<?xml version="1.0" encoding="iso-8859-1" ?><rss version="2.0"><channel><title>washingtonpost.com - D.C.</title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/metro/columns/offthebeat/dc?nav=rss_metro/columns/offthebeat/dc</link><description>D.C.</description><language>en-us</language><ttl>15</ttl><image><title>washingtonpost.com</title><width>140</width><height>20</height><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com</link><url>http://media.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/hp/image/wp_web.gif</url></image><item><title><![CDATA[In Ward 8, Groundbreaking Is a Symbol of a Sea Change]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A13000-2005Apr24.html?nav=rss_metro/columns/offthebeat/dc</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A13000-2005Apr24.html?nav=rss_metro/columns/offthebeat/dc</guid><pubDate>Sun, 24 Apr 2005 8:21:05 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[ To write about economic development in Washington these days is to get weekly, sometimes daily, media alerts announcing groundbreakings, ribbon-cuttings and other small reminders of the city's seemingly unstoppable construction boom.]]></description><author> Debbi Wilgoren</author></item><item><title><![CDATA[Catania Helps Effi Barry Find a Reason to Stay]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A60045-2005Apr17.html?nav=rss_metro/columns/offthebeat/dc</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A60045-2005Apr17.html?nav=rss_metro/columns/offthebeat/dc</guid><pubDate>Sun, 24 Apr 2005 8:21:05 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[  Effi Barry was about to pack her bags to move to South Carolina for a college teaching  position last fall, when D.C. Council member David A. Catania called.]]></description><author> Yolanda Woodlee</author></item><item><title><![CDATA[Turning D.C. Into an International Cause]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A41036-2005Apr10.html?nav=rss_metro/columns/offthebeat/dc</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A41036-2005Apr10.html?nav=rss_metro/columns/offthebeat/dc</guid><pubDate>Sun, 24 Apr 2005 8:21:05 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[   An election observation mission from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, better known as the Helsinki Commission, has reported that the United States denies full representation and voting rights to residents of the District of Columbia.]]></description><author> Spencer S. Hsu</author></item><item><title><![CDATA[As Charter Movement Grows, So Does Variety of School Proposals]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A22436-2005Apr3.html?nav=rss_metro/columns/offthebeat/dc</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A22436-2005Apr3.html?nav=rss_metro/columns/offthebeat/dc</guid><pubDate>Sun, 24 Apr 2005 8:21:05 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[  One proposed school would cater strictly to boys, offering them a hands-on, fast-paced curriculum that would address their styles of learning.]]></description><author> V. Dion Haynes</author></item><item><title><![CDATA[For AU Students, a Case Study in Social Chance]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A4278-2005Mar27.html?nav=rss_metro/columns/offthebeat/dc</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A4278-2005Mar27.html?nav=rss_metro/columns/offthebeat/dc</guid><pubDate>Sun, 24 Apr 2005 8:21:05 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[  The proposed baseball stadium  on the Anacostia waterfront has been talked about as a state-of-the-art sports facility, an icon of Washington architecture, a driver of economic development and a drain on public resources.]]></description><author> David Nakamura</author></item><item><title><![CDATA[Fliers Spotlight Capitol Hill's Baseball-and-Bullets Dichotomy]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A50847-2005Mar20.html?nav=rss_metro/columns/offthebeat/dc</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A50847-2005Mar20.html?nav=rss_metro/columns/offthebeat/dc</guid><pubDate>Sun, 24 Apr 2005 8:21:05 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[   Aflier advertising bulletproof vests that "give sure-fire protection throughout the District of Columbia" is taped to a lamppost near a Chinese carryout at 15th and C streets in Southeast Washington, where gaggles of drug dealers openly operate on the corner.]]></description><author> Serge F. Kovaleski</author></item><item><title><![CDATA[E-Mail Sites Enlist Neighborhood Crime Fighters]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A30808-2005Mar13.html?nav=rss_metro/columns/offthebeat/dc</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A30808-2005Mar13.html?nav=rss_metro/columns/offthebeat/dc</guid><pubDate>Sun, 24 Apr 2005 8:21:05 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[   When a resident of Northwest Washington's Brightwood Park neighborhood grew frustrated over drug dealing near her home last month, she got on her computer, signed on to a police-sponsored bulletin board and pleaded for help.]]></description><author> Del Quentin Wilber</author></item><item><title><![CDATA[Council Voices Skepticism in Approving Start-Up Funds for Initiative]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A10926-2005Mar6.html?nav=rss_metro/columns/offthebeat/dc</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A10926-2005Mar6.html?nav=rss_metro/columns/offthebeat/dc</guid><pubDate>Sun, 24 Apr 2005 8:21:05 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[  Mayor Anthony A. Williams's Anacostia Waterfront Initiative -- a 20-year, multibillion-dollar plan to transform the city's long-standing fault line -- has won praise from urban planning and development experts across the city and around the world.]]></description><author> Debbi Wilgoren</author></item><item><title><![CDATA[Witness Protection Unit Fights Plague of Intimidation]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A57116-2005Feb27.html?nav=rss_metro/columns/offthebeat/dc</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A57116-2005Feb27.html?nav=rss_metro/columns/offthebeat/dc</guid><pubDate>Sun, 24 Apr 2005 8:21:05 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[  When she began her career as a prosecutor in D.C. Superior Court in 1990, Heather Cartwright knew what motivated her most: the looks of relief on crime victims' faces when they were safe and those who had hurt them were convicted and punished.]]></description><author> Carol D. Leonnig</author></item><item><title><![CDATA[Jazz Concert Among Enticements for  Voucher Program]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A2055-2005Feb6.html?nav=rss_metro/columns/offthebeat/dc</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A2055-2005Feb6.html?nav=rss_metro/columns/offthebeat/dc</guid><pubDate>Sun, 24 Apr 2005 8:21:05 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[  The challenge is to create buzz for an inherently dry topic: school vouchers.]]></description><author></author></item><item><title><![CDATA[Behind Closed Doors, a Broad Agenda Takes Shape]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A48220-2005Jan30.html?nav=rss_metro/columns/offthebeat/dc</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A48220-2005Jan30.html?nav=rss_metro/columns/offthebeat/dc</guid><pubDate>Sun, 24 Apr 2005 8:21:05 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[  From all accounts, it was the city's elected leaders doing their best to discuss the most pressing problems facing the District.]]></description><author> Eric M. Weiss</author></item><item><title><![CDATA[Scientist on Roundabout Journey to Crime Lab]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A29993-2005Jan23.html?nav=rss_metro/columns/offthebeat/dc</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A29993-2005Jan23.html?nav=rss_metro/columns/offthebeat/dc</guid><pubDate>Sun, 24 Apr 2005 8:21:05 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[ Kevin Miller  received his bachelor's degree in physiology from Cornell University and  his master's degree in veterinary pathophysiology from the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine. He got his  doctorate in molecular anthropology from the University of Cambridge in England.]]></description><author> Del Quentin Wilber</author></item><item><title><![CDATA[Group Seeks Inclusion of Sites Important to Gay Community]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A13140-2005Jan16.html?nav=rss_metro/columns/offthebeat/dc</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A13140-2005Jan16.html?nav=rss_metro/columns/offthebeat/dc</guid><pubDate>Sun, 24 Apr 2005 8:21:05 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[  Neighborhood and community history is increasingly celebrated in the nation's capital, as blighted buildings are reclaimed and revived by residents -- old and new -- who are fascinated by the buildings' pasts and convinced that others will be, too.]]></description><author> Debbi Wilgoren</author></item><item><title><![CDATA[Feasts and Festivities Can Hold Some Hazards]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A10877-2004Dec18.html?nav=rss_metro/columns/offthebeat/dc</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A10877-2004Dec18.html?nav=rss_metro/columns/offthebeat/dc</guid><pubDate>Sun, 24 Apr 2005 8:21:05 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[   Dinner tables laden with hams and cream sauces and heavenly ambrosia. Buffet spreads crowded with delectable enticements. The festive scenes! The myriad offerings! The potential for danger.]]></description><author> Susan Levine</author></item><item><title><![CDATA[Capturing Information, Imaginations on Comprehensive Web Site]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A58234-2004Dec11.html?nav=rss_metro/columns/offthebeat/dc</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A58234-2004Dec11.html?nav=rss_metro/columns/offthebeat/dc</guid><pubDate>Sun, 24 Apr 2005 8:21:05 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[  The National Zoo used to have a disparate collection of Web sites, including those maintained by the zoo, its research center in Virginia and its education and fundraising arm, Friends of the National Zoo.]]></description><author> Karlyn Barker</author></item><item><title><![CDATA[Battle With Homelessness Fought on Twin Fronts]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A36695-2004Dec5.html?nav=rss_metro/columns/offthebeat/dc</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A36695-2004Dec5.html?nav=rss_metro/columns/offthebeat/dc</guid><pubDate>Sun, 24 Apr 2005 8:21:05 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[   Controversy bubbled up this spring when the District closed the homeless shelter at the Gales School and opened up beds in a new facility in Northeast, but it was short-lived. In contrast, closure of the shelter at the Randall School in Southwest a month ago  and the planned sale of the building to the Corcoran Museum of Art for $6.2 million continue to reverberate and have led to protests and arrests.]]></description><author> Theola S. Labbe</author></item><item><title><![CDATA[Three Universities Will Participate in Test of Meter System]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A17377-2004Nov28.html?nav=rss_metro/columns/offthebeat/dc</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A17377-2004Nov28.html?nav=rss_metro/columns/offthebeat/dc</guid><pubDate>Sun, 24 Apr 2005 8:21:05 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[ The Williams administration has enlisted three universities in the District to help test fare meters in taxis, with the goal of replacing the zone-based system used by cabdrivers since the Depression era.]]></description><author> Serge F. Kovaleski</author></item><item><title><![CDATA[Old Convention Center to Go Out With a Bang, Bang, Bang . . .]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A1400-2004Nov21.html?nav=rss_metro/columns/offthebeat/dc</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A1400-2004Nov21.html?nav=rss_metro/columns/offthebeat/dc</guid><pubDate>Sun, 24 Apr 2005 8:21:05 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[  It took about three years for construction crews to erect Washington's old convention center at 11th Street and New York Avenue NW in the early 1980s.]]></description><author> Manny Fernandez</author></item><item><title><![CDATA[Studying for a Bachelor's to Go With the Badge]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A48442-2004Nov13.html?nav=rss_metro/columns/offthebeat/dc</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A48442-2004Nov13.html?nav=rss_metro/columns/offthebeat/dc</guid><pubDate>Sun, 24 Apr 2005 8:21:05 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[  Shirley J. Johnson, a 27-year veteran of the U.S. Capitol Police, had dreamed about returning to school and gaining a degree. After high school, she studied for a year at Colorado State University, but she   didn't graduate, much to her regret.]]></description><author> Nicole Fuller</author></item><item><title><![CDATA[Acting Head of Agency Lauded as a 'Breath of Fresh Air']]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A13134-2004Oct31.html?nav=rss_metro/columns/offthebeat/dc</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A13134-2004Oct31.html?nav=rss_metro/columns/offthebeat/dc</guid><pubDate>Sun, 24 Apr 2005 8:21:05 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[ Last summer, Deborah Gist agreed -- with little  enthusiasm -- to a request from her boss, D.C. Mayor Anthony A. Williams, to take over an important city agency that had become the target of so much criticism that its director had been forced to quit.]]></description><author> Valerie Strauss</author></item></channel></rss>