Hello, D.C. Love reading? The Asian American Literature Festival kicks off today and runs through Sunday. The theme is “Care + Caregiving” and how that’s re-imagined through text. Also, happy birthday to writer and activist James Baldwin, who was born on this day in 1924.

THE NEWS:

The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) says it’s finally implemented every section of the Neighborhood Engagement Achieves Results (NEAR) Act three years after the law passed—including collecting stop and frisk data.

Both MPD and the District tell City Paper that detailed stop and frisk data collected between July 22 and Aug. 18 will be made available to the public in September. Read the full story on our website.

What will we see?

Officials say they’ll release new records of stops and uses of force that are consistent with the NEAR Act. For example, the law asks for records to include the race of the resident who the police stopped, why the resident was stopped, whether a search was conducted as a result of the stop, and if criminal activity was discovered during the search.

This information should be made available on the MPD and Safer, Stronger DC’s websites.

Wasn’t there an ACLU lawsuit? 

Yes.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of D.C., along with Black Lives Matter DC and the Stop Police Terror Project DC, sued the city in May 2018 to access NEAR Act stop and frisk data. The ACLU of D.C. filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for data in Feb. 2017, but the police said they couldn’t provide the information because they hadn’t implemented that section of the law yet.

“The devil, of course, is in the details and it is not yet clear to us from what the government has filed with the court that they are in full compliance,” says the lead counsel in the lawsuit Scott Michelman.

But Deputy Mayor for Public Safety and Justice Kevin Donahuetells City Paper, “prior to any lawsuit issued, we made clear from the get-go that we are going to make the information available to the public when we made changes to the data system.”

What does the D.C. Council think? 

“Overall, I am proud of what we’ve seen since I authored and led the fight to pass the NEAR Act,” says Ward 5 Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie. “Without endorsing every decision along the way, I think that the passage of the NEAR Act’s public health approach to violent crime prevention has reoriented DC’s approach to criminal justice for the better.”

City Paper also reached out to the office of Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen, who chairs the Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety, but no one was immediately available to comment. —Amanda Michelle Gomez(agomez@washingtoncitypaper.com) 

MORE NEWS YOU CAN USE:

  • Summer nights and burnt marshmallows in the latest Scene and Heard. [WCP] 

  • Ron Motenwould get $2 million for Anacostia land deal under Council bill. [WCP]

  • Community organizers call for an end to gun shootings. [Post]

  • Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business teaches returning residents to be entrepreneurs. [DCist]

  • The city expects a record-breaking year of rat complaints. [WTOP]

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

  • Marvin Parker paid D.C. police $40,000 in bribes for confidential information from the police. [Post]

  • Councilmember Jack Evans’ challengers rake it in. [Post]

  • Marine charged with murder in shooting death at D.C. barracks. [NBC]

  • ICYMI: Ward 4 Councilmember Brandon Todd has a challenger from the left. [WCP, Twitter]

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

  • Eater’s Digest: For fajitas that sizzle, head to Truxton Circle newcomer Republic Cantina. [WCP]

  • Transplants describe how their hometown foods should look and taste. [Post]

  • More cuban food for D.C. starting today thanks to Casta’s Rum Bar. [Washingtonian]

  • Zeppelinisn’t a hit with critic Tim Carman. [Post]

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

  • Two very different women artists dominate the gallery scene. [WCP]

  • The Embassy of Iceland presents an ode to the glacier. [WCP]

  • This guy uses dog photos to improve the Metro commute. [Washingtonian]

  • What came first—the chicken or the egg? [DCist]

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

  • Pro Bowl left tackle Trent Williams’ relationship with the local NFL team appears to be beyond repair. [Post]

  • 15-year-old tennis star Coco Gauffmet her idol, former First Lady Michelle Obama, while in D.C., and the two traded autographs. [The Hill]

  • D.C. United takes on the Eastern Conference leading Philadelphia Union on Sunday. [mlssoccer.com]

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

Sign up: To get District Line Daily—or any of our other email newsletters—sent straight to your mailbox, click here. Send tips, ideas, and comments to newsletters@washingtoncitypaper.com.