessment division of the office. Four senior managers have tendered their resignation since the…

>> Those who want to hear smooth sounds with global influences should head down to Blues Alley this week as guitarist Jonathan Butler comes to town for a 3-night stand beginning Thursday. Tickets to the 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. sets are available here. $43 + $12.50 minimum/surcharge. >> Mavis “Swan” Poole, an up-and-coming young vocalist who is an alum of the prestigious Betty Carter Straight Ahead Jazz Workshop will perform at Twins Jazz on…

>> This week’s first must see takes place tonight at Blues Alley as one of the area’s finest drummers, Nasar Abadey, takes the stage with SuperNova (pictured right), a local jazz supergroup. The band features Allyn Johnson on piano, Gary Thomas, Jazz Studies Chair at Peabody, altoist Joe Ford, and bassist James King. Sets are at 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. $18 + $10 food/drink minimum. Tickets available here. >> Also tonight, Twins Jazz hosts…

While no major event on the schedule this week trumps all others, there are several concerts that will merit your attention. Three of them are scheduled for Thursday night. If contemporary music was the headliner last week, this week it is early music. >> Opera Lafayette’s bread and butter is in presenting obscure Baroque operas, usually French, sung by exceptional voices and with the help of their fine instrumental ensemble. The group opens its season…

>> Tonight, The Alfred Mojica Band, a latin-jazz ensemble, performs at The Bossa Bistro & Lounge. Call 202-667-0088 for details. >> On Thursday, guitarist Robben Ford (pictured), an alum of Miles Davis’ band, takes the stage for a four night stand at Blues Alley. Tickets to the daily 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. sets are available here. $35 + $10 food/drink minimum. >> HR-57 has some cool things going on this weekend. On Friday, saxophonist…

On Saturday night, Washington National Opera opened its fall season with an oh-so-edgy rendition of a tired old chestnut, Giacomo Puccini’s La Bohème. It is the fifth mounting of this opera by WNO since 1984, which works out to a production every four or five years on average. Film director Mariusz Treliński created this new production for the Teatr Wielki in Warsaw, which also gave Washington his Butterfly and Andrea Chénier. The aim, laudable…

>> The Classical Music Agenda will return this Sunday, after hibernating all summer, but there are already a few developments to note this week in local classical news. Robert Shafer is a legend in the local choral music scene, as the long-standing director of the Oratorio Society of Washington, known in recent years as the Washington Chorus. Shafer’s particular gift is to inspire a huge group — some 200 singers, none (or few) of them…

It’s been almost two years since VHS or Beta brought their explosive electronic rock to a non-DJ show in D.C., which is too long for us. On Saturday the Kentuckians came to the Rock and Roll Hotel, bringing buzz band Walter Meego and local faves The Vita Ruins. Unfortunately we missed The Vita Ruins’ opening set, but judging by our past experience, the atmospheric Three Stars and Unbuckled alums put on a good show. Walter…

Well, we’ve definitely reached the doldrums of August, so things have slowed down quite a bit in Jazz Land. Nonetheless, there’s still some interesting stuff to check out this week. >> Tonight, catch the Afro Bop Alliance, a Latin jazz ensemble based out of Annapolis, as they pay a visit to the Millennium Stage. The free show begins at 6 p.m. >> Also tonight, 17-year old Elijah Balbed takes the stage at Twins Jazz with…