Good morning, Washington. To those of you who celebrate the holiday, we hope you’re having a pleasant Passover, and that last night‘s second Seder was, uh, salubrious. Okay, we’ll stop now.
Students Vote For Laxer Pot Penalties: The Post reports on yesterday’s U-Md. student election results, which included a large victory for a resolution in favor of making penalties for alcohol and marijuana violations equivalent. The ballot measure was intended to send a message to the administration. The administration, in turn, says that it will follow the lead of every other college that has faced a similar student sentiment — specifically, they’ll ignore it. But give the undergrads credit for creative thinking: some have argued that more leniency for pot users could help the university escape its alcohol-fueled habit of rioting after athletic events.
Environmental Requirements Could Increase Stadium Cost: And so it begins. WTOP is reporting that building the new baseball stadium to comply with the federal government’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program could cost $5 to $10 million dollars. There’s some confusion as to just what this means: some officials seem to think LEED compliance is already part of the plan; others say that there’s no mandate to meet LEED requirements; and still others are talking about seeking an EPA grant to cover the cost overrun. Whether or not this overrun issue turns out to be significant, we suspect it won’t be the last one to face the new ballpark.
Area Gangs Going Online: Just one day after the news that MySpace is hiring a security chief to protect its users, the Post delivers a fantastically entertaining article on area gangs’ use of social networking sites to chat, make threats, download awesome gun cursors, and generally explore the intersection between stylesheets and street cred. We find it almost as scary as it is hilarious — particularly since our plan to end this paragraph with a joke about Yahoo Groups and the Crips was unexpectedly foiled.
Briefly Noted: Anne Arundel County lowering standards for firefighters… Ehrlich continues to work on making Md. utilities pay for electricity rate hike… Kidnapped D.C. girl found after 13 years… Teller crashes car through bank… For first time, D.C. workers will get Emancipation Day off from work this Monday…
This Day In DCist: One year ago today we were giddy over the Nats’ hometown debut, discussing the naming, parking and other issues surrounding RFK.
Image posted to DCist Photos by Flickr user maxedaperture
