The Issue: This weekend, anyone in Adams Morgan between 1 and 4 a.m., (read: drunk college students) will be walking home—DC cab drivers have decided to boycott the area north of U Street, south of Harvard Street, west of 16^th street, and east of Connecticut Avenue. Frat boys are the latest casualties in the ongoing cabbie-vs.-Ward 1 War, which had its latest battle in Freedom Plaza yesterday.

The headline-snatching councilmember, Jim Graham, angered cabbies by proposing to instate a district medallion system, which would charge taxis a monthly fee to operate, and also aim to cap the district’s 8,000 cab drivers. According to the Washington Post, Graham pulled the bill on Wednesday, a decision that reportedly has “nothing to do” with the arrest of his chief of staff. So why are the cabbies still honking? Read More "Neighborhood Watch: Adams Morgan Partiers Collateral Damage in Cab Driver Strike" »

Pictures sent in by a helpful reader:

Read More "Jim Graham Gets Pasted @ 18th and Columbia Road NW" »

Washington is turning on all its institutions! The Burgundy Revolution is no longer stopping at Dan Snyder's door! (Though Sally Jenkins' column is.) TO WIT:

1) Washington Post Magazine chat turns into TOTAL BLOODBATH! Readers want to know: WHY DO THE ARTICLES LOOK LIKE ADS? WHY DID YOU USE THOSE FONTS? HOW IN THE HELL DID SECOND GLANCE MAKE THE CUT? Editors stammer, run inside, toss a Chuck Brown feature off the parapets. It's not gonna work!

After the jump, more evidence the whole town is going Montecore.

Read More "Morning Roundup: Pitchforks and Torches Edition" »

Click image to enlarge

The Issue: Adams Morgan residents are arguing over the question "What is art" after a sculpture called "Bicycle Musician" was approved in June for the plaza at Columbia and Adams Mill Roads. The design was chosen in April from among three finalists in an online survey conducted by the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities (DCCAH). The two other finalists were "Sunflowers" (towering flowers blooming over the square) and "Adamor Circle" (a green abstract sphere). Should the biking man stay or go?

It's Art: The sculpture did win the survey, even if only 100 people took part: Chris, writing on the Adams Morgan listserv, says, "I find the sculpture quirky and bright and a tad over the top. Reflects the neighborhood."

If It's Art, I Don't Want It In My Neighborhood: Some residents feel the official poll was too small to reflect the wishes of the broader community (in a larger online survey at the blog Greater Greater Washington, "Bicycle Musician" came in last.) John, also writing on the listserv, says, "Why, oh why must all Adams Morgan public art look like it was designed to appeal to toddlers? This is pretty bad."

Next Step: Rachel Dickerson, spokesman for DCCAH, told City Desk that due to large community input, both “pro and against,” DCCAH has submitted a revised version of the bicycle sculpture based on the recommendations of the Commission of Fine Arts Board. DCCAH has been meeting this week to discuss the sculpture, so check back Friday for more information on the finalized version.

Image courtesy of DCCAH

UPDATE: Gloria Nauden, spokesman for DCCAH, confirmed on the Adams Morgan listserv that the bicycle sculpture has indeed been tabled. She says, "art is incredibly subjective...and we want to ensure the art is reflective of the Adams Morgan community."

John Little's estate (1856)

Dig up a bit of D.C. - literally - and you might be surprised at how much you find. It's well known that slave labor built the U.S. Capitol, that there were slave pens near the National Mall, and that there was a slave market just across from the National Archives. But a new site of interest - perhaps part of a property owned by one of D.C.'s biggest slave owners - has been discovered in Adams Morgan.

Read More "A Little Exploration in Adams Morgan" »

Read More "Photos: From Before Things Got Interesting" »

If only this car could talk. Though it looks like somebody thought it could talk, which is why they shot it full of holes.

In any case, there's gotta be a story behind the black vehicle identified in its temporary tags as a 1998 Land Rover (VIN #391804) now sitting across the street from Pierce Park in Adams Morgan.

There are magic marker-type writings on the windows that seem to indicate somebody from the 5th District of the Metropolitan Police Department marked the car on May 9. That same somebody tried to cover the shot-up windows and put duct tape over the bullet holes. They're big holes.

A neighborhood resident told me some shady-looking fellows who didn't look anything like cops recently dumped the auto off as discreetly as they could. The resident told me the dumpers didn't appear to be happy when they noticed somebody was watching the drop.

Read More "What’s the Story With the Shot-Up Range Rover on Adams Mill Road?" »

Read More "Photos: Watching The Directors" »

LL just got off the phone with a nearly manic Ward 1 Councilmember Jim Graham. Manic, because he says that he's being unfairly deemed a pizza-banning legislator by a local TV station.

"I have been in media for 30 years, and there's never been a more preposterous story than this one," he says.

When WJLA-TV trained his cameras on him last week outside the John A. Wilson Building, he says, he mentioned nothing of legislation---only that jumbo slice pizzerias happen to be associated with certain problems, he says. "When they turn their speakers to the sidewalk, ramp up the volume, and have terrible fights occur not only outside the place but inside the place, when they provide kind of an unruly boardwalk atmosphere, they become a nuisance." But that doesn't mean legislation! He has no such bill in the works, Graham says.

"It's wrong, it's inaccurate, and it's unfair," he says. "To suggest that this is my point of view is absurd."

LL is currently seeking a response from Channel 7.

UPDATE, 6:10 P.M.: WJLA-TV reporter John Gonzalez says Graham indeed told him, in response to a question, that he was considering legislation. “He said, ‘Oh yeah, I’ve already talked to the mayor.’ And I asked, ‘You mean to revoke licenses?’ He said, ‘I mean, yeah.’”

“I have it on camera,” Gonzalez adds. “I have the raw video!”

If Graham has a quarrel, he says, it might be with the lede-in read Friday night by anchor Leon Harris, which said that Graham “wants to ban the sales of single-slice pizza.”

Says Gonzalez, “I can understand why that made him a little upset…it’s sexy to say that the councilmember wants to get rid of pizza, but that’s not really true.”

Gonzalez adds that many of Graham’s anti-pizzeria comments were left on the cutting-room floor. “I don’t think he realized the kind of reaction he was going to get,” he says. “Apparently people take those jumbo slices very seriously.”

Bloomingdale (for now) reports on the rumors that the Rhode Island Avenue NE Safeway is getting skipped over for renovations in favor of Northwest stores.

Frozen Tropics believes that H Street/Trinidad just might be safer than Columbia Heights and Adams Morgan:

"I feel safer living here than in Columbia Heights. Maybe it's just me, but I feel like I know too many people who have been robbed in Columbia Heights. And when I say robbed, I mean pistol whipped, punched, or hit in the head with a brick. None of these people were resisting. By contrast, I only know (personally) one guy who was ever violently attacked during a robbery in this area. That was when he resisted (rightly, because the bastards tried to force him into an alley, and you should resist at that point)...."

JDLand has a review (with photos) of the new beer garden (called I believe the "Bullpen"). She is very kind. That place feels like walking through something Clear Channel barfed: bad cover band, dudes, and the smell of stale beer all in a fenced-in slab of asphalt. On second thought, it's not something that Clear Channel barfed. It feels like a prison yard sponsored by Clear Channel. Awesome redevelopment!

Anyway, JDLand writes: "When I arrived around 6 pm, there was a healthy crowd, and the spirits (emotional and liquid) seemed to be flowing well." How....polite.

And Now, Anacostia profiles a historic piece of Good Hope Road property that's set to be auctioned off on Wednesday.

Penn Quarter Living wonders if work has been completed at 901 E Street NW.

After two officers were injured and a suspect was fatally shot early Saturday morning at Champlain and Kalorama streets in Adams Morgan, Councilmember Jim Graham got on the Listserv, of course. Rather than merely informing residents of the incident and investigation, he offered up some pats on his own back for efforts to open Champlain at what he describes as the "NOTORIOUS" spot where it deadends under the Marie Reed breezeway. Graham let us know that he's secured the funding for this project and pushed for bids to go out June 2.

In a phone interview today, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner Bryan Weaver lifts the veil of tension between him and his councilmember on this issue. "When you use the incident as a way to push...personal agendas, it's not fair to the police officers who were shot and on the scene immediately, who took the life of another human being."

And it's not about Champlain's dead zone being particularly dangerous, he says. "In many ways, [the closed street] is a perfect storm of bad city managment, bad public policy, and conditions of a wildly gentrifying area, cultivated in one area."

But, yes, says Weaver: "It probably is time to open the breezeway."

Read More "Grahamstanding on “Notorious” Champlain Street" »

Prince of Petworth--or at least a PoP reader--is reporting that there was a shooting in Mount Pleasant tonight (a little more than an hour ago). Apparently a teenager was shot in the leg on Monroe between 18th and 19th.

This follows Saturday morning's mayhem in Columbia Heights and Adams Morgan. The D.C. Police Department issued a press release concerning the police shootout in which a suspect was killed.

Release after the jump.

Read More "Shooting In Mount Pleasant" »

In addition to the new Safeway coming to Georgetown, the go-to D.C. grocery chain is planning similar overhauls at the Southwest Waterfront and Petworth.

At the Waterfront, preliminary work is under way for the new store, which will go up behind the current building near the Metro. When completed in 2011, the old store will be demolished. And, much to the delight of the lunch-starved masses, it will have an enhanced deli with sandwiches made to order.

Petworth's store on Georgia Avenue NW will follow a model similar to what's going on in Georgetown---a new, expanded store will go up where the existing store stands. That means the old store will close at some point. Also, parking will be moved below ground. The space occupied by the current parking lot will be added to the footprint of the new store, taking it from about 20,000 square feet to about 55,000 square feet. Safeway spokesman Craig Muckle says Petworth's plans are not as far along as the Waterfront's and hesitated to give a projected completion date. "I don't have a good sense right now, but I'd say ballpark will be sometime in 2011. It won't be next year, I can tell you that," he says.

Read More "Safeway Update: New Stores Coming to Southwest Waterfront, Petworth in 2011" »

The Heights Life reminds one and all: the U Street and Mount Pleasant farmer's markets start back up this weekend. The blog has all the relevant info.

Frozen Tropics has an interesting little Car vs. Checkers incident involving the possibility of booze and a fence. A sad scene that you won't see in Bethesda.

Penn Quarter Living reminds one and all that the Humanities Council is offering grants to non-profits whose projects involve the preservation of the city's heritage. Here's one thing we could document: D.C.'s go-go heritage. Could someone build a P.A. tape library?

El Guapo in DC writes:

"Have you made love to a Latino man since we last spoke? Do you long for his touch, his stone washed jeans and magical loins? Bueno.

I do not write to you today with something good to say. In fact, of late, there have been tears slowly dropping and clinging to my mustache. My beautiful mustache that is so lustrous in the spring is now damp with Latino sadness. And trust me, Guatemalan tears are often cultivated by gypsies to keep raccoons away, so this is no good.

What makes this Mayan descendant fall to his knees and sob?

The women of Washington, DC. They have once again conspired to make mi vida hit the brick wall of life."

The 42 notes that some Hooters-meets-Key-West-themed bar was supposed to open up in Adams Morgan. It probably won't: "Remember Splash? The daiquiri bar promising hot, scantily clad wait staff? It was supposed to open in Adams Morgan in the fall of 2007. The space used to be the home of Santa Rosa restaurant which had closed earlier in that year. The address is 2224 18th Street NW, next to Awash Restaurant...."