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The fourth Democratic Debate is tonight at 8 p.m. Here’s your occasional reminder that only one of the three top-polling candidates vocally supports bypassing the filibuster in order to make D.C. the 51st state. And that’s Sen. Elizabeth Warren (MA). Former Vice President Joe Biden is on the fence, while the 51 for 51 campaign hasn’t asked Sen. Bernie Sanders (VT) yet.

THE NEWS: 

Since Tuesday, Oct. 8, there have been eight homicides in the District. That’s about a murder per day, and two homicide victims were minors: 15-year-old Thomas Johnson and 15-year-old Jaquar McNair. 

Johnson was shot near Nationals Park Wednesday afternoon. Two days later McNair was stabbed on the Metro, and succumbed to his injuries at the hospital on Saturday morning. McNair was the 10th D.C. resident between the ages of 11 and 17 to be murdered, and the 136th homicide victim overall this year.  

“All he wanted to do was play football and be a star,” said McNair’s mother of her son to the Post. 

The city is struggling to halt the city’s rising murder rate. Year-to-date, this is a more deadly year than last, which was more deadly than the year before. On Friday, Mayor Muriel Bowser and Police Chief Peter Newsham announced the first-ever Safer Stronger DC Fall Crime Prevention Initiative. Between Oct. 14 and Dec. 15, the police will concentrate its efforts in areas that experienced a high density of violence: Southwest, Columbia Heights, the U Street corridor, Shaw, Saratoga, Greenway, Washington Highlands, and Congress Heights. 

“What people should anticipate seeing in these areas is not only an increase in police presence, [but] we will utilize overtime to ensure that 7 days a week, we are increasing police visibility,” said Newsham during a press conference. 

“You will also see traditional police activity for addressing violent offenders, for removing illegal firearms and holding repeat offenders accountable. You will also see a collective effort with our agency partners to bring resources to these areas—resources such as job resources, resources … that can help with mental health or substance abuse issues,” he added.  

Not everyone is happy with increased police presence, including Black Lives Matter DC’s core organizer April Goggans, who is speaking out against the strategy and does not see police as the solution. 

The current initiative is modeled after the police’s summer strategy, which the mayor says is effective. “This past summer compared to our previous summer, our targeted areas saw a 44 percent decrease in homicides and a 26 percent decrease in overall violent crimes,” says Bowser. “The reason this initiative works is because it focuses both on policing and flooding our neighborhoods with supportive services and it responds directly with the police trends that we see.”

At that same press conference, Newsham spoke again about needing harsher penalties for gun-related offenses to reduce violence. He also said this over the summer, when D.C. saw a spike in violence. But experts caution against longer sentencing for illegal gun possession, as the research shows it doesn’t work, and instead calls for a public health approach to this crisis. —Amanda Michelle Gomez (tips? Email agomez@washingtoncitypaper.com)

MORE NEWS YOU CAN USE:

  • Unite the Right rally cost Metro more than $125K+. [WTOP]

  • Bowser proposal: more affordable housing in affluent neighborhoods. [Post]

  • Mark Plotkin returns to the Wilson Building. [Twitter]

LOOSE LIPS LINKS, by Mitch Ryals (tips? mryals@washingtoncitypaper.com) 

  • Ward 8 ANC arrested in hit-and-run. [WCP]

  • D.C. to pump $20 million more into school system. [Post]

  • D.C. Auditor Kathy Patterson response to the Post editorial board’s criticism of her staff’s objectivity in a recent report. [DC Auditor, Post]

  • The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments tomorrow in Lee Boyd Malvo’s request for a sentence reduction. He is serving a life without parole term for his role as a teenager in the D.C. sniper murders. [Post]

YOUNG & HUNGRY LINKS, by Laura Hayes (tips? lhayes@washingtoncitypaper.com)

  • Capital City Co. Co-founder Arsha Jones mourns the loss of her husband and business partner who died Friday at age 46. [WCP]

  • Club Heaven and Hell in Adams Morgan fined a walloping $90K. [DCist]

  • Crab lovers should head to CHIKO this week. [Washingtonian]

  • He didn’t win the Nobel Peace Prize, but José Andrés is still cooking for those in need of a hot meal. [Post]

  • Millennials are into dinner parties even though they don’t call them that. [Vox]

ARTS LINKS, by Kayla Randall (tips? krandall@washingtoncitypaper.com)

  • New Anacostia Community Museum director Melanie Adams discusses how she wants the museum to evolve. [WCP]

  • Punk trio Knife Wife chat about how they found their sound. [WCP]

  • A sculpture featuring an African American Last Supper is hidden no more. [Washingtonian]

  • This Saturday brings a new music festival: Down in the Reeds. [DCist]

SPORTS LINKS, by Kelyn Soong (tips? ksoong@washingtoncitypaper.com)

  • The Nats are one win away from reaching the World Series after a dominating performance from Stephen Strasburg. Game 4 of the NLCS against the St. Louis Cardinals starts tonight at 8:05 p.m. [CBS Sports]

  • WNBA champ Elena Delle Donne will throw out the first pitch at the game. [WJLA]

  • The Washington Spirit may split their 2020 home schedule among three venues: Audi Field, Maryland SoccerPlex, and Segra Field in Leesburg, Virginia. [Post]

  • Jordan Reed is back on injured reserve and his NFL career could be in jeopardy. [ESPN]

MAKE PLANS, by Emma Sarappo (Love this section? Get the full To Do This Week newsletter here. Tips? esarappo@washingtoncitypaper.com)

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