Good morning, Washington. For two D.C. area men, seemingly innocuous backyard delicacies turned out to be "death caps" and "destroying angels." Catering to dangerous culinary whims, the men grew extremely ill after they ate mushrooms growing on their properties, which had flourished after heavy rains around the region. more ›

As we mentioned in today's morning roundup, it's been two years since the protests over the selection of Jane Fernandes as the president of Gallaudet University brought the country's premier higher learning institution for the deaf to a standstill. Well we missed this tidbit in the WaPo's District Extra this morning: the school yesterday announced it will begin a formal process to find a new president. more ›

The AP reported that D.C. police are investigating a suspicious substance found near Gallaudet University, and that the Ballard North Hall dorm on campus has been evacuated as a result. The Post's Paul Duggan says both Ballard North and Ballard West have been evacuated, and the substance in question, six boxes of plant fertilizer and pesticide, plus a light bulb, was discovered in the duct work above an unoccupied room in the Ballard North building. Some reports describe the chemicals as "bomb-making materials", but Assistant D.C. Police Chief Patrick Burke told the Post there may be a less sinister reason the fertilizer was hidden there — police think it's possible that someone at the school was secretly growing marijuana. more ›

Good theater isn't just about snappy dialog or an emotionally-wrenching plot. A new theater festival will prove just that when it showcases nonverbal theater for an audience of both deaf and hearing individuals. We think this is a feat worth driving to Baltimore to check out. more ›

>> Congress finally, finally went home. [The Hill] more ›

>> The Black Cat's backstage is going to be pumping out the punk noise tonight as Antelope stops by, with Thank You and The Andalusians. $8, 9 p.m. >> DC Scores, a local nonprofit that provides innovative after-school programming to Washington kids, is hosting its 10th Annual Poetry Slam tonight. The event will feature 300 of the District's public elementary and middle school students competing for the coveted Golden Mic trophy -- obviously it... more ›

Good morning, Washington. We always thought it might be sort of fun to suggest something totally off the wall about President Bush, like that he might, oh, hate your children and want them to die sick and alone. Now that he's gone ahead and confirmed it, it's hard to know where to go from here. Is there anything worse than sick and dying children? How about, President Bush is in league with the devil? While... more ›

Via Frozen Tropics, we find this story from Voice of the Hill about a recent change in policy at Gallaudet University, the nation's premier college for the deaf and hard of hearing in Northeast D.C. According to the story, Gallaudet recently extended its student code of conduct rules to include student behavior off campus after neighborhood residents lodged complaints about rowdy late-night parties hosted by students from the school. The change in rules has reportedly... more ›

>> The Rock and Roll Hotel welcomes the country's first deaf hip-hop group, locals Helix Boyz. Prince Darius and Sho Roc bring an energetic following from nearby Gallaudet University and fun beats that, as you might imagine, you can feel thumping in your body through the speakers. Doors at 8 p.m., $10. >> Daniel Levitin will be at Politics and Prose to discuss his latest book This is Your Brain on Music in conversation... more ›

MONDAY >> Three Stars alums The Chance and J. Forté + the Secret Pop Band, D.C.'s favorite lofi power-poppers, are playing a great double-bill (bothThree Stars veterans) at the Black Cat Backstage. 9 p.m. $6. TUESDAY >> Yet another revival of West Side Story comes to Wolf Trap and stays there until Sunday. Apparently it's the 50th anniversary. 8 p.m. with matinée shows at 2 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. $18-68. WEDNESDAY >> The Rock... more ›

We've joked about it before, but it really seems to be true: this town eats university presidents for lunch. Today comes word that the president of the University of the District of Columbia, William L. Pollard, resigned yesterday and will step down at the end of June after five years in at the public university. The Post reports that he was asked to leave by the university's board of trustees when his contract ends at... more ›

The new interim president of Gallaudet University, Dr. Robert R. Davila, was officially installed into office yesterday afternoon in an open ceremony at the school's Field House. It's unusual to have a formal ceremony to install an interim president, but we can all understand why the university chose to hold one. As you'll recall, last year Gallaudet's campus was taken over by student protestors upset with the appointment of Jane Fernandes as university president. While... more ›

Nestled between cherry blossom season and the influx of D.C.'s summer intern and tourist season is a hopeful time, when students turn away from keggers and exams to graduate into the real world -- at least in theory. For Washington's thousands of college seniors, this means job hunting, leaving the friendly confines of campus and the prospect of moving into your parents' basement. It also means a litany of platitudes, advice and well-wishes from commencement... more ›

And another good morning to you, D.C. Looks like it's going to be a fine, bright, sunny day in the city, with temperatures in the lower to mid 50s. But don't let our cheery outlook force you into being in a good mood too, especially if you were one of the unfortunate souls stuck in the 24-mile backup on the Outer Loop of the Beltway last night. Seriously, haven't we all already learned that slowing... more ›

Post chats have never been good for university presidents. Just last year American University's Ben Ladner was accused of cherry-picking questions to avoid anything below the level of fawning adoration, and yesterday embattled Gallaudet University president-select Jane K. Fernandes did her cause no justice by confirming what many of her detractors have claimed as her biggest flaws -- that she's divisive and insensitive. While saying she wanted there to be dialogue between her opponents and... more ›

So you're Jane Fernandes. In January you're set to take control of Gallaudet University, the nation's premiere institution of higher learning for deaf and hard-of-hearing students. But since your selection in May, it's been nothing but headache after headache. Students protested the decision until summer break, but showed surprising resolve and kicked off the protests again this semester. So far they've taken over a building, blocked all entrances to the campus, taken 133 arrests in... more ›

Good morning, Washington. It looks like it's going to be much warmer today, with the sun peeking out from behind those clouds later this afternoon. Hope those gray skies didn't fool you into dressing in too many layers like it did for us, because we're currently sitting here sweating at our desks with nary a promise of air conditioning at this time of year. If only we had some kind of web site we... more ›

It's easy to paint the protesters at Gallaudet University as young causeheads that have listened to too much Rage Against the Machine and idealistically mused on revolution. But theirs is not a battle to save the rain forest, stop sweatshops, or even impeach President George W. Bush. The continued intensity of their protest -- now in its second day of sucessfully locking down the Northeast campus -- is fueled by conflicts over culture, identity, and... more ›

Good morning, Washington. We hope you're as excited as we are to read about how we're going to have lower heating bills this winter, due to predictions of a mild winter ahead. Hooray! We think we'll put that extra money towards a nice vacation. But hey, errr, wait a minute. Does this mean we're not going to get any full snow days again this year? Noooooo! Increase in Crime on Metro Slowing?: The Examiner reports... more ›

Most of us can fondly look back on our college days and remember feeling intellectually invigorated and rebellious, hoping to use time between classes to protest against any institution that stepped in our way. Whether sweatshops or affirmative action, there was always something to rage against. Students in a number of District-based universities are carrying on that fine tradition, and in big ways. Early last year a group of Georgetown University students launched a hunger... more ›

We've seen this coming for some time, but it seems that Dan Tangherlini is finally going to get serious about getting rid of Metro's cushions and carpet. The Post notes, this morning, that vinyl floors will be tested this summer, but only in one pair of cars. Lots of interesting asides in the piece; I was not aware that the cushion and carpet "luxuries" were added to draw suburbanites out of their cars (thank goodness... more ›

Does it seem like there have been a lot of student protests recently at area universities? Fear not, tells us the Richmond Times-Dispatch, college students aren't about to march on Washington and demand the president's head. Sayeth the paper in an article published earlier this week: Students marched at Virginia Tech, chanted at Radford University and camped in a building at the University of Virginia last month. They also protested at the College of William... more ›

May 4 may well be remembered as the happiest day in D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams' political career. It is today, at 10 a.m., that Williams and new Nationals owner Ted Lerner will come together to break ground on the new $611 million stadium in Southeast. The Nats may have come back to Washington in September 2004, but their longevity in the city was consistently tested by bruising battles over stadium financing and team ownership,... more ›

Members of the D.C. Council aren't the types to stand up to double-parking churchgoers -- spare Jack Evans, whose ward includes Logan Circle and Shaw, a majority of the members of the council are backing D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams' plan to delay parking enforcement until August, reports the Washington Times. Members of the council exempted themselves from most of the city's parking regulations while on official business in July 2002. Mixed Results for Immigrant Boycott:... more ›

This post was written by Bobby Cox, who blogs at Deaf DC. Gallaudet University is located on Florida Avenue in Northeast. When I first visited D.C. in 1997, an earnest young man described Gallaudet this way: "It's an Oreo! You have the mixed, predominantly black population around the University and a creamy mass of white, deaf people in the middle!" Unfortunately for some, that creamy mass in the middle is ripe for the taking. Among... more ›

The Washington Times writes this morning that the D.C. Council is looking to crack down on prostitution in the District by allowing police to impound vehicles suspected of links to prostitutes and their clients, offering the police chief the ability to declare "prostitution-free zones," and closing a loophole in existing law that criminalizes the offer to buy or sell sex but not the act itself. Many of the changes are being pushed by residents... more ›

We spend plenty of time complaining about the state of the region's public transit network, be it delays on Metrorail, unpredictable arrival times for Metrobuses, or just too much traffic along area roadways. But at least we don't have to hitchhike to work. Today the Post features an entertaining feature on John Schindel, a Stafford County man whose decade-old DUI conviction has left him at the mercy of fellow motorists to get him to and... more ›

Don't get us wrong, we like public art initiatives. But this DCist (and we know many others) have grown somewhat tired of the animal-themed public art/charity fundraiser displays. We think they may have run their course. Sure, Pandamania and the Party Animals were great ways to showcase the talents of local artists, but in a city that also serves as a world capital, we would hope that there would be a little more investment in... more ›

President Bush in his most recent State of the Union address said that he wanted to support the development of an "ownership society" where every American stands to benefit from the pride of owning something, whether it be a strong investment portfolio or a ranch with lots of brush to clear. In New York, D.C., and elsewhere, this ownership society includes the giant real estate conglomerates that hold a great deal of power in how... more ›