Morning Roundup: Eye In The Sky
Good morning, Washington. We hope you had an enjoyable three-day weekend and that those of you who get to work by car didn't fall prey to the mighty "Terrible Traffic Tuesday." (Sidebar: does anyone else find it interesting that the American Automobile Association, an organization whose main mission is to make sure that cars remain a relevant form of transportation, are up and admitting that driving anywhere on days like today is terrible? Doesn't it say something about the state of driving in America when the largest automobile advocacy in the country basically says, "yeah, it sucks?")
But even if you did have to suffer on the roads, here's a story that will certainly make you smile: Markus Batchelor, the current D.C. Youth Mayor, is twenty times more awesome than any of us were at age seventeen. I was pouring coffee for suburb-dwellers at slightly more than minimum wage, this kid is the executive director of a nonprofit, a deputy campaign manager for a citywide campaign and hosts an internet talk show. Oh, wait, did I say smile? I meant "make you feel like you've wasted the most productive years of your life." Apologies.
Police Searching For Gunman In Bethesda: Montgomery County Police have surrounded an apartment complex in Bethesda this morning as they search for a man with a gun. The person in question reportedly fired one shot at a woman, who then ran around to other homes shouting that someone was trying to shoot her. Walter Johnson High School, which is located in the area, has been locked down, and the off-ramps from Interstate 270 on to Old Georgetown Road have been blocked.
Another Round of Endorsements For Me and My Friends: Following the lead of their neighbors at the Post, the Examiner has endorsed Mayor Adrian Fenty for reelection. Believing that Fenty's substantive accomplishments as Mayor well outweigh his surly demeanor, the paper's editorial board cites improvements in education, crime prevention, city services, fiscal management and economic development as their reasoning for the endorsement. "Under Mayor Fenty, Washington suddenly has a palpable sense that the city’s major institutions and neighborhoods are finally moving in the right direction," reads the endorsement. "People haven't felt this way for decades." In other, perhaps less influential endorsement news, Ward 6 Council challenger Kelvin Robinson got the nod from former Mayor Anthony Williams, who now lives in the Ward. Of course, Robinson was Williams' chief of staff for three years -- though I can't help thinking he probably would have been better off asking his former boss for a recommendation a little earlier than a week before the election.
Briefly Noted: Willing to suffer through sleepless nights with fever and stomach cramps for a few hundred dollars? Walter Reed's looking for some people to infect with malaria...Groundbreaking on ALDI at 901 17th Street NE today (so start saving quarters for the shopping cart deposit now)...27 horses killed in Charles Town stable fire...Man shot on 3900 block of Clay Place NE...If this delays my ability to get a Rutti Tutti Fresh and Fruity, there are going to be problems.
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