Food service workers employed by Compass Group — whose contract expired in January — are picketing outside the World Bank on Wednesday.
Organizers said they were prepared for arrest.
This time, near the World Bank.
The IMF and World Bank meetings are taking place again this weekend, which can only mean one things—totally unnecessary street closures!
Two people were arrested over the weekend during demonstrations coinciding with the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.
To add to the weekend’s transit woes, the IMF/World Bank’s annual spring meetings begin today. And you know what that means — street closures and parking restrictions!
When WMATA announced yesterday that it would close Farragut West and McPherson Square and shut down Blue and Orange line service at Metro Center over the entire Columbus Day weekend, we thought it would be messy. It’s arguably the busiest section of the system. There’s sports games, concerts, and a lot more people in town that weekend who will want to get around. Plus, there are a large number of Washingtonians who work in offices in the center of town who just don’t take Columbus Day off and would normally use Metro to get into and home from work on Monday. Oh, right, and the World Bank’s annual meeting. Oops.
Yesterday, U.S. District Judge Paul L. Friedman gave final approval to a $13.7 million class-action settlement in the lawsuit brought by individuals who were arrested in 2000 while protesting near the near the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. The Post reports that arrested individuals deemed eligible will receive $18,000 and have the arrest expunged from the record; the settlement also requires police to undergo further training. Currently, 464 of the approximately 700 individuals who…
UPDATE: Finally, MPD has confirmed that the package is not hazardous, but officers remain on the scene. Traffic has been a mess down there, so if you’re getting behind the wheel anytime soon, avoid the area at all costs.
Was I a little harsh in my assessment yesterday morning that the IMF/World Bank protesters had gone soft? Nah. The AP reports that eight people were arrested early Saturday morning in an incident at the Washington Circle Hotel in West End. One of the protesters was charged with felony assault of a police officer after cops were called at around 1 a.m. to quell the group, which had entered the hotel and began chanting anti-World…