Ward One community activist Bryan Weaver has been all over the news lately schooling every reporter parachuting into his neighborhood on Jamal Coates, the recent history of crew-related shooting deaths, and the entrenchment of these crews in Adams Morgan and Columbia Heights. Today, Weaver wrote his own essay on Coates for Greater Greater Washington in [...]
This afternoon, the Metropolitan Police Department provided their first written narrative of events concerning yesterday's drive-by shooting along U Street that left 21-year-old Jamal Coates dead. Last night, police arrested Brandon Miller for Coates' murder. Miller was arraigned in D.C. Superior Court this afternoon. The police narrative was filed with the court post- at the [...]
According to the D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute, the new census data shows some serious, entrenched poverty in the District. The numbers are brutal—especially for those living in Ward 7 and Ward 8. More than one in four children in D.C. are living in poverty, the data shows. The poverty rate among children rose from roughly [...]
The District's unemployment rate had steady at 9.9 percent in August. Let's call it 10 percent! The Department of Employment Services tries to blame the end of the summer jobs program:
"The unemployment rate in the District of Columbia for August was unchanged from the revised July rate of 9.9% reported the District of Columbia’s Department [...]
Last week, it was announced that former Metropolitan Police Department Chief Charles Ramsey will be inducted into the inaugural class of George Mason University's Evidence-Based Policing Hall of Fame. George Mason's version of a policing Cooperstown hailed the former chief with a lengthy bio, concluding on its website:
"A nationally recognized innovator, educator and practitioner of [...]
Councilmember Jim Graham doesn't think the Metro boardmembers should be held responsible for the Metro crash last June; the councilmember was chairman at the time of the crash. The NTSB had hammered the board; City Desk cited numerous warning signs and previous NTSB recommendations that the board ignored prior to the crash. The Examiner captures [...]
Earlier this week, we learned that Mayor Adrian Fenty's administration dipped into funds for needy families to help make up for his Summer Youth Employment Program's budget shortfall. The D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute reported:
"The Fenty administration chose to cover the overspending in summer jobs by transferring funds meant to help vulnerable families with basic food [...]
In a somewhat surprising move, the D.C. Chamber of Commerce has not endorsed incumbent Ward One Councilmember Jim Graham for re-election. Instead, the business folks have thrown their weight behind challenger Jeff Smith.
Graham campaign poo-bah Chuck Thies had this reaction via e-mail:
"Not surprising at all. What has the Chamber of Commerce ever done for Ward [...]
Metropolitan Police Department Assistant Chief Diane Groomes tells City Desk that District kids enrolled in the Mayor's Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) are still getting mugged on paydays. So far, five kids have been mugged on paydays and a sixth was mugged the day after a payday. The program started with knives and thefts. Washington [...]
Updated 10:10 p.m.
Has Peter Nickles ever met a controversy he couldn't whitewash with one of his so-called investigative reports? From his fire-truck mini investigation to his assessment of the missing evidence in the Pershing Park case, Nickles has developed a reputation as a bulldog whose afraid to do much more than bark. Now comes WaPo's [...]
By now, you have at least skimmed the stories on the NTSB's findings concerning the fatal Metro crash. Before we forget about the NTSB's report until the next crash, let's take a moment to debate whether we should put some of the blame on the Metro Board. The only thing the board knows how to [...]
Yesterday, Mayor Adrian Fenty fired DYRS' interim-director and replaced him with AG Peter Nickles' "top aide" Robert Hildum. In today's WaPo story, the controversial attorney general had high praise for his side kick:
"Nickles said that Hildum's experience as a prosecutor is an asset at a time when some critics have said that the agency's [...]
Watch it:
The beats are tight; I don't even want to imagine what Jim Graham's dance floor moves to this would be. But Weaver, cash strapped and down in the polls against the mighty Graham, actually makes a lot of great points in this video. I hope this goes viral.
It's hot as hell out. Now think about sleeping in your car with your girlfriend and your two children, ages two and four. Throughout much of June, this was Darnell Gibson's life.
Two years ago, Gibson, 26, lost his steady job. Ever since, he hasn't been able to find stable employment. His savings ran out. He [...]
As much local politics as humanly possible. Send your tips, releases, stories, events, etc. to lips@washingtoncitypaper.com. And get LL Daily sent straight to your inbox every morning!
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT—"Vincent Gray Calls For AG Peter Nickles To Resign," "Watch: The Marion Barry Wrestling Move," "Why Didn't Adrian Fenty Get A Ticket?," "Harry Thomas Jr.: [...]
