Frozen Tropics draws some heated debate/angst over the candlelight vigil for Trey Joyner held this past weekend. Joyner was recently shot and killed by U.S. Park Police. The vigil was held at 7 p.m. on Saturday. Among the comments:

"What a crock. I'm sorry but candle-light vigils should be reserved for true tragedies – those wherein actual innocents are caught in the crossfire of violence that people like Trey have inflicted upon our neighborhood."

And this:

"As of 10 pm, the "vigil" is now a go-go party. There are about 75 people (that can be seen from my angle anyway– there could be even more out of my eyesite) hanging out in the alley with a live band with a LOUD drum set. I fail to see how this honors anyone's death. It is just disrespectful to the families in the neighborhood."

Rebuilding Place in the Urban Space opens up a discussion calling for stricter demolition rules: "What the problem is that there aren't adequate remedies in DC law, other than designation as a landmark, or existence of a historic district, to prevent demolition." Don't just read the quote. This is a must-read blog post.

And Now, Anacostia has some sweet pictures of a corner home renovation. The house looks like something out of Disney.

The New Teacher On The Block tries to cope with the closing school year:

"It has obviously not fully hit me yet that I will not be teaching again until August. I am floating around in a surreal world; my life has focused so strongly on my kids for the past 10 months that its hard to think about anything else!

Maybe Thursday, when I'm lounging on a North Carolina beach instead of: lesson planning, doing ABA, managing nap time, taking kids to the bathroom, and trying to sooth chair-throwing temper tantrums, it will become more real...."

Upset the Setup gets nostalgic for the Goodie Mob.

The New Teacher On The Block has a fascinating post on what their classroom of autistic kids found endlessly fascinating, and what totally freaked them out. The teacher writes:

"Many of you know that children with autism frequently become obsessed with objects that a typically developing child would probably not give another glance. I've decided to give a list of the things my kids have been ridiculously fascinated by this year..."

The list of obsessed objects includes: a stapler, a stack of blank index cards, and an ad for a Moon Bounce. The list of things that repelled them were just as interesting. One child "recoiled in fear" when he saw a cupcake. Also on that list: a spork.

*photo courtesy of thinkgeek.com.