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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT—-“Nine-Year-Old’s Alleged Killer Found Hanged in Jail Cell“; “Unsolved Mystery: How Will Bag Fee Work With Self-Checkout?“; and tweets galore!
Greetings all. LL hopes all LLDers had as happy and filling a Thanksgiving as he did. Enjoy this special extra-late and extra-short edition before, after, or while you shop till you drop—-in the District of Columbia, of course.
AFTER THE JUMP—-Goodbye to Abe Pollin; exploring the Fenty race divide; D.C. advertises on billboard its trying to evict; charter schools to get security by January; Woodson wins Turkey Bowl; Ballou wins the Macy’s parade
GOODBYE, ABE—-Abe Pollin will be laid to rest at a private ceremony today at Washington Hebrew Congregation; streets will be closed in the vicinity. WaPo reports that a ‘public memorial service will be held at Verizon Center on Dec. 8.’ WaTimes notes that the Pollin family has requested ‘donations be sent to Abes Table, which helps feed the city homeless.’ WUSA-TV covers Pollin’s commitment to the Sixth and I Synagogue. Marion Barry calls Pollin a ‘great humanitarian.’
THE HOUSE THAT SNYDER BUILT?—-WRC-TV’s Tom Sherwood explores whether Pollin’s death will inspire Dan Snyder to bring the Redskins back to the District: ‘This week, [Jack Evans] declined to comment on any stadium discussions with the Redskins, but he said the tough time the team is having should be a wake-up call. The RFK site “is sacred ground,” Evans said, and the Redskins will never break out of their losing seasons until they return.’
THE FENTY RACE DIVIDE—-David Lipscomb in WaTimes examines the racial division in Mayor Adrian M. Fenty‘s support according to recent polls. White support is markedly stronger than his black support, ‘suggesting that racial tensions remain beneath the District’s liberal veneer. Local political observers say that Mr. Fenty’s style and approach to governance, and his priorities on cultural issues, play less well with black residents, who traditionally see city government as helping them and view Mr. Fenty as a failure on those grounds.’ Weighing in: Denise Rolark Barnes, Lawrence Guyot, et al.
CHILD KILLING SUSPECT HANGS SELF—-Josue Pena, charged with the Nov. 14 murder of 9-year-old Oscar Fuentes in a Columbia Height apartment, appears to have hanged himself with a bedsheet Wednesday afternoon in his D.C. Jail cell. Reports WaPo: ‘His cell was in the jail’s special management unit, a place for inmates in need of “enhanced supervision” for security reasons, she said. Five officers are assigned to the unit, and they check inmates every 30 minutes. Lane said authorities were trying to determine how much time elapsed between the last check on Pena and his hanging.’ WAMU-FM, WRC-TV have neighborhood reaction.
MORE COLUMBIA HEIGHTS VIOLENCE—-Three shot before dawn Thursday on the 700 block of Harvard Street NW. One, Jose Rene Rodriguez Guterrez, is dead. Also NC8.
BILLBOARD BUNGLE—-DCRA has been trying to evict a set of billboards from the corner of 4th and P Streets NW, where residents say they serve as cover for illegal activity. But Michael Neibauer reports in Examiner that while litigation over the matter continues, the city’s health department bought space (through an independent buyer) on the billboards for HIV testing ads. Emergency legislation will be introduced to oust the billboards for good.
WHITHER UDC?—-Jonetta Rose Barras expresses skepticism over Brookings/Appleseed report’s recommendation to spin off UDC’s newly established community college. ‘Gathering everyone at the table to massage concepts won’t build a first-rate university system. Hard, decisive work is the road to excellence. Thankfully, University of the District of Columbia President Allen Sessoms understands that….Sessoms and community college chief [Jonathan Gueverra], thus far, have delivered what they promised. They should be given adequate time, without needless intrusion, to implement their plan. If so-called stakeholders want to help, they should send money.’
CHARTERS TO GET COPS—-WaPo editorial board breaks news that charter schools could get police security by January, on the heels of reports of inadequate protection at Ward 7’s Friendship charter high school. ‘It makes no sense…to make a false distinction between charters and traditional schools: Both are publicly funded, and both should get protection for their students. It’s encouraging, then, to hear Victor Reinoso, deputy mayor for education, report that a decision has been made to change the policy. He told us that officials met Monday and agreed to develop a plan to be implemented at the resumption of the school year in January that would allow officers to be assigned to charter schools. Allocation of resources will be based on need as defined by crime and other data.’
METRO PAYS UP—-WMATA settles federal criminal charges over 2003 chemical discharge by paying $200K in fines. Reports WaPo: ‘In an unusual criminal case against the quasi-public agency, U.S. District Judge Roger W. Titus also ordered quarterly environmental inspections of the Branch Avenue rail yard during an 18-month probationary period. And Titus said Metro must inform all employees of the violation and provide him with evidence of steps taken to inform and educate workers about environmental policy.’
ALSO—-Metro discovers 15-foot-by-4-foot crack in Farragut North station’s roof. Repairs are expected to take two weeks.
GOVERNMENT HEALTH CARE—-Medical bills for accused Holocaust Museum shooter James W. von Brunn have cost the District of Columbia $55K, AP determines.
TAX BREAK CITY—-Council’s finance committee votes through $7M tax abatement to lure Bethesda’s CoStar, Jonathan O’Connell reports at WBJ, but the deal is still uncertain. Also given the panel’s approval: $2.3M for Donatelli Development; $383K over five years for So Others Might Eat housing.
FEELGOOD HOLIDAY STORIES—-Nikita Stewart reports in WaPo (WTTG-TV, too) on tenants of a Mount Pleasant apartment building who have bought their homes; Petula Dvorak, in her WaPo column, covers a group of old friends helping to mentor east-of-the-river girls; NC8 covers Four Seasons’ holiday meal for cops, firefighters; Obamas visit Martha’s Table; WUSA-TV covers ex-gang member now volunteering; Harry Jaffe in Examiner writes about ex-council candidate Adam Clampitt‘s holiday in Afghanistan. (‘From afar, Clampitt has been reading about reports of cronyism in the D.C. government. “For all the talk of corruption in the Afghan government,” he writes, “I think we really need to look in the mirror and hold our own leaders accountable for their behavior.”‘)
NOT-SO-FEELGOOD HOLIDAY STORIES—-Mississippi woman gets her purse stolen at Children’s Hospital; and D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute’s Katie Kerstetter reminds us that one in eight D.C. households cannot put enough food on the table.
HAVE YOU SEEN THIS MAN?—-DCist commenters say this robbery suspect looks like Hizzoner. ALSO: Fentys hobnobbed with White House party crashers!
THE NEW 225 VIRGINIA AVE—-D.C. Metrocentric has renderings of proposed rehab of District’s 225 Virginia Ave. SE building.
THE NEW BUZZARD POINT—-GGW covers plans to turn Southwest industrial zone into high-density residential district.
ATTENTION LAWYERS—-D.C. Bar is looking to make trust-account interest donations mandatory, Legal Times reports.
TURKEY BOWL—-Woodson beats Ballou in a thriller, 30-26. Not a bad day for Ballou, though: The school’s Marching Knights appeared in the Macy’s parade; WRC-TV has video.
D.C. COUNCIL TODAY—-No events scheduled.
ADRIAN FENTY TODAY—-No public events scheduled.