Independent voices from the TWT Communities
Two D.C. Council members are questioning outgoing Mayor Adrian M. Fenty's use of $495,000 from a job-training program to provide separation pay for his political appointees.
Mayoral candidate Vincent C. Gray attended a picnic last month organized by a small nonprofit that works with ex-offenders and is run by a man who was once one of Washington, D.C.'s most notorious underworld figures. That much no one disputes.
Four years of incumbency and an overwhelming fundraising advantage have not translated to public support for D.C.'s mayor, Adrian M. Fenty, in his bid to fend off a Democratic primary challenge from Vincent Gray.
When the D.C. Council approved the city's lottery contract in December, two members spoke before the vote on behalf of the local firm that walked away with a majority stake in the deal: Chairman Vincent C. Gray and Marion Barry.
Seems to me what's good for the goose is good for the gander ("Police rifles won't be secured," Page 1, yesterday).
The Metropolitan Police Department says officers will start receiving assault rifles this summer as scheduled but the weapons will be unsecured in vehicle trunks until the locking devices are installed.
Metropolitan Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier scheduled five more installments of her signature All Hands On Deck crime-fighting initiative, which has received mixed reviews from lawmakers and residents.
D.C. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty yesterday announced he will propose emergency legislation to crack down on property owners who fail to remove graffiti from their buildings.
More than one in five homicide cases closed in the District from 2002 to 2006 ended without a prosecution, according to a government audit released yesterday.
Metropolitan Police say it is not clear how a steep drop in tickets issued by automated speed cameras in recent months has affected program revenue, because motorists often pay their fines a month or two months after they are cited.
The number of citations issued in the District's speed-camera program fell from 21,687 in February to 4,527 in March — a 79 percent decrease — but the amount of fines the citations generated remained relatively unchanged.
Revenue from the District's red-light camera program fell steadily during the same period that many of the automated enforcement devices were broken, according to statistics from the Metropolitan Police Department.
Traci Hughes, a spokeswoman for Kwame Brown, said Wednesday that the council member has not heard a response from the mayor's office.
Mrs. Hughes said the council member has no quarrel with separation pay, which is standard for D.C. employees, but that "he does take issue with where the money comes from."
