Though it is District law that cars must stop for pedestrians in every crosswalk, let's be honest -- very few actually do so. When I choose to walk to work, I'm often left to navigate the harrowing crosswalk at Connecticut Avenue and Wyoming Avenue NW, where even a sign reminding drivers of their responsibility to stop is regularly (and at high-speed) ignored. Council member Mary Cheh (D-Ward 3) is hoping to change that. Cheh's office......

Many neighborhoods in the District tend to go through a rather predictable routine. They start as fringe areas, slowly attract residents and business owners looking for good deals on housing and commercial properties, see an influx of newcomers as word spreads, and soon become the city's next hot destination. And throughout the process the usual conflicts tend to emerge -- between old and new residents, between local and national businesses. Yesterday the rather tranquil Barracks......

The pattern has become almost predictable -- if violence breaks out somewhere in Ward 1, you can bet D.C. Council member Jim Graham will find the closest bar or restaurant, call it a "magnet for --------- (enter violent incident here)" and try to shut it down. Sometimes Graham's crusades are welcome, other times they are excessive. Graham last focused his energies on Joe’s Steak ’N Eggs, an eatery on 9th Street NW that was the......

As I rode home last night, I took a quick detour past Eastern Market. Some 22 hours after the fire that ravaged the market's South Hall had been reported, firefighters remained, hosing down the building and testing the its structural integrity. A crowd had gathered outside, most blankly staring at what would be an empty shell for the months to come. This morning, fencing had been erected around the building, decorated with U.S. and D.C.......

Candidates in next Tuesday's special election to fill two open D.C. Council seats have collectively raised over $1 million in the course of the campaign. Voters will chose council members for Wards 4 and 7, after those positions were left empty by Mayor Adrian Fenty and at-large Council Chairman Vincent Gray. Voters in D.C. Public Schools' Second District will also elect a school board representative. In Ward 4, ANC Commissioner Muriel Bowser leads the pack......

Yes, there is enough news today on the church parking issue to both justify a roundup and provoke commenters into demanding that we stop covering the issue. Church Parking Blog Launched: When in doubt, start a blog. Everyone has one, and as of this Tuesday, so does the vexing issue of church parking in Logan Circle. The blog's author has chosen to remain anonymous (for fear of being damned to an enternity in hell, should......

It's official -- winter is over. Today is the Vernal Equinox, the day that daytime and nighttime are of equal length. But Mother Nature isn't one to make things easy on us. Our friends at Capital Weather are reporting that tomorrow might be particularly winter-like -- the temperature won't break 40, and we may even get some snow. So, enjoy today's mild weather as long as you can. Man Killed at Shaw Metro Station:......

Thirty-four years after the last D.C. baseball team slunk out of town, the Washington Nationals play their first-ever home game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at 7:00 p.m. (TV: UPN 20). As if that isn't exciting enough, the Nats arrive with a stadium-warming surprise gift: a winning record (5-4) and a two-game win streak (all road games, no less (of course)). It'll be no small task to keep those winning ways going: The Diamondbacks, even shorn......

U Street NIMBYs beware! In a classic "take out the trash" move, the D.C. Office of Attorney General announced that it had settled a dispute with the managers of Club U, the go-go club operating out of the Reeves Municipal Center (at right) at U and 14th streets NW. Despite concerns from neighborhood residents, including Ward 1 Councilmember Jim Graham, about violence and suspicious activities going on in and around the club, Club U will......