Photo by navinsarma

Photo by navinsarma

Good morning, Washington. After last week’s guilty plea and resignation from Harry Thomas, Jr., it’s easy to move on and consider the matter closed. But the Washington Times focuses on one constituent who may well represent the conflicted emotions sweeping across parts of Ward 5 in the wake of the scandal. Today Times scribe Jeffrey Anderson profiles Zachary Sims, a longtime resident who attended Friday’s hearing to show respect to the Thomas family but who also expressed satisfaction with Thomas’ decision to accept responsibility and step aside. “It’s very frustrating and disconcerting,” said Sims, who was told that no money was available in Thomas’ Constituent Services Fund to help him with an unpaid gas bill. “All I did to struggle to get back into society, and here he is with the power, and he never helped me with my gas bill. Now I see why.”

Metro Suicide Prevention Program Slow to be Implemented: Despite having approved a suicide prevention program last year, Metro has been slow to implement it, reports the Examiner. Only 180 of 960 station managers have been trained to properly spot suicidal commuters, and a suicide hot line phone number has yet to be posted throughout the system. The delays may have had consequences — two people have tried to commit suicide by jumping in front of trains in 2012, one successfully. Last year, nine people attempted suicide, with seven dying. Metro officials have said that all station managers will be trained this year, and signs with a hot line number will be posted by April.

Media vs. Politicians, Round 1: While there’s often a figurative battle between the media and elected officials, late last week the fight almost got much more real. WTOP reports that D.C. Council Chair Kwame Brown aggressively confronted WTOP host Mark Plotkin after a segment on Fox 5 in which Plotkin spoke of the ongoing federal investigation into Brown’s 2008 campaign. (The entire incident was caught by Fox 5 cameras, but the station refuses to release the footage.) While nothing came of the confrontation, Plotkin called the moment “intense.” “By coming so close up to my face, [he] was trying in some way to provoke me, at least rhetorically,” he said on Friday. (Our standing advice for politicians — if you’re going to get into a fight, don’t do it inside a TV studio.)

Teen Killed in District Over Tennis Shoes: In the third killing of 2012 in the District, a 19-year-old was shot over the weekend by robbers going for his shoes. NBC4 reports that Mayor Vince Gray announced on Sunday night that David Lee Robinson had been killed for his Nike’s. Late last year there were rumors that a District man was killed at a suburban shopping mall after buying a pair of Air Jordan’s; the story ended up not being true.

Briefly Noted: Plenty of robberies this weekend in the District … Occupy rally set for Congress next week … Virginia gas tax increase proposed … McDonnell attaches some strings to money for Dulles rail project … Fear not, atheists — you’re not alone … Herndon residents really don’t want a traffic roundabout.

This Day in DCist: On this day in 2011, a D.C. police officer flashed a gun in a Connecticut bar. In 2010, Gilbert Arenas’ memory was quickly scrubbed by the Wizards and a Netflix popularity map gave us a better sense of what types of movies the District’s various areas were renting. In 2009, tickets to President Obama’s Inauguration Day parade sold out in no time flat.