Photo by señor sideburns.Good morning, Washington. Some good news to start the day with: Emily Hershenson, the Adams Morgan resident who went missing on Monday, has been found. Hershenson’s husband Tom, who organized a huge public push to help find his wife, told WTOP that yesteday went “from the worst day of my life, I think it’s fair to say, to one of the happiest.” Hershenson was reportedly found near the National Mall by police early this morning and is currently being evaluated at a local hospital; it’s still unclear as to what exactly caused her disappearance.
OCF To Investigate Team Thomas: The D.C. Office of Campaign Finance informed Ward 5 Councilmember Harry Thomas, Jr. yesterday that they would be taking a closer look at his financial dealings with a company he operated. HLT Team Thomas/SwingAway LLC collected nearly $10,000 from Thomas’ 2006 campaign committee, purchased an SUV and registered it to Thomas and paid for Thomas’ travel after his election. But Thomas did not file any reports of gifts or outside income associated with the company to OCF, as required. Acting Attorney General Irv Nathan — who, by the way, is up for confirmation today — is also conducting a probe into the Team Thomas issues.
DOES Director Chauffeured: Alan Suderman reports that Rochelle Webb, the city’s new Director of Department of Employment Services, was driven to and from work during her first two months on the job by a “support services specialist” — a clear violation of city law. Even more galling: Webb spent her first two months on the job living at the W Hotel at taxpayer expense. The W is pretty close to McPherson Square, and DOES HQ is located about a block from the Minnesota Avenue Metro station. So while Webb was being driven to and from work, she could have just hopped on the Blue Orange Line and at least saved the city some cash.
Speaking Of Cash: Do you owe money to the District? Well, the city is coming for it! The Council is working on a new piece of legislation, the Delinquent Debt Recovery Act, which would allow the District to hire third-party debt collectors to go after big scofflaws. Ward 3 Councilmember Mary Cheh, who is also angling for subpoena power, believes the city should be able to place liens on property and garnish wages of those who haven’t paid up. The city is owed hundreds of millions in unpaid parking fines, building code violations and other citiations.
Briefly Noted: D.C. Public Schools investigating allegations of grade doctoring at McKinley Tech, upping security for standardized tests…More details about the brouhaha on the city’s Alcoholic Beverage Control Board…Walmart coming to Tysons…Police cracking down on synthetic marijuana in Adams Morgan, Anacostia…Heavy rain, snow takes toll on Chesapeake Bay…Thea Bowman Preparatory Academy to close at year’s end.
This Day in DCist: Last year, we got our first glimpse at Marion Barry’s reality show, and the National Zoo was trying to breed its lions. (That worked out, eh?)
