Seems like the hot weather has brought out the awkwardness and passive aggressiveness in people. Then again, this is D.C., so those characteristics are never hard to find. But it's still fun to hear people putting their feet in their mouths more than usual, for our amusement. Overheard of the Week: At the Columbia Heights Target: A 20-something couple are in the closet and storage section. She points to some hideaway bins. Woman, sweetly and......

>> Three students at a controversial Massachusetts clinic where D.C. special education students have been farmed out for years were mistakenly subjected to electric shock treatments as part of a prank. [Examiner] >> A woman was shot outside the Brightwood Supermarket on the 100 block of Kennedy Street NW. Police said she was a bystander caught in a drive-by shooting. [NBC4] >> "Oh yeah, Linden would kill me if I didn't add that DDOT......

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.......

Good morning, Washington. It's news of the weird day today on DCist, as the Post tells the bizarre story of two 2nd-year engineering students from U-Va. who have been charged with the kidnapping of a man in Tysons Corner and demanding $500,000 in ransom. Both the two kidnappers and the victim are Chinese nationals who had been living with host families in Virginia while attending college. Police arrested Guanyu Lu and Baichuan Shu, both 19,......

Good morning, Washington. Not too upset about the coming Metro fare hike, are we? WJLA is reporting that only four people showed up to last night's hearing on the measure. Of course, the meeting was held way out in Reston and was only the first of six opportunities that Metro riders will have to voice their opinion on the price increase. Maybe you're just biding your time. Tax Scandal Grows Even Bigger: This is......

Welcome back to work, Washington. We don't know about you, but we spent an awfully long time in the sun this weekend consuming too much food at various street festivals, so forgive us if we're still groggily pondering Saturday's news in WaPo that the fare change about to be proposed by Metro General Manager John Catoe is an "average increase" of 45 cents. That kind of increase would theoretically raise the base fare of a......

Tonight on the season final of ESPN's Friday Night Fights, D.C. native Lamont Peterson (21-0 with 9 KOs) will fight Frankie Santos (15-3-3 with 7 KOs). Peterson has quickly risen in the Light Welterweight division and is currently ranked 7th by the WBO and 5th by the WBC. ESPN's Joe Tessitore just declared Lamont the Prospect of the Year. Lamont and his brother Anthony were abandoned by their parents at an young age. Both were......

Happy first weekend of September - and happy Labor Day weekend, too, for our American cities! Let's take a look at what's been happening around the Ist-a-verse. The deaths of two firefighters shook Bostonist this week. Boston's firefighters bent over backwards all week long - first, they fought flames pouring from the Boston Tea Party museum, and then a restaurant fire killed two and injured many more. Their efforts make everything else - like Tom......

>> Idaho Sen. Larry Craig will announce his plans Saturday amid calls from his GOP colleagues for his resignation. [AP via MSNBC] >> What would you do if a homeless person set up camp on your stoop? [Prince of Petworth] >> Fewer people will be driving out of town this weekend than is typical for Labor Day. [WaPo] >> The MPD has advised that there will be an authorized fly - over the District......

Exciting news this fine morning for the many Washingtonians who draw their paychecks from the USDA — you may still be paid after you die. The Post reports that the The U.S. Department of Agriculture distributed $1.1 billion over seven years to the estates or companies of dead people, though granted, they were actually all farmers instead of government employees. Now we just have to figure out the best way to pretend to be a......

Good morning, Washington. It's hot again out there today, with highs expected in the upper 90s, and folks in the city are understandably getting a little hot under the collar. Take Duane Stillions, who ABC7 reports was attacked by a pit bull on July 4 while walking his two small dogs. One of his dogs, Molly, a ten-pound Bichon Frise, is hospitalized in intensive care at a cost of $1,000 a day, and Stillions is......

One would easily peg Rhea, a looming, witch-like matriarch who can haunt both your dreams and reality, as the central villain of Birds, now being staged by Rorschach Theater. But the piece has another, more abstract source of fear and genuine creepiness — a haunted Manhattan itself, where magic makes an unwelcome appearance. In this New York, a vagrant can take your fortune along with your coat, and the loss of a lock of hair......

Since 2003, D.C. residents have been able to pick up a copy of the now bi-monthly newspaper Street Sense from a local vendor for a dollar. Inside, one finds in-depth reporting on issues of homelessness and poverty, profiles of vendors -- members of the homeless who make 75 cents off every paper sold -- information on services by shelters, veterans groups and other organizations, book reviews (the current issue tackles John Edwards' Ending Poverty in......

The Examiner reports that renovations are underway at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library, the central branch of the D.C. Public Public system. The improvements come after former Mayor Anthony Williams' proposal to replace the building with a new flagship library two blocks away on the site of the old convention center was first tabled by the D.C. Council and then shelved by the Fenty administration. Improvements to the outdated and long-neglected MLK Library......

RAMMY's All Around! Sunday was the Restaurant Area of Metropolitan Washington's 25th annual RAMMY awards, the local dining scene's big gala event. 1,500 people packed the Marriott in Woodley Park, listened to speeches, clapped for the winners, danced like teenage hooligans, and probably drank more booze than they wanted to/were happy about the next day. But, why else would so many people get together in one place? Oh, the awards? Yeah, I'll get to them.......

Holy smokes! Giant fish on the MTA, Paris Hilton in jail, then out, then in again, Al Gore, goatses, blumpkins, Matt Damon, and baby art critics! It's been a busy week across the Ist-A-Verse, and here's a smattering of what's been going on. In Gothamist's neck of the woods, they found out that many things are possible: A man caught a 40+ pound fish off the Rockaways and took it home on the subway. Graffiti......

Four properties on 9th St. NW that are owned by Shiloh Baptist Church have been officially condemned by the city. Notices on the buildings indicate the city’s Board for the Condemnation of Insanitary Buildings considers the properties “in such insanitary condition as to endanger the health or the lives of the occupants thereof and/or persons in the vicinity.” Shiloh's vacant properties have been a subject of heated debate within one of the most acrimonious ANCs......

There have been many great performers in Music Land, for example Bono, Freddie Mercury, and Madonna, just to name a few. There are also many folks who go out of their way to exude cool via ironic t-shirts purchased at Urban Outfitters and meticulously unkempt hair. It’s one thing to dance with a pretty girl in the audience, but how many rock stars put a guitar in her hands and then proceed to wrap their......

Via City Desk, the excellent homeless publication Street Sense scooped everyone on a big story about the potential closing of the District's largest family shelter, D.C. Village Family Emergency Shelter in southwest Washington. Under a new city proposal, the shelter could close sometime this fall, to be replaced by a bus operations center for WMATA in advance of the opening of the new Nationals stadium. From Street Sense: ...more than 350 ... people - mothers,......

If you've been itching for a day of pampering but can't seem to justify the cost after sending in that check to the IRS, DCist found the perfect excuse. Thursday, Washington women are invited to Beauty Night Out, a event highlighting style and beauty trends along with facials, hair consultations and cocktails. Best of all, a portion of the proceeds from the to do benefit Dress for Success, a program to help disadvantaged women flourish......

Well Washington, it's been a fun week, but this Friday the 13th leaves us a little jittery. To combat any bad mojo, we decided to start the day on a bright note are share a snapshot of DCist headquarters, or at least a reasonable facsimile therein. Reader Lara Marks-Finder sent us this yummy scene in response to the Post's Peep diorama contest. She also accurately depicts the inner workings of D.C.'s other top-notch blogs.......

We know that despite the grumbling, despite the lack of voting rights, despite the indie rock neighborhood battles to the death, even despite the fashion sense or lack thereof, you guys love this town just as much as we do. That's why this year we're starting our own team for the Greater Washington Servathon 2007, the massive, annual volunteer event presented by Greater DC Cares and AOL. In addition to volunteering our time on either......

It's still pretty slushy out there, so we thought we'd give you all a friendly reminder to please shovel the sidewalk in front of your house. Not only does taking care of your sidewalk demonstrate that you're a good neighbor, it's also the cold, hard law. From the DC Emergency Management Agency: Clear snow and ice from sidewalks and steps next to your home and/or business. DC law requires residents to remove snow from sidewalks......

Texas is thawing, the Northeast is freezing, and a sort of natural order seems almost restored to the Ist-A-Verse. Almost. Londonist HQ—that is to say, the city of London—was battered by heavy winds, making it a bad time to be a twelve-meter (nearly forty-foot) tall snowman. Still, not everyone decided to keep warmly covered. Meanwhile, back indoors, the Big Brother racism is now causing all kinds of headaches for international diplomats, and Londonist got into......

Back in October, we reported on a weekly comedy showcase at the 18th Street hangout Bossa that went homeless after some beef between the venue's managers and the show's emcees. It was a sad day for many budding Washington comics, since the Thursday nights at Bossa had a Dead Poets Society-meets-Cheers camaraderie. It felt like home for the comics and Bossa regulars. At DCist, we crossed our fingers that the word would spread, and another......

Hope you didn't stay up too late debating the President's speech with friends last night, Washington. We stayed up a bit past our bedtimes ourselves, mostly pondering the rhetorical significance of the difference between the phrases "mistakes were made", and "where mistakes have been made". Either way, we take full responsibility for any mistakes that were/have been made in this morning roundup, which was completed with the known unknown of the amount of sleep we......

Good morning, Washington. The good news: it looks like we'll get to hang on to this warm weather for a bit longer. The bad: well, look out your window. Today might be a good day to resign yourself to the lousy food court in the building, eat at your desk, and try to get your holiday shopping done. There are only three more days before those celebrating Christmas will need to pay Amazon for express......

Good morning, Washington. We apologize: it's not even December, and here we are running pictures of Christmas trees. But everyone else is doing it! More than one area radio station has already switched to 24x7 holiday music, and trees and tinsel are popping up everywhere. It's hard to resist when Flickrites like lancehayden start putting up appealing shots of the yuletide frenzy. Fairfax Restricts Handouts For The Homeless: It's getting tougher to feed the......

Morning, fair DCist readers. How was your weekend? Did you do any of the numerous activities in the area, like the homeless walkathon, or celebrating an elephant's fifth birthday? Did you go on a fruitless hunt for the elusive Wii? Or perhaps you got married in a Roman castle? You could have signed with the Cubs for $136 million! Whatever you did, we hope it was excellent. The start of this week seems to......

>> Is that a branch of Rock Creek or is Q St. just happy to see us? It's wet out there and many D.C. streets and sidewalks are swelling over. Parts of our area are still under siege from a storm front that turned deadly in N.C . A flash flood and tornado watch for D.C. should expire at 6 p.m., but don't expect to find completely dry conditions on the commute home. Elsewhere, Stafford,......