One of the biggest costs putting the city in the red: the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services' continued insistence on placing youths in out-of-state residential treatment facilities. The juvenile justice agency is projected to spend $8.4 million more than originally allocated for this outsourcing. In a recent cover story we outlined reasons why this is an outdated, extremely costly, and ineffective use of public funds.

The DC Behavioral Health Association raised similar concerns about DYRS' emphasis on residential treatment in a 2010 report.

"Speaking personally, I'm good to go with more taxes if it will prevent unwarranted pain and suffering, particularly for fellow residents unable to help themselves and their children.

But the idea of more taxes to fund the status quo, which means continuing business as usual, stops me short.

The District government can no longer play the role of compassionate enabler.

Teen pregnancy; irresponsible and absentee fathers; and abusive, neglectful and welfare-dependent parents are not regrettable signs of the times to be accommodated with "services" aimed toward making life more comfortable. Those behaviors, if we are to grow as a community, must be reversed. If not, any talk about the District becoming a world-class city is pure fantasy.

Getting there requires a structural overhaul and refocusing of the governmental agencies to work on what's essential. But government alone can't perform the task of transformation. It requires coordinating efforts of our schools, religious institutions and social services to rescue and prepare this troubled generation. Building stronger families filled with a sense of personal responsibility and accountability should be our goal."

Do we fund a broken system or fix it first? Do we continue to cut programs at the expense of eventually formulating a system-wide transformation? How do we actually fix DYRS and CFSA?

I found at least one noticeable issue. Early on, Gerald claims: "A reduction of the number of children placed in residential treatment centers, from an all-time high of 148 in 2007 to a historic low of 44 in 2010." Unless his number of kids in RTCs has dramatically dropped in the last few months, he's wrong. According to CFSA documents submitted to its long-standing court monitor, the agency had more than 70 children in residential placements as of Aug. 31.

I had asked Gerald and others at CFSA about this discrepancy a few months ago. What I got was a bunch of nonsense. It basically amounted to this bizarre logic: Some residential placements were counted as residential placements for the court monitor and not for their own in-house stats. It was also clear that some facilities that were considered RTCs by our own juvenile-justice system got no such designation by our own child-welfare agency.

What is clear: CFSA's numbers game is a horrible way to monitor residential placements.

Recently, Gerald was told that he would have to re-apply for his job as agency director. This may or not be a concern for Gerald. I know at least one other agency head who received such a letter from Mayor Vincent Gray. It all could just be standard. Still, it might account for Gerald adopting Gray's rhetoric and alluding to the events in Tuscon to make his case:

"But we know we must push for continued improvement, and Mayor Vincent Gray’s vision of “One City” provides an excellent framework for open discourse and development of lasting solutions that strengthen the local safety net. At the CFSA, we must do our part by deepening our commitment to address these issues, in collaboration with our partners. Constructive discussion that identifies system strengths and seeks solutions to the deeply rooted social ills that place children at risk has never been more necessary than at this critical economic time.

True community development includes investments in infrastructure and human capital. A return to civility in our discourse can help in avoiding complacency and feelings of defeat stemming from the challenges. The child welfare system will benefit most by accepting valid criticism that also acknowledges the social challenges and systemic improvements that form the real-world context for further growth."

What is so startling about this last graph is Gerald's implication that criticisms of his agency haven't been civil. Nor are they valid unless loaded down with "real-world" caveats. Is there another agency head who every time he screws up gets to say "but life is hard?"

Does Gerald actually think Carl Foster, who runs a non-profit and wrote a recent piece critical of CFSA, is not civil? Foster was being incredibly brave when he wrote that piece. Few non-profits ever go on the record for fear of losing funding. His account of trying to get help for one child and one family through the hotline was a harrowing example of social-worker indifference.

Does Gerald actually think Jumiya Crump, the 17-year-old in my story, was being impolite when she pleaded with her social worker to live with her own family?

Actually, if you think about it, when it comes to serious questions concerning child neglect and a city's lackluster response, we should be anything but civil.

This security footage was shot at KidsPeace Mesabi Academy in 2007. I uncovered it as part of my research on the District's costly use of residential treatment centers. The restraints that you see on this video caused the youth's arm to break. Minnesota officials investigated the incident and cleared the orderlies, arguing that the restrain procedures had been followed properly.

But as one former District administrator pointed out to me: The youth is just sitting in a chair when he is seized by the orderlies.

The incident did have consequences. The administrator and another source say that DYRS had placed a moratorium on using Mesabi, which calls itself a juvenile corrections facility. While the city's juvenile justice agency had stopped sending kids, the city's child-welfare agency sent at least one foster child to Mesabi in 2010.

Sources told News 4 last week that "friends" of 20-year-old Eric Foreman, who's been arrested for allegedly shooting Godleski, suspected Okorie had "snitched" to cops. According to an arrest warrant for Raymond Roseboro, Roseboro and several others approached Okorie at about 4:30 p.m. in the 800 block of Delafield Place NW on Nov. 30. But it was Roseboro who cops say pulled the trigger.

Okorie, a Department of Youth Rehabilitative Services (DYRS) ward, had been placed at a home just a mile away from his old neighborhood—which, it can be assumed, put him in danger. Roseboro himself was in and out of the juvenile system. If he's guilty of murder, that experience doesn't seem to have done him much good. Ongoing reporting by Washington City Paper's Jason Cherkis points out that DYRS has a lot to answer for regarding its approach to helping juvenile offenders in the District. But Okorie's death is about more than the failure of a single city department.

The District has a habit of ignoring the struggles of its youth until blood is spilled. In the interim, life in the city is all about new development projects, tighter noise ordinances, and increased police foot patrols in up-and-coming neighborhoods. As Washingtonians examine and address the problem of juvenile violence, one wonders what would happen if we could harness the awesome power of D.C.'s self-regard.

Roseboro has a preliminary hearing scheduled for Dec 21.

You Weren't Invited to Michelle Rhee's Wedding: "Glamorous" invitations have been going out by mail lately to the Sacramento social event of the year—the Labor Day weekend wedding of DCPS Chancellor Michelle Rhee and Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson. A big suburban real estate developer/Johnson supporter, Angelo K. Tsakopoulos, will host the reception. (Which may prove Rhee's buddy Adrian Fenty isn't the only capital city mayor who's got cronies.) School will have already started two weeks before the wedding; so much for the honeymoon! +3

Board of Elections and Ethics Still Missing One Member: The D.C. Council resisted voting on Mital Gandhi's nomination for a long time, but after today, he may wish they'd kept punting. The council sent Gandhi packing, in a 7-4 vote that means the three-member board may still only have two seats filled by the Sept. 14 primary—which sets up the prospect of a deadlock should any disputes about the election arise. Gandhi, meanwhile, didn't exactly take the news lying down, e-mailing councilmembers afterwards to rant at them. How's that for ethics? -4

Summer Jobs Program Won't Be Extended: After voting against Fenty's nominee to the BOEE, the D.C. Council moved on to voting against Fenty's proposal to extend the city's summer jobs program. This one was even less popular than Gandhi, losing on a 9-2 vote. The move means the District won't have to divert $4.3 million from federal poverty funds to pay for the summer jobs, but it probably mostly means the council wanted to show who was boss. Still, since the city hadn't solved the persistent problem of muggers targeting kids working for the program, Fenty can probably count on a bump in the crime stats. -3

Wale Rediscovers His Inner Seinfeld: Maybe it's all the minor, lame controversies he's endured this year (plus one medium- to major-sized one), or the initially sleepy sales of his major-label debut in 2009, but Wale's trying to recapture some of his blog-rap glory days. That means crafting a sequel to the release that made him D.C.'s Great Rap Hope, The Mixtape About Nothing. More About Nothing promises more of the same, which is actually quite something: If you can you find a working download of the tape, released for free today, you'll find Wale at his best and loosest. He'll be at Commonwealth tonight at 7 p.m. handing out 300 physical copies. +4

Metro Basically Plans to Take Labor Day Weekend Off: Feel like taking the Red line to the eastern side of Montgomery County over Labor Day weekend? Too bad! Metro announced more details today of a massive track work project that will close the Glenmont, Wheaton, Forest Glen, Silver Spring and Takoma stations from 10 p.m. Sept. 3 to 12 a.m. Sept. 6. Delays on that part of the system are so common, though, that riders may or may not even notice the difference between regular, inconsistent service and a total lack of it. -4

Yesterday's Needle rating: 49 Today's score: -4 Today's Needle rating: 45

Has Peter Nickles ever met a controversy he couldn't whitewash with one of his so-called investigative reports? From his fire-truck mini investigation to his assessment of the missing evidence in the Pershing Park case, Nickles has developed a reputation as a bulldog whose afraid to do much more than bark. Now comes WaPo's Mike DeBonis' fine reporting on Nickles' latest fact-finding mission. This time Nickles promised an exhaustive accounting of the failures at DYRS. DeBonis discovered that the investigation had been headed up by Nickles' deputy Robert Hildum–the man who has now taken over DYRS. [Hildum also  ruined two fire fighters' careers with a few lies]. Talk about a conflict of interest. But it gets worse. The report itself may have been riddled with problems:

DeBonis writes:

"The report I've obtained [PDF], dated May 20, is not so much an investigative report with findings, but a six-page memo that makes 'general observations' about the city's youth justice apparatus before delivering more than a dozen recommendations. It's entirely possible that a more detailed report has been completed in the meantime, but DYRS officials raised serious questions about the inquiry in an undated response [PDF] to the May 20 document. For instance: Because the OAG staffers tasked with investigating the agency didn't know how to use the DYRS computer system, the report based some of its recommendations on mistaken findings."

And to think WaPo's editorial board slammed critics of DYRS latest personnel moves as being too hasty! DYRS has become a huge problem, one that warranted more than a six page memo, and quick knee-jerk praise from WaPo's editorial board. At the very least, Councilmember Tommy Wells, whose committee deals with DYRS issues, tells City Desk that the Nickles Report could be a distraction in the city's efforts to reform DYRS and get the agency out of federal court oversight.

But Wells says he hasn't even seen "an official" copy of the report.

"I got a report from the Examiner," Wells says. "I have not gotten an official report even though I asked for it. There does seem like there was this tension between prosecutors and DYRS and Peter Nickles won. It does seem like the report started off with a conclusion."

Wells continues: "This [case] seemed closest to getting out from under the class-action lawsuit...I think the report is a distraction from the bigger picture....I've had concerns about DYRS, but what I need is good evidence, good data. This appears to have been a dispute between two government agencies and the bigger one won. We just need to be sure they don't mess up the [reforms]."

Plaintiffs in the Jerry M. case could make the report, and the installation of Hildum to head DYRS, an issue in court. The plaintiffs in the CFSA federal oversight case successfully argued that they hadn't been consulted when Mayor Adrian Fenty and Co. hired Roque Gerald to head that troubled agency. A judge had required that the plaintiffs be consulted on that hiring. The judge in the CFSA case eventually held Fenty in contempt of court.

Update: DeBonis posted an update this afternoon. Nickles denied Hildum's lead role  in the DYRS investigation. Still, Nickles does not deny that Hildum was involved. He just didn't play the lead role. A copy of a longer more involved report [PDF] revealed a more in-depth analysis of the issues surrounding the troubled agency (if you discount the first two pages of fluff).

Liz Ryan of the Campaign For Youth Justice sent out a press release condemning the OAG's research methods and the OAG's apparent conflict of interest:

“It cannot be ignored that, OAG is investigating how youth offenders are treated, and at the same time, has the authority to prosecute those offenders,” said Daniel Okonkwo, Executive Director of D.C. Lawyers for
Youth. “We ask that the DC Council hold immediate hearings on how this report was done and ask credible academics to comment on what appears to be a shoddy piece of 'research' that has resulted in a major decision being made about a City Department.”

Campaign for Youth Justice also highlights discrepancies in juvenile arrest statistics:

"The OAG said juvenile crime is increasing. The latest figures from the Metropolitan Police Department show that, in absolute terms, juvenile arrests are down -2 percent, compared with the first six months of 2009. Overall, juvenile index (serious) crime has declined slightly over the past five years.  Index crime is the primary indicator reported by the FBI, but OAG’s report carefully avoided reporting overall index crime data in its 'analysis.'"

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

• ¿Dónde está Fenty?
  
• NIMBY grill
• Don't cover this!

Good morning sweet readers! The power is back. All hail the demon lords of electricity, who giveth light, the Internet, and a fridge that keeps food. The price for these riches? A constant and never-ending stream of news:

Waive This!: Fox 5's Paul Wagner wins the morning with this investigative piece about the city's apparently new practice of waiving police security fees for certain events, like the National Marathon. "In the last two years, more than $600,000 has gone uncollected, money that should have been paid to the city for security at special events." The marathon, Wagner notes, attracts enough runners to generate at least $700,000 entry fees, yet the city waived about $200,000 in police costs last year. Another piece of the story: A homeland security fund absorbs the costs for other events, like the Georgia Avenue Caribbean carnival. LL can't help but observe, as Wagner did, that Fenty has run in the marathon, and that the carnival is quite popular in Ward 1 and Ward 4, both of which could be political battlegrounds this year. (Also, LL liked the way Fenty tried to brush off Wagner's questions outside a Ward 1 ground-breaking ceremony last week by saying he needed the facts, even as Wagner brandished the relevant documents.) Besides the obvious budget-related questions here—like, how can the District afford to be eating these costs when the budget is as tight as it is?—LL wonders how Vincent Gray will handle this story: The marathon angle seems to be another example of Fenty pals benefiting from decisions made with no input from the D.C. Council. At-large Councilmember Phil Mendelson tells Fox he's got plenty of projects he'd like to spend money on, but the Fenty administration insists the money isn't there. Finally, it's not at all clear how the waivers get doled out—the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, for instance, had to pay its security costs. Watch the video.

AFTER THE JUMP: Post profiles; DYRS shenanigans; DCPS lawsuit...

Kwame & Vincent, Bestest Friends: The oft-ignored council chairman's race gets some Monday/Tuesday love from the Post's Ann Marimow with profiles of At-Large Councilmember Kwame Brown and former Ward 5 Councilmember Vincent Orange.  For the interest of space, LL will skip the nice parts of both profiles and get to the dirt. The knock on Brown: "Even as they have endorsed him, some council members point to what they call Brown's propensity to change positions with the political winds. When it appeared this spring that the District's best hope of winning a voting seat in Congress would mean agreeing to a measure to weaken the city's gun laws, Brown initially issued a statement saying, 'Now is the time for voting rights' and calling for 'sacrifice.' Three days later, after Gray and others publicly opposed the measure's impact on firearm rules, Brown appeared to change course, saying in a statement, 'Now is the time for voting rights, but if it means we have to erode our local governing authority, we must wait for a better opportunity to strike.' Brown said he never wavered in his support of gun control. The first message was a mistake, he said, sent out prematurely by an aide before Brown had thoroughly vetted it." That strikes LL as a kind of "dog ate my homework excuse." There wasn't much dirt on Orange, save for this: "But his preference for fiscal conservatism seems to have its limits: Orange favors lavish parties (including birthday bashes at Love nightclub), and as he was leaving office in 2006 he unsuccessfully proposed increasing council members' pay to $140,000—a 51 percent hike." LL used to favor lavish parties, including birthday bashes at Chuck-E-Cheese. But those days are gone.

Repeat Offender: The Post's Colbert I. King, who has been a strong critic of the city's juvenile justice system, praises Fenty for "finally" trying to fix DYRS, by firing chief Marc Schindler and replacing him with Attorney General's Peter Nickles' pick, Robert Hildum. King has the results of Nickles' report of the embattled agency, including that DYRS "measures recidivism too narrowly... has a weak policy on abscondence and oversight... has a flawed method of deciding youth placement... has lax rules on community placements." "Since their commitment just over two years ago, 71 percent had new convictions, and 42 percent of those convictions were for offenses such as robbery, weapons assault and drugs. Moreover, 23 percent of those with new convictions were convicted in the adult system. Those numbers don't even include DYRS youth in the D.C. jail awaiting trial on adult charges... The investigation found several instances where youths disappeared for several days without DYRS requesting the required custody order (or arrest warrant) from the court. In one case, a youth was gone for several weeks before an order was sought. In another case, DYRS gave a third-party monitor 'a number of' days to locate a missing youth, and no one sought a custody order." Liz Ryan, president of the Campaign for Youth Justice, fires back at the Post for the heat she's taken. "The fact that I and others asked for an investigation of Mr. Nickles’s involvement in Mr. Schindler’s replacement and other decisions on juvenile justice demonstrates our commitment to reducing youth recidivism—the opposite of what The Post accuses us of. Despite the fact that Mr. Nickles was warned by Judge Herbert Dixon about a potential conflict of interest for his role in the Jerry M. case regarding the District’s juvenile justice system, it appears that Mr. Nickles repeatedly gave counsel to the mayor that a reasonable observer could view as a conflict with his previous position as lead plaintiff’s counsel."

It's Suing Time: The Washington Teachers Union is going to file suit against DCPS over the fired 241 teachers, reports Leah Fabel of the Examiner. Union President George Parker said, "'The story is not the firings so much as the document upon which the firings are based,' Parker said. 'It is a flawed document.' He derided the 'euphoric' reaction of observers and news reports nationwide, saying he's 'never seen a superintendent receive less scrutiny than Chancellor [Michelle] Rhee. 'There's this sense that since [other superintendents] haven't been able to do something like this, she must be right,' he said. 'They assume that if she's firing people, they must be poor teachers.'" LL agrees with Parker that it has been a little strange watching the glee these firings have evoked nationally.  Here's just two example: The National Review wants Rhee to lead the war effort. And the New Republic also loves Rhee, and demands answers from Gray. Personally, LL would be more euphoric if the city fired all the "ineffective" workers at the DMV.

Nice Lemonade, Jo-Ann: Correction of the Week award goes to the Post editorial board, for this gem. After incorrectly stating in a previous editorial that Gray convened a hearing over the dismissal of a popular biology teacher, the Posties cop to their error. But then they spend the rest of a new editorial bashing Gray anyway for listening to the teacher's students and telling them that their teacher sounds like a great guy who shouldn't have been fired. "Mr. Gray followed up with a meeting with Ms. Rhee, and a spokeswoman for his campaign stressed that he deferred to the chancellor. But as council chairman, he didn't have much choice; as mayor, he would have the power to interfere. His statements in this case might lead voters to ask whether Mr. Gray will back his frontline educators, even when they don't do the popular thing." In other words, we do not regret the error.  

You're Hired: Togo West, the former Army secretary and veterans affairs secretary, breezed through a confirmation hearing yesterday to serve as a member of the city's elections board. [Post]

Check out the photo in this story [Examiner]

Medical Marijuana now legal in the District [Post]

No smoking area expands [WBJ]

Fenty frustrated with Pepco [WTOP]

Metro crash findings released today [NEWS 8]

Summer jobs program cut [NEWS 8]

Fenty schedule:

Groundbreaking for senior center, 10:45 a.m. 1330 Missouri Ave, NW. Ribbon-cutting for George Avenue CVS, 3:30 p.m. George and New Hampshire NW.

Political schedule:

Ward 6 mayoral forum, Eastern Market, 7 p.m.

Yesterday, Mayor Adrian Fenty fired DYRS' interim-director and replaced him with AG Peter Nickles' "top aide" Robert Hildum. In today's WaPo story, the controversial attorney general had high praise for his side kick:

"Nickles said that Hildum's experience as a prosecutor is an asset at a time when some critics have said that the agency's focus on rehabilitation has come at the expense of public safety. 'I think Rob Hildum brings that terrific approach of balancing rehabilitation with protection of the community,' Nickles said."

But two Fire Department investigators turned whistleblowers may have a different view of Hildum's prosecutorial style. Hildum was instrumental in helping Fire Department brass ruin their careers.

In recent years, Greg Bowyer and Gerald Pennington spoke out repeatedly at what they considered to be shoddy investigative work by the Fire Department, racist hiring practices, and improper prosecutions by the OAG. They called out several cases–including the Eastern Market fire–which they claim were not handled properly by authorities. They have since been demoted for their efforts. Hildum was instrumental in Bowyer's demotion, erroneously claiming in a letter to the U.S. Attorney's Office [see PDF] that the investigator had committed perjury during a trial. Bowyer ended up detailed out of the fire investigations unit. He now works in a unit testing fire hydrants. The U.S. Attorney's Office never brought a perjury charge against Bowyer. [For the full accounting of Bowyer and Pennington's case see this timeline]. Hildum eventually wrote a damaging letter saying he wouldn't support any of Pennington's cases. Hildum's letter writing campaign began after the two filed a complaint against an OAG attorney (who was at one point a very questionable police officer; she resigned from the force while under investigation for covering up mistakes made in a missing person's case).

Pennington has been cleared of all charges but remains out of fire investigations; he's now the most-over qualified firefighter to ever ride an ambulance.

Hildum apparently shares many of the same dickish traits as AG Nickles. In Bowyer's trial board hearing, Hildum admitted that one of the reasons he wrote those critical letters is that Bowyer and Pennington had filed a complaint against one of his own.

Bowyer and Pennington have a civil suit pending in federal court. "The fire department and the Office of Attorney General retaliated against Bowyer and Pennington for refusing to go along with faulty investigations, prosecutions and cover-ups," says their attorney David J. Marshall. "Through their lawsuit, they intend to expose the motivation behind the actions taken against them and to correct the injustice that they suffered."

*classic file photo by Darrow Montgomery.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

• Elites win the dawn
• Pizza delay
• The real reason LeBron went to Miami

Good morning sweet readers! Has anyone else seen the trailer for the new movie about Facebook "founder" Mark Zuckerberg? Creepy. Just watching that thing makes LL want to delete his account this instant. But first things first—the news:

Hit the Road, Marc: There's a new boss in town for the city's troubled juvenile justice system. Marc Schindler was shown the door yesterday; he was replaced by Robert Hildum, a top aide to Attorney General Peter Nickles.  "[H]is appointment took many people inside and outside DYRS by surprise and raised fears among some advocates that juvenile justice reform in the District could be set back," reports Henri Cauvin in the Post. Also gone: "Deputy director David Brown and head of internment David Muhammad resigned from the agency, citing uncertainty about its future, a source with knowledge of their decisions told The Washington Examiner," Freeman Klopott reports. Klopott says the move was a power grab by Nickles in a sidebar:  "Neither outgoing DYRS interim director Marc Schindler, nor his predecessor Vincent Schiraldi, reported to Nickles as other agency heads do, one source said. By placing Hildum at the top of DYRS, Fenty has added another agency to Nickles' zone of influence."  LL once visited Nickles' zone of influence. Nice place to visit, but you wouldn't want to live there.

AFTER THE JUMP: Gray's education plan panned; cash rules everything around Gandhi; more on Bullet Proof...

Been There, Done That: DCPS gives D.C. Council Chairman and mayoral candidate Vincent Gray a smackdown over his proposed education plan, reports the Examiner's Leah Fabel. "D.C. Council Chairman and mayoral candidate Vincent Gray's campaign promise of 'birth-to-24' public education is already under way and succeeding, according to school officials aligned with Gray's opponent, Mayor Adrian Fenty." It's hard to tell how much of the pushback from DCPS is the usual sort you'd expect from bureaucrats defending the system after Gray criticized it—and how much has something to do with schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee's obvious preference for a Fenty win. LL prediction: Gray will keep pushing the education plan, even if DCPS says it's redundant; his camp knows he needs to demonstrate commitment to school reforms.

Love Letter:The Examiner's Harry Jaffe has the  news that CFO Natwar Gandhi is composing a letter to the mayor and the council about his recent visit to Wall Street and its bond rating agencies. "The good news is D.C. gets to keep its gold-plated rating for now; the bad news is that if our politicians add to the debt and keep dipping into the savings account, the ratings will go south and the cost of borrowing will go north and add millions more to the cost of government. Gandhi has tried to be a reliable 'Dr. No,' forcing the pols to spend within their means. He needs help now from the only council member to veto the budget: Jack Evans, chair of the finance committee. As a tag team, they might be able to rein in the pols freely spending our cash. Otherwise, the city goes broke—or we pay higher taxes."

Pay No Attention to What I Said Last Time: Speaking of Evans, on D.C. Wire, Nikita Stewart reports he pops up in the latest round of Fenty TV ads. "On Saturday, the Fenty campaign unveiled three new 15-second testimonials, including one in which Evans (D-Ward 2) addresses one of the criticisms of Fenty: 'Some people say that Adrian Fenty doesn't play well with others.' 'Some people' would include Evans. In November, he told The Washington Post that Fenty has always tended to 'operate alone.' In 2006, when Fenty successfully ran against then-Council Chairman Linda W. Cropp, who was endorsed by Evans, the Ward 2 council member made a number of unflattering statements about Fenty."

If You Build It, Pols Will Come: NBC 4's Tom Sherwood braved the heat to report on a library groundbreaking in Ward 8 yesterday.  Both Fenty and Gray are taking credit for the project. LL invites readers to check out the awkward bro-hug at the 10-second mark.

What's In a Name? The Post's Mike DeBonis has even more to share about Kwame Brown's boat, Bullet Proof:  "Brown insists the name is 'not about violence.' Rather, Brown said in interviews that his wife, Marcia, named the boat. He was somewhat fuzzy on the precise inspiration, but he said it was a reference to President Bill Clinton—'a comedy type of thing' involving either Chris Rock or Saturday Night Live. (Brown has worked in the federal Commerce Department during the Clinton administration.)"

Crash photos [NBC4]

Proposed pot site draws concern [NEWS 8]

Murder house for sale [FOXDC]

Mayor and the Council, no public schedule

In CASE YOU MISSED IT—"LaVar's Crazy Gender Studies," "Fifth Amendment Doesn't Apply To Feces-Flinging Inmate," "Lanier Denies Covering Up Fenty Abuse," "Shooting In Congress Heights," "Vincent Gray's Education Plan Takes Aim At Fenty Ribbon Cuttings"

Good morning. I'm wondering: Is Michelle Rhee dc.gov's Albert Haynesworth? Rhee had been heralded as the savior of DCPS and brought here with unprecedented power and control over the school system. Now, she's saying that if the city gets a new head coach (who may want to tweak the playbook), she may not stick around. Is this the kind of leader we want on our team?

Here's the first graph of Gray's education plan released yesterday: "Vince Gray will make our children’s education the number one priority of his administration. He will be an involved Mayor who takes all stakeholders seriously, who stands by his Schools Chancellor, and who works tirelessly for well-managed, smart reform." Does this sound like a guy who wants to dramatically alter the chancellor's job description? His plan calls for expanding reform to include pre-pre-school, wants that reform to be sustainable (if Rhee leaves what does that say about her reform agenda?), and wants everyone to get along and be transparent (Rhee may have a problem with that last agenda item). Edgy stuff.

Here's what Gray had to say on the chancellor position:

"Vince is committed to having a strong Chancellor who is fully empowered to implement community-driven reform. He will collaborate with the Chancellor to ensure that we keep and build on effective people and programs already in the system.

A Vince Gray administration will put an immediate end to management by ribbon cutting and sound bites, and give the Chancellor the support she needs to fulfill her promise to the students of the District of Columbia. As Mayor, Vince will give the DCPS Chancellor the tools and controls to manage his or her budget. He will continue to support the Chancellor in making hard choices with regard to staffing, hiring, and firing decisions to get bad teachers out of the classroom and keep good teachers in the classroom. He will work closely with the Chancellor and ensure all the resources of District government are brought to bear in supporting kids."

Gray's problem seems to be with Fenty's leadership. But Rhee, this week at least, more than hinted that she's out if residents kick out Jim Zorn, I mean Adrian Fenty. WaPo's Valerie Strauss thinks Rhee has made a mistake by trying to bigfoot her way into the election: "Never mind that she really doesn’t know how Gray will approach their relationship. What political candidates say during a campaign is not always what they do if they win and take office. Considerations change. What is more important, and of more concern, is that Rhee surely knows the importance of consistency in school leadership. She knows she was the seventh person to head the school system in a decade when she arrived in 2007, and that the constant turnover at the top was disastrous for the city’s schools. Rhee states frequently that her concern is only for D.C. schoolchildren. If that is so, it seems odd that she would be so quick to suggest that she might abandon them without giving a new mayor a chance to do what she considers the right thing. Her comments are hardly a great lesson for young people, who need more than ever to learn how to listen to other views and compromise. Would it not be a far better message for Rhee to tell D.C. schoolchildren that she is here to stay and fight to improve their schools?" More coverage on the Gray education plan via The Examiner, WaPo.

AFTER THE JUMP—Fenty vs. rumors day 2, Vince Gray compared to tofu, shake-up at Office of Risk Management, details revealed on Councilmember Phil Mendelson's DYRS bill, and much, much more!

VALENTINE'S DAY: The Examiner's Alan Suderman reports that the head of the troubled Office of Risk Management has resigned: "Mayor Adrian Fenty's administration has placed Kelly Valentine, the director of the District's embattled Office of Risk Management, on administrative leave. The Washington Examiner first reported last month that whistleblowers told the FBI that Valentine gave lucrative contracts to her friends. Contracts ranging from health insurance coverage and private investigations were handed off to companies with ties to Valentine, according to whistleblowers. Last month, Fenty and his attorney general, Peter Nickles, held a news conference where they announced that the District might have to pay $6 million to cover the life insurance premiums the city collected from hundreds of disabled employees over seven years but didn't pass along to the insurance companies. Nickles asked the city's inspector general to conduct an investigation into Risk Management. Besides the FBI and the inspector general, city Auditor Deborah Nichols and the finance office's integrity team have also begun probes. Valentine hasn't responded to repeated requests seeking comment. In addition to the multiple investigations, Risk Management has been besieged by multiple outside contractors demanding payments on outstanding debts."

METRO: WMATA and Virginia make peace. WaPo's Lisa Rein and Anita Kumar report: "Metro's board of directors signed off Thursday on an agreement with Virginia to provide $300 million to match federal funding for safety improvements, ending a month-long battle over the state's push to be represented on the board.The deal will allow the transit agency to sign an $886 million contract Friday for 428 new rail cars, a high-priority purchase that was in danger of falling through. The federal government has agreed to give Metro $1.5 billion for capital needs over 10 years as long as Virginia, Maryland and the District match the money. 'These cars are extremely important to the safety of our customers,' interim General Manager Richard Sarles said after the board drew up a contract with Virginia officials. Of the 428 cars, 128 will help Metro provide service on the Silver Line extension to Dulles International Airport, and 300 will replace Metro's oldest rail cars. The administration of Gov. Robert F. McDonnell (R) had threatened to withhold Virginia's share of the money unless the state gets two members on the Metro board. Four seats are held by elected officials from Fairfax and Arlington counties and Alexandria, and McDonnell wants to appoint two of them. Transportation Secretary Sean T. Connaughton said Virginia wants more accountability from Metro in the aftermath of last year's fatal Red Line crash. Including its contribution to the matching funds, the state will contribute more to Metro than the Northern Virginia local governments, Connaughton said. But the state decided last week to pay without an agreement on the seats."

VOTE-BUYING: The District will be doing same-day voter registration this year. This could be a mess. Yesterday, the D.C. Council held a roundtable talk on preventing fraud. The Examiner's Emily Babay reports: "Starting with the Sept. 14 primary, people can register to vote at the polls on election day, which has spurred questions about the potential for bought or fraudulent votes. "Votes from same-day registrants will be cast as provisional ballots and subject to review, said Board of Elections and Ethics chief Rokey Suleman. He was among a group of officials from the agency speaking Thursday at a D.C. Council Government Operations and the Environment Committee public roundtable. Suleman said people must vote in the precinct in which they live, so poll workers should recognize voters who try to register outside their precinct. The BOEE plans to have five lawyers staffing a hot line to respond to fraud allegations. But that might not be enough, said Ward 3 Councilwoman Mary Cheh, who urged the BOEE officials to increase that number. 'Five seems a little thin to me,' Cheh said. Same-day registration is expected to cause some 'administrative difficulties' on election day, Suleman acknowledged."

VINCE GRAY=TOFU: WaPo's Mike DeBonis makes the case that Gray is tofu: "It's [Fenty's] chief rival, D.C. Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray (D), who is racking up endorsements from unions, business groups, ward organizations and others. He can't get the yard signs out fast enough. He's started raising money at an impressive clip. And pretty much all he's had to do is show up." But that Fenty is acting like King Fenty, oblivious of how badly he's campaigned: "He's now in full bloom of explaining to disaffected voters why they hate him so much and why they should vote for him again in spite of it. The Fenty entreaty goes something like this: 'People see a willingness to make tough decisions that we haven't seen in a long time in D.C.,' he said Wednesday night, talking to a group of gay and lesbian supporters about school reform. 'You could probably do this the safe and secure way, but it would probably take two or three decades. . . . We need it to happen fast.' When you step into the voting booth, he said, 'remember our commitment to taking on the tough issues.' Politics, unfortunately, is more complicated than ascribing mass disaffection to 'tough decisions.'" This is the must read piece of the week.

LANIER REFUTES FENTY RUMORS; WTOP's Mark Segraves asked MPD Chief Cathy Lanier about those pesky rumors concerning the mayor, domestic violence, and her role in covering it all up: "Lanier said she had been hearing the rumors for years. 'Actually, those rumors surfaced – I believe – as soon as he began running for mayor, and they've been around ever since,' Lanier said. 'Periodically, they will pop back up, but I can tell you without any question, nobody in the Metropolitan Police Department would cover that up. Certainly, I wouldn't cover that up as a district commander.'"

METRO MESS: City Fix DC blog has a great accounting of a Metro taskforce meeting in which residents vented their frustrations.

MANHOLE: Explosion in Southwest (NC8).

SHOOTING: Woman shot in Northeast (WUSA9).

DYRS REFORM: Here is a summary of Councilmember Phil Mendelson's DYRS reform bill in full. We'll probably crash Washington City Paper's site with this! Here it is:

"Bill 18-344 concerns the confidentiality of information about juveniles who are in the juvenile justice system. Major changes to the current law include:

1. Amends the DYRS establishment act to permit the MPD to access without court order certain records – such as surveillance tapes – in the possession of DYRS when needed for investigating a crime allegedly involving a youth in the custody of DYRS. This amendment addresses a conflict between Titles 2 & 16 of the D.C. Code – the latter permitting “law enforcement officers [access] when necessary for the discharge of their current official duties.” This conflict came into focus June 20th when MPD responded to a melee at New Beginnings but had to get a court order before being able to view video tapes of the melee.

2. Rewrites D.C. Code §§ 16-2331, 16-2332, and 16-2333 (regarding confidentiality) to improve clarity.

3. Provides that the following information shall be public information: A child’s name, the fact that he/she was arrested, the arrest charges, the charges filed in court, whether the child was found guilty (“involved”) and, if so, the charges for which he/she was found guilty, and the child’s initial disposition (i.e., probation or DYRS commitment).

Such information shall be public information only if the child has been found guilty of a crime of violence or certain dangerous crimes, or found guilty twice of certain other felonies, including UUV, stolen auto, or felony assault; or the individual has been found guilty of any felony or a misdemeanor assault within three years of the conclusion of his juvenile sentence.

The public availability of this information will enable the public to demand accountability of government agencies responsible for prosecuting or rehabilitating juveniles, and will pierce the veil of confidentiality behind which some chronic, violent juvenile offenders seem to thrive.

4. Requires the MPD to publish statistics twice yearly detailing by PSA the number of juveniles arrested, as well as the charge(s) and dates of arrest.

5. Authorizes an official of MPD, Court Social Services, or DYRS to disclose certain information – but not records – about a juvenile delinquent to a school official or mental health professional when, in the professional judgment of the official, disclosure of the information will assist in the protection, welfare, treatment, or rehabilitation of the juvenile.

6. Establishes an Abscondence Review Committee (5 members plus 2 ex officio) to examine what steps could have prevented juvenile abscondence where a homicide, assault with intent to kill, or assault with a deadly weapon (firearm) was committed by or to the juvenile.

7. Preserves the status quo in the current law regarding confidentiality by making explicit that, notwithstanding the public availability of certain information, a juvenile shall not be required to disclose, and shall have the right to refuse disclosure of, his or her juvenile delinquency information in an application for employment, education, or housing."

KOJO: Maryland gubernatorial candidate Bob Ehrlich and D.C. congressional hopeful Doug Sloan.

MAYOR'S SCHEDULE: No public events.

D.C. COUNCIL'S SCHEDULE: No public events.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT—"Linda Greene Resigns From Orange Campaign," "Summer Jobs Program Begins With Knives, Thefts"

Good Morning. Finally, someone has stepped up on one of the city's biggest issues. Councilmember Phil Mendelson has taken a big step in attempting to reform the troubled DYRS. He at least has proposed making some juvenile cases a lot more transparent. WaPo's Henri Cauvin reports: "Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), chairman of the public safety committee, is set to propose legislation this week that would make public the identity of any juvenile offender after a second serious crime. It would be a radical shift for a juvenile justice system grounded in rehabilitation, and it comes as Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D), Mendelson and others city leaders face election-year criticism over their handling of juvenile crime. Under Mendelson's proposal, after a juvenile is found involved in a second serious offense, the case — and all of the juvenile's previous arrests in the District — would become public. The list of qualifying 'serious' or 'dangerous' offenses is long, including assault, arson, robbery, sexual abuse and murder. The public record would include the charges filed by police and by prosecutors, and the disposition, including whether the juvenile was placed on probation with D.C. Superior Court Social Services or committed to the custody of the D.C. Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services. 'It's about the community being able to get some information and the responsible government agencies having to answer for their actions,' Mendelson said." LL hopes that Mendo will add a clause which mandates throwing a little sunshine on the agency's own dealings. The public also has a right to know just how DYRS lets kids slip through the cracks. But LL is reserving judgment until he reads Colby King's take on the councilmember's proposal.

NICKLES VS. GRAY: The talk of among the local political nerds yesterday centered on AG Peter Nickles, aka Adrian Fenty's Troll Doll, declaring war on mayoral hopeful Vincent Gray during an interview with NewsTalk's Bruce DePuyt. He not only slammed Gray's tenure as head of DHS, but used the man's theme song to taunt him: "And so, this is a very important election. And I say, 'Let's get it on.' I say, 'Let's look at the record that the Fenty administration has had in the last three years, in these agencies, and what happened in 1991-1995. And keep in mind, as a result of those years, all of these agencies — CFSA, dealing with abused and neglected kids; Department of Mental Health, dealing with St. Elizabeth's and mentally-ill folks; DDS, mentally-retarded individuals, disabled individuals; DYRS, criminal justice — in all of those agencies, as a result of what the court was seeing in that administration, all the personnel, all the procurement powers of DHS were taken away from DHS, and each of those agencies was made a cabinet-level department with independent powers." Not that Nickles has had such a great track record managing the CFSA case, among others [see this must read on Nickles' federal court track record]. But anyway, can Gray please make Nickles a campaign issue?

WaPo's Mike DeBonis has the Gray campaign's response to Nickles turn as Fenty campaign flack: "Gray campaign spokeswoman Traci Hughes raised questions about whether it was appropriate for Nickles to address such a politically fraught issue. 'The last time I checked it was the attorney general's role to serve District residents and not to carry out Mayor Fenty's political attacks,' Hughes said Monday afternoon. She accused Nickles of 'campaigning effectively while he's on the clock' — a potential violation of legal restrictions on the political activities of government employees. Nickles defended his comments in part by saying he was "speaking out as a citizen" who had been involved in DHS cases.

AFTER THE JUMP—Judge to announce verdict in Wone case today, Fenty skips education debate, Fenty's inner circle questions whether the mayor even wants to win, a death on the Red Line, and more.

FENTY SKIPS OUT ON DEBATE: Mayor Fenty skipped out on yesterday's debate on education issues w/ Vincent Gray, what organizers had been calling the "Great Education Forum." WaPo's Nikita Stewart and Bill Turque report: "When Fenty failed to appear, organizers went to a town hall-style format that allowed Gray to engage the 100 or so audience members, who appeared to be mostly educators in their 20s and 30s. 'I'm delighted to be here, not necessarily delighted to be here by myself,' Gray said at the Naval Heritage Center in an apparent reference to Fenty. At the outset, Gray took a dig or two at Fenty, saying that the mayor might be in the lobby so 'he can pick up a few pointers.' Word from the Fenty campaign Monday was that the mayor had never "confirmed" that he would participate but that schedulers were prepping him while trying to come up with an alternative date. Campaign sources said that Fenty was obligated to attend other 'private campaign functions.' The group that organized the debate, the D.C. chapter of Young Education Professionals, told a different story about the event, which was announced June 8. The Fenty campaign did not contact the group to pull out until Sunday evening, said Kate Blosveren, the group's president. Gray was left with the floor to himself. As expected, he faulted Fenty and Rhee for a lack of transparency in their dealings with parents and other community stakeholders. 'I'd use the word opaque to describe how some of the decisions were made,' he said. 'The word 'public' in public education needs to be taken seriously.'" More coverage via DCist.

The Examiner's Bill Myers has people within the Fenty camp wondering if the mayor even wants to win reelection: "Mayor Adrian Fenty begged off a key education reform debate on Monday and some in his inner circle are privately wondering if he's as committed to retaining his office as he was to winning it....Longtime aides to Fenty say privately that the mounting criticism and stress of the campaign have made the mayor even more resistant to advice than usual. He has had to dip into his multimillion-dollar campaign funds to pay street workers, instead of mustering an army of volunteers to help him canvass, like in' 06."

SUMMER JOBS: WUSA's Bruce Johnson chronicles the chaos that was the first day of the mayor's summer jobs program–800 kids had to be turned away from a job site, three other kids are in deep trouble over knives and stolen goods at another site. More coverage via Fox5.

WONE VERDICT TODAY: After four years, one of the most closely covered murder mysteries in recent District history may finally come to some resolution. The Examiner reports: "Tuesday, one piece of the puzzle will get an answer: Did Joseph Price, Dylan Ward and Victor Zaborsky conspire to cover up the slaying? D.C. Superior Court Judge Lynn Leibovitz is set to rule Tuesday in the trial of the three men, accused of cleaning up the crime scene and misdirecting police after Wone's Aug. 2, 2006, death in their Dupont Circle town house. Wone was spending the night in their home at 1509 Swann St. NW when he was stabbed three times in the chest. The defendants maintain that an intruder killed Wone. Leibovitz has heard five weeks of testimony from dozens of witnesses. The defendants waived their right to a jury trial, making Leibovitz the sole arbitrator. All three men face charges of conspiracy and obstruction of justice. Ward, 40, and Zaborsky, 44, were acquitted of tampering with evidence, but that charge still stands against Price, 39. All three could face more than 30 years in prison if convicted." More coverage via Whomurderedrobertwone.com.

DISTRICT REVENUES: The city's CFO reports some not totally bad news on the revenue front, reports WBJ's Michael Neibauer: "The parade of bleak revenue estimates from D.C. Chief Financial Officer Natwar Gandhi may have come to an end. The latest, released today, suggests no change from his February projection. This is good news. Not 'windfall' good, but good nevertheless. 'There are signs that both the U.S. and District economies are in recovery, but every indication is that the recovery is likely to be long and slow,' Gandhi wrote in a letter to Mayor Adrian Fenty and D.C. Council Chairman Vincent Gray. The estimate is a mixed bag of economic news. Individual income and sales taxes came in lower than expected, Gandhi said, but real property tax collections were better than anticipated and withholding collections have picked up. In the quarter ending in March, occupied office space rose 0.8 percent from the prior quarter and 1.8 percent from the prior year."

SUPREME COURT GUN CASE: You wanna know the impact of Heller v. D.C.? WaPo's Mike DeBonis says yesterday's Supreme Court decision is only the beginning: "The Supreme Court ruling Monday in McDonald v. City of Chicago places the District of Columbia at the vanguard of answering a new and crucial question: Just what kinds of gun regulations are constitutional in the United States? The McDonald decision has its roots, of course, in Heller v. District of Columbia, decided two years ago by the same 5-4 margin. That ruling struck down the city's blanket handgun ban after finding a constitutional 'right of law-abiding, responsible citizens to use arms in defense of hearth and home.' The court Monday, in holding that the Heller standard applies to state and local law, did not significantly modify it."

PARKING METERS: NC8 reports District residents are unsatisfied with meter replacements.

DEATH AT RED LINE STOP: A man was found dead on the tracks yesterday evening at the Grosvenor-Strathmore station, WTOP reports. More coverage via NBC4 . The Examiner's Kytja Weir reports: "A man was killed Monday evening when he jumped from a Metro station mezzanine onto the rail tracks, causing major delays on the Red Line during the peak of the evening commute and trapping riders on a train in 90-plus degree heat without air conditioning. The death occurred about 6:10 p.m. at the Grosvenor station, Metro spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein said. Preliminary reports indicate the man jumped from the upper platform onto the tracks, she said. The unidentified man was not hit by a train, she said, but died at the scene. The transit agency then needed to shut down power to that section of tracks for safety, she said, which in turn eliminated electricity to a train coming through the station. That shut off the air conditioning inside the train, angering the riders on the loaded train, who threatened to self-evacuate, she said. They were eventually taken into a rescue train. Metro had to close the station and turn back other trains, later reopening to allow trains to share a single track. The agency offered free shuttle buses to riders, but commuters faced significant delays because buses hold far fewer riders than trains."

MORE EVIDENCE THAT FENTY LOVES GO-GO: WaPo's Nikita Stewart captures Fenty celebrating his love of our homegrown sound.

MAYOR'S SCHEDULE: No public events.

D.C. COUNCIL'S SCHEDULE: Lots of Wilson Building activities including hearings on public safety and parks and rec.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT—"Closing Arguments In Wone Case," "World Cup Roundup," "Photos: Terry Huff"

Morning All. You better enjoy Metro today and Saturday. Those big fare increases are set to start on Sunday. WaPo's Ann Scott Tyson and Anita Kumar report that Metro approved those complicated fare hikes yesterday: "Metro's board of directors authorized an extensive package of fare increases Thursday as the agency approved a $1.4 billion operating budget and a plan to cover a projected $189 million shortfall for the fiscal year that begins July 1. The new fares include nearly $109 million worth of increases for people who ride rail, bus and MetroAccess, the service for the disabled. Because of the complexity of the fare increases, they will be implemented in three stages: on Sunday, on Aug. 1 and in the fall. One potentially confusing component is a new 20-cent 'peak-of-the-peak' rail surcharge that will start in August and affect riders who travel during the busiest times. The board had indicated in a vote last month that it would approve the changes. Rail fares this weekend will increase about 18 percent, with the peak boarding fare going from $1.65 to $1.95. The bus boarding charge will go up 20 percent, from $1.25 to $1.50 for SmarTrip users and from $1.35 to $1.70 for cash customers. Metro's board also agreed to cut the cost of SmarTrip cards in half, from $5 to $2.50, because the cost of the cards has fallen and because Metro wants to encourage riders to use them, said Peter Benjamin, the board chairman. Board member Jim Graham, who serves on the D.C. council, cast the only dissenting vote. He said he was concerned about the effect of the higher fares on the people least able to afford them."

AFTER THE JUMP—Peter Nickles would stay on if Fenty gains second term, Metro gets into the movie rental business, WaPo columnist stands up for social workers fired in wake of Banita Jacks case, and tragedy hits Ward 8 ANC Commissioner.

FOUR MORE YEARS OF NICKLES? District AG Peter Nickles, aka Fenty's Troll Doll, tells Jonetta Rose Barras on her WPFW radio show that he's open to remaining as the city's top lawyer for four more years. WaPo reports: "In a DC Politics interview on WPFW 89.3 FM, Rose-Barras told the city's top lawyer that there are some residents who will not vote to re-elect Fenty because of Nickles, his strained relations with the council and the view that he is a 'cantankerous old man,' who is to blame for 'a lot that has happened in this administration is bad.' 'I don't know if I'm cantankerous,' Nickles said, joking about his age, 71. 'I'm ready to take it on as long as the mayor wants me to take it on.' Nickles acknowledged that he has long had a cantankerous relationship with former mayor Marion Barry (D-Ward 8). But Nickles said he has had 'very good relations' with council members Jack Evans (D-Ward 2), Muriel Bowser (D-Ward 4), David Catania (I-At Large), Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6), Jim Graham (D-Ward 1), and at times, Chairman Vincent Gray. But, he said, 'I have found these other council members – particularly Barry, Michael Brown (I-At Large), Kwame Brown (D-At Large) and Harry Thomas Jr. (D-Ward 5) – completely unwilling to listen. No matter what the issue is, they are instinctively against the mayor.'" What about your biggest critics, Councilmembers Phil Mendelson and Mary Cheh? Anyway, Nickles ruled out running for attorney general; voters can decide in Nov. if the position should be an elected office. [Nickles opposes such a move].

Meanwhile, the D.C. Council rebuffed Nickles' attempt to allow indefinite response times for FOIA requests. WaPo's Ann Marimow reports: "Attorney General Peter Nickles' request for more time to respond to public requests for government information is unlikely to gain traction in the Council, where two members — Muriel Bowser (D-Ward 4) and Mary Cheh (D-Ward 3) — have introduced legislation to increase access and transparency. Nickles said the District is inundated with complex Freedom of Information Act requests and needs a 'safety valve' of additional time to respond, similar to what federal law allows. But Cheh said Nickles 'is looking for an open-ended excuse not to comply, and he's not going to get it. It's a simple invitation to delay, an invitation to mischief.' Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray, who is challenging Mayor Adrian Fenty in the September Democratic primary, also rejected the idea, calling the current response period 'sufficient.'"

CFSA AND BANITA JACKS FALLOUT: WaPo columnist Petula Dvorak takes up the cause of the social workers fired in the wake of the Banita Jacks case. She believes they should get their jobs back: "All of the social workers who had anything to do with the Jacks case were thumped in grand fashion by an angry and decisive Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D). For a city reeling from the discovery that Jacks's four children were dead and that Jacks had been living in squalor for weeks with their decaying bodies until she was found in January 2008, it felt righteous to fire everyone having anything to do with her case. A new director of the Child and Family Services Agency was installed, and Jacks was convicted of killing her girls. But [Carl] Miller and two other social workers are still fighting the case every day. And the city is fighting back. The case touched Miller's life in late 2007, when a school social worker called and told Miller that a student at her school had been truant, the mom wouldn't open the door when she came to investigate, and she was worried. On the phone, Miller was matter-of-fact, reminding the social worker that the woman had no legal obligation to let her inside. It seemed like educational neglect, nothing more; the social worker said the kids looked unkempt and were watching TV. That sounds like my own childhood. As satisfying as it may have been to can Miller because he didn't swoop in to save these girls, it's not realistic to end the career of a 34-year-old man who had been a reliable social worker for eight years." Dvorak doesn't say that the CFSA director resigned not over the Jacks case, but over her inability to handle a huge backlog of cases in its aftermath. She also doesn't mention that the court monitor had flagged CFSA's poor investigative skills a few months prior to the Jacks case making headlines—so social workers and their supervisors had ample warning that they needed to be more vigilant. Still this is a must read for anyone that followed the Jacks case, and Dvorak can be convincing especially regarding the one social worker fired after relying on the police to properly visit the Jacks home. The police officer lied to the social worker saying that he had seen the Jacks children and they were fine. He had never seen the kids.

GRAY VS. LEO ALEXANDER: Leo Alexander takes it to Vincent Gray during the latest mayoral forum, WaPo reports: "Alexander, who has been struggling to gain attention in what so far appears to be a two-man race, went on the offensive against Gray, accusing him of being as much to blame as Fenty for the city's problems. 'When you think of everything that has happened in the last three years, you cannot criticize this man, without looking at this man,' Alexander said, pointing at Gray and Fenty. Alexander specifically challenged Gray for not doing more to prevent Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee from laying off 266 teachers last year. 'It wouldn't be fair to talk about the betterment of DCPS, without talking about leadership of our council chairman,' Alexander said. 'When this council had the opportunity to stop those firings, but he did nothing.' A clearly agitated Gray fired back, accusing Alexander of misrepresenting his record, noting he and Council member Harry Thomas (D-Ward 5) worked on legislation to try to force Rhee to rehire the fired teachers. 'Let me begin by saying it's easy to sit up here when you've done nothing and pontificate,' Gray said to Alexander. 'If you did the research, you would understand the council wouldn't have the authority to turn this around despite the fact we tried.' Alexander responded: 'The gentleman said I have done nothing, let's talk about his do-nothing leadership on the city council.'"

OUR CONDOLENCES: WaPo is reporting that Ward 8 ANC Commissioner Anthony Muhammad's two sons were killed in a car crash in Silver Spring: "Muhammad family members did not comment. They were planning a vigil at Kennedy High School in Silver Spring on Thursday evening. Commissioners in Ward 8 said they were pulling together to support the family. 'Mr. Muhammad is an active, dedicated person in our community, and we're grieving with him. It's a tragic loss,' said Ward 8 commissioner Lendia Johnson. 'He's devastated, as far as I can say. He adored his children. He was an excellent father.' Barbara Clark, another Ward 8 commissioner, said she contacted Muhammad through a text message after the accident. Johnson said she admired Muhammad's sons for being upstanding and disciplined. 'They weren't the pants-hanging-down-low type,' she said, 'They were neat, clean, straightforward, obedient young men.'"

DROWNING: Councilmember Harry Thomas Jr. says he will hold a hearing on this week's drowning death of a child at the Turkey Thicket Rec Center pool. WaPo reports: "Yiana-Michelle Ballard, 6, was found unconscious at the rec center's crowded indoor pool about 2:20 p.m., officials said. She had been swimming with her family. Lifeguards tried to resuscitate her, but she was later pronounced dead at Children's National Medical Center. Police said Thursday that their special-victims unit was still investigating the circumstances of the death. Autopsy results were pending. 'This should have never happened,' said D.C. Council member Harry Thomas Jr. (D-Ward 5), who chairs the Committee on Libraries, Parks and Recreation. 'We are doing everything that needs to be done to make sure that this doesn't happen again.' Thomas said he plans to hold hearings next week to examine whether the city's pools are safe. He said he is consulting with officials from the American Red Cross to review pool safety procedures and might introduce emergency legislation to address the issue." More coverage via WUSA9.

FOLKLIFE FEST: WUSA9 offers a preview of this year's fest on the Mall.

RHEE: THE MOVIE STAR? Maybe not. But the school's chancellor gets a star turn in front of the cameras for a new education documentary.

METRO MOVIES: Rental kiosks are coming to Metro, reports WBJ. More coverage via the Examiner.

OF COURSE: People are raising pigs in Takoma Park.

FIRST LADIES: Duke Ellington students woo a pair of First Ladies with a little MJ.

THINK YOU GOT IT BAD: Tenants in one building are fighting landlord over broken AC.

HYDRANTS: D.C. officials are encouraging residents to not turn on hydrants as a way of combating this ridiculous heat.

FREE: HIV/AIDS testing.

MUST READ: WaPo's Paul Duggan's story on the murder of Manual Sanchez: "Fleeing poverty in El Salvador, he walked into the United States illegally across miles of desert in 1998. He worked as a bricklayer or as a laborer, depending on the economy, and drank heavily for a time, often squandering his wages. On May 28, behind a vacant tenement in Southeast Washington, where Sanchez, 29, and two of his cousins had been bagging trash and cutting weeds, the men were accosted by a pair of would-be robbers. Now Sanchez is gone, air-freighted back to his rural home town in a coffin, allegedly shot by a suspect six days past his 16th birthday, a ward of the city's youth rehabilitation agency. The accused killer, Javon Hale, and the other suspect, Rafael Douglas, also 16, are due in D.C. Superior Court on Friday for a preliminary hearing, each charged as an adult with murder after two witnesses identified them to police. Some killings rivet the media and the public: An esteemed lawyer mysteriously stabbed in Northwest Washington townhouse; a University of Virginia lacrosse star savagely pummeled in her apartment; a beloved D.C. school principal shot in his Silver Spring home. And some homicides go largely unnoticed beyond the tumbledown blocks where they occur, beyond the families and friends of the slain and the handcuffed and the authorities seeking justice. The shooting of Manuel DeJesus Sanchez was such a crime....The suspects, locked up without bond, have pleaded not guilty. Hale, who has a record of juvenile crime, had been let out of Boys Town, a group home, on a weekend pass just hours before Sanchez died bleeding on a dingy patch of Hillside Road SE in Benning Heights."

KOJO: Today's guests: Virginia congressional candidate Keith Fimian and Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot.

MAYOR'S SCHEDULE:

10:45 a.m.
Remarks
Ribbon Cutting for Deanwood Recreation Center and Library
Location: Deanwood Recreation Center and Library
49th and Quarles Streets, NE

D.C. COUNCIL'S SCHEDULE:

10 a.m.
Committee on Human Services (Round Table)
"Status of the District's Low Barrier, Transitional and Permanent Support Housing Programs for Adults, Youth and Families who are Homeless"
Location: John A. Wilson Building, Room 500

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT—"City FC Builds Hearts, Minds, and Soccer Fields," "Another Blaze Scorches Joe Englert's Boozy Empire," "Was Robert Wone Killed By Martial Arts Expert?," "World Cup Roundup," "Anonymous Tip Leads To Fenty Canvasser Arrest"

Good Morning. Overcrowding at New Beginnings may have led to violence at the youth facility this past weekend. WaPo's Henri Cauvin reports: "New Beginnings, the District's juvenile detention center in Laurel, had been overcrowded for days when a detainee attacked a staff member Sunday night and set off a disturbance that lasted about an hour. Designed to hold 60 people, New Beginnings had been overcapacity for several days, according to a union official. On Sunday, 70 people were in custody, according to the union official, Tasha Williams, and a law enforcement source. After staff from the D.C. Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services, which operates New Beginnings, signaled the end of recreation early Sunday night, some detainees balked. Three of them ran onto a roof of the building and two others refused orders to enter their living units, DYRS said in a statement Monday. When the shift commander tried to defuse the situation, a 20-year-old detainee punched him in the face, fracturing the man's jaw, according to Williams, chair of the DYRS unit of the Fraternal Order of Police....Although no one escaped the compound, it was not until officers from Anne Arundel County and Maryland State Police responded that all of the youths were back in their units. D.C. police, including Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier, two assistant chiefs and a SWAT team also were on the scene." More coverage via AP, NBC4.

WaPo's Editorial Board weighs in on the New Beginnings incident, DYRS troubles, and the confidentiality issue. Police had trouble getting the security tapes to see who actually perpetrated the attack on the guard: "POLICE WHO responded to Sunday's disturbance at the District's juvenile detention center in Laurel made what should have been a routine request. They wanted to view the facility's surveillance videos to determine responsibility for the assault of a staff member and other possible crimes. Instead, they ended up in court because the city's confidentiality laws for juvenile offenders precluded release — even to the police — of this material. How much more absurd does the situation have to get before the D.C. Council does something about rules that show more regard for those who break the law than those who need its protection?...Attorney General Peter Nickles, who is conducting a review of the juvenile justice system, told us that he's increasingly convinced that strict confidentiality laws harm public safety by shrouding the system in such secrecy that public confidence is undermined. And, as council member Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6) argues, confidentiality has the perverse effect of hampering efforts to help youths by keeping information from people who could use it. Wouldn't teachers, pastors and coaches, he asks, be better able to help at-risk youths if they knew what was going on in their lives? Instead, the law prevents youth rehabilitation officials or police from alerting anyone to a potential problem. Mr. Wells is sponsoring legislation that would relax these rules. The only question the council should be asking is whether the changes go far enough."

This substitute LL might add another reason the confidentiality laws should be dismantled: Opening up juvenile cases would assist the press in knowing when and how the Child and Family Services Agency and/or DYRS screws up. Too many juvenile offenders are what is called dual jacketed–they have cases in both Family Court and in the criminal courts. Letting these kids tell their stories would provide the public better insight into the social safety net, and how the city assists its most troubled residents The public has a right to know what the District's social workers, educators, and lawyers have done for these kids before they abscond.

The District should also consider allowing public access to security tapes from the D.C. Jail. There were a number of stabbings at the D.C. Jail last winter; the Department of Corrections offered little information about those cases. This LL is still waiting on a FOIA he filed many, many months ago.

AFTER THE JUMP: Metro unsafe one year later, one mother writes Fenty re: DYRS, Michelle Rhee wants to volunteer for Fenty campaign, and much, much more!

METRO CRASH ANNIVERSARY: WaPo's Ann Scott Tyson reports that Metro's safety improvements since the crash have stalled out. Tyson got one great scare quote from the NTSB: "The crash was a catalyst for an examination of transit safety nationwide — spurring a push by the Obama administration for federal oversight legislation, a shakeup in Metro leadership and unparalleled scrutiny of the agency by the National Transportation Safety Board, which now has four open investigations into incidents at Metro. So far, however, the legislation remains stalled in Congress, state oversight is fractured and weak, Metro lacks a permanent leadership team, and the NTSB's final report on the cause of last June's Red Line crash, which killed nine and injured dozens, isn't expected until late July. 'There are significant deficiencies in their safety culture,' said Deborah A.P. Hersman, chairman of the NTSB. 'We do not see the frequency of accidents on other properties that we are seeing on Metro. The most disappointing . . . is when we issue recommendations and those issues do not get corrected. For us, that is a big concern about Metro,' she said. Nine NTSB recommendations issued to Metro in July and September, in the aftermath of the accident, remain open, according to NTSB records." NC8 reports on how first responders are still coping with the crash. And WBJ reports that Metro is thinking about adding shops, vending machines to stops.

RETIRED TEACHERS MAY TAKE PAY HIT: The Examiner's Leah Fabel reports that with the new contract, retired teachers will not be entitled to back pay: "Three years of back pay provided in the new contract for D.C. Public Schools teachers would not be available for those who recently retired, though their colleagues fired in the fall can expect a check.If the teacher-approved contract passes the D.C. City Council next week as expected, about 4,300 teachers this summer would receive more than 11 percent of their most recent salary to make up for three years without a pay raise. In addition, nearly 300 teachers let go in November as part of a contentious round of firings would receive a check for closer to 7 percent of their most recent salary. Teachers who retired or left the system for other reasons in the past three years would receive nothing. Jacqueline Schuler, who retired in 2008, called the provision unfair at a Monday council hearing. 'The contract should not be ratified until provisions have been made to compensate teachers who retired during the contract process,' she said. Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee defended the decision, saying it allowed for more competitive raises for teachers still in the classroom. Contract negotiations 'are a lot about determining priorities and where you're going to push and pull,' Rhee said. 'There were limited resources.'"

GRAY VS. FENTY: Vincent Gray is set to open a field office in the heart of Fenty's Ward 4 turf. This Saturday, Gray will actually host an event that includes a ribbon cutting at the new digs at 4300 Georgia AVE, NW to be held between 4 and 6 p.m. WaPo's Mike DeBonis reports: "The Gray camp denies any symbolism....'It is pure coincidence,' says campaign spokesperson Traci Hughes. 'We've got growing support in Ward 4; it happens to be right there.'...In signing a second lease, the Gray campaign is also sending a message that it expects fundraising efforts to remain strong. The space is being rented from Aubrey Stephenson, president and chief executive of Federal Management Systems Inc., a government consulting firm whose logo adorns the awning outside the building. There's one problem: The awning's green — and that's Fenty's color. 'We're going to change the signage,' Hughes says."

RHEE WANTS TO CAMPAIGN FOR FENTY: WaPo's Bill Turque reports: "Exactly what plans the Fenty campaign has to deploy Rhee are unclear. Spokeswoman Helen Hare took the question Friday morning, but hasn't responded. She would undoubtedly be an asset–even if an untitled one–in areas of the city where her school reform efforts remain deeply popular. Rhee said in an interview that she has not had a detailed discussion with the mayor's campaign about her role, but that she expected there to be one. 'I have communicated to the campaign office that I would imagine that at some point I would like to do volunteer work, going door to door. But I don't have any firm plans,' she said. Besides, she added, 'I have a wedding to plan,' referring to her Sept. 4 date with Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson. She said that much of whatever disposable time she had was going toward the yet-to-be-finalized guest list."

MORE DYRS: WUSA9 makes public a letter written to Fenty by a murder victim's mother. The letter reads in part:

"My beautiful daughter, Brishell Jones was slaughtered as if she were less than human on March 30, 2010.

I am not clear as to what role you will play if any to correct the deadly mess that DYRS breeds and allows to roam our streets? If you have a juvenile facility and absconders exist one would think that very juvenile facility DYRS would have its very own absconder unit. To my surprise it does not and why is a great question. An even better question is why would you the mayor tell the MPD to not be present at a hearing to discuss how they search and locate absconders? It's a valid question since MPD does have an absconder unit.

The DC Council members at this hearing seemed to think the newspaper gives false and mythical stories of the absconders from DYRS yet you instruct the police department not to attend the meeting to clear up these false statements and myths....

Now today I see on the news and read in the papers a riot took place at the wonderful, country club for killers I wonder if this will raise an eyebrow on your face or will you continue to insist all is well on the multi-million dollar facility. It is more than obvious to everyone outside of those who supported the insane building and structure of a facility without any structure or discipline whatsoever this is a breeding ground for vile offenders to freely walk away and commit some of the most unspeakable crimes imaginable.

I have also called you and come to your office and filled out a request to ask you in person what does the proclamation you had Ms. Simms present to the families on May 22, 2010 the day of our bike rally actually mean and represents to you as the mayor of the District? You have done your usual routine again and ignore my requests to you as you did so well in the previous years prior to my daughter being shot down like a wild animal being hunted in the safari.

Have a nice day because since my beautiful, intelligent, loving, peaceful child's brains were blown out of her little head just a few yards from our home that she and I once shared happily together I no longer have nice days.

Nardyne Jefferies, Proud Mother of Brishell Tashe' Jones or should I type former mother."

MARC TRAIN: Stalls out last night. WTOP reports: "Train 538 stopped working on the tracks adjacent to Route 50 near Columbia Park Road around 6:30 p.m. Monday. The train departed from Union Station, planned to stop in Baltimore, and then continue to Perryville. Maryland Transportation Administration Terry Owens says Amtrak sent two crews to the site, and towed the train back to Union Station. Many passengers called WTOP to say the electricity died on board the train, causing the cabins to become extremely hot and uncomfortable. Prince George's Fire and EMS treated numerous people for dehydration once passengers were taken off the train, including taking a 50-year-old woman and 52-year-old man to the hospital. Around 8:30 p.m., a third train was sent to transport passengers back to D.C. However, that train did not have the capacity to fit every stranded rider, so around 100 riders had to wait for another train to either Baltimore or D.C." NBC4 has raw video from the scene. More coverage via The Examiner.

The teen killed at that graduation party this past weekend is remembered.

President Obama gives speech in Southeast on importance of fathers.

MAYOR'S SCHEDULE:

10:30 a.m. Remarks
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) Memorial Ceremony
Location: Half a block from Fort Totten Metrorail Station
1st Place, NE between Riggs Road and Galloway Street, NE

2 p.m. Remarks
Grand Opening of Pennsylvania Avenue Bike Lanes
Location: Old Post Office Pavilion
Pennsylvania Avenue and 11th Street, NW

D.C. COUNCIL'S SCHEDULE:

1 p.m. Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary (Round Table)
Continuing Overtime and Pay Problems in the Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department
Location: John A. Wilson Building, Room 120

2 p.m. Committee on Public Services and Consumer Affairs (Meeting)
The Committee on Public Services and Consumer Affairs Committee meetings will be held at 2:00PM on the Fourth Tuesday of each month.
Location: John A. Wilson Building, Room 120

2 p.m. Committee on Public Works and Transportation (Hearing)
B18-823, the "Transportation Infrastructure Amendment Act of 2010"
Location: John A. Wilson Building, Room 500