August 21, 2007
Go Home Already: Stormy Weather
>> D.C.'s first elected Ward 7 Council member, Willie Hardy, has passed away at the age of 85. [WJLA]
>> Shuttle Endeavour landed safely this afternoon in Florida, a day early due to fears Hurricane Dean would close the Kennedy Space Center tomorrow. The shuttle traveled about 5.3 million miles, suffered from heat shield tile damage that was eventually deemed not hazardous, and was the first flight for Mission Specialist Barbara R. Morgan, an educator who was originally a back-up for Challenger astronaut Christa McAuliffe. [NASA]
>> Another local D.C. band bites the dust: Cedars, formerly Cartel, are calling it quits. The band played the very first DCist Unbuckled concert over two years ago, and they say a farewell show is being discussed about and will most likely take place within the next few weeks. [Instrumental Analysis]
>> The difficultly of prosecuting even a criminal caught red-handed stealing a bicycle chained to a sign, and later items from a car. [Logan Circle News]
>> "The accounting company hired by the city to help straighten out the books for its troubled school system last week found itself on the wrong side of a half billion dollar negligence verdict." [Examiner]
Heather Goss contributed. Photo by lifeinthedistrict
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I'm pretty sure the early return for the shuttle was because NASA was afraid mission control in Houston, TX was going to be affected by Dean, not Kennedy in Florida.
This post is the first mention I've heard or seen anywhere since they first started discussing it that mentioned Kennedy as being the issue.
(Launch Control is at Kennedy, as soon as a spacecraft clears the tower it switches over to Mission Control at Johnson in Houston - it was a LBJ boondoggle for his home state supposedly.)
Oops, you're right, that was a misstatement on my part. I wrote that as I was watching it land on NASA TV and got a little caught up in the moment. :)
since there was no complainant for the bicycle theft, they would not go forward on that charge,
This is why everyone's bicycle gets stolen here in DC, because the US Attorney won't press charges, even if an officer sees it happening.
Stealing CD's (a luxury item) sitting in plain view, will land you in jail, but stealing a locked-up bicycle (transportation of the thrifty and poor) is no big deal.
The consumer is protected, but the laborer is not. These are the values of Capitolist America.
since Mr. Teal carefully unbolted the signs using a wrench and placed the signs down,
If he was stealing the signs it would be a crime, but apparently it's okay to remove them if you're just stealing a bicycle.
Thanks, US Attorney, now we know.
its gets worse. when you hear a cop say that someone was released because the people he shot couldnt identify him cause he shot them in the back, even though he had the gun on him...you know its bad. when it takes 3 shootings for someone to actually stay in jail & be tried, something is severly screwed.
CDs, a luxury item? Apparently you've never been to CD/Game Exchange where you can get 3/$1. Granted, they're crap like Creed, but still much cheaper that any bike.