The bill needed broader support from the Prince George’s House delegation county affairs committee to win approval but fell short on a 3-2 vote. Prince George’s Dels. Carolyn Howard and James Proctor, both Democrats, voted no. Voting for the measure besides Frush were Dels. Jolene Ivey and Justin Ross. Del. Veronica Turner (D) was absent. The measure can come before the panel two more times, and the full delegation could take it up even without the panel’s endorsement.

On Tuesday, the Prince George’s County Council voted 8-0 with one member abstaining to endorse the bill, which first needs approval in Annapolis before the council could enact the bag tax. Prince George’s County Executive Rushern L. Baker III (D) had also backed the bill. Intense lobbying from plastic bag manufacturers operating as the American Chemistry Council helped scuttle the measure. Opponents of the bill said they worried that it could hurt low-income residents.

Photo by Mr. T In D.C. via Flickr/Creative Commons Attribution Generic 2.0 License

(Correction: Due to a reporting error, this post originally misidentified the legislature involved.)

A five-cent bag tax is going up for vote in Prince George's County for the second time, where Democrats say that the number of stray plastic bags caught in trees and blowing around has become untenable. And the bill may even pass, the Sun reports, thanks to the success of the District's bag tax in cleaning up the Anacostia River:

Before the bag tax in the district, the three trash traps were predominantly filled with disposable plastic bags, [Anacostia Waterkeeper's Mike] Bolinder said.

"The volume of bags in relation to other trash has dropped almost 100 percent, I rarely see a bag in the traps anymore," he said.

In a February 2011 study on litter in the District, the Alice Ferguson Foundation, a Maryland nonprofit environmental organization, found that 75 percent of residents surveyed said they have reduced their use of plastic bags since the fee was introduced.

In fiscal year 2011, the bag tax raised $1.8 million, according to the district Department of the Environment. It awarded nearly $1 million in grants to community organizations and $300,000 to private companies to clean up waterways in the district.

The Alice Ferguson Foundation found that only 12 percent of businesses reported that the bag fee had affected their business negatively, while 20 percent said that the bag fee has had a positive effect. A majority of businesses, 58 percent, said the bag fee has not affected their business at all.

At the beginning of the year, Montgomery County also implemented a bag tax, to some opposition. As the Sun notes, half of the Anacostia's watershed is in Prince George's County—which means that losing plastic bags there would reduce trash in the river.

For more on the D.C. bag tax, check out this graphic from contributor Josh Kramer.

Photo by Mr. T In D.C. via Flickr/Creative Commons Attribution Generic 2.0 License

Johnson, 60, had faced up to 18 months in prison, according to federal guidelines. Her lawyers asked for probation, citing her responsibilities caring for aged mother, an ill sister, and a son in his 20s who is in graduate school and living at home.

U.S. District Judge Peter J. Messitte said Johnson will be eligible for release in 10 months. He also ordered her to serve two years supervised release, to perform 240 hours community service and to pay a $15,000 fine. She is to report for prison March 9.

“They enjoy interacting with other blacks,” Karyn Lacy, a sociologist at the University of Michigan, wrote in her book “Blue-Chip Black,” for which she interviewed dozens of parents in Prince George’s. “Scholars have focused so much on the burden of blackness that they have devoted scant attention to the possibility that there is something enjoyable about being black and participating in a community of blacks.”

Residential integration is not a goal, particularly for younger black professionals born after the civil rights struggles of the 1950s and 1960s, said Bart Landry, a sociologist at the University of Maryland who has returned to Prince George’s for an update to his 1987 book, “The New Black Middle Class.” He said many residents find comfort, after spending the day in a predominantly white workplace, in returning to a home where all their neighbors are other African American professionals.

“They’re where they want to be,” Landry said. “They’re not thinking about integration. It’s not on their radar screen. . . . Their goal is to live in a community of like-minded, like-valued people, and these are other middle-class blacks.”

Whoa, black people are just like other people. Anyway, the only real issue I had with the story is that it seemed to paint too rosy a picture. It was a good study of the black upper-middle class, but had only one mention of the downsides of living in "Ward 9"—bad public schools—and no interviews with the poor folks living in the county.

Photo by ElvertBarnes via Flickr/Creative Commons Attribution Generic 2.0 License

Passion Play: The National Museum of Crime and Punishment has drawn the ire of Hollaback DC, which says the museum's "Crimes of Passion" exhibit mocks domestic violence victims. Attendees of the exhibit are handcuffed to their partners as they tour the museum; a few special posters accompany existing exhibits showcasing dashing romantics like Bonnie and Clyde and St. Valentine. Although the museum's website now has information on domestic violence, Hollaback DC, which shines a light on street harassment, isn't mollified. The blog would prefer that the exhibit not return next year. -2

Pay to Play: Former Prince George's County Executive Jack Johnson was indicted on extortion, bribery, and conspiracy charges. Alleged shady dealings between Johnson and a slew of unnamed political players resulted in a county housing department that aggressively exercised its power and legislation that favored developers. While it's not a pretty picture, Johnson's indictment sets the stage for current County Executive Rushern Baker to pursue his goal of a corruption-free Prince George's. +1

Deadly Play:  A burglary in Brookland turned deadly early this morning. Fifth District police officers arrived on the scene and confirmed that a break-in was in process. When the suspects exited the home, they opened fire on the officers surrounding it. One suspect was killed and the other was severely injured; a third suspect is in police custody. The suspects are thought to be connected to other home invasions in the neighborhood. -3

Petal Play: And now, for some lighthearted news: The azaleas are saved! This spring could have been the last for the National Arboretum's Azalea Hill, which ran out of funding (attending to the blooms costs around $110,000 a year). The plants themselves were on the chopping block. Fortunately, a $1 million private donation to the Friends of the National Arboretum has saved the azaleas for years to come. +3

Yesterday's Needle rating: 51 Today's score: -1 Today's Needle rating: 50

Trouble in Ward 9: At first, news that federal agents had arrested Jack Johnson at his home this morning was a little confusing; soft rock is annoying, but weren't there worse offenders, like David Gray, Dave Matthews, or that idiot who said that crazy shit to Playboy? Upon further review, though, it seemed the Jack Johnson getting busted was the one who's (for now) county executive in Prince George's County, not the dude with a guitar. Which made more sense; this Johnson had been under investigation for years on suspicion of pay-for-play with county contracts and other alleged financial misdeeds. Maybe Johnson can record a song to fund his legal defense. -3

No Fees, Please, We're American: Apparently the federal budget will have to be balanced without the help of $7.50 contributions from museum-goers. Smithsonian officials say the fee proposed by a commission on the national debt wouldn't actually work, and they're opposed to establishing it—in part because it might deter visitors. Which would, in turn, raise even less money. On the other hand, it would probably make the line to buy freeze-dried ice cream shorter. +2

We're Rich!: More evidence for those inclined to see socialism on the march arrived today, in the form of Newsweek's ranking of the ten richest counties in the U.S.—seven of which are in the D.C. area. Only the New York suburbs of Somerset County and Morris County, N.J., and Nassau County, N.Y., kept our region from a clean sweep. Of course, the District itself is nowhere near the richest jurisdiction in the country, so we're inclined to see this list not as evidence of creeping socialism but as evidence that we need a commuter tax. +2

Gaaaaas!: Generally speaking, any signs of life in the District's construction industry are probably a good thing, with unemployment as high as it is. Except when construction crews hit gas lines while digging, as they did today near Mt. Vernon Square, forcing evacuations of nearby buildings. On the other hand, it was a gorgeous day—we wouldn't mind, entirely, if City Paper's office had to be evacuated. -1

Yesterday's Needle rating: 44 Today's score: 0 Friday bonus: +2 Today's Needle rating: 46

But when an exclusive investigation by Cheap Seats Daily's one-man I-Team (slogan: "There is an 'I" in 'I-Team'"!) uncovered the shocking truth about his Cowboys non-career, Vaughn first blamed the bogosity on his "webmaster," then told reporters following up on the incorrectitudes that he'd also played for the New Orleans Saints and the New Jersey Generals.

There is just as much evidence that he played for those teams as there is that he played for the Cowboys.

In other, um, word: None.

But voters in the 24th District, a jurisdiction that includes FedExField, the Home of the Washington Redskins, didn't hold the 0-3 record with football boasts against Vaughn.

On Democratic Party Primary Day, Vaughn got 20.52 percent of the vote, good for second place in the field of 10 wannabe delegates. The top three votegetters in the primary move on to the bonus round on Election Day in November. Given the heavy Dem concentration in the district, qualifying for the general election means Vaughn is all but assured of retaining his seat.

"My credibility is all I have," Vaughn told the Gazette newspapers after the I-Team investigation. Well, your credibility AND your 3-year run with the Dallas Cowboys.

If D.C. Council chairman and mayoral candidate Vincent Gray is in a bit of trouble for an outstanding Maryland ticket from 2002, Ward 5 Councilmember Harry Thomas Jr. may be really in for it. According to Maryland court records, Thomas has earned himself five speeding tickets in the Old Line State—none of which have been paid. Online records indicate that in each case, Thomas failed to appear in court to resolve the ticket, and also failed to pay the fines.

The court records show Thomas, who is seeking re-election this year, had quite the lead foot in his younger days. He received speeding tickets in Prince George's County on April 1, 1985; on March 18, 1986; and on Oct. 15, 1992. He also received a ticket in Anne Arundel County in 1985, and one in Montgomery County in 1991.

The 1986 P.G. County instance was the most egregious: Thomas was accused of going 64 on the 7200 block of North H Avenue, where the speed limit was 35. The heftiest fine Thomas incurred as a result of his zooming was $50, but Angelita Plemmer, a court spokeswoman, says he likely owes more now, as the fines racked up late fees. She was not able to ascertain whether—like Gray—Thomas's license had been suspended in Maryland. The words "failure to appear suspension" do appear on four of the citation records. Officer Evan Baxter of the Price George's County Police says that means "the defendant has failed to appear and his driving privileges have been suspended."

Contacted by City Desk Thursday, Thomas said he has no idea why the citations are still marked as active. He insisted he paid the tickets a long time ago. "It has to be an administrative error," he said. Besides, he said, "the statue of limitation has probably run out on them."

But Thomas does vaguely remember getting the long-ago reprimands: "Some of them I got when I was commuting to Bowie State University." In a 1985 citation, his vehicle tag is recorded as "SAVVY". Thomas says he remembers getting that vanity plate put on a 1972 Datsun he once drove. Back then, he was working for Marion Barry, and decided he liked the word when a journalist used it to describe his boss.

Photo by Darrow Montgomery

Good morning, people! Hope everyone had a wonderfully relaxing weekend, and you're not sitting somewhere in your office sunburned and wondering what happened exactly. Either way, it's almost the weekend again! The District's looking at a high of 101 degrees for today. Don't worry, it won't get there until about 3 p.m., and it'll only stay that way for, oh, the rest of the week. I ran out of town last Friday, when the weather sat at a gorgeous, breezy 80 degrees. What the hell happened?

In Vienna, Va., a community holds a fundraiser in honor of Vanessa Pham, the teen found murdered in her car over a week ago. There are still no leads in the case. In transportation news, traffic is not the headline today (I'm not sure what's worse). A 7-year-old boy, piloting a boat, fatally injured his mother on July 4th. Apparently there are no age restrictions in Virginia on operating motorboats. Perhaps this should be reconsidered? Seems the water's about as safe as the skies these days. With an influx of inexperienced controllers, "near-collisions" in Washington area skies are on the rise, reports WaPo.

"A 120-seat United Airlines plane bound for Reagan National Airport from Chicago narrowly avoided colliding with a business jet departing from Dulles last Monday, the latest of 22 recent potentially dangerous mistakes by air traffic controllers who command the skies above Washington...

...The number of times planes have come too close for comfort in the region in the past six months has surpassed the total of 18 the previous year. Nationwide, air traffic controllers committed 949 errors last year."

Over on this side of the river, Wal-Mart may be moving into the District for the first time, onto New York Avenue in Northeast. An early morning fire Monday, at a three-story rowhouse on Rhode Island Avenue in Northwest, left 18 people homeless. A hundred fire fighters responded to the scene, says WaPo; happily, no one was injured. On the brighter side, the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission lifted water restrictions in Montgomery and Prince George's counties. (So, you won't die of thirst today. Just heat.)

Have a popsicle, use deodorant if you're prone to smellage and have a nice day!

Photo by kossy@FINEDAYS'. Creative Commons Attribution License.

Good morning, everyone. Another Tuesday in the District–summertime heat has officially moved in with temperatures ranging from 90 to 94 degrees, with a 20 percent chance of thunderstorms tonight. Thank your lucky stars for today because it's probably only going to be worse tomorrow. This spring was our hottest on record–overactive sweat glands are tragic this summer.

Around town, a man in Southeast was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison for the 1999 murder of his girlfriend, though her body was never found. Generally, the rule is, if there's no body, you can't be indicted of the crime. This is only the fourth murder case, since the 1980s, that the U.S. attorney's office for the District has handled, where a body was never found. A local tattoo artist who owned Liquidity Jones Tattoo and Piercing in Southeast also faces 8 years in prison for fatally shooting her husband in 2009. During an argument, she thought he was going to pull out a weapon, but he did not have one when he was shot. This really takes the whole love hurts mantra to new heights.

The demographics of Prince George's County, the wealthiest county in the nation with an African-American majority, according to the Prince George's County Economic Development Corp., is shifting. As some residents move to neighboring counties such as Fairfax (guess they haven't heard about the traffic), the county's makeup is taking on a more diverse hue as Central Americans and other foreign-born folks move in.

Across the way: Tysons Corner traffic continues its abysmal existence, and this will probably never change. Perhaps if people used the Metro, things wouldn't be so bad, but it turns out, a year since the deadliest crash in Metro's history, its safety record has only worsened, reports WaPo. Ah, yes, extend lines out to Dulles and Tysons Corner, so we can all partake in the 'fear for your life morning pick me up' game. Federal oversight legislation has stalled in Congress–what else is new–and the final report on last June's crash by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) won't be released until July. Who's working around here? Deborah A. P. Hersman, chairman of NTSB, tells WaPo, "There are significant deficiencies in their safety culture. We do not see the frequency of accidents on other properties that we are seeing on Metro."

All right folks, that's all. Hope everyone's morning commute went well.

Photo by Make Lemons'. June 22, 2009. Creative Commons Attribution License.

Remember Jack McKenna? The 21-year-old University of Maryland student whose videotaped post-game pummeling by riot police in March sparked local outrage and generated national headlines?

Turns out, McKenna, seen here pumping his fists and skipping in the direction of cops on horseback just prior to the beatdown, was singing another school's fight song at the time.

"Cheer, cheer for old Notre Dame," McKenna can be heard chanting on a cellphone video recording of the incident, according to lawyers preparing his forthcoming lawsuit against the Prince George's County Police Department. (Prior video footage contained unclear audio.)

McKenna and other students had taken to the streets that night in celebration of the Terapins' stunning upset of college basketball powerhouse Duke. (The University of Notre Dame had no apparent involvement in the game or the ensuing ruckus.)

One of McKenna's lawyers, Terrell Roberts, tells City Desk that the new audio component will prove that his client wasn't saying anything disrespectful before he was pushed against the wall and "just brutally, savagely struck multiple times." 

Prosecutors had initially charged McKenna with assaulting the cops and their horses. Those charges were dropped after video surfaced indicating the opposite. Officers involved in the incident were suspended as a result of the video. The FBI was called in to investigate.

Could the cops have misinterpreted McKenna's singing "shake down the thunder from the sky" as a threat? Full lyrics after the jump:

Rally sons of Notre Dame,
Sing her glory, and sound her fame
Raise her Gold and Blue,
And cheer with voices true,
Rah! Rah! For Notre Dame.

Good morning, folks. In case you missed it, oil's still gushing into our ocean, and the trial of Joe Price, Victor Zaborsky and Dylan Ward, charged with conspiracy, obstruction of justice and tampering with evidence in connection to the August 2006 murder of Robert Wone, continues today. Between knives, interrogation videos and a $1.2 million townhouse on Swann Street in Northwest–who needs Law and Order?

Strangers with candy never gets old. A Prince George’s County school bus driver was charged with producing child pornography yesterday. Silly man forgot his memory card filled with naked photos of a 7-year-old boy, reports WaPo. The memory card was left at the counter of a 7-Eleven in Clinton. The boy, identified by investigators, said Scott Smallwood, 27, was his “night” bus driver:

“…someone who “took him to church,” the records say.…The boy told officials that he had “sleepovers” with Smallwood and that Smallwood offered him candy.”

On the downside, venomous snakes are getting in early bites in Fairfax County this year. Copperhead snake sightings and non-fatal bites already abound–an uncommon occurrence. Infant snakes usually start slithering from their eggs between August and October. With all the weather confusion, they're probably just as confused as we are.

So between the stabbings, bitings and late-night bus rides, the man dying from chewing crack cocaine may have had it easy. At least it was painless? But he probably should have stuck with candy.

In other news, Metro is fucking old people over, and do people seriously believe vodka eyeballing is a new trend? I mean, teenagers do stupid things, but come on. Really??? It's about as smart as bro-icing.

The state of the world consistently befuddles me. Have a good day, everyone.

Photo by mateoutah. Creative Commons Attribution License.

Hey, asshole.

Yeah—talking to you, guy who didn't shovel his sidewalk after 35 inches of snow.

Asa Fukuhara, a 32-year-old Agriculture Department engineer, died yesterday in Prince George's County after he was likely forced to walk in the street because snow blocked his path.

Think about that next time you decide Mother Nature to take care of your walk-clearing duties, please.

Perhaps the admonition here is overdramatic. The stretch of sidewalk in question was next to a well-traveled thoroughfare; the rundown occurred on Branch Avenue just outside the D.C. line, not far from the Branch Avenue Metro station that was Fukuhara's destination.

Sgt. Michelle Reedy of the Prince George's County Police says the collision occurred on a stretch of road where the sidewalk ends and becomes what she describes as a "well-worn footpath." There is some dispute, she says, whether the state or country or someone else would have been responsible for clearing the path.

But at the end of the day, the lesson's clear: not upholding the urban compact and clearing a path for your neighbors can have consequences.

Now this message isn't mainly meant for Joe Homeowner, it's also meant for businesses and governmental bodies who are responsible for vast stretches of sidewalk that never see a shovel. If you don't do you part, lives are in danger. And specifically for you governments out there: Spending all your resources to clear streets without lifting a finger for pedestrians is a mistake.

The hit-and-run driver is still at large.

The Redskins stink. Like, really stink. Jason Campbell  stinks. Dan Snyder stinks. Oh my, does Dan Snyder stink.

Chris Cooley doesn't stink. But his different sort of attention-deficit disorder, which has in the past led him to show the world his naughty bits and film himself burning cows, is maddening.

Last night his look-at-me!-look-at-me!-ADD caused Cooley to blonde his hair and leave his helmet off while the TV cameras rolled.

Then Cooley's ankle rolled and he's likely gone for 2009. Cooley had been quieter for a couple weeks, seemingly aware that it ain't cool to be cute when his team was a national punchline. But then this. So the last image of Cooley this season will be him being carted off the field with his head glowing from all that bleach, looking sad and ridiculous all at once.

(AFTER THE JUMP: Dan Snyder's jack-booted thugs were out AGAIN? It's harder to get into a Skins game than an El Al jet? ESPN protects Dan Snyder? Snyder's lonely? ESPN rejects Campbell? PG County lets the Redskins walk for BeerInTheBathroomsGate™? Two free toppings? Have I died and gone to PapaJohn's?)

Dan Snyder's attempt to kill the message was in full force. I didn't go to the game, so everything's anecdotal, but there's so much.

Tales of scuffles with security over signs and t-shirts blasting the owner abound. The only first-person account I got was from a friend who called me from FedExField just after being searched at the gate like he was boarding an El Al flight.

He asked the frisker, "Are you looking for anti-Snyder paraphernalia?"

"As a matter of fact, I am," the guard told him.

***

ESPN seemed to be protecting Dan Snyder throughout the telecast. The commentators, particularly Ron Jaworksi, wanted to blame all the team's ills on Jason Campbell.

The one shot I saw on TV of Snyder in the owner's box, he was standing at the back, not in his normal seat up front. He looked frightened and smaller than I'd ever seen him, and even more lost than duty-free Jim Zorn down on the sidelines. Snyder's box looked pretty empty in that shot.

Someday, people will feel sorry for him.

Someday.

***

Though it now belongs to the world, I can't let go of BeerInTheBathroomsGate™.

Yesterday I spoke with Norma Lindsay, the chief liquor inspector for Prince George's County, about the photo and video evidence that Dan Snyder's beer vendors had been setting up shop in the men's rooms at FedExField for at least a year.

Lindsay said she hadn't heard of the bathroom sales until last week, after Cheap Seats Daily linked a youtube video that had been, you know, leaked by a disgusted fan. (If you haven't watched yet, it's a must-see film with all sorts of fab moments, from the surprised tones of a urinator catching on to what's going on — "Beer in the bathroom!" he says — to the requests for pot.)

But once the story broke, her office was flooded with calls from sickened citizens.

“Our phones were ringing off the hook last week,” Lindsay says. "Everybody — us, the [P.G. County] health department, everybody — got involved. That sort of conduct is absolutely against code, because it's a health issue. There's every sort of health inspector in the world at that stadium for Redskins games, but nobody had ever heard of that or witnessed it before. I can't even imagine who would would want to buy a beer in the bathroom. That was frightening.”

Lindsay says her agency didn't level any sanctions against the Redskins for the bathroom beer sales, and adds that the team cooperated with the county officials who inquired. "They assured us they had fired the man in the video," she says.

From now on, she says, PG's health and liquor inspectors will add public restrooms to their rounds of spots to check out when looking for bad liquor distribution.

“Nobody ever thought of looking in the men's room for beer sales," Lindsay says.

Cheap Seats Daily, flushing out the bad guys, one at a time...

More to come...

***

Let's end with a shred of good news: Today, for the first time following a home game all season, you can get free pepperoni AND free extra cheese on your Redskins special PapaJohn's Pizza.

To paraphrase Warren Zevon: Enjoy every slice.

***

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

Well, here's what's behind it, according to writer Anthony Calypso: He found one guy who wears them because they're comfortable (boring), a gay woman who said her fellow lesbians wear them to resemble men (less boring), and a psychologist from Georgia who suggests they're about sending homophobic or homoerotic messages (not boring at all)!

Calypso writes that Dr. Darryl Townes

says he has discussed this topic of sagging pants with several colleagues from various states through his affiliation with the Association of Black Psychologists. "[The] style has been transformed into something that represents counter-culture," says Dr. Townes. "It's in our communities, it's in the Hip-Hop culture."

Along with a sense of counter-cultural affiliations, Dr. Townes says that sagging pants have the potential to send both homoerotic and homophobic signals. "It's almost like the young men are daring people to look at their behinds or to take their manhood."

Another expert quoted in the piece, Dr. Wendy Buskey, a clinical psychologist from Prince George's County, apparently hadn't picked up on the take-your-manhood meaning. She did say that "this issue has received a lot more attention because anytime you see underwear, people may be offended by that."

Her advice to parents: If you do anything, don't – don't! – make kids pull them up.

"It's not effective," Dr. Buskey says. "What [adolescents] need at that time is to [be able] to express their point of view. As a parent this is difficult because you do have to allow your children to establish their own identity. For parents, it becomes important to be curious about this style of dress. For some adolescents this style might actually increase their self-esteem or make them feel more comfortable. For another person this type of dress could lead to antisocial behavior."

This, of course, goes against the advice of Barack Obama, who said in an MTV interview last year that while ordinances to ban sagging pants are "a waste of time," "brothers" still "should pull up their pants." But he's not a psychologist.