After two officers were injured and a suspect was fatally shot early Saturday morning at Champlain and Kalorama streets in Adams Morgan, Councilmember Jim Graham got on the Listserv, of course. Rather than merely informing residents of the incident and investigation, he offered up some pats on his own back for efforts to open Champlain at what he describes as the "NOTORIOUS" spot where it deadends under the Marie Reed breezeway. Graham let us know that he's secured the funding for this project and pushed for bids to go out June 2.

In a phone interview today, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner Bryan Weaver lifts the veil of tension between him and his councilmember on this issue. "When you use the incident as a way to push...personal agendas, it's not fair to the police officers who were shot and on the scene immediately, who took the life of another human being."

And it's not about Champlain's dead zone being particularly dangerous, he says. "In many ways, [the closed street] is a perfect storm of bad city managment, bad public policy, and conditions of a wildly gentrifying area, cultivated in one area."

But, yes, says Weaver: "It probably is time to open the breezeway."

Read More "Grahamstanding on “Notorious” Champlain Street" »

Last Thursday, Mayor Adrian M. Fenty and Attorney General Peter Nickles held a press conference and made a big show about how the D.C. Council---especially Councilmember Phil Mendelson---needed to move a sprawling anti-crime bill now pending in Mendelson's committee.

Well, before that can happen, Mendelson has made it clear the bill will be subject to a full round of hearings. Today, dozens are expected to testify on the legislation, including top executive officials.

Make that some were expected to testify.

If you tune into Channel 13 at the moment, you'll see the cameras focused on the District seal above the council dais---Mendelson recessed the hearing after a top legal official, Senior Assistant Attorney General David Rosenthal, didn't show for his testimony on key components of the crime bill.

Mendelson, LL is told, is now walking the John A. Wilson Building, trying to track down Nickles to find out what is going on.

UPDATE, 12 P.M.: Mendelson has restarted the hearing. Rosenthal still hasn't shown. Mendelson says that he spoke to Nickles, and that he indicated that AG's office will only testify once, at the end of the hearing, rather the participate in individual panels devoted to each issue contained in the bill. "He will be coming at the end of the hearing," Mendelson says, noting that Nickles has decided "not to participate in this panel format, which is issue-focused."

UPDATE, 1:05 P.M.: Mendelson's sent a letter [PDF] to Fenty: "When I called for executive branch testimony regarding the first issue on this morning's hearing agenda there was nobody---nobody---from your administration in the Chamber...It is extremely disappointing that the Executive is withholding witnesses. I trust you understand that Council process cannot be dictated by the Executive. This unwillingness to cooperate is an affront---to the Council as well as the importance of this legislation."

This weekend was all about crimes and Councilmember Jim Graham talking about crimes. There were shootings in Mount Pleasant, Columbia Heights, and Adams Morgan (that one involved D.C. Police), and a fatal shooting on 4th Street SE. Graham reported out the Mount Pleasant shooting for the listserv and bloggers everywhere. He's a better police spokesperson than the real police.

On Saturday, Colbert King stepped away from the juvenile crime beat to write about Fenty's ego. King thinks the mayor isn't so invincible. Why? The mayor's hubris may trip him up. King writes:

"The mayor out and about in the District of Columbia is not the candidate who captured all 142 precincts in the 2006 Democratic mayoral primary. There's a different man in office today. People seem to know it....

He's still quick with the smile and handshake, still good with names, still works the crowds, and makes all the photo ops. No D.C. government good deed gets announced without his presence.

But nowadays, something else comes with him when he shows up on the scene. There is a certain haughtiness in Fenty's bearing, a trace of scorn in his demeanor, a sense of self-importance that was not present (or at least was not noticeable) in him before."

Meanwhile, there were lesser crimes uncovered. I went to my first Nationals game of the season. When friends tried to buy the $10 tickets, they were told that they were all sold out. When we got inside the stadium---with the $20 tix---we couldn't help but notice plenty of empty seats in the 10-buck section. Conspiracy!

And then Maureen Dowd offered a very laughable excuse for plagiarizing TPM's Josh Marshall in her column.

Not too often these days that you see overt displays of executive-legislative interbranch friendship. Yet, this was one of those days, with Mayor Adrian M. Fenty, Attorney General Peter J. Nickles, police Chief Cathy L. Lanier, and two members of the MPD brass joining legislators Muriel Bowser, Jack Evans, and Jim Graham on a Ward 1 street corner this afternoon.

The ostensible purpose was to urge passing of a sprawling anti-crime bill before the start of the traditional summer crime season. The clear subtext, however, was that the parties were taking a shot across the bow of At-Large Councilmember Phil Mendelson, who as chair of the public safety and judiciary committee holds the legislative fate of the bill in his hands.

Each of the parties urged that the 56-page bill, encompassing a number of crimefighting proposals, be passed on an emergency basis (meaning the bill goes into effect immediately for 90 days upon mayoral signature, bypassing congressional review) at the Council's June 2 legislative meeting. Mendelson has committed to getting an emergency bill through by the council's summer recess, which kicks off in early July.

"We need the new tools in this legislation," said Graham, citing recent shooting on the 1400 block of W Street NW (full disclosure: also LL's home block). "We need the tougher approach."

Evans was even more strident: "If we do not act...this bill going through the regular process next March. Next March!...That is unacceptable!" Later he added, in a swipe at Mendelson's meticulous ways, "What's process? It's the enemy of progress!" and "I want this thing moved pronto!"

OK, "pronto." Question is, where was Mendo?

Read More "Fenty & Friends Take a Shot at Phil Mendelson" »

Greater D.C. Cares has its annual Servathon event planned for this weekend, but the task may be a little harder this year.

This e-mail went out yesterday to the group's supporters:

Thieves broke into our Community Tool Chest early Monday morning and stole several thousand dollars worth of tools and supplies. Stolen items included brand-new power tools and other items that are vital to the success of Servathon.

We are shocked and saddened by this crime, but committed to moving forward to make Servathon 2009 a success. Despite having bought many of these tools only weeks ago, GDCC is being forced to replace these items in a matter of days. Given the tight budget we are already on for this event and the limited amount of time we have to acquire these tools, we need help from our supporters to fund these last-minute, essential purchases.

Since today is the first day of the event, no one at Greater D.C. Cares could be immediately reached for more details. But you can help by donating here.

UPDATE, 12:25 P.M.: Dr. Madye Henson, president and CEO of Greater D.C. Cares, says her group is still totaling the losses from the Monday burglary. The group's 'Community Tool Chest,' located in a vacant school in Southeast Washington, is not only used by GDCC but is loaned out to other groups that need equipment, and had recently received donations ahead of the Servathon event.

The crime, Henson says, has made this weekend's event a challenge: "We're having to really scramble at the last minute to really have everything in place," she says. "We are really trying to work around it." Since the e-mail appeal was made to volunteers, several have stepped up with donations.

Police, she says, are still investigating the break-in.

JDLand has her own thoughts on the allegedly slow development around Nationals Park (including both Southeast and Southwest sides). She uses the Post's archives to make the point that the MCI Center didn't exactly create instant redevelopment. [She doesn't use those same archives to chart all the failed promises city leaders have made concerning Nationals Park; nor does she use those same archives to chart how much money the city has dumped into the project].

Another argument she could have made: The problem with all the civic boosters behind Nationals Park is that they are having to sell one of the ugliest pieces of city real estate. The MCI Center was built in a downtown neighborhood with obvious strengths that Nationals Park does not have. MCI Center had Chinatown, MLK Library and other civic destination spots like say the old DCRA building (ha), the courthouses, and police headquarters. Nationals Park was built in a decimated spot with almost zero charm. Anyway, I posted my two cents on the subject yesterday.

Misadventures in D.C. folds up its blog, blames Twitter and Facebook (like real media people!). They write: "The weird thing, of course, is that blogging now seems... well, so QUAINT. So old-fashioned, this idea of taking the time to construct paragraphs of text, telling a story, fleshing out an idea or thought through the process of writing about it. We've been reduced to brief one-sentence status updates (or worse, in the case of Twitter: 140 characters). It's easier to stay in touch than ever before. Yet our communication becomes more superficial with each sign of 'progress.'"

Borderstan collects early April crime stats for Borderstan.

And Now, Anacostia gives its blessing to Cherry Blast.

Bureaucrat310 mourns the crowding of Ben's Chili Bowl now that they've spotted tour buses parked outside the D.C. institution. There's tension between the old men and the tourists:

"I was at Ben's Chili Bowl last night with an out-of-town friend who wanted to "visit the place where Obama eats." It was 2am, crowded and loud! I sat at the counter next to an elderly black man and about three or four of his buddies. Yes, an old guy out past 2am! We'd already ordered as a white college-aged man started shouting his order behind me. The man, for some unknown reason, stuck his arm in between me and the elderly black man to rest his hand on the counter. He accidentally brushed against the black man who did not enjoy being touched - a small argument ensued..."

The 42 taps out a thoughtful rundown of area sports teams and events.

LL was all pumped and ready for the Trial of the Century---that, of course, being the adjudication of Shadow Sen. Paul Strauss' October drunk-driving arrest.

The trial was scheduled for Monday morning in the courtroom of Superior Court Judge Marisa J. Demeo, but alas, the drama must wait: Strauss' lawyer filed a motion Monday to postpone the trial. It's been rescheduled for June 3.

In her motion, attorney Claire Morris Clark argued that the city had been tardy with a discovery request---a review of which would be necessary "in order for Mr. Strauss to evaluate his trial strategy and decide whether to proceed to trial or consider attempting to reach a disposition in the matter." Once the discovery was provided on March 6, Strauss sought "potential expert witnesses," but none were available for Monday---thus the continuance request. The government did not oppose.

Clark declines to say what sort of expert witness her client expects to call: "Not going to tell you that just yet," she says.

As LL has said repeatedly, there is not evidence that former Chief Technology Officer Vivek Kundra was in any way directly involved in the graft that allegedly happened under his nose. But it did happen under his nose.

So here's a question: Where was the oversight?

Kundra gave assurances that he was directly involved in the approval of procurements---ostensibly including the Acar's alleged falsified procurements. These assurances came in a December 2007 D.C. Council hearing held in the aftermath of the Office of Tax and Revenue scam. According to a D.C. Council committee report, "Mr. Kundra testified that his staff meets weekly to approve all procurements, regardless of size, with all relevant parties including the Program Management Officer, procurement and finance groups."

Here's another question: Did Kundra's initiatives lessen the opportunity for oversight? One of Kundra's pet projects was something called the IT Staff Augmentation Contract, where an outfit called OST Global was hired last August on a $75 million contract to quickly hire tech staff to do various jobs for OCTO.

Read More "What Vivek Kundra Has to Answer For" »

LL's spent the last couple of hours poring though the affidavit filed by federal authorities in support of the arrests made today in connection with OCTO corruption.

Here's the headlines:

• The whole scheme was laid bare thanks to the cooperation of an OCTO employee who was introduced into the scheme last March by Yusuf Acar. The employee went to the FBI in August.
• The dollar amount stolen is uncertain, but a company established to collect Acar's illicit earnings took in almost $300,000. The affidavit highlights suspicious transactions totaling over $600,000.
• Acar said in a taped phone call he was prepared to leave for Turkey and intimated he was stashing money for that possibility.
• Several other unnamed current or former OCTO employees are implicated in the scheme in various ways. Two of them have connections to the Office of the Chief Financial Officer---home of the $50M tax scandal uncovered in 2007.
• The scheme took two forms: ghost payrolling and inflated purchase orders.
• Acar had tapped into District e-mail systems and was intercepting e-mail traffic to and from the Office of the Inspector General in order to monitor whether they had gotten wind of his schemes.

Still want more? You could read the whole thing [PDF] or you could just read these highlights:

Read More "LL Breaks Down the OCTO Allegations" »

Per WTOP's Mark Segraves and his Twitter feed, FBI agents are searching the Office of the Chief Technology Officer's executive suite located at One Judiciary Square. It's unclear at this point which particular office or which particular OCTO employee the feds might be targeting.

All of the OCTO employees on the premises have been sent home. "Administrative leave," is what LL is told.

CTO Vivek Kundra, you might remember, was recently tapped by Barack Obama for a high federal post. There is no indication that he or anyone particular person is under investigation.

UPDATE, 10:50 A.M.: Says a spokesperson for the FBI's Washington field office: "It's an ongoing investigation...I can't confirm anything at this time."

UPDATE, 11:15 A.M.: Segraves is reporting an arrest: "Yusuf Acar, 40, was taken into custody this morning by FBI agents at his home in Northwest Washington" in connection with a "federal bribery sting."

UPDATE, 11:30 A.M.: WaPo has a brief item up: "Acar serves as an information systems security officer in the D.C. government." No comment from U.S. Attorney, mayor.

Agency source tells LL, "Somebody like him has access to a whole bunch of shit."

This morning, OCTO personnel were told by acting CTO Tommy Jones not to access office computer systems, lest they engage in obstruction of justice.

UPDATE, 11:45 A.M.: Segraves is reporting a second arrest: Sushil Bansal.

Acar had been listed on numerous city contract proposals as "contracting officer's technical representative," indicating a central role in the OCTO contracting process.

UPDATE, 11:50 A.M.: D.C. Wire found a video of Acar:

Read More "Breaking: FBI Raids OCTO Offices" »

Just announced by U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Taylor, with D.C. police chief Cathy Lanier and Mayor Adrian M. Fenty, down at police headquarters. Jason Cherkis is down there and will have a full report when he returns.

UPDATE, 2:40 P.M.: Video from WRC-TV...

Good morning City Desk readers, I hope you've all bundled up to fight the cold! Inauguration weekend starts in a few hours, so set aside some time today to read through City Paper's inaugural archive. And now, some news:

• The MPD is on the lookout for an armed robbery suspect (pictured above) who held up a store in the 2nd District on Jan. 11. The report describes him as a "Hispanic male in his mid-20s, 6’0” - 6’5” in height, and weighing 200-300 lbs." Call Detective Kimberly Metivier-Cowan with any information at (202) 730-1903 or (202) 413-0252 (cell).
• New Columbia Heights reports that the Metro will run until 2 a.m. on Tuesday, for all you revelers who plan on winding down by staying up late.
• The Media Center reports that "Montgomery County Planning Board voted [yesterday] for the public transportation project to take the form of light rail rather than bus rapid transit." The rail would run east-west from Bethesda to New Carrollton, with stops at all the Metro stations in between.
• The Politico offers a "peak" at Obama's speech-writing regimen: "A competitive man by nature, Obama seems acutely aware that he’s stepping into the ring with history itself Tuesday – squaring off against not only the public’s expectations for a voice-of-God moment, but also against the addresses that came before his, the formidable and the forgettable."
• Infosnack Headquarters reports that Giesecke and Devrient, WMATA's supplier for Smartrip cards, delivered over 200,000 special-edition inaugural cards, as opposed to the 30,000 they promised in November.

Borderstan documents two robberies that took place last night in the Logan Circle area. One is a purse snatching. The other is a robbery by force (not sure what kind of force was used). Life in Mount Vernon Square documents a robbery at gunpoint. DCist has the latest on the violence at 14th and Girard. And the D.C. Police Department investigates some mysterious vehicles on Conn. Ave.

Penn Quarter Living updates the latest battle over the G Street Bus depot: "Three weeks ago, we reported that the pickup spot for DC to NYC buses was moving from their usual office building-bounded location on 11th St at about F St. The new site was designated as G St between 9th & 10th, which is in front of MLK library, but also in front of a neighborhood condominium." Last night there was a public meeting to debate the issue.

And Now, Anacostia has the latest on the redevelopment plans for St. E's. Housing Complex has much, much more on this.

The Vinyl District digs into some classic Replacements tunes.

Councilmember Tommy Wells' Tommy Blog has some great info on the inauguration--traffic, commuting tips, and, of course, parking in Ward 6. We have all the up-to-date news and info and tips as well. (Look for our special inauguration issue out tomorrow).

Go right now to D.C. Wire and read what reporter Dan Keating turned up in a records request: Harriette Walters kissing Nat Gandhi's ass months before her $50 million embezzlement scheme was discovered. David Nakamura provides some context.

In April 2007, Gandhi decided not to accept an offer to become Amtrak's CFO, and he told his employees in an e-mail about his decision. Walters replied to that e-mail, writing, "Sir, I would like to say thank you for keeping us inform of a decision that would have impacted the employees within the CFO Cluster. I appreciate that you respected us to provide follow up to the recent news reports that we read and heard over the pat week. Thank You!"

Replied Gandhi, "Thank you. Keep up the good work."

Good morning, District denizens! And now, the news:

• Lt. James A. Cullen posted on the MDP-4D listserv that the 17 year old who was shot while near the 700 block of Decatur St. NW was treated and released from the hospital. Cullen also said that a "white Lexus sedan" may have been involved in the incident. According to Linda Brown, MPD Commander of the Fourth District, police are responding with gusto to the most recent shooting on Kennedy St. (which City Paper missed): "Our attention is continually focused in the 600-700 blocks of Jefferson, Kennedy and Longfellow.  We have executed several search warrants in this target area in the last few days in an effort to bring this gun violence to an end."
• Looking to rent out your place for inauguration but worried about getting busted for violating housing regulations? Fear not! According to The Washington Post Mayor Adrian M. Fenty decided yesterday to suspend "requirements for property inspections...from Jan. 13 through 27," as well as various other obstacles to renting out one's futon in Brightwood Park. (*Ahem* We have wireless Internet, folks! And the place is clean! *Ahem*) The last obstacle is the landlord. (Don't hold your breath for Fenty to suspend other pointless laws, the kind that do nothing to curb the behaviors they criminalize and generate less money than is required to enforce them.)
• Twilight, the vampire movie every chick wants to see, opens tonight. Critics have mixed opinions. Moviegoers should prepare themselves for violent hordes of XX's, ranging from 13 to 30 years of age, all of them screaming for the blood of Robert Pattinson. Check out Washington City Paper's showtimes for other movie listings.
• Prince of Petworth has a question for you.
• Calling all nerds: New FreakAngels, new Marriedtothesea, and new Penny-Arcade. Check them out now.