Washington City Paper: Contents for Mar. 27

Sucker Punch
Reuben Bell had many inheritances: A loving family. A killer punch. A promising career. All of it ended up good for nothing when he died in a hail of gunfire at the Washington Hospital Center.

Cover Story

In "Sucker Punch" (3/27), the judge who presided over U.S. v. Reuben Bell was misidentified. His name is Judge Reggie B. Walton.

Reuben "Ratman" Bell lies proud in his casket, eyebrows raised in mock humility, sleepy eyelids now permanently closed, lips pursed, a soft glaze rising from his cheeks. His left hand holds his right atop the folds of one of his prized double-breasted Versace suits. Immense flower arrangements are shuttled in, one after another, while mourners attempt polite smiles, but the weight of death nonetheless pulls the room down a dark shaft of despair.

The morning of Wednesday, Feb. 11 is wickedly cold. Oblivious to mourning inside the Straightway Church, in Capitol Heights, Md., sparrows chirp, trucks bang and clang by on Kenilworth Avenue, and a police siren blares somewhere in the haze of distant blocks. A red jeep containing early mourners parks and reparks six different times, unsure of where to be.

The pews fill quickly, and chairs are brought into the room to accommodate the overflow as the three worlds of Reuben Bell—worlds that battled for his soul—softly collide in the small room.

In front sit his family, heads down, arms around each other, babies wailing knowingly. Bell's mother huddles with her two daughters and her surviving son, along with their spouses and children. Bell's fiancée clasps hands with their small children.... Continued

Issue of Mar. 27 - Apr. 2, 1998

News and Features

Sucker Punch
Reuben Bell had many inheritances: A loving family. A killer punch. A promising career. All of it ended up good for nothing when he died in a hail of gunfire at the Washington Hospital Center.
Cover Story By Jake Tapper
Announcements
The City By Jake Tapper
His Story
A new D.C. schools text ensures that Mayor Barry doesn't go down in history.
The City By Chris Peterson
A Whiff of Conspiracy
Check the rumor mill at MPD and you'll find out all sorts of things about Sonya Proctor—none of them true.
The City By Jason Cherkis
April Surprise
The District's tax czars say the check's in the mail, and this time they mean it.
The City By Erik Wemple
Feast and Famine
Tom Stabile
The City By Banquet waiters suspect their own union helped put them out of a job.
First, Kill All the Writers
The Mail By Bob Wells
Murderous Dominion
The Mail By J. Austin
No Sympathy for the Devils
The Mail By Christine White
List Off
The Mail By Sean Holcomb
Heaven on Earth
The Mail By Gwen "Big Red" Leannarda
Getting Fresh
The Mail By Nigel Gragg

Columns

Dead Ducks
Cheap Seats By Dave McKenna
Blockhead Grant
City Desk By Amanda RipleyElissa Silverman, Jamal Watson and Erik Wemple
The Anecdotal Catania
Loose Lips By Ken Cummins

Eats

Movies

Jungle Fervor
Film Review By Mark Jenkins
Also-Ran
Film Review By Arion Berger

Music

Killah Priest
Music Review By Neil Drumming
Izzy Stradlin
Music Review By Sean Daly
What the World Needs Now: Big Deal Recording Artists Perform the Songs of Burt Bacharach
Music Review By Rickey Wright
Jules Shear
Music Review By Rickey Wright
The Rake's Regress
Music Review By Joe Banno

Theater

A Lass Insane
Theater Review By Trey Graham
Friday on My Mind
Theater Review By Bob Mondello

Arts and Events

Pun in My Heart
Artifacts By Louis Jacobson
Owed to Joy
Artifacts By Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
Slow Race
Books By Seth Stevenson
Elbow Rhyme
The MCs of Opus Akoben talk about the physicality of rap.
Arts By Ta-Nehisi Coates