Congress Heights on the Rise gives 7D police and Asst. Chief Diane Groomes an "A+." The blogger writes: "The Advoc8te sees the police out in full force in my neighborhood in  response to the carjackings this week. There are about 10 police cars on our street and we feel much safer!  This increased police prescence is MUCH appreciated!" Sure. But what about all the murders in 7D?

In Bloom posts a narrative of a beatdown in Bloomingdale:

"On Wednesday, at 5 PM, Brad was attacked by 6-7 young men, at the corner of 2nd and S Street, who wanted absolutely nothing other than to beat the utter crap out of him. Brad, aside from being a military guy, is also an urban-savvy guy, who said that his instincts never warned him that something was about to happen. On his way to the Big Bear Cafe, half the group rushed him from the front..."

Live in Mount Vernon Square reported bullets are flying in their neighborhood. This is from last week: "There was another shooting.  About ten feet away from my residence.  I dont understand this and why MPD and our political leaders can't stop this if they really wanted to. Are our lives worth less than the residents of Foggy Bottom, Georgetown, Glover Park and MacArthur Park?"

Prince of Petworth reports that more cupcakes are coming to D.C. Ugh.

The Triangle reports that a deli at 3rd and K Streets NW will be closing and a soul food outpost will be moving in.

DC Teacher Chic has something in common with Michelle Rhee.

*photo by Darrow Montgomery.

But where do local schools stand on the initiative's goal of lowering the drinking age?

The Amethyst Initiative bases their goal of rethinking the drinking age on the fact that the law, as it currently exists, is not working.  In fact, they claim it has been counterproductive, stating, “A culture of dangerous, clandestine ‘binge-drinking’—often conducted off-campus—has developed.”  Anyone who has been to a college campus can certainly agree with that.  While 21 year olds are able to go to bars and drink as little, and as slowly, as they choose, the majority of college students don’t have that luxury.  Instead, 18-20 years olds (read- Freshman, Sophomores, and Juniors) are forced to drink on the sly, usually at a far more rapid (and dangerous) pace than their 21 year old counterparts.

As for D.C. schools, there does not appear to be any consensus.  The entire University of Maryland system, which includes UMD- College Park, has signed on to the Initiative’s petition.  George Washington University, through new President Steven Knapp, appears to be hedging, at least for now.  In the GW Hatchet, Knapp explains, "I would like to have a fuller study and discussion with my staff before deciding if this is the best way to approach the issue of underage alcohol consumption.”  However, he does add, “A lower drinking age would mean more traffic fatalities and, frankly, a rise in the overall consumption of alcohol.”

Other area schools are more blatant in their disagreement with the Initiative.  Howard University is a dry campus, and does not support the Amethyst Initiative.  American University will not be signing-  school President Neil Kerwin questions, to the American University Eagle, whether lowering the drinking age will “deter the epidemic of destructive behavior prompted by alcohol abuse that we’ve seen on our own campus.” Georgetown will not be signing on, either, citing the University’s focus on health and safety concerns.  Curiously, Georgetown President John DeGioia adds, to the Georgetown Hoya,“We’re a nation at war, we’re having some real difficulties with our economy. There are just a range of issues on which I could offer my perspective and my engagement, and I just feel that right now my priorities have to be placed elsewhere.”   Maybe we can wish that one day, President DeGioia can find a couple of minutes to involve himself in an issue that directly affects the safety of his students.

Despite the various Universities’ skepticism, the sad fact remains- binge drinking is a significant and growing problem on college campuses.  And being a dry campus, though maybe ideal, does not absolve any school from its responsibility in stemming the tide of the binge drinking epidemic that has enveloped college life.  In fact, the two ideas- being a dry campus and advocating a public discourse on the drinking age- are not mutually exclusive.  There is no conflict in discussing a drinking age law and still prohibiting alcohol on campus.  Finally, this is far too important an issue for schools to be so cautious.  George Washington University’s non-answer answer is frustrating, and as a current student of the school, I think I deserve better.  Georgetown’s health and safety concerns should be applauded, but as the goal of the initiative is to curb the effects of binge drinking, there's no reason not to engage the idea.

First came revelations that the man who bribed D.C. Council aide Ted Loza was none other than Abdul Kamus (pictured), a man this paper once hailed as the "de facto leader of D.C.’s Ethiopian community." Kamus' links to Loza's boss, Ward 1 Councilmember Jim Graham, are deep.

From the 2004 WCP article by Jonathan O'Connell:

On Sept. 16, [2004,] Kamus held a press conference in front of Dukem, a U Street Ethiopian restaurant, to request better police protection for African-owned businesses on the thoroughfare....At 1:30 p.m., a cream-colored Volkswagen Beetle convertible pulled up and Ward 1 Councilmember Jim Graham emerged, sporting a slight sunburn.

Graham had just returned from a five-week trip to Ethiopia, for which Kamus had arranged his travel and lodging. Graham, as well as his director of multicultural policy and community relations, Ted Loza, had spent the trip gathering a better understanding of Ethiopian culture. Upon following Kamus to the podium, Graham said “Tena yestelgn”—a greeting in Amharic, Ethiopia’s primary language. Kamus and the restaurant owners beamed.

Recently, Loza said he had never heard from an African-immigrant advocate before Kamus arrived. “He came to D.C., he asked the right questions, and [he] isn’t afraid to ask,” Loza said.

Kamus’ lobbying of Graham has paid off in big ways for the Ethiopian community. In March, after Metro fired about 30 Ethiopian parking-lot attendants after discovering millions of dollars in parking revenue was missing, Kamus complained to Graham, a Metro board member. Graham forcefully defended the fired Ethiopians at a press conference.

With Graham’s support, Kamus has tackled a variety of issues related to Ethiopian welfare in D.C. One of his greatest accomplishments was the April passage of the Language Access Act. Submitted by Graham, the law requires the city to provide translation services in Amharic. Kamus has since lobbied for the city to create a mayoral commission to serve the African refugee community, noting that the mayor currently has an nine-member Office on Latino Affairs and a five-member Office on Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs.

Since then, Kamus (pronounced CAH-moo) has maintained his preeminent place in the city's Ethiopian culture. And, with taxi driving being a central part of that culture, it's no surprise he'd have a hand in that business.

Then there's Yitbarek Syume, who owns and operates both Jet Cab and United Fleet Management, a company that installs taximeters and does mechanic and body work for independent drivers. That outfit was named last week in a search warrant served to search Loza's office. This afternoon, LL stopped by UFM's headquarters in Eckington to find the premises vacant save for a single mechanic, who said Syume had left for the day.

But these business connections aren't exclusively Ethiopian: Washington Post reporter Del Wilber reports this afternoon that 'FBI agents Friday morning raided the home of Causton Toney in Northwest Washington, according to a law enforcement source.'

Toney, a D.C. Taxi Commission chair, is a partner with Syume in UFM and Jet Cab. He has not been charged.

File photo by Darrow Montgomery

It's not like there are armed robberies downtown, half a block from the White House, in the middle of the day, and it's not like people have been shot inside museums, and it's not like the Metro system isn't safe.

Oh, wait.

As Borderstan notes, there was an armed robbery downtown, half a block from the White House, yesterday afternoon (at 16th and K). And someone was shot inside the Holocaust Memorial Museum. And there was that crash on the Metro that left nine people dead, scores more injured and lots and lots of questions, especially since it's becoming ever-clearer that the problems were long-standing and have yet to be fixed.

But none of that, thankfully, should affect the way tourists see the city at all.

New Columbia Heights spots a possible illegal bar on Georgia Avenue. Jim Graham is so on this.

Congress Heights on the Rise lists reasons you should attend Wednesday's D.C.Library trustees meeting. The blog even lists a number you can call for carpooling to the big session. One reason: "Clearly the community is not happy with the proposed WashingtonHighlands library designs. How will the Board direct DCPL leadership towork with the local ANC's to help them get to a solution the whole Ward can appreciate?"

Borderstan offers May/June crime stats for the "new Borderstan."

Penn Quarter Living notes that a bagel chain on 9th Street debuted outdoor seating. I didn't know there were still bagel places left in D.C.

The New Teacher on the Block isn't quite buying the latest upbeat reports between Rhee and the teacher's untion.

Housing Complex has a great story on a local, modern co-op.

According to Capitol Police spokesperson Kimberly Schneider, a Mercedes driven by a lone man struck a Capitol Police officer who had stopped the vehicle in Columbus Circle. The Mercedes then proceeded down Louisiana Avenue NE going the wrong way. The car was stopped near the intersection of New Jersey Avenue and C Street NW. The driver produced a handgun, did not comply with another Capitol Police officer's instructions, and was shot multiple times by an unknown number of officers while still inside the Mercedes. The suspect has died; no description is currently available. The suspect's gun has been recovered. Officers, she says, "feared for their life." Another Capitol Police officer, on a motorcycle, was injured and transported to a hospital; the officer struck by the car also has minor injuries. Capitol Police are working with Metropolitan Police on the investigation. 6:54 p.m.

From AP: "The unidentified man was shot after brandishing a weapon, police said. He died shortly after the late afternoon melee, in which eyewitnesses said multiple gunshots were fired." 6:41 p.m.

From AP: "Another witness, Dale Lanigan of Toledo, Ohio, described a similar scene, although he said two police cars gave chase. As the car went past him, Lanigan said, 'the driver had one hand on the wheel and it looked like he was reaching for something.' Lanigan said he then heard shots and police ordered him to get away. He said the driver of the car was taken away in an ambulance." 6:34 p.m.

From AP via MSNBC: "The Capitol Police later said the man had died." 6:31 p.m.

From WTOP: "The suspect, a 35-year-old man, was shot at New Jersey Avenue and C Streets in Northwest, D.C. Fire and EMS spokesman Pete Piringer says. A law enforcement source says police attempted to stop a vehicle and the driver refused. In the pursuit and confrontation that followed, the driver was shot." 6:28 p.m.

From USA Today: "The fire department says a man was shot a block from Capitol and has life-threatening injuries." 6:25 p.m.

From WaPo: "The shooting occurred near New Jersey Avenue and C Street, but several other streets were closed. A witness told a Washington Post reporter that he heard between eight and 10 shots. Some reports said it was an exchange of gunfire between a suspect and U.S. Capitol Police. That report is unconfirmed. It is unclear if there are injuries." 6:20 p.m.

From WTTG-TV: "FOX 5 has learned that the situation may have started as a robbery at nearby Union Station. Reports indicate the suspect was being chased in what may have been a white or gray Mercedes with damage to the passenger side. The suspect reportedly did not stop, and crashed into a Capitol Hill barricade on C Street." 6:18 p.m.

From WRC-TV: "The incident apparently stemmed from a hit-and-run investigation and that the suspect in that investigation was involved. A witness told an NBC producer on the scene that he saw a white Mercedes sedan speeding in the direction toward the Capitol with police cruisers in pursuit. The witness said after the car turned onto New Jersey Avenue there was a crash and then what sounded like about eight to 10 gunshots." 6:15 p.m.

From WJLA-TV/NC8: "A U.S. Capitol Police officer shot a 35-year-old man at New Jersey Avenue NW and C Street NW, blocks from the Capitol, according to law enforcement sources....Witnesses say a white Mercedes was traveling at a high rate of speed away from Union Station toward a Capitol parking area, where the vehicle crashed into a barricade. That's when gunfire erupted, witnesses said." 6:12 p.m.

From Politico's John Bresnahan: "A witness, Robert Drumm of Oklahoma, said that 10 to 15 shots were fired." 6:10 p.m.

From WaPo alert: "Reports of gunfire at about 5:15 p.m. near U.S. Capitol." 6:01 p.m.

From Politico alert: "Some entrances to the U.S. Capitol have been closed after gunfire erupted when a car chased by police neared a security barrier." 5:55 p.m.

From Alert DC: "Due to police activity, Constitution Ave. between First St. NW and First St. NE. Please avoid if possible." 5:50 p.m.

Marion Barry appeared in front of cameras this morning for the first time since his Saturday-night arrest, but that's about all he did. Longtime lawyer Fred Cooke did virtually all the talking, while Barry stood behind him in a gray suit, fedora, and paisley tie, remaining mute save for an occasional whisper in Cooke's ear.

In contrast to yesterday's presser, where spokesperson Natalie Williams spent most of the time attacking the credibility of the alleged stalkee and glorifying Barry's munificence, Cooke stuck mostly to the confines of the legal case against his client.

"Mr. Barry specifically and vehemently denies stalking anyone," Cooke said. "We believe that the charge is baseless. We believe that the charge stems from a personal relationship that has gone horribly wrong in a lot of ways and has resulted in one party to that relationship striking out at Mr. Barry and repaying him for some of his kindnesses."

OK, so maybe Cooke didn't lay completely off the smear campaign, but he mentioned the name of the woman, Donna Watts-Brighthaupt, only once, in response to a question about her name.

Instead, Cooke emphasized the possibility that this will all go away very soon: "It is our hope that a careful review of the facts and circumstances by the Office of the United States Attorney will lead that office to conclude that no charges should be formally filed or lodged against Mr. Barry," he said, adding, "It's clear there was no stalking, no coercion....These are all facts that make it very difficult for the prosecutors to have a successful prosecution for stalking."

Cooke did entertain a few questions on the details of the relationship between Barry and Watts-Brighthaupt, saying the liaison "had run its course," having lasted "at least a year, maybe 18 months" and ended "within the last month or six weeks."

He referred to "verbal confrontations" between Barry and the woman's ex-husband in the past---which is what, he says, led Barry to have him banned from a Wilson Building event last Friday. "That individual had been confrontational with Mr. Barry in the past," Cooke explained, "and Mr. Barry thought that the decorum of the event required that that sort of behavior not reoccur."

As far as the events of Saturday, Cooke confirmed that the two planned to travel to Rehoboth Beach together, but they turned back to D.C. after having a late lunch in Annapolis. "I don't know what caused her to charge her mind," he said. "I know that she changed her mind." As to what happened afterward, the few details Cooke provided seemed to be mostly consistent with the sequence of events Watts-Brighthaupt described yesterday to LL---though Cooke insists that Barry was not following her when the arrest happened: "Mr. Barry was traveling on public streets on his way home," he said. "He was not following anyone." (He did contradict Williams' assertion yesterday that Watts-Brighthaupt's car was actually following Barry's when they entered Anacostia Park.)

Notably, Cooke declined to criticize Park Police on Barry's behalf, except to raise the question of what Barry could have possibly done during the traffic stop to justify a stalking charge---one that requires establishing a pattern of behavior: "I don't know how the officers decided that an offense happened in their presence that would allow them to arrest rather than investigate."

Asked about the charge might affect Barry's probation for federal tax offenses, Cooke said that given his expectation that charges would be dropped, it would have "zero effect." A source in the U.S. Attorney's Office confirms that in most cases, charges that are not pursued by prosecutors generally don't affect a preexisting probation agreement.

Concluded Cooke: "This is unfortunate, but it's not a distraction of such a proportion that would keep Mr. Barry from attention to the business of the council and the District of Columbia."

On his way down the Wilson Building steps to the microphones, Barry's arm was held by his spiritual adviser of late, Bishop Glen Staples of Ward 8's Temple of Praise. Also standing behind him were chief of staff Bernadette Tolson, confidante Anthony Mohammed, Williams, and two other gentlemen.

A reporter asked Cooke why Barry couldn't speak for himself: "Because he's a got a lawyer who's a pain in the butt," he said. "It would be malpractice if I allowed him to do that."

Video courtesy of WRC-TV

A compromise of sorts was in the works today: Councilmembers Jim Graham, Jack Evans, and Muriel Bowser, all supporters of the gang injunctions, proposed allowing the measures for six months in their own wards---1, 2, and 4, respectively.

That proposal didn't get very far with their colleagues.

"We cannot have a tale of two cities," said Harry Thomas Jr., who alluded to 'Jim Crow laws' in his comments on the debate.

At-Large Councilmember Phil Mendelson called it "a very convoluted approach to crime-fighting."

Ward 6's Tommy Wells reversed his earlier vote against gang injunctions to vote for them here (though he didn't endorse them to the point that he added Ward 6 to the compromise amendment): "There's a lot of ideology, there's a lot hyperbole...but I think it's a rational act for the council to do this and I think it's in the best interest of children."

In any case, the council voted the ward-only approach down, 5 to 8.

On the final, permanent crime bill, it passed 10 to 3---without the support of hardliner Jack Evans. "Unfortunately the bill before us is not the bill I had hoped," he said, recounting that a cop he had spoken to had described the final bill as "the criminal protection act." Bowser and David Catania joined him in a protest vote.

At last: Let the grandstanding end!

But not quite enough: Debate is about to begin in the D.C. Council on a competing pair of anti-crime bills. One, introduced by Councilmember Jack Evans and supported by Mayor Adrian M. Fenty, takes a hard-line approach, notably toward "civil gang injunctions," which makes it easier for police to keep alleged gang members out of specific neighborhoods. LL calls this the "jackboot reactionary" version. The other, introduced by Phil Mendelson, addresses most of the same issues, but amended to address civil rights concerns raised by the ACLU, NAACP, and other organizations---such as, How do you determine someone's a gang member? and What defines a neighborhood? LL calls this the "liberal weenie" version.

Both need nine votes to pass. Neither Evans nor Mendelson claimed earlier today to have the requisite number of votes in pocket.

Live from the John A. Wilson Building: Let the grandstanding commence!

12:47 P.M.: Evans, no surprise, says he's voting against the Mendo bill (the emergency declaration, to be precise). "I thought we spent a lot of time negotiating and were prepared to go forward," he says, then says that Mendo pulled key portions of compromise legislation. But he does strike a conciliar note, nothing the "hard work" put in by all parties.

12:50 P.M.: Marion Barry: "For the last 25, 30 years, we've had a public safety problem. During my administration, we have a crack cocaine epidemic...I was very naive about how to handle it." Calls the Fenty/Evans bill a "Band-Aid approach, a shotgun approach." Says he's supporting the Mendo version. "I don't condone criminal activity," he notes. You can't make this stuff up.

12:52 P.M.: Barry stresses the need for offender re-entry programs: "These people needs a lot of supportive services...that the government should pay for."

12:55 P.M.: Says Harry Thomas Jr., civil libertarian, "This is a very sensitive subject for many of us...Every young person here understands the impact of possibly being labeled a gang member by law, which will never be removed." Cites L.A. experiences with civil gang injunctions. Also cites need to "address the root causes that need to be addressed." He's with Mendo!

12:58 P.M.: Thomas pulls the fatherhood card: "I am a parent first!" And don't you dare label him! "I am not soft on crime; I am tough on crime!"

12:59 P.M.: Kids these days, Thomas says, "all wear the same clothes," leading to possible law enforcement confusion. "Your child could be labeled a gang member for life!" he warns.

1:00 P.M.: Thomas gets chamber applause! Vince Gray issues stern admonishment to crowd!

1:04 P.M.: Catania is with Evans. The Mendo bill, he says "does not deal with the issue of gang violence." Goes on to cite facts and such. Calls Thomas' same-clothes scenario "the worst mischaracterization of what the mayor and Mr. Evans' bill attempts to accomplish."

1:06 P.M.: "Is this a bill a perfect bill? No. I'm sure not one of us here is excited about locking up more of our young people." But: "The underlying bill is weak as tea and will produce no tangible results this summer."

1:07 P.M.: Kwame Brown is with Mendo. "People are tired. The fear of crime is out of control."

1:09 P.M.: Now Kwame seems to be engaged in a soliloquy directed at Barry, to no particular end. "Some of these kids, and some of these young folks...they're asking me, why are they still on the street?"

1:14 P.M.: Yvette Alexander is with Mendo, against civil injunctions. "Let me just say that a gang is just defined as being involved in criminal activity. We have laws in place to address criminal activity!...I personally don't believe that everyone hanging out on a corner is a criminal."

1:17 P.M.: Yvette: "Let's address the crime; let's not issue a quick fix....I also don't want to jeopardize anyone's constitutional rights, and I don't want racial profiling....We have some overly aggressive officers who may make assumption based on someone's appearance...[Racial profiling] is real and it exists."

1:19 P.M.: Muriel Bowser says the Mendo bill "sounds decisive and sounds good, but really doesn't do anything about the problems at hand." She backs Jack! (And the mayor, natch.)

1:20 P.M.: Bowser on civil injunctions: "It's not willy-nilly. It's very comprehensive!" Also: "This is not an issue of whether you support civil liberties or not...but also think that the people of my ward have the right to go in and out of their houses without being shot....what about them? They're being affected by the lawlessness on out streets as well!"

1:22 P.M.: Bowser: "I hope we will consider the measure offered by Mr. Evans, because it does do something about gangs."

1:24 P.M.: Michael Brown is with Mendo. "I grew up in a city where senior citizens would walk down the streets with groceries and we'd just help them!...We need to turn the clock back a little bit." These kids need to learn respect!

1:26 P.M.: Catania again, points out gun loophole in Mendo bill.

1:27 P.M.: Evans: "We have an emergency before us today, because I brought an emergency to the council."..."To me, the fundamental purpose of this legislation today is the gang legislation." Cites the violence in Shaw. "Are we going to go into the summer with the status quo. The status quo isn't working. People in Gibson Plaza are scared to cross 7th Street to go to the Giant!"

1:29 P.M. Jack's using his angry voice! "I am asking you, please, consider my bill! This is what the entire law enforcement community is Washington is asking for."

1:32 P.M.: Barry says 75 percent of people in Ward 8 will say they feel less safe this year then they did last year. Thus "what we did last year was ineffective." Thus "we ought to this once stop this Band-Aid approach."

1:33 P.M.: Barry: "If you really want to those what to do with the games, ask the Peaceoholics....I'm urging that you don't profile these young people. The National Park Service profiles you." Yikes. That would be a reference to the police shooting of Trey Joyner in Trinidad last week.

1:35 P.M.: Don't call Barry soft on violence, he says: "I've had a gun stuck in my face. Cold steel, right between my eyes." Also mentions his 1977 shooting at the hands of Hanafi Muslims in this building.

1:38 P.M.: After comments from Gray---"It seems each of you have decided that there is an emergency"---only Evans, Bowser, and Catania vote against emergency declaration resolution. On to the meat of the bill.

1:40 P.M.: Mendo is now going through each section of his bill. It's a lot.

1:49 P.M.: Jim Graham has an amendment to the Mendo bill. He's taking forever to get to explaining it. Guessing it has something to do with civil gang injunctions.

1:53 P.M.: OK, the amendment is to add two relatively uncontroversial recommendations made by a $125,000 gang and youth violence study released last week. Mendo accepts the amendment as friendly.

2:00 P.M.: Evans, realizing this is the only legislation that will pass today, offers amendment adding stricter pretrial detention guidelines. Mendo says no: "It's not clear how real that revolving door is." Could be a bad arrest. Could be a nonviolent crime. Could be because of prosecutor's decision.

2:02 P.M.: Mendo has visual aids! A handout on standards of proof from someone's second-year law school class on criminal procedure! Possibly one taught by Mary Cheh!

2:05 P.M.: Mendo refers to "government's poop." He corrects to "proof."

2:07 P.M.: Madam professor! Cheh begins lecture on pretrial detention procedures. "When we actually look at what's happening here, it's funny....I think it changes it somewhat...I think it's needed because there are...some set of case where there is someone who needs to be detained because they are a threat to the safety of the community." Also notes that federal law provides the same danger as the Evans amendment. Very persuasive!

2:09 P.M.: First Evans amendment, on pretrial detention standards, passes by acclamation. Now to civil gang injunctions. Jack pulls out his ACLU card! He is a card-carrying member! He agrees big picture stuff is necessary. Buuut..."I'm worried about tonight. I'm worried about tonight at Kennedy playground."

2:13 P.M.: "All I'm asking for is 90 days!" Then see if it works. BTW: Could gang injunctions become a poison pill? If Jack gets 7 votes, passing the amendment, that could mean losing votes toward the nine needed to pass the Mendo emergency. But point is moot: Doesn't look like there's seven votes on the amendment.

2:18 P.M.: Jim Graham is for civil game injunctions. The people I represent are looking for strong action...They're saying, 'Councilmember, you've got to come up with something more than the status quo.'" Concedes the injunctions measure likely doesn't have the votes, but it makes it into a permanent bill. "This bill is wanting."

2:20 P.M.: Cheh is against the gang injunction measure. "I've concluded that thhis scheme is fatally flawed." That's because injunctions are civil proceedings, and are thus not entitled to counsel. Most injunctions in California, she notes, go unchallenged. "These injunctions will lead to racial profiling and increase mistrust between police and the communities they'll be policing." Says there's little evidence in California that these things work.

2:22 P.M.: Cheh: "We have to accept that we can't arrest and jail our way out of this gang problem."

2:25 P.M.: Barry plugs increased funding for Peaceoholics, Alliance of Concerned Men, Roots Inc., and Cease Fire Don't Smoke the Brothers. "Stop the beefs...and give them jobs. That's my challenge to the mayor and this council."

2:31 P.M.: Catania calls the suggestion that people will be arrested willy-nilly for the clothes they wear "a lie that is perpetrated to confuse what this bill actually does." Judge! Clear and convincing evidence! "I happen to think this is an innovative solution and one that deserves consideration."

2:34 P.M.: Mendo: The civil gang injunction effort "sounds good...but we need to look beyond that." When the Fenty administration first proposed it, "I thought it was new and different," but after study he decided, "It lends itself to abuse."

Mendo has a letter from a congressman! After noting that he doesn't wish to leave the impression that a member of Congress is having any control on him, he reads note from Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.), from the judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties, saying that gang injunctions are "stunningly expensive and simply don't work."

2:39 P.M.: Barry seems to doubt that Kwame Brown is a black man. Kwame goes on to share his racial profiling experience---trying to enter the John A. Wilson Building after hours! More on this to come! Meanwhile, on CGIs, he says, "I don't think it's going to stop one gang from doing anything."

2:46 P.M.: Yvette still against civil injunctions. But she has a question about prostitution for Mendo. Mendo looks exasperated.

2:47 P.M. Muriel Bowser now reading out of gang report. Why did you have to bring those, Jim Graham?

2:51 P.M.: Muriel says she's voting for amendment, against overall bill.

2:54 P.M.: Catania tends toward the apocalyptic: "Who will govern and control that police the streets of the city? Will it be the police...or will we cede these streets?...This is no rocket docket toward jail."

2:56 P.M.: Gray lays down his marker: He's against civil gang injunctions. "There's no evidence that it works." Not in St. Louis, not it Dallas, not in Detroit.

2:58 P.M.: Vince reaches back to his DHS director days, his Covenant House days and pulls out programs that were tried and quickly discarded. He wants to follow the "Blueprint for Action"!

3:00 P.M.: Gray says CGIs would "create a larger breach between law enforcement and communities." Has rejoinder to Jack's never-heard-: "I've never had one young person say to me...'You need to lock more of us up.'"

3:02 P.M.: The Evans CGI amendment goes down, hard. Vote is 4-9, with Evans, Graham, Bowser, and Catania in favor.

3:04 P.M.: Tommy Wells rears his head: He wants to attach his curfew proposal for 15 and under---10 p.m. weeknight, 11 p.m. weekdays---to the bill. Mary Cheh is against. So is Barry.

3:06 P.M.: Marion Barry rails against the MIDNIGHT BASKETBALL GAP! How does PG County have it and we don't??? (BTW---Is it suddenly 1994 again?)

3:09 P.M.: Jim Graham hearts curfews.

3:11 P.M.: Harry Thomas, per usual, is concerned about sports practices. To wit, the chance that his 14-year-old, 6-foot-tall, 180-pound, mustache-sporting son might leave his practice, which ends at 9 p.m., not get a ride from his dad, miss the bus, and get picked up by the cops while walking home. So he's voting against it.

3:14 P.M.: Mendo's agin' it! Wells talks about all the kids he sees on the street. Vote is taken: It fails, 4-9, with Wells, Graham, Alexander, and Kwame Brown in favor. While voting no, Michael Brown says to Thomas, "My sons are bigger than yours."

3:19 P.M.: Wow! Weird Channel 13 angle on Catania! Great view of his bald spot. DAC is hammering Mendo on some excruciating detail.

3:23 P.M.: Catania found some loophole in the gun-offender registry...bla bla bla. Mendo responds...bla bla bla. VOTE ALREADY!

3:26 P.M.: Finally: The Mendo bill has passed, with Graham's amendment, 10-3. Evans, Bowser, and Catania against.

3:27 P.M.: Evans agrees to withdraw his version of the bill (duh). "I would hope in the next two weeks that we focus on the gang issue...that we work together, that we try to do something." Holds out hope for new CGI emergency legislation on June 30.

3:30 P.M.: The wrap-up: Call it a win for Mendo; a loss for Jack. Evans will rightly claim credit for the fact that crime legislation came to an emergency vote before the bulk of the summer. But the fact is that civil gang injunctions were the centerpiece of what he wanted, and the piece that Mendelson most objected to. Evans simply wasn't able to bring his colleagues along on the legislation most important to him.

Here's an interesting but not really shocking D.C. crime fact: The District is home to about 130 criminal street gangs and smaller crews, whose members are involved in a disproportionate number of the city’s homicides, according to the report “Responding to Gang, Crew and Youth Violence in the District of Columbia.”

Gang members make up more than 60 percent of the city’s homicide suspects and four in every 10 of the victims, according to the report, commissioned by the D.C. Council and published by the Healthy Families/Thriving Communities Collaborative Council. It goes on to issue recommendation on how city officials, police and the community could do a better job of defusing youth violence and preventing teenagers from joining gangs.  You can find the full text here.

11:30: Seriously, WTF Fenty? What is the holdup here?

11:47: Fenty begins by offering condolences to the Johns family.

11:48: Fenty confirms shooter is James von Brunn. He thanks guards: "Their efforts to bring this gunman down to quickly literally saved the lives of countless people."

11:49: Von Brunn will be charged, Fenty says. MPD, FBI "are following up on several leads." ADL is in attendance.

11:50: "We will get past this...The District remains an open, safe city for tourists and visitors."

11:51: Cathy Lanier says "dozens and dozens" of interviews have been conducted. Von Brunn is being charged with murder and possession of a firearm in a federal facility.

11:52: Lanier says some details will remain secret: "We want to honor the integrity of the criminal justice system."

11:53: Joe Persichini of the FBI says "dual charging" is being pursued on federal civil rights and hate crimes statutes. Emphasizes that no evidence exists that von Brunn had any help or accomplices.

11:55: Persichini refers to "active shooter strategy" that was implemented to guard against a Mumbai-style terror attack.

11:57: Persichini says law enforcement has executed search warrants on von Brunn's residence and auto; interviewed friends and relatives; reviewed cell phone, Internet sites, computer data, and historical data. The goal in to construct "a complete timeline of Mr. Von Brunn."

11:58: Persichini [says that von Brunn] "is known as an established anti-Semite and white supremacist." Asks anyone who knows anything about the shooting to call law enforcement, wants to "make it clear that this country does not approve of any act of hatred in America."

12:00: Museum administrator: "Stephen opened that door for the elderly man coming in...and he was shot."

12:02: FBI won't say exactly where and when von Brunn was "engaged." On a rumored list of targets, Persichini says, "It is not a list." Refers to "numerous documents, pieces of paper" in the car that "contained names and addresses." All of those have been contacted by authorities.

12:03: Persichini says FBI did not have an open investigation of von Brunn prior to shooting.

12:04: Lanier: "We do have a very very detailed accounting of what happened." He double-parked on 14th Street SW, approached the museum. Johns "was kind enough to open the door" for him; he then raised the rifle and shot Johns. It was an "older weapon."

12:07: Lanier describes the "active shooter scenario," considered a "homicide in progress"---"it demands immediate action by law enforcement." Within one hour, had area police chiefs on the phone to get organized.

12:08: Copycats? Persichini says, "I have to stress vigilance" and again asks the public for information.

12:09: Persichini says the FBI is continuing to work with Justice Department on possible civil rights or hate crimes charges, to be filed later in addition to murder and weapons charges.

12:10: Fenty closes with a plea for business as usual: "Let's not let the acts of one madman set us back."

12:11: The number of the Washington Field Office is (202) 278-2000; you can submit tips online as well. The D.C. police tip line is 888-919-2746 (919-CRIME) or you can text 50411.

He has been identified as Stephen Tyrone Johns, and had worked at the museum for six years.

UPDATE, 5:10 P.M.: The museum has posted a statement on its Web site: "There are no words to express our grief and shock over today’s events at the Museum, which took the life of Officer Stephen Tyrone Johns. Officer Johns, who died heroically in the line of duty, served on the Museum’s security staff for six years. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Officer Johns’s family. We have made the decision to close the Museum Thursday, June 11, in honor of Officer Johns and our flags will be flown at half mast in his memory."

You’re about to become one of two armed robberies in Dewey Beach in one week.

The police report describes them as two black males between the ages of 17 and 23. They ask if you want to buy some crack. When you refuse, Concord pulls a black semiautomatic handgun.

“Do you want to die tonight?” he asks.

Initially, you refuse. Maybe the beer gives you a gust of ill-advised bravery. Maybe you’re simply too stunned to respond. That’s why Concord asks, “Why don’t you give me your money?”

You hand over your wallet. They fleece you for $70. Then they tell you to run. You run faster than you’ve ever run in your life, blood pounding in your temples, your calves already starting to burn. You hear their sneakers slapping the road behind you. You run faster. You run for one block, two –then nothing. They’re gone.

“We don’t get too many armed robberies,” said Dewey Beach Police Sgt. Cliff Dempsey. He said many crimes like this are opportunistic, preferring isolated targets on dark streets. While Dempsey said Dewey police have a few leads, he said the victim’s recollection was sketchy.

At 3:45 a.m. on Monday, June 7, a Wilmington, Del. man flagged down a seasonal officer. Three guys just pummeled his friend, he said, emptying his wallet, busting his lip and possibly concussing him.

Dewey Beach police had their hands full, processing sixteen junebugs arrested on a gamut of petty possession charges. But they dispatched a few officers and an ambulance to 26 Rodney, where a man lay dazed and bleeding, robbed for $200, missing his gold necklace and indeed concussed.

The friends, 26 and 25 years old, entered 26c Rodney earlier in the evening, where five girls were celebrating their recent graduation from St. Mark’s High School in Wilmington, Del. They noticed three guys they didn’t know – two in white tee shirts, one in red. Eventually, one of the friends decided to crash in his car. The other lingered, and when things began to wind down, he hungered for a smoke. Back at his car, his friend was reclined and comatose; his cigarettes, however, were gone.

Walking back upstairs, he asked the three unknowns where his cigarettes were, drawing blank stares in response. Figuring they swiped his smokes, he gives the house a cursory scan. When he returned to the living room the trio was gone. They were outside, dragging his friend out of his car, beating him with their fists, kicking him with their sneakers.

He yells at them to stop, but doesn’t intervene. One of them glances over his shoulder.

“I got a burner,” he said. “Give me your fucking money.”

They searched him, emptying his pockets, taking each of the four dollar bills in his wallet before splitting.

Dewey police set up a perimeter, snagging the two whiteshirts on the duneline at Read Street. Michael Albanese, 28 of Newark, Del., and Brandon Knightly, 20, also of Newark, were charged with two counts of robbery, two counts of conspiracy in the first degree, and a smattering of misdemeanor charges. The gold necklace was cunningly stashed in one of their sneakers. They were committed to Sussex Correctional Institute, with a cash bond set at $90,000.

Dempsey spoke slowly, his voice fringed with exhaustion. He had been up for more than 24 hours.

“Long week, huh?” I asked.

“Yeah, long week.” he said, managing a small laugh. He excused himself – he had a tee-ball game to coach that night.

"Memo to everyone: DC is not a safe place. That home that sold at 14th and Fairmont for $499,999 was not a good deal. In all of these recent shootings, and Oh, I forgot about the murder outside the Mt. Vernon Square metro--the police have been close enough to hear the shots and respond immediately. Still no arrests in any of these homicides. I'm not about to criticize the officers on the scene, but clearly there is a failing at some level of administration here. Obviously. You don't need someone who rarely updates a blog to tell you that.

My speculation is that things are only going to get worse as summer drags on, with the economy still in the pisser, and gang rivalry flaring up. You can tell me that violent crime is down and all of that (and maybe it is), but we'll see how those statistics work out once it's August. I've lived here long enough (in the grand scheme of things, not very long) to know that we haven't done anything magical to put a lid on crime in DC."

In case you don't trust bloggers who rarely update their blogs, how about the latest crime news from Borderstan. Crime is all the blog appears to be reporting on lately. And while we're hating on ourselves, 14th & You would like cleaner streets like they have in London.

New Columbia Heights notes that the Circulator bus is now on youtube. I prefer DCRA on twitter.

The New Teacher On The Block scolds one of their aides for letting one of her students wander off: "Seriously, people, DCPS does not ask much of you...but if you could not lose my students, that would be excellent. And I know kiddos are prone to wander sometimes, but the fact that you didn't even notice one of your kids was gone is awful. Especially because [if] something had happened to him, it would certainly have come back on me."

Congress Heights on the Rise makes more great points about a bad ANC.

Our own Black Plastic Bag breaks big news on the upcoming Sonic Circuits 2009 lineup. And Young & Hungry breaks the news on Spike's eviction from his Cap Hill rental.

Frozen Tropics believes that H Street/Trinidad just might be safer than Columbia Heights and Adams Morgan:

"I feel safer living here than in Columbia Heights. Maybe it's just me, but I feel like I know too many people who have been robbed in Columbia Heights. And when I say robbed, I mean pistol whipped, punched, or hit in the head with a brick. None of these people were resisting. By contrast, I only know (personally) one guy who was ever violently attacked during a robbery in this area. That was when he resisted (rightly, because the bastards tried to force him into an alley, and you should resist at that point)...."

JDLand has a review (with photos) of the new beer garden (called I believe the "Bullpen"). She is very kind. That place feels like walking through something Clear Channel barfed: bad cover band, dudes, and the smell of stale beer all in a fenced-in slab of asphalt. On second thought, it's not something that Clear Channel barfed. It feels like a prison yard sponsored by Clear Channel. Awesome redevelopment!

Anyway, JDLand writes: "When I arrived around 6 pm, there was a healthy crowd, and the spirits (emotional and liquid) seemed to be flowing well." How....polite.

And Now, Anacostia profiles a historic piece of Good Hope Road property that's set to be auctioned off on Wednesday.

Penn Quarter Living wonders if work has been completed at 901 E Street NW.