A little more than a week ago, news broke that at least three percent of District residents have AIDS or HIV. This provoked Shannon L. Hader, director of the city's HIV/AIDS Administration to now-famously compare D.C. to West Africa. When pressed by Loose Lips at a press conference, Hader stated that our rates of infection were twice as high as New York City and five times that of Detroit.

As LL pointed out, the bigwigs at the press conference---Mayor Adrian Fenty, Councilmember David Catania, et al.---defensively argued that the part of the reason for the high infection rates is that the city is just testing more people. Case in point: testing is now routine at the D.C. Jail.

But this epidemic is not a new epidemic. In fact, it's been called an epidemic too many times to count. Perhaps the reason this story didn't provoke serious outrage and more press conferences and men in white coats discussing infection trend patterns is that this is an old story.

"This is the number one [public health] priority of this government," Fenty told the Washington Post. That quote was from an April 5, 2007, story headlined: "Fenty Renews Fight Against HIV-AIDS; Mayor Promises Strong Effort, Plans To Pick New Agency Chief." In the story's first graph, the mayor "pledged" to "put an end to this crisis."

Read More "Remember the Mustard-Yellow Condoms? A Look at the District’s Tortured Response to the AIDS Crisis" »

For the last two days, I've had the pleasure of driving around Ward 7---specifically in and out of the Nannie Helen Burroughs Avenue NE corridor.

I had spent a ton of time there four years ago for a story about a father who got burned out of his house after he started fighting the local hoodlums. The hoodlums had great nicknames and a terrible alibi. The father had amazing kids, an antique shop on 14th Street NW (that's no more), and a failed dream to turn that home into a real home (it had a pool in the backyard).

Without a huge investment in development, it was interesting to see what has survived, what is boarded up, and what has overcome serious obstacles.

Read More "Winners And Losers Along Nannie Helen Burroughs Avenue NE" »

Ward 7 Councilmember Yvette Alexander has been waiting in the wings, a back-bencher, for nearly two years. While colleagues presided over important council committees, Alexander held no such portfolio.

But today that all changed. Alexander is chairing her first hearing as the new chair of the Committee on Aging and Community Affairs. On the docket is an examination of mayoral nominees to the Commission on Human Rights. "I feel pumped!" she exclaims.

When asked to explain her take on her job in vetting the mayor's people, Alexander states, "I understand the mayor's vision, but I want to understand the individual nominee's vision."

And what about chairmanly conduct? Does the new committee chief take cues from colleagues with respect to running a hearing? Any role models? "I'm a very compassionate person. I don't use my chairmanship as an interrogation," she responds.

So you're not going to be David Catania? "I didn't say that."

By Mike DeBonis