On Wednesday night, Washington Performing Arts Society opened its fall classical music season with a spectacular concert by the La Scala Philharmonic. Notably it did so not at the Kennedy Center, which has long been the organization’s main venue, but at the newer and growing Music Center at Strathmore. In spite of the suburban location, which doubled this disgruntled city dweller’s car trip, a VIP box at house left held such distinguished guests as First…

The District’s restrictive gun laws have long been hated by Second Amendment activists everywhere, who have tried pretty much everything, including near-annual congressional legislation, to overturn them. Today might be their day, though — the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has found that the District’s gun restrictions are unconstitutional. In a decision published today, the court wrote that the District’s restrictions on gun ownership, which date back to 1976, unconstitutionally infringe upon…

There are a lot of creative ways to advocate for District voting rights. Of those, our friend Mike Panetta has been behind many. As you may recall, Panetta was one of the minds behind a recent online effort to allow District residents to ask Supreme Court justice nominee Samuel Alito questions, and, prior to that, to rename RFK “Taxation Without Representation Stadium.” Now Panetta has hatched a new scheme to promote voting rights — having…

Severance for Metro Chief Higher Than Average: When WMATA Chief Richard White stepped down/was fired last week, few seemed surprised at the news. Most were, though, surprised at the size of his severance package — a one-time payment of $238,000, an annual pension payment of $116,000, free Metro travel and health care for life, and a $58,000 annual salary for his wife. Yesterday the Post reported that White’s severance exceeds that of comparable transit…

We here at DCist aren’t much for federal politics. Yes, we live and work in the same town as countless bureaucrats and policymakers, but when it comes down to it, federal politics just isn’t our bag. Well, spare the times Congress tries to jump in and rename our roads, sell our parks, or impose their will on our budgets and legislation. Or when they continually deny us our voting rights. Ok, so maybe federal politics…