News on the DCist tip line and NBC4 is that the Georgetown Branch of the D.C. Public Library is on fire. The building, on the 3600 block of R St., NW, is currently under renovation. Beginning at 12:45 this afternoon, we could see the smoke from the western edge of Dupont. The library was built in 1935 and has a number of historical documents and paintings which fire fighters are trying to save. NBC4 reports…

Many of our readers are shocked (shocked!) to find out that we at DCist are ardent supporters of independent retail establishments in our fair city. Sometimes we’re even capable of overreaction to the threat of national chains on our beloved mom ‘n pops. Remember when so much doom and gloom followed a Washington Post story on the changing nature of retail on Connecticut Ave? But you’ll have to forgive us if each of our hearts…

It’s going to be a beautiful weekend, folks. Don’t spend it inside watching some lame soccer game (yeah, I said it). Get some sun, some exercise, and – better than that – get some art this Saturday. Go ahead, grab your roommate, your sweetie-pie, or hey, subvert the Hallmark Establishment by bonding with Dad on your own time, and set off on an art walk to our local galleries. A number of shows are closing…

World AIDS Day, observed today, has particular relevance and importance for the District. The city has the distinction of suffering from one of the nation’s highest rates of HIV infection, afflicting 1 in 20 residents, ten times the national average, and 1 in 7 African-American men. The District’s response to the problem has been so ineffectual (some say the city is 10 to 15 years behind where it should be) that in August D.C. Mayor…

Attention Tenleytowners or those who have in the past or are likely to raise a fuss over future development in the Wisconsin Avenue corridor. The District is holding a public meeting tonight to discuss the draft proposal to reshape the corridor. What does that mean? Potential mid- and high-density residential and commercial development on plots of land between Georgetown and the Maryland line that could be upgraded. After a quick survey of the draft plan,…

Before heading out of town or burrowing at home with a glass of eggnog and cookies, be sure to check out some new and closing exhibits this week — or to visit some of the decorated historic house museums in D.C. >> “Tradition in Transition: Russian Icons in the Age of the Romanovs” will be closing Dec. 31 at Hillwood Museum & Gardens, the former home of Marjorie Merriweather Post that sits on the edge…