Photo by PlantainsandKimchi.com.Good morning, Washington. Did you get a prank phone call from Vincent Gray yesterday? It wasn’t him, obviously — the Gray campaign claims that its phone lines were hijacked by pranksters late yesterday afternoon. Caller ID states that the call is from the “Gray for Mayor” campaign, but the callers are immediately hanging up once the call is answered. When asked whether they are suspecting rival candidates, spokeswoman Traci Hughes told TBD “that’s being looked into.” D.C. police are investigating. On the bright side, a political cold call which is over in a matter of seconds does hold a certain appeal.
Money, Money, Money, Money…Monnnney: It was campaign finance report deadline time last night, and the reports probably made the Gray camp forget a little bit about the hassle of dealing with all those prank calls. The challenger had a banner fundraising period, raising over $700,000 in the last two months alone. Over the same period, Adrian Fenty has raised a little bit over $300,000. Fenty is also blowing through his once-sizable cashpile at a good clip, having already spent $1.86 million, including about a million bucks on television advertising alone. In City Council races, At-Large Councilmember Phil Mendelson came out the big winner — Mendelson has spent only $16,313 during his reelection campaign. (In comparison, his fiercest challenger, Clark Ray, has spent $97,464.) Vincent Orange earned $58,000 over the last couple of months; Kwame Brown’s report wasn’t loading correctly as of this posting. (Don’t blame me!) You can peruse your candidate of choice’s financial report at the OCF website here.
Alaska Plane Crash Claims Local Victim: Yesterday’s small plane crash which killed former Senator Ted Stevens also claimed the life of William “Bill” Phillips Sr., 56, of Germantown. Phillips’ 13-year-old son, William “Willy” Phillips Jr. was also on board, but survived. Jim Morhard, who currently lives in northern Virginia and was Stevens’ chief of staff when he sat on the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee, also survived the crash. In related news, Mike DeBonis digs into Stevens’ record as an opponent of home rule, including this 1982 quote from the then-Senator: “I can’t think of a worse city to have as capital and I don’t care who knows it.”
It’s Not An A.M. Rush Hour Without a Suspicious Package: The Old Executive Office Building was evacuated this morning after a suspicious package was found at the intersection of 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW. Northbound 17th Street has been closed to traffic between D and H Streets as authorities investigate. We’d expect the area to be a mess for a little while. On another note: this is the third suspicious package in as many days during the morning rush. Tourists and crazies: stop leaving your stuff just lying around, especially when you’re one friggin’ block away from the White House, okay?
Briefly Noted: Beltway traffic fatalities are down and Maryland police credit crackdown on aggressive driving…Teen dies after being hit by car in District Heights…Michelle Rhee on what Sacramento has that D.C. doesn’t: “We’ll have to see.”…The Post profiles the Ward 5 Council race, though they probably should have consulted a map before going to print.
This Day In DCist: Last year, Martin Austermuhle’s deep, soul-searching gaze took over Metrobuses around D.C.
