DCentric

Flickr: HunterJumper

Who knows what darkness lies in the heart of this masked criminal?

Good morning, DCentric readers! Thank Gray it’s Friday! What…the Mayor doesn’t get credit for that? Oh.

Alexander aides on Wal-Mart ‘team’ Eyebrow-raising: “In January, Ms. Alexander said she was in favor of Wal-Mart building a store in her ward as a way to stimulate jobs and retail options. But…a community member questioned whether Wal-Mart’s relationships…were appropriate in light of their ties to Ms. Alexander, according to people who witnessed the exchange.” (Washington Times)

Raccoons Chasing People From DC Metro Station Because it IS Friday: “Lisa Campbell says there’s a family of raccoons chasing passengers as they enter and exit the Fort Totten Station on Galloway Street in northeast D.C. Lisa says she has even spotted a raccoon inside the station near the ticket machine and that Metro has posted a sign asking people not to feed the raccoons.” (myfoxdc.com)

No landfill search for body of slain teen, D.C. police say Search could cost $1 million, take six months: “So they’re just going to let her rot there,” said Frazier’s mother, Caroline. “They’re not even going to try. That’s what they’re telling us: It’s not worth it. My baby doesn’t deserve that.” (The Washington Post)

Should Criminals and Scumbags Get D.C. Jobs? One had restraining order for stalking a 13-year-old: “If…Gray supporters that got city jobs recently aren’t qualified, then they should be fired…But such dismissals should be based solely on the fact that they’re cronies — not because they may have once had a criminal record.” (DCist)

DMV Daily: Biddle vs. Biddle Oh, this wacky campaign: “At-Large Council candidate Bryan Weaver, one of three candidates whose petition signatures are being challenged by interim Councilmember Biddle’s campaign, has discovered that the Biddle camp is challenging the validity of Biddle’s own signature on Weaver’s petition.” (NBC Washington)

D.C.’s Hispanic population has a new political voice Fenty protege. p.s. Many local Hispanics are not registered to vote: “In a city that’s had a rising Hispanic population for the past decade, Lopez is the first serious Latino candidate for public office….” (Washington Examiner )

Good morning, DCentric readers! And a sunny Thursday to you. And you. But not you. We know you’d rather be in New York.

Funds for D.C.’s needy go elsewhere Money went to catering, event supplies, more: “A D.C. Council member who represents some of the city’s poorest households has spent less than 5 percent of the money she has raised since 2007 to help constituents with urgent needs, such as funeral expenses, rent and utilities, a review of campaign finance records shows.” (Washington Times)

Behind the cost of Chairman Brown’s SUVs More Kwame-gate! “Even before budget managers city-wide had to focus on tightening belts, many others who use public vehicles were able to make do at a fraction of the cost of the SUVs Brown ordered. The average cost of a D.C. public vehicle lease costs taxpayers about $430, almost 4.5 times less than Brown’s Lincolns.” (wtop.com)

“Massive” Marijuana Farm Busted In Bloomingdale “Commander Lamar D. Greene reported that an evening burglary reduction unit…noticed a back door on the unit block of Adams Street NW open and unattended. When the officers went to check it out, a man appeared and started acting jittery; when the officers investigated further, they found a huge cultivation, distribution materials and three firearms.” (DCist)

African-American lawmakers blast budget plan as step back for civil rights “…the GOP cuts threaten to bring the U.S. back to a time when “America was not in her finest hour, a time when the poor, the rural and people of color were denied equal opportunities to education, healthcare, jobs with decent wages and protections, and the possibility of homeownership. We cannot and must not go back there.” (thehill.com)

‘Severe cuts’ planned for D.C. schools Uh-oh: “D.C. schools will be forced to lay off teachers and other staff under significantly slashed budgets that officials plan to release later this week, according to members of central office staff.” (Washington Examiner )

Biddle Challenges Include Some Notable D.C. Voters Biddle disputes signatures that got competitors on ballot: ! “Biddle’s challenges included his campaign chairperson, campaign manager, campaign treasurer, former Councilmember Kathy Patterson…several sitting ANC Commissioners and other candidates. “If I didn’t take every part of the process very seriously, this would be pretty funny,” said Weaver” (DCist)

Good morning, DCentric readers! Is your Wednesday feeling wacky? Escape the madness with these fresh links:

Juvenile Stabbed On Metro Bus In Southeast DC Group of riders rushed off bus before victim alerted driver: “Police are investigating a late-night stabbing of a juvenile on a Metro bus in Southeast DC…the bus driver immediately called police, and the victim was taken to George Washington Hospital where he is considered to be stable.” (WUSA Washington, DC)

Guardian Angels To Increase Patrols After Spike in Attacks at Metro Stations “John Ayala says what’s happening on D.C.’s transit system has happened before in New York City in the early 1980s. “They had bankruptcy in New York and the city was running out of money and they pulled police off the transit system and …the kids went buck wild,” said Ayala. The past seven months has seen an uptick in violent assaults on Metro trains.” (myfoxdc.com)

Georgia Ave. redevelopment tries to mix old with new Old-timers are wary: “They feel that, if you bring all this stuff in, this is going to knock out the carryouts, the beauty parlors, the barbershops and the longtime establishments that stayed there even after the riots of ’68,” he said. The redevelopment of Columbia Heights brought Target, Panda Express and Bed Bath & Beyond — but swept away many local shops, he said.” (Washington Examiner )

Southeast man convicted of luring man to death through chat line “Men who call into the anonymous chat lines, Holcomb told the detectives, were working professionals who wouldn’t report robberies for fear of disclosing their lifestyles. “You come up with a lot of money on there,” (the convicted murderer) told the detectives.” (The Washington Post)

D.C. bill to allow weddings by notary seen aiding gays Already permitted in FL, ME, SC: “Proponents say the new law builds on the law allowing same-sex unions, in part on the theory that gay couples who might not want to have a religious service or go to the courthouse would have another, more private choice.” (Washington Times)

D.C. budget projections get big boost It’s something: “The District’s budget gap for the next fiscal year, once predicted to be more than a half-billion dollars, has shrunk to $322 million thanks largely to expected growth in the city’s commercial real estate market, city officials said.” (Washington Examiner )

UDC president’s expenses questioned Pres needs leg room, flexibility to change ticket at last minute: “Sessoms’s expenses include several airfares well above market rates…”This characterization that he’s traipsing the globe with caviar and champagne is silly,” said Alan Etter, a university spokesman. “It’s false, and it’s silly.” (The Washington Post)

Good morning, DCentric readers! Ready for some links?

Where are the angels? Eleventh hour angels needed, to save things like the Kids Farm at the National Zoo. “Even more poignant was one of the zoo volunteer’s perspectives. “Sometimes, this is the closest some inner-city kids will come to being on a farm,” he told me. He was a teacher for 31 years….”This is it for a lot of kids, this place.” (The Washington Post)

Black residents post high HIV, AIDS rates despite drop And over the river…”Diagnoses of HIV and AIDS infections are dropping in Northern Virginia, but public health officials are battling disproportionately high rates of infection among black residents.” (Washington Examiner )

The Beginning Of The Martin Luther King Memorial Six months ’til the unveiling: “In a way the memorial is a lot like the Civil Rights Movement: everybody’s on board now that its almost complete, but in the beginning, it was tough and by no means a sure thing.” (WUSA Washington, DC)

Teen Mob Attacks at Metro Station Man witnessed mob attacking teen, tried to help: “A woman urged Joy to call 911. When he took out his phone to call police, the teen mob turned on him, he said. The teenagers knocked Joy to the ground and kicked him in the face.” No help from station employees, either. (NBC Washington)

Report: D.C. Council chairman’s SUV was illegal Law that requires 22+ mpg for staff cars is routinely broken: “City officials broke the law by providing D.C. Council Chairman Kwame R. Brown a fully loaded Lincoln Navigator SUV, according to a review by D.C. Council member Tommy Wells that was released Monday. (Washington Times)

Volunteers fight to preserve Woodlawn Cemetery Part of local black history: “When it opened in 1895, Woodlawn Cemetery and Perpetual Care Association served a who’s who of black Washington: Pastors, doctors, members of Congress like John Mercer Langston, great uncle of the poet Langston Hughes, or the U.S. senator who was born a slave, Sen. Blanche Bruce.” (tbd.com)