After a fire gutted Eastern Market last April, the stretch of 7th Street SE adjacent to the market building was closed off on weekends to accommodate vendors, construction of the temporary East Hall and reconstruction of the South Hall. In an interview on WTOP (link to audiostream) last week, Ward 6 Council member Tommy Wells said he wants to keep 7th Street that way. The Hill picked up the story on Wednesday, and the Hilleast......

WMATA has put out a release to remind everyone that the first in a series of six planned public hearings on the proposed Metro fare hike is tonight. All six hearings start at 7 p.m., with open-houses beginning at 6:30 p.m. before each one. Tonight's hearing is in Reston, at the Bechtel Conference Center, which is at 1801 Alexander Bell Drive. To get there, take the Orange line to the West Falls Church station, and......

Local LGBT activists are upset over a document distributed by the Washington Nationals, according to City Desk. The document details the team's Vendor Procurement Program and features Major League Baseball's affirmative action policy, which includes this portion:The Licensee shall not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment or against any service recipient or applicant for services because of race, color, ethnic status, religion, sex, age, national origin, disable veteran status, Vietnam era veteran status,......

By DCist Contributor Stephanie Taylor Halloween is fast approaching, and because the scariest day of the year was inconsiderate enough to fall mid-week this year, much of the drunken pin the rib on the skeleton madness begins next weekend. But the District has very few true costume shops. If you've sorted through your closet and still haven't found a winner for this year's costume, we thought we'd offer a few suggestions as to where to......

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 Washington Times brings us the most, ahem, alarming piece of news we've seen this morning: that D.C. fire officials are investigating whether some firefighters have been running a prostitution ring out of several of the city's firehouses. Around a dozen employees from at least four firehouses are being investigated for involvement in the prostitution ring, which fire officials first learned of after a criminal investigation last month into claims that a sergeant exposed himself......

Matchbox Coming to the Hill As if we needed any more proof that Barracks Row is flexing its muscle in bringing business to the Hill. But, we have it anyway. Last week's TomChat gave us the news that Matchbox, the over-popular Gallery Place pizza and mini-burger heaven, has signed a lease for a second location along Barracks Row—521 8th Street SE to be precise. According to Tom, the owner expects the new place to open......

In response to the record temperatures outside, the District has opened eight of its public swimming pools today. If for some reason you're free for the rest of the afternoon, head on down to cool off.: The following pools were opened until 6 p.m.: * Fort Lincoln (3201 Fort Lincoln Drive NE) * Fort Stanton (1800 Erie St. SE) * Benning Park (5300 Fitch St. SE) * Kenilworth-Parkside (4300 Anacostia Ave. NE) * Fort......

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.......

Two men were wounded in a drive-by shooting on Euclid near 17th Street NW in Adams Morgan on Saturday afternoon, but both have now been released from the hospital. Neighborhood resident Sebastian Renaud, who was walking with his girlfriend, was shot below the armpit, while John Brown, who lives on 18th Street SE, was shot in the left big toe and was walking with another man who may have been the intended target. Councilmember Jim......

You can just about make out the strains of the Carpenters' classic tune "We've Only Just Begun" humming in the air down around the new stadium development in S.E. these days. Wait, no, that song is about falling in love. Whoops. I think we meant something more like "I Hate You" by Slayer. It's so easy to get those two mixed up. Yesterday, at its last meeting before taking their summer recess, the D.C. City......

All this month, the Kennedy Center is hosting the Festival of China, with a full schedule of concerts, exhibits, and other events. Although many do not really fall under the rubric of our Classical Music Agenda, we are leading off our suggestions for you with Chinese concerts. FESTIVAL OF CHINA: >> There are some interesting dance companies performing at the Kennedy Center this week, beginning with the National Ballet of China, in the Kennedy Center's......

In 2002, this DCist moved to the far eastern reaches of Capitol Hill. At the time, 8th Street SE, which passes nearby the popular Eastern Market and in front of the Marine Barracks, was a worn down stretch of road, hardly a place you'd want to be caught at night. Three years and $8.5 million later, the roadway, at right, now known as the Barracks Row Main Street, boasts brick sidewalks, improved lighting, increased parking,......

Love or hate the idea of a new ballpark in Southeast, the design process is moving full steam ahead. Today's Post featured stadium architect Joseph Spear of HOK Sport, outlining his vision and sketches for the stadium. Spear's plan calls for a V-shaped facade, with one face constructed of stone and glass, and the other a steel and glass facade. The ballpark incorporates a view of the Anacostia, pays homage to D.C.'s monumental core, and......

It'll be a party this evening on Barracks Row, the stretch of Eighth Street SE that'll be celebrating its Great American Main Street Award -- a great honor for its revitalizing streetscaping project. The festivities kick off at the Old Siam Restaurant (406 Eighth St. SE) at 6 p.m. with appetizers and drinks. While its name may have "Old" in it, Old Siam is the newest restaurant on the strip. In the process to revitalize......

Since DCist's resident gastronaut Kanishka Gangopadhyay is off to St. Louis this week for work-related business, he delegated the weekly task of food commentary and critique to someone with an un-trained, un-sophisticated palette. After all, he wouldn't want someone one-upping him, would he? Much like last week, Capitol Hill seems to have cornered the market for food-related news. Barracks Row Dine Around: Barracks Row, the newly-renovated and ever-so-hip stretch of Eighth Street SE, is celebrating......

Has any stretch of real estate in D.C. turned itself around as quickly as Barracks Row? In just over six years the stretch of Eighth Street SE south of Eastern Market and north of M Street SE. has seen rapid development changing the area from one infested with drug traffic and petty crime to a vibrant thoroughfare. Sure, the space still has some bleak spots, including a Popeye's with astonishingly bad service (even for a......

Attention gardeners, neighborhood groups or garden clubs: If you are a District resident and are in need of mulch for your garden, the D.C. Department of Public Works wants to give you some for free. Through Nov. 1, mulch will be sitting at the corner of New Jersey Avenue and K Street SE. Residents are allowed to fill three 30-gallon bags of the stuff and truck it home. It's free but you must do the......

Giant Food and joint-venture developers CHR LLC announced yesterday that a long-awaited 63,000 square-foot Giant supermarket/pharmacy will open in the Camp Simms area of Southeast (near Alabama Avenue and 15th Street SE) in spring 2006. The supermarket, whose planned construction in Ward 8 dates back at least five years, will stand alongside 25 acres worth of commercial development, worth some $37.5 million, in an area notoriously short on retail options. Attracting Giant, to Ward 8......

(Classical music agenda contributed by Charles T. Downey of Ionarts) Want to hear something classical to impress your family and friends? At DCist, we have some quick picks for you, and can you say free concerts? That's right, Washington has more excellent classical music to be heard for free than probably anywhere else, and we're here to tell you about it. For more information, see our Concert Schedule at Ionarts. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS: >> Free......

While the sun may be shining on Capitol Hill right now (as you can see in this DDOT traffic camera shot from Pennsylvania Avenue and Second Street SE) it won't be a pretty weekend -- so much more reason to head over to the Washington Convention Center tomorrow or Sunday and drop $71 for the Sixth Annual D.C. International Wine & Food Festival. (More details on this and more to come in our weekend picks,......

Good morning, Washington. The weather today is supposed to be frigidly chilly this morning with temperatures later rising into the 40s, according to Capital Weather. Drew McDermott's recent photo of the Virginia Square metrorail station entrance seems timely considering this morning's first item ... A Transit Surplus and a Rate Hike?: Thanks to a 4 percent increase in subway ridership and a 10 percent increase in bus ridership, WMATA officials have gleefully announced they......

Barracks Row already has already added a fine dining restaurant, a martini bar, and an Irish pub new to its list of offerings on Eighth Street SE. And now comes Graig Glufling, former chef at Matchbox, bringing classic American comfort food to The Ugly Mug, his new bar on the Row. When DCist says new, we do mean new. The Ugly Mug opened on Dec. 30. Tom Sietsema remarked in his weekly chat that when......

One of the forgotten voices in the debate over the public financing of the proposed South Capitol Street baseball stadium is the gay community. Down that way are a number of gay-oriented businesses, just a stones throw from Capitol Hill on the other side of the Southeast Freeway in an area made of mainly of warehouses, empty lots. The Blade writes that "[t]hree gay bars and three gay adult entertainment businesses, including a video arcade......

The third annual Barracks Row festival will be held this Saturday from 11-5, on, you guessed it, Barracks Row. The festival will feature musical performances; a dog show; and over 70 vendors selling art work, gift items, and food. If you haven't been to Barracks Row and are curious, this is the perfect opportunity to see what some have (perhaps a little prematurely) called "the next Georgetown." The Barracks Row strip (the 500-700 blocks of......

There's lots going on this weekend. What are you up to? FRIDAY: -- "Team America: World Police" opens tonight at theaters everywhere. Reviews from the NYT, Post, Rotten Tomatoes -- Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players at Iota in Arlington, $12 -- Grand opening of Eclipse, an "electro, industrial, darkwave, alternative" dance night slated for the second Friday of the month at Between Friends (11th and U St). Resident DJs include Dirty B, MindCage, MissGuided, and Ras......

Kayti Didriksen's notorious painting of President Bush, "Man of Leisure: King George" (which was originally part of the City Museum's "Funky Furniture" exhibition until deemed unsuitable for public display) can now be seen at Modern ARF in Clarendon. -- This evening, head to the next installment of Artful Evenings at the Phillips Collection. Elizabeth Hutton Turner, the curator of the newly opened exhibit "Calder Miró," will lead a discussion of the visual dialogue between the......

A malfunctioning home alarm system has been driving residents on Capitol Hill batty recently, as its owners aren't home and the alarm company doesn't have contact information. Neighbors have resorted to trying to smother the alarm with towels. The Metropolitan Police tells the W.Times that all it can do is make sure the property is secure, but can't break into the house to shut the system down. Pepco says it can't shut power off to......