Most Washingtonians are accustomed to participating in guided tours only when entertaining out of town guests. We all know we’ll have to trek out to the monuments with family and friends at least a few times a year, so being a tourist in our own city voluntarily at other times might not sound terribly appealing. But try not to think of the tours being offered in this coming weekend’s WalkingTown DC, a series of 60…

Last week may have been a prelude to summer humidity, but this week will offer a bit of a respite. According to Capital Weather, we’re going to be blessed with weather that doesn’t rise far beyond the 70s, though we may have a few showers here and there. Prisoners Escape, Caught Over Weekend: This DCist wasn’t terribly happy with the news that two prisoners accused of murder had escaped from the D.C. jail over 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…

FRIDAY: >> If you’re not Black Cat-ed out from the Unbuckled concert last night, head over to the mainstage to catch an indie-tastic show with The Whips, Her Daily Obsession (at right), and The Hard Tomorrows, all of whom we hear will put on one hell of a show. Doors are at 9:30 p.m.; $8. >> If you missed a screening of “9:30 F ST,” the documentary about the old 9:30 Club, worry not –…

Last one, we swear! Just a quick reminder that the first-ever DCist concert, featuring Cartel and Bicycle Thieves, is on tonight. Where: Black Cat, Backstage; 1811 14th St. NW, between S and T sts. (Nearest metrorail station, 13th and U sts NW/Green Line/U Street-African American Civil War Memorial-Cardozo station; or take the 52,53,54 buses on 14th Street from the McPherson Square station on the Orange and Blue lines.) When: 9 p.m. How Much? $7,…

Well, this weekend looks like it’s going to be absolutely gorgeous, so we’re hard pressed to recommend doing anything besides rolling around in the grass outside. With a beer. Or seven. That’s our plan, at least. But if you’d like more options, our suggestions follow. And don’t forget to plan ahead: DCist’s Unbuckled concert, featuring Cartel and Bicycle Thieves, is a little less than two weeks away! FRIDAY: >> The third annual AFI and Discovery…

Today will be partly cloudy with highs in the low 70s. The photos shows an animated James Carville at Sunday’s Nats game, caught by a DCist reader shortly after he was selected the “fan of the game.” Mayor’s Poverty Initiative Examined: Mayor Williams’ New Communities Initiative would spur development in poor neighborhoods by seeking to draw middle income families to new housing, the Post reports. The program is due to what one observer called a…

Dupont Escalators to Close on Sunday. Because of escalator canopy construction at Dupont Circle, the 19th Street metrorail portal at the south end of the circle will be shut for most of Sunday. Weekend commuters should use the Q Street escalators, pictured in this photo posted by FurCafe in DCist Photos, instead. In 2005, escalators at the following stations will get escalator canopies: White Flint, Stadium Armory, Capitol Heights, Benning Road, Dupont Circle South, Woodley…

As DCist wrote a few days back, District officials are struggling to find a corporate sponsor willing to pay anywhere from $1.5 to $2 million a year for the rights to attach their name to RFK Stadium, the temporary home of the Washington Nationals, for the next three years. The Post reported on Wednesday that the U.S. Army, looking to raise its profile and boost sagging enlistment numbers, has pushed to the front of the…

A group calling themselves the “National Iraq War Memorial Foundation” has launched an online design competition we caught thanks to the blog Life Without Buildings. The group concedes designing a war memorial before the war ends is a bit unorthodox, however they say “This is a different kind of memorial, however — one that incorporates current emotions, memories, and beliefs.” Entering designs for their proposed site is simple and free, and after a March…