Ahh, rise and shine, Washington! It’s another beautiful fall day, so stretch and breathe in deep … but not too deep, unless you enjoy inhaling some of the worst air in the nation. Scientists are putting numbers on information our lungs already knew: the D.C. area “produces more carbon dioxide than several medium-size European countries,” the Post reports. This is due primarily to Maryland’s coal-burning power plants and our stand-still traffic, we make more carbon dioxide per capita than the rest of the country, though the study notes that this doesn’t include other greenhouse gases, like methane. Still, seems like investing in asthma inhalers isn’t a bad bet.
Teen Violence Overshadows Weekend: The Post reports the grisly news that ten people were shot in the District since Friday, including a triple-shooting around 1 a.m. Saturday morning that killed a 15 year-old boy and wounded two others. The confrontation began with an argument near 14th and U Streets NW and ended at a bus stop in Brightwood. Three other people were killed this weekend, bringing homicides for the year up to 143; this time last year there were 131.
Audit Reports Improper Bonuses for D.C. City Workers: After Mayor Adrian Fenty reeled in the city’s bonus system last week in the wake of D.C. Auditor Deborah K. Nichols’ report, the full audit and its gross details have been written up in the Washington Times. It seems that $525,846 of taxpayer money was given to employees without written justification, including $15,600 given to Former City Administrator Robert C. Bobb a month after he left office in September 2006, and, perhaps because he was doing such a great job no longer coming to work, only two months after he had received another bonus in August. But the award for Ballsiest Employee goes to Lisa Marin, head of the Office of Personnel, who authorized $11,053 for herself, more than double the recommendation. Nice.
Briefly Noted: NoVa commuters might have it easier with the half a million allocated for a Bus Rapid Transit system, while Metro riders suffered through more delays this weekend … Six figure families are living in subsidized housing in Fairfax … Triathletes swim through, try not to swallow, the Potomac waters on Saturday; so far no new extraneous limbs have been reported … Single-sales go into moratorium on H St. NE today.
This Day in DCist: In 2004 we were awaiting the opening of IndeBlue and noting Michael Moore’s uninvitation from GMU, while in 2005 we went to see Washington National Opera’s Trilogy.
Image by andertho.
