Morning Roundup: Keep it Moving Edition
Good morning, D.C. The Nats lost their second regular season home game last night to the Florida Marlins in an action-packed game that left fans still hopeful for a rally well into the final inning. It was a disappointing, 10-7 finish, which brings the Nationals to five straight losses. WJLA also notes that the scoreboards weren't working properly until about 10 minutes into the game. The only silver lining for those who attended was that lighter than expected attendance kept Metro running smoothly both before and after the game, despite our predictions. WTOP gives the cold weather credit for reducing last night's crowds. We're now curious to see what Wednesday night will be like, with the Nationals again facing the Marlins, the Wizards scheduled to play the popular Boston Celtics, and D.C. United heading in to CONCACAF Champion's Cup play against Pachuca, all at approximately the same time. Hopefully we'll again be pleasantly surprised by how easy getting around at rush hour will be, but with three simultaneous games, it's hard not to anticipate a mess.
Gandhi Under Fire In New Audit: The new annual independent D.C. government audit by BDO Seidman is scheduled to be released tomorrow, and everyone has their own take. The Post reports on the "material weaknesses" found in the the District's handling of finances in DCPS, Medicaid and the Office of Tax and Revenue, while the Examiner notes that the report reveals that $9 million was stolen from the Office of Tax and Revenue in 2007 alone. WTOP's Mark Segraves has the money observation, however, pointing out that this is the first annual audit in recent history that is critical of Natwar Gandhi. Could this new report endanger the CFO's future?
Thomas Switches to Undecided: In what could be a sign of things to come, the Examiner reports that one of the District's unpledged Democratic delegates, Ward 5 Council member Harry Thomas, Jr., has switched from publicly supporting Sen. Hillary Clinton, to being listed as "undecided." The District will have a total of 39 delegates at the Democratic National Convention this summer: 15 pledged delegates, 20 superdelegates and the two unpledged add-on delegates, Thomas and Ward 7 Council member Yvette Alexander. Sen. Barack Obama won 75 percent of the popular vote in D.C. democratic primary.
Briefly Noted: D.C. once again won't meet its special education requirement ... D.C. Madam trial begins ... Howard County police officer accidentally shoots two teens ... Fire broke out in a high rise at 401 K Street last night.
Photo by joseph_j_dangelo