Photo of the Day: November 27, 2009
Car Pushed Into Anacostia River By Train
Morning Roundup: Black Friday Edition
Devendra Banhart @ 9:30 Club
Saturday Thanks Don't End At Thanksgiving Photo: November 28, 2009
It was just yesterday that a brazen daytime shooting outside of the Columbia Heights Metro station (linked to the District's Summer Youth Jobs Program, no less) left two men injured, one on the run and area residents peeved with the persistent gun violence that has plagued the redeveloped area. I wandered over to the scene last night; all seemed normal spare the many TV trucks and reporters trying to get on-the-street reactions. But today is a new day, and we're in for some likely political grandstanding from the city's elected leaders. The shooting comes the very same week that the D.C. Council voted on a crime bill that had been the subject of heated debate for months. The version that passed, sponsored by Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), did not include a controversial provision that would have made it easier for police to target suspected gang-members and that was supported by Mayor Adrian Fenty. We're hoping it doesn't happen, but we wouldn't be surprised to hear someone try to use yesterday's shooting as some sort of justification for why the gang provision should have been included in the final legislation.
Rhee Fires 250 Teachers: There are another 250 people out there that really don't like Michelle Rhee today. According to the Post, Rhee has fired 250 tenured or novice teachers, the majority of which had been put on a three-month probation for poor performance. (The pink slips started going out on Tuesday; we caught a hint of the impending layoffs on Wednesday.) The same number of teachers were fired at the same time last year; there are roughly 3,500 teachers in the public school system. Rhee remains in discussions with the Washington Teachers Union over plans she would like to implement that would make it easier to dismiss teachers and grant higher pay to those that forgo tenure.
Yet Another Reason CVS Sucks: If you're low on Metro fare and near a CVS, don't assume that one of their new SmarTrip fare-adding machines will work. The Examiner reports that employees at some of the 106 stores that have gotten the machines from Metro complain that they don't work or don't accept credit cards, rendering them somewhat useless. The machines can also be found at eight area Giant food stores. Sure, it isn't CVS's fault that the portable machines don't work, but it is yet another reason I won't ever want to go in one. (Terrible customer service and locked-up condoms? C'mon.)
Fenty Makes D.C. Bumpier: In what is surely a crass political ploy to get himself re-elected in 2010, WTOP writes that Mayor Adrian Fenty has gotten just a little speed bump-happy since he took office. Since 2007 the number of speed bumps in the District has jumped from 157 to 691, leaving drivers to contend with a bump or hump every 1.5 miles. By comparison, drivers in MoCo only hit them every 2.2 miles, wheres Fairfax motorists only have to slow down every 14.5 miles for the traffic calming devices. In related news, the times I've bottomed out my car after hitting an unexpected speed bump has seen an exponential increase since Fenty took office.
Briefly Noted: Columbia Heights shooter still at large ... Frustrated Verizon customer dies after trying to stop service van ... James von Brunn was both racist bastard and gross pedophile ... Another day, another broken water main.
This Day in DCist: On this day in 2008, more single-beer sales bans were proposed for Ward 2 and Ward 6. In 2007, Alexandria tried to ban smoking in restaurants.
Picture snapped by nevermindtheend
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Is there a connection between bad teachers and a city full of mindless thugs? Perhaps these firings will solve that?
Should we blame and fine the parents? Can we send these thugs off to a deserted island to fend for themselves?
Has gangster rap and gangster hip-hop made being a thug fashionable. Should we round up the anti-social ones like cattle and convert them to Soylent Green JUMBO SLICE PIZZA?
District students, say hello to your new teachers... 242 Teach for America volunteers and 8 Real World cast members.
Um, why do you hope this incident isn't used as a justification for inclusion of the gang provision? This is EXACTLY why that provision was needed.
Buzzy,
How so, exactly? These were apparently three guys getting off the Metro at Columbia Heights. The gang provision would have done absolutely nothing to stop them from either riding the Metro, getting off of it at the same time or getting into a fight.
Had the provision passed and had they all been members of the same gang, it's possible that police could have arrested them for being in the neighborhood, but even then it would have required the police knowing they were there to begin with.
yeah, it seems very unlikely they were gang members or had connections to gang members. they were probably just keller enthusiasts really excited about the second amendment. dude probably got his gun at the american history museum.
Yes, although the gang provision wouldn't have applied in this exact set of circumstances, it would be one more tool the police/prosecutors could use in the ongoing struggle against violent gangs in DC. It would be a GOOD thing if this recent shooting were successfully used to break any impasse on the city council, or bring about any further efforts against crime in general.
i agree. i don't understand why it would be a bad thing to make it easier for police to target gang members in dc.
My take is that these sorts of tools that "target" gang-members invariably sweep up a lot of non-gang members. And in a city that already has a strained relationship with police, that's simply not a good thing. Police need to work with the community, not occupy it.
Call me an ACLU liberal, but I sided with Mendelson and others that argued that the police have the tools they need -- they just need to be used.
I agree with Martin on this one.
Well I sure don't. That entire area is a gigantic clusterfuck waiting to happen. While police relationships with the neighborhood are a good thing, it's not going to prevent hot heads from shooting at each other.
So what does prevent hotheads from shooting eachother? Since the summer jobs program is Barry's pet project, he needs to call a gang truce. Make it a Jumbo Slice catered affair with unlimited refills of Peace-a-hol. And hire a bunch of mimes. Nothing unites people like a shared hatred of mimes.
And clowns...
Look, there are plenty of "tools in the toolbox" that MPD has to stem a lot of the crime in this city. The problems lies more with the "order" than the "law" in this case. You can arrest people day in and day out, time and time again, but until our judicial system does its part to paper cases and prosecute them (and judge dole out appropriate penalties) folks are going to keep doing bad stuff because they know they can get away with it.
Maybe the gang provision would have given MPD more power to stop this crap at the Conv Ctr where it started, instead of it spilling into Metro and then COlumbia Heights.
Don't forget the snitches-get-stitches/jury nullification crowd. Even after you've managed to arrest these jokers, and get them to court, you get a jury full of churchies who are tired of seeing their neighbors kids go to jail.
Then there are the classic tales of arresting gang members with the drugs on them and the 24-year-old grandmothers come back with, "That cop could have planted that on him! I'd never believe anything a cop told me."
Talk about "tools in the toolbox."
Trying to stop a Verizon van? That had disaster written all over it. This is a completely unnecessary, yet completely outstanding line from the Post story:
Neighbors were shocked to hear how Cornelius died. "Holy cow," said Adam Strawn, 28. "That's ridiculous."
Ya think it was that red-headed guy that always hangs around the Verizon guy in the tv commercials. He dood it.
"they don't work or don't accept credit cards"
Isn't that the basic description of everything in CVS?
Clearly the Summer Youth Jobs program is much more of a crime incubator than Jumbo Pizza sales in Adams Morgan.
I DEMAND Jim Graham introduce legislation to ban the Summer Jobs program!!!!!!!
Speed bumps are great for bicyclists because they equalize the speed of traffic. Ideally, a city should be planned around pedestrians, bicyclists, and public transportation, with certain concessions granted towards motorists.
Ideally being the operative word. When International yuppies and blue bloods stop getting their way around here and David Van Driessen takes Fenty's spot in the mayor's office those ideals will come to fruition.
Until then I'll kick expensive car doors when I ride by and laugh at people circling for a parking spot when i chain up my Specialized.
Martin, your first post did a pretty good job of explaining why the civil injections almost certainly COULD NOT invariably sweep up a lot of non gang members.
The police don’t start the process and can't pick people up for "looking like a gang," that's nonsense. The process starts with the DA, who files a civil suit against at least three people who are known to be a gang, as defined in the bill, which requires proving (preponderance) that the gang or its members are involved in ongoing criminal activity. The accused can defend themselves in civil court. Only if the judge grants the injunction are the specific three guys prohibited from hanging out, or being on certain corners, and only then can the police pick them up for violation of the injunction rather than a criminal violation. Once all this is done, then the DA can add new people into the existing designated gang as information becomes available. But he still has to go back to the judge and get a new order that only applies to one new person, and only then can the police pick the new guy up for violation of the order. It’s a ton of process, and the best criticism is that its too much process to work well, but that’s not a reason not to try.
The ACLU and Harry Thomas “kids coming home from practice” examples are either a huge, intentional misreading of the bill, or a hugely intellectually dishonest attempt to deceive you. You decide.
Hmmm...good points. I need to take a closer look at this
1300blk,
If this is really how it works and it has no possibility of sweeping up people not involved in gangs, I don't understand why the mayor's office didn't work more closely with Mendelson and others to assuage their concerns. Mendelson isn't known to just take ACLU talking points and run with them; I've always known him to be very detail-oriented. Had Fenty agreed to talk through this and not just insinuate that Mendelson is soft on crime for asking some questions, this may have made its way into the legislation.
My larger point is that solution to the city's crime problem need to stop being simply reactive. If gangs are a problem, you face the reality that it will take months of debate and discussion to craft a useful solution. It just seems that every summer the council faces an omnibus crime bill that wraps up rather common-sense provisions with more controversial reactive ones. I don't think this ever produces good or long-lasting results.
Mendelson isn't known to just take ACLU talking points and run with them....My larger point is that solution to the city's crime problem need to stop being simply reactive. If gangs are a problem, you face the reality that it will take months of debate and discussion to craft a useful solution.
You haven't lived here very long, have you?
Eight years, to be exact. So yeah, I consider that a while. And I've lived through many a debates on public safety, from CCTV cameras to beefed up curfews to neighborhood lockdowns. And look where we are now.
Give it another 5 years....you'll see it's all futile.
PoP has the text of the Evens version: http://www.princeofpetworth.com/2009/06/council-member-bowser-council-fails-to-act-with-fierce-urgency-necessary-to-tackle-district%e2%80%99s-gang-problem/#comments
Give it a close read.
Mendelson isn't known to just take ACLU talking points and run with them; I've always known him to be very detail-oriented.
Funny, it was my impression that Mendelson is essentially a caricature of a knee-jerk Old Lefty: essentially he's the bad-guy liberal in a Batman movie. The one who passes anti-Batman legislation, then has to plead with the caped crusader to retrieve his pants for him somewhere in Act II.
And I say that as an ACLU member.
Too late Martin...the Grahamstander is already blowing up the listserves this morning with an email (and apparently one to come later) about how tough he is on crime and how if the amendment to the crime bill had passed....blah, blah, blah....
We don't need anti-gang legislation, we need a summer jobs program for these kids. If they have jobs, obviously they will not need to resort to violence.
lol
Maybe "Midnight Basketball" would solve all of the youth crime problems.
According to the DC Government website, the name of SYEP is Mayor Adrian M. Fenty's 2009 Summer Youth Employment Program.
Please include Supreme Leader's name when discussing it.
Martin, I'm as socially liberal as anyone else, pro-choice, pro-gay marriage, for universal healthcare, mass transit, smart growth, animal rights, and so on, but the crime in this city is ridiculous! I've been living in the thick of it for too long, and forget about anti-gang legislation, at this point I'd welcome ANY steps forward by the DC government to eradicate the violence from the city. You think innocent kids would be targeted by this legislation? No way! Because of all the crime in this town, this otherwise crunchy, sandal-wearing liberal supports crime cameras anywhere and everywhere, strictly enforced curfew and anti-loitering laws, and wishes there was a uniformed, armed police officer on every block. I'm sure I'm not the only one annoyed by your editorializing in the morning round-up today.
Well, I tend to annoy people all the time with my editorializing, so I'll take it as a compliment that I am being consistent!
Look, I'm frustrated too. I was robbed by a bunch of gun-wielding kids a few years back, and it made me want to see the city lock 'em all up. But being frustrated makes for terrible public policy.
I don't believe the ACLU sides with criminals, much less do I believe that members of the council care more about gang members than they do their own constituents. There are real solutions to crime in the District, and they need to be fully vetted and discussed to make sure that they'll work. Just because we cast doubt on certain provisions doesn't mean were soft on crime, and just because those provisions are proposed to begin with doesn't mean they'll be effective.
I know some people are annoyed by my editorializing, but I do take these chances to start a discussion. I simply can't stand politicians that use specific incidents to further their policy goals. It makes for bad debates on important issues and even worse solutions.
By the way, Fenty is having a presser in Columbia Heights today at 3:30. The issue? Why yesterday's shooting proves that the gang injunction is needed. That's fear-mongering and crass politicking at its worst. We have no evidence to indicate that yesterday was in any way, shape or form related to gangs, so why the heck use it to suddenly claim that a gang injunction is needed? And even if there were a gang injunction in place, does that mean no shootings ever again? Heck no. Just look at Trinidad for evidence of that.
It may not be ideal, but I'll take whatever they come up with regarding cracking down on the gang warfare that plagues our city. If it takes fear-mongering by Fenty and Graham, then so be it. I'd prefer much harsher measures, but incremental steps are at least something.
As long as it's within the law, sure. Chicago passed a similar measure in the early 90's, which effectively banned groups of people from congregating on street corners in high crime areas for an extended period of time. That got struck down by the Supreme Court very quickly.
I get the impression that anti-gang initiatives only show up when you get a lot of gang violence, then they sorta fall by the wayside once it dies down. Then you get a spike in gang violence, and the resultant righteous indignation from residents, and the cycle starts all over again. Shouldn't there be some longtime anti-gang policies already in effect? I'm not saying we need some kinda friggin "gang czar" or yet another anti-gang violence task force that goes on factfinding missions to Barbados and Paris to see how they deal with gangs, but gangs are never going away. There should at least be a cabinet post to deal with the gangs as they are now, negotiate whatever truces are needed, and work with the gangs to help those who don't want to be in the gang in the first place.
"We have no evidence to indicate that yesterday was in any way, shape or form related to gangs, so why the heck use it to suddenly claim that a gang injunction is needed?"
Lol. You have to ask after all you have written on the gun issue? It's just like Gray saying that the Holocaust Museum shooting shows the need for strong gun control--although NO ONE could name ONE LAW that would have prevented it.
Is what you wrote somehow related to what Martin wrote?
Yes, Martin asked why Fenty was going to use this event as a reason to call for his anti-gang laws. My point is that there is a rich political tradition of using tragedy to support non-related agenda items.
Hey Martin, it was gang related (of course). This is from Jim Graham on the Adams Morgan listserv:
"First, this was a beef between members of two youth gangs. They had been fighting since boarding the Metro train at the Convention Center. It finally spilled out on the street when they reached Col Hts, and the shooting occurred.
Second, they had attended--sad to say--a large meeting at the Convention Center for the summer youth employment program…something that is an important part of addressing the root causes of gang violence. (I am among the strongest supporters of the summer employment program., having established and funded --now in its 9th year--Ward One ProUrban Youth DC, which this summer has 600 Ward 1 youth registered in good summer jobs. I have had young gang members work in my office, with good results as part of this program.)
Third, there were various problems at the Convention Center. Metro Police tells me that they seized on the street one revolver and a pair of brass knuckles and that there were problems at various other stations."
Kid gloves off. I believe the age of innocence is gone once the kid buys a gun. He should then be treated like an adult. We all come from bad and good lives. We make our own choices. You choose to live by the gun, then you've chosen the life of violence. An anti-social affliction that we can all do without. Put them in with the big boys and watch reality set in. They'll be pulling up them baggy pants in no time.
"In related news, the times I've bottomed out my car after hitting an unexpected speed bump has seen an exponential increase since Fenty took office."
1st: They're humps, not bumps. There's a difference.
2nd: Glad to hear. I love watching speeding cars throw sparks when they hit humps. If your customer experience varies, try slowing down next time.
3rd: Have a nice day! :)
Is there really a difference between humps and bumps? I always thought it was a regional language variation. (You'll excuse me if I don't want to google "humps and bumps" at work to try and find this answer.)
The difference is easily googleable. For example:
http://www.maine.gov/mdot/mlrc/traffic-issues/speedhumpsvsbumps.php
From a DDOT page:
Speed Bumps – Narrow mountable obstructions installed on the pavement surface, across the traveled lanes, and intended to cause vehicles to slow to almost stop. Speed bumps are usually less than 14 inches wide and 4 inches high.
Speed Humps – Similar to speed bumps, but utilize larger vertical radii that result in wider widths and a more gentle crossing by vehicles.
Thanks!
"Speed Hump" is what you do when you're an experienced teenager without much control and you don't know when your girlfriend's parents are going to get home.
DCist: You fail to mention another troubling aspect of the Crime Bill deliberations that could have direct impact upon this and similar incidents. Phil Mendelson led a successful effort to block acceptance of an amendment by Jack Evans that would have added stricter pretrial detention guidelines. In leading the effort to kill the amdt, Mendelson claimed "“It’s not clear how real that revolving door is," according to the Washington City Paper's live blogging of the Council deliberations. See 2:00pm entry:
http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/citydesk/2009/06/16/dc-crime-bills-liveblog-grandstand-city/
Maybe one day we'll get Speed Lovely Lady Lumps.
Damn you...you beat me to it :)
James von Brunn
Child Porn, a shitload of guns and ammo, a handwritten note that said "the Holocaust is a lie. Obama was created by the Jews." and
...what appeared to be a painting of Hitler and Jesus...
That says it all.
He got shot in the face. That says it hurts.
they recovered a handwritten note that said "the Holocaust is a lie. Obama was created by the Jews."
Or is Obama a Muslim jihadist who wants to exterminate the Jews. The wingnuts are going to have to decide which.
Hey! Let's form our own Happy Fun Time Gang. We'll equip ourselves with water guns and cream pies.It'll be a blast.
We'll use Jim Grahams' fashion designer to create our costumes. The Chief of police will deputize us or we pray to our gods to make us bullet-proof. To be a member
you have to be at least 25 or older. Come on, whatta ya say!?