Good morning, Washington. In case you didn’t believe us when we first told you that this tax office corruption scandal was going to get bigger and badder as the week went on, just check out the trio of stories on offer from the Post this morning on the widening scandal. First and foremost, it turns out Harriette Walters and Diane Gustus allegedly worked together to steal $4 million more than originally thought, bringing the grand total to approximately $20 million. Then there’s the story of the staff meeting held at the convention center yesterday by CFO Natwar Gandhi, where he tried to reassure Office of Tax and Revenue workers that they would work to restore public confidence in the office. Finally, don’t miss Style writer Hank Stuever’s story where he talks to the fine folks at Neiman Marcus about the suspects’ spending habits, only to discover that despite all that money, they had bad taste. Haute.
D.C. Schools Audit Shows Mixed Results: The Examiner got a sneak peak at the results of a recent audit of how D.C. schools are doing under their new leadership. Overall it looks like school principals feel more supported by the central office and that it is easier for them to get maintenance issues taken care of, but no real progress has been made on improving academic standards.
Metro Approves Sale of Takoma Park Land: Despite the loud concerns of neighbors about Metro’s plans to sell land around the Takoma Park Metro station to developers who plan to build condos, Metro’s board approved the sale yesterday.
Briefly Noted: Fairfax deputy facing federal charges of possessing child porn … Price of cocaine in D.C. is way up … Dogs from puppy mill to go to area animal shelters.
This Day in DCist: In 2006 we told you some of the best places to buy kegs of beer in the city, in 2005 we shared a basic chili recipe for cold weather cooking, and in 2004 we noted the end of construction near the White House on Pennsylvania Ave.
Photo by Captain Easychord
