Election Redux: Anyone who could read a poll (i.e., everyone but Adrian Fenty) had known for some time he was likely to lose to Vincent Gray last night. And lo and behold, he did! To find more surprising results, you had to look a little harder—for example, 1,319 D.C. Republicans wrote in a choice for [...]

Adrian Fenty was the higher profile athlete of the mayoral candidates, but Vince Gray's the bigger sports fan. Particularly of sports in the schools.
Schoolboy sports are thriving in the 'burbs, but hurting in the District these days. Former football powerhouses Anacostia and Eastern unable to even field teams at the beginning of the 2010 season. [...]

The District's waterfront was busy this week. On Tuesday, a slew of politicians attended the ribbon cutting for Yards Park, a $42 million undertaking that boasts sprawling views of the Anacostia and Potomac Rivers.
Less than a mile northeast, a coalition of organizations—the Anacostia Watershed Society, Anacostia Watershed Citizens Advisory Committee, Anacostia Riverkeeper, D.C. Environmental Network, [...]

For Hill scandals this ain't illicit
No diapers, nor photos explicit
A word to the many
Who owe quite the penny
The IRS really does miss it
The pen is your weapon of choice?
Then here is a cause to rejoice
The Mall ain't for jogging
'Cause now you'll be blogging
When WiFi enables your voice
Oh hey, there's a Tuesday election
The District must make [...]

For the alarmingly influential print platform of Washington City Paper, I wrote this week about D.C. United having fallen off the face of the political planet since the last mayoral election. Pick up a copy, read the column, get out the vote.
Four years ago next month, just before being elected mayor, Adrian Fenty came to [...]

The Washington City Paper/Kojo Nnamdi Show public opinion poll—out tomorrow in our dead-tree edition, and soon to be presented in geekily searchable detail on this site—may or may not be right in predicting that Vincent Gray will win next week's Democratic mayoral primary. After all, Team Fenty says their get-out-the-vote game can overcome the biggest [...]

Yes We Can (Beg for Endorsements): Mayor Adrian Fenty takes it upon himself to leak word that he's asked President Barack Obama for an endorsement in Tuesday's election. Which is a strange strategy in a race polls show Fenty is likely to lose to D.C. Council Chairman Vincent Gray; Obama has enough political problems without [...]

Clean Me a River: Long-time Washingtonians may sometimes wonder what's going through the heads (or digestive tracts) of people fishing on the banks of the Potomac River. For decades, the river's been considered so polluted as to be a national disgrace. Turns out those people fishing were just ahead of the curve, though; a new [...]

Getting Blown Away: This year has already brought the D.C. region blizzards, near-record heat waves, and an earthquake. So it probably shouldn't come as any surprise that Virginia officials are now warning that Hurricane Earl could wind up rolling through the area. For now, southern Virginia looks to be at more risk than the District, [...]

Whoops! We aren't sure if Mayor Adrian Fenty's visit to Washington City Paper's offices earlier today has anything to do with DC.gov being down.
Anyhow, if you need to access the D.C. government, you might want to call 311.
UPDATE, 2 p.m. All is well in the world. DC.gov is back in action!

Power to the People: Frustrated by the frequent power outages that have plagued Howard Kurtz's home (and possibly yours, too)? Pepco has finally found a solution—spend $256 million trimming tree limbs. And voilà: a reliable supply of electricity. After, uh, a five-year wait to implement the plan. Potentially faster solution—go solar. -2
Jobs, Jobs, Jobs: Labor [...]

Although the Russian Embassy isn't located in Georgetown, the city's oldest neighborhood will host its swanky fall gala there. Again.
As The Georgetown Dish recently reported, the Oct. 15 fall gala hosted by the Citizens Association of Georgetown, will take place within the safe confines of the Russian Embassy complex, one of the most austere and [...]

In his excellent cover story for this week's dead-tree edition of Washington City Paper—alas, not printed on hemp paper—Chris Shott chronicles the efforts of Rabbi Jeffrey Kahn to open the first of the cannabis dispensaries legalized under the District's medical-marijuana referendum.
The piece notes that Kahn's venture won't be quite as easy as just, say, selling [...]

I'll Change, I Promise: Mayor Adrian Fenty finally gets around to admitting that the main obstacle holding him back in his bid for re-election is... Mayor Adrian Fenty. In a debate televised on NewsChannel 8 TBD TV, the incumbent promised to "change some things" and "listen better" if voters opt to give him a second [...]

Earlier this week, we learned that Mayor Adrian Fenty's administration dipped into funds for needy families to help make up for his Summer Youth Employment Program's budget shortfall. The D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute reported:
"The Fenty administration chose to cover the overspending in summer jobs by transferring funds meant to help vulnerable families with basic food [...]