the needleAPRIL 1996 - Washington City Paper

The Damage Done

Prison inspector finds Lorton inmates languishing in feces-laden dungeon.-4

After nine months of overseeing the city’s finances, control board member Stephen Harlan declares, “We need a game plan.”-2

District loses $575,000 in loans to mendacious telephone entrepreneur.-1

Republicans drop school-voucher crusade—their kids won’t qualify anyway.-2

Spy magazine excludes the District from its ranking of most annoying states but still calls it “the worst place in the country.”-1

City halves recycling pickups; vermin celebrate.-3

D.C. Council votes to muzzle Rottweilers and pit bulls but takes no comparable action against itself.-3

Justice Department fingers D.C. police for discrimination against Hispanic officers.-2

Woman loses both legs in freak Metrobus accident as fire crews fumble with faulty equipment.-1

Subtotal: -19

Shots in the Arm

D.C. attorney Anthony Bisceglie passes Unabrother tip to the FBI. This marks the first time since Watergate that a Washington lawyer has done something useful.+4

April blizzard never materializes, so D.C. records only its second-worst winter of all time.+1

City resumes street-sweeping program; pedestrians discard/incinerate rubber boots.+2

Washington Post story advances awareness of city’s demographic trends: “People are moving in and out of the District all the time.”+1

D.C. United opens its Major League Soccer season. The Orioles record their best start in decades. The Bullets contend for a playoff spot until the last week of the season. The Capitals charge into the postseason with two wins against Pittsburgh. Is there life in local sports after Joe Gibbs?+4