Teka Thomas
@ Tattoo
Q:How do you keep your life clean?
A:"Low alcohol intake. I never smoke and I've never done drugs."
DON'T EXPECT THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY to move from the Navy Security Center near American University across town to the west campus of St. Elizabeths Hospital near Anacostia anytime soon. In the massive $515.7 billion domestic spending bill that passed the House on Monday and the Senate on Tuesday, funding was removed for Homeland Security's new headquarters, as The Post's Mary Beth Sheridan reports.
Rep. David Price, D-N.C., chairman of the House appropriations subcommittee on homeland security, said in a statement that the move came in response to White House budget preferences:
Since the president proposed cutting or eliminating essential homeland security programs for first-responders, transit and rail security, and port security, we made a decision to rearrange the Homeland Security budget so that these important priorities were not shortchanged ... That meant that some of the president's original budget priorities had to get cut, including the St. Elizabeths project.Proponents of the project, including Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-D.C., say they hope to find funds elsewhere to preserve the plan. But as of right now, the project is going nowhere fast.
Continue Reading "Funding for DHS HQ at St. Elizabeths Cut" »
"THIS DAY HAS BEEN the beginning of a new day in a new Ward 8." That's how former Mayor Marion Barry, who represents the ward in the D.C. Council, characterized this morning's opening of a new Giant Food store in Congress Heights — the chain's largest outpost in the city.
Barry joined Mayor Adrian Fenty and D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton to cut the ceremonial ribbon opening the massive store that spans the length of a football field at Alabama Avenue near Stanton Road. Videographer Akira Hakuta from washingtonpost.com was there to catch the officials and customers in action; his video's embedded above.
"I think it's wonderful," shopper Willie Wells, 74, told Hakuta. "I had to go to Marlow Heights to get to a Giant, and Giant's one of my favorite stores. This is convenient. Right up the street. I can ride the bus down here if I need to."
» EARLIER: "Long-Awaited Ward 8 Giant Opens This Week" [Free Ride/Express]
SOME OF THE DISTRICT'S most underserved residents will soon be able to shop at a full-service grocery store in their neighborhood for the first time in nearly a decade. This Friday, a Giant supermarket will open on Alabama Avenue near Stanton Road in Congress Heights, complete with an IHOP restaurant and hardware store.
Currently, the closest such store is the Safeway just across the Ward 7 border, at Naylor Road and Alabama Avenue. Otherwise, residents had to journey two miles away for a full supermarket, either across the Maryland border in Prince George's County or on Capitol Hill, across the Anacostia River.
While the move is a positive step for Ward 8, The Post's Paul Schwarztman reports that it still doesn't set the area on equal footing with its northern neighbors:
Even with its first supermarket, Ward 8, with a population of about 70,000, lags far behind more affluent areas of the city. In Northwest, wards 2 and 3 each have six supermarkets serving roughly the same number of residents, according to a study last year by the D.C.-based Food Research and Action Center. The report concluded that Ward 8 offered the city's least nutritious food options.Since 2001, 6,000 new housing units have been built in Ward 8, where calls for a full-service grocery store have been growing louder. Now, residents will have easy access to, sushi, 200 types of cheese and 14 kinds of honey, among other things.
» "Signs of Change Line the Shelves" [WaPo]
Pictured above: Loretta Smith, left, and Sandee Wallett stock medicine at the new Giant, which opens Friday; Photo by Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post
WE'LL HAVE TO WAIT AND SEE. Members of the Ballou Senior High School marching band are in for "a big surprise" when they appear on Ellen DeGeneres' talk show on Thursday. That's according to Casey Callister, the producer of "Ballou," a documentary about the high school in Congress Heights and the adversity the school and its marching band have faced in recent years.
The documentary, which is currently in post-production, according to Metro Networks, has been getting major plaudits from D.C. officials and should get some serious buzz from the "Ellen" appearance.
But we've got to wonder what this "big surprise" is. One can only hope it's not free cars for everyone a la Oprah. Disputes over unpaid taxes on such a giveaway would likely put a damper on the Ballou students' heartwarming story.
» "Ellen DeGeneres Show" [Official Site]
» "District is Buzzing About 'Ballou' Documentary" [Metro Networks via WTOP]
» "Ballou" [Official Site]
» EARLIER: "Recipients In Oprah's Car Giveaway Face Hefty Taxes" [WMAQ/NBC5]
File photo of the Ballou Senior High School marching band by Gerald Martineau/The Washington Post
AS WE MENTIONED on Friday, the weather forecast for Saturday's annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. parade in Ward 8 did not look so promising for organizers. And that forecast wound up being true — it was a cold day for a parade.
At the urging of Ward 8 D.C. Council member Marion Barry, last year's parade was moved from January to April because the weather conditions, in theory, were more favorable. Last April it was cold and sort of drizzly, and Barry rode the route from Congress Heights into Anacostia in a convertible.
This year, both nature and Barry had some surprises. Parade-goers were treated not only to a rare April snow, The Post's Hamil R. Harris reports, but also to the sight of the former mayor, always a showman, on horseback.
Since this is a second year that the April MLK celebration has been subject to the cold, Free Ride offers the following suggestion: Why not hold the parade to honor King on a traditionally warm day that also has an association to the civil rights leader? Several of those are in the summer. For example...
» July 2: The anniversary of when King was at the White House for the signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
» Aug. 28: The anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington.
Just a thought.
» "Rescheduled MLK March Can't Escape Cold Weather" [Free Ride/Express]
» "'They Killed the Dreamer, But They Have Not Killed the Dream'" [WaPo]
» "Martin Luther King, Jr. Chronology" [LSU Libraries]
Photo by Lois Raimondo/The Washington Post
BY WASHINGTON STANDARDS, Saturday's weather might seem more appropriate for January, with temperatures starting out below freezing and heading into the 40s by mid-day. It's not the worst weather for a parade, but not that great either. The 28th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Parade is set to kick off Saturday at noon in Ward 8, marching down King's memorial avenue about 2 miles from Ballou Senior High School in Congress Heights to Good Hope Road in the heart of Anacostia.
You might remember that the parade has been traditionally held in January, but last year's event was moved by Ward 8 Council member Marion Barry to April (first to April Fool's Day by mistake, then to another day in early April) because the weather would be warmer. Alas, even though he once helmed the entire city, Barry still can't control the weather. It was also cold for last year's April parade.
Photo of last year's parade by Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post
ON WEDNESDAY, just 78 days into his administration, D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty delivered his first State of the District address at a senior center in Congress Heights in Ward 8. Fenty, being the bright-eyed, energetic mayor that he is, is proud of everything the District has accomplished in the months since he's taken charge.
Since we don't have an auditor or inspector general at the ready to do quick analysis, we'll take the mayor at his word. What follows is the State of the District, by the numbers ...
» 78: The number of days Fenty has been in power.
» 39: The number of times the District Emergency Management Agency has coordinated special or emergency events.
» 25,000: The approximate number of times D.C. fire trucks have been dispatched.
» 1,500: The approximate number of business licenses issued by the Department of Consumer Regulatory Affairs.
» 6,000: The approximate number of building inspections in the past 78 days.
» 1 in 6: The approximate number of District residents who are over the age of 60.
» 10: The number of community organizations east of the Anacostia River that received $500,000 grants for HIV/AIDS services.
» 390,000: The approximate number of calls handled by D.C. 911 services, answered within five seconds 97.9 percent of the time.
» 22,000: The approximate number of D.C. households that have received energy assistance grants.
» 1,815: The number of trees planted in the past 78 days.
» 3,400: The approximate number of potholes filled by city crews as requested by District residents.
» 82: The number of civilians being brought into the Metropolitan Police Department to relieve officers from administrative duties.
» "Fenty Says He and City Are on the Move" [WaPo]
» "Mayor Fenty Delivers 2007 State of the District Address" [DC.gov]
Photo by Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post
Green Line to Westphalia?
Map It:
Anacostia Branch Ave Congress Heights Naylor Road Southern Avenue Suitland
IF YOU'RE HAVING trouble keeping track of planned, future and proposed transit expansion in the region — the Dulles Metrorail extension, the Green Line expansion to BWI, the Purple Line linking Bethesda, Sliver Spring, College Park and New Carrollton — here's another potential project to throw into the mix: The Green Line to Westphalia near Andrews Air Force Base in Prince George's County.
Its all part of a plan to make the Andrews Air Force Base area the National Defense and Technology Corridor, a notion championed by the Prince George's County Business Roundtable. As The Post's Anita Huslin reports:
...[T]he Business Roundtable suggested that the county's planned town center just east of Andrews should be developed with an eye to serving the military community. Under the county's plan, 15,000 units of housing, 2 million square feet of retail, six new schools, and hotels and entertainment venues would be built. Eventually, according to the plan, a town about half the size of Columbia would rise on 7,000 acres bound by Ritchie Marlboro Road to the north and east, the Capital Beltway to the west, and Maryland Route 4 to the south.An Andrews Air Force Base-area terminus never came into serious consideration during the drawn-out battle in the 1970s and '80s over where the Green Line's southern stretch should end.
STAY TUNED, so to speak. Monday's news that Florida Avenue-based XM Satellite Radio intends to merge with its New York-based competitor, Sirius Satellite Radio, has sent shockwaves across the satellite radio world. As The Post's Charles Babington and Thomas Heath write:
... [T]he companies must persuade the Justice Department and Federal Communications Commission that they are complying with antitrust laws, a claim that land-based broadcasters and consumer groups are likely to dispute.» "Satellite Radio Firms Plan to Merge" [WaPo]
METRO OFFICIALS are working to deal with the aftermath of a fatal incident involving a Metrobus and a pedestrian in Congress Heights on Saturday night. The transit agency, which is already responding to the deaths last Wednesday of two pedestrians hit by a No. 54 bus crossing Pennsylvania Avenue, has repeated its intention to put all drivers through safety training courses, The Post's Theola Labbe and Ann E. Marimow report.
The circumstances of Saturday's incident on Congress Street in Southeast remain under investigation. Twenty-one year-old Angel Walters was struck and killed around 11:10 p.m. while unloading bags and boxes from an SUV parked on the narrow street. What role ice and snow that remained on the street after last week's storms played in the incident is still unclear.
Later today, Express will profile a number of intersections in the District that are dangerous for pedestrians.
» "SE Woman Is Struck, Killed by Metrobus" [WaPo]
What else is making news on this Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2007? Let's get to it.
» TYSONS CORNER: "Fairfax County Planners See Ballston Neighborhood as Model For Transit-Oriented Overhaul of Sprawling Business Center" [WaPo]
» REGION: "After the Storm, Digging Out" [WaPo]
» WILSON BUILDING: "Symbols of Openness, Access Abound in D.C. Mayor's Fast-Paced New Administrative Space" [WaPo]; "Councilman Urges Mayor to Look at Speed Limits" [WT]
» DISTRICT: "Road Crews Scramble to Fill the Holes" [WT]; "District Faces Potential Flood Danger" [Examiner]
» NEAR NORTHEAST: "Fire Kills Elderly Woman in Northeast D.C." [WaPo]
» CAPITOL HILL: "Miller Is the First African American to Be House Clerk" [WaPo]
» ANNAPOLIS: "Advocates Urge O'Malley to Back Restored Rights" [WaPo]; "Lobbyist Defends Role in Annapolis Fundraising Event" [Sun]
» MONTGOMERY COUNTY: "Human Trafficking Victims May be Hidden in Plain Sight" [WTOP]
» PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY: "NAACP Opposes Legislation That Wants Electronic Monitoring Devices on Truants" [Examiner]
» RICHMOND: "In Va., a Last-Ditch Effort at Finding Roads Accord" [WaPo]; "Imposter Musicians Targeted" [Times-Dispatch]; "Smoking Bill Hangs in Balance" [Times-Dispatch]; "Committee Flip-Flops on Slavery-Apology Bills" [Times-Dispatch]
» NORTHERN VIRGINIA: "That Little Voice Telling You To Skip I-95? It's Your Car" [WaPo]
» PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY: "Cash 'Isn't There' For New Stadium, Supervisors Say" [WaPo]
» ARLINGTON COUNTY: "Police Track Abducted Woman Through Cell Phone" [WTOP]
Photo of Ballston in Arlington County by Nikki Kahn/The Washington Post
MORE NEWS AND VIEWS are available as always from washingtonpost.com, Washington Post Radio and Slate.
ALSO, coming up later on ReadExpress.com ...
» On the edge of College Park, the height of balloons shows the height of a future mini-city.
» So the Washington Convention Center is not meeting expectations for attracting conventioneers. Well, this weekend, the downtown facility could have taken all those annoying costumed kids that invaded Woodley Park's convention quarters.
» Dr. Andrea Bonior tells us how to get some psychological bug repellent to shoo the little mental critters back to where they belong.
» So what happens if you're 21 and you find a suspicious lump in your breast? We interview a breast cancer survivor who shows that the disease doesn't have to control your life.
» Georgetown's victory over Villanova on Saturday night — the Hoyas' ninth-straight win — might be the team's most impressive to date.
Around Town: Land Swap Nearly Complete
Map It: Congress Heights Eastern Market Navy Yard Stadium-Armory
IN THE BIGGEST land-transfer deal between the federal and District governments in more than 30 years, local control of key acreage and parkland along the Anacostia River is waiting for President Bush's signature. Congress OK'd legislation yesterday that puts a number of properties the District wants to redevelop in play, as The Post's Elissa Silverman reports. The land includes "Reservation 13" (the site of the D.C. jail and the abandoned D.C. General hospital), Poplar Point (where mixed-use development and, potentially, a stadium for D.C. United are planned), Capitol Hill's Old Naval Hospital, at left, and miscellaneous parcels adjacent to the Nationals' South Capitol Street ballpark. As part of the transaction, the federal government will take control of buildings on the western side of the largely unused St. Elizabeths Hospital campus in Ward 8, where a new headquarters building for the Homeland Security Department will be built. The District plans development on the rest of the historic property.
Photo by Michael Grass/Express
» "District Is One Signature Away From 200 Acres of New Land" [WaPo]
» "Poplar Point Plans" [WaPo]
» "District Completes Plan for St. Elizabeths" [WaPo]
» DULLES AIRPORT: The international airport named for Eisenhower Administration secretary of state John Foster Dulles in what was once rural Northern Virginia was dedicated 44 years ago today by President John F. Kennedy. Since the opening of the airport — and its Eero Saarinen-designed terminal building, at right — population and development has exploded in Fairfax and Loudoun counties. [Express]
Photo by Frank Johnston/The Washington Post
» SHIRLINGTON: The Shirlington branch of the Arlington County public library system, at 2786 S. Arlington Mill Drive, is closed until further notice due to flooding. [Arlington County]
» CHAPEL OAKS: Just over the District line in Prince George's County, there's a home built in 1803 that's for sale. And as The Post's Avis Thomas-Lester reveals, the place has a storied past — it's rumored to have been a stop on the Underground Railroad (there's a tunnel on the property). It was also home to Benjamin and Clara Mitchell, respected members of the Nation of Islam, for much of the 20th century. [WaPo]
Addison Road