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D.C. Masonic Lodge Loses License

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The long-awaited sequel to the Da Vinci Code is out in bookstores today.

Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol takes a look at freemasons and their connections to Washington. As the city and local masons brace for the spotlight, one Masonic lodge in Northeast D.C. is making headlines for altogether different reasons.

A press conference about a rash of violent incidents outside the King Solomon Temple Grand Lodge on Rhode Island Avenue never materialized Monday. The mayor's office says a scheduling conflict got in the way.

But that didn't prevent a confrontation between the Masons and some concerned neighbors who say the lodge has been hosting go-go band parties for teenagers that often get out of hand. Donna Moody lives down the street and says she has nothing against go-go music, she loves Chuck Brown. But she hates the underage parties. She's petitioning city leaders to shut down the lodge and told that to Earl Rogers, the Grand Secretary for the lodge.

A spokesman with D.C.'s Department of Consumer Affairs and Regulations says the city has decided not to renew the lodge's "public hall license." That means they can't rent the building out for teenage parties... or anything else.

Patrick Madden reports...

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