700 Block 7th Street, NW.  Jan. 26th.  © 2012 Matt Dunn

Windows D.C.: Sure, Microsoft Office may be annoying, and yes, you prefer your iPod to a Zune. But free training in computer technology from Microsoft for D.C. residents, plus some special products and services for local small businesses and an effort to encourage Washingtonians to go into engineering-related careers still counts as good news. The [...]

WUSA9 reports that three teenagers have apparently been shot in different locations near Congress Heights Elementary School in Ward 8.
According to MPD, "one shooting occurred in the 500 block of Alabama SE. The second shooting happened in the 3300 block of 4th St SE. The third happened in the 800 block of Wheeler Hill SE." [...]

On WAMU's DCentric, Elahe Izadi explores why murder rates have dropped to a 50-year-historic low in D.C. One thing's for sure: It's not due to gentrification.
Since 1990, the percentage of people living in poverty has remained relatively stable or slightly increased in the east of the Anacostia River communities, places which also experienced the biggest recent [...]

The Post has the rundown on a year-long police sting that took place in a Northeast house:
The house, dressed up as a recording studio, was wired by the FBI, and Sutherland — and all his buyers — were undercover officers. When an officer listening in on a telephone conversation overheard plans to rob them, a [...]

Mayor Vince Gray wants the feds to reimburse the District for spending on the Occupy D.C. protesters—according to the Examiner, he says the local government has spent $1.6 million on services:
"While we have a budget for protests, we don't have this kind of money," Gray told NewsChannel 8.
[Gray spokeswoman Doxie] McCoy said asking the federal government for [...]

I've been spending a good chunk of the morning sorting and re-sorting this list of the crimes that have occurred in District schools since 2009. TBD submitted a Freedom of Information Act request a few months ago and the documents finally started rolling in.
TBD has also made the list available in a downloadable spreadsheet, and [...]

Last week, Mayor Vince Gray said people were losing patience with the occupiers down at McPherson Square. This week, the Times has the numbers:
The Metropolitan Police Department alone spent about $1.3 million on Occupy DC as of Nov. 29, including $74,000 for overtime pay. But that total doesn't include services provided by other city agencies, according [...]

Over the weekend, the Post ran a story about license plate readers in the region, and the attendant privacy concerns:
More than 250 cameras in the District and its suburbs scan license plates in real time, helping police pinpoint stolen cars and fleeing killers. But the program quietly has expanded beyond what anyone had imagined even [...]

The Occupy D.C. movement descended on the Metropolitan Police Department's headquarters Monday afternoon to demand an investigation into an incident Friday night, in which four protesters were struck by cars outside the Walter E. Washington Convention Center while protesting a meeting of Americans for Prosperity.
One of the protesters, Heidi Sippel, told a crowd at a press [...]

Occupy This: Everything was going relatively well between the Occupy D.C. protesters and the various police agencies charged with patrolling downtown D.C.—until, that is, a car hit three protesters Friday night by the convention center, and police declined to charge the driver because he had a green light. In response, Occupiers criticized the Metropolitan Police [...]

The 1000 block of Euclid Street NW looked more like a scene out of Transformers Friday afternoon, with broken glass and debris from several cars lining the street. According to residents in the area, around 2:00 a.m., an unidentified man who they believe to be intoxicated came speeding down the street colliding with about eight [...]

Shortly before 7 p.m. last night, the Metropolitan Police Department raided Capitol Hemp locations in Adams Morgan and Chinatown simultaneously. Seven people were arrested, including one customer, on charges of possession of drug paraphernalia. Three of the seven were also charged with drug possession with intent to distribute. As of earlier this afternoon, according to [...]

Back in June, Rend Smith reported that Dwight Harris—the homeless man pushed by cops from his wheelchair onto a U Street sidewalk on May 19—wouldn't face charges for public drinking or resisting arrest. Instead, the cops were going to see some consequences.
Turns out, though, that they're getting off without charges. The Post reported over the [...]