Why, the Huffington Post’s splashy front-page photo of President-elect Obama without his shirt on, that’s what! This has been a public service announcement for those of you concerned that there’s nothing happening on the Internet this holiday week. HuffPo originally picked up the photo from Bauer Griffin, which has been experiencing overloaded servers all day and now isn’t loading at all. To be fair, Obama’s physique is surprisingly good for a middle-aged man who barely…

It’s a big week for SmarTrip cards, leading up to the even bigger week beginning Jan. 4, 2009, when the electronic farecards will be required in order to take advantage of bus-to-bus, rail-to-bus or the new bus-to-rail transfer options within the WMATA transit system. Starting today, you can purchase a commemorative Barack Obama inauguration SmarTrip card. The special cards, which cost $10 and come with no value preloaded onto them (or pay $20 upfront and…

Metro’s Board today approved charging rush-hour fares and parking fees on Inauguration Day, Jan. 20, 2009. “We are charging rush hour fares to meet an unprecedented demand for service,” Metro General Manager John Catoe said in a statement. From the press release:The transit agency will charge peak fares from the rail system’s 4 a.m. opening until 9 p.m. on Jan. 20. Metro’s commemorative One-Day Pass with a special Inauguration design will be sold for $10…

So the big inauguration news this morning, courtesy the Post, is that camping on the National Mall will be banned the night before Barack Obama’s inauguration, and that spectators will not be allowed to grab spots along the parade route on Pennsylvania Ave. until 7 a.m. on the morning of Jan. 20. This seems certain to cause a giant mess, doesn’t it? Let’s just say, for the sake of argument, that 4 million people really…

When our pals at Chicagoist forwarded us a link to their post about how the U.S. Supreme Court is actually going to consider whether to take up a lawsuit challenging President-Elect Barack Obama’s U.S. citizenship, we thought it had to be a joke. But no, this is sort of really happening tomorrow, and although it’s almost assured of going no further than merely appearing on Friday’s court meeting schedule, it will bring with it a…

The Presidential Inaugural Committee announced today that the entire length of the National Mall will be opened to the public for the inauguration of Barack Obama on Jan. 20, a first for any modern presidential inauguration. Here’s The AP story. Previously, the far portions of the National Mall had been closed off for use as a staging area for the inaugural parade. The change will allow a lot more people to stand out in the…

WTOP has a copy of a letter the D.C. Council sent to President-Elect Obama, urging him to place the District’s “Taxation Without Representation” license plates on his presidential limousine. No big shock that the Council would push for the pro-D.C. voting rights symbol, but is it somewhat surprising that both Mayor Adrian Fenty and Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton have said they will not press the issue with Obama? Probably not. Fenty and Norton want to…

Metro hasn’t yet formally announced the sale of a special edition SmarTrip card commemorating the impending inauguration of President-Elect Barack Obama, but this image was circulated at this morning’s regular Board of Directors meeting, along with details on their production schedule and cost. Metro spokesperson Steven Taubenkibel confirmed that the commemorative SmarTrip cards should be available for sale in early January, while special paper Metro farecards marking the inauguration will be sold somewhat earlier,…

Watch CBS Videos Online Steve Croft interviewed Barack and Michelle Obama last night on 60 Minutes about their transition as a family into the White House. Among some great tidbits like that Michelle refused to sleep in the crappy 1-bedroom D.C. apartment that the President-Elect used during his time in the Senate (she said it reminded her of the apartment he lived in when they first started dating), the future first lady signaled that she…

This is the first installment of a new weekly real estate column from Mark Wellborn of UrbanTurf, a local blog and newsletter that covers the residential real estate scene in D.C., MD, and VA. A few weeks before the Democratic National Convention came to Denver this past summer, an email popped up in my inbox from an industrious friend in the Colorado city. “I am going to get $3,000 for my place for the week,”…