Go Home Already: Shouts and Murmurs
Man Stops Traffic at 17th and K to Demand $200 Million
Morning Roundup: Goodbye, Abe Edition
Judge Throws Out WTU Suit Over Teacher Layoffs
Vegetate to Close at the End of the Month
Good morning, Washington. Capital Pride is over, as is the weekend, and here we all sit, eyelids heavy, unsure of where to begin our workweeks. Our recommendation: read this highly entertaining story by the Washington Post's Lena H. Sun, which describes in detail how Ward 8 Council member and former mayor Marion Barry may have shaken down WMATA for a little over $3200. Barry accused a Metrobus driver of hitting his car -- but he did it a month after the fact, never filed a police report, and provided not a shred of evidence to back up his story. Metro paid the claim, and John Catoe mildly insinuates he asked fewer questions about Barry's story because Barry is a member of the board of directors.
Major Water Main Break in MoCo: Residents of upper Montgomery County are being instructed to boil drinking water and limit their water use due to a major water main break in the area. The advisory to boil water could remain in effect for as long as three days, and affects nearly all of Montgomery County north of the Beltway, in places such as Wheaton, Gaithersburg and Germantown, though Rockville is served by a separate water main and is therefore unaffected by the advisory.
Dozens Leave Video Remembrances of Tim Russert: NBC4 has turned their web site into an online condolences book, with dozens of videos from big names remembering the late Meet the Press host and an MSNBC-hosted condolences page for fans. A wake for Russert has been scheduled for Tuesday at St. Albans School in Northwest Washington. And at least a few people think an eventual hiking trail at Klingle Road ought to be named after Russert.
Briefly Noted: Four teenagers stabbed after Northeast peace festival ... Roadwork outside Mt. Vernon will cause delays ... Man assaulted at Six Flags amusement park ... Virginia lottery scratchers called misleading ... $2.3 million settlement for man whose wife was struck and killed by a Metrobus last year.
Photo by staceyviera
add to stumble upon
add to reddit
tweet this
post to facebook
Teenagers stabbed at a "peace festival?" Ironic violence in my home town of DC? This looks like a job for...THE BROWN HORNET!
[Ducks into Port-o-Let at Half Street construction site, emerges in Green Lantern underoos with a turd where the lantern should be.]
[VOICEOVER: By day, mild mannered socialite gadfly, grammar nazi, and pervert Monkeyrotica trolls comment threads making juvenlie fart/pee jokes. But when duty calls, he joins his ninja helper monkey chauffeur Kato as the sewage hurling scourge of sulpherous justice, keeping DC safe from gentrification, passive voice, and whatever he feels like depending on how his bowels are acting up. Join our heroes as they spy a suburban soccer mom on her iPhone ordering a Whole Foods gluten-free birthday cake and being tied to the Rhode Island Avenue Metro tracks.]
KATO: Look, Brown Hornet! It's your arch nemesis, Ghetto Fabulous!
BH: I see him. Set feces to "stun."
GF: Yo, yo! Best be slidin' me that phone, bee-yotch!
SOCCER MOM: Swiper no swiping! Swiper no swiping!
[Hucks poo, clocks GF in head]
GF: Curses! I coulda sold this joint on eBay if it hadntna been for you meddling chimps!
BH: Ghetto Fabulous, your reign of larceny and tortured ebonics is at an end! Don't do the crime if you can't do the...SLIME!
[Drops trou, releases a hail of violent explosive diarrhea.]
KATO: Good thing I got that hundred pack of White Castle burgers on my way back from Trenton, eh Bee-H?
[Both laugh convulsively. Cue Rossini's "Flight of the Bumblechimp."]
[VOICEOVER: Tune in for next week's episode: Buckaroo Banzai versus the World Crime League.]
"Dat bus hit mah caw!"
How could Metro settle a claim like that?
It's absolutely ridiculous.
METRO SUCKS MARION'S .................
Nino Brown=Marion Barry
thats gully....
Miss Connie must of not let monkey no where near a computer this weekend. oh-oh. someone was naughty. Quelle supris!
honest to god, i don't care if the guy is a member of the board, a councilmember, whatever.
the usual legal proceedings were not followed in giving mr. barry this little $3000 gift.
catoe knew about it? can his ass.
this is the same bullshit thinking that allowed millions of dollars to walk out of the district's treasury.
i love dc. but i can't defend this. this definitely makes us look like a third-rate banana republic. god bless you mr. barry, but when you're dead and gone, maybe we can finally turn the page on some of this ridiculousness...
Didn’t Marion Berry lead the Montgomery Bus Boycott before becoming the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to end segregation and racial discrimination through civil disobedience and other non-violent means?
No, wait, that was someone else.
So you're saying DC isn't a third rate banana republic? Yes, we have no bananas, but we got plenty of third-rate: from the snooty waitrons to the Angola-style self-segregation, we got third-rate kleptocracy in spades.
The Mouth of Sauron is ever spewing lies about being a victim of "the man." He's refined the cult of victimhood to high art.
Marion Barry owes his political career to a lousy Anthony Quinn movie.
So, technically, he's Muammar Quaddafi's fault.
You know, I now seem to recall a MetroBus scraping my car 2 years ago while ildling my car on Penn. Ave in SE during rush hour and trying to buy pies and Good Books from that bow-tie wearing entrepreneur/weird guy. I think $5,000 should cover my damages. Actually, I'm feeling some residual whiplash pain too...better make it $15,000.
A Metro bus hit my car. It was a couple of years ago, but I vividly recall the bus said "Metro" on it. It totally wrecked my Delorian. The flux capacitor needed to be completely re-built. I got my mechanic "Doc" to fix it for $1.5 million. But, because Metro is facing budget issues, I will request only that Metro pay me $500. Don't say I never did anything for Metro.
Seriously, Barry is beyond stereotyping. He's shameless and looks out for #1. And yet his constituents love him to death. I don't get it. It's Stockholm Syndrome taken to a new level.
monk...I smell a new superhero series on cable...call my people.
A Metro bus raped my cattle and stampeded our women! GIMME GIMME GIMME!
Metro made me all sweaty on Friday and ruining my drycleaning and my blowout. I demand $3,000 and a shrubbery.
Yup, he smells alright. It's the smell of JUSTICE.
Wow, apparently Metro has damaged my ability to write a coherent sentence! I think I deserve more money for my suffering.
Beware, Metro. Can you smell what the Brown Hornet is cooking? That's right. Boiled cabbage, cock-a-leekie, and bubble-and-squeak. Open a window or light a match, Cantoe. You're going to need more than one can of Glade Air Freshener by the time I'm done with you.
Off the topic of Barry and the Bus, the blockade/security checkpoint is front page of the NY Times website right now.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/16/us/16roadblock.html?hp
Marion Barry’s crack dealer is $3200+ richer...
This sets a very bad precedent for undocumented claims against WMATA. It is really unbelievable they paid him. Well maybe not.
Why did congress never pass a law prohibiting felons from elective office in DC? That would take care of Barry, no?
Did anyone else drive by NBC on Nebraska this weekend? What was the deal with the lady with the guitar? She was there when I drove by at 7pm and still there when I drove home at 11. Was she performing a 4+ hour musical tribute to Tim Russert? Is that weird?
@blittle: Home computer time was a bit of a luxury this weekend. Obviously, a little pent-up creativity does a body good.
@bethesdaist:You're onto something—there was no A/C on the Orange Line & I sweated through my Ann Taylor suit. Group Lawsuit! Who's in?
According to Barry, he was parked in the curb lane on MLK Avenue, SE between W and Chicago Streets, when he was hit by the B2 bus, and blew his horn to stop. According to the Washington Post article, the damage was to the passenger mirror and door.
But a quick visit to Google Maps shows that MLK Avenue is a two-way street (see extreme close up of the satellite option). So either Barry was illegally parked on the wrong side of the road, or he's full of it.
@Drew: It has to be either/or? I think it is probably both.
So-all of the comments seem to be about Barry, but if I can change the subject briefly to the MontCo water issues-I assume that none of this affects Bethesda? Is the water here safe?
Is the water here safe?
should be, it's just northern MoCo that's affected
@Drew
think of the money metro would save if they hired you in their claims department.
No witnesses, no police report, first mentioned to Metro a month after the fact.....what a f'ing joke. And Barry resents the suggestion that he might be receiving special treatment?
He says he didn't call the police because they don't come for minor accidents...well, according to his account this was a hit-and-run by a public bus. No, that's not worth calling the police over....
This stinks to high heaven.
Montgomery County water main break info from WSSC:
WSSC has posted up to date information on the Montgomery County water main break on our website. For a FAQ sheet, details on boiling water, and a map of areas impacted, go to our website.
What Happened?
The break is located in the Derwood area near Muncaster Mill Road and Meadow Side Lane. It is a 48” main (This is new information. Originally WSSC thought it was a 36” main. The two run parallel.) It broke at 9:15 pm.
This main is located in a wooded area used for recreation. It is near Lake Bernard Frank. On Sunday evening, no one noticed the water flowing into a lake with no people around. There were no gushers and no flooded streets. The pressure drop was noticed in the Control Center, but there was no visible evidence. Employees had to go out looking for the leak which they found around 5:00 this morning.
The site is mostly inaccessible, and will require construction of a temporary access road to allow repairs to be made.
As WSSC started shutting down valves to isolate the leak, another 12-inch water main in the 7200 block of Muncaster Mill at Redland Road burst. When you shut down a lot of valves other mains in the area can break.
What is Being Done?
WSSC crews began shutting down water valves around the county this morning, which is required to allow crews access to the break to determine the repairs needed. Pressure and water service was restored to many customers once the valves were closed.
The WSSC is currently putting together a map with new data that will allow people to determine if they are within the advisory area or not. While WSSC does not have an exact number of people currently affected, the map will reduce the area included in the advisory and the anxiety. Releases will go out and media will be contacted when the data is ready.
WSSC is hiring emergency contractors to repair the broken water man. Bids are due this afternoon and work will start tomorrow.
Why the Boil Water Advisory?
When water systems lose pressure there is an increased risk of contamination. Although WSSC do es not have an indication that the water system has been contaminated, as a precaution, the Boil Water Advisory was issued.
The boil water advisory will continue until further notice or acceptable water quality is confirmed by water testing. WSSC expects this process to take at least three days.
Boiling Your Water
Water users are advised to bring water to a rolling boil for one minute before using. Boiled or bottled water should be used for drinking, making ice, washing dishes, brushing teeth and food preparation. Restoring water pressure and testing the water quality are expected to take at least three days.
Why the Use Restrictions?
Lack of pressure also affects the ability of the fire departments to fight fires. Therefore WSSC issued Mandatory Water Restrictions for everyone in the zone. WSSC is hopeful that pressure will be back to normal this evening as valves are shut down and water is rerouted. It will be necessary to cut off some WSSC customers completely until repairs are completed.
Mandatory Water Restrictions
Mandatory water restrictions are also in effect. Those restrictions include the following:
The water restrictions are in place so that there's enough water pressure for fire protection.