In April 2011, Antonio Davis was arrested during a protest on Capitol Hill. Almost a year later, he faces trial because the doctor-recommended marijuana he uses to mitigate the pain from AIDS registered on a court-mandated drug test. more ›

Recent statistics show that more people in the District are getting tested for HIV/AIDS, earlier. That's no reason to wait, though. more ›

A new report on the number of District residents living with HIV and AIDS showed that 3.2 percent of the city, triple the standard World Health Organization rate for an epidemic, still suffer from the afflictions -- but the report did note a decline in the number of new cases. more ›

Last spring, Washington became the first American city to organize a campaign to distribute free female condoms in areas of the city where HIV/AIDS infection rates were highest. The good news: the public-private D.C. Female Condom Project campaign -- given the catchphrase "DC’s Doin’ It!" -- has been fairly successful so far. According to statistics released earlier this week, 25,000 D.C. residents were made aware of the female condom during the program's first year. That figure includes 13,000 men who were made aware of the contraception's existence -- a rather impressive showing, considering that the D.C. HIV/AIDS Administration had assumed that zero fellas would take an interest in the contraception. more ›

This morning's big entertainment news was the death of actress Elizabeth Taylor, who died due to heart failure at the age of 79. The actress, who will be well-remembered for her roles in classic films like Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, her passion for jewelry and her eight marriages, was also a tireless advocate for AIDS-related causes. In fact, you've likely walked past one part of Taylor's charitable legacy several times -- the Whitman-Walker Clinic named their treatment facility at 1701 14th Street NW in Taylor's honor in 1993. more ›

The Whitman-Walker Clinic is extending National HIV Testing Day (NHTD) to a full week in D.C. NHTD, which takes place on June 27 this year, is a Department of Health & Human Services initiative to raise awareness of and to increase testing for HIV nationwide. more ›

Washington will be the first American city to distribute free female condoms in areas where HIV/AIDS rates are spiraling out of control, according to a report in this morning's Washington Post. Wards 1, 2, 3, 6 and 7 will see distribution points open in the next three weeks; female condoms will be available "[a]nywhere male condoms are available" in those areas. more ›

That there is some choice graffiti, documented by kobito. So, what the hell does that mean? Is it an honest-to-goodness public service announcement or a sort of vaguely sarcastic effort to reclaim the word AIDS from its tragic connotations? You see groups like AIDS Wolf and Black Nasty doing this reclamation work, citing AIDS in experimental and even comic gestures. And I'm sure there are more out there lurking in places like Portland, Oregon. Of course, maybe I just have it wrong, and Cat AIDS is a severe problem in Dupont Circle. more ›

Yesterday, the Whitman-Walker Clinic announced plans to restructure itself, with a focus on expanding its medical services. With the restructuring comes layoffs from within its nearly 240 member staff as early as today. WWC didn't specify how many would be let go, and published news reports currently give inconsistent figures; Metro Weekly says up to 10 percent of staff will be cut, while the Washington Post reports closer to 25 percent. more ›

Say what you will about the $515.7 billion spending bill the House of Representatives passed yesterday, there is a silver-lining for the District -- the ban on the use of public funds for needle-exchange programs was finally lifted. more ›

It's Friday, Washington, and reactions are still rolling in to Metro's approval of its largest fare hikes ever. We all knew this was coming, but we're curious to hear if any of our readers actually plan to make changes to their commuting habits come January 6, when the increases will go into effect. Do you think you'll ride Metro any less, or finally make the leap to using SmarTrip? Let us know in the comments. more ›

Good morning, Washington. We'll be standing by for a good chunk of the day to see what the Metro Board decides to do about the proposed fare hike - the Board is meeting at 11 a.m. for a session that is expected to produce a final vote on the fare hikes, which could go into effect as soon as January. Board members have indicated they would likely pass a fare hike that is slightly less than the current proposal. more ›

>> A fire forced students to evacuate a dorm at Catholic University. [NBC4] >> "NEWSFLASH: The Nazis killed millions of people. This gay rights organization raises money for AIDS research, breast cancer and the arts, among countless other charities." [Blade Blog] >> "Wizards players are donating $20,000 to a woman whose former boyfriend doused her with gasoline and set her on fire." [AP via WTOP] >> A D.C. man in his 50s was hit... more ›

The Onion's regular American Voices segment takes on the D.C. HIV/AIDS epidemic today, proving once again that there is no holy mad cow disease too sacred for America's Finest News Source. more ›

December 1 is World AIDS Day, and several vigils and protests are planned in D.C. today and through the weekend to mark the occasion. In the wake of the recent report by the D.C. HIV/AIDS Administration calling the HIV infection rate in the city "a modern epidemic," over 40 protesters are planning to drape themselves in red tape and stage a sit-in on the White House sidewalk by Lafayette Square at 2:30 p.m. this afternoon.... more ›

Good morning, Washington, and welcome back to work after a nice long holiday away. We hope you enjoyed your Thanksgiving vacation as much as we did ours. That is if you can take a long enough break from all the online shopping you'll supposedly be doing from your desk today to tell us about it. Stay tuned until the week before Christmas for your next update on the holiday shopping habits of Americans -- we... more ›

DCist's highly subjective and hardly comprehensive guide to the most interesting movies playing around town in the coming week. Indie: Romance & Cigarettes John Turturro's third film as a director is the sort that seems tailor made to become a cult classic. Not nearly polished or glamorous enough to be the sort of Broadway to big screen musical hit that Chicago or Hairspray was, it was too oddball to fit into the heads of most... more ›

Pie and helping people are two of our favorite things. Thanks to the folks at Food and Friends, the two are brought together with their Slice of Life program. The charity--which provides meals, groceries, and nutrition counseling to people in the D.C. area with AIDS, cancer, and other major illnesses--is holding a pie sale, just in time for Thanksgiving. Generous people (and pie lovers) can help out by purchasing their holiday pies from Food and... more ›

MONDAY >> Do you like screamo? How about metalcore? Us neither, but if you do, get yourself to the 9:30 Club, for Underoath and similarly sinisterly-named Every Time I Die, Poison the Well, Maylene and the Sons of Disaster, and Belle and Sebastian. Just kidding about the last one. 6 p.m., $18. TUESDAY >> Stevie Wonder needs no introduction. He's coming to the Verizon Center today. Tickets start at $68, so get your wallet ready.... more ›

Whether it was the driving beat of his Afrobeat music or his outspokenness on political issues, Fela Kuti made a statement. Having made such an impact, the fact that a decade after his death from AIDS–related complications he’s still revered shouldn’t be a surprise. His son, Femi, has done his part to keep his father’s work alive and so have numerous other artists. One of those artists, DJ Rich Medina, will deliver his own tribute... more ›

The condom saga continues, as community groups have returned as many as 70,000 of the D.C.-branded condoms provided by the health department. Despite assuring the public that the condoms, which bear the slogan "Coming Together to Stop HIV in D.C.", are safe and effective, the city eventually gave in and agreed to phase them out, agreeing that they were now so mistrusted as to no longer be effective, de facto. The uproar began when the Post published a story saying demand for the condoms had gone way down in recent months as people reported that the integrity of their packaging was questionable. more ›

The District was still defending its yellow-and-purple packaged condoms yesterday, but today Health Department officials are whistling a different tune. On the heels of news that the company that makes Trojans will donate 350,000 condoms to the city's HIV/AIDS outreach prevention program, officials are finally throwing in the towel on the old batch, which have been derided for having weak packaging that reportedly falls apart. The condoms, which bear the slogan "Coming Together to Stop... more ›

Good morning, D.C. Yesterday was just about the most beautiful day, weather-wise, that the city has seen in a long time, and today we're expecting more of the same. So is there anything on God's green Earth that could cause us to lose the attendant sunny dispositions we all naturally have as a result? Oh, drat. It's Thursday. Metro General Manager John Catoe will appear before Metro's Board of Directors today and recommend raising minimum... more ›

Bloggers across this fair nation thought they couldn't get a bigger gift from a Virginia senate race than they did last year, after the epic and appalling Macacaness of Sen. George Allen's eventual defeat to Sen. Jim Webb. But via Wonkette, it would seem we could all have been wrong. Rumors are flying that Pat "Homosexuality is Not Only Immoral, but Filthy" Buchanan is considering a run at the seat being vacated by Sen. John... more ›

We gave Mayor Fenty a hard time back in March for being so slow to get going on fighting HIV and AIDS in the District, which has the highest rate of infection of any city in the country. Eventually he did name who appears to be a good choice to run the city's HIV/AIDS agency last month, but a story in today's Washington Post detailing the problems plaguing the District's effort to give away 1 million condoms this year suggests a lack of leadership in HIV/AIDS prevention this year has had serious consequences. more ›

The Examiner reports on a $36,000 bill received by the organizers of the 2007 Capital Pride Festival from the D.C. police and the Emergency Management Agency, who say they need the money to pay for overtime and other costs for security incurred during the June festival. But the festival's organizers and some members of the D.C. Council are questioning the charges, since the agencies waived these same fees last year and other annual parades, like... more ›

>> Mayor Fenty has named Shannon Lee Hader, an epidemiologist and public health physician who has directed the U.S. AIDS program in Zimbabwe, to head the District's HIV/AIDS Administration. [WaPo] >> D.C. Law enforcement officials are trying to seize control of a house at 1923 Rhode Island Avenue NE, a long-time location for illicit activity. [WJLA] >> A small plane crash landed in the Hollywood area of St. Mary's County. Two of three passengers... more ›

Well, it's August, D.C. Temperatures will be peaking, news will be slowing, and the non-workaholics among us will be fleeing the city for less sweltering vacation spots. We're not saying you ought to panic, exactly, but there are definite signs that Summer '07 may not be endless after all. Better get going on all that relaxing you had planned. PG County Cop Indicted For Murder: Seven months ago two Marlo employees made a delivery... more ›

By DCist contributor W Jacarl Melton Femi Kuti performs tonight at the 9:30 Club. Doors at 9 p.m. $25 Following in your father’s footsteps isn’t easy because there will be the inevitable comparisons, especially if your dad was a musical vanguard. Femi Kuti can’t avoid the path his father, Fela, blazed so he’s decided to embrace it and further his family’s legacy in Afrobeat. It goes without saying that Fela Kuti was one of those... more ›

Good morning, Washington. Did you stay up late arguing the finer points of last night's Democratic presidential debate at Howard University? Or were you just hoping to get a table at Busboys and Poets but unable to shove your way through the crowd? Shaw and the U Street corridor were overrun with Democratic political operatives last night ... which really probably isn't any different than any other night. But forget about the substance of the... more ›