DCentric

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

MPD Lieutenant Buys Kids New Presents After Christmas Eve Burglary “Turner, a 28-year veteran of the force, received a call on the night of December 24 about a family of four in Langston/Carver whose home was cruelly burglarized while they were out having a holiday meal. Sure, Turner could have simply filed a report, got on with his paperwork and moved along. But he gathered up a bunch of other officers, put together a bundle of toys and delivered them, as Assistant Chief Diane Groomes put it, “via the sleigh outfitted with a siren.”…”You got to teach the kids that, you know, you may have a temporary setback, but it’s a better day tomorrow. Joy will come.” (DCist)

(Psst…Vince Gray…) New Jersey mayor uses Twitter to clear Newark streets “We’ve gotten diapers to people. Delivered food,” he said. “One pregnant woman who was going into labor — at least thought she was. We were able to get there before the ambulances could. We actually got an ambulance unstuck.” In a Twitter exchange between the mayor and a Newark resident, one motorist asked for a street to be cleared. Booker tweeted: “If ur stuck DM (direct message) me ur (number),” before sending a crew to dig the motorist out. Booker also promised to send a road crew to clear streets around a hospital, after someone tweeted that it had not been adequately cleared.” (CNN)

2,000 D.C. residents pick up tickets to Mayor-elect Gray’s inaugural ball “About 2,000 residents scooped up 4,000 tickets to Mayor-elect Vincent C. Gray’s Sunday inaugural ball – a free concert that will feature, among other local artists, Chuck Brown, the godfather of the city’s homegrown go-go music, and R&B crooner Raheem DeVaughn. Both musicians have been nominated for 2010 Grammy awards…Although the tickets weren’t going fast during two days of distribution last week, a flood of residents appeared Tuesday for the continuation of the giveaway at the convention center.” (The Washington Post)

Decisions, Decisions: The Culture and Psychology of Choice “For the American kids, they performed the best when they got to choose. Some of these kids were outraged when they were told that we asked their mothers. By contrast, the Asian kids performed best when it was for their mother…We know from other studies that Latinos are in between Asians and Americans in that they do value relationships, but not as strongly as Asians. African Americans, interestingly enough, are very similar to Anglo Americans, at least in their desire for choice and their reactions to choice.” (newamericamedia.org)

In Washington, P.R. Duo Stages the See-and-Be-Seen “It was 9 o’clock on Ninth Street in Washington on an autumnal Friday night and Ms. Sandman and Ms. Martin, principals in the public relations firm BrandLinkDC, were holding court at the Long View Gallery, an art space built out of a mid-20th century Plymouth showroom. Three Porsches were parked at angles on the concrete floors; men in well-tailored suit jackets were taking turns sitting in the bucket seats, giggling like boys with toy cars. The party…was, guests agreed… hip, unexpected, exclusive (name lists at the door handled by bubbly interns in stilettos) and yet remarkably, unusually friendly.” (The New York Times)

D.C. needs to be ready to fight GOP ‘meddling,’ Norton says “The Republicans appear never to have accepted the Home Rule Act,” Norton said, referring to the 1972 legislation that allowed D.C. residents to elect a mayor and legislature. “It’s as if it never passed.” And that House voting-rights thing? For the next two years, at least, protesters’ efforts will more likely be expended on keeping what the city already has, Norton said, rather than pushing for expanded rights…”[Mayor-elect Vincent Gray] was saying he was ready to get arrested for statehood or voting rights. That’s not where the action’s going to come. The action’s going to come taking away his own power to run the government the way he wants to.” (voices.washingtonpost.com)