Monday >> The Starlingtons may not seem like your typical Black Cat band, but they are breaking the boundaries of traditional country/bluegrass. Tonight they’ll be on the back stage with Portland Oregon’s Casey Neill and his own folk/punk rock fusion. 9 p.m., $7. >> In the mood to try something new? Chicago’s post-punk New Harbour has been around for a few years now, but just moved to the District. They’re playing their first show tonight…

MONDAY >> If you’d like to see how infinity is treating them, Souls of Mischief, of the album ’93 to Infinity fame (released in 1993 of course), will bring mid-90s hip-hop to the Black Cat tonight. We assume they’ve updated their sound a bit since then, but quite frankly, we’ll take some throwback hip-hop any day. With DJ Lex, Icon the Mic King, Kaze and Zeph & Azeem. 9 p.m., $10. TUESDAY >> For our…

It looks like Senate Republicans really don’t want today’s scheduled Senate Judiciary Committee hearing to happen as planned. DCVote spokesperson Kevin Kiger tells us that Republicans have tried to invoke the 2-hour Rule, which would cut off committee action two hours after the Senate started work for the day. We’ve got our browsers set to the live webcast of the hearing, set to begin at 1:30 p.m., at which point we’ll know whether Sen. Russ…

We’re continuing to update the list of 32 people killed in Monday’s massacre, as those names are confirmed by the Associated Press. The Post has some touching profiles of some of the victims. Feel free to continue sharing your thoughts and memories with the DCist community here. While we at DCist are heartbroken by these events, there is hope in the tremendous strength being shown by students and families, as well as stories of…

It’s going to be 73 degrees today Washington, and we can hardly think straight for the giddyness associated with the possibility that it’s time to put our winter coats away. But don’t worry, we’re not too drunk with sunshine to forget that Sweet 16 action in the NCAA mens basketball tournament starts today — so don’t forget to check in on your standings in the DCist pool. The only problem of course being the…

Back in the day, people would gather to lobby, write letters and protest for a cause. These days, all it takes is access to a computer and a creative approach to using online tools. And while the fight for District voting rights has involved a good amount of old-school tactics, online activists have more resources at their disposal than ever before. Newly-elected Shadow Representative Mike Panetta has been leading this fight in recent years, employing…

While the District begs and pleads for anything approaching voting representation in the House of Representatives, Puerto Rico might be moving ahead in its own quest to finally define itself and its relationship to the U.S. According to an article published today in The Politico, legislation is being considered in the House that would allow Puerto Rico to hold a binding referendum on whether or not to become a full-fledged state. Sponsored by Rep. Jose…

This coming Thursday voting rights activists will fan out in the halls of Congress, hoping to convince staffers and members alike that legislation to grant the District a voting seat in the House of Representatives should be passed, and passed quickly. But they may face a challenge beyond what mere lobbying can resolve — the U.S. Constitution. In an op-ed published in the Post’s Outlook section yesterday, Jeffrey L. Farrow, former co-chair of the President’s…

Hey Washington, are you suddenly feeling cheerier than usual this morning, without knowing for sure why? Well check it out: Congressional Democrats have gone ahead and returned to a rules change that allows nonstate representatives to vote on amendments. The nonstates included in the rule, which was also in place from 1993-1995, are American Samoa, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Now it’s on to getting full voting rights!…

Thanks to a tip from a reader, today we extend our feelings of sympathy to the Puerto Rican people. We recently discovered that on Monday the U.S. Supreme Court quietly decided not to hear a case involving whether or not Puerto Rican residents should be able to vote in U.S. presidential elections. While District residents were granted that right in 1961 with the endorsement of the Twenty-third Amendment to the Constitution, we can still sympathize…