On Tuesday we noted the death of Free Ride, the Washington Post Express blog that covered local D.C. news formerly helmed by DCist co-founder Mike Grass. Free Ride came to an end just a few months after Grass exited for Politicker, which took him to New York City. We also meant to note that Rob Goodspeed, the former DCist editor who co-founded this web site with Grass, is also moving away from the District. Goodspeed…

Make sure to check out this post by former DCist editor Rob Goodspeed over at Goodspeed Update about the costs of a Metrorail trip per mile. Contrary to the claims of former WMATA Board Member T. Dana Kauffman that the new Metro fare structure is a “raw deal” for suburban commuters, Goodspeed finds that most suburban Metro commuters “continue to enjoy costs substantially lower than driving” and shows that commuters with longer trips actually…

Amid growing, vocal frustration over dilapidated, abandoned buildings on the part of residents in neighborhoods like Shaw and Petworth, a D.C. Council committee approved a measure to double the tax rate on abandoned properties. As the Examiner notes, the move could generate millions in additional revenue while at the same time serve as an incentive for land owners to either renovate and develop their properties or sell to someone who will. The measure, introduced as…

Happy Birthday to us! We here at DCist can hardly believe it’s been three years since the official launch of this humble little web site, so we couldn’t let the occasion pass by without the slightest amount of fanfare. It was three years ago today that founding editors Rob Goodspeed and Mike Grass first launched DCist, the fifth site in the -Ist empire, which now includes fourteen cities all over the world. What started as…

Ever since we first launched in Sept. 2004, we’ve gotten plenty of questions about exactly how DCist works. What started as a volunteer staff of half a dozen writers has, over the last 2 and a half years, ballooned into a collective of over 30 dedicated bloggers who do what they can in their spare time to discuss important local issues and highlight the best cultural offerings of our fine city. At one point last…

Without a library since 2004, the Shaw neighborhood may finally be getting a place with walls to borrow books. The neighborhood’s Watha T. Daniel library, as well as the Tenleytown, Anacostia, and Benning libraries, were supposed to have been renovated by 2006, but after a series of delays and cancelled contracts, there may be some book relief coming. We got an email from the D.C. Public Library via ANC commissioner Michael Bernardo saying a…

Well, it’s officially one week until the big day, but it seems that law-enforcement’s biggest fan isn’t feeling the holiday spirit. The continuing toasty weather may also make it hard to believe you’ve only got five more days to purchase all the tacky reindeer sweaters you can find. Call us crazy, we’re still crossing our fingers for the tiniest amount of snow by next Monday. Councilman, Sue Thy Self: Earlier this year, we made the…

Former DCist Editor Rob Goodspeed had a terrific post up over at his own site last week which asks an important question: Where are all the retail outlets that were supposed to go in the Washington Convention Center? Three years after the opening of the new Washington Convention Center, only three businesses are open among the building’s 11 community retail spaces on 7th, 9th, and N Streets — Abou Master Goldsmith, Capitol Business Center, and…

It was on this day two years ago that DCist came to be, product of the inspired minds of founding editors Rob Goodspeed and Mike Grass. Or, if you’re one of those creation adherents, it was sixteen days ago that some divine power willed us into existence. Either way, we’re turning two today. More than 5300 posts and 40,000 comments later, we’re getting a little slower, a little moodier, and a little more defensive about…

The -ist empire is expanding. It took a few blogger beatdowns to establish our presence, but we’re now officially the only real blog in College Park, Maryland. Kidding. We totally got beat to that market. This morning we were tipped off to a new blog that will give the same attention to College Park that we give to the District and its environs. The College Park Site, in its own words, is: …a news and…