Good morning, Washington. Remember that recent weird burglary at Ward 8 Council member Marion Barry’s house — the one that Barry seemingly didn’t want investigated in favor of telling the police they had more important things to do? Well, Harry Jaffe got hold of the police report, and it turns out Barry may have had good reason not to want it looked at it too closely. Apparently the former mayor had a large collection of cuff links and watches he claimed was worth $28,000 (these are the items which were stolen). It’s a little lavish and eccentric, but there’s nothing too remarkable about that on its own until you take into account the dates Barry listed on the police report of when he got them. For example, he came into five Rolex watches, worth about $15,000, in 2003 — a year when he did not pay taxes. Couldn’t Barry have used those watches to pay some of his tax burden? Jaffe asks.
MPD Bringing Back Gun Recovery Unit: D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier is reviving a special gun-recovery unit that was disbanded in the 1990s under her mentor, Chief Ramsey. Members of the unit will work on tracking where guns recovered by police are coming from and pursuing search warrants to look for additional weapons in the homes of anyone caught with a gun or ammunition.
The D.C. Jail is a Messed Up Place: Just as the Fenty administration has finally agreed to comply with a 2004 law to place a cap on the number of prisoners at the D.C. Jail, a new report shows the facility is woefully understaffed and spending over $9 million a year on overtime. But hey, it’s not like those overextended jail staffers are making any mistakes on the job or anything, right?
Briefly Noted: Fire Chief vows missing fireworks case will be solved … Mayor asks Council to give Rhee firing authority … Former Mayor Williams defends school voucher program … Some guy who used to live in D.C. won the Nobel Peace Prize.
This Day in DCist: In 2006 we were getting set for the new Air Force Memorial dedication, and in 2005 we were skeptical about a rumored run for mayor by Robert Bobb.
Photo by esshots
