Rats! XM Radio Scurries to Address Rodent Infestation

If you hear some scratching noises on XM radio, it's probably not static -- but it might be rats. The satellite radio's District headquarters is so infested with the furry little critters that the company has gone to the rat-eradication equivalent of DefCon 1.

"Those of you familiar with DC rodents know that we're looking at the size of small house cats," writes XM senior veep Dan Turner in an internal memo sent to employees on Friday.

Turner goes on to describe the gnawing dread: "Currently we have lost the functionality of Production Room 8 as the rodents have discovered that the cover on our fiber optics cables makes good nesting material. A couple of weeks ago it was one of the multi-function studios that was taken out of commission. Tomorrow it could be a cable to a satellite uplink. It is that serious."

The Beltway, rat-wise, appears to be on the second floor of the XM building, a beautifully restored former printing factory on New York Avenue NE, reports our colleague Paul Farhi. The crawl space under the raised floors "represents an eight-lane superhighway to anywhere the rats want to go," writes Turner.

The broadcaster has summoned Orkin, according to spokesman Chance Patterson, and has enlisted the building's 600 employees in "immediate and very aggressive eradication measures" -- that means no food and drink in the studios (not even coffee? Eeeekk!) and all those magazines, posters and other junk must be tossed because rats like to use them to build nests.

No shock and awe here -- Turner's ready for a long siege. "Eventually, they'll get the building back," he concludes his memo, "but we ain't done with it yet."

What's in a Pinstripe? Perhaps a Name

George Schultz in his very personalized pinstriped suit.

For the man who has everything, a pinstripe suit. But not just any pinstripes -- personalized pinstripes. Former secretary of state George Shultz was the guest of honor Friday at the U.S. Institute of Peace dinner at the Hay-Adams Hotel. The organization is naming its new headquarters, at Constitution Avenue and 23rd Street NW, the George P. Shultz Great Hall, and the former statesman showed up looking very distinguished in an elegant suit.

Unless you got very close, you might have missed what made the pinstripes so special: The words "George Shultz" are spelled out in discreet vertical stripes running down the suit. No word on where Shultz picked up his, but similar custom suits -- monogrammed with a name, company moniker, sports team or any other phrase close to your heart -- run about $10,000 each.

D.C. Area Makes Case As Cradle of Literature

Poe nominee Daniel Stashower, author of "The Beautiful Cigar Girl."(Chris Gardner - AP)

We should have deduced that Washington was full of killer authors. On Friday, we told you that Heritage Foundation scholar James Swanson's "Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer" was nominated for an Edgar Allan Poe Award by the Mystery Writers of America. Turns out three other local writers also made the list: Bethesda's Daniel Stashower, author of "The Beautiful Cigar Girl: Mary Rogers, Edgar Allan Poe, and the Invention of Murder" (and occasional Post book reviewer), is competing against Swanson in the fact crime category. D.C.'s Louis Bayard was nominated for best novel with his "The Pale Blue Eye." And Jennifer Allison of D.C. was cited for "Gilda Joyce: The Ladies of the Lake" in the juvenile division. The winners will be announced in April in New York. Think they'll carpool up?

THIS JUST IN . . .

Bill Yosses is the new executive pastry chef, the White House announced yesterday. First lady Laura Bush tapped the 53 - year-old to turn out fabulous desserts for state dinners and other official parties, replacing Thaddeus DuBois, who resigned last year. The American-born chef trained in France and worked in several high-profile New York restaurants before coming to Washington -- and yes, he knows what he's in for: Yosses was part of the White House pastry team that churned out 40,000 goodies for all those Christmas parties last month.

Washington filmmakers Sean Fine and Andrea Nix Fine left the Sundance Film Festival with a nice souvenir: The documentary director's award for "War/Dance," about Uganda's 20-year-old civil war, as seen through the eyes of three children. The husband-and-wife team, who met making films for National Geographic, won the honor Saturday night. The film will be in theaters in the fall, with proceeds from ticket sales going to children's charities in Uganda.

The California Highway Patrol recommended yesterday that Brandy be charged with misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter for her role in an accident last month that killed a woman, reports the Associated Press. The Los Angeles city attorney's office is reviewing the case, in which the 27-year-old rear-ended a car and caused it to collide with a third vehicle. The singer expressed condolences last week but has not commented on the possible charge, which carries a maximum sentence of one year in jail and a $1,000 fine.