"Don't know if it's because of Impact (don't think so) or the forever stalled contract negotiations (maybe) or my administration (YES!!!), but I just feel really de-motivated. One thing I can say is that it's definitely not the kids. My kids this year are doing really well, and I've somehow managed to build a really positive culture in my classes. They try hard, and for the most part they're learning a lot. But damn if I'm just not satisfied.

It's getting to the point where I'm thinking about what else I could be doing, and trying to figure out if I want to stay teaching (or at least teaching at my school) next year. On the one hand, I don't like falling into the stereotype of Teach for America teachers who sweep in on a wave of idealism and then leave after we've worked that glassy-eyed naivete out of our system. But on the other hand, do I really want to continue working in a place where I feel unvalued, unengaged, and unhappy?"

Bloomingdale (for now) has left Bloomingdale. In a moving post, blogger writes:

"Well, i looked, but there was nothing in my price range in the neighborhood. working for a non-profit doesn't allow one to afford the prices in this part of the city if you want a rowhouse (not condo). so, i looked far-and-wide for a place that fell into my price range. in the end, i bought a house in trinidad.

i've been in trinidad for two months now. i love it. this house is amazing, the neighbors are friendly (as friendly as bloomingdale, i dare say!), and i'm still a short bike ride downtown to work. it's been interesting learning the minute details of a whole new part of town."

It's hard to imagine Bloomingdale having a better blogger. The upside: Trinidad needs a good local reporter to tell us what's what.

And Now, Anacostia has a full rundown of fotoweek events east of the river.

Borderstan discovers a new place for hipsters to get their haircut.

Greater Greater Washington posts a reader's letter complaining that no one turns their headlights on in Arlington. Really? And reports on the possibility of Riggs Place adding a dreaded speed bump. The blogger writes:

"Would a speed hump even fix the problem? It's not like through traffic uses Riggs, since it doesn't go anywhere. It would be helpful to understand who is speeding there, and why. When I lived a block from there, the only time I would drive on that block was to try to park.

If the high-speed traffic is people circling for parking, a speed hump won't deter them. They may well just speed down the road until they reach the speed hump, slow down to traverse it, then speed up again, since drivers looking for parking are often in a hurry to get the car parked or to find that elusive space before someone else does."

Please check out the cool new blog Left for LeDroit.

And let's give handclaps to Congress Heights on the Rise for their big scoop: Marion Barry is following in the footsteps of some Baldwins, MC Hammer, and Flavor Flav and getting into the reality show racket. He's filming a reality show pilot.

"So it boils down to this: Michelle Rhee intentionally and illegally fabricated a budget shortfall in order to fire teachers. Around the time of the RIF she blamed the City Council for the lack of funds, but all this shows that there was room and time for DCPS to make adjustments (not hiring 900 new folks?) to the system before a RIF became necessary."

Dee Does the District has their own reaction to Rhee's testimony:

"I don't know whether to throw my laptop off my balcony or weep. I think instead I'll just go to bed, speechless."

Barry Farm (Re)mixed calls for Mary Cuthbert to step down from her post as ANC Commissioner. The blogger posts a letter from Commissioner William Ellis outlining why Cuthbert should go. He She writes:

"It is not me that is failing our people! Under Commissioner Cuthbert’s leadership as Chair, she has failed us countless times. In 2004 she forfeited 14,000 dollars of our tax payer’s money by not filing Quarter Reports, money that could have been used to lift up this community. In 2007 she forfeited 5,000, and in 2008 another 5,000 for not filing Quarterly Reports. Up to this very day, she still blatantly disregards the wishes of the Auditor by not answering the Audit Request or wanting to approve a yearly budget. As a result, the audit will take 24,000 for unauthorized rent payments, from our next audit [if] something is not done immediately."

Frozen Tropics highlights a newish soul food restaurant on West Virginia Ave.

Greater Greater Washington thinks DDOT should consider one change to its streetcar system.

"I have the fortunate task of progress monitoring at least three-quarters of the students in my classroom. To progress monitor a student in the intermediate elementary school grades, the assessment takes approximately thirty minutes to complete. And here's the cherry on this hot-mess sundae -- for students identified as high-risk, I have to perform the assessments every two weeks and for the students identified as some-risk, I have to perform them every three-weeks. YIKES!"

Greater Greater Washington goes deep into the archives for a history lesson on Carroll Row.

And Now, Anacostia notes that the Salvation Army building has finally opened.

In Bloom sorta responds to a listserv post asking for Bloomingdale to become a gated community. Someone is fed up with crime! The blogger writes:

"Frankly, if neighboring LeDroit Park couldn't do it from the start, it's a fair bet to say that it's not going to happen here and now. With several major thoroughfares running through the area (First Street, North Capitol Street, and Rhode Island Avenue, just to name a few), it would wreak havoc on traffic as well."

The Georgetown Metropolitan calls off Ginkgogate 2009:

"While the wretched threat of their putrid load still hangs menacingly over our heads or lies under our feet, GM is now confident that a full-blown Ginkgogate 2009 has been avoided.

This time last year we we’re under a deluge of foul smelling berries. The city had switched to a new concoction to stem the growth of the ginkgo berries. It was a total disaster. We had berries straight through the spring."

Frozen Tropics factchecks a WaPo piece on H Street.

Prince of Petworth notes that there will be a community meeting this Wednesday to discuss the recent spike in violent crime in the neighborhood.

Dee Does The District doesn't appreciate a sad bit of race baiting reported from the marathon hearing on the DCPS teacher layoffs.

Harry Potter and the Urban School Nightmare despairs over their students' poor attendance. They write:

"Our school's enrollment is down, and attendance is lower than I've ever seen it. When I first started at my school, I routinely had between 25 and 30 students in my class each day. Now, I'm lucky if I get 12. Today, less than half of my students were in class, and last week the average was 55%. Now, the kids who are there every day are learning like FIENDS, but at this rate 45% of my kids are going to fail. So what gives?"

DC Teacher Chic reports from her classroom a new trend---the working lunch. They write:

"This past week, I welcomed my students into my classroom / office space to eat their lunches. At first, it started because a few students were finishing assessments while eating their lunches (so as not to miss further instruction). To say the students loved the idea is an understatement. In the days following, my working lunches have blossomed from four students to seven, with several more students showing interest in attending next week."

Borderstan reports property crimes and violent crimes were up in September according to the latest crime stats: "Total crime (both violent and property crimes) for the  month of September 2009 in the Borderstan crime area¹ is 27% higher than in September 2008 and 61% higher than September 2007." The blog has maps and stats.

The 42 does not miss the Real World folks. But if you do miss the cameras or the realty competition shows, the blog knows what film crews are coming next.

And Now, Anacostia admires some new display windows on MLK.

Southwest...The Little Quadrant That Could has an update on Arena Stage's redevelopment.

*photo by Darrow Montgomery

McKinley Technology High School lost 15 staff members on Oct. 3 to controversial "reductions in force," an effort by Chancellor Michelle Rhee to fix what she says is a budget deficit in District schools. The teachers were escorted out of the school by police, as if they posed a danger to their pupils. Students were angered, and hundreds of them left school to denounce the moves, garnering the attention of the media, teachers advocates, and the D.C. Council.

Over a week later, the episode still casts its shadow at McKinley. “The whole atmosphere totally changed,” according to senior Jessy Beach, an organizer of the protests. “You can sense the dreariness,” says Kyler Jackson, a sophomore. "Overall, it's just very gloomy," says senior Ikechukwu Umez-Eronini.

McKinley is one of the District’s highest-performing schools. Its Web site boasts of high Advanced Placement and D.C. test scores—the school has made Adequate Yearly Progress, a key federal benchmark, five years in a row. Incoming students must turn in an application, essay, and four recommendations to be considered for admission. Erika Landberg, program director at education nonprofit DC VOICE, likens McKinley to other DCPS gems like Duke Ellington, Benjamin Banneker, and School Without Walls. "Kids all across the city really try and get in that school," she says.

So when students complain that Chancellor Rhee's RIF process has damaged the school's climate, it means something.

There's been "a lot of chaos in the school" since the layoffs, says Beach. Last week, fire alarms went off sporadically, some students protested by not wearing school uniforms, and some weren’t going to class. “Ever since the RIFs, kids have felt betrayed, so they rebel or they don't listen,” she says.

Classes have been affected, as well. "Right now, I have three classes that were switched around," says sophomore Kahn Branch. He was enrolled in an SAT class before the RIFs, and was planning to take another next semester. But "that class is not offered anymore, so I was gonna be moved to JROTC," he says. "But I decided not to take that so now I have to take African-American History."

Branch isn't the only one with a schedule in upheaval, but he's a minority, according to DCPS spokesperson Jennifer Calloway. She wrote in an email that of McKinley's 710 students, "fewer than 100 students saw any change in their course schedules." She says only two classes have been eliminated completely.

Interpretations of how the school has changed seem to vary by age. All of freshman Jamika Aceveda’s classes are the same. “I can't base the school on the protests,” she says. “The vibe is still fun.” But seniors lost two popular guidance counselors, who were relied upon for help with the college admissions process.

Umez-Eronini says that Principal David Pinder promised "that schedules wouldn't be really affected, that he wouldn't fire necessary teachers and necessary counselors." Now he feels that promise was broken. Pinder directed questions to DCPS's press operation.

One of those let go was Sheila Gill, a popular guidance counselor. Now seniors are concerned about their college admissions process. “We lost the person who dealt with our transcripts,” says Beach. Under the new reduced staff, seniors share a counselor with the freshmen. Beach says it’s harder to get appointments for help with college applications, since their counselor is also responsible for the ninth graders.

On the allegation of broken promises, Calloway says that "students were promised that the integrity of their schedules would remain." She says that McKinley's two counselors are buttressed by a full-time D.C. College Access Program representative, and two "college support teams" of three teachers each.

"We recognize that students are upset," Calloway says. "The school administration has held student assemblies to hear their concerns and to address many of their questions." She also says that "school officials are working closely with student government to build a positive climate going forward."

Others in the McKinley community are unsatisfied with school administration. "There is an absolute lack of trust that has developed between the students, the principal, and many of the parents," says Iris Toyer, McKinley parent and chairperson of advocacy group Parents United. "They will not look at the principal the same."

Some students are moving on. School is “flowing like it never really happened,” Jamika Aceveda says of the layoffs.

Others are fighting it out. Says Umez-Eronini: “It ought not be like that, because, you know, we're in high school," he says. "It's supposed to be one of the happier times of your life--you know, it's my senior year. I really shouldn't be waging some huge political injustice on my own behalf."

"The City Council uses only rhetoric to denounce the pairs' actions; remember when Vincent Gray caved and restored the school funding he originally cut? The Washington Teachers Union has been utterly useless in the struggle between 825 and teachers' rights; George Parker continues to cancel meetings and overall, has not been proactive in addressing the layoffs. With the Mayor's reelection looming within a year, there are no candidates that pose a serious threat to him. And while the protests and sit-ins are a start, I seriously doubt Chancellor Rhee or Mayor....o until someone with a better vision and a stronger hand comes along, I think Chancellor Rhee is here to stay, despite what you think of her."

In Bloom wonders what's going on with Baraki: "After an flurry of construction activity earlier this spring—including the appearance of an outdoor seating area—Baraki has since sat quiet. Its highly visible location at the intersection of First Street NW and T Street NW meant that many folks in Bloomingdale and beyond went past it every day wondering what was (or wasn't) going on."

Life In Mount Vernon Square wonders if pepper spray is illegal: "I am told on the one hand you can have it and it needs to be registered;  then I was told you cannot own it.  Which is the case?"

Frozen Tropics posts about a recent shooting on 10th Street.

Time to get involved! There's a meeting today about the new dog park at 17th-and-S. On Wednesday, there's a meeting for ANC 6C (see draft of the agenda). And finally...the Downtown Neighborhood Association is meeting tonight---guests reportedly includ AG Peter Nickles and Councilmember Phil Mendelson!

Penn Quarter Living debuts a new column called High Rise Life. The first one is on elevator etiquette. It's not so much a column as bad comment bait of which I am sometimes guilty of. Here's a sampling from PQL's rookie effort on sharing an elevator: "Fob in and offer to push buttons or don’t offer and make sure others belong in the building? Remind neighbors that bicycles and their owners usually ride the freight elevator or zip it? Heel your dog or let him/her sniff around and be friendly? What is good neighborly elevator etiquette?" Fascinating.

Frozen Tropics reports on the breaking news last night concerning the pedestrian hit by a Metrobus in Trinidad. The Post is reporting that the woman has suffered life threatening injuries:

"In Monday's incident, the woman had just gotten off the D-8 Metrobus on Mount Olivet Avenue NE, between Trinidad and Montello avenues. She apparently crossed in front of that bus and then was struck about 6:30 p.m. by another Metrobus traveling in the same direction, Metro spokesman Steven Taubenkibel said.

Two men who said they witnessed the incident told television stations that the woman was thrown a distance down the street, and appeared to be unconscious after being struck. One of the men said that after the woman was hit, the driver of one of the buses 'got down' and prayed."

The Georgetown Metropolitan answers the question: Just what are Georgetown's boundaries?

Do you want to see pictures of people buying records? Someone posted a bunch of pictures from the DC Record Fair held this past Sunday. We wish we could have been there. Meanwhile....Fair sponsor The Vinyl District is giving away tickets to this week's Gossip show at the 9:30 Club.

The New Teacher On the Block offers their take on the hundreds of teachers laid off last week. In the Rhee vs. Gray fight, the blogger sides with Gray:

"Now, of course, this has resulted in finger-pointing, name calling, and a complete lack of transparency on many people's parts (Standard Operating Procedure for DCPS, really). Rhee blames the City Council for not providing the money required to allow all of these teachers to keep their jobs. City Council member Vincent Gray the DC City Council fired back with a press release accusing Rhee of using the council as a scapegoat in executing her master plan of getting rid of large numbers of DCPS teachers.

In this case, I'm in Gray's corner. The numbers just don't lie. It's just another example of the lack of transparency Rhee feels she is entitled to. When I came here, I thought I liked her: I am among the legions of teachers she's supposedly replacing the entire DC teaching force with and I support a lot of the ideas she proposes. But both her behavior and her attitude are counterproductive and arrogant; since I have been here, she has done nothing but alienate, obfuscate, and out and out lie."

After all, their employer, Hawk One Security, folded yesterday afternoon. The business provided about 300 guards to D.C. schools.

Education insider and activist Robert Brannum , who last night posted to a Listserv warning DC residents the security guards would be absent today, says via e-mail that he got a call last night, telling him the company was imploding. "Hawk One employees were advised not to report to work because there was not a contract." he writes.

The Washington Post says the company's going belly-up is no surprise:

"Hawk One had recently lost a lucrative contract to provide security at District government buildings. It also owes the Internal Revenue Service $4 million in taxes and penalties, records show. The company was also having trouble paying its employees. Hawk One officials said earlier this week that untimely payment from the city was the reason for the payment troubles."

Preventing any Lord-of-the-Flies scenarios, the D.C. police department has moved in to take up the slack as far as DCPS security is concerned. It has also, according to a recent release from the mayor's office, already hired two brand new contractors to protect D.C. schools.

"For a few hours there it actually looked like Bobby Pittman (a well known local gadfly) might be able to stop the Festival through last minute bureaucratic tie ups (NB, [nothing] is wrong with checking signatures, but this was a dirty Bobby move at the last minute). In the end Bobby did not get his way, and the Mayor's office allowed the Festival to proceed. But I'd like to send out a personal Evil Eye to Bobby on this one.  If you really hate seeing all this great stuff on H Street, maybe you should just move dude. Bobby, you have gone on some Don Quixotesque crusade of harassing local businesses (including, but not even close to limited to: Rock and Roll Hotel, the Pug, and the Atlas Performing Arts Center [!]). Aside from the one time I saw you planting flowers on H Street, acting as the PSA 102 Coordinator, and a few other very isolated incidents, I've yet to see you do anything to positively contribute to life on the H Street Corridor, or on Linden. It's one thing to want the laws enforced, and to want good neighbors (both admirable qualities and pursuits). But what you are doing is unacceptable in my opinion, and I hope that others who agree will tell you so to your face. I certainly intend to do so the next time I see you. Until then, Evil Eye to you Pittman."

Barry Farm (Re)mixed expects water rates to go up starting October 1.

Greater Greater Washington has the three finalists up for a public art installation in Adams Morgan.

The Georgetown Metropolitan is urging a Save the Circulator campaign:

"GM was informed that Jack Evans has stepped in to give it another chance and try to convince the Mayor to keep the Wisconsin branch of the Circulator. But now it really is up to us. Please, if you have just one minute, email the Mayor at Adrian.Fenty@DC.gov and let him know that Georgetown has suffered more than enough cuts in its bus service, cutting the Circulator in half would be unfair and short-sighted."

The New Teacher On The Block reports on cutbacks in teacher aides in their classroom:

"However, DCPS is bent on not being able to do anything right, and, as such, they made a decision today that immediately negatively effected my classroom. DCPS has decided to discontinue contracts employment agencies held to supply aides to DCPS classrooms.

These contracts came about in the summer of 2008, when the requirements for assistants changed and many aides were fired for not meeting the requirements. It is my understanding that DCPS was scrambling to find qualified people in a short period of time, and therefore turned to these contract agencies to find aides for the classrooms. All of my classroom aides last year were contractors and 3 of my 4 this year are contractors. However, for whatever reason (probably money) DCPS has decided mid-stream to discontinue this relationship and they want the contractors out. Thus, they are moving them to the most high-need schools in an effort to cover until they hire more people, and then they're getting rid of them. Not sure how this makes sense...but whatever. It's DCPS- who the crap knows?"

DCPS, the agency she lords over, has impeded every attempt to find out what really happened on that Allegany County football field last Sept. 19, 2008.

At least, that's what school officials in Allegany County and Maryland athletic overseers say about Rhee's handling of the matter.

Rhee won't say anything. So why not believe everybody else?

(AFTER THE JUMP: Why didn't Michelle Rhee cooperate in the Dunbar/Fort Hill investigations? Why won't Michelle Rhee explain why she didn't cooperate in the Dunbar/Fort Hill investigations? How did we reach a point where Michelle Rhee feels she doesn't have to explain why she didn't cooperate in the Dunbar/Fort Hill investigations? Redskins fans are racist? Dinosaurs and Indiana and preseason hockey trump postseason Mystics? )

Though everything that took place will never be agreed upon, this much is inarguable: Jefferies ordered his Dunbar players off the field in the third quarter of a game at Fort Hill.

Another apparent certainty: Ever since Jefferies said he pulled the team because his players were being racially taunted by Fort Hill's players and turned a football game into a national debate about race and sports, Rhee has behaved as if DCPS is her own private trust, not a government agency with some obligation to transparency.

"We know what we know, but we sort of only know from one point of view,"says Ned Sparks, head of the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association, the group which governs high school sports in the state and investigated Jefferies' allegations. "I never did hear from the DC folks. We heard from Fort Hill, watched all the video, talked to referees, and police. We have not found anybody to [back up the charges that Fort Hill players used racial slurs]. But we turned the Dunbar portion over to [DCPS] people to handle. We tried to facilitate some meetings. But we never did hear back from them."

Going on what it found, MPSSAA awarded Fort Hill a forfeit victory. No sanction of any kind was issued against any Fort Hill player or coach.

Fort Hill and Allegany schools administrators also told me attempts to reach out to DCPS after the Dunbar/Fort Hill game were ignored.

The U.S Department of Justice attempted to mediate the situation, and did organize a meeting that included representatives from DCPS and Allegany County schools to talk about Dunbar/Fort Hill.

After that gathering, officials from Allegany County filed a written report that the DOJ mediator requested.

Rhee, however, did not file any report with the federal government.

And with only one side of the story, the Department of Justice did not issue any report of its findings. The mediation effort quietly died.

Because of the Dunbar/Fort Hill incident, Sparks says, MPSSAA added passages about racially charged language to the handbook it has just distributed to every team captain in the state.

But Sparks remains frustrated by DCPS's repeated failure to participate in the investigations. He says DCPS's failure to cooperate with Maryland is one thing; Rhee's failure to work with the federal mediators is a whole different ballgame.

"If they had just given their report (to the DOJ), that would have been fine with us," he says. "But..."

So, what is DCPS's official version of what took place at Fort Hill? Who knows?

"The [DOJ] proceeding was confidential, therefore we cannot disclose our presentation," said Rhee's spokesperson, Jennifer Calloway, via email after repeated requests for information about the Dunbar/Fort Hill matter.

"Confidential"? Who says? Allegany officials have talked about it and told their version: They found nothing to back up the charges that racial slurs were used.

So why hasn't DCPS said anything, either to back up Jefferies or confess that they found nothing to support his charges? Who can't handle the truth?

Calloway confirmed that no written report was issued.

Why?

"At this point we do not have any further comment," was the only response from Rhee's office. Subsequent emails went unanswered.

The bottom line: Rhee's stonewalling has left everybody looking bad.

Rhee obviously wishes the whole Dunbar/Fort Hill mess would just go away. Before it does, she should explain her behavior. She is a civil servant, right?

***

Speaking of hate speech: If you want to learn to hate Redskins fans but don't have time to spend halftime in the concourse of FedExField on Sunday, just mosey over to Dan Snyder's message board, extremeskins.com, and read what the hardcores are saying about the petition a group of American Indians filed recently asking the Supreme Court to review a lower court's decision to save the team's trademark protections.

A sampling:

TK, the bulliest of Snyder's moderators still hanging around after all the originals jumped ship, calls the plaintiffs "[s]even people that have nothing better to do then continue to make theirselves look silly for 17 years and counting." And TK's the brains of the outfit.

The poster LAXPCK weighs in with: "isnt there some firewater or beads we can give these people to make them be quiet...How about if we give them a casino?"

And the big winner among the Skins class of clowns is the poster known as ThePreciating, who, in response to a commenter who says he has "many relatives who are Native American who despise the name," writes:

Speaking of your relatives, I'm so sick of these redskins invading our neighborhoods with their high crime rates and gambling and drugs. I swear, pretty soon they'll be teaching injun talk to our kids in school.

Blasting their tribal chants out their car windows, smoking their peace pipes all over the place, scalping innocent children. It's just unbelievable.

Sorry - I guess some of that Washington Redskins racism is rubbing off on me.

Wowee.

***

Last weekend's performance of the St. Louis Rams offense makes the Skins offense look like the Saints offense.

Or something like that.

But as bad as his team is, this weekend's game at FedExField will be new Rams coach Steve Spagnuolo's "grudge" game. You know he's got it in for Dan Snyder. Shortly after crushing Gregg Williams in the last offseason with dirty leaks about him disrespecting Joe Gibbs, Snyder et al sold some folks in the DC media on a tale that the reason Spags didn't get the Skins head coaching job was because the job interviewer (Snyder) and the interviewee (Spags) agreed that the interviewee (Spags) wasn't ready to be a coach.

Nobody outside this market ever bought that story, not after all those interviews at Snyder's Maryland estate, the one with the good view of the river.

But Spagnuolo surely didn't have any trouble staying awake for an extra couple hours of film watching this week in hopes of getting his first win as a head coach -- or at least scoring his first points -- against the owner who slimed him.

***

Finally, a poll where the Redskins DON'T finish last: The Skins are in fourth in opensecrets.org's ranking of NFL teams based on the amount of political contributions made over the last 20 years. Skins owners and officials have donated a total of Washington Redskins $323,000 over that time, a mere $8,550, or about 3 percent, to Democratic Party candidates.

The clubhouse leader by almost a full zero is the San Diego Chargers, who according to opensecret.org's data have given $2,455,200, all but 2 percent to the GOP or its candidates.

***

The Mystics opened the playoffs in a college gym because "Walking with Dinosaurs: The Arena Spectacular" got dibs on their regular home, the Verizon Center. Playing away from the treasured "Attendance Champion" banners, the Mystics lost, 88-79. The T-Rexes will be gone in time for Game 3* of the Best of Three series. But the Caps are scheduled to play the Buffalo Sabres at Verizon.

And, as everybody knows, preseason hockey trumps postseason women's basketball EVERY TIME!

***

Story tips? Wanna Play the Feud? Tube amps for sale? Send to: cheapseats@washingtoncitypaper.com

Frozen Tropics has more info on the recent mugging of Capital City Diner's owners. The owners post their own account here. As many of you know by now, the two claimed they were robbed while walking home on Bladensburg Road NE. This is just a small excerpt from their account (you really should read the entirety of their post):

"We were walking down the street, passed by a group of 4-5 young people (one in a wheelchair), one of which asked if we had any money.  After we passed about 10-15 feet, he quickly approached us, presented what appeared to be a sawed-off shotgun in his pants, and then demanded money from us.  Two of us handed over some money and they fled up L St NE toward Carver/Langston.  911 was called immediately after, but it took some time for a respose and thus the police couldn’t locate them.

It also took a lot of effort to get interviewed by the police.  Frustrated with the slow response, we continued walking home, as the police had Matt’s cell number from when he called.  As we reach home, the police dispatcher calls back, asks for our current location, and Matt gives her the address, which she is heard relaying to the police unit (Trinidad 1) responding to our call."

They finally flag down a detective nearby. But the detective is not interested in filing a report (emphasis added):

"Unfortunately, the detective tried repeatedly to convice Matt out of making a report.  He stated that a robbery hadn’t occurred since Matt “gave up the money” willingly and the suspect didn’t actually reach into Matt’s pockets to steal the money (Matt handed him the robber money when asked for it).  Matt recounted that DC code doesn’t require that a robbery physically touch someone, and that someone using fear (even without a weapon displayed) to take something is considered robbery."

Barry Farm (Re)mixed corrects a long-standing misconception about the neighborhood: It's not Barry Farms. It's Barry Farm! The blogger writes: "I typically try not to go off on rants in my blog, but today, I need to set the record straight. I had a conversation this morning, with a certain local politician (who will remain nameless) and he kept referring to my neighborhood as Barry Farms. It is a common mistake, but coming from someone who lives in River East and actually represents the area, I was a bit concerned that he did not seem to be aware that the neighborhood is actually called Barry Farm (no "s" at the end of Farm). I let it go, as I typically do, but while reading an email from a fellow River East resident, there it was again, in plain bold type." Yes! "Barry Farms" annoys us to.

The Georgetown Metropolitan hits the beach.

In Bloom makes the case that Bloomingdale is its own friggin' neighborhood---it should not be lumped in with Eckington or Petworth. Blogger writes: "I wonder how long it will take before the tug-of-war between LeDroit Park and Eckington over who gets to annex us is joined by, say, Truxton Circle or Washington Hospital?"

Prince of Petworth posts pictures and details of the new Aroma Bakery and Market at 1320 U Street NW: "Well I checked it out this weekend and it looks great. Though it feels more like a deli than a bakery. Paninis and sandwiches range in the$5-$6 range. And they also have breakfast sandwiches like egg and cheese ($2.49)." We endorse cheap breakfast sandwiches.

Dee Does The District has come up with some back-to-school commandments.

Ward 3DC takes on the traffic calming debate, speed bumps, etc.: "The issue of traffic calming seems to have reared its head again in the Ward. Earlier this spring, there was consternation when speed humps were installed on Newark Street in Cleveland Park without ANC or community discussion."

Frozen Tropics reports that construction work has begun on a German-themed beer joint on H Street. Is H Street becoming the Epcot of D.C.? The blog writes: "Expect about 12 beers on tap, and a full menu of German staples."

Barry Farm (Remixed) is thinking about the police and a recent shooting. They write:

"This week has been a bit rough for the residents in the Birney Place/Eaton Road corridor and community members may have felt a bit forgotten when it's only after the fact that the lights and the sirens appear. But this post isn't about the crime (which happens no matter where you live), but the response to it. And I have to give credit where credit is due. For one, the police department was very quick to respond to Tuesday night's shooting. I had just hung up the phone with 911 when sirens blared down MLK and appeared at the end of the street. But more importantly, the next day, when I emailed some key players in 7D and requested a better police presence in the late night hours, they listened. Tonight I got home rather late from dinner with friends, and as I drove through the neighborhood, I saw two patrol cars along the strip. I was pleased by 7D's response to my request and really felt that it solidified their commitment to the community and that the police do hear our voices and do take us seriously. We are a vital part of the community, as are they, and it is imperative we work together."

The New Teacher On The Block wonders why nobody really gives a shit about teachers. It can make teachers feel bad about their job choice:

"I definitely have felt that when I tell people I teach, many of them view the job as not good enough. Many young people in education feel the need to justify their choice by saying "Oh, but I'm a Teaching Fellow" or "Oh, but I'm TFA." I have even caught myself doing this, especially as I come from a family chock full of doctors and lawyers and, upon hearing this, people assume that my parents must be disappointed that I ended up in a job with less social status than theirs (they're not- my parents are awesome and very proud of me). I have heard of people who were demeaned for becoming teachers; my AP Environmental Science teacher in high school was a fresh-faced Duke grad who admitted to us that she had started lying to people at Duke about her chosen job because she had been ridiculed so much for her choice (she never intended to stay in education long-she is now a lawyer. And it was a college prep charter school full of upper-middle class kids, so its not like we were high need)."

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT---"Jack Evans Says He Still Supports Peter Nickles," "Councilmember Alexander Raises Concerns Over AG Nickles."

Morning all. Last night may have been National Night Out but for Mayor Fenty, it's Greek Week. WaPo breaks the stunning news that the District government actually paid the $37,000 tab for his Kappa Alpha Psi's welcoming party. The bash was held on Monday night and featured an open bar, crab cakes, red velvet cupcakes, and jazz bands tooting on two floors. The Post makes no mention of beer bongs and togas. The Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development had put out the dough via a grant. AG Peter Nickles apparently has forced Fenty and Co. to reimburse the city for the shindig. But Nickles swears Fenty knew nothing about the city's involvement. Key graphs:

"Attorney General Peter J. Nickles said he looked into the matter Tuesday morning at the request of the mayor. 'I concluded immediately that this was not proper,' said Nickles, who said the society reimbursed the money that morning.

Although the mayor attended the affair and was on stage as fraternity members thanked him for paying for the event, 'he didn't put two and two together that this was money that had come from the city,' Nickles said."

SEX ED NEWS: The District plans to expand its STD testing program into all public high schools. WaPo has the full story on this progressive move. There are plenty of reasons to do this. Key graphs: "The program conducted last year at eight high schools found that 13 percent of about 3,000 students tested positive for an STD, mostly gonorrhea or chlamydia, according to the D.C. Department of Health. The expansion places D.C. public schools in the vanguard of a growing number of urban school districts that test adolescents for STDs. About 12,000 students attend public high schools in the District." The news came within hours of DC Appleseed releasing its report card on how the District is dealing with the HIV/AIDS crisis (for public education, the District received a C+). WaPo covers the DC Appleseed's findings noting the overall positive scores: "But the report took Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) to task for failing to give the disease more visibility. 'While Mayor Fenty and his administration deserve recognition for the continued support of . . . numerous HAA initiatives, his public appearances and statements about the epidemic have fallen short of his enthusiasm for action inside the government,' it said."

THE NEW YORK TIMES IS ON OUR SIDE: The paper's editorial board comes down hard against Congress and its attempts to meddle in our needle exchange program. The editorial dubbed the meddling an "outrage."

NATIONAL NIGHT OUT: As we mentioned above, National Night Out happened. This meant another All-Hands-On-Deck effort from the D.C. Police Department. Police visibility was high! But News Channel 8 reports that the District still endured at least one violent incident. Three people were injured during a shooting in Southeast shortly after 10 p.m. News Channel 8 reports: "Fire officials say two 38-year-old women and a 17-year-old boy have each been shot in the leg."

AFTER THE JUMP: A power outage, more Metro news, Harry Jaffe pens a quick profile of the judge in the Pershing Park case, and much, much more.

Fox5 covers a power outage that left one Northeast neighborhood without electricity for most of yesterday. Three utility poles had crashed to the ground. Key graph: "The downed lines were a health hazard for some. One 7 month old who suffers from a heart condition was taken from his apartment complex, which had no electricity for hours."

METRO: Yesterday, Metro General Manager John B. Catoe Jr. begged a Senate subcommittee for more money. WaPo reports: "Metro, the only major transit agency without a source of dedicated funding, says it needs more than $7 billion for capital projects over the next 10 years to offer safe and reliable service." Catoe stated that without additional funding, safety as well as service would decline. Bonus graph: "Catoe used a question from Menendez about what lessons he has learned from the crash to sharpen his request for more money. He noted that the oldest Series 1000 train cars are less crashworthy than the newer cars, which he said "did not cause the accident but had an impact on the amount of damage that can be done." All six of the cars on the train that struck the one ahead of it were from the old series."

FBI RAID: Yesterday, the feds raided a health clinic in SE as well as a medical supply company. The agents are looking into allegations of medicaid fraud. WUSA9 reported that a number of patients had to be turned away while the agents did their work.

STaTter 911 raises some good points over the on-going issues with the hydrants:

"Councilmember Jim Graham announced Friday he will hold a hearing on September 16 to determine what went wrong at the fire last Wednesday night at the Chain Bridge Road mansion of former DC Board of Education president Peggy Cooper Cafritz. The Ward 1 councilmember is trying to determine why it took the DC Fire & EMS Department almost two hours to establish a reliable water supply to combat the fire.

Mayor Adrian Fenty has asked the fire chief and the DC Water & Sewer Authority (WASA) for reports this week on what happened and how to correct the issues.

If this sounds familiar, it should. In late 2007, Councilmember Graham held a series of hearings looking at the serious water supply issues that became apparent during a four-alarm fire that destroyed an apartment building in Adams Morgan on October 1 of that year. The Fenty administration also ordered an investigative report into the problems that occurred during that fire.

So what happened to the report?"

YOU DON'T MESS WITH U.S. DISTRICT COURT JUDGE EMMET SULLIVAN: That's the gist of Harry Jaffe's new column in the Examiner. Judge Sullivan is presiding over the controversial Pershing Park case and has called on the D.C. Council to investigate possible wrongdoing in which evidence has either been lost or destroyed or messed with. Key graph: "Three different presidents put Sullivan into three different judgeships: Ronald Reagan appointed him to Superior Court; George Bush (41) moved him up to the federal court of appeals; Bill Clinton nominated him to the federal district court in 1994. From the streets of his home town to the federal bench, friends and lawyers have learned one thing: 'Don't cross the dude.'"

FENTY'S SCHEDULE:

10:00 a.m.
Remarks Savoy Playground Installation Kick-off
Location: Savoy Elementary School
2400 Shannon Place, SE

3:45 pm Remarks
Appleseed HIV/AIDS Report Card Announcement
Location: J’s Barber Shop 3845 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE

• While President Clinton's trip was described as a private humanitarian mission before he left for Pyongyang, the Washington Post is reporting that both Clintons played an integral role in planning the trip.  The State Department was reportedly negotiating with the North Koreans for weeks and Bill only left the U.S. after repeated assurances that Laura Ling and Euna Lee would be released.  Regardless, it's good news for embedded journalists.

• In worse news for journalists, MSNBC is now admitting that they erred by not revealing that former Newsweek reporter Richard Wolffe is now working as a strategist for the public affairs firm Public Strategies, Inc. Since his book Renegade, detailing the rise of Barack Obama's presidential campaign, hit the best-seller lists, MSNBC has been showing off Wolffe like a prize, having him fill in for Keith Olbermann on Countdown as recently as last Friday. However, his close ties to the Obama administration (like those private meetings with David Axelrod) and his work at Public Strategies have resulted in major conflicts of interest.  Luckily, he's already got his next Obama book all lined up.
• DC Public Schools have announced that they will extend their STD testing program to all students in the upcoming school year.  Officials hope that by expanding their pilot program, they will be able to diagnose and treat students with STDs, especially since approximately half the cases of chlamydia and gonorrhea in the city are among adolescents.

• An extension of the Cash for Clunkers program is looking more and more definite. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid have confirmed that the second round of funding will pass through the Senate before it recesses on Friday. The $2 billion extension is estimated to last through Labor Day.

• And finally, a new ad for the Child Nutrition Act has dragged Malia and Sasha Obama back into the spotlight. The new poster campaign, sponsored by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, shows eight-year-old Jasmine Messiah asking "President Obama's daughters get healthy school lunches. Why don't I?" Messiah has also written an open letter to the first daughters asking for their support in reforming public school lunches.  Here's an answer to your question, young Jasmine - $30,000 a year in tuition at Sidwell will buy a lot of healthy vegetables. Public schools are struggling to keep their textbooks up to date. Be happy you've got lunch.

And that's the news.  Happy Hump Day!

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT---"Pershing Park Case: Now It's All About The Coverup; Nickles Faces Huge Test In U.S. District Court," and "Councilmember Cheh Calls For Nickles To Resign."

Morning all. LL has biked to Dewey Beach leaving me to takeover the LL Daily franchise for a week. LL was kind enough to e-mail me a handy rundown of what he does to fuel this beast. I am no LL. So please, take it easy on me. It's also August.

Mayor Fenty was involved in a car accident on Sunday evening. Thankfully, he wasn't driving his Le Car. Fox is reporting that "No injuries were reported in the crash on Broad Branch Road in northwest Washington. A spokeswoman for Fenty says he was behind the wheel of a sport utility vehicle when another vehicle apparently went through a stop sign and pulled in front of the mayor's SUV. There was minor damage to the vehicles." (WTOP has same).

Columbia Heights is again the focus of a potentially controversial shooting. WJLA is reporting that a Special Police Officer (i.e. a private security guard) shot and killed a resident during a confrontation on Friday night. WUSA9 is also on the story. The D.C. Police Department has issued more info on the shooting via a press release:

"At approximately 9:06 pm on Friday, July 31, 2009, officers from the Third District responded to the 1400 block of Girard Street, NW, to investigate the report of a shooting. Upon arrival they discovered an adult male lying in front of a building at that location suffering from an apparent gunshot wound. The victim was transported by personnel from the DC Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department to an area hospital where he was pronounced dead.

The decedent in this case has been identified as 31-year-old Michael Dwayne Parker of the 4000 block of Livingston Road, SE.

A preliminary investigation into this case indicates that the decedent may have been fatally shot at the above location during an alleged confrontation with a Special Police Officer employed by a private company. It must be noted that all of the circumstances surrounding this case remain under active investigation and that all facts will be subsequently presented to the United States Attorney’s Office for their review."

Last week, the D.C. Council gave its OK on that huge hotel development near the Convention Center. The Post offers a fine rundown of the development's lengthy backstory and its major selling point---that it may revive Shaw. Key graph: "The hotel, promised when the District broke ground on the convention center in 1998, will stretch more than 1 million square feet at Ninth Street and Massachusetts Avenue NW. It will rise 14 stories, a mix of modern glass and steel and brick dating to 1916 in a design that incorporates the old headquarters of the American Federation of Labor, a landmark building on the otherwise vacant property." Honestly, how many major projects does it take to develop Shaw? Not sure if a big shiny hotel is it.

The D.C. Council also voted to increase unemployment benefits (Washington Business Journal, WTOP , WJLA, NC8).

Hope and change remain the main narratives on the education front. The Post's Bill Turque breaks down the different groups taking over a number of District public schools this coming year. NYC's Friends of Bedford is set to takeover Coolidge and Dunbar. Friendship Public Charter Schools is taking over Anacostia High. Key graph: "Experts say one of the lessons learned is that starting a school from scratch is usually easier than taking control of an existing one, where political feuds, bureaucratic inertia and scar tissue from past reform attempts can make change difficult." And then there's this: "Friendship and Friends of Bedford will face that challenge at Anacostia, Dunbar and Coolidge. Although they have autonomy on matters of curriculum, instruction and teacher professional development, the schools' staff." Meanwhile, the Post reports that MOCO expanded its summer school programming.

AFTER THE JUMP: More Fedex Field controversy this time over this past Saturday's Paul McCartney show, an upcoming hearing is scheduled over the fire hydrant-water-flow issues, and so much more!

News Channel 8 reports that another Metro bus driver has been arrested. This time for driving on a suspended license: "Carletta Douglas was arrested Thursday in the District after a traffic accident. Douglas was driving a 92-line Metrobus on Good Hope Road near 25th Street SE when another vehicle hit her bus, police said. A Metro spokesman says 35 passengers were on the bus at the time. One passenger complained of neck pain was taken away by ambulance." This is not Douglas' first arrest: "Publicly available court records show Douglas was charged with second-degree assault in November 2001, nine months after she was hired at Metro. It's unclear how the case was resolved.... Thursday's arrest was the second in one week of a Metrobus operator. On Saturday, Michael Robinson, 41, was arrested on a kidnapping charge after he allegedly refused to allow a passenger to exit the bus."

There were huge issues getting into Saturday's Paul McCartney show at FedEx Field. WTOP reports: "Delays of over two hours forced the concert to start over an hour late so people could get into their seats. Zack Bolno, Executive Director of Communications for the Washington Redskins said the backup was because most people were only using one entrance and that four other entrances to the stadium were under-utilized. 'This was a new audience unfamiliar with the stadium.'"

The Washington Times has a nice puff piece on Legg Mason. Apparently, the tournament is stronger than ever in recruiting tennis' top tier talent.

FENTY TODAY: 2:00 pm
Remarks Hillcrest Play Courts Ribbon Cutting
Location: Hillcrest Play Courts & Recreation Center
3100 Denver Street, SE

3:15 pm
Remarks All Hands On Deck and National Night Out Announcement
Location: 18th and M Streets, NE