Photo by Ronnie R.Good morning, Washington. You know that package of advertisements that the Postal Service always sends you whenever you change your address? Well, instead of just throwing the coupons into the trash like everyone else, the Washington Times really wants you to know that the plan could well be part of a massive government conspiracy to undermine your personal privacy. Of course, I’d argue that there are more important things for the government to be worried about than mining for data through Lowe’s coupons — like, say, cleaning up the “astronomical levels of copper, zinc, and iron” in the city — but hey, that’s just me.
Fire Spokesperson Out: Pete Piringer, who’s been the voice of the D.C. Fire and EMS for the last two-plus years, has changed jobs. Piringer’s been “detailed” to the Office of the Secretary, where he’ll serve as spokesperson. “I look forward to raising the visibility of the Office of the Secretary,” Piringer told WTOP’s Mark Segraves. (I know I’m certainly looking forward to the next time I need to call that particular office.) The long-term question: how much will Piringer’s departure affect the incredibly popular fire department Twitter feed, which recently survived a shutdown threat?
War of the Commercial Taxes: Yesterday, Councilmember David Catania (I-At-Large) sparred with D.C. Chief Financial Officer Natwar Gandhi over the way the city collects taxes from commercial property purchases. In short, Gandhi personally altered the way a 2001 law was interpreted in 2007, which meant that the District missed out on $15 million in debt taxes. Catania argued that the city must “fish or cut bait” regarding the taxes, and Jack Evans (D-Ward 2) presented a new law that would clarify the situation.
International Car Drama: Last Thursday, 64-year-old Trudi Rishikof was struck and killed by a vehicle while using a crosswalk across a busy stretch of Connecticut Avenue near the National Zoo. That car is registered to the embassy of Switzerland, and was being operated by Kamal Mortada, a U.S. citizen, but it’s unclear whether he was an employee of the embassy or simply using the white Toyota Highlander. Police are still determining whether alcohol or a cell phone was involved in the accident.
Briefly Noted: Protesters set sights on health care conference…The District must really miss Steve Jobs — no word on whether city officials are all wearing black turtlenecks, too…Yeah, why isn’t the city’s high school football championship game played at RFK?…Chris Shott warms this once-Pittsburgh resident’s cold heart…MoCo teens not happy with curfew proposal…Kwame Brown says the income tax war isn’t over…The oral history of Shear Madness…Know of a deserving government employee? Nominate them for an award!
This Day in DCist: Last year, we learned all about bed bugs (and the dogs that find them), a local man was looking for a Transformer to love, and everyone put on a happy face at Michelle Rhee’s resignation presser.
