Hail to the Redskins!

Congrats to the Skins and they won by 21. Santana Moss scores two touchdowns and Clinton Portis one;that's another 2 and 1; The late all pro safety Sean Taylor wore #21.

More Images From Pakistan

City Bloggers in Pakistan and Beyond

To find out what is going on in the aftermath of Former Pakistan PM Benazir Bhutto's assassination you might want to check out what bloggers closer to the scene are reporting

Pakistan is on high alert after Benazir Bhutto was shot and killed Thursday while attending a political rally. The former prime minister had recently returned to the country after ten years in exile, and was planning to run again for the prime minister position in elections scheduled for January 8th. After being shot, a blast from a suicide bomber killed over 20 people.

From Metroblogging Karachi:
Karachi appears to be in a grip of unprecedented panic right now. There is obvious panic and everyone is shocked. As the offices get closed down, people are rushing to their homes in anticipation of protests.

Metroblogging Lahore urges residents to stay at home:
Or just stay wherever you are. The situation may get worse outside with people burning anything they come up with.

Happy Holidays and More!

Just a few closing items before I split for the next week or so...

Saw Charlie Wilson's war....Good flick! Here's some inside scoop; Congressman Charlie Wilson was the subject of more than one investigation during his reign in the House.

I was a mere pup of a reporter for this station in 1982 when I broke a story that US Capitol police had reports of fairly widespread cocaine abuse among some congress members and their staffers.

This followed the bust of a couple of former House Pages. Former HEW Secretary Joseph Califano was brought in by the House Ethics Committee to conduct an independent probe.

Lots of Congress members, staffers and pages were implicated...it's all in Califnao's book "Inside a Public and Private Life".

Califano's probe also turned up some embarrassing moments for CBS and Dan Rather and one of their reporters John Ferrugia. The network had been running exclusive stories about alleged sex between House Pages and members of Congress.

It turned out the two Pages who originated the allegations were forced to admit they were lying.

From Inside the Fenty Administration

Here's another take on the abrupt resignation of DC Attorney General Linda Singer.

A source deep inside the Fenty administration says her departure was really brought on by a disagreement with the Mayor over what her job should have been.

The source says Singer thought her job should be like that of an elected State's Attorney with independent powers to pursue cases of her choosing, without regard to the Mayor's agenda. Fenty and his legal counsel Peter Nickles saw the job differently.

In the District the AG is appointed by the Mayor like other cabinet members and therefore serves at his pleasure. "She should have been more aware of what was already on the administration's plate in the first year". "There was a lot".

Instead, the administration was sometimes blindsided by some of the "class action cases" Singer signed onto and publicised without the Mayor's prior knowledge....

If you have followed the Fenty team thus far...you can't miss how the Mayor is front and center on every major event whether it be police, fire, schools etc....giving the impression that every decision, good or bad, rests with him.

"They just had a different view of how that job was to be done" said my source.

The Mayor named Peter Nickles as Interim Attorney General to replace Singer; word is he doesn't want the job on a permanent basis.

Associates to Singer had told me she is resigning effective next month because the Mayor was constantly giving Nickles responsibilities that should have rested with her office.

Mayor Gets Go Ahead to Clean House!

My photographer and I had a great discussion during the ride back to Channel 9 after covering the DC Council session Tuesday and a press conference that followed with the Mayor and new Chancellor of schools.

The legislators by Voice Vote with Barry, Mendelson and Thomas objecting, had given tentative approval to a bill that would allow Mayor Fenty and School Chancellor Michelle Rhee to dismiss several hundred employees, all of them Non Union, with no rights to appeal or use their seniority to bump newer workers.

"I agree with everything she said". That's what Alija my cameraman insisted more than once about Michelle Rhee's comments. "I am sick and tired of these workers who do nothing and think they have a job for life".

It's a compelling argument and how could I not agree with him. We work hard for Channel 9 and when we stop producing at a high level we get fired!

I reminded him however that there could be abuses in the DC schools Central Office where most of the affected workers are employed.

Would Rhee have final say on every dismissal and personally look into each workers case before showing them the door. That would make me feel better; but I doubt she'll have the time to review every single case. The Councilmembers were saying 488 school employees are covered by the bill. At least 150 will be fired with the savings used to pay for other needs.

What about situations where the system that has let down the students.. might also have shortchanged the workers? Should the low level employees be blamed when there has been no job training--no effort to make them better-smarter employees?

Will managers also be held accountable; but not penalized just because they have been in the system for many years?

We've seen what happens when a new team arrives to take charge and immediately begins pointing fingers at everyone and anyone who was there before them.

Finally I am reminded of what happened when then Chief Financial officer Tony Williams fired a large number of employees when he arrived on the scene. Many of them were single women, with children and grand children. They had been given great reviews for their job performances only to learn the grades were bogus, like a lot of grades given our children;

Mayor Tony Williams later told me it was a mistake to let those people go that way.

Michelle Rhee said on Tuesday there will be no one time layoff. This is about changing the culture; holding people accountable, she said.

As we were nearing the TV station, I told Alija that changes are needed, bad employees should be shown the door to find jobs they can appreciate and work harder to keep.

For others...I said people have a tendency to change really quick when they no longer have guaranteed jobs for life. Shouldn't people who can still contribute at least be given that chance with the new leadership in the Schools.

Alija said "Okay, that would be alright, but I still agree with everything she said".

Hilda Mason...Everybody's Grandmother!

"Don't you have a hug for your Grandmother"? That's how Hilda Mason greeted this reporter and every other younger person she came across in her busy day.

We'll miss her.

A former School Board member and 22 year veteran of the DC Council, Ms Mason passed away on Sunday.

She joins her longtime best friend and husband "Charlie" who died just over a year ago at age 95. Who can forget Hilda on the Dias in the old District building during marathon legislative sessions with Charlie sitting in a chair on the front row--appearing to fall asleep.

No other couple has given this City as much when it comes to time, civil and social commitment. They were founders of the movement to declare DC a State, thus giving citizens voting representation on the Hill in both houses.

They also help found the law school at UDC, named after former Council Chairman David Clarke.

Hilda Mason was a giant of a grandmother!

DC Attorney General is Out

DC Mayor Adrian Fenty has named his Legal Counsel Peter Nickles as Interim Attorney General replacing Linda Singer who abruptly resigned Monday morning.

Fenty refused to say why the DC Government's top lawyer is stepping down and Singer had no complaints in her resignation which comes at the end of the Mayor's first year in office.

People in the know, both in and outside government, say Singer had become totally frustrated with the Mayor's handing over what should have been her responsibilities to Nickles, a longtime big time litigator at Covington and Burling with a history of pro bono work for groups with cases against the City.

but more importantly, Nickles is a longtime friend to the Fenty family.

As legal Counsel, Nickles job is to advise the Mayor. But he has also become point person in the administration's response to the multi million dollar employee theft from the DC tax office. He represented the Fenty administration in negotiations that saw the city toss in millions to help a private firm buy Greater Southeast Hospital. There have also been several social service cases before the courts in which Nickles and not Singer appears to be the DC government's lawyer.

Now... Nickles has the job that perhaps Fenty wanted to give him at the start. He's been named Interim Attorney General, replacing Singer.

Observers had questioned Singer's appointment at the start. She wasn't a member of the bar and had not practiced law while serving as Director of the Appleseed Foundation-a non profit social service organization.

On Monday when questioned by this reporter Mayor Fenty complimented both Singer and Nickles and kept his remarks very general. When commenting on concerns that Nickles may have overstepped his bounds, Fenty said "You never want to limit any employees".

"Peter Nickles has no statutory authority to do what he has been doing", said one source close to Singer. "When I asked if Singer tried to talk with the Mayor about her concerns, the source said "She tried to bring this issue up with the Mayor; but was ignored on more than one occasion."

It's unclear if Peter Nickles even wants the AG's job on a permanent basis. It would require him to live in the District. As the appointed Legal Counsel to the Mayor, Nickles has claimed he is exempt from a residency law that applies to other cabinet members.

The Mayor told me on Monday if Nickles becomes the Attorney General he would be required to move into the City from his home in Northern Virginia.

Living for the City

Check out the comments from residents of one DC block after gunshots and the sound of vehicles crashing awakened them. The following account is from one of the neighbors and was taken from DC Blogs.



December 11, 2007

A slice of a (crime ridden) neighborhood
At about 10:30 pm, last night, I heard 4 loud cracks that reverberated in the icy parking lot across from my house. Savvy enough to recognize the sound by now, I ran to my third floor window to figure out who had fired the gun. Instead of a person, I saw a large, dark blue SUV, driving erratically down the street. It hit a car parked on the side of the street (effectively reducing it to 2/3 of its original size), and that car hit the car in front of it, creating a domino effect.

I squinted to see the back of the SUV but couldn't see the license plate number.

Soon after that, a series of neighbors came out of their houses to talk to the policemen that arrived 5 minutes after the altercation. While we were talking to them, a series of 4 shots were fired again, this time one street away, and the cops were on their way again.

While the neighbors took pictures for accident reports and assessed the damage to their cars (there was a 4-car pile-up), we got to talking a little bit. Here are some excerpts of the conversations:

Woman who's still in college (panicked):
"I can't believe my landlord wanted to increase rent for this crap-hole. I told myself I would leave 6 months later, and I'm still planning on doing that. It's too unsafe. Did you go to the meeting at the community center? You should go, they explain all about what's going on with the gangs. It feels a lot better to understand the dynamics. Still though, I'm gonna leave, anytime now".

Man whose car was considerably damaged, to cop (laughing):
"Ya, I wish I could claim that dent from the accident, but the truth is that I damaged it earlier on with my foot".

Man whose car suffered the least damage, after moving it from under the third one (in his pajamas, with a winter coat):
"I'm going back to sleep".

Woman who has lived on the street for 20 years, engaging the surprised onlookers (animatedly):
"It's not the environment…I raised my three kids on this very street, and let me tell you, the eighties were terrible…all these drug-related problems…Two of my kids went to college, the older one here (pointing to her Virginia T-shirt), and the third one is a senior in high school…I tell you, back in the day when my kids were napping on the top floor, I would look out the window, and see the drug dealers stash their drugs…then I would call the cops on them with the location and the description of the drug-dealers…they were always surprised when they were caught…Lavinia had to remove her shrubs from her front yard 'cause they'd always stash to their drugs there…I tell you, it's not the environment…And you know, I should know, I'm white. It's all gang-related now".

Woman who has lived on the street for 30 years, when examining the damage to her totaled car (matter-of-factly):
"Well, at least I didn't fill up the tank".

Gun Buy Back

Metropolitan Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier announced that a Gun Amnesty Program will be in affect from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, December 15, 2007. The Gun Amnesty Program is part of the Metropolitan Police Department’s effort to reduce gun violence in the District, and is an opportunity for people to turn in their weapons to authorities without fear of prosecution.

“All too often arguments and disputes are resolved through the use of firearms,” Chief Lanier said. “Taking guns out of homes and off the streets will help save lives.”

The program is open only to residents of the District of Columbia or one of the following jurisdictions: Prince George’s County, Md.; Montgomery County, Md.; Arlington County, Va.; or Alexandria, Va.

No payments will be made to gun dealers. If gun dealers bring in weapons, they will be taken, but no payments will be provided. Identification will not be required to participate. Only weapons in working order will receive payment. People turning in weapons will be granted amnesty from any gun possession charges that might apply.

The following payment scale shall be followed:

Assault type rifle, automatic/semi-automatic pistol $100
Revolvers $50
Derringers $50
Shot guns $50
Rifles $50
Air/BB/pellet guns $10

Participating locations include Shiloh Baptist Church, 1510 9th Street, NW; Holy Christian House of Praise, 5110 Nannie Helen Burroughs Ave., NE; and Union Temple Baptist Church, 1225 W Street, SE.

Look for the results of the MPD gun buyback Saturday Evening on Nine News Now at 11:PM

Got Game!

How"s your game? Check out the incredible shots being made in this video sent to YouTube.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0G7g9lw20l4

On Their Toes At Ellington

Students in the dance department at The District's Duke Ellington School For the Arts now have two brand new studios where they can receive instruction in modern dance and ballet.

You might recall that in 2006 angry parents at Ellington contacted me, then supplied 9 News Now with digital pictures of buckling dance floors, a leaking roof, busted underground pipes, smelly bathrooms with showers that haven't worked in years and broken lockers.

We aired our first report on a Sunday night at eleven...and then a few subsequent news stories that also revealed the renowned school for the Arts couldn't use it's gym because the light fixtures were falling from the ceilings. Several labs were also off limits. There was a major water leak in the auditorium and plaster was falling inside and outside the building.

$300,000 has been spent to get the 59 dance students and faculty back into the studios.

Charles Augins, Chairman of the Dance department who commutes to work at the school in Northwest DC, from Baltimore says "This is both my Christmas and Easter".

Click here to watch (Duke Ellington Story) .

FYI

Heard a great line the other day...."True freedom is no longer wishing you had a better past"

Consequences for Couple That Takes on drug Dealers

Fletcher and Gaye Dixon seem to be the kind of married couple any of us would want on our block. They own a home ...with four children.... and appear willing to do anything to make sure those kids live in a safe drug free environment.

To that end...they have been waging war against alleged drug dealers who live on their street.

It's hard to say who's winning because on Tuesday morning the couple came out to go to work only to discover the tires on their two cars had been punctured or slashed. Seven tires in all were flat and that comes after a window on the SUV was smashed a while back.

The Dixon's are sure their complaints to Seventh District Police about the drug activity, the squatters and the strange vehicles at all hours have lead to the recent vandalism.

It's somewhat ironic because Fletcher is a cop! He's been a campus police officer, with a gun, at Howard University for ten years. Gaye is also in law enforcement. She works as a private guard for Watkins Security.

They're not afraid. They're not going to move their family away--although they appear to have options. Gaye says she just wants police to arrest the drug dealers and maybe patrol the street once in a while.

Wednesday evening...the spokesperson for Police Chief Cathy Lanier emailed a response to my inquiry... Can this couple get some help?

Traci Hughes said "Bruce--MPD has placed increased patrols in the neighborhood where the Dixons reside".


Click here to watch Southeast Couple's Tires Slashed

Sean Taylor's Good Name

Let's face it! A few good journalists got it wrong when it came to telling Sean Taylor's story.

His brush with the law is part of that legacy; but certainly not the complete story;

It has only been in his death that we are learning of the dedicated father, boyfriend and family man that Sean Taylor had become. Because the 24 year old defensive star for the Redskins did not talk to the reporters that covered the team, many were left only with the public past of the Miami native.

Perhaps laziness and mandates to fill newspapers and 24/7 newscasts are to blame for not digging deeper... talking to childhood friends, his pastor, his teammates or his Dad, a local police chief.

But at least now, on Monday as we watch the live broadcast of Sean's funeral and the outpouring of affection, we come to know the real Sean Taylor. An incredible athlete! A fine young man!

Former Redskins player Brain Mitchell and I talked Sunday outside Fed Ex Field about Sean Taylor, the media coverage and how his slaying might change how rich athletes view their own security. It's a conversation well worth your time.


Click here to watch My Brain Mitchell interview on Sean taylor

Who to Blame for Sean Taylor's Murder?

If Miami Dade Police are correct--and they appear pretty confident--Sean Taylor was an innocent victim of a break in and murder last Sunday Morning.

He was where he was supposed to be--at home with his fiance Jackie Garcia and their 18 month old baby girl--when four men allegedly invaded their space with the intent of helping themselves to the young millionaires valuables. "A burglary gone bad" is how police described their actions;

How then do you explain the gun that one of them used to kill Sean when he surprised them at his bedroom door?

The gun was the burglar's insurance...if caught or confronted...the weapon allows for a clean or messy getaway--Sean Taylor made their exit messy.

Some journalists had speculated before the arrests that Sean Taylor's past had caught up with him; that his violent beefs with neighborhood losers and brief brushes with the law might have lead to his shooting death last Sunday.

Turns out they were wrong! Sean Taylor's only misjudgement was trusting his half sister to keep her mouth shut about what her brother earned and what he kept in that house! Another tragic mistake...allowing his sister to stay in the house while he was away earning a living playing football on Sunday afternoons.

Reports say one of the suspects, Jason Mitchell, had even attended a birthday party at Sean's house, thrown by his sister while Sean was away.

Police say the suspects broke in--thinking the Redskins star safety, his girl friend and baby where traveling with the Skins even though Taylor was out with an injured knee.

Nearly a week after the shooting, one of my neighbors here in DC is still grieving over this slaying.

"He should have never gone back to Miami", he says.

I disagree. Sean Taylor, lived outside Miami in a fashionable neighborhood and had as much right to be there as you or me. It was his home! It's not far from where he grew up...where youth are still in need of people to look up to.... instead of the dope dealers and gang bangers.

What happened to Sean Taylor could happen to any one of us with a family that includes relatives or friends of relatives into drugs or criminal activity. I'll bet that includes more than half of the players in the NFL.

I predict a lot of pro football and basketball players are sparing no expense in upgrading their home security systems in wake of Sean Taylor's slaying. I suggest wealthy pro athletes also consider stepped up private security guards; Not the hip hop brothers with attitude.

Try a professional security team. Maybe former police officers with firearms training and permits to carry concealed weapons. Nobody wants to be NEXT!