DCentric

Good morning, DCentric readers! Here are your breakfast links:

The District Curmudgeon: Credit where credit’s due at our local CVS “Jim was the security guard working the area near the front door. He was doing the work of a guard, as well as a greeter and a customer service representative. I had stopped in to purchase some salt in anticipation of the forecasted nasty weather…He reached down, lifted a bag, and walked it over to the scanner next to the aisle end-cap to let me know how much one cost. There were two women standing in front of the scanner, and Jim politely asked them to move so he could scan the bag. He was greeted with anything but politeness.” (distcurm.blogspot.com)

All Opinions Are Local – How Sarles can leave his mark on Metro “Expand Metrorail capacity. Metrorail will be at capacity by 2030, and some sections, such as the Orange Line in Virginia or the western Red Line, are already stuffed. Yet you removed from the capital plan new power substations that are necessary to run more eight-car trains because you needed that money to fix signals and replace old railcars. Your staff rejected having more doors on each car and seating arrangements that fit more people standing in the new railcar designs…what is Metro going to do to keep overcrowded platforms from becoming the safety issue of the next generation? ” (voices.washingtonpost.com)

Friends of Takoma Park Bank Robber Speak Out “Police say Espinoza Arcia took a female bank employee hostage during the robbery Friday morning and used her as a shield…After a dye pack exploded, he slipped on some ice and the hostage broke free. Espinoza Arcia chased her with his gun drawn, and three Takoma Park officers and three Prince George’s County officers opened fire, killing him. His co-workers and friends are painting a different picture of this bank robber. They call him a gentle man, who read the bible and who had a full time job at a retirement home. On Friday, his day off he robbed a bank. His best friend is stunned and still in disbelief.” (myfoxdc.com)

MPD Won’t Release Sexual Assault Report “While MPD said the District had experienced an 11 percent spike in sexual assaults for the year, others said the percentage was closer to 50. A December MPD crime report obtained by City Desk showed a 46 percent increase. “Sex Assault statistics only include preliminary first and second degree offenses,” the document read. “For more detailed information please see the Sexual Assault Report.” So City Desk subsequently asked for the report through a Freedom of Information Act request. MPD denied that request today, citing the need to protect confidential information…” (Washington City Paper)

[VIDEO] Community Frustrated by Violence D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray and other city leaders walked through a neighborhood beset by recent violence. (NBC Washington)

City Paper Cover Story Subject Arrested “Jumiya Crump, the subject of a recent Washington City Paper cover story on the plight of kids in the city’s child-welfare system, was arrested and charged with destruction of property. The arrest—the day after the story appeared in the paper—is just the latest setback in the teenager’s two-year odyssey through the system…Jumiya vented her frustrations—punching several holes in the group home’s walls, breaking a glass and a mirror. Throughout the incident, she screamed about her mother.” (Washington City Paper)