The indoor pool at the University of the District of Columbia was closed Mar. 4 “for leaks,” according to DOH spokesperson Dena Iverson. Apparently, water has been seeping out of the pool and into the ground for years prior to the shutdown, says UDC spokesperson Alan Etter, who says school officials have hired a contractor and hope to reopen the pool next spring.

“For years, they’d patch it,” he says. Now, “they just want to fix it right.”

The other four pools closed this year were inside apartment complexes, and the managers are none too eager to talk about their public shaming.

Eliot Bernold, manager at Brookland Manor, blames bureaucratic red tape for the June 25 closing at his complex on 14th Street NE near Rhode Island Avenue. 

“It was one day when there was a bureaucratic issue that was resolved within a few days,” says Bernold, before adding testily, “I have no more comment.”

Bernold was downright cordial, however, compared to the response from the Capitol Park Plaza apartments in Southwest, where manger Pat Rooks hung up the phone after insisting her pool was the victim of false allegations.

“There was nothing wrong with the pool. Someone made an accusation so the pool was closed for the day. But they reopened it,” Rooks says.

We’re still waiting to hear back from Iverson to confirm Rooks’ and Bernold’s characterizations of those two closings. About 48 hours after we first starting pestering DOH to check its records, Iverson said the department was still “investigating.” She did not respond to follow up question inquiring as to what there was to investigate since the closures took place some time ago.

Meanwhile, managers at two ritzier complexes---Vaughan Place at McLean Gardens and Market Square West---did not return phone calls.

Vaughan Place, which has a Web site prominently displaying a photo of a guy diving into clear blue pool water, was closed on July 21, according to the health department. Officials shut down the pool at Market Square West, near the Mall, back in June and still haven’t signed off on its reopening, according to Iverson.

Today: Lefties will picket the Whole Foods at P Street. Tomorrow: Righties will respond by handing out Whole Food CEO John Mackey's Wall Street Journal editorial. In the near future: At least one person plans to boycott Wal-Mart to punish the mega retailer for pulling its ads from Glenn Beck's show.

To all of the above, a newsflash: Boycotting is a) wrong and b) doesn't work.

Let's start with the stock prices: Mackey's value has only gone up since the boycott threats. Why? Because people love his store so much that their response has been, "I disagree with what he wrote, but I don't want to shop anywhere else." To investors, this makes Whole Foods appear bullet proof. After all, it may have the most liberal clientele of any national chain in the country, and its owner is a card-carrying libertarian. Not enough people are willing to shop at an inferior grocery store just because they disagree with Mackey's politics--especially since Whole Foods is a model of corporate responsibility in every sense of the word.

Second, even if it were possible to stage a revenue-affecting protest at the P Street Whole Foods (and it's not in this day and age--my generation doesn't protest, we twitter), the people to feel the pinch first would be store employees. The same employees that Whole Foods critics have frequently touted as needing union representation (and who would, in all likelihood, probably lose money by unionizing). Assuming single payer fanatics could arrange an effective boycott, is a cashier's job worth their cause?

And Wal-Mart protesters, please, stop. If you keep this up you'll just be proving that you're as dumb as everyone says you are. (And you and I both know you're not dumb, you're actually really good at prioritizing your financial needs.)

Speaking of government-run programs: Cash for Clunkers ends Monday after putting almost half a million new cars on the road at a cost of $3 billion and hemorrhaging participating dealers due to untimely reimbursements. If my math is right, that comes out to around $6,564 in tax dollars per car. The cap was supposed to be $4,000. So what does that mean? It means that approximately $2,500 per car went to other stuff. Call it a transaction fee or call it bumblefucking, it still means one thing: The only entity that can get away with promising to spend one amount of money and then actually spending 55% more than promised is the U.S. Government.

Don't get scammed, y'all!

Is that allowed? Can your doctor really bring his pets to the office?

The D.C. Board of Medicine says yes.

The board recently issued a policy statement saying that animals are in fact allowed in physicians' private-practice offices, as long as the office informs patients ahead of time:

POLICY STATEMENT

PETS PERMITTED IN A PRIVATE PRACTICE PHYSICIAN’S OFFICE

Policy:
Private practice physicians may have pets in their medical offices, but they must ensure that patients are informed of the presence of the animal and what type of animal it is before the patients visit the office.  Prior notice should be achieved by placing a sign on the door of the office, as well as by informing patients who call the office to make appointments to see the doctor.  Additionally, doctors must ensure that the level of cleanliness in the office is appropriate for the practice of medicine, as well as that the animal does not interfere with the doctor’s practice of medicine.

NOTE: Physicians in private practice have an obligation under the American with Disabilities Act to admit guide dogs.  This policy statement does not purport to provide guidance in this respect.  Please consult your attorney if you have questions regarding this issue.

Analysis:
This matter came before the Board by way of various complaints regarding private practice physicians having pets in their office.  The complaints ranged from issues of cleanliness, to patients’ discomfort in the presence of animals, to a patient’s allergies to fur-bearing animals.  The regulations governing the practice of medicine do not address animals in a medical office and this policy statement is intended to clarify the matter.  The Board wanted to provide notice to private practice physicians that while they are permitted to have pets at work, they must notify patients as to allow those patients to make informed decisions about their healthcare.

Frederick C. Finelli, M.D., J.D.
Chairperson
D.C. Board of Medicine

Finelli told City Desk he himself has experience with this issue. About 10 years ago, he sublet space in a medical office where there were, in fact, dogs (not his, he stressed). Some people, he said, complained. Most just petted the dogs.

But the obvious question: Is it really clean enough to be "appropriate for the practice of medicine"?

"I've never seen a situation where the pet owner has had a dirty pet," he said, noting that the animals are not allowed in examination rooms. "These are doctors. They're very conscious of what they're doing and what the public perception is."

Comes this dispatch, via Dr. Gridlock:

A Red Line Metrorail train derailed at 5:10 p.m. approaching Fort Totten in the Shady Grove-bound side. Trains are turning back at Brookland and Takoma....Metro says that shuttle bus service has been requested to bridge the gap between Takoma and Brookland.

There are reports of injuries. Developing.

UPDATE, 5:35 P.M.: This seems quite a bit worse than a minor derailment. WJLA-TV reports:

Metro confirms two trains have collided on the Red Line between the Takoma and Fort Totten stations. It happened close to the Fort Totten station, a Metro spokesperson said.

D.C. Fire and EMS spokesman Alan Etter said one train was on top of the other train.

This is "developing into a mass casualty event," Etter said. "We're expecting a number of injuries. We're not aware of any fatalities at this point."

Update, 5:46 p.m.: ABC News/News Channel 8 is reporting one fatality. Reporter Brad Bell saw the fatality being taken from the accident scene. At least nine people injured. The fatality appears to be a male. Many passengers still stuck inside metro cars. Fire Department spokesman Alan Etter confirms one dead on WTOP.

Here is the official Metro alert:

"Metro reports that 2 train collided and one train is on top of the other train.  Metro reports massive injuries at this time. The green line and the red line are affected. Further information to follow."

It looks like the accident ocurred just beyond the Fort Totten stop.

5:54 p.m. Update WTOP is reporting that the derailment took place between Fort Totten and Takoma Park:

"The six-car train was heading toward Shady Grove when it derailed and then collided with another train around 5 p.m. Monday near the Maryland-D.C. border."

Metro Official: Passengers still being evacuated from trains.

6:02 p.m. Update: NBC4 reports the collusion occurred above ground, many more injuries:

"Officials have confirmed one fatality. There are numerous other injuries. Passengers trapped in the trains have been using tools to cut themselves from the wreckage.

A witness told Bensen that it appeared that one train car looked like it was on top of another train car.

Trains are not traveling between the Brookland and Fort Totten stations. Shuttle service is being established, but Metro spokeswoman Cathy Asato advised riders to completely avoid the Red Line this afternoon and evening.

Trains are operating between Glenmont and Brookland and between Shady Grove and Brookland stations and from Glenmont to Takoma Metrorail stations for the remainder of the day."

6:06 p.m. Update: Two confirmed dead.

6:11 p.m. Update News Channel 8 reporter re: Witness: One car sheared another car in half. Now with Metro Official: At 5:05 p.m. two trains collided, not sure if dead is Metro employee, rescue workers still getting people off trains. Fire Department has to cut through train to get passengers out.

Front car sheered off.

6:18 p.m. Update: Washington Hospital Center may get most of the victims.

ABC/News Channel 8 reports:

"ABC 7's Brad Bell reports seeing several people with what appear to be broken limbs. He also has seen ambulances lined up."

Witness: Nine serious injuries--internal injuries. Fire Chief Dennis Rubin and D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier on the scene. Many people were able to walk off the tracks.

6:28 p.m. Update: TV news channel 8 reporting rescues may have been completed. Rescue workers now working on passengers. Civilians working on passengers, performing first aid. Good point: Mass Transit in need of funds.

6:30 p.m. Update: Two students appeared to have broken legs.

6:40 p.m. Update: Another picture, this one from channel 9 via Twitter:

6:41 Update: MOCO ambulances and emergency vehicles are coming on the scene.

6:43 p.m. Update: WCP  is reporting from the scene.

6:45 p.m. Update: From WJLA: People are still on the train. A bad sign: Medical Examiner is coming on the scene. Doors of train jammed requiring emergency personnel.

6:46 p.m. Update: Via twitter: One resident reports getting a warning regarding Metro Trains just before crash:

"Got a DC alert at 4:42 about mechanical issues and trains sharing a track. Crash didn't happen yet. Foreshadow?"

Correction: It was at 4:39 p.m. between Tenleytown and Van Ness. It was for mechanical problems.

6:56 p.m. Update: U.S. Park Police helicopter used to evacuate victim. One of the two dead was a driver on one of the trains from NBC-4.

Mayor Fenty to hold press conference at 7 p.m.

7:03 p.m. Update: WMATA has issued a press release:

"Two six-car Red Line trains collided at 5 p.m. today, Monday, June 22, resulting in two fatalities, including a female train operator. There were also several injuries, many serious, according preliminary reports.

Metro officials advise that people avoid the Red Line the remainder of the day. Trains are operating between Glenmont and Silver Spring Metrorail stations and between Shady Grove and Rhode Island Avenue Metrorail stations for the remainder of the day. (Please note that this is a change in locations.)

Shuttle buses are operating between Silver Spring and Rhode Island Avenue Metrorail stations to help customers get around the incident.

Emergency officials remain at the scene.

'We are extremely saddened that there are fatalities as a result of this accident, which has touched our Metro family. We hope to have more details about the casualties later today. Our safety officials are investigating, and will continue to investigate until we determine why this happened and what must be done to ensure it never happens again,' Metro General Manager John Catoe said."

7:06 Update: Fenty press conference moved to 7:15 p.m.

7:08 Update: More than a 100 injured re: NBC-4. A bus with 24 "walking wounded" en route to George Washington University Hospital.

7:09 Update: Fenty press conference begins: "We are cooperating fully with WMATA," Fenty states. Fire Chief Dennis Rubin about to speak. "A little bit after 5 o'clock we responded," Rubin says. Called in fire departments from surrounding counties. Treated 70 patients including two with life-threatening injuries.

Four dead. Including one female train operator. This is the deadliest accident in Metro history. There was a previous crash in 2005 which caused scores of injuries. Two metro workers were killed in a 2006 crash. Wiki has a good rundown of previous accidents.

You can follow the liveblog of the press conference.

Officials still searching train for casualties.

7:19 Update: Fenty tries to end press conference. Official: If you are trying to find a loved one please call: 202-727-9099. Do not go to the scene.

7:24 p.m. Update: Chief Rubin says this was a three-alarm emergency that involved 200 rescue workers.

7:30 p.m. Update: Our own Mike DeBonis is reporting that the train that got hit had been stopped for 10 minutes. We will have a full report from our man on the scene soon.

7:32 p.m. Update: David Corn is taking some pictures of the crash:

Here is another from Corn:

7:37 p.m. Update: WMATA updates its press release:

"Two six-car Red Line trains collided at 5 p.m. today, Monday, June 22, resulting in four fatalities, including a female train operator. There were also several injuries, many serious, according preliminary reports.

Metro officials advise that people avoid the Red Line the remainder of the day. Trains are operating between Glenmont and Silver Spring Metrorail stations and between Shady Grove and Rhode Island Avenue Metrorail stations for the remainder of the day. (Please note that this is a change in locations.)

Shuttle buses are operating between Silver Spring and Rhode Island Avenue Metrorail stations to help customers get around the incident.

Emergency officials remain at the scene. Metro officials are also working with the National Transportation Safety Board."

7:40 p.m. Update: From DeBonis: Reporters have been moved off the scene. They've been moved 100 yards from crash site.

7:45 p.m. Update: Scores of rescue workers lined up along 2nd Street: NBC-4. Read WTOP's story here. WJLA updates its story as well. WMATA updates its press release.

7:58 p.m. Update: Two traumas are at G.W. The bulk of the victims are there via NBC-4.

Unofficial count of dead now 7--WUSA. Then there's this unconfirmed account via Twitter.

8:07 p.m. Update:From the Washington Post's report updated roughly 15 minutes ago:

"No details were available about the cause of the crash, the third time in the last 15 years involving the collision of two Metro trains. The last was in November 2004, when a Red Line train rolled backwards down a steep stretch of track, and smashed into another train at the Woodley Park station. Twenty people were injured in that crash.

'There will obviously be a very thorough investigation into what caused this derailment,' Metro spokeswoman Farbstein said of today's crash. She said there were 'many serious injuries' and that passengers were being taken to hospitals. 'Our hearts are with the families of those who have passed,' she said"

8:12 p.m. Update: WJLA reporting six dead:

"A Metro train slammed into the back of a stopped train on the Red Line during the height of rush hour Monday afternoon, killing six people and injuring more than 60 others in the deadliest crash in the transit agency's 33-year history. ABC 7 News confirmed there were at least six fatalities in the crash, including a train operator. Officials have only cofirmed four."

8:17 p.m. Update Fire Department via Twitter reports transporting 42 injured.

8:27 p.m. Update: Fenty is back before the cameras. He confirms six dead. But he cautions that is a "working number."

Rubin hails heroic efforts of D.C. fire fighters. Two fire fighters sustained minor injuries. Lanier says a "reunification center" has been set up. Call 311 if you are looking for a loved one. We are reporting out the press conference in full.

8:36 p.m. Update: WaPo finally updates its story to include the six dead.

8:56 p.m. Update: New number to call if you are looking for loved ones: 202-737-4404.

9:05 p.m. Update: Councilmember Jim Graham: Car "leapfrogged" other car. Lack of info regarding crash is due to the state of the cars. 76 injured.

9:07 p.m. Update: DeBonis reads through old NTSB reports regarding previous Metro crashes---issues of the car construction could be at play here.

9:12 p.m. Update: Check out our pictures from the crash site.

10:32 p.m. Update: This from unsuckdcmetro: "Just got a tweet from WMATA. "disruption cleared" FAIL #wmata"

11:30 p.m. Update: Darrow Montgomery posts some photos that capture the aftermath of the crash; Lanier, etc. look stressed out.

11:35 p.m Update: NBC-4 reporting that rescue workers are still looking for people in the twisted wreckage.

11: 45 p.m. Nine confirmed dead.

---By Mike DeBonis and Jason Cherkis

*photo courtesy of Channel 9 News, WNBC-4

More on the beer garden proposed near National's Stadium in D.C.

Andrew J. Kline, representing Robert "Bo" Blair, said at a March 25 meeting of the Alcohol Beverage Control Board that his client wants to create a "festival site with amenities" near National's Stadium, but that "beer garden is not our term, I don't know where that came from."

Blair, who is on four licenses in the city, according to Kline, plans to hire private security staff, and there will be one main entrance to the festival site. There will be no cover for admittance, and there will be a separate tent where alcohol is served where staff will check IDs. Their preliminary proposal indicates a trailer will be used to lock up liquor when there's no game.

ABRA Commissioner Nick Alberti suggested the venue also be used for family oriented events and perhaps even farmer's markets on non-game days.

The proposal will be discussed at the April 13 ANC 6D meeting, according to JDLand.

Commissioner Donald C. Brooks said he hopes the owners, "no pun intended, knock it out of the park."

Green is scheduled to appear before the board today at 1 p.m. At last check, he was being represented by Andrew J. Kline, who Loose Lips reported in December violated nearly a dozen rules of professional conduct, including committing criminal forgery and engaging in behavior “involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation," according to a report [PDF] issued by the D.C. Court of Appeals’ Board of Professional Responsibility.

Read the full report and other details after the jump.

City Paper covered the bar last May and their Go-Go music last June after shootings outside the club. There have been several incidents since, including an assault in November. (Find coverage of these incidents over at the Tower, Catholic U.'s student newspaper, where I also work.)

ABRA investigators visited Cardinal's Nest on Aug. 28 in response to a complaint by an associate dean of students at CUA. That is where they allegedly observed the sale of alcoholic beverages to underage students. The complaint says the investigators "observed several patrons with Xs on their hands drinking from cups of beer in their hands and in some cases holding two cups of beer." They also saw a bartender serve a patron with Xs on his hands.

During an incident in the spring, an investigator saw a male walking away from Cardinal's Nest carrying two white cups with Budweiser/Bud Light advertisements.

The male told the investigator that he had just come from Cardinal's Nest and had been there all night. Asked what he was drinking, the patron told the investigator it was "happy juice."

Darrell Green, the owner of the Cardinal's Nest, has quite a history. The former cop worked in the 4th District for 10 years until he resigned in 2002 under circumstances the police department will not disclose, according to a City Paper article. The article, written after a man was shot and killed outside the bar says he was not the first victim of violence outside one of Green’s bars. "In May 2004, Rumba Café owner Boris Canjura was found unconscious outside of Adams Mill Bar & Grill, his skull fractured, his ribs broken, and his lung punctured."

Green has also been accused of renting out substandard properties and turned himself in after being accused of looting painting, antiques, china, and Oriental rugs from a self-storage unit in Vienna, VA. The charges were later dropped.

He was opposed to the ban on smoking as owner of Adams Mill Bar & Grill, according to a Washington Post article in early Jan. 2007. He told the Washington Times that his business fell off as a result of the ban and had to eliminate lunch service.

He also was not a fan of Flexcars and Zipcars taking up public parking spaces outside of his bar in Adams Morgan.

Catholic University administrators have long complained about the bar, which has been open since the fall of 2006. In the spring, Craig Parker offered legal help and University resources to University residents who wanted to get the bar's liquor license pulled.

The original voluntary agreement between Cardinal's Nest and Brookland neighbors was signed in Dec. 2006, and amended in April, 2008.

Read the D.C. ABRA Order to Cardinal's Nest for the full details (dates were before rescheduling and delays).

Live coverage starts at 1 p.m.

A little more than a week ago, news broke that at least three percent of District residents have AIDS or HIV. This provoked Shannon L. Hader, director of the city's HIV/AIDS Administration to now-famously compare D.C. to West Africa. When pressed by Loose Lips at a press conference, Hader stated that our rates of infection were twice as high as New York City and five times that of Detroit.

As LL pointed out, the bigwigs at the press conference---Mayor Adrian Fenty, Councilmember David Catania, et al.---defensively argued that the part of the reason for the high infection rates is that the city is just testing more people. Case in point: testing is now routine at the D.C. Jail.

But this epidemic is not a new epidemic. In fact, it's been called an epidemic too many times to count. Perhaps the reason this story didn't provoke serious outrage and more press conferences and men in white coats discussing infection trend patterns is that this is an old story.

"This is the number one [public health] priority of this government," Fenty told the Washington Post. That quote was from an April 5, 2007, story headlined: "Fenty Renews Fight Against HIV-AIDS; Mayor Promises Strong Effort, Plans To Pick New Agency Chief." In the story's first graph, the mayor "pledged" to "put an end to this crisis."

While Fenty has recently received high marks from local watchdogs DC Appleseed, you don't get to a more than three percent infection rate by accident. Along the way, there have been screw-ups, questions about funding, and more than enough declarations to do better. A quick Nexis search reveals just a little bit in how we got to this point:

• A Jan. 4, 2007, Post story reports that the city's AIDS/HIV Administration chief was stepping down after 16 months. The city would be forced to find a new chief---its third in two years---to head up the agency. The Post wrote: "The HIV-AIDS administration has had almost a dozen directors in its 21-year history. [Marsha Martin]'s predecessor, who held the job just 11 months, was fired after D.C. Appleseed issued a report critical of the city's response to the epidemic."
• In the same April 5, 2007, story quoted above, the Post notes: "The mayor's promise of momentum follows a year of ups and downs for the agency, which leads the city's response. It launched a testing campaign last summer, drawing national attention with its goal to encourage all District residents between 14 and 84 to find out their HIV status." The campaign netted a huge increase in people getting tested but it also fell well short of testing several hundred thousand residents (total tested: about 48,000). And "the data collected at the test sites were not complete enough to provide the demographic breakdowns needed for the best prevention and treatment planning."
• In a March 10, 2007, story, the Post wrote about funding to nonprofit groups who deal with AIDS/HIV prevention. It reported that in 2005, D.C. Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray had noticed a "disparity" in funding---of the 121 nonprofit groups and agencies who received city dollars, not one cent had gone to a nonprofit based in Ward 7. Two years later, Gray was able to funnel hundreds of thousands of dollars to nonprofits who would target Ward 7 and Ward 8. But why did it take Gray two years after he realized this disparity to get funding? Where were other councilmembers on this issue? The Post story noted that these wards had the highest rates of infection in the city. And then there's this little nugget: The District would shell out an additional $300,000 to help these organizations "to implement training and help with writing grants." That's a lot of money to teach a nonprofit Grant Writing 101. That's a lot of money for "training." Effi Barry---who's expertise on the issue was what?---had been assigned to coordinate the Ward 7 part of the initiative.
• In late June 2007, the District government announces that it will launch a massive outreach effort aimed at teenagers and young adults. "We want to push the envelope....We have to be aggressive," Fenty says in a June 28 Post story.
• In late September 2007, the District pulled out of the condom producing business. The Post reported in a Sept. 29 piece that "as many as 70,000" government condoms were returned due to complaints related to the "mustard-yellow packets' durability and appearance." The District's outsourced condom producer agreed to replace the mustard-yellow packets with name-brand Trojans. The Post noted that "in addition to the inventories sent back in the past several days, the department's HIV/AIDS Administration still had 350,000 condoms that were never distributed....The Health Department has promised to retool the entire condom distribution program."
• A Nov. 26, 2007, Post article cites a District report calling the city's infection rates "a modern epidemic." The report was the first of its kind since 2000. "District health officials have long been faulted for the lack of HIV information and lagging AIDS data," the Post wrote. "Not until forced by federal funding requirements did the health department start tracking HIV." The city report found that more than 80 percent of the HIV cases were among black men, women and adolescents. Among women, nine in 10 were African American. The article quotes a letter Fenty had written that accompanied the report's release. He wrote: "We must take advantage of this information with the sense of urgency that this epidemic deserves."

The new report released last week revealed a 22 percent increase in the number of infected individuals from this 2006 study.

Nickles argues that the law is too costly. Advocates say that the law is put in place to curb over-detentions at the D.C. Jail and prevent inmates from being dumped in the middle of the night. Yesterday, Nickles sent a letter to Mendo pressing his case.

I was charmed by this particular section:

"DOC reports that the frequency of over-detentions has been reduced in the last year by approximately 40%," Nickles writes. "Since early 2007, DOC has reduced the number of over-detentions from as high as 45 per month to as low as eight per month in 2008. DOC has spent approximately five years working to improve its release proceedures..."

It's interesting that for all of the DOC's work, there are still inmates who are being over-detained. It's still amazing to me that the District can't seem to get this right.

In 2005, the District settled one class-action lawsuit over the issue for $12 million. That case had been filed in 2002. In the spring of 2007, a second class-action lawsuit was filed after more inmates claimed they were over-detained. I reported then on the lawsuit and the federal court judge's exasperation at the city:

"U.S. District Court Judge Royce C. Lamberth certified another class-action lawsuit concerning the D.C. Jail’s alleged inability to release inmates on time. In his ruling, Lamberth reflected on the déjà vu: 'This is a case in which history insists on repeating itself. The subject matter is virtually identical to a prior case before this Court, the arguments are the same, even the same procedural defaults have been made. If past is prologue, then the result here must be predictable.'

The District’s lawyers, Lamberth wrote, continue to counter the former inmates’ claims 'with the excuse that some delays are inevitable due to administrative needs.' Delays of a day or two, they claim, are 'per se reasonable.'

Lamberth slapped down that stance, writing that 'the great weight of precedent suggests that release must occur within a matter of hours.'"

Before the District starts messing with established laws governing the D.C. Jail, it may want to actually fix the D.C. Jail. Ane one last thing, Nickles writes that the DOC has been working on fixing the over-detention issue for the past five years. He's wrong.

The DOC has been working on fixing this issue for well over a decade. Actually, it's closer to 20 years.

At last week's hearing on the Department of Mental Health, Councilmember David Catania revealed the cost to house one person for one year at St. Elizabeths.

Guess how much?

About $280,000 per year.

"That is an enormous amount of money," Catania said in what has to be the understatement of the day. There are so many reasons the money isn't worth it. University Legal Services has found plenty of reasons.

Catania referred to these services at St. Es as "inferior" compared to a private facility and by paying these huge fees we've "cheated everybody."

D.C. Councilmembers Harry Thomas Jr. and Yvette Alexander are elected officials. People must have seen something in them that they liked. Maybe in Thomas' case, it was his famous name. Maybe in Alexander's case, it was her sunny personality. But since joining the council, both have gained reputations as lightweights.

Last Wednesday, on February 18, Thomas and Alexander earned their reps.

The two presided over an oversight hearing on the Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR). For the first hour-plus of that hearing, the two focused on the Therapeutic Recreation Center, located at 3030 G Street SE, and the non-profit Positive Nature. This past fall, the non-profit, which specializes in providing services for at-risk youth, moved into the TR Center as part of a public-private partnership with the rec department.

If there was ever a need for a safe place for at-risk kids, now would be it. Child and Family Services is only now climbing out of a backlog with a director yet to be confirmed. Last week, City Lights Public Charter School, which educates troubled kids, announced it was closing. A parent recently won a huge hurdle in his lawsuit against the city over its treatment of his son who needs special-ed services. Of course, there's Banita Jacks. These are just recent events. Pick any year and you will find many more sad stories about troubled kids not getting the help they need from the city.

Pick a topic: Funding. Education. Therapy. Counseling. After-school support. Chances are the District is failing a troubled kid or a thousand troubled kids in one or all of these areas.

If you happened to attend this hearing or watch it online, you would have thought that there are no at-risk kids in the District. All you would have heard from is an entity known as the Concerned Seniors of the Therapeutic Recreation Center. They were bused to the hearing dressed in brand new matching red t-shirts. They were there to hijack the proceedings.

For that first hour or so, they blasted the hearing with ignorant nonsense. The seniors aren't "concerned." They are furious that they now have to share the TR Center. They want their rec center back.

"I have never met any of these people," testified La Verne Hall about Positive Nature. I guess she missed the non-profit's open house last fall. Among the grievances Hall lists are the disappearance of the center's "Boo House" for Halloween and an extra lifeguard for water aerobics.

Of Positive Nature, Hall asked: "What have they offered? So far I have seen little or next to nothing."

There are few things worse than a senior-citizen turned NIMBY. In Hall's calculation, troubled kids who have been shuffled through the broken foster-care system or who have been neglected by their mothers or who suffer with learning disabilities aren't worth a few rooms in a District rec center.

Hall told me in an interview on Sunday that she'd like to see Positive Nature evicted from the facility. She really misses that Boo House. Nevermind that the TR Center still offers programming for seniors. Hall has just never bothered to figure it out. Nor has she apparently bothered to visit the three other DPR facilities dedicated to senior programs in Southeast.

Hall was joined at the hearing by Alice Love, who claims to have organized the concerned seniors group. Love admitted that she doesn't patronize the TR Center nor live anywhere near the center. This did not stop her from spouting off.

Both Alexander and Thomas then proceeded to gush over these seniors. Alexander showed up late. But this fact didn't prevent her from commenting on the testimony she hadn't heard.

“I really take seriously any concern that you have," Alexander stated, adding later: "Please know you have me as an advocate for you."

Thomas told Love: “I am so pleased you’ve taken up this charge.”

Then things turned real ugly.

A DPR employee who works at the TR Center had testified that he had received a written threat on his windshield. The threat apparently warned him about speaking out against the non-profit or something like that. There was no evidence that anyone from Positive Nature made the threat.

This did not stop Alexander from putting on her detective's badge and slandering the non-profit. “It points the finger directly at them whether it was through them directly or indirectly…that sickens me that we have a partnership …." But she added: "[There's] No evidence that it comes from them."

No evidence. We also heard Thomas introduce into the record some mysterious checks ($15 from Alexandria? Wha?) that Positive Nature may or may not have received. I wasn't sure what Thomas was talking about. He never did explain himself. Thomas also mentioned that the city has paid Positive Nature money for services. He just didn't know what those services were for.... Maybe he should have skimmed this story before holding his hearing.

Maybe Thomas should have talked to one of the city's social workers. Here is what one told me in an e-mail last night:

"PNI is one of very few providers that offers services to some of the most challenging youth in the city. Not only do they do it, but they do it well. PNI's level of commitment to each individual child and his/her family is a rarity in service provision today. I have referred several children to this program...children that no one else could reach. They are able to make the connections that are so vital to our young people's lives."

Let's see: the money is payment for running after-school programs for District kids, for taking in kids at 10 a.m. and taking them home at the end of the day, for advocating on their behalf in Family Court, etc. For being there when no one else will.

But then again, seniors vote. What pull do foster kids have with big-time D.C. Councilmembers?

"Pursuant to this policy, the District Will be one of only a few jurisdictions in the nation to permit transgender inmates to be housed according to their gender identity in appropriate cases, and to allow transgender inmates to initiate hormone therapy while in custody.

These provisions, along with other aspects of the policy, will help to ensure that the rights of transgender prisoners are respected and that their unique needs are accommodated, to the extent practicable, while they are incarcerated."

New York State is the only jurisdiction that has these kinds of procedures. This is big.

It all starts at intake. According to the new program statement written by the D.C. Department of Corrections--and dated today!--DOC will classify an inmate or can classify an inmate as transgendered after the inmate has been reviewed by the new Transgender Committee.

The committee is comprised of "a medical practitioner, a mental health clinician, a correctional supervisor, a Chief Case Manager and a DOC approved volunteer who is a member of the transgender community or an awknowledged expert in transgender affairs." This entity can determine the transgendered inmate's housing assignment after a review of their records and an interview with the inmate.

Here's where it kinda gets tricky: "During intake, if an inmate's gender-related expression, identity, appearance, or behavior differs from their sex, staff shall, when practical, place transgendered or intersex inmates in a holding cell by him/herself during intake." I wonder how a guard receives training on this?

If an inmate has been determined as transgendered, there are now procedures for how guards must address them. "Inmates shall be called by their last names without referenced to gender specific indentifiers such as Mr. or Mrs.," the DOC statement says.

So what's the upshot for transgendered inmates? They can either be housed in the general population or in protective custody unit of their gender consistent with their identity or "genitalia."

Arraignment court---in C10 of D.C. Superior Court---is starting to feel a little predictable. A man gets called. Sometimes he's in shackles. Sometimes not. He steps forward. He places his hands behind his back. The man is read his charges (drugs, stolen auto, fugitive warrant). He is then told to stay away from somewhere in the District.

It's almost 5 p.m. Arraignment court doesn't end until every man gets their stay-away order.

At 4:45 p.m., a man steps up to the judge. He is told to stay away from Alberto's Pizza on P Street NW in Dupont Circle.

100 yards.

Like a football field, the man says.

Next up: Docket No. 19. Ricky from South Carolina. He is wanted by South Carolina. But while enjoying whatever the District has to offer last night, he got picked up on a domestic violence charge. He is ordered to stay away from the woman. 100 yards.

"Do you know what the length of 100 yards is?" the judge asks.

"The length of a football field," the man says.

At 4:49 p.m., a man stands before the judge facing down a stolen auto charge. He's ordered to stay away from 19th and D Streets NE. Plus he's given a curfew. He has to be home from 9 p.m. to 7 a.m.

Sitting behind the defense table are a pair of brothers, Gerald and Richard Arnold. Richard is in braids. Gerald is in a light blue shirt that's too big for his frame. They look bored. Almost sleepy. They came into courtroom 320 clutching legal file folders. But the proceedings are slow and tedious. A juror is interviewed about her past drug charges. Another juror is quizzed. There is a bench conference in which someone flips the white noise switch.

The entire room is filled with white noise. It's enough to make anyone--even defendants on trial for two murders and a raft of drug and drug conspiracy charges to feel a little lost.

The Arnold Brothers are inside this hot and packed D.C. Superior Court courtroom because of a pair of murders they are alleged to have committed on March 1, 2006. It has been nearly three years since police responded at 7:10 p.m. to the rear of 931 Wahler Place SE on report of gun shots. There, they found two young men suffering gunshot wounds.

Michael Branham, 18, of the 4400 block of Eads Street NE, and Michael Berry, 21, of Fort Washington, were transported to area hospitals where they died an hour later. Branham was a senior at Ballou. Berry had never gone up to Wahler to sell drugs before. That night was his first and only night. The D.C. Police posted a $25,000 reward for information leading to an arrest. Soon, the reward was upped to $50,000. Police suspected the shooting was over drug turf. In late July, then-20-year-old Gerald Anthony Arnold was arrested for the murders.

At 10: 30 a.m., just before he calls the jury in, he asks the prosecutors and defense attorneys about their opening arguments.

One of the four defense attorneys says she will give the opening. "Better be good," Alprin says to nervous laughter. "I'm kidding."

After the jury is sworn in, Alprin goes through the indictments (crack, heroin, weed, guns, ammo, murder, conspiracy) and the rules governing--especially governing--the jurors' notebooks. They can take notes but they don't have to take notes. No one will ever see the notes. The notes are not a substitute for evidence. The preamble takes forever. None of the jurors appear to be taking notes.

At 11:02, prosecutor Vivien Cockburn stands up to give her opening. She first talks about the 900 block of Wahler. It's a block that has a school, a deli, a small incline called "The Hill," and the Arnold brothers who lived with their grandmother. They had a family business.

"I'm talking about the drug business," Cockburn says, adding later: "This is about selling drugs and protecting drugs." And still later: "I'm not saying it's a big cartel like you see in South America or CSI or Miami Vice."

Jurors learn that Richard Arnold has a nickname---"Little Ricky." His brother Gerald Arnold had a sidekick whose nickname is "Black Jesus." Jurors also learn that in order to understand the murders that night, they are going to have to a) get caught up on the drug trade; b) go back in time five years.

Cockburn doesn't use big words, a fancy T.V. style delivery or unnecessary dramatics. She sticks to the alleged facts. She keeps coming back to the drugs and the murders. She almost apologized for all the drug talk. She's implying to the jury: you may not like the drug war, but I know you don't like a double homicide. She's pretty close to perfect for a difficult case involving drug dealers allegedly killing other drug dealers over turf. She weaves a solid narrative and makes sure to hit the points that make the victims human beings---one had a good mother, the other was kid who was murdered on his first day out on Wahler.

Family members of the victims well-up within a few minutes.

Cockburn's story begins in 2001. This is when the Arnold Brothers caught the attention of the police and started piling up charges like rites of passage. The charges are discussed. Drugs. Cash. Guns.

More Drugs. Cash. Guns.

Drugs with zip-lock bags emblazoned with the Arnold logo: An Ice Cream Cone.

Yum.

An incident of pistol shooting in the back of their grandmother's house. That time, when the cops arrived, they literally found a smoking gun.

After a bit, the jurors get caught all the way up to May 15, 2005. At 7 p.m., two officers heard a "pow, pow, pow" up on Wahler. They found Richard Arnold clutching a firework. They gave chase and cornered him behind an ice cream truck. They cuffed him and walked him back up to their patrol car. There, in front of a growing crowd, they patted him down, Cockburn says.

They found money in every pocket. Six thousand bucks. And two cellphones. Then the officers found keys to a car. The keys, the discovery of the keys, freaked out Richard Arnold more than the cash and cellphones.

Richard Arnold did not want the cops to have those keys. He begged for those keys, for someone other than the cops to take custody of them. The crowd begged for the keys. His brother Gerald begged for the keys.

Wahler Street did not get those keys. The cop walked the street, pressing the automatic door lock button until he heard Arnold's car beep. He opened the door to the maroon car and searched it. Jackpot.

Inside, Cockburn states, there was a gun in the glovebox, ziplock bags, and cash in every crevice ($1,400 in total).

Then six days before the murders, the police did an undercover buy with a man standing next to Gerald Arnold. The undercover cop was convinced Arnold had a gun. It scared the shit out of him. As soon as the buy was done, he radioed the police about Arnold and the gun. The police swooped in. Arnold took off for his grandmother's house.

Gerald Arnold dropped a 9-mm pistol along the way to his grandmother's house.

Four days later, Gerald Arnold' sidekick Black Jesus ordered Michael Branham to leave the block. It wasn't so much as an order as a warning. The two didn't fight. But the moment was heated. Branham was getting too successful on the Arnold Family's turf. His business was so good, he started giving away sample baggies.

Branham had started selling drugs a year earlier on Trenton Place SE near his grandmother's house. When his mom found out, she didn't ignore it. She started calling the police on her son. She wanted him to finish his senior year at Ballou and maybe go to college. This drug business may have been new but it bit.

Branham, the prosecutor says, hatched a plan with a friend. They'd move their operations away from Branham's mother's watchful eye. They'd move their business to Wahler. Branham had known the Arnold Brothers. He'd seen them around, bumped into them at clubs. They weren't friends. But they also weren't enemies.

But then in an evening on March 1, 2006, they were. The prosecutor promised their would be witnesses that saw the Arnold Brothers gun down Branham and Berry. They were shot in the back, she says, and left paralyzed and bleeding to death on the pavement. Remember, it's about drugs and murder.

At 11: 45 a.m., Cockburn wraps up her opening.

Judge Alprin calls for a short recess.

Tiasiah Branham, Michael's mother, walks out into the hallway with a strong entourage. She looks calm, even relieved. The sight of the Arnold brothers sitting behind the defense table didn't bother her. She'd seen them before when they were arraigned.  "It's good," she says. "After three years, I'm prepared. I'm ready."

Since announcing his imminent lawsuit against the fire department, Bowyer says his day has gone pretty normal.

Bowyer has been on desk duty for months. Pennington gets to pass out hot cocoa and snacks to firefighters. They used to investigate fires. That is, they contend, until they started complaining about how fire investigations had become a joke---how major fires were being investigated by inexperienced personnel and just not done correctly.

Sometimes Bowyer gets to go out and check on smoke detectors. Today wasn't one of those days.

It's 2:24 p.m.

"I've just been sitting here all day. We haven't had any smoke detectors today. I came in at 0600 hours and I've sat here at the firehouse all day," Bowyer says. "Likewise, Pennington. There hasn't been any major fires so he hasn't passed out any granola bars or hot chocolate. This is a very typical day."

Except today, a release has been sent out announcing the press conference for tomorrow at noon at Eastern Market. Now he has a lawyer who speaks for him. The release states:

"According to attorney David J. Marshall of Katz, Marshall & Banks, LLP, which represents the firefighters, the lawsuit will detail a campaign of harassment and retaliation that DCFEMS and Chief Rubin launched when Bowyer and Pennington began to speak out about botched fire investigations, including the investigation of the fire that destroyed the historic Eastern Market in June 2007.  The lawsuit alleges that the department mishandled a number of fire investigations and then misrepresented critical facts to the public.  Bowyer and Pennington also blew the whistle on various instances of mismanagement and abuse of authority in the department."

The response from his fellow fighters today has been: "Fear and outrage. Fear of what this administration would do if they came forward or spoke out. And outrage at how this department is operating internally. I was just talking to a member today, a white official, he was just like the morale is at the lowest it's ever been at the department," Bowyer says.

Bowyer says some brave firefighters promised him they would come to the press conference. "Since this has been going on, we've gotten so much support. It's the only thing that's kept us going," Bowyer says.

Last night, WJLA reported that a pair of D.C. Firefighters are readying a civil lawsuit aimed squarely at D.C. Fire Department Chief Dennis L. Rubin. This fight has been brewing for years. The firefighters are claiming that their own department has botched numerous fire investigations and that the upper brass retaliated against them when they complained within the department and to the media. The fight heated up soon after the Eastern Market fire which some investigators say was arson.

The fight over the Eastern Market fire did not sit well with Rubin apparently. I know first hand how Rubin handles tough inquiries into that case. But investigators persisted. They complained about how the Mount Pleasant fire was handled and so on. Meanwhile, Rubin was still Chief Rubin.

The inevitable happened. Two whistleblowers---D.C. Arson Investigators Greg Bowyer and Gerald Pennington---were transferred to something called the Community Services Unit and generally toyed with. Now Bowyer and Pennington are fighting back. They plan on filing a lawsuit this week. They have scheduled a press conference for tomorrow at noon at Eastern Market. Last night we reached Bowyer.

So what is the community service unit?

"We're not doing anything," Bowyer says. "We may install one smoke detector a week. Other than that, we sit in a firehouse and do nothing. Pennington has been assigned to the rehab unit. What he does is serve snacks to firefighters---granola bars and coffee and hot chocolate. The community service unit is a complete waste of time. It's six of these units around the city and they do nothing."

They've been on smoke detector and hot cocoa duty for some time. "It's actually been longer than six months," Bowyer says. In October, Bowyer says the department charged them with interfering with government operations related to a June fire at 317 L Street NE. Bowyer says there were problems with the way the L Street fire was investigated. And he had made noise about that case.

Bowyer says they have a tape of an official either bragging or warning that they were going to use the investigation to set them up.  This official told them to not get involved with the L Street case---"that it was a set up."

By then, as the existence of the tape attests, Bowyer had been using his investigative skills for more internal matters like clearing his name and fixing the way the department investigates fires. Boyer says he's had a 100 percent arrest and conviction rate. "I had the highest conviction rate in the department's history," he says. In June, he filed a complaint within the department. In August, he filed an EEOC complaint.

"Since Eastern Market, more than half of the cases have been botched," Bowyer says. It was hard for him to stand aside and just watch cases get mishandled by inexperienced and under-qualified investigators or see Rubin jump in front of the first microphone---like at Eastern Market---and spout off without solid facts.

They aired their complaints up the chain of command and to the D.C. Council. At best, these complaints were met with indifference.  They then went on WJLA and aired their grievances.

After the WJLA story ran, the fire department ordered them to write a special report, Bowyer says. He adds that as far as he knows the department never responded to the EEOC complaint. He says his whistleblower/retaliation lawsuit is aimed at a) probing the department's misconduct and b) changing the way the department handles investigations.

Bowyer also hopes the lawsuit will impact Rubin's employment. "If you talk to firefighters, the majority of the firefighters are not happy with him as a leader," Bowyer says. "We do not see that accountability and transparency that he publicly projects...It's the opposite. We know the dark figure of Rubin."

Bowyer goes on to say:

"So many people are afraid to come forward. Hopefully by coming forward we will facilitate some serious change....Hopefully that change includes top leadership and Rubin. That will be more important than money at this time....It's been awful for my immediate family and for my extended family. This administration has put members against members, front line against management. It's just an awful day for the department and an awful day for the city.

This leadership has managed to divide the department from black to white, from the department and the community. There's a level of distrust that hasn't existed in years."

As Bowyer prepared to file the lawsuit, the hits have kept on coming.

"I have an incident right now where a supervisor, who is a good supervisor, has been forced to falsify an official document at the behest of officers who work directly under the fire chief," Bowyer says. "I have documents in support of that....This is all in an effort to find something negative on us."

"The last thing we want to do is sue our own department and our own city. Chief Rubin has given us no choice," Bowyer says.

*photo of Eastern Market fire by Arthur Delaney.