Prescott Moore Lassman's End of Pew, from a series about congregants at the All Souls Church. Copyright the artist. Image courtesy of the City Hall Art Collection. In 2006, local artist Sondra N. Arkin was given an enviable but extremely difficult job: acquire the defining volume of works that captured the breadth and scope of D.C. art to display in HeART of DC, the City Hall Art Collection at the John A. Wilson Building.......

Over at Huffington Post, Andrea Batista Schlesinger of the Drum Major Institute has a nice roundup of what she thinks are the best public policy initiatives of 2007. Number six on her list is the D.C. Voting Rights Act, and she has a solid grasp on why congressional representation for the District is so important:Eleanor Holmes Norton, D.C's indomitable delegate, can debate with the best of them, but without the D.C. Voting Rights Act, neither......

When in the closing days of 2006 we looked back on the year in D.C. voting rights, we optimistically hoped that 2007 would finally be the year that saw some movement on enfranchising the District's residents. Movement, yes; resolution, not so much. So as we wind down 2007, we're again left hoping that maybe the coming year will be the one. The primary mover in the D.C. voting rights movement in 2007 was legislation......

Christmas seems to have come early for the District. Yesterday we reported that a congressional ban on needle-exchange programs was finally lifted and that we were getting our D.C. postmark back. Today we find out that the District will join the other 50 states and get its own quarter. Buried in a larger article in the Post on a $515.7 billion spending bill that allocates funds for the District, the announcement was made with almost......

Remember those billboards that popped up in the 1980s that counted up the national debt, dollar by dollar? Pretty scary, huh? Well, District voting rights activists want something similar for their cause. Today the D.C. Council held a hearing on legislation that would allow the city to place two large LED billboards -- one outside the John A. Wilson Building and the other outside the new Washington Nationals stadium -- that would display the amount......

DC for Marriage, an eight-month-old group advocating same-sex marriage rights in the District, will hold a "Marriage Equality Community Forum" tomorrow night at 7 p.m. in room 412 of the Wilson Building. This is the group's first public event, which is co-sponsored by several local LGBT organizations including the DC Center, DC Black Pride, AQUA DC, and the Sexual Minority Youth Assistance League, among others. Yesterday, DC for Marriage announced Sabrina Sojourner, the first open......

If the powers that be think we're going to go easily or quietly, they're wrong. The Post today exposed a devious little plan to chip away at the District's identity, starting with phasing out the city's postmark and replacing it instead with one bearing the name of our northern neighbor, Maryland. According to a Post study, of 235 letters mailed from every quadrant and zip code within city limits, only 24 -- 10 percent --......

Sure, it's December and we're all preoccupied with holiday cheer and making plans for that one New Year's party that will finally be worth the all the hype. But even though they've suffered some setbacks this year, D.C. voting rights activists are pushing the cause through the holiday season. On Thursday, December 6, the D.C. Council will hold a hearing to consider legislation that would place large electronic billboards outside the John A. Wilson Building......

The overwhelming consensus so far at today's D.C. Council hearing on the recent theft of what looks to be $30 million-plus from the District's tax coffers? The scandal has damaged the reputation of the city government, and the council members are pissed. While most statements have clung to the nasty tidbits of information we already know (the enormity of the crime, that an auditor's warnings may have been ignored) and palliative cliches, council members provided......

Given his position as chairman of the committee that oversees transportation and the D.C. Taxicab Commission, we knew headline-loving Ward 1 D.C. Council member Jim Graham wouldn't pass up an opportunity to create his own spectacle in the wake of Mayor Adrian Fenty's announcement about the transition to taxi meters. But it seems as though Graham was only able to muster up the resources to put together a 2 p.m. public roundtable at the Wilson......

Perhaps Mayor Adrian Fenty has already made up his mind on the great zone vs. meter debate, and he's just waiting until tomorrow to announce his decision for dramatic effect. But we think the odds are pretty good that he's still mulling it over as we type. Wednesday, October 17 is the deadline imposed by Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), who inserted the provision in legislation last fall that forces Fenty to either switch to time......

>> There is absolutely no truth to the rumor that Jenna Welch Bush, daughter of President and Mrs. George W. Bush, plans to honeymoon with fiancé Henry C. Hager at historic Guantanamo, Cuba. [NotionsCapital] >> When are we going to get our library? [Bloomingdale (for now)] >> Prozac needed at Wilson Building. [City Desk] >> Driving to work at NIH: teh suck. [WTOP] >> Are our iPods killing us? [RawFisher] Photo by krisetya......

You know what they say -- better one scandal too late than never at all. We've received word from the office of Council member Jim Graham (D-Ward 1) that tomorrow afternoon he'll be hosting a public roundtable on the Water and Sewer Agency, which has had something of a rough year so far. Reads an email from Graham: I will be holding a public roundtable on the status of the public water main system in......

>> The Smithsonian American Art Museum honors the winners of the Lucelia Artist Award over the past six years with its new exhibition opening tomorrow. The highly prestigious award gives $25,000 to an artist under 50 who has "consistently demonstrated exceptional creativity." See the six winners every day from from 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. The 2007 winner will be revealed tomorrow when the exhibit opens. >> If you haven't had the chance yet......

After a wave of public outcry over the killing of 14-year-old DeOnté Rawlings by two off-duty D.C. police officers in Southeast Monday night, the city has asked the U.S. attorney's office to take over the investigation into what exactly happened. Officials have now identified the officers involved as James Haskel, a member of the department's helicopter unit, who fired the fatal shot, and Anthony Clay, who is assigned to the police training academy. More details......

And so it was -- the U.S. Senate voted today 57-42 in favor of closing debate on legislation that would grant the District a voting seat in the House of Representatives, three short of what was needed to prevent a Republican-led filibuster. The measure, which passed the House in April, is now likely dead, and another attempt to correct a 200-year injustice has been thwarted. Of course, the legislation could be re-introduced, but it won't......

Anyone wishing to pay their respects to former D.C. First Lady Effi Barry, who died from complications related to leukemia last week, can stop by the Wilson Building today, where her body is lying in repose. Viewing began at 10 a.m. and goes until midnight tonight, and will also occur on Friday morning from 6 a.m. until 9 a.m. If you plan to go late tonight, remember that Metro will be running until 2 a.m.......

>> President Bush is set to announce plans to reduce the American troop presence in Iraq by around 30,000 by next summer -- which is the same, pre-surge level it was about nine months ago. [AP via WTOP] >> D.C. firefighters put out a fire in the parking garage at Union Station this morning. [AP via WTOP] >> The 2007 American League of Lobbyists Hoops for Hope Charity Game is tonight at GW's Smith Center,......

D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty may be seen by his constituency as young, technologically savvy and constantly making personal appearances at even the smallest neighborhood events. But unlike his pal up in New York, rarely can he be seen riding public transportation, preferring to be whisked around town in his big, black Lincoln Navigator. And we're willing to concede that it probably makes more sense for the most part, seeing as how Fenty needs to......

>> ABC 7 reporter Kris Van Cleave is interested in your trash. [City Desk] >> D.C. paramedics treated 12 city employees who were overcome by exhaust fumes this morning. [WaPo] >> An ornate gold medal depicting an eagle, commissioned by George Washington and later presented to the Marquis de Lafayette, is to be sold at auction later this year. [AP] >> Metro General Manager John Catoe: ""The amount of the (fare) increase is something......

We've spent plenty of time debating whether or not the District's taxicabs should stick to the zone system or join the rest of the modern world and employ meters. Last year, Congress passed legislation giving the District until this October to switch to meters, and more recently, the D.C. Taxicab Commission released a study that found that on average, meters were cheaper. Of course, cab drivers have long opposed the prospect of a switch, and......

It was just last week that we pondered the usual post-Fourth of July question -- what should the District do about the annual DIY firework displays that help mark America's independence? Council member Jim Graham (D-Ward 1) may have an answer. Today Graham is introducing legislation that would severely restrict the use of fireworks and prohibit their sale. According to a press release from Graham's office, "The bill requires a permit for the display of......

>> Ben's Chili Bowl is set to expand. [Examiner] >> Tickets to see David Beckham play with the L.A. Galaxy versus D.C. United go on sale Monday. [SoccerInsider] >> Deputy Mayor for Education Victor Reinoso was robbed of his briefcase, cellphone and wallet at gunpoint last night in Takoma. Reinoso was uninjured and his briefcase was later recovered, but he had a hard time gaining access to the Wilson Building this morning without ID.......

Four hundred thousand people drive into D.C. each day for work and for fun, and the fact that none of them pays for the traffic and pollution they create has peeved more than a few city denizens. Asking drivers to cough up a few bucks to access our fair city is not a new idea, with everyone from local residents to the Post's Marc Fisher airing the idea out. Even Mayor Fenty (following the lead......

DCist is currently recruiting new contributors to join our fast-paced, exciting, fun-filled blogging lifestyle. Do you love to write almost as much as you love Washington, D.C.? Think your style would fit in with ours? We want to hear from you. These are the positions we're currently looking to fill -- and by positions, we of course don't mean we can actually pay you cold hard cash, but rather the opportunity to join our community,......

It was an awfully busy day for the D.C. Council Tuesday, so we thought we'd give you a quick glance at everything that went down in yesterday's session. >> As expected after a 9-2 committee vote earlier in the day, the Council voted by the same margin to approve Mayor Fenty's takeover plan for D.C. Public Schools yesterday. The council will need to give final approval in a second vote, and Congress is of course......

Happy Mardi Gras, Washington. Great news for all those planning to expose themselves to garner beads! (We're unsure if any local bars enforce such strict bead acquisition standards, but you can let us know in comments.) It's already above freezing and temps are heading up to 50 today. That's right, the big five-oh. We predict the risk of falling on your ass will be reduced by 76% by the evening commute. Of course, now we've......

Happy Thursday, Washington. Thursdays, as we all well know, are the day of the week when the working weary of D.C. first begin to cast their wistful eyes on the coming weekend, perchance even to plan an evening of alcohol consumption on lo this very night -- because waiting for tomorrow seems so far away, and even if we stumble into work on Friday a little hung over, eh, it's only one day before we......

Last year ended on a bit of a sour note for District voting rights, but activists aren't letting a little bad news stop them. After being stymied by Republican leaders in the closing weeks of the 109th Congress, Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.) and D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton re-introduced legislation on January 9 to grant the District one voting seat in the House of Representatives. The legislation, known as the Fair and Equal House Voting......

Time to put on your bow ties and ball gowns, because it's inaugural season — at least it is here in D.C., where Mayor-elect Adrian Fenty is planning on holding an inaugural ball January 2. And guess what? You're invited! Yes, you. I know; we feel special too. Starting today at 9 a.m. and going till 6 p.m., free tickets to the inaugural ball will be handed out in the rear lobby of the Frank......