They say it would create more delays, more noise for neighborhoods, and upset the balance of service at the region’s three airports.

While fans of Italy’s soccer squad celebrated their team’s World Cup victory, District residents yesterday braced at the news of two brutal killings over the weekend. While this isn’t the first time that a weekend has yielded a number of violent deaths, the victims involved remind us how random the violence can often be. As with all of these deaths, our thoughts go out to the friends, family, and neighbors affected. British Politician Murdered in…

Good morning, Washington. As you’ve probably heard, a commuter train derailed yesterday in Prince William County. Impressively, VRE says that its trains will return to a full schedule today. Riders were initially warned to expect delays as long as forty minutes, but it now looks like things are more or less back to normal. Agreement Reached On Howard Hospital: Mayor Williams and Howard University President H. Patrick Swygert have reached an agreement surrounding the…

Good morning, Washington. Sorry for the delay in the morning roundup this a.m. – we were too busy trying to catch Butterstick break the cuteness barrier, yet again. Also, we’re kind of rusty at this whole thing; it’s been a while. This photo was posted to DCist Photos by Flickr user rev_bri; it’s of protestors at the new day laborer center that just opened in Herndon. The Post has the story about the tensions…

We often flip through the Washington Times, sometimes for some comic relief, sometimes to see how the conservative newspaper views local news. In perusing its pages today, we came across a column written by Tom Knott, the Times’ answer to the Post’s well-known and well-liked Metro columnist Marc Fisher. Today Knott — often known for taking some creative license with his writing — describes a conflict between a neighborhood bar and residents who want it…

Of. course. And on the very day that we don’t ride the bus. Yesterday some lucky commuters received undated bus transfers when Metrobus ran out of their standard transfers due to an equipment problem at the company that prints them. The passes can theoretically be used over and over again, so expect a black market in these “emergency transfers” to emerge on craigslist.org in approximately 5 seconds. Warner Grants Clemency to Death Row Inmate: Virginia…

Somewhere Joe Camel and the Marlboro Man are rolling in their graves. Yesterday afternoon the Committee on Health of the D.C. City Council endorsed legislation that would make all District bars and restaurants smoke-free by January 2007, according to WJLA. The bill, written by Council-member David Catania (I-At Large) offers exemptions for outdoor areas, cigar bars, hotel rooms, retail tobacco outlets, research projects on the effects of smoking, and businesses that can demonstrate economic…

This one of those pictures that just makes you stop, makes you wonder, makes you want to ask, “Is that for real?” While we are not discounting the possibility that Council-member Adrian Fenty (D-Ward 4) may be the favored candidate in the much sought after 8-15 age-group, we are guessing that someone’s parents are taking next year’s mayoral race just a step too far. Hopefully she didn’t run into the hyper-active nine-year-old with the…

Well, DCist has gone and done it now. In an arbitrary post last week discussing the American Political Science Association’s annual meeting in the District, former DCist food connoisseur Kanishka offered $100 to any reader who could catch Cornel West scarfing down a jumbo slice. Safe bet, right? I mean, who would have thought that Cornel West would actually scarf down, of all things, a jumbo slice? Well, one reader managed just that. Above, Cathy…

She came, she went, she left destruction in her wake. Hurricane Katrina — whose fierce winds and plentiful rains have left New Orleans and other Gulf Coast areas partially submerged and reeling from the damage — is continuing its way up through the continental United States, yet will thankfully avoid the Washington area. That’s not to say we won’t feel Katrina’s impact in our own way, though. The Examiner today recognizes that District gas prices…