Wonderland Bandits: Five years ago, a gang of men rushed into Wonderland Ballroom, in Columbia Heights, wearing masks and carrying guns, and robbed patrons and employees alike. Apparently that sort of thing still works; three armed robbers held the bar up again last night, around 1:45 a.m. Police apprehended one of the suspects shortly afterwards, [...]

The District's unemployment rate had steady at 9.9 percent in August. Let's call it 10 percent! The Department of Employment Services tries to blame the end of the summer jobs program:
"The unemployment rate in the District of Columbia for August was unchanged from the revised July rate of 9.9% reported the District of Columbia’s Department [...]

Earlier this week, we learned that Mayor Adrian Fenty's administration dipped into funds for needy families to help make up for his Summer Youth Employment Program's budget shortfall. The D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute reported:
"The Fenty administration chose to cover the overspending in summer jobs by transferring funds meant to help vulnerable families with basic food [...]

Metropolitan Police Department Assistant Chief Diane Groomes tells City Desk that District kids enrolled in the Mayor's Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) are still getting mugged on paydays. So far, five kids have been mugged on paydays and a sixth was mugged the day after a payday. The program started with knives and thefts. Washington [...]

Good morning, Washington! The weather gods have decided to mix it up a little bit today, blessing us with a little less humidity than normal. Don't worry about big meteorological shake ups, though—temperatures will still be in the familiar mid-90s range.
The Washington Times continues its reporting on the sketchy D.C. lottery contract with the [...]

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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT—"No Last Call For SoberRide, After All," "Not Guilty! Judge Exonerates Defendants In Robert Wone Case," "Watch Fenty Dance To Go-Go," "World Cup Roundup," "Community [...]

Gotta love the Summer Youth Employment Program: Nothing like a hard day's work to teach kids a thing or two about holding a job and personal responsibility and keep them away from things like gangs, violence, and illicit substances.
Well, gangs and violence, anyway.
A City Desk reader captured this sight with a cell phone cam yesterday [...]

Plenty of folks at this point (hat tips: Scott's Take, DCist) have pointed out that the Mayor's Conservation Corps—part of the city summer jobs program—have spent their first days on the job handing out paper doorhangers.
Many of them have ended up on the street and sidewalks, and then there's the obvious irony of promoting a [...]

This morning, Mayor Adrian M. Fenty provided yet another update on the status of his beloved summer jobs program. Nearly 24,000 kids have signed up, "the highest level of enrollment in decades" with a "record number of job opportunities," according to a news release.
Fenty has committed to accommodating all comers, even though last year's program [...]

Make no mistake: The summer jobs program is gonna work this year.
Just look at the program's Web Site: "Welcome to Mayor Adrian M. Fenty's Summer Youth Employment Program for 2009," reads the banner headline.
Politicians are know for attaching their names to everything in sight, but not usually to programs which nine months ago had imploded [...]