Good morning, Washington. It looks like California's still on fire, and likely to remain so. Most versions of the aforelinked AP story include the phrase "firefighters all but concede defeat," and the Post is calling the resulting evacuation the largest in modern history. It all sounds pretty grim. Good luck, West Coast. Yet More Stadium Parking Controversy: The Post reports on the latest in a seemingly neverending series of deliberations over parking at the......

Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.) has decided not to seek the Senate seat being vacated by Sen. John Warner (R-Va.) next year. The Post is reporting that Davis will announce formally on Thursday what his plans are, but sources have indicated that he won't look to take on a number of potential Republican contenders or former Governor Mark Warner for the seat. Davis reportedly doesn't want his run to overshadow a tough re-election contest faced by......

Harry Jaffe: In writing something of a goodbye column to RFK Stadium, Jaffe recounts the many struggles the District overcame to attract a baseball team. And though plenty of people played important roles, he feels that one deserves extra attention -- former Mayor Anthony Williams. "The hero of the piece has to be Williams, an unpopular mayor who — despite his wandering attention span — kept swinging away at an unpopular crusade to use public......

California Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, has declared September “California Wine Month” for the third consecutive year. Since September is almost over we thought we would get into the spirit and raise a glass to the California wine industry (not that we think they need their own month). We would have celebrated sooner but we were busy getting tipsy off our own local Virginia Wines, as you may recall. The Wine Institute, a.k.a. the self-proclaimed “Voice for......

Even though the U.S. Senate is known as the best retirement home in America -- great healthcare, plenty of daily activities, and people continue to pay attention to you for some reason -- Virginia Sen. John Warner announced today that come next year, he's out. And while his announcement is big news, even bigger is the fight that's about to come to replace him. Consider the circumstances. The commonwealth is a political toss-up these days.......

With unseasonable weather descending upon much of North America, schools getting ready to reconvene, and sports seasons getting exciting, it's a busy time of year for us here in the Ist-a-verse. Luckily, even with all the things we have to do, we still managed to get together to let you know what we've all been up to. After cooling down from a hot weekend of many badass Sunset Junction Street Fair photo dispatches, LAist asked......

While SFist cringed at the fatal dose of crime littering the Bay Area, it found solace in Hillary Clinton's San Francisco campaign headquarters opening, which featured loads of exposed mammary glands. In other news, SF Taxi Commission ruled that Satan's cab must keep its (in)famous medallion number, 666; and in an un-fashion-forward frenzy, San Francisco Fashion Week (chortle) bars bloggers from covering and getting smashed at their shows and parties, respectively. Also, they found a......

Good morning, Washington. Have you gotten your last meal at A.V. Ristorante yet? If not, you'd better hurry — today's Post has a fond reminiscence about the place, noting that its last meal will be served on Saturday evening. It's admittedly not the finest Italian food in the city, but there's something weird and distinctive about A.V. We'll be sorry to see it go. It's Hot And Dry Out There: It sounds like we could......

Ahh. Fifty-eight degrees, Washington. Fifty-eight! That's what the temperature is right now according to my trusty OS X weather widget, and I couldn't be more pleased: with a broken office A/C office unit and a floor of the building prone to soaking up heat, things have been a little warm around here. A last-minute spring extension sounds great, and that's just what we're in for: temps will barely top 70 until the weekend (although......

>> If you're in the market for a Crown Victoria, Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley has a few to sell. [WTOP] >>It looks like Paul Wolfowitz might finally soon be gone from the World Bank. But President Bush isn't about to let his departure spoil an otherwise solid 12-year run during which the bank's president has had the word "wolf" somewhere in their name. Obvious replacements are Wolf Blitzer, Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.), Wolfgang Puck......

Good morning, Washington. It's hard to believe that Queen Elizabeth's visit is already over — to be honest, we found it a bit disappointing. Sure, it was fun to have President Bush embarrass himself in front of her. And yes, we were as fascinated as anyone to read about precisely what she ate at Monday's state dinner. Still, we can't help feeling like this royal visit was less hilarious than it could have been.......

"Martin O'Malley signed the nation's first living wage law on Tuesday," read the Post this morning. Seems a little unfair, seeing as how the District passed its own living wage legislation back in January of 2006, a law which mandated that any firm receiving a District government contract in excess of $100,000 must pay its employees a minimum of $11.75 an hour. The Maryland law is similar; state contractors are required to pay workers $11.30......

Good morning, Washington. How's spring treating you? We're pretty pleased with how things have been shaping up this week. Not everyone's as sanguine about it, though: we were surprised to hear last night's FOX5 newscast include some newscaster banter whining about the heat. Well, relax Mr. Bolter. Today will be cooler, although it'll end with rain. City Agencies Flee Downtown: Traffic and parking are concerns, but it's skyrocketing property values that are spurring many......

With all that went down this week, we thought we thought we'd cheer everyone up by giving everyone a double dose of dogs. It was a rollercoaster ride of emotions this week at DCist. Like the rest of country, we were floored by the news of so many dead coming out of Virginia Tech, and with so many of the victims and their relatives from the D.C. area, we felt it important to pay......

Good morning, Washington. As you might imagine, the news is still dominated by coverage of the tragedy that occurred at Virginia Tech on Monday. Many of the shooter's writings have been found and are being pored over; with classes canceled for the week and many students heading home, it seems likely that today's news cycle will focus on the killer and his motives. Governor Kaine has also ordered an independent investigation into the school's......

Virginia Governor Tim Kaine has declared a state of emergency in the Commonwealth after 32 people, mostly students, were killed today in two shootings at Virginia Tech University. Dozens are still hospitalized with injuries ranging from minor to critical. The tragedy is being called the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history. Officials say the assailant, described as an Asian man in his 20s, took his own life after the second attack. The first shooting happened......

It's almost graduation time for colleges around the D.C. area, but many George Washington students aren't that thrilled about it. Why? The keynote speaker at their commencement is none other than... their outgoing university president. We guess that's what the highest tuition in the country gets you these days. Stephen Joel Trachtenberg, who has been president of the Foggy Bottom university for 19 years, always speaks at graduation, but he usually does so alongside folks......

Good morning, Washington. Chilly and rainy, huh? So that's how nature wants to play it? Fine. You know what? We're glad that Al Gore's stupid eco-concert series isn't coming to D.C. And that MTBE leak in Frederick? We were going to provide an environmentally-minded link, but now we're thinking better of it. Your free ride is over, Mother Nature! No more PageRank-boosting blog mentions until you cut this crap out. P.G. Hospital Set To......

Well, folks, it's happened. Everyone who lives in, commutes to, travels through, or even gets near Virginia in a car, bus, or train can breathe a little easier. Yesterday, as expected, the Virginia legislature approved Governor Tim Kaine's changes to the transportation bill, which we detailed last week. The expected revenue certainly won't dig Virginia out of the hole it's in with respect to transportation. But hopefully, it can keep the hole from getting any......

Those of you anxiously waiting to hear if you'll have to permanently crush out your butts in Virginia eateries can happily light up another. Yesterday, the state's General Assembly voted to reject Governor Tim Kaine's proposed smoking ban in Viriginia's restaurants. In their very last session before they break for the rest of 2007, Assembly members urged the Governor to reconsider what some claim would be too-widely sweeping a restriction -- making it illegal to......

We here in the Ist-A-Verse know that we're sensational, but it's very rare that we get a chance to be sensationalistic. This week, we've decided to have ourselves a little fun and try our hand at tacky tabloid headlines, using nothing more than our favorite posts from this week. Torontoist Special Report: Rosie to Trump: "Fire 300 Bicyclists for Fraud!" On DCist: Students Go Wild for Slogans, Secrets and Sexual Harassment The action was thick......

Whether you are legitimately concerned about the future of transportation development in Virginia or simply sick of the endless debate clogging column inches in your local paper, the end is finally in sight. When the General Assembly finally compromised on a transportation funding package earlier this month, Governor Tim Kaine was not particularly pleased with what he saw. The Governor had promised to exercise his option to amend the bill and send it back to......

Good morning, Washington. How about this weather, huh? We couldn't believe our ears when we heard some friends complaining about the warmth yesterday. "Sure, it's nice," they said, "But isn't it a little early to be this nice?" Bah! Well, take solace, warmthophobes: it'll be cooling down to the more April-appropriate sixty degree range soon enough. Webb Denies Giving Gun To Aide: Details regarding Webb aide Phillip Thompson and the gun he brought to the......

When the District floated the idea of a smoking ban in bars and restaurants, opponents warned that business would simply flee to less restrictive locales -- namely Virginia. But that may change, even if slowly. The Post is reporting that Virginia Governor Tim Kaine has proposed a smoking ban in the state's restaurants, a dramatic move for a tobacco-growing state that forbids local governments from enacting limits stronger than statewide restrictions (though Alexandria recently proposed......

So, it seems like George Mason may have used up much of the region's supply of NCAA tourney magic in last year's dramatic run. Of the seven regional teams in this year's tournament, only Georgetown survived the first weekend to make the Sweet 16 – stay tuned to DCist for more hoops coverage as the city unites behind the Hoyas. And before you ask: no, I'm not the least bit bitter about having a bracket......

With the sun out, the temperatures high, one can only think of one thing-- what's going on in the World of the -ist's? Bostonist dug deep to uncover Barack Obama's unpaid parking tickets, their Governor's latest ethical lapse, and a plagarizing sports writer. Chicagoist had everything in twos: two views on having the Olympics, losing two members of their Super Bowl team, and two music festivals. DCist put their noses in legal books as they......

Here at Transit on Thursday, we love giving good news, and we've got some for you today. New rail cars! Also this week, Governor Kaine works to rile up support for changes to Republican transportation legislation. Finally, maintenance and rail car testing will cause some delays on the Red, Yellow and Green Lines this weekend. Also, MetroAccess is now offering eAlerts with information on major service disruptions due to inclement weather and other emergencies.......

After talking about it (or not talking about it) for months on end, the Virginia Legislature has finally sent Governor Tim Kaine a package of transportation legislation. Now the question is, does he have the stomach to sign it? Also this week, a reality check for the Purple Line and ticked-off drivers take parking enforcement into their own hands. Photo by andertho......

Ever since legislation was introduced in the D.C. Council that would mandate vaccinations for the HPV virus, the issue has moved to the forefront of the public health debate around the country. With an increasing number of states considering a mandatory vaccine -- at least 20 to date -- debate has raged between advocates that believe that a vaccine could prevent a serious public health crisis, opponents who claim that it infringes upon the rights......

Sad news, Washington. Fox 5 brings us a heartbreaking story from a Maryland farm. Apparently someone broke into a barn in Yellow Springs, Md. and cut off a sheep's head. As Shawn Yancy lamented, this left "an adorable lamb... motherless". Just think! What kind of monster would harm a helpless farm animal? Fortunately, Brian Bolter was on the case, outlining the possibilities: it seems to either be a "sick joke" or — far more likely......