September 20, 2007
Morning Roundup: Conspiracy Theories Edition
Good morning, D.C. If by any chance you're a contractor with the city, you may be in for a rude awakening this morning, as City Manager Dan "The Man" Tangherlini and Chief Technology Officer Vivek Kundra have ordered your cell phone to be returned. Apparently some non-employee contractors have been getting a pretty sweet deal from the District for some time in the form of free cell phones, the end of which will save the city $103,200 next year -- which is approximately the same amount they'll spend on Mayor Fenty's 80 some-odd Blackberries. Coincidence?
More on Fatal Teen Shooting: Since yesterday's announcement that the U.S. attorney's office would conduct an independent investigation into the fatal shooting of 14-year-old DeOnté Rawlings by an off-duty police officer, a few more pieces of information have come out about the incident. Turns out the two officers were not the ones to alert authorities that the shooting has occurred -- instead, a rooftop ShotSpotter sensor designed to detect gunfire tipped off police to the spot where Rawlings' body was found. It's also been revealed that the officer who stayed behind in the SUV, Anthony Clay, actually drove away from the scene of the shooting for 10-15 minutes before parking the car at an unknown location and then returning to aide the other officer, James Haskel. Prosecutors now have possession of the vehicle.
Day Laborer Fight Turns Bloody: Anti-immigrant sentiment in the Northeast neighborhood of Brentwood was stirred up by a fistfight among a group of men who typically gather looking for work as day laborers there. Residents and members of the Washington Times staff who oppose the planned construction of a day laborer center in Ward 5 are already using the incident as a reason to question the facility.
Briefly Noted: Thirty D.C. Schools can be overhauled for failing to make minimum progress ... Two pit bulls attack pregnant owner ... Mystery boy found in iron coffin identified ... Girl testifies in Capitol Police officer child porn trial ... D.C. struggles to replace medical examiner.
This Day in DCist: In 2006 we wondered why DCRA couldn't seem to collect any of the overdue fines owed to the agency, and in 2005 we mourned the death of beer pong at Dr. Dremo's.
Photo by akkleis
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Consipacy? Or Conspiracy?
"Thirty D.C. Schools can be overhauled for failing to make minimum progress" -- but neither the Post story or the website of the State Board list the schools. Maybe DCist can provide us with a list?
Way to secure a crime scene, guys. Abandoning a fellow officer by removing evidence (a car with bullet holes in it) from the scene of a homicide.
It's like The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight except, in this case, they did.
ShotSpotter sensors exist? The future is now.
The default view now hides guest comments, and the JS to unhide them doesn't seem to be working on Firefox (XP/2.0.0.7).. looks like it's calling an undefined function.
Politburo,
I was having the same problem on PC at home last night, but it seems to be working OK here at work. Are you using XP Pro or Home?
Pro.. but that shouldn't be making a difference.. and actually now it works.
Wow! DC is sure doing its best to hide the fact that we are a sanctuary city. There was hardly a mention of the city trying to put a day laborers site up in Northeast DC. Now the residents are fighting it and there is very little coverage. A few heads in Congress vowed to put an end to funds for any sanctuary city in the US and here comes DC wanting the vote. We can't have it both ways. All the parks in DC are full of homeless black men. Are they all criminals? Are they all lazy? Why not compromise and make the day laborer centers into training facilities for legal DC residents.
It is not anti-immigrant. It is anti-illegal aliens. Please differentiate. DC should not be spending resident's tax money on supporting people who have broken our nation's laws and continue to do so.
#9, its a vicious cycle, your mindset is what fuels/worsens it
"All the parks in DC are full of homeless black men. Are they all criminals? Are they all lazy?"
Criminals, no.
Lazy, yes. I have much more respect for the guys lining up at Home Depot looking to work than the ones taking up every single bench in the downtown parks.
"It is not anti-immigrant. It is anti-illegal aliens."
You don't know much about our country's immigration laws and procedures, do you?