February 27, 2006
Morning Roundup: Prostitution-Free D.C. Edition
The Washington Times writes this morning that the D.C. Council is looking to crack down on prostitution in the District by allowing police to impound vehicles suspected of links to prostitutes and their clients, offering the police chief the ability to declare "prostitution-free zones," and closing a loophole in existing law that criminalizes the offer to buy or sell sex but not the act itself. Many of the changes are being pushed by residents of Logan Circle, an area of town that has historically suffered from prostitution.
Minutemen Take On Maryland: Well, is seems that Virginia could only contain the loveable Minutemen for so long, reports the Post. Having waged their vigilante battle outside day laborer centers in Northern Virginia towns and cities, the group has expanded operations to Montgomery County. The Minutemen have attracted national attention by posting patrols along the Mexican and Canadian borders, as well as by taking pictures of contractors that hire undocumented immigrants at laborer gathering sites.
Parking Dispute Leads to Weekend Shooting: A shooting early Sunday morning along U Street in Northwest may have been provoked by a dispute over a parking spot, writes NBC 4. A 33-year-old man was killed and a 21-year-old women injured in the drive-by shooting, though neither was reportedly the intended target. Police claim that up to four people in a pickup truck may have been involved in the shooting.
Group Claims Elephants Need More Space: In Defense of Animals, an animal rights advocacy group, has filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Agriculture against the National Zoo and five others for how they house elephants, notes WJLA. The group claims that the small spaces used to house the elephants have caused them chronic foot and joint problems.
Briefly Noted: Butterstick isn't cheap ... Police seek suspects in Gallaudet University muggings ... Developer offers to fix I-66/Rt. 29 interchange ... Fire at Iraqi Embassy.
Picture snapped by photogene.
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you can tell it's almost election time. all the politicians are crafting legislation to ban the worlds oldest profession. actually, they dont mind if the hookers inside the ritz carlton stay inside. oh i remember police chief turner or proctor marchin those hookers over the 14th sreet bridge. why when most live in maryland is beyond me. dont worry when all else fails the politicans can change the subject by outlawing street prostitution. but please get the opinion of the attorney general of dc before passing this waste of time.
somewhat unrelated, but this should go *somewhere*: is anyone else having issues with the weather link? it hasn't been working on my computer for months. thanks.
Martine Vose, eh?
There was also a fire or other sort of ruckus on 11th St. just south of U (NW). I snapped a few pics that I posted here http://www.flickr.com/photos/methticalman/tags/fire/ ...anyone know what was up? There were puddles and then salt or sand spread across the intersection by the time the sirens were off, but I didn't want to talk to the authorities to see what was up at the time because that would've been a waste of weed.
MV, yes they are discussing this legislation during an election year, but it's been in the works a long time, thanks in part to the Logan Circle Community Association. If you don't live @ Logan, you haven't been accosted/witness to many prostitutes, which I would be the first to argue is a victimless crime. However, too many people have to deal with the effects in the morning (how would you like to be the one cleaning up used condoms from your back alley?). The area has come a long way since the 80's (when apparantly women would walk up to cars stopped at lights on Mass Ave and expose themselves), but progress can still be made.
The idea behind this legislation is that it will embarrass john's out of prostitution, because they'll be the ones explaining to friends/family/loved ones where their cars are.
paul
welcome to the hood. i have lived in the historic bagden alley neighborhood since 1978 so i know all about the history of hookers in logan circle, blagden alley, westminster shaw neighborhoods. i was around when 14th and Eye(franklin square) was all porn shops and the girls were all over the southside of vermont avenue before they moved north. i was here before your logan circle association was formed. but thanks for the info. before the black transvestite hookers moved to 4th and L they were in blagden alley at 10th and M.
oh paul i forgot. the girls u mentioned on mass ave..they were pushed north from 13th and K and L during the term of the first george bush so it was late 80's. and they did indeed walk up to cars in the street. all the johns were from virginia and maryland. it created horrible gridlock because the johns couldnt find the hookers.
Thanks, MV. It's really crazy to think about how the District has changed over the years. I actually live on Mass and have been witness to a number of johns picking up hookers. ALL WERE FROM THE BURBS. It's pretty ridiculous, if you ask me. There are certainly enough massage parlors to keep them in their respective juristictions ;-)
"I actually live on Mass and have been witness to a number of johns picking up hookers. ALL WERE FROM THE BURBS."
Its like georgetown.
"Can't we all just get along" or maybe more directly "When will the whiny rich people relax and understand the diversity that is OUR city" Am I bothered by hookers? No not really, because I haved a spine and the ability to say "No thanks." I find it especially amusing that a good part of "civic organization" members often ingest illegal drugs in bathrooms, but balk at prostitution. Crystal meth (we'd call it crack if you were black) & cocaine have killed more people than prostitution ever has.
DC Cops priorities: Solve murder backlog, assault and rape or use valuable resources to deal with what most see as a nuisance but not life-threatening? I know far too many cops who, after seeing yet another kid shot in the head, isn't going to listen to some guy whining about how a random hooker is lowering his property values. Money, sex and power have always intersected in DC, ask Jeff Gannon, Fanny Fox or Monica Lewinsky to name but a very few.
No one wants a red light district next door, but it would solve many of the problem. Choose a warehouse area, or industrial, provide an informal, off the books, law enforcement arrangement (since Congress sticks its nose in, though detailing their particular tastes could move the legislation through I'm sure) , a regulation system much like the strip clubs (which we know usually have "happy endings" on offer to some clientele, and a health checkup once a month.