The downtown location of Gifford's Ice Cream (555 11th Street NW) hopes to reopen in about a week, following a temporary closure ordered by the D.C. Dept. of Health. more ›

The Safeway on Rhode Island Ave. NE reopened late Thursday, after a follow-up health department inspection deemed the store in compliance and all issues related to its vermin infestation corrected. The store had been temporarily shuttered on Wednesday evening after a routine inspection discovered evidence of rodents. more ›

Bats can do more than shape-shift and turn you into a vampire — they can also give you rabies! And Prince George's County health officials are now warning residents that they've recorded an increase in rabid bat activity in the area, the Post reports. Nine PG County bats have tested positive for rabies since the beginning of August, and at least one person has come into contact with one and been subsequently preemptively treated for rabies. County officials are urging residents to bat proof their homes by repairing any holes, using window screens and closing doors tightly. more ›

The Center for Science in the Public Interest has put out a report that says that many cities are not doing enough to inform citizens about the results of health inspections at restaurants. Predictably, the District is pretty high on the list of cities that the center feels need to be doing more. more ›

Mayor Adrian Fenty announced today he has named a new director of the D.C. Department of Health, and he has the basically the coolest name in the world: Dr. Pierre Vigilance. For serious, Dr. Vigilance is going to be looking out for our public health needs now. We eagerly await the announcement of his deputies, Dr. Alert and Dr. Watchful. 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, Washington. Here at DCist, we pride ourselves on providing a forum for law-abiding citizens to discuss issues facing our city, like development and crime, in as open and honest a manner as possible. We may give you our opinions from time to time as a way to get the ball rolling (OK, all the time), but we're always open to hearing from those of you who disagree. Except for right now. Anyone... more ›

Last week we checked out that hotbed of hard news, Inside Edition, as they visited our fair city and shined the bright light of truth on the District's rat problem. Today the Examiner reports from the front lines of the war on rodents and concludes that we're losing. From all four quadrants the perennial urban menaces -- sometimes the size of small dogs -- are scurrying about, causing various levels of disgust and panic. How... more ›