Good morning, Washington. Are ya ready for some embezzlement scandal news? Of course you are! This morning’s update comes not from the embattled Office of Tax and Revenue, but rather from the D.C. Public Schools front office, as the Examiner reports that Eugene Smith, the former director of internal audits for DCPS, entered a guilty plea yesterday to charges of stealing nearly $50,000 from a charter school account. Smith was fired by the school system in 2002. He faces between 12 and 18 months in jail, and will be sentenced in March.

No Shootings During All Hands on Deck: Amid the appearance of opposition within the ranks to Police Chief Cathy Lanier’s All Hands on Deck initiative in the local media, the MPD sounded celebratory bells yesterday in announcing that there were no shootings or slayings in the District over the weekend. This was the fifth and final All Hands on Deck weekend of 2007, which put about 3,500 officers on the streets. Despite the effort, violent crime increased this year over the last, with homicides up 14 percent, armed robberies up 25 percent and shootings and other assaults with guns up around 9 percent.

Rhee Meets the Parents: Last night in Columbia Heights, Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee held the first of her own community meetings regarding the Fenty administration’s proposal to close 23 D.C. public schools. As the Post tells it, Rhee was faced with large groups of dismayed parents who are concerned that existing programs that are working well for their kids might disappear in the closure shuffle. Some parents even marched to the meeting with signs. Rhee promised that successful academic programs would not be eliminated.

Briefly Noted: Council wants more children in Pre-K … Vincent Gray criticizes use of school that administers electric shocks … Montgomery County teacher dies from staph infection … Picasso and Chagall paintings stolen from Georgetown gallery.

This Day in DCist: In 2006 we honored the passing of an editor at sister site Phillyist, and in 2005 the comments got heated over the smoking ban.

Photo by akkleis

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