Good morning, Washington. Have a good Halloween? We have to admit, this year’s midweek scheduling kind of put a damper on the holiday’s opportunities for costumed revelry. It didn’t stop us from eating a ridiculous amount of candy, though. Naturally, we feel that the children are to blame: if more kids had stopped by we wouldn’t be stuck with this glut of chocolate and dearth of willpower. Perhaps this is why our childhood neighbors…

>> A police officer from the Seventh District is claiming his commander ordered him to give special treatment to a member of Mayor Fenty’s staff who was caught talking on her cell phone while driving. [Examiner] >> “District Fire and Emergency Medical Services officials are investigating the death this morning of a recruit who became ill during training exercises yesterday.” [WaPo] >> AOL plans to cut 2,000 more jobs, including 750 from their Dulles offices….

People always complain about tourists in D.C., wearing dumb clothes, standing on the left, clogging up the Hard Rock Cafe (actually, we’re fine with that). But it’s difficult to be in a new place and abide by the local customs. Back in the olden days, we heard that burping is polite in Korea, which sounds pretty awesome if you are an elementary schooler eating as much pizza and Coke as you can at Chuck E….

The Skipping Hippy took a trip to Baltimore’s Patterson Park Pagoda and snapped this neat shot of the spiral staircase there. Here’s the EXIF, and here’s a history of the Pagoda, originally known as the Observation Tower, which is open noon to 6 p.m. on Sundays through October….

Former Editor-in-Chief Ryan Avent writes a weekly column about neighborhood and development issues. It wasn’t easy to keep up with the business flooding through the Council as the latest session neared its end. Amid the bills dealing with Greater Southeast Community Hospital, authorizing development bonds, addressing land deals in the West End and over the Center Leg Freeway, and placing moratoria on new Adams Morgan taverns, an interesting pattern nonetheless emerged. In just this past…

Former Editor-in-Chief Ryan Avent writes a weekly column about neighborhood and development issues. Sometimes I imagine that the vicious territoriality residents of this or that place occasionally display when comparing their home enclave to another is a sign of something positive, a rootedness and sense of belonging, maybe, to the neighborhood or city or state one calls home. If that’s the case, then residents of the cities of Baltimore and Washington must be some rooted…

We were all set on running a lovely springtime photograph, when this photo popped into the DCist flickr pool and made us collectively gasp “OMG, WTF?” Coming to us straight from our neighbor to the north, The Skipping Hippy entitles this “Baltimore Kitsch.” This photo leaves us thinking three things: Who does Mr. Dog’s nails? How does he get so ripped? And should D.C.’s fine dog establishments consider seeking his services?. EXIF….

You never know when the path you’re on is going to veer to one side. The Skipping Hippy’s photo of a boardwalk in a serene woodland illustrates this point nicely. I picked this one mostly for its perspective, but I also find the angle of the shadows attractive for some reason. The photo is of the Patuxent Research Refuge northeast of Washington, near Laurel, which will be holding celebrations in honor of Rachel Carson’s…

Much like yesterday’s photo, this one struck us as being that perfect capture of people at home in their environments. Flickr user The Skipping Hippy took this photo of Harry the Manager in his domain at Chick & Ruth’s Delly in Annapolis, MD. Even better, the bright, cheery colors and the view down the length of the diner add a great feel to it. EXIF. The Skipping Hippy was at the DCist Exposed opening…

The roads are clear and dry, and city life is back to normal as we stand down from the state of high meteorological alert that was Snowpacalypse ’07. OK, so that’s just a dream, and we’re still seeing people stuck in the ice on the side of the road with alarming regularity. But, there’s a thaw coming soon, and before you know it, you’ll be able to stop launching yourself backwards at 25 mph just…