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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT—-“Barry to Appear at Hoops Game“
Morning all. The Damn Media—-‘scuse me, “D.C. Press Hoops”—-reigns supreme after their 35-25 victory over the D.C. Council yesterday at Verizon Center. No thanks to LL (line: ~5MIN, 0-1FG, 1 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 0 BLK, 0 PF, 0 PTS), but much thanks to WTTG-TV’s Wisdom Martin who bodied up on Michael A. Brown and threw down 20 in leading the reporters to victory before a crowd of dozens heavy on JAWB staffers. And remember, it was all about the kids: The Ballou boys fell to DeMatha, by a perfectly respectable 55-48 tally, but H.D. Woodson put away Good Counsel, 61-43, led by 14 first-half points from Jeniece Johnson (and if you haven’t read Jeff Nelson‘s Sunday WaPo story on Johnson, do it now!).
For the definitive write-up of the media showdown, check David Nakamura‘s wrap over at D.C. Wire (yes, Frank Herzog called the game). Also WRC-TV, Examiner, WTOP (video below).
MORE ON MARSHALL HEIGHTS POLICE SHOOTING—-While the girlfriend of Jelani K. Slay expresses disbelief at the possibility he would rob an off-duty cop, WaPo’s Elissa Silverman and Theola Labbé-DeBose report, “Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier, who appeared yesterday before a D.C. Council committee, said that it appeared no rules were broken in the shooting, the second fatal D.C. police-involved shooting this year.” STILL NO OFFICER NAMED—-“Although citing no written rule, police say it is policy not to release names of officers involved in shootings.” We reporters find that to be bullshit, FYI. Also NC8.
VIVA BIG BROTHER—-Lanier appeared before Phil Mendelson‘s public safety and judiciary committee yesterday, and defended $4M worth of crime cameras thusly, according to WaPo: “Lanier credited the cameras with contributing to a decrease in the number of violent crimes within 1,000 feet of each location….In her testimony, Lanier pointed to prosecutions in three homicide cases that benefited from tapes from the cameras. In November 2007, the cameras even documented a homicide in progress, she said. That case has not been closed. The cameras, Lanier said, ‘really help us build the case that we need.'” Take that, Delaney!
Harry Jaffe pens a valediction for Sam Smith: “Washingtonians suffer from eccentricity deprivation. We are a town of pallid rule followers. We need the Jack Kent Cookes to strut around, speak their minds, roil the capital’s calm waters. Where’s Petey Greene? Morrie Segal? Bud Doggett? John Wilson? All gone upstairs. Now Sam Smith is taking his curmudgeonly rants to the land of big potatoes and even bigger mosquitoes….Who will take up Sam Smith’s role of questioning authority and poking holes in pomposity? ‘The rest of us are going to have to be even bigger pains in the neck to pick up the slack,’ says Mike Licht, who publishes the NotionsCapital blog. We can try, but there’s no replacing an eccentric in Sam Smith’s mold. They quit making them.”
City releases internal report on Edward Givens death (aka the heartburn heart attack victim). Unsurprisingly, it clears FEMS, writes Bill Myers in Examiner: ‘”The patient reportedly stated that he would have one of his parents drive him to the hospital if he later changed his mind,’ top Emergency Medical Service official Rafael Sa’adah wrote in a March 6 investigation summary addressed to Fire Chief Dennis Rubin. ‘There is no evidence available at this time to indicate that the providers’ acceptance of the patient’s decision to refuse transport was motivated or guided by indifference, laziness, lack of compassion, or any other value-based factor.'” BUT SOME GOOD NEWS FOR BILL LIGHTFOOT—-“The documents also show that Givens’ had an abnormal heartbeat….’There was an abnormality there that should have been followed up….They didn’t do it.'”
Bruce Johnson does a big one-on-one interview with UDC prez Allen Sessoms:
Air Force Times: Bolling AFB considering starting an on-base charter school. Says base official, “We bus nearly 300 children off base to schools at a cost of nearly $1 million a year and another 300 are home schooled….We want to know if a school on base would be utilized by parents if we had one.” THEY DO KNOW, RIGHT?…that you can’t limit enrollment to base kids, or even guarantee them enrollment.
UH OH—-The Harry Thomas-vs.-Brookland Heartbeat story got Romeneskoed yesterday. You know what that means, councilmember? Now every reporter in the country thinks you’re a buffoon, not just the locals.
Big surprise here: The Metrobus driver who slugged McGruff the Crime Dog in Columbia Heights has been fired, Examiner’s Kytja Weir reports. “Metro initially placed [Shawn Brim] on administrative leave while the incident was reviewed. He was fired on Friday, said spokeswoman Candace Smith. Brim had worked for the transit agency since 2003. He will not be eligible for a pension.”
PAGING JOHN ENSIGN—-Gun owner claims District refused to register her handgun because the color wasn’t right, according to Scott McCabe in Examiner: “[T]he District bases its list of approved handguns on the California Roster of Handguns Certified for Sale. [Tracey Ambeau Hanson]’s Springfield XD-45 was on the government’s approved roster of guns, but hers was black and silver, the attorney said. The law only permits that Springfield model if it’s one of the approved colors: black, green or brown….Hanson said she just wants be able to own a handgun without interference from the D.C. government. ‘Do we really need a gun fashion police?'”
MEANWHILE….Ensign’s hometown Las Vegas Sun covers the gun issue, quotes David Catania ripping off some of his favorite meddling-congressman chestnuts: “Ensign must have ‘nothing better to do with his time’ than meddle in district affairs. ‘With all the problems confronting Nevada, he has time to play city councilman in the District of Columbia?’ said Catania, chairman of the council’s health committee. Catania mused that he should visit Nevada as part of his ongoing research into ways to provide health care coverage, suggesting, ‘You must have some bang-up system there.'”
Legal Times says Eleanor Holmes Norton may have less influence than usual on federal bench nominations, what with Eric Holder and Greg Craig pulling strings for their Big Law buddies.
BIZARRE—-Woman found with severe burns early Monday on GWU campus, according to WTTG-TV; Secret Service officers reportedly sent her on her way hours earlier.
In the long saga of FEMS vs. beards, the beards win the latest round, in federal appeals court. So says WUSA-TV’s Dave Statter!
Street-sweeper parking cameras are now active and ticketing, people. WaTimes says so!
NC8 covers Mary Cheh light pollution presser.
Economic crisis extends to renters, says WaPo Metro front story by Miranda Spivack. Which means pressures are increasing on local governments for aid, natch. “In the District in January, the waiting list for affordable housing and housing vouchers had about 25,000 applications, up from about 22,000 at the same time last year. Because many applications are for families, that translates into about 70,000 individuals in need, said Dena Michaelson, a spokeswoman for the D.C. Housing Authority.”
The Thomas Circle dog-shocker has been fixed, according to WTOP and WTTG-TV.
Memories of Nancy McKinley, stabbed in Long Island, from NC8 and WTTG-TV.
David Stern, et al. pay tribute to Abe Pollin at GWU.
Dulles rail project about to officially begin.
Pamela Butler: Still missing, according to NC8.
WAPO BRIEFS—-More on motorcycle death; second arrest made in summer Trinidad killings; MetroAccess driver accused of sex assault; construction workers hospitalized for CO poisoning.
More on construction workers from WTOP, NC8.
GOOD ADVICE…from WaPo letter writer to all those broken-meter whiners: “Keep a pen and a scrap of paper in your car. When a meter malfunctions, call the city’s ‘broken meter hotline’ at 202-541-6030 (this number is written on the meter). Give the operator the meter number, then place a note on the curb side of your dashboard that includes the time, date and meter number as well as the confirmation number provided by the operator. Believe it or not, the operators are generally quick to answer calls and give you the information you need. The whole transaction takes a minute or two.”
WTOP celebrated 40 years of all news, all the time yesterday.
More on new Mall signs, from Biz Journal.
Folks round these parts love their hybrids.
U2’s coming to FedEx Sept. 29; tickets available April 6, per WBJ.
Here’s video of David Nakamura hitting a shot, and Muriel Bowser hitting the deck, courtesy of WTOP:D.C. COUNCIL TODAY—-10 a.m.: Committee on Public Works and Transportation agency performance oversight hearing on Department of Public Works and Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, JAWB 500; Committee on Economic Development agency performance oversight hearing on Boxing and Wrestling Commission, Commission on Arts and Humanities, Office of Motion Picture and Television Development, Department of Small and Local Business Development, and Columbia Small and Local Business Opportunity Commission, JAWB 412; 2 p.m. (scheduled): Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary meeting, JAWB 123.
ADRIAN FENTY TODAY—-No public events scheduled.