FRIDAY: >> This weekend is filled to the brim with events surrounding the 2007 Urban Film Series tour just in time for Black History Month. Dozens of short and feature-length films addressing the black experience are being screened at Regal Cinema Gallery Place, many with panel discussions following. There’s a bevy of established and rising talent to see, but our pick for Friday has to be a conversation and book-signing with the Wizard’s own center…

Last month, we took a look at January’s crime statistics and considered whether the District’s ten-year trend towards reduced crime had found its lower bound. Then, homicides were up a shade over 2005, but the First, Third, and Fifth police districts saw large jumps for assault, robbery, and burglary. At the same time, the Sixth and Seventh districts, across the Anacostia, saw substantial decreases in reported crime. One month on, the picture has muddied. Citywide,…