In one of the most dramatic signs of escalating tension between the District and the Occupy D.C. encampment at McPherson Square, Mayor Vince Gray penned a terse letter to the National Park Service yesterday asking that occupiers be moved to Freedom Plaza so that the city could clean and rehabilitate the park. more ›

There have long been concerns over health and sanitation at the Occupy D.C. encampment at McPherson Square, but how bad are things really? Pretty awful, according to a D.C. health official. more ›

If you're wondering why the Wilson Building looks redder than usual this evening, it's because the District is joining in today's commemoration of World AIDS Day by hosting a number of events and shining red lights on the home of the city's government. more ›

If you put enough people outside for a long enough time during the cold months, someone will eventually get sick. For Occupy DC protesters and the District's health officials, this reality underlies the ongoing challenge of maintaining healthy encampments as the weather turns. more ›

17 hopeful medical marijuana dispensers submitted applications for licenses to the D.C. Department of Health this week. more ›

The Washington Times' Tom Howell reports that hopefuls for licenses to run the five medical marijuana dispensaries in the District will have until October 31 to get their applications in. more ›

A few weeks ago, an audit of the District's Department of Health showed that the city had not applied proper oversight on a $10 million grant program designed to benefit HIV/AIDS residential services. Turns out that at least some of that money was allegedly spent on building a strip club. more ›

How can the District implement the city's long-overdue medical marijuana program while limiting their legal liability? Simple -- fine print. more ›

Today, the D.C. Department of Health announced that it was opening a month-long application process for the 10 cultivation centers that will be part of the city's slowly evolving medical marijuana program. more ›

As we reported yesterday, the District remains one of the few places in the country where tattooing and piercing are unlicensed and largely unregulated, a libertarian reality that seems to buck the city's reputation for being heavy on government regulations. That could change as early as this fall. more ›

Those jumping into the medical marijuana business in the District include both individuals and organizations, seasoned professionals and budding entrepreneurs. But so far, there aren't that many of them. more ›

United Medical Center has been at the forefront of a legislative battle in recent weeks, as Mayor Vince Gray and the D.C. Council determine whether to privatize the financially-troubled hospital or keep it under city control. But the hospital itself is fighting a similarly-frustrating battle inside its walls: against bed bugs. more ›

Yesterday, we noted that the District of Columbia Department of Health was going to be testing doctors as part of an initiative aimed to get the word out about HIV/AIDS in D.C. Another big part of that initiative is DOH's "The Rubber Revolution" campaign, which aims to inform people how to use and procure the contraceptives. We're always in favor of getting the word out and are excited to see that the Department had a good time putting it together. Look at those funky 70s fonts! more ›

Bed bugs are obviously an growing concern in the District. We did our best to try and answer your questions about them in our Q & A last week with a certified expert. But the D.C. Department of Health obviously wants to move the discourse further, and so they have planned a "bed bug summit" for January 13, 2011. The summit, which will feature several speakers and will be held at 441 4th Street NW, has the rather flowery title of "Bed Bugs Are Changing Our World." Of course, bed bugs have been around since at least 400 BCE (or circa 77 CE, depending on whether you find Greek or the Roman texts more credible) -- so we'll imagine that no matter what's said at the summit, bed bugs will keep on "changing our world" for some time. RSVP here if you're interested in spending a Saturday learning about the bloodsucking parasites. more ›

After my initial pancake-related excitement over this announcement regarding hiring at the new IHOP in the DCUSA complex simmered down, my eye drifted to the "note of importance" at the bottom: applicants with a "food handlers license" would receive special consideration during the hiring process. Seems like this is pretty standard language in job announcements for the food services industry around town. Of course, I had just one question: how do you actually go about getting one of these licenses? more ›

They say ignorance is bliss and perhaps visiting D.C. Department of Health’s new foray into transparency isn’t for the faint of heart. For the adventuresome souls among us, D.C. health officials have put health inspections notices from the past three years online. “This website was developed so you may learn more about the food establishments from the perspective of safe food handling, or food safety,” says a statement on the site. more ›

The wait is finally over for healthy adults aged 25-64: you too will now be able to receive an H1N1 vaccine in the District of Columbia, regardless of whether you have a preexisting condition. The D.C. Department of Health announced today that this final expansion of eligibility goes into effect on Monday, December 13. more ›

The D.C. Department of Health announced Thursday that it is reducing the hours and frequency of its free H1N1 vaccine clinics in order to be able to send more doses to doctor's offices and community health centers. DOH says that over 11,000 people have been served in D.C.'s clinics in the past two weeks. more ›

It was just earlier this week that Prince George's County was warning its residents of a marked increase in rabid bat activity, and now the District of Columbia Department of Health is following suit. The rabid bat menace has reached D.C.'s borders. more ›

The Going Out Gurus had the skinny yesterday on why popular downtown lunch spot The Breadline got temporarily shut down by the D.C. Dept. of Health at the end of last week:

"Operating without a valid license, operating with incorrect hot and cold holding temps for potentially hazardous foods that do not comply with the food code and could not be corrected at the time of the inspection. Failing to minimize the presence of vermin on the premises and operating a food establishment with circumstances that may endanger the public health."

The official press release from the District regarding the two probable cases of swine flu at George Washington University is below. Unlike the Obama advance guy and the World Bank employee, both of whom live in Maryland, these two cases are being counted in the District proper. Note that the city is directing residents to www.doh.dc.gov for further updates and information. more ›

In 2006 it was Glover Park, and before that, Dupont Circle, but NBC4 reports that the D.C. Department of Health has officially declared Tenleytown to be the rat hotspot of this year. more ›