Tuesday and today Howard University is hosting the Children's Defense Fund National Summit, which includes panel discussions on the Cradle to Prison Pipeline® Initiative, a project that seeks to end the cycle of poor minority children ending up destined to be shuffled in and out of the country's prison system. Yesterday Bill Cosby appeared on a panel titled "The Need for Personal and Community Responsibility" in conjunction with the summit, along with NPR's Juan... more ›

>> Mark this day, D.C. It took a full 37 days for us to use the "Marion Barry in trouble with the law again" keystroke in 2007. Federal prosecutors are asking that the Councilman's probation in his tax-evasion case be revoked. They say Barry has failed to meet the terms of his plea agreement by not paying back taxes and not filing again in 2005. After being convicted on federal charges of not paying taxes between 1999 and 2004, is it really that easy for 2005 to slip your mind? It's unclear how much jail time Barry could face and what that would mean for his position as Ward 8 Councilman. [Washington Post] more ›

FRIDAY: more ›

Twenty-four-year-old actor and writer Josh Lefkowitz is sleeping on a couch in Columbia Heights these days, but he's hardly down on his luck. After leaving D.C. last year in search of performance opportunities in New York, he's found himself in the back warm embrace of the District, this time in the form of the Capital Fringe Festival, where he is performing his first monologue, Help Wanted: A Personal Search for Meaningful Employment at the Start of the 21st Century. more ›

We know that this whole blog thing is confusing. We're pretty comfortable with it, but we certainly understand and sympathize with those who aren't. So when we receive press requests that assume we're obligated to run everything we're sent, we respond gently. When prospective writers stop emailing upon hearing that they won't get paid, we understand. But we receive enough of the following requests — surprisingly many, in fact — that we thought some clarification of our place in the universe might be in order:

Thought one of the sharp minds at DCist could help me with an article I'm writing. An editor here at [ glossy local lifestyle magazine ] wants a piece on the newest music gadgets; home, car, portable or otherwise. The criteria for said gadgets is that they will be available by June and that it's not just a mauve-colored Nano but something new and different. Personal experience with these gadgets (tired of that word already) is a huge plus. Thanks for your help and keep up the good work.

George Mason University art professor Chawky Frenn will give an artist talk this Saturday, Feb. 25 at 1 p.m. at the Fraser Gallery in Bethesda. The at times controversial artist (his painting Nothing Personal is at right) should be keen to discuss his use of often graphic still life imagery (like bloody animal carcasses) in a quest to make big statements about the state of the world. DCist contributor Adrian has his own thoughts on... more ›

Last Monday, the Post profiled ousted American University president Benjamin Ladner. Gina Maria Schulz, who served as "Personal Assistant to the First Lady" -- yes, Ladner's wife -- described the man as such: "He was the most ethical man I ever met." Ladner himself has this to say: "I do feel I've done what I've done with intentional integrity." How the Post's reporters didn't break out in hysterics is beyond us, given the emerging news of Ladner's intentionally lavish lifestyle. And today's news brings us more of Ladner's "intentional integrity." After having milked the university of close to $500,000, Ladner yesterday agreed to walk away from the university with a $950,000 settlement, a deferred retirement package of $1 million in life insurance and $1.75 million from retirement accounts, and $20,000 in moving costs, writes The Eagle. He and his wife even get another 90 days in their well-appointed university mansion. Some university deans and faculty are unhappy with the decision, adds WJLA. Farewell, Dr. Ladner, and please let us know where your ethically-driven intentional integrity lands you next. more ›

It was a mere three weeks ago that Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) introduced the District of Columbia Personal Protection Act, a law which if passed would dismantle the District's three-decades old strict prohibition on the ownership of handguns and limit the ability of the City Council to pass laws regulating the ownership or sale of guns. To date, the law has attracted 31 co-sponsors in the Senate, while its counterpart in the House, introduced... more ›

Again proving that members of Congress know what's best for full-time residents of the District, Congressional Republicans have again hatched a plan to use their constitutional authority over D.C. to overturn the city's stringent, yet overwhelmingly popular gun laws. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Tex.) announced yesterday that she had introduced the cynically-named "District of Columbia Personal Protection Act of 2005," which would overturn the Firearms and Control Regulations Act of 1975, the law which banned... more ›

As gun rights advocates celebrated Monday as the former assault-weapons ban lapsed and was not renewed, there is new attention on the District's strict firearms possession rules. The Post is reporting that there is a majority in the House getting behind a measure, the D.C. Personal Protection Act, that could drastically change D.C.'s gun regulations. more ›