The AP is reporting that Sasha and Malia Obama will attend Sidwell Friends School in Ward 3, near Tenleytown. Our clever commenters speculated that that would be their choice, thanks to its security-friendly setting. It was also the Clintons' pick for Chelsea. Some will be disappointed that the Obamas didn't pick a public school, but they've chosen the option that's "the best fit for what their daughters need right now." The City Paper and ABC......

Cue the “Hurricane Rhee” jokes. Here’s the latest being floated by Mayor Adrian Fenty and D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee: ask the federal government to declare the D.C. public schools in a “state of emergency.” If approved, the step would give Fenty and Rhee unprecedented authority to rebuild the school system, which is the lowest-performing the nation, similar to what happened in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina destroyed the system there. This restructuring would likely......

DC Teacher Chic, one of the city’s most prolific teacher-bloggers, has thrown in the towel, posting to her blog on Friday, “I am no longer an employee of DC Public Schools, and for the first time in weeks, I feel like I can take a deep breath.” The news of her departure spread quickly around other teacher blogs, and sparked some strong reactions, ranging from the intensely supportive to near-abusive. DC Teacher Chic had been......

While Michelle Obama has said that no plans have been made yet, speculation has already started on where the girls will end up. (The new first daughters currently attend the private University of Chicago Lab School, in Hyde Park.) While preliminary guessing is placing bets on fancy private schools like Georgetown Day or Sidwell Friends (where Chelsea Clinton went), we’d suggest that the Obama family take a good look at some of the other options.......

Sixty-one DCPS schools are serving as polling places in the District today, in addition to following a normal academic schedule. (The Washington Teachers’ Union had asked schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee to close the schools for election day, but their request was denied.) According to a spokesperson for the District, additional security has been put in place to ensure the safety of students, and “guarantees” have been made for light and heat (although one would hope......

It's official. Last night, at approximately 11:50 p.m., the election was already over. With a 23-6 Redskins loss, the idiotic Redskins Rule tells us that Obama will take today's election. In an odd beginning to the matchup, Pittsburgh moved to strike first, attempting an onside kick right off the bat. It proved unsuccessful, and the Redskins turned the gamble into a quick three points. On the very next possession, the Redskins defense caused havoc, forcing......

Last Friday was payday for the 3,293 students at 15 D.C. middle schools who are enrolled in the District’s Capital Gains program. The pilot program, co-funded by the District and Harvard University, allows students to earn up to $100 every two weeks for meeting conditions based on good academics, attendance, and behavior. The average amount earned by students in the first pay period was $43, though district officials say they expect payouts to increase as......

Nationals fans are living in a brave new world this morning after the team completed its first second sweep of the season on Sunday, a home stand against the Cincinnati Reds. Most of the credit is going to new youngsters Emilio Bonifacio and Alberto Gonzalez, who have injected some much-needed energy into the Nats roster. But over at RotoNation, one blogger noticed a fan sporting an Obama-themed Nats jersey on Friday night. Coincidence? If Barack......

Relationships are hard. They're fun, they're weird, they're sometimes awful. For some reason, a bunch of overheards recently deal with male-female relationships. Maybe it's the birds and the bees, or the ridiculously hot weather and humidity just do something to people. Not always good somethings, though. Overheard of the Week Walking through Dupont Circle: Young female professional talking very loudly on her cell: "I can't believe you are seeing someone who beats people with a......

So you didn't make your way to Nissan Pavilion yesterday evening to hear Sen. Barack Obama launch his national campaign as the presumptive Democratic nominee for president (and give VP nominee watchers a lot to chew on by gushing all over Virginia Sen. Jim Webb, as captured in the YouTube video above). And you didn't get invited to Sen. Dianne Feinstein's house to eavesdrop on Obama and Sen. Hillary Clinton's secret meeting last night.......

The Post makes the right call on today's rally planned for Sen. Barack Obama at Nissan Pavilion is Bristow, Va. It's going to be a traffic nightmare of epic proportions. You thought the Radiohead debacle was bad? Imagine a free 6 p.m. event open to all comers that will kickoff a historic national campaign for president by a candidate with huge support from young, enthusiastic, politically-minded, college-educated Democrats in a metro area that has one......

We all know the effect that levels of federal funding have on transit around here (and, obviously, around the country). One only has to look to the way that the Federal Transit Administration has handled the development of the proposed Purple and Silver Lines to see it - public services toyed with by the fickle madam that is federal appropriations. Without the cash from the Feds (however small that apportionment may be), not much seems......

It's probably little surprise to you that Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) won the District of Columbia's Democratic presidential primary. Is it a surprise that the Senator won every last of the District's 142 voting precincts? According to preliminary results from the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics, that's the case. Though the map may appear as if Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) did well in many Northwest neighborhoods, she only managed to keep Obama under......

Good morning, Washington. Supporters of Gov. Mike Huckabee and Sen. Barack Obama are riding high off their caucus victories in Iowa last night, but locally, D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty continues to suffer some bumps in the road after one year in office. Just weeks after the resignation of Attorney General Linda Singer, Fenty's former deputy chief of staff, Neil Richardson, has also resigned. Richardson, who was a key Fenty aide during his mayoral campaign, had......

>> An early morning fire struck some vacant buildings located at 14th & Maryland. [Frozen Tropics] >> Could potential supporters of the D.C. Voting Rights bill in the Senate, such as Hillary Rodham Clinton, Barack Obama, Joe Biden and Chris Dodd, end up being out campaigning and miss the vote, thus leaving it open to a filibuster threat? [Free Ride] >> The D.C. Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs is trying revoke the business......

Londonist are starting to think their city is getting just a little bit too expensive, when even Christian Slater can't afford to go out there. And there's no escaping, as local singer Lily Allen discovered when she was barred entry to the US. The British mapping agency caused further bad karma, by blocking a 3-D representation of London in Google Earth. But the smiles returned to Londonist's faces as they interviewed Baroness von Reichardt,......

The Post's David Nakamura reports that Mayor Adrian Fenty plans to endorse Barack Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination. An official announcement has yet to come, but the actions of Fenty adviser Jim Hudson, who organized a fundraiser for Obama, suggest the mayor looks set to get behind the Illinois senator's campaign. Hudson collected $600,000 and endorsements from some of the mayor's more loyal D.C. Council members: Yvette Alexander (D-Ward 7), Muriel Bowser (D-Ward 4)......

We do hope you had a pleasant, relaxing, not too horribly hot weekend, Washington. Even if you didn't, chances are your Monday morning is shaping up to be less of a hassle than it is for the staff of Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA). Webb finally admitted over the weekend that he owns the gun that his aide, Phillip Thompson, was arrested for carrying into the Capitol in March. What kept him from clearing up......

The nicer the weather gets, the busier we get across the Ist-A-Verse. But we like being busy. Here's a peek at what we've been up to since last week! Chicagoist had an interview with Audrey Niffenegger, whose popular book, The Time Traveler's Wife, was based in their fine city. They also had a heated discussion about Rush Limbaugh's controversial Barack Obama parody, talked about whether Uncle Julio's Hacienda is a good place to get......

>> D.C. looks to be trapped in the middle of a presidential endorsement face-off, with Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine already firmly in the Sen. Barack Obama camp (the first governor to endorse the candidate), and Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley declaring his support for Sen. Hillary Clinton. Will D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty step into the fray with an endorsement of his own? >> Police have arrested a 12-year-old boy in connection to the "pins in the......

Yes, that's a fire hydrant that's become home to a swarm of bees on 16th and P Sts., NW. The note attached says a beekeeper has been called to take care of the problem. Anyone have some Raid? >> The DCist Department of Cryptozoology would like to propose formal protection for Bigfoot as an endangered species. One Canadian lawmaker is moving to do just that. Who else is picturing Marion Barry arguing for an......

Some D.C. powerbrokers are finding a new way to count time. Several clever entrepreneurs have created the Bush countdown clock, which measures the time left until the end of W's administration: January 20, 2009. The key chains are calibrated down to the second. The owner of Backwards Bush says he uses the clock as "a coping mechanism," and doesn't mean any disrespect. The trinkets have been appearing in the hands of Democrats all over the......

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......

Back in the day, people would gather to lobby, write letters and protest for a cause. These days, all it takes is access to a computer and a creative approach to using online tools. And while the fight for District voting rights has involved a good amount of old-school tactics, online activists have more resources at their disposal than ever before. Newly-elected Shadow Representative Mike Panetta has been leading this fight in recent years, employing......

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......

Spring appears to have, er, sprung, at least temporarily, in most of the Ist-A-Verse, so naturally, we're all feeling pretty good. (Yes, we know that spring doesn't officially start till later this month. Just let us enjoy our weather!) And that makes us that much more eager to share all of the nifty things we're up to... Over at Sampaist, spring has more than sprung: it's sweltering! But, as everyone knows, museums are an ideal......

Austinist gets arty with an interactive guide to SXSW, loved some local art galleries and a new art exhibit and lamented the possible loss of "Friday Night Lights" production to New Mexico. Bostonist was happy they finally found an Anna Nicole Smith connection to their fair city and that an Apple Store was opening up. They were less happy that new rules have been established limiting underage shows and that their Governor is spending......

After a 295-day hiatus, Tony Kornheiser is back live on the Washington airwaves. This morning, The Tony Kornheiser Show aired on Washington Post Radio (WTWP, 1500 AM and 107.7 FM). Kornheiser was lured away from Sports Talk 980 (his previous employer) and Dan Snyder's Red Zebra Broadcasting by a generous 3-year contract from WTWP. His return is expected not only to boost WaPo Radio's sagging ratings, but to bring some life to a moribund D.C.......

We'd like to start this week's run-down by wishing a very happy birthday to parent blog Gothamist, which turned four on Friday. If it wasn't for them, the rest of us wouldn't be here. They celebrated their birthday by nabbing an interview with Entourage star Adrian Grenier, who misses NYC public transportation when he's working in LA. They also reported on NYU students protesting a band whose name is also known as a slur,......

Many schools are still closed and roads and sidewalks still dangerously icy this morning as the region struggles to dig out of the winter storm that passed through earlier this week. Most of the really bad news continues to come out of the suburbs, where many homes are still without power, and injuries and at least one death have been reported. The Post has a good rundown of the extent of the metro area's ice......