May 2, 2008
Morning Roundup: Put on a Happy Face Edition
Good morning, D.C. We thought we'd post this photo of an adorable puppy leaning out of a car window this morning, as a way of pepping you up for the weekend. Hopefully it works, because in general, today's headlines aren't going to get the job done. Even sadder information has become available in the already sad story of the suicide of Deborah Jeane Palfrey, aka the D.C. Madam. Palfrey hung hanged herself with a nylon rope in a shed next to her mother’s mobile home in Tarpon Springs, Fla. The Post says that Palfrey told writer Dan Moldea that she would likely kill herself, because she couldn't face the prospect of returning to prison. Palfrey's mother, however, said she had no indication her daughter was planning to end her life. Palfrey did leave two suicide notes and some other notes to members of her family.
Hot, Hot Council Budget Action: The D.C. Council has been busy picking away at Mayor Adrian Fenty's budget proposal this week. What's on the chopping block? Roughly $900,000 slated for the city’s new closed-circuit camera program; proposed increases in E-911 and ambulance fees; a $2.5 million subsidy for the D.C. Sports and Entertainment Commission; and At-large member Phil Mendelson proposed using about $6 million budgeted to cover vacancies in the police and fire departments to help provide a property tax cut for small businesses.
All Hands On Deck is Back This Weekend: We knew this was coming in the wake of a recent wave of murders in and around Ward 5. Police Chief Cathy Lanier has scheduled another 'All Hands on Deck' weekend starting tonight. You know the drill: every city police officer will be walking the beat this weekend, allowing for more patrols around the clock through Sunday morning. Some officers have questioned the tactic in the past, arguing that they leave the force short the week afterward because officers take days off to make up for working on the weekend.
Briefly Noted: Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee endorses John McCain's education plan ... WASA panel gets feedback on lead levels ... Webb Elementary School principal egged by students on last day on the job ... Pedestrian killed on Route 1.
Photo by andertho
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is it just me, or does it seem like the council and the mayor are more at odds over budgetary issues this year than last?
i remember how the mayor said that this was the first budget his team was really able to put together, since last year's followed numbers layed out by the williams administration.
Paul Schwartz of Clean Water Action and a Ward 4 resident, presented much of his testimony in the form of a performance art poem in hopes that he could display the "heart and soul" of a frustrated resident as well as an activist.
I have absolutely nothing that I can add to this. This beats the crap out of my critique of diesel particulate pollution by way of interpretive dance and Tuvan throat singing.
But there's nothing like waking up to some hot, hot Council budget action. Really puts a "bone of contention" in my "legal briefs." Let's hope there are no "backdoor politics" going on. Unless they want to take a deep breath, do some poppers, and experiment.
That ain't no puppy ... that's my WIFE!!!
It seems a little too convenient for the D.C. Madam to commit suicide right before going to jail. Methinks she had been hiding a secret black book out of fear of retribution. Only now, one of her clients, say a certain Presidential candidate, is getting cold feet now that Palfrey has nothing to lose. The only solution is for the good Senator from Arizona/Illinois/New York to arrange for Palfrey's convenient "suicide" in some sleepy Florida town.
Hmmm... I could be sitting on a gold mine here. I better get writing before John Grisham or the Lifetime Network steals my idea.
That dog is totally laughing at the biker dude his master just sideswiped. Probably spat on the guy, too. Backseat driver commuters can be such bitches.
I blame this guy. Him and Ira Glass.
Didn't Deborah Jeane Palfrey enroll at a Carmelite nunnery before defending the bridge at Casserine with nothing but a rosary and a trowel?
No, wait, that was someone else.
Most of Florida is much worse than being in prison. I'm sure that did not help her frame of mind.
Or maybe she was just depressed about having to go to jail. It happens to some people.
But feel free to shop that theory around. I'm sure Drudge will pick it up at some point.
fyi, Post has it's own Taxi Meter Day story. Sounds like some of the cab drivers who have meters don't plan to turn them on until June 1. No surprise there.
There definitely does seem to be less love between the Mayor and the Council this budget season. Part of it is probably the Council feeling dissed about not being included in the Mayor's plans and part of it is probably payback for them still not having their tickets to the National Stadium luxury box. And oh yeah, there's probably some policy reasons too, but those are kinda secondary.
As for Palfrey, I continue to feel no sympathy for her, but do feel very bad for her mother and others whose lives she destroyed by pretending her business was legit.
And my dog is way cuter than that dog in the photo.
Last night during their coverage of Palfrey's death WJLA seemed to make a whole additional story out of the unremarkable but tragic recording of her distraught, 76-year-old mother's call to 911 after finding the body. After playing the thing, though, Leon Harris' only comment was "mmh" and a small shake of the head. They're still pushing the same item as their top story on the WJLA site right now . . . how is this in any way genuinely "news" when there's nothing newsworthy in the recording?
Every now and then the media's zealous protection of "the public's right to know" really turns my stomach . . .
Most of the surveillance camera network construction would be funded from federal grants, but it would cost a fortune to operate and would not deter violent crime.
Is that $10 million Ford's Theater grant still on the table?
Michelle RHEE-ly? Come on! Everyone and their prom date has a problem with NCLB......... Yup, nice photo.
Every now and then the media's zealous protection of "the public's right to know" really turns my stomach . . .
Indeed, especially because there's no real news going on or anything.
nate - saw that on NBC news, too last night.
unremarkable, indeed.
Amen, Nate. The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention tries to educate the media on how to responsibly report suicides, but as we see here it often amounts to closing the barn door after the cows get out.
My family has been in Palfrey's mother's situation, so I know that there is a FOIA exemption allowing the police to keep records confidential for the family's sake. But local cops don't necessarily know about it and can get snowed by the local media's lawyers. In our case it was about releasing the suicide notes, probably a clearer situation than 911 tapes which police release all the time. But it can't have been fun to have had the nation entertained by the worst moment of your life, a few hours after it had occurred.