Occupying the Franklin School may have been easy, but figuring out what to do with it in the long run isn't. more ›

What's the difference between a homeless encampment and the protesters at McPherson Square and Freedom Plaza? Not much beyond the First Amendment, it seems. more ›

Arlington County would rather pay now, than pay more later. As part of the 100 Homes campaign, volunteers and county workers surveyed 153 homeless people in one week as part of an effort to identify the most vulnerable people on the street and place them in housing as soon as possible. more ›

Anyone who lives or frequents the 14th Street NW corridor between Logan Circle and U Street has surely seen Michael, the man whose belongings have been piled up on the corner of 14th and Corcoran Streets NW for at least a couple of years. Michael isn't a panhandler -- personally, I've never heard him ask for anything from anyone passing by, let alone money -- but his pile of belongings, which includes furniture, clothing, and other various supplies depending on the season, had prompted questions about blight in a corridor that is still undergoing a major transition. more ›

Yesterday, the National Alliance to End Homelessness released its annual report on the State of Homelessness in America -- and the news for the District and the country as a whole is not good. According to the study, D.C. joined 31 states which experienced an increase in its overall homeless population. Meanwhile, the homeless population in the United States rose by 20,000 people between 2008 and 2009, a three percent increase. more ›

Seriously, this has to be one of the best D.C. Council exchanges ever. Here's Harry Thomas, Jr. (D-Ward 5), during the debate this afternoon over a bill that would institute residency requirements for homeless people to access the city's shelters, which ended up passing by a 9-4 vote. more ›

Sister Mary Ann Luby, who had served the District's homeless population for the last 27 years, died at her home last night after an very short battle with cancer. She was 70. You don't look very hard to realize just how amazing a woman Sister Mary Ann was; in a short eulogy, Patty Mullahy Fugere of the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless, where Sister Mary Ann had worked in an outreach capacity since 1995, summarized that she "challenged us to be faithful to the people whom we serve." Sister Mary Ann's passing will be a big loss for the D.C. homeless advocacy community, especially in a time when budget concerns have some suggesting cuts to the city's safety net programs. more ›

Morning DC. Looks like we're in for another beautiful fall day - pretty perfect for ye old Tweed Ride, which will roll through DC this afternoon. If you want to join in donning your Sunday best, there's still time to register. more ›

The District is facing a tight budget crunch, and most, if not all, of its homeless shelters are filled to the brim with people looking for a place to sleep every night. Combine those two situations with high unemployment rates, and its obvious that the District is taking in more homeless individuals than it can bear, given the current allotment of funds. more ›

So here's something to make you smile on this Friday morning -- about 100 kids and a smattering of adults from Meridian Public Charter School, marching down U Street, enthusiastically encouraging people to help the homeless. more ›

18 street soccer teams from around the country have once again descended upon D.C. for the 2010 Street Soccer USA Cup. The free tournament is being played all weekend at the current Washington Kastles team tennis stadium, located at 11th and H Streets, NW, within the parking lot. more ›

I'd be shocked if I had to remind any of you who are reading this right now to not open fire hyrdants when it gets hotter than blazes outside. But, yeah, don't open fire hydrants. Instead, if you or someone you're with starts to overheat, the District has cooling centers where you can go and enjoy air conditioning, a nice drink of water and just take a break from the intensity of the sun baring down on you like we've jumped past Venus in the pecking order. Here's where you can take a chill pill in D.C.: more ›

I've had an office job for years. If I've learned anything, it's that once the boss starts throwing around official statements coded with phrases like "asked to find efficiencies," "leverage resources," and "decreased...revenues," well, you've got problems. D.C. Department of Human Services Director Clarence Carter released such a statement yesterday regarding the massive cuts in homeless services slated in the District's 2010 budget. Carter still appears to toe the Fenty administration line of "what cuts?", confidently stating that D.C. will be able to "meet the full demand for homeless services during the hypothermia season." Unfortunately, in his attempt to put ten coats of wax on this particular budgetary Yugo, he forgot that plenty of homeless service providers are already seeing large reductions in the amount of their contracted work with the city -- and anyone with experience in any sort of corporate setting will read Carter's statement with serious trepidation about the state of D.C.'s homeless services in the year to come. Hey, at least we're certainly not alone in wondering about what Carter thought he was clarifying here, other than burying a sack of incredibly bad news with plenty of heavy semantics. more ›

Councilmember Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6) has sure had a busy start to his autumn. First, he came to the defense of disabled Segway riders who wanted to ride on the sidewalk. Then, he battled the oppressive governmental restrictions on raising chickens in your backyard. Now, all he has to do is work around the District's $20 million reduction in funding for homeless services in the budget for fiscal year 2010, a move that could be quite problematic for the District's network of homeless shelters and service providers. more ›

Last weekend, teams from 16 cities around the country descended on Washington to participate in the 2009 Street Soccer USA Cup, and DCist's Martin Locraft was there to capture the action. But these weren't your typical weekend footballers: 160 homeless men and women made up the teams that battled it out at a specially converted Kastles Stadium. Street Soccer USA, one of many organizations focused on eradicating homelessness and poverty via the beautiful game, put together the tournament, which was tightly contested. And rightfully so: the best eight players from the tournament would be selected to represent the United States in the Homeless World Cup in Milan this September. San Francisco ended up lifting the Leonsis Trophy (named after Caps owner and big Street Soccer USA supporter Ted Leonsis) after a thrilling affair against Minneapolis, but local sides were also competitive - Montgomery County's entry finished in third place. more ›

Despite the weather, it's been quite the unpleasant weekend for local organizations in the wake of Mayor Fenty's newest 2010 budget revision, released late on Friday. Fenty cut approximately $12 million in earmarks for community nonprofits in this version, leaving the budget with a total of $8.3 million in grants for nonprofits -- a significant decrease from the $47 million that was handed out last year. more ›

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. more ›

>> 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] 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. 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,... more ›

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... more ›

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... more ›

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. more ›

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... more ›

>> 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... more ›

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... more ›

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... more ›

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... more ›

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... more ›

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... more ›