April 6, 2006
Morning Roundup: Fighting the Good Fight Edition
WJLA brings us positive news today in the fight for District voting rights -- D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams has announced that three groups will receive grants to launch outreach campaigns for voting representation for the city in Congress. D.C. Vote is set to receive $500,000, Our Nation's Capital some $300,000, and the League of Women Voters $200,000. The city is forbidden by law from using taxpayer funds to directly lobby Congress for voting rights, so this is the next best thing. As we reported recently, statehood for D.C. may not be a popular proposition nationwide, but the more the American people hear of our second class status, the more they support full voting representation and budget autonomy.
Two Students Shot Outside School: Two high school students were shot yesterday outside Roosevelt Senior High School in Northwest Washington, sending one to the hospital, reports the Post. Shots were fired at 9:15 a.m., hitting a 19-year-old student who was sent to the hospital and grazing an 18-year-old student who was treated by the school nurse. Police are searching for a gray or silver Cadillac in relation to the incident.
Cheney to Throw First Pitch at Nats Game: Vice President Dick Cheney is set to throw out the ceremonial first pitch at the Washington Nationals' home opener on April 11, writes NBC 4. He'll probably hit a fan in the face, refuse to talk about it for a week and then retire to the safety of a Fox News studio to call it "the worst day of his life." Yes, we had to go there.
School Closings Set for June: District school officials yesterday stated that by the end of June they would know exactly which schools they would be closing or consolidating, part of a citywide plan to trim 1 million square feet of excess space in the school system, notes the Post. The closing of certain schools has been promoted as a way to save money on salaries, utilities and maintenance associated with school buildings, but some opponents fear that the move will not allow affected schools to prepare for the upcoming academic year.
Briefly Noted: MS-13 members arrested in Maryland ... Anacostia economic development forum attracts heavyweights ... Terrapins to attend ceremony at White House ... Food Lion goes upscale.
This Day in DCist: On this day last year there was still plenty to bitch about on the Nationals, we savored our homemade huevos rancheros and we pimped an online tool to find indie coffee shops.
Picture snapped by maxedaperture.
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I wouldn't worry about Cheney hitting anyone in the face, no one will be there. If it's anything like last year's opening day, by the time he throws out the first pitch, everyone will still be waiting in chaotic security "lines".
And the fan will be forced to apologise to Cheney for the emotional stress he caused him, which in turn caused the Nationals to lose the game.
Oh, wait, they don't need any help for that.
Hey, the Nats won last night.
Will he be booed? Bush would maybe get a murmur, but how sweet would it be if the boos just cascaded down upon him. He'd probably grab a mike and tell us all to go fuck ourselves.
I was at the exhibition game and the security lines couldn't have been easier to go through. Of course, no one else seemed to have been at the Game. But the lines were no worse than I have had in Chicago or Oakland.
Well, that does it. Im def not taking a half day off work to watch CHENEY throw out the first pitch.
DC1974, the security lines are normally fine. It's when they beef it up for the President or VP that it gets awful. Maybe they've learned from last year, but it was awful last year. No organization, just a mob of people (although in fairness, if you walked around to the other side there were more orderly lines, but they weren't letting people move around that easily).
If you do go to the opener, I would advise getting there at least 60-80 minutes early. I got there 45 minutes early last year and I barely caught the first pitch.
I'm interested to see the reactions that will come out of the health care for people leaving prison article that ran in today's Post
Does this mean sneaking booze into the park will be harder?
What's the over/under on the decibel levels of the boos Cheney gets?
perhaps he will have another heart attack from the stress of throwing the ball and drop dead. that would be fantastic.