Moments ago in D.C. Superior Court's Room 218, Judge Jennifer Anderson dismissed a motion brought by the attorney for Harold Brazil to acquit the councilmember on the misdemeanor assault charges against him. G. Allen Dale argued that there wasn't enough evidence in the day's testimony to convict the former lawmaker.
That testimony came from Jinx [...]
In an October confrontation at a Georgetown tattoo parlor, former D.C. Councilmember Harold Brazil pissed on the shop floor, according to testimony this morning in his trial on misdemeanor assault charges at D.C. Superior Court. His attorney argues that he was provoked in the most vile manner possible.
The public urination occurred in the midst of [...]
South Los Angeles grocery magnate George Torres first hit my journo-radar in 2005. At the time, I was working as a staff writer at L.A. Weekly. I wrote a story about one of Torres’ associates.
As I was pursuing Torres, so were the feds. The chase had been going on for about 25 years, and [...]
Left-wing FMLN presidential candidate Mauricio Funes has declared victory in El Salvador. The candidate had campaigned in Washington, since there are an estimated 133,000 Salvadorans in the area. Salvadorans are the largest immigrant group in the metro area.
Funes was a widely respected talk show host who became a new kind of FMLN candidate – more [...]
At 1:14 p.m., Mayor Adrian M. Fenty held a press conference at D.C. police headquarters to announce that an arrest warrant had been issued for illegal Salvadoran immigrant Ingmar Guandique in the May 2001 murder of congressional intern Chandra Levy. The announcement has been widely anticipated since Feb. 20, when news accounts reported a break [...]
Peter Nickles' average day lasted longer than yours: He got up at 4:30 a.m. and went for his traditaional swim. Nickles, famous for marthoning and triathloning—and also Blackberrying, even at 70!—has had trouble with his knees in recent days, forcing him to quit running. After embarkring on more biking and swimming, however, "my knees are feeling better," he [...]
More on City Administrator Dan Tangherlini's budget powwows. Post lunch, the city's top day-to-day manager had three additional rounds of discussions with agency directors on money—first with the Office of Property Management (OPM). "We need to find savings everywhere we can," said Tangherlini to OPM Director Robin-Eve Jasper. "We're doing to look to you for [...]
No, not on the political front, stupid. On the technology front.
Hizzoner long ago made a name for himself as a BlackBerryholic. One for general city business, one for critical, emergency alerts from police Chief Cathy Lanier and other public safety biz; and a third! for personal stuff.
Now here comes At-Large Councilmember Michael A. Brown, [...]
At-Large Councilmember Phil Mendelson today engaged in a round of epistolary warfare with D.C. Attorney General Peter Nickles. The topic of the skirmish was a brewing conflict between the council and Nickles over the D.C. Jail's inmate-release policies.
The background: Several years ago, the council passed legislation barring the jail from releasing prisoners deep in [...]
At-Large Councilmember Kwame Brown was committed to going big for the inauguration, in all possible ways.
So he plopped in the lobby of his council office a 61-inch Toshiba television, the better for constituents and staffers to take in the historic occasion. The gigantic device served its purpose, and now it's serving another one. As [...]
Ward 7 Councilmember Yvette Alexander has been waiting in the wings, a back-bencher, for nearly two years. While colleagues presided over important council committees, Alexander held no such portfolio.
But today that all changed. Alexander is chairing her first hearing as the new chair of the Committee on Aging and Community Affairs. On the docket [...]
More on the budget discussions of City Administrator Dan Tangherlini. After discussing money and baselines with city contracting managers, Dan Tan got into it with Stephanie Scott, who runs the all-important D.C. Office of the Secretary. Now, that title may suggest that this is some puffy, ceremonial office.
Suggestion incorrect: The Office of the Secretary [...]
Ward 6 Councilmember Tommy Wells is conducting a hearing today on the Department on Disability Services (DDS), among other topics. That means that Judith Heumann is in the building. Heumann is the director of DDS and a wheelchair user. As far as access to these hearings, Heumann has never had a problem getting into the [...]
The average day at Dupont Circle's Leather Rack (1723 Cionnecticut Avenue NW) is becoming less leathery these days. "Fetish wear has really taken a downturn in the last year," says Chaz, the store's general manager. The bad times have steered customers away from higher end items—$334 leather chaps, for example—and toward cheaper stuff. "Let's say [...]
If it's a work day at the D.C. Council, then you can bet that residents across the District will be asking their councilmembers for some sort of favor. Carolyn Long mans the front desk for Ward 2 Councilmember Jack Evans and also handles liaison with folks that live in the many Ward 2 senior residences. [...]
