approximately 1,700 nurses at Washington Hospital Center, ratified a new contract, putting to bed one of the region's most heated labor disputes. more ›

WJLA is reporting this morning that a tentative agreement has been reached between Washington Hospital Center and a union representing its nurses, a deal which could bring an end to one of the region's longest-running labor disputes. more ›

Nurses at the Washington Hospital Center voted Wednesday to hold a one-day strike in early March to protest staffing and wage cuts amidst lagging contract negotiations. The National Nurses United union, which represents the approximately 1,600 nurses at WHC, has been at loggerheads with the hospital over contract issues since last year. more ›

Last week, we reported that unionized nurses at Washington Hospital Center had announced that they would strike for 24 hours on November 25. But Ben Fischer with the Washington Business Journal reports this afternoon that the strike has now been called off. According to an email sent to employees last night, hospital administration and National Nurses United -- the union representing the nurses -- have agreed to new wage rules which will go into effect in March. The hospital reportedly had a contingency plan in place which would have locked out the nurses for an entire week, a counter-move which appears to have driven the union back to the negotiating table. more ›

Nurses at Washington Hospital Center already decided to strike once this year due to the firing of 18 nurses who didn't -- or couldn't, depending on your point of view -- report to work during February's snowstorms. After that incident, the nurses joined National Nurses United, the largest nurses union in the country. Now, word is that nurses at the hospital will strike yet again. According to a press release, NNU nurses who work at WHC will walk off the job at 7 a.m. on November 24, and return 24 hours later on Thanksgiving Day. The union, which represents about 1,600 WHC nurses, is pursuing the work stoppage as a way to hammer home a report (PDF) which claims that the hospital is understaffed. The hospital and the union are also currently haggling over a new labor contract. more ›

The Washington Hospital Center has fired 11 nurses and 5 other administrative staffers in the wake of back-to-back snowstorms that made it all but impossible for some employees to reach the hospital -- which is no excuse for absenteeism. The Washington Post reports that dozens more could be fired for missing work on days when streets went unplowed and District officials asked people to stay off the roads. Let it serve as a lesson to any other slackers out there: Shirley Ricks, a 57-year-old nurse who has worked at the hospital her entire career and had no way of navigating the unplowed roads between her home in Upper Marlboro and her job near Howard, will not be given any special treatment. The hospital's zero-tolerance policy is in keeping with employee guidelines, except that it isn't, because the employee guidelines say that "[u]nscheduled absences and late arrivals occurring during a declared weather emergency are not counted when addressing attendance issues". And, no, Washington Hospital Center won't be letting sterling employment records stand in the way of doing what is fair. Even if what is fair is . more ›

Montgomery County police say that one of two men currently wanted for murder in an Aug. 30 killing managed to walk out of Washington Hospital Center and is currently at-large. more ›

>> A man was hospitalized this morning after his Ford Expedition crashed into a Metrobus at 8th St. and Massachusetts Ave. NE. [WJLA] more ›

Hilda Mason, 91, who served more than 20 years on the D.C. Council, died yesterday at Washington Hospital Center. more ›

Now that it turns out there's almost nothing more embarrassing than watching self-made videos of goofy Americans asking leading questions to presidential candidates, we'd like to suggest you take a valuable lesson from the experience by choosing not to enter your workplace this morning wearing wraparound sunglasses, a Viking outfit or a salmon-colored suit jacket. We'll leave the choice of affecting an over-the-top southern drawl up to you, but you can probably guess where... more ›

Well D.C., if you're reading this it means you're not one of the 3000 or so people in our area currently without power. NBC4 reported the outage in Foggy Bottom last night, although they focused on the problems for four ritzy hotels, rather than the 790 other folks left in the dark. D.C. Superior Court and the D.C. Court of Appeals are also closed today due to the lack of power. Then, there's the massive... more ›

Happy May Monday, D.C.! Oh, sorry, it's actually December. Forgive me for not realizing that, since it's slated to be a ridiculous 66 degrees today. Can anybody enlighten us as to what is going on? Anyone? For now, you can read a post over on CapitalWeather.com that "glaringly exposed the disconnect between television meteorologists and the climate science community," according to the site. Meanwhile, enjoy the weather! Virginia Parishes Break Away: Those Episcopalian churches in... more ›

We're a bit late on discussing this, because yours truly was on the left coast last week when the news came out, but considering the potential impact of the issue, we're posting late, rather than never. The Armed Forces Retirement Home made news earlier this year after announcing plans to develop a portion of its large Northwest property. The news was greeted with excitement by many, but neighbors of the property, particularly on the western, Petworth side, quickly aired concerns over the scale of potential development and the ways in which it might affect their streets and views. DCist examined many of these issues here, and here. more ›

With the daily commuter inflows and outflows, a transient residential base, and the interdependence of economies in the metropolitan region, it is understandable that the lines between the District and its neighbors can be a little blurry at times. However, it is safe to say that Cleveland Park is still solidly located within the District. Friendship Heights? Now that’s another story altogether. As always, we want to know what you hear: overheardindc (at) gmail (dot)... more ›

Summer heat is one of those story-in-a-pinch type themes, there for newspapers when the vacation months grow long and no cat has been recently rescued from a neighborhood tree. It's hard to fault the Post for the attention today, though; after one of the mildest springs in recent memory, yesterday leaped to brain-boiling, shoe-sole-sizzling hot. Temperatures are predicted to moderate, back to around 80, after Thursday, but it's clearly time to banish thoughts of a mild summer. more ›

It's already been a busy year for development in the corridor of land that stretches from Bryant Street north along North Capitol to Catholic University. DCist has kept a close eye on the debate between residents of the nearby neighborhoods (of Park View, Petworth, and Brookland) and the Armed Forces Retirement Home, which intends to open portions of its massive campus to commercial and residential development. Green space has been a part of that discussion, specifically whether or not the AFRH property will include some, and participants of the debate have often mentioned the McMillan Reservoir property as an alternative location for park land. more ›

Two weeks ago, we took a look at the developing discussion over the fate of proposed development on the campus of the Armed Forces Retirement Home (which we'll refer to as the Home, or AFRH). The post prompted a long discussion and a stream of emails, so today we revisit the subject. The campus site currently consists of about 270 acres, most of which is open space (though closed to the public) but which does... more ›

Six months ago, I plunked down what meager savings I had and purchased a few hundred square feet of condo in the Brookland area of Northeast Washington. I had been living in a Columbia Heights rowhouse, surrounded in coffeeshops and bars by the newly rich, made wealthy by timely purchases of neglected townhomes. My morning walk to the Metro was a minefield of construction detritus and orange cones, houses being gutted and rehabbed, and holes being dug and filled in with upscale grocery stores and luxury condos. On weekends I’d walk through the neighborhood, stopping to take in the curious new vistas that changed weekly, fresh iron skeletons and powerwashed brick facades that showed up daily like the morning paper. In such situations, one’s natural feeling is a fear of missing out, and the most casual of friendly get togethers tended to turn to talk of taking the plunge, of investment trusts, and the existence and/or longevity of a housing price bubble. Ultimately, I became seduced, and began a process that quickly developed its own life, pushing me through legalistic hoops until I found myself standing in the dining nook of my condo, holding a bottle of ten dollar champagne and wondering what I’d gotten myself into. more ›

Up and at 'em, Washington. "Early to bed / early to rise / makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise," goes the saying. Well, two area initiatives are in healthier, wealthier positions this morning. First, City Administrator Robert Bobb has confirmed that D.C. will enter negotiations with Deutsche Bank for a stadium financing deal. The proposed package would apparently ease the tax burden placed on city businesses by giving the bank a piece of... more ›

Good morning, Washington. The weather should be fair with temperatures near 60 degrees. more ›

A 52-year-old man set himself on fire at the northwest gate of the White House around 2 p.m. today, the AP is reporting. After being doused by emergency officials, he was transported to Washington Hospital Center with burns on his head, back, arms and face. more ›