Photo by ekelly80.Good morning, Washington. You know what this city needs? (Besides a couple more burger joints, duh.) A protracted battle between a popular white Councilmember and Marion Barry, of course! In his column this week, Alan Suderman investigates the always-painful experience of Ward redistricting, and finds that the fiercest border war will likely be waged between Ward 6 Councilmember Tommy Wells and Barry — the former represents a ward which will probably need expanding trimming based on population growth, while the latter is (as always) looking to expand his political reach. Barry tells Suderman that he’d like to target the burgeoning southwest waterfront — you know, so he can take credit for all the good stuff that’s happening there without having to put in any of the groundwork that’s been going on for years — while Wells says he’d love to take over some of Ward 8 and work an H Street-type renaissance somewhere across the river. Perhaps just as newsworthy: Barry told Suderman that he wasn’t motivated by politics when it comes to ward boundaries because — and I quote — “I’m a scientist.”
Reaction Rolling In After Terror Arrest: The fallout after yesterday’s arrest of Farooque Ahmed, a 34-year-old Ashburn resident who was allegedly taping Metro stations under the belief that he would be handing over the footage to al-Qaeda, is coming in spades this morning. The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia called the idea that someone could be casing Metro “chilling,” while Muslim leaders are denying that Ahmed was an active member in the local Islamic community. Meanwhile, Ahmed’s neighbors are surprised by the news, especially his next door neighbor who reportedly heard the news while he was on a Metro train. (In case you’re wondering, the “he just seemed like a normal guy” thing came up quite often in the coverage.) Ahmed will be held in custody until another hearing on Friday. And remember — none of this should make you think twice about taking photographs inside the Metro.
Runoff Needed In Teachers’ Union Presidential Election: George Parker, the controversial sitting President of the Washington Teachers’ Union who signed off on the most recent labor contract, technicaly lost his bid for reelection to Nathan Saunders, a former ally who grew disillusioned with Parker’s leadership. But since no candidate received the necessary 51 percent of votes to claim victory, there will be a run-off election. (Of 881 mail-in ballots, Saunders got 334 votes, Parker 313.) The run-off between Saunders and Parker should take place in November — we wonder if the measly 20 percent turnout, which the Post notes is the lowest ever for a WTU presidential election, will be any better for the runoff in November.
Three Shot On Wednesday, One Dead: D.C. police are investigating a shooting on the 2700 block of Langston Street SE which killed a man last night. Meanwhile, two other people were shot on Wednesday in the District: one on the 1700 block of Trinidad Avenue NE, the other on the 1300 block of Savannah Street SE. Neither of those shootings has claimed a life, and police are investigating both. None of the three shootings appear to be connected.
Briefly Noted: Are Missy Reilly Smith’s campaign sign infractions as offensive as her television ads? Not really, but still…Ohio Drive may reopen next week…Another Georgetown student arrested on drug charges in Harbin Hall…City ward suspected in Marcum murder spent time in residential treatment center due to bipolar disorder…Yesterday’s testimony in the Levy murder trial included an image of Levy’s skull projected on a big screen…Johns Hopkins Health System expected to acquire Sibley Memorial Hospital…Councilmember David Catania sure sounds like a pretty awesome gift-giver.
This Day in DCist: Last year, Attorney General Peter Nickles bought Councilmember Mary Cheh flowers to apologize for calling her “stupid,” and someone was actually planning a reality show about “die-hard Nats fans.” (I am completely shocked that one didn’t pan out.)
