March 8, 2007
Morning Roundup: File Your Taxes Soon Edition
Yesterday's snow storm didn't add up to much as expected, but some of the melted snow on the ground froze overnight, causing a number of suburban school districts to alter their schedules today. Lucky bastards. In the end, only 1.3 inches of snow fell at Reagan National Airport, and with sunny days today and tomorrow with highs in 40s, most of that will likely disappear in short order. Better luck next year, snowpocalypse.
Jail Time Sought for Marion Barry: Yesterday federal prosecutors filed court documents seeking jail time for D.C. Council member Marion Barry (D-Ward 8). According to the WaPo, the papers argue that Barry has violated the terms of his probation and "has not acted like a person who has been given the opportunity of probation, and should not be treated like one."
Suspicious Package at White House: Jackson Place, the pedestrian mall along Pennsylvania Avenue between 15th and 17th streets, and Lafayette Park are currently closed off while the Secret Service investigates a suspicious package found on White House grounds around 7:30 a.m., according to ABC7. Plan your walk to work accordingly.
Briefly Noted: Holmes Norton will introduce bill to keep Walter Reed open ... Tiger Woods makes the rounds on the Hill for his new local tourney ... Dulles rail misses another deadline ... Maryland debates statewide smoking ban.
This Day in DCist: In 2006 we recommended some adventure eating to cure that March malaise, and in 2005 we took a closer look at the state of our Metrobus system.
Photo by LaTur
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Norton is dead wrong on the Walter Reed issue. For years the military has known that the physical plant at Walter Reed is in such bad shape that it can no longer function as one of the major military medical centers. Hence the correct decision to close the aging facility and move the operation to Bethesda, which has much newer facilities and plenty of room for expansion. The current scandal at Walter Reed involves BOTH official neglect on the part of DOD officials and the simple fact that the place is falling apart and needs to be scrapped and replaced with a new modern facility.
What's worse is that Norton is subverting the entire BRAC process, which is designed to keep politics out of the decision to close military facilities. Under the BRAC law, Congress must either approve or deny the BRAC list, in its entirety, to prevent individual members from fighting on the House or Senate floor for bases from their district.
But here is the big question for Del. Norton, when BRAC recommended moving the NAVSEA operation from Dahlgren, VA to the Washington Navy Yard, would she have supported a move by VA's Congressional delegation to introduce a bill to block that transfer?
You know the answer.
Red line was horrible (very delayed, very crowded) this morning. Of course, WMATA.com doesn't even list that there's anything wrong. Glad that Fenty service ethic is spreading around...
For what it's worth, Fenty doesn't control WMATA. It's not a DC agency. It is controlled equally between DC, MD, and VA.
yeah, boo-urns to the red line this AM.
NWist - Not everything is a conspiracy. Write it 100 times on your hands with a Sharpie.