The latest:
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Controversy Over Rhee Now to Include Sex, Congress
Photo by David Clow - Maryland A congressional report issued yesterday by two ranking Republicans suggests that schools chancellor Michelle Rhee performed "damage control" for her now-fiance Kevin Johnson during investigations into Johnson's alleged sexual misconduct and misuse of Americorps funds at the St. Hope charter school he founded in Sacramento. Johnson, an ex-NBA player, is currently mayor of Sacramento. Rhee confirmed that the couple got engaged earlier this month. According to the New...
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You Think You've Got Problems
Even between the DPW fiasco, the WTOP/biking police escort kerfuffle, not being Superman, facing vital questions about crime, handling a significant legal tussle regarding policing strategies, dealing with his "all-purpose scandal-in-a-box" Sinclair Skinner, recognizing his struggles with the D.C. lottery contract, trying to rebuild OCTO after its bribery scandal, navigating the significant labor strife among teachers in our public schools, and drawing the general ire of the entire D.C. Council, it could always be worse...
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D.C. United Icon Ben Olsen To Retire
Ben Olsen, seen here holding off Real Madrid's Kaka in an August 2009friendly, will reportedly announce his retirement next week.Photo by Kyle Gustafson / http://www.photokyle.com Steve Goff had the big soccer news from RFK Stadium yesterday: D.C. United midfielder Ben Olsen will announce his retirement next week. Olsen, a tenacious midfielder who played in the World Cup for the United States men's national team in 2006, is about as Washingtonian an athlete as you'll...
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Saturday Last Child of Ungoliant Photo: November 21, 2009
New Moon? Yeah -- new spider moon. Death Eater philliefan99 captures this balls-out scary picture of Shelob-in-the-Sky. It's more terrifying than even the prospect of watching all seven million youtube responses to that New Moon rom-com, the movie all my girlfriends are seeing today, about the guy who can't stop sparkling and his goth girlfriend and I think a Teen Wolf. No, there isn't anything happening this weekend that's going to shake this picture...
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Report: CCDC Split From UDC Is "Critical To Success"
An independent report commissioned by DC Appleseed and the Brookings Institution has concluded that it is "critical to the success and sustainability of" the new Community College of the District of Columbia to sever ties with the University of the District of Columbia. UDC, which has always had plenty of problems balancing the hefty costs of a four-year university and its open-enrollment-assisted reputation as a two-year college, split focus in August into the University...
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The Saturday Morning Post
Photo by Satirenoir. Good morning, Washington. The Brookland-CUA Metrorail station was closed for about ninety minutes last night after another person intentionally placed themselves on the tracks in front of an oncoming train. Last night's incident pushes the number of suicides in Metrorail stations this year into double digits. WMATA says that at about 9:18 p.m., a man who had gone on to the tracks was struck by a Red Line train heading in...
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Goals But No Grit Means 3-2 Loss for Capitals
Young Capitals goalie Michal Neuvirth found himself looking into the back of his net one toomany times Friday night in a 3-2 loss. (AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez) The Washington Capitals scored first, but the Montreal Canadiens scored more and won 3-2 on Friday night at the Verizon Center. The Caps' Eric Fehr netted the only goal of the first period for either team, but the Canadiens had twice as many shots on goal in...
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D.C. Insurance Dept. Denies Birth Control Coverage Meddling
The blog RH Reality Check posted an item yesterday alleging that Gennet Purcell, the District of Columbia's relatively new insurance commissioner, had surreptitiously conspired to make it possible for D.C. women to lose their birth control coverage. But the Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking, the agency Purcell runs, has since emphatically denied the story. Here's what RH Reality Check reporter Amie Newman wrote on Thursday:Under Purcell's watch, private insurance companies operating in Washington...
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Northeast Post Office Branch Spared From Closure List
The U.S. Postal Service today released yet another revised list of possible branch closures, and one D.C. office has been trimmed. The Northeast branch, located at 1563 Maryland Ave. NE, will stay. In Maryland, two other branches were also spared: the Friendship Heights branch, and the Silver Spring Center branch. The total list is now at only 241 post offices still under review nationwide, down from almost 3,300 at the beginning of the process....
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Overheard in D.C.: Careful What You Wish For
Photo by chesapeakelover It can be fun to think about things you'd like in an ideal mate. But sometimes, things sound better than they actually are. Overheard of the Week At Asylum, Thursday night: Female Waitress: "For some reason I have wings coming out my ass tonight!" Male Bartender: "That would be a real selling point for chicks. Dude, if you could shit out buffalo wings, I'd marry you." After the jump, musical instruments,...
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Out of Frame: Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans
Baby did a bad, bad thing: Lieutenant McDonagh (Nicolas Cage) during a reflective moment in the midst of his usual drinking, leching, and lying. It's difficult to enter into Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans expecting a comedy. That's despite a title more ridiculous and unwieldy than even a CSI spin-off would accept, and a trailer that features star Nicolas Cage waxing rhapsodic on his lucky crack pipe, and instructing some henchmen to...
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Thanks to This Week's Advertisers
We would like to take a moment to thank this week's advertisers on DCist. Ballroom with a Twist, a new production with dancers from So You Think You Can Dance and Dancing with the Stars, tonight and tomorrow at the Music Center at Strathmore. John Mayer, find tickets for his Battle Studies tour with the AMEX early on sale. GroupOn, using collective buying power to bring you one ridiculous coupon each day. American Apparel, with...
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Same-Sex Marriage Foes Have Few Options on Hill
Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Ut.) With the D.C. Council's same-sex marriage bill scheduled for a December 1 vote and a petition to put the issue on the ballot denied, opponents of same-sex marriage might finally have to live up to a threat they've been making in recent months: to take the issue to Congress. But a hearing on the Hill this week on legislation that could grant the District more budgetary and legislative autonomy showed...
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Out and About: Weekend Picks
Photo by army.arch FRIDAY MOVIE: The National Portrait Gallery is showing free Western movies by John Ford this weekend. Tonight's movie is Fort Apache, starring John Wayne, Henry Fonda, and Shirley Temple, at 7 p.m. For more of our movie highlights, make sure to consult this week's Popcorn & Candy column. MUSIC: Former Three Star artist Wayna is performing with Tabi Bonney at Zanzibar. $TBA, 8 p.m. Fans of New Jersey's The Wrens have...
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Former Blade Staffers Launch 'DC Agenda'
From the ashes of the Washington Blade, DC Agenda has risen. The staff of the suddenly shuttered LGBT publication has managed to put together a new web site and "a modest, early iteration" of a print edition, both out today, less than a week after they all lost their jobs. From their introductory message:The former staff of the Washington Blade remains united and DC Agenda represents our effort at continuing the important mission and...
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The Weekly Feed: Experimentation Edition
Photo by NatalieMaynor Dish of the Week: Sweet potato casserole Thanksgiving... foodie holiday... blah blah blah. But of course, it is my favorite holiday, not just because of the food, but because of the focus on family. My mother is a fantastic cook. She makes the best scallion pancakes. Her technique is so flawless that family members can tell the difference between the pancakes she rolls out and the ones my aunts roll. But...
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Photo of the Day: November 20, 2009
Be prepared for the DCist Flickr Pool to be infiltrated by an invading army. These Terra Cotta Warriors have started their advance at National Geographic and scouts have already been spotted in the Pool, like this one by erin m. EXIF. You can find more Terra Cotta Warriors on display now through March 2010 at the National Geographic Museum. See over 100 artifacts from the 2000-year-old sculpted army that guarded China's First Emperor from...
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D.C. Unemployment Rate Reaches 11.9 Percent
The unemployment rate for the District of Columbia jumped to 11.9 percent in the month of October, its highest level since the current recession began, according to figures released today by the Department of Employment Services. That number marks an increase over the previous month, September, which saw an unemployment rate of 11.4 percent. The national unemployment rate for October was 10.2 percent. Today's news comes paired with an estimate that the District actually added...
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DCist Preview: Lee Konitz @ Kennedy Center
Feeling the limitations of the jazz combo format that was prevalent in the late 1940s, Miles Davis assembled a nonet to play music that allowed for more orchestration and color, while still maintaining the improvisational elements of that era's be-bop sound. With orchestrations from the great arranger Gil Evans, as well as band members Gerry Mulligan and John Lewis, the band performed briefly in the fall of 1948. But it wasn't until 1949 that...
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Affidavit: Former Taxi Commissioner Linked to Bribery Scheme
Photo by Samer Farha Federal authorities believe former D.C. Taxicab Commission chairman Causton Toney participated in a long-running bribery scheme while he held that position from 2005-2007, the Washington Post reports this morning. A recently unsealed affidavit lays out the FBI's suspicions against Toney, who has not been charged with any crime, but whose home was raided in October. The links between Toney and the bribery allegations stem from the same D.C. taxicab industry...
