Top Stops
What's going on tonight?
Sound Bets
Music with a local flavor
Dine & Dash
D.C. eats in quick bites
Booze Clues
D.C. deals:drink them in
Off the Cuffs
Style and error
Broadcast Muse
Small screen, big ideas
The Reelist
Get a movie on
Baggage Check
Ask Dr. Andrea Bonior
Swengali
Sports talk with attitude
ON OUR WAY to catch the Red Line this morning, our neighborhood Express hawker looked pretty lonely. Commuter traffic has been pretty low today as many offices are closed for New Year's Eve. To observe the New Year's Day holiday, Express won't publish a print edition on Tuesday but will be back to business as usual on Wednesday. ReadExpress.com, too, will be taking Tuesday off, but we'll start anew on Wednesday as well.
Happy New Year and see you in 2008.
File photo by Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images
THAT'S IT for us this week. The crew at Express and readexpress.com is taking some time off, so all will be calm here and in news boxes on Monday and Tuesday. But check in with us on Wednesday when we'll be back in action, both in print and online.
In the meantime, have a nice weekend and happy holidays.
SO, YOU SAW the Express newspaper box cut-out on the cover of our Weekend Styles section today, but you came to a sad realization: newsprint isn't really a sturdy material for arts-and-crafts projects.
Worry not. We've got you covered.
Just click the link here and a printable pattern will open in a new window. Construct it in good health.
THERE'S A NEW FEATURE on our homepage that some of you might have noticed today: Sound Bets, a video module that's currently loaded with the dulcet tones of Rosie Thomas. The idea is to have a spot — easily accessible to all — where we can feature some of the music you've heard about, but might not have actually listened to yet.
Many of the featured artists will come directly from the pages of Express. Some won't. But the idea is to highlight a variety of acts that we think will interest you, tell you a few things about them and point you toward some places where you can do more digging if you'd like.
Thoughts? Ideas? Want to suggest a band? Let us know via e-mail at comments@readexpress.com.
Photo of D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty testifying before the D.C. Council on his proposal to take over the D.C. public schools by Gerald Martineau/The Washington Post
IT'S MARCH. That came up unexpectedly. What happened this week? Let's review ...
» We can't remember. Does the Omni Shoreham have mini bars in their suites?
» D.C. is filled with too many drivers and pedestrians who think they own the town.
» We can't remember. Does Mayor Adrian Fenty have a BlackBerry for every ward of the city? If so, the one for Ward 4 might not be properly charged.
» The "Java Jolt" case may not appeal to headline writers as much as the "McMissile" incident did, but it is far more serious.
» We wonder: When the Washington Monument was renovated in recent years, did they find the Egyptian sun god Ra inside?
» Perhaps D.C. should just be incorporated into Utah and we can call it a day.
» If we were standing any closer to the Metorail train doors during the Monday evening commute, we might have caused a big delay at Farragut North.
» Does inner-tube water polo involve post-game flip cup?
» FOR NEWS AND VIEWS over the weekend, check in with washingtonpost.com and Washington Post Radio.
Photo of Virginia Sen. John Warner listening to a news conference at Walter Reed Army Medical Center taken Friday by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
IT WAS A FOUR-DAY WORK WEEK for most everyone, but that doesn't mean the past few days have been light on news. Let's survey the week's happenings on ReadExpress.com.
» Everyone in Southwest, watch out for this!
» When is a flea market a mini-mall and when is a mini-mall a flea market?
» It got cold again. Time to head to Eastern Market and warm up when the summer crowds are nowhere to be found.
» If the District gets control of Meridian Hill Park, does that mean that Joan of Arc gets her sword back?
» Wouldn't it suck if you read on some blog that your beloved home's gonna meet a wrecking ball? Um, sorry.
» This Jack Osbourne lookalike needs to tuck in his shirt.
» We know how to get people to come to the sometimes-lackluster Fun Street: Have Virginia lawmakers make barnyard animal sounds.
» This sounds like a broken record.
» Yes! The streets of Woodley Park will be free of fake weaponry and costumes!
That's it for this week. We'll see you on Monday.
» MORE NEWS AND VIEWS are available at washingtonpost.com, Washington Post Radio and Slate.
Photo by Win McNamee/AFP/Getty Images
CONDOLEEZZA RICE just can't catch a break when she goes up to Capitol Hill. Anytime she testifies before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee these days, it seems the protesters are perfectly positioned within view of nearby cameras. When she was testifying on Thursday, pictured above, she certainly didn't look too pleased.
Anyhow, what happened this week? Let's review.
» What's one transit pet peeve of new Metro chief John Catoe? "Dirty buses and dirty trains." Commuters, you're on notice.
» Also, grab on. You might become an official straphanger.
» Hip hop is in decline, in case you didn't know.
» We hope that Rep. Jim Moran isn't feeling bad about not making it into Terry McAuliffe's book. (Weren't those mussels tasty?)
» Poor Alex Ovechkin. He not only has disappointed Capitals fans. He's also let himself down. Cheer up.
» Mmmmmm, chocolate and bourbon.
» A former Playboy playmate and celebrity litigant died on Thursday.
» Look carefully: There are sculptures coming out of the walls.
» Yet another last chance for a Tysons Corner rail tunnel.
» Don't have Valentine's Day plans? What about yoga for couples?
» Work near Farragut Square? Tell your boss that you're going out for a "coffee break."
Have a good weekend and see you next week.
» MORE NEWS AND VIEWS are available at washingtonpost.com, Washington Post Radio and Slate.
Lafayette Square across from the White House was cleared Friday morning after a car being checked by a bomb-sniffing dog was deemed suspicious. The White House Conference Center on Jackson Place was evacuated, but soon reopened. Photo by Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images
GOOD EVENING, WASHINGTON. Thanks for checking in with the new ReadExpress.com this week. We're slowly getting comfortable in our new home. We appreciate all those who have given us feedback. Most of all, we're excited about what's to come. But first, let's take a look back on this week.
» We plotted out options for one great evening on U Street NW.
» Metrobuses in D.C. will be getting a bit flashier.
» Just as Metro welcomed its new general manager, Farragut North seemed to be the most cursed spot on earth.
» You should really go see the Jasper Johns exhibition at the National Gallery of Art.
» Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine wants a Metrorail tunnel for Tysons, but knows it's out of reach.
» Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton lives on one of D.C.'s most sedate dead-ends, except for those times with Christopher Hitchens shows up with an army of Libertarians.
» Meet Jeff Daniels, renaissance man.
» We took a look at Ward 5's South Dakota Avenue corridor.
» Speaking of Ward 5, its former D.C. Council member, Vincent Orange, has a new job.
» Jack Bauer's low-key presence on "24" this week brought on some yawns.
» Meanwhile, on "American Idol" contestants tested our will to live.
» Most bathrooms are probably too small for this deluxe toilet.
» Mmmmm. Pizza.
Have a good weekend.
» MORE NEWS AND VIEWS are available from washingtonpost.com, Washington Post Radio and Slate.
» WHAT DO YOU THINK about our expanded site? Let us know at comments [at] readexpress [dot] com.
YOU MIGHT HAVE NOTICED that today's Readexpress.com homepage has changed a little. OK, a lot. So we wanted to take a minute to explain what's different and why.
Today's changes are a continuation of the experiment we started last May to bring Express to the Web. Back then we debuted a number of features — including our signature blog, Free Ride — which are all still a big part of what we'll bring you online.
What's new? An increased focus on local entertainment and lifestyles stories, aimed at helping you make the most of what's happening around town. Diversions such as the latest viral videos and celebrity news. An easy-to-use navigation system to get you to our story archives. And, yes, those games and puzzles so many of you have been asking for. We hope you like what we've done with the place.
Photo of a lone tourist at the Washington Monument on Wednesday by Karen Bleier/AFP/Getty Images
AFTER WEEKS OF ABNORMALLY warm temperatures — remember last weekend's 70-degree heat? — winter arrived in Washington this week, and, baby, it's cold outside.
So we hope you got all of your outdoor activities taken care of while the cold temps took a wrong turn at Albuquerque. Capital Weather says to expect temps to hover around the freezing mark for much of the weekend. And there's a chance for some light snow. We can hear the sounds of pounding feet heading for the grocery stores now.
So what else made news this week? Let's recap.
» Just in time for the winter chill, "American Idol" and "24" are back.
» "Scooter Beach" appears to be as swank a location as it sounds.
» What commuter doesn't want a good buttwarmer?
» It's National Clown Month. Yeah, we think it's creepy, too.
» Virginia might be earmarking lots of money for transportation. But when will commuters on I-66 or riders on the Orange and Blue lines see any relief?
» Should MySpace be doing more to protect underage users? The topic's generated quite a discussion.
» Kevin Bacon wants to bring you a degree closer to charity work.
» Wanna buy a strip club license?
» Denise Austin looks better at 50 than most 20-somethings we know.
» Patrick Ewing Jr. is gaining name recognition of his own.
» RIP, Art Buchwald.
That's it for us this week. Have a good weekend. We'll be back on Monday.
MORE NEWS AND VIEWS, as always, can be found at washingtonpost.com, Washington Post Radio and Slate.
Addison Road