McPherson Square, Jan. 31st.  © 2012 Matt Dunn

Is Our Deer Learning?: Maybe it's not too late to change the award-winning designs of some of the new libraries around town. Because, apparently, the local fauna have trouble with lots of windows. A deer crashed through the plate glass in the interim library in Washington Highlands today, shattering the window; the deer had to [...]

We know that "avoid the ghetto" isn't really the name of the new Microsoft patented GPS technology—but it's a moniker that's stuck thanks to the app's job: Keep pedestrians from walking into crime-ridden areas. Back when I first wrote about the tech, it seemed a really terrible idea. Some commenters (sorta) managed to convince me [...]

The Post fronts the Metro section with a story on area women who have become yoga instructors as a way to deal with their stressful lives. It is, as one would expect, full of insights like, "Because it’s yoga, the students kept a meditation journal to help them connect with the harmony of the world. [...]

Since Jan. 1, 2010, businesses in the District that sell food or alcohol have been required to charge 5 cents for each paper or plastic disposable bag. The Anacostia River Clean Up and Protection Act of 2009, or the "bag law," has been in effect for two years, but many D.C. shoppers don't like it [...]

Even though D.C. has one of the most robust job markets in the country, its residents remain some of the most asset-poor, according to a new report:
The 2012 Assets & Opportunity Scorecard ranked the District 24th in the country overall for how their residents fare in terms of achieving financial security across 52 measures in five [...]

K Street NW, January 30

Yesterday's presser on wheelchair accessible cabs at the Wilson Building was held in front of a handicapped sign: One that indicated the accessible entrance to the building was around the corner. Not to lay too much importance on symbolism, but if D.C. Council chairman Kwame Brown gets his way, taxicabs that wheelchair users can roll themselves [...]

Gather 'round, because we're about to talk about the weather. The Post's Petula Dvorak writes a typically meandering column about missing snow:
The skis are leaning against the wall, forlorn, cornered by the bikes.
The tulip bulbs are popping up in January, the Occupiers stayed outside way longer than anyone thought they could.
And the only thing sliding on [...]

A regular summary of irregular news and notes from neighborhood blogs and email lists around the District.
Occupy Tenleytown: An email urging members of the Tenleytown email list to write to Mayor Vince Gray and the National Park Service in support of Occupy D.C., sent by Occupy activist Sam Jewler, garnered little support. "As one of [...]

Slideshow. 7th and H Street, NW. Jan. 29th.  © 2012 Matt Dunn

You Don't Have To Go Home, But You Can't Stay Here: Nothing like some nosy House Republicans to bring a protest to an end. After last week's hearing in Congress, the National Park Service and U.S. Park Police began enforcing a long-ignored ban on camping in McPherson Square today, which could be the first step [...]

Slideshow McPherson Square, Jan. 30th.  © 2012 Matt Dunn

The National Park Service began actively enforcing regulations against camping in public parks at noon today, sending Occupy D.C. participants scurrying to erect a "tent of dreams" in protest.
Last week, the House Oversight Committee, chaired by Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., held a hearing regarding NPS’s regulation of camping in [...]

McPherson Square, January 30
Gallery:Under the big blue tarp