Go Home Already: Shouts and Murmurs
Man Stops Traffic at 17th and K to Demand $200 Million
Compromise Uncertain on Same-Sex Marriage Law
Morning Roundup: Second Helpings Edition
Fire at 17th and L NW Forces Evacuations
Good morning, Washington. It's something of a themed Tuesday here at the Morning Roundup, as it turns out a couple of crooked criminals are getting their just desserts. Like everyone else, we spent yesterday afternoon pondering Bernie Madoff, mulling over 150 years in prison, and wondering whether anything about this guy's story will cause anything to change. Over at the Examiner, Leah Fabel checked in with some of his local victims, most of whom, understandably, just wanted to be left alone.
Walters to Be Sentenced: But the real local embezzlement story is of course the Harriette Walters case, and the Office of Tax and Revenue mastermind herself is scheduled to be sentenced this morning in U.S. District court. We expect to see Walters get somewhere between 15 to 18 years in prison for her role at the top of an elaborate scheme that bilked D.C. taxpayers out of roughly $50 million. Check back in later for more on the Walters sentence. And for a refresher, the Post compiled a helpful list of all the other co-conspirators and their pleas and sentences in the case.
Whoa, Some Encouraging Crime News! Could D.C. see a record low homicide tally for the year? That's what the Post's Martin Weil writes is possible, based on year-to-date stats so far. "If the homicide rate continued through December, the total for 2009 would be 134. That would be 52 fewer slayings than last year and 47 fewer than in 2007. It would be 35 fewer than in 2006." Considering summer just began, that's a pretty big "if," but still, it's a heck of a lot nicer to read stories like this one than about how the rate is going way up.
Briefly Noted: Moving 1000-series cars to the middle will probably "take a few weeks" for Metro to complete ... Many gather to mourn couple killed in Red Line crash ... Fairfax faces new $315 million shortfall with no easy cuts in sight ... Man pushed into side of Metro train during fight at Gallery Place this morning.
This Day in DCist: In 2008, now defunct local bookstore chain Olsson's filed for bankruptcy, and in 2006 we were still recovering from Deluge '06.
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The Skynet Funding Bill passed.
"If the homicide rate continued through December..."
See? Why did you have to say that? Because you know as soon as you say that, you're looking at gangland slayings and collateral driveby damage and crime spikes all over the city. Hell, it ain't even July yet; idiots are going to be shooting off fireworks (and worse) until late August.
If homicide rates stay low? Right. How does that old saying go? "If if's and buts were candy and nuts, I wouldn't have to walk around with a peppermint stick up my @ass and my balls in a fruitpicker's pail."
Thanks to Banita Jacks being locked up and not having any kids left, otherwise the homicide rate would only by down 12% instead of 20%.
That's a bit pessimistic. After all, we have Mendo-Man patrolling our streets, keeping us safe. He is armed with stacks of checks to pay off troublesome yutes as well as promises of ice cream parties at the rec center.
"It started - for me, it started - last Thursday, in response to an urgent message from my nurse, I hurried home from a medical convention I'd been attending. At first glance, everything looked the same. It wasn't. Something evil had taken possession of the town."
Man pushed into side of Metro train during fight at Gallery Place this morning
I always wondered if this ever happened; people walking into the sides of trains before it had come to a complete stop. Now that it's come up, I think I will forever associate the tactic with "DC fighting style".
"According to a preliminary report, the injured man suffered visible bruising to his head and arm, Farbstein said. He was taken to a local hospital for treatment."
They should just push the two of them on to the tracks. A Metro train is swift justice.
Man pushed into side of Metro train during fight at Gallery Place this morning
I always wondered if this ever happened; people walking into the sides of trains before it had come to a complete stop. Now that it's come up, I think I will forever associate the tactic with "DC fighting style".
You can't predict homicides. People are unpredictable.
There's guns and knives out here. Angry and stupid people.
Hungry Hungry Hippos. Lions and tigers and bears. Oh my!
It's like something wicked this way came and went.
... or stayed
I don't know why Catoe is being such a stick on this 1000-series car thing. Look I understand that removing the cars would reduce the service offering on the red line--but that looks like it may be the preferrable option to alleviate customers' fears about safety (unfounded or not). Reduce the red line to 6- and 4-car trains to keep the headways reasonably consistent. Customers will have to accept it, if they don't, than put the cars back on and tell the winers to go to hell. Here's another thought... as much as I hate to say it, being a yellow line user in the mornings, reduce the yellow line (which has a lot of newer cars on it) to 4- and 6-car trains and move those over to the red line (I do believe there is a connection to do such a thing, at Fort Totten station). Service on the yellow line during commute (at least outbound toward Huntington) is a little excessive considering the very low ridership. I always get a seat and most cars (again, outbound) are more than half empty. The line could afford to take a temporary cut to help out. In the past Catoe has stated his opposition to 4-car trains but I don't see that being a huge issue so long as Metro work more expediantly to ensure customers the 7000 series cars will be ordered right away. At the very minimum, he needs to stop dragging his heels on things... moving the cars is the LEAST Metro can do and yet he acts like it's such an imposition... what he doesn't realize is that a "customer perception of safety" can make or break a product or service!