Around the City

Urban affairs, neighborhoods, subways and the people who are affected by them all.

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December 9, 2010 | 4:30 PM | By

These are wise words. Heed them!

joelogon

This is a PSA for a different "Street Smart" campaign in D.C. but both causes are worthy ones.

DCentric reader Judith Claire left this helpful comment on my iPhones-are-attractive-to-thieves post from earlier today, “I am glad I have an Android“:

City folks have to learn how to have street smarts. Take if from an old, white woman who learned all about street smarts from my students starting in 1963 Cardozo HS and also for many years at Shaw Jr. High. Walking or jogging anywhere with ones ears plugged is not smart! Even joggers lose their “ear plugs.’ Give the city a break! Give our police force a break. Be street smart here and all over the world! Just do it! Just sayin’…and lock your doors on house and car! Enough already!

Preach!

FILED UNDER: Around the City, Crime, DCentric
December 9, 2010 | 11:51 AM | By

I am glad I have an Android

TheNickster

Careful with that toy, little guy.

…after reading this, in TBD. If you carry an iPhone, you should read it, too. The piece is about how iPhone-users are a walking target; it starts with the story of Alexandra Friendly, who was walking home from work this Spring, when…

En route from work one afternoon this April, Friendly walked out of the Rhode Island Avenue Metro station and made her way up 10th Street NE toward home. Along the way, she popped in her earphones and played some music on the iPhone she’d bought two weeks earlier…

Then she felt a hand on top of hers. And then a yank that pulled her phone out of her hand, breaking her headphones off at the plug and leaving the buds in her ears. She watched, shocked, as her iPhone thief made his way back to a car. Enraged, she ran to the car and grabbed onto the door as it started to roll off. She managed to hang on until she was dropped a short way down the block, where a woman helped her up…

“Everything went black and white,” says Friendly. “When I think about the memories I don’t see any colors.” All she can remember seeing clearly are the young man’s shoulder-length dreadlocks as he headed to the car. The cops told her they’d be in touch if they learned anything, and that was pretty much the end of it.

Continue reading →

FILED UNDER: Around the City, Crime
December 8, 2010 | 10:59 AM | By

An Age Divide? Or a Racial one?

Current District Department of Transportation chief Gabe Klein (whose name is trending right now on Twitter, locally) has announced that he will leave his post on January 1, rather than stay on under a Gray administration (which he characterized as “not a good fit” for him). Aaron Morrissey, Editor-in-Chief of DCist.com, just tweeted this about Klein:

Klein discussing age divide, as opposed to racial divide, as reason for many of DC debates over new transpo projects.
December 8, 2010 11:56 am via TwitterrificReplyRetweetFavorite
@amorrissey
Aaron Morrissey

I’ve never thought of it that way, but it makes a little bit of sense. Some of my older relatives don’t understand why anyone would want to ride a bike on the crazy streets of D.C. when they could be driving or on the Metro. Having typed that, I would be very wary of downplaying the “racial divide” that exists here; when certain residents of this city see the passion exerted over bike lanes, they wonder where that same energy is, when it comes to the social problems that vex some of our neighbors.

FILED UNDER: Public Transportation, Fenty, Race and Class, Racial Divide, Vince Gray
December 3, 2010 | 3:59 PM | By

Vigil for Columbia Heights Murder Victim Ebony Franklin, Tonight.

Ebony Franklin.

That’s the name of the teen-aged girl whose body was found stuffed in a Columbia Heights trash receptacle earlier this week. I just found out that there is going to be a vigil for her later this evening, at 11th and Fairmont Streets, at 6:30 pm.

Franklin had been a student at Cardozo high school before moving to Maryland, with her Mother. Her Father still lives in Northwest:

Ebony Franklin was reported missing Saturday by her mother, with whom she lived in Capitol Heights, police said. They said the girl was fatally stabbed and stuffed in the barrel in a back alley off 11th and Fairmont streets NW in Columbia Heights.

An acquaintance said Ebony, who had lived in Columbia Heights before moving to Maryland, was a student at Cardozo High School, two blocks south of where her body was found. Police said she often visited her father in Northwest Washington.

Homicide detectives investigating the slaying Tuesday night were attempting to piece together the girl’s movements over the weekend, police said.

FILED UNDER: Around the City, Columbia Heights, Crime
December 3, 2010 | 1:13 PM | By

Georgetown Pres: DREAM Act will make us stronger

Center for American Progress

Georgetown University President Dr. Jack DeGioia

Now reading: Georgetown University President Jack DeGioia’s thoughts on the DREAM Act:

As a university in the heart of the nation’s capital, working to understand the impacts of globalization and the responsibilities we have in a new global context, it is our job, as educators, to support all of our students, including those who were born abroad, and to encourage passage of this legislation…

At Georgetown, students who meet the DREAM Act criteria are campus leaders and role models for their generation. They are pursuing challenging majors, are actively engaged in campus organization, and regularly participate in community service.

As these students work toward completing their degrees, their drive to give back to this country — using the knowledge gained through an American education — is unparalleled. They have done their part to make America, and our increasingly interconnected world, a better place. We must do ours to support a future for them that is free of fear, constraints and limitations on their success.

Passing the DREAM Act is an essential step toward that end. It will not only help these future leaders, it will enrich our campuses and make our country stronger.

FILED UNDER: Around the City, Hoyas, Immigrants
December 2, 2010 | 1:03 PM | By

Giant Food: “No Comment” on Salvation Army Limits

jimmy_best

Bell ringers for The Salvation Army.

Two weeks ago, I wrote about how Giant supermarkets had planned to limit the amount of time The Salvation Army’s bell-ringers could stand outside their stores and bring attention to the iconic red kettle, which many of us associate with giving during the holiday season. The story was widely-reported, because in the past, The Salvation Army would collect half of its total haul from Giant patrons. Limiting “kettle time” to one week in November and one week in December would drastically affect how much money could be raised.

The reactions of local shoppers have been divided; some are angry or saddened at the move, others applaud it, because they don’t care for the “pressure” to give or because of their disagreements with The Salvation Army (specifically with regards to the LGBT community).

I tried to contact someone at Giant because I had several questions about this change in policy. An email sent to Jamie Miller, who manages Public & Community Relations for Giant yielded this prepared statement, which was shared with local media:

Giant is committed to supporting the communities in which we operate, and
we allow non-profit organizations and community groups to solicit outside
our stores. We receive hundreds of requests from groups requesting
permission to use the areas outside of our stores for fundraising,
education purposes, and to collect signatures. Because of the increased
needs in our communities, we felt it essential to create opportunities for
as many community groups as possible.

Continue reading →

FILED UNDER: Around the City, Non-profits
December 2, 2010 | 10:13 AM | By

Ivan has been found!

Washington Humane Society

Ivan the puppy.

Great news! The four-month old pit bull puppy who was stolen from the Washington Humane Society’s New York Avenue shelter has been found. Here’s more, from The Washington Times:

Scott Giacoppo, a spokesman for the humane society, confirmed for The Washington Times that they have located the 4-month-old pit bull, named Ivan.

And here’s something I didn’t see reported elsewhere:

Sources told The Times that three youths thought to be involved in the highly publicized theft of the dog were wards of the city’s Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services. The sources, who talked The Times on condition anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on the subject, said the three juveniles were at the agency’s headquarters on Wednesday.

I’m so relieved that this puppy is safe.

FILED UNDER: Around the City, Animals, Crime
December 1, 2010 | 4:36 PM | By

Tis the Season…to be Careful

DCentric

Hey, holiday shoppers-- be careful out there!

Worrisome, but predictable (via TBD):

D.C. police second district commander Matt Klein sent out an email saying a woman was robbed last night shortly after leaving the Georgetown Apple Store on Wisconsin Avenue NW near M Street.  As she was headed to the 3300 block of N Street, a pair of thieves threw her to the ground and fled with the two laptops she’d just bought.

According to Klein, it appears the woman was tailed from the store. “The suspects may have been waiting for someone to leave the store with large bags or other obvious indications of a large purchase,” Klein wrote.

Last Christmas (I gave you my heart), I was still living in Georgetown and I was always a little paranoid about exactly this happening– not that I was dropping a few thousand dollars for anything as spiffy as a new Mac, but still. There were plenty of logo-covered bags bearing loot, hundreds of shoppers carrying too much stuff and nowhere near enough vigilance. Several times a day, I saw people on M street put down their shopping bags and turn around to use the PNC Bank ATM which is next to Old Glory, blithely assuming their packages were safe.

I think some people are lulled in to a warm, fuzzy sense of complacency because it IS Georgetown, but that’s the wrong attitude to have. It may be an expensive neighborhood to live and shop in, but that’s exactly what would make it attractive to people coveting shiny white and silver toys.

FILED UNDER: Around the City, Crime, Georgetown
December 1, 2010 | 1:10 PM | By

Have you seen this puppy?

Washington Humane Society

Ivan is a four-month old pit bull puppy; he was stolen on Monday.

Last February, I adopted a little black and white puppy who was surrendered with her litter at the Washington Humane Society’s New York Avenue shelter, so I am extra-sad about this:

Four month old Ivan was snatched from his kennel at the New York Avenue shelter early on Monday afternoon. Three suspects were caught on surveillance video taking the dog from the shelter. The individuals entered the shelter on 1201 New York Avenue, NE posing as potential adopters. Once inside the shelter the suspects took Ivan from his cage and escaped by breaking through a wooden fence behind the building.

On the news, I saw a WHS official describe the crime by saying that the suspects entered a restricted area and then kicked down a wooden fence to exit with the puppy.  As commenters on other news sites and blogs have pointed out, the dog-nappers look young, and it’s possible that a local teacher or school employee might recognize them. I hope that’s exactly what happens and that the story is picked up by other outlets, so more people can see the suspects.
Continue reading →

FILED UNDER: Around the City, Animals, Crime
December 1, 2010 | 11:03 AM | By

Still don’t get Milloy’s appeal? Read The Root.

Julie Lyn

View of the Capitol from Barry Farm, in Southeast.

Last week, I pointed you towards the City Paper’s extensive profile of Courtland Milloy by Rend Smith. Over at The Root, Natalie Hopkinson continues to unpack why Milloy’s voice is important to some and offensive to others. I think she nails it. It’s not about Milloy, it’s about the disconnect, the disparity:

This is the color-coded reality of life in the District. White median income is $92,000; black median income is $34,000. The boom in cafés and farmers markets has done nothing to stem a stunning slide into poverty in recent years. In 2007 the black child poverty rate was 31 percent; in 2008 it was 36 percent, and the latest figures show that the figure has shot up to an appalling 43 percent. Forty-three percent. The poverty rate for white children is 3 percent. Unemployment doubled, and black people disproportionately lost their jobs and homes.

This is what they mean when they talk about class warfare: two trains — one privileged, one not — running in opposite directions at a dizzying speed, each with divergent needs and expectations from government. No need to invent it or “inject race” into it; this is the objective reality of life in the District. Yet somehow the narrative about change becomes “Courtland Milloy doesn’t care about white people!”

The following point Hopkinson makes cannot be understated; certain black views are constantly invalidated. It’s sickening to read DCist or WaPo comments which refer to the residents of Ward 8 as if they are mindless, crime-craving savages who are too simple to grasp what their virtuous, wiser counterparts immediately grok (tellingly, occasionally when I’m mired in such threads, the words to “White Man’s Burden” appear, unbidden, to my mind’s eye):
Continue reading →

FILED UNDER: Around the City, Gentrification, Milloy, Race and Class, Racial Divide