Today will be mostly cloudy with highs around 50 with rain likely this morning. The photo is from photographer Elliott Teel‘s photoblog “D.C. In B&W”
NoVa Gang Slices Again: The Northern Virginia street gang Mara Salvatrucha is in the news again, this time for slicing three fingers off the hand of a man at the Lee Highway Multiplex Cinemas in Merrifield. Millions of dollars in funding for anti-gang programs have flowed to authorities in the region and three men pleaded guilty to crimes after the gang sliced off four fingers of a teen in May 2004.
Suburban Angst: Two suburban teens were found yesterday with gunshot wounds to the head in an apparent double suicide in a Virginia town near Dulles Airport. They both died shortly after being transported to the hospital. The teens – 15 and 19 – wrote they had to be together even though their parents disapproved of the relationship. The Post was careful to add that “In a sign of how rarely such events occur in South Riding, the general manager of the South Riding homeowners association issued a statement about the incident yesterday, saying that both teenagers were ‘known to be upstanding residents of our community’ …”
W. Times Investigation of the Day: The Watkins security company will stay in D.C. public schools until at least June despite an audit revealing they were incompetent and overpaid.
Inauguration Update: The Mandarin Oriental hotel is offering a $200,500 inauguration package, including travel on a private jet to and from Washington. Reuters reports that “A spokeswoman for the hotel … said there have been ‘a handful’ of serious inquiries about the package, including one man who was close to taking it but wanted a promise of a picture with the president, which the hotel could not provide.” You may also remember the luxury hotel for $390 massages and $999 New Year’s specials.
Briefly Noted: Warm weather may threaten cherry blossoms … Dulles extension to “take longer and cost more” … Md. arson suspects left behind map, blow torch … Metro expanding car rental service …
