Photo by Chris Rief aka Spodie OdieGood morning, Washington. Our best recommendation today? Don't plan on driving. Plenty of feet will maneuver within the confines of the District today, what with the National Marathon winding its way around town and an ANSWER anti-war demonstration march centralized near the White House. (Though some just couldn't wait the one more day to get their "mobile street dance party" brand of activism out there.) But we understand that the weather is far too nice to not go outside. So before wandering out, be sure to consult the list of bus delays and road closures for the Marathon. DDOT's got most any other piece of information that you might need to know about concerning getting around today, including Circulator detours and everything else.

In other news this morning:

>> We mentioned it a couple of days ago, but more details are trickling out about the proposed merger of H Street nightspots Palace of Wonders and The Red and the Black. From Black Plastic Bag: "the Red and Black Palace. That’s what nightlife mogul Joe Englert, an owner of the Red and the Black, wants to call it." (Wait, really?) Also: Englert is aiming for an opening in six months, the new venue would hold around 250 people, and would still feature both burlesque shows and live bands and DJs.

>> Michelle Rhee will tap former White House communications director and Democratic media consultant Anita Dunn to manage her media image, including assisting with the upcoming announcement of the new labor contract between the school district and the Washington Teachers' Union.

>> BGR The Burger Joint's Twitter feed says that production crews for Top Chef are already in town.

El Camino, 7th Street NW, Shaw © 2010 Matt Dunn

Photo via creative commons by flickr use evoque Thanks to a reader for sharing this email from the current owners: “The LaundroMutt needs new owners…or we will be closing our doors come April 30th, 2010. We, the owners, have found ourselves too busy with our other business commitments and must sell the LaundroMutt. We would very much like [...]

Park Place Metropole Michael Bonsby Heating and Air Conditioning Urban Pace Fine Homes What’s the deal DC? Past Tense Yoga Studio Capture a DC Moment – Park Place Apartments Duffy’s Irish Restaurant & Pub Quiet Mind Yoga The Looking Glass Lounge Kevin Wood, Realtor Fresh Off The Roast, Coffee Som Records Upper [...]

I don’t think this deserves a horse’s ass award at the moment because I think the building is looking rather nice. However, it has been in this state for a number of months. Do any nearby neighbors happen to know what’s going on?

I received a couple of renderings for the parcel that is set to be developed at 1421 Euclid Street, NW. Above is from Dantes Partners. The proposal above is for 37 rental apartments. You can see all the other renderings plus more info on the project here. Do you have [...]

This apartment is located at 1801 Calvert Street, NW: View Larger Map The Craigslist ad says: “Very comfortable one-bedroom apartment in the heart of Adams Morgan. Separate living and dining areas, central air conditioning, washer and dryer in unit, private balcony with city views and a roof deck in the building.” Does $1695 sound reasonable for this 1 [...]

Photo by PoPville flickr user jsmjr “Dear PoP, What is the value of a covered parking space between Logan and Dupont Circle? I’ve heard anywhere from 25-50k. Also, when determining price per sq ft for condos, is parking factored in (i.e. 650 sq. ft. condo at 400k = 615/sq ft, but 650 sq ft condo at 400k [...]

This picture from theraspberryexpress is wild. I can’t tell if it will be terrible or delicious… Submit your photos via email or to the PoPville flickr pool here.

This building is located at 2719 13th Street, NW: View Larger Map The flier says: “Living up to its reputation for unparalleled custom detailing, Brook Rose Development unveils a 2-year Columbia Heights restoration filled with intricate carpentry & finishes normally reserved for multi-million-dollar homes. One of only 2 units, this huge 2300 sqft 3BR 3BA + den duplex [...]

Photo by PoPville flickr user hohandy. Looks like the first bloom hit! You can talk about whatever is on your mind – quality of life issues, a beautiful tree you spotted, scuttlebutt, or any random questions/thoughts you may have. I’ll open this thread every Monday and Friday. So anything good happen to you this week? [...]

Photo from PoPville flickr user fromcaliw/love Griffin & Murphy, LLP, is a boutique law firm in Washington, D.C. concentrating its practice in real estate law (including development, finance, leasing, zoning and condominium conversions), as well as estate planning and probate, civil litigation, and business law. The attorneys of Griffin & Murphy, [...]

In real life, hipchickindc is licensed as a real estate broker in the District of Columbia, and as a real estate salesperson in Maryland. Unless specifically noted, neither she nor the company that she is affiliated with represented any of the parties or were directly involved in the transaction reported below. Unless otherwise [...]

Yesterday afternoon when I tweeted about how cool the Corehaus Design store is, it got me thinking about the best non restaurant/bar stores that have recently opened up in DC. It seems like every week we are talking about new restaurants and bars opening up in the city, which I think is great. [...]

Photo by Chris DiGiamo WMATA has released its schedule for public hearings on next year's budget proposal. The transit agency is facing a $189 million budget gap in fiscal year 2011, and a variety of fare hikes and service reductions are on the table.

Members of the public are invited to comment on those proposals (you can read through them all here) at six public hearings in March and April. All hearings are scheduled to begin at 7 p.m., with an open house conducted prior to each hearing at 6:30 p.m. Witnesses may register in writing by sending their name, address, telephone number and organization affiliation, if any, to the Office of the Secretary, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, 600 5th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20001. Requests may also be faxed to 202-962-1133 or e-mailed to public-hearing-testimony@wmata.com. The full hearing schedule is below the jump.

If you can't make it to one of the scheduled meetings, you can still let WMATA know what you think. They've put together an online survey, the results of which will be incorporated into the final staff report to Metro's Board due in April.

Monday, March 22
Hearing No. 548
Oakton High School Lecture Hall
2900 Sutton Road
Vienna, VA

Wednesday, March 24
Hearing No. 549
St. Francis Xavier Church, Bailey Room
2800 Pennsylvania Avenue SE
Washington, DC

Monday, March 29
Hearing No. 550
Mt. Calvary Baptist Church
5120 Whitfield Chapel Road
Lanham, MD
Shuttle service to the hearing will be provided by Prince George's County TheBus from the east side bus bays of the New Carrollton Metrorail station.

Wednesday, March 31
Hearing No. 551
Arlington County Board Room, 3rd Floor
2100 Clarendon Boulevard
Arlington, VA

Thursday, April 1
Hearing No. 552
All Souls Unitarian Church, Pierce Hall
1500 Harvard Street, NW
Washington, DC

Thursday, April 1
Hearing No. 553
Montgomery County Executive Office Building, Cafeteria
101 Monroe Street (entrance on Jefferson Street)
Rockville, MD

PoPville flickr user EmailRamon found the great sign above and I found the one below. It’s not as good as the one above but Cigars and Cheese just looked really funny to me:

From an email: I’m writing to pass along some information on a report released this week by D.C. Hunger Solutions called When Healthy Food is Out of Reach. The report found a wide discrepancy among the District’s neighborhoods in terms of availability of healthy food. Here are some of the key findings: * The ratio [...]

The regular contest above was indeed from the Radius on 13th St, NW. Congrats to Murdoch with: “That was a hell of a key party.” And the bonus contest winner for St. Paddy’s goes to MnomeNa with: “It wasn’t always so difficult to get a gay marriage license.” Runner up to darrinshane with: “If England see this our “special [...]

Som Records is gonna make lots of people happy and lots of people mad with this one. And we have a bonus album cover this week as Mom ‘n Pop antiques on Georgia recently changed theirs as well. Any relation to Jean Claude?

From top to bottom this photo is filled with incredible detail. And then I look at the sky blue vinyl siding on my house and sigh…