Exclusive! Len Bias Trailer!

Local film producer Kirk Frasier is nearing completion on his second major documentary, the Len Bias story. It's a gripping commentary on the life of a basketball superstar cut down before his prime by cocaine abuse and sense of entitlement. Bias was an outstanding talent for the University of Maryland at College Park. He was the number one draft pick of the Boston Celtics when Larry Bird was still playing. Frasier's first project resulted in the Raphael Edmunds documentary.

Click here to watch the Len Bias trailer

Wilbon and Heart Attacks!

Washington Post and ESPN sports giant Michael Wilbon is said to be recovering nicely from a heart attack yesterday. It has been described as minor but coming from someone who has been there, there is no such thing when it's happening to you.

News reports say Wilbon wasn't feeling well and had been experiencing some minor chest pains.
Michael's wife drove him to a hospital in Scottsdale, AZ, where a minor blockage was found. A successful angioplasty cleared the blockage.

I'm sure he was there to cover the Superbowl this coming weekend between the Patriots and Giants.

My heart attack came nearly 15 years ago while on assignment in Southeast DC. I was first treated at Great Southeast Hospital and then flown to the Washington Hospital center for emergency angioplasty. Like in Wilbon's case, the key almost always is getting the patient to the hospital ASAP.

A lifestyle change is no doubt in order for one of the best sports writers in the country, who like most of us, can put on the pounds at times.

I suggest every male take note: Diet, exercise, a baby aspirin a day and where needed, with a doctor's advice, a statin to help keep the bad cholesterol down.

DC Area Turns Out For Obama!

But what about the rest of America? Do You really think the country is ready for an African American President"? Come on! You know I am not going to half step around this issue.

In my newsroom, my barber shop, in the streets, people are talking aloud about this, including my white male democratic friends who don't want to be criticized because they might now be looking at Republican John McCain, because it appears John Edwards is out of the running for the Democratic nomination. They won't vote for Hillary Clinton for President either.

There are Democrats, Republicans and Independents in the newsroom although no one is owning up to any political persuasion.

I put the Obama question to some of the people, black and white, who turned out Monday for Obama's appearance at Bender Arena on the American University campus.

It was an impressive crowd. Thousands came from the city and suburbs; It was an incredibly diverse and upscale gathering who came to see Obama get the endorsement of Senator Ted Kennedy and Caroline Kennedy.

A man who identified himself as Antwan Jun, from Cameron, said he wasn't sure this country is ready for Obama. Joanne Gandy of Alexandria, a white woman responded, "Absolutely", I am a product of the 1960's and I"m ready'. Same response from Joe Gelbard, a white guy from Gaithersburg, who says Obama reminds him of JFK.


We'll know a lot more after Super Tuesday, February 5th, but the crowd I saw on Monday in DC, is looking beyond color.

But let's be fair. Obama isn't that long removed from the Illinois State legislature, so if he's slammed for having the least amount of time on the national stage--that's valid;

If my male friends are concerned that Obama is too liberal, too short on specific policies, too big an advocate for affirmative action, that's all fair criticism;

but please, whether in public or private, I'm telling my white male friends, get over the race thing and the gender thing when it comes to Hillary. ! If you can't, what does that really say about our friendship?


Click here to watch (Bruce's coverage of DC turnout for Obama).

What Dan Snyder Really Wants!

I'll never forget that interview with the late Jack Kent Cooke at Redskins Park. Mr. Cooke, as he insisted on being called, was in the process of moving his team from RFK stadium to Ral Jon (Landover, Md) where he would build the new Fed Ex Field.

Sharon Pratt (Kelly) was DC Mayor and trying to persuade Cooke to keep the team in DC.

"It's my #@%*&/ team and I will do whatever I want with it". That's what Mister Cooke told me off camera after our interview.

Dan Snyder seems to be saying the same thing about his Redskin's team. Like most of you I don't know Dan and have never interviewed him. Met his father on the field at Fed Ex before a Dallas game once. Great man! Very Nice; But I don't know the son.

As a fan I've got an opinion and after listening to my family, friends and strangers, I'm convinced Dan is merely taking back control of the team he turned over to Joe Gibbs for the past four years.

Never again will we see one of the "old school" Head Coaches, the almost retired types come in here to dictate their working terms to Dan the Man.

I think Dan Snyder wants to stand on the sidelines at the end of games. Make draft picks and trades like Jerry Jones. He may eventually want a new stadium back in town on the site of the outdated RFK and he'll want a removable roof. Just like the one in Dallas.

Mayor Fenty, who opposed the publicly financed baseball stadium, is already in step with submitting a stadium proposal to Snyder for consideration. What's that all about?

The next Redskins coach won't have the title of President. He won't be the GM and he'll answer to his boss, Dan Snyder, just like to rest of us workers are required to do. It's his team and he'll do whatever the #@&*%$ he wants!

41 Porno Surfers Busted!

Mayor Adrian Fenty on Wednesday said he's firing Nine City workers and suspending or sanctioning 32 others for allegedly browsing and downloading pornographic material while on the job. They worked in 18 agencies including the Mayor's Office, The Attorney Generals Office and the Office of Technology which conducted the investigation.

We're not talking about stumbling onto sexually explicit material by mistake, as some of us no doubt have, (It's happened to me). No! We're talking about using the city government computers to register more than 20,000 hits in some cases, in 2007 alone. That means some DC Government employees were averaging about 100 porno site hits PER DAY!. When do you suppose they were working for taxpayers?

Here's the Total Press release issued by the Mayor's Office on Wednesday.



Washington D.C. – Mayor Adrian M. Fenty, City Administrator Dan Tangherlini, Chief Technology Officer Vivek Kundra and the Director of DC Human Resources Brender Gregory announced the enforcement of policies related to use of government computers to visit pornographic or sexual websites. The Mayor announced the termination of up to nine government employees who were found to have visited an egregious amount of pornographic sites during 2007.



“The residents of the District of Columbia have entrusted us with their tax dollars to provide essential services,” said Fenty. “We must ensure that all government employees are using government resources appropriately to provide the best customer service possible.”



The Mayor’s Office took action to enforce the policies after a District Government wide search of computers found widespread usage of government computers to visit pornographic sites across multiple agencies. The investigation by the Office of the Chief Technology Officer (OCTO) began on December 15, 2007 when the Office of Property Management received a complaint from an employee about employees abusing government resources by browsing and downloading pornographic content on government computers. After the initial investigation discovered a number of employees with a high level of abuse of government resources, OCTO expanded the search government-wide. Eighteen agencies were found to have employees that could potentially be sanctioned.



The investigation by OCTO is ongoing and additional personnel actions may be taken for violation of the policy. Sanctions range from a letter of warning to suspension or termination in the most egregious cases. The Office of Property Management, Child and Family Services Agency, and Office of Contracts and Procurement have taken action to terminate six employees found to have an egregious amount of hits to pornographic websites during the 2007 year.



In light of the large number of employees abusing government resources DCHR, OCTO and the Mayor’s Office have put in place new technology regarding indecent website usage. OCTO has secured the technology to implement a filter for all government computers preventing the use of government resources to access pornographic content. In addition to preventing access to pornographic material, when encountered the filter informs users of the Internet use and access policy.





Continued

OCTO Investigation Timeline



12/15/2007

· Director of OPM reached out to the Chief Technology Officer after receiving a complaint from an employee about employees abusing government resources by browsing and downloading pornographic content

· CTO immediately convened security team to investigate pornographic use within OPM



12/18/2007

· CTO discussed the ongoing OPM investigation with the City Administrator, which led to the decision to expand the investigation citywide

· Commenced detailed citywide forensic analysis on 10,000 users’ pornographic usage ranging from January 1, 2007 - December 31, 2007

· Procured additional 20,000 licenses for the web content management tool to prevent access to pornographic websites citywide



12/20/2007

· DCHR began developing sanctions for employees based on hit counts



1 /2/2008

· Implemented citywide content filtering to prevent further access to pornographic content by using the additional 20,000 licenses



1/22/2008

DCHR internet usage personnel sanction policies finalized.


1/23/2008

18 Agency directors sanction employees found to have violated the Internet usage policy using the new internet usage personnel sanction policies.


###

DC Workers-Porno Surfing on the Job!

Mayor Adrian Fenty's Office just announced he's holding a news conference this afternoon to announce a crackdown on DC Government Workers who are spending their time on the job surfing the Internet for porno sites.

Details to come later; but we're suspecting some city workers have already been busted and new policies are being put into place to curb the activity in the future.

I'll be covering this for Nine News Now

What: Fenty Administration announces results and action steps from an internal
investigation led by the Office of the Chief Technology Officer (OCTO).



Who: Mayor Fenty

City Administrator Dan Tangherlini

Chief Technology Officer Vivek Kundra

DC Department of Human Resources Director Brender Gregory



When: Wednesday, January 23, 2008; 2 pm



Where: One Judiciary Square

441 4th St., NW

Lobby

If it's Not an Emergency

The DC Government is now joining some 40 other major cities and going to 911 if you need a cop, firefighter or paramedic. 311 if it's a non emergency and you just want to give the DC Government a piece of your mind or need some non emergency assistance.
The old 727-1000 number that took forever to answer and sometimes gave you a recording is being discontinued.

The Redskins New Coach

Jim Fassel as the next Redskins Coach? How could this happen after all the so called sports experts were telling us it's going to be Greg Williams?

My newsroom source says Fassel is the name that has climbed to the top of Dan Snyder's list. When and why was the defensive coordinator, the assistant head coach, the man all but promised the job when Joe left, sacked? What about all that talk of continuity? From Joe Gibbs, the Players and most of all from Dan?

I'm concerned and hoping my source is wrong and just passing on the latest rumor; The thought of this team having to start all over...the young quarterback having to learn a new offensive system, again...

"I Have a Dream", by Martin Luther King Jr.

We've all heard parts of the Martin Luther King speech delivered in Washington in the summer of 1963. Below, please find the entire speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial by this country's greatest Civil Rights Leader.


Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.

But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. So we have come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.

In a sense we have come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds." But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this check — a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quick sands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.

It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. Those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.

But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.

We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. They have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone.

As we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied, as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their selfhood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating "For Whites Only". We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.

Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair.

I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; one day right there in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.

This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning, "My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring."

And if America is to be a great nation this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania!

Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado!

Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California!

But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia!

Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee!

Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

And when this happens, when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sparse Turnout For DCPS Meetings

Was weather a factor? The Communications Director for DC Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee released the attendance numbers for the 23 simultaneous meetings held Thursday evening to discuss the controversial school closing proposal.

The average was about 18 people per meeting.

Here's how the Press Release read in part:

Tonight, more than 411 people attended 23 DCPS community meetings held throughout the District. In an effort to collect input from parents, students and school communities, DCPS officials were available at each site to hear testimony. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty, Chancellor Michelle Rhee and Deputy Mayor for Education Victor Reinoso attended meetings separately throughout the city.

DC Social Workers Fight Back!

9 News Now reported Wednesday that angry DC Social Workers walked out on a meeting with Mayor Fenty. The private session was called to air out concerns over the deaths of the four Jacks daughters last week and Fenty's firing six people in the Child and Family Services Administration.

Well, a Social Worker and colleague of the fired workers has a different take on what brought the meeting to an abrupt halt.

In an email to me, the SW gave this account; I've agreed to keep the name and specific position anonymous.

Mayor Fenty had a meeting with CFSA staff today at 1pm, but he showed up late (30 minutes) and then screamed at the crowd when someone sucked their teeth at a comment he made. He then ended the alleged 45 minute meeting early...How's that for your Mayor...? Please do not reveal my info, as I am a current CFSA employee bothered by this whole mess that has turned political and virtually destroyed lives and reputations. This agency doesn't do everything perfect, and none are perfect, but we are the first to be chastised, ridiculed and demeaned for political gain. Yes there should be some accountability but Mr Fenty seems really quick to throw his government agencies under the bus so that he would look like some sort of hero. The only thing he wanted to do was to get everyone's mind off of the school closings, the plagarism his staff has participated in, the mistake he made in the police involved shooting and the tax fraud issue. If this were a press conference to demean someone, he would have been on time...hat and all.

Still Gettng Away With Murder!

Damon Ward's killer is still out there! It was nearly two years ago that he was shot and killed. This is what I wrote then. We're reprinting the blog in hopes someone who knows something will have the courage to come forward now.


Monday, March 06,2006.
It’s an experience you never ever get comfortable with…meeting a mother, a single mother after her child has been shot and killed! Barbara Ward flew to DC, no make that Arlington, Virginia, on Tuesday and made herself available to reporters covering her son’s murder.

33 year old Damon Ward, an architect, was slain as he stepped out of the Duke City Jazz club in the 1200 block of U Street in Northwest DC this past weekend.

U Street is part of this city’s great African American history. Duke Ellington, a DC native got his start here. During segregated times this is the place where blacks came to shop, wine and dine.

Integration and later the riots ended U Street’s run; but then came Metro (subway system) and gentrification. U Street is the main street again for a booming real estate market with condo’s going for a half million and more! U Street is again one of the District’s great nightspots along with Adams Morgan, Georgetown, Dupont Circle and Gallery Place!

This past Saturday Damon Ward, an architect, Florida A and M University grad and New York native traveled into DC from his Arlington Condo, to attend a birthday party with friends at a club called Duke’s City. The GM who goes by the name Zee told me there were 80 or so people inside that night…having a good time as four people celebrated birthdays well into Saturday night.

At about 3 am Sunday as the U street clubs were closing and people spilling out, a fight was breaking out up the street over a parking space. Someone produced a gun! At the very time that Damon Ward and friends were exiting Duke’s club at least two shots rang…one hitting Damon in the chest. The other bullet striking a 21 year old female friend in the leg. She’ll recover. Damon died hours later at Howard University Hospital.

Barbara Ward had been talking to her son earlier Saturday evening by telephone. From Atlanta she was trying to get help with her computer. Two hours into their effort he said he had to leave to attend a birthday party in DC.

Barbara Ward, a Howard University grad, now living in Atlanta said she hopes the people responsible for her son’s death will come forward. She called her loss “a great tragedy for the country as I’m sure Damon was headed for Greatness”.

The grieving mother also thanked reporters gathered for their coverage of her son’s death…She emphasized that “this was not a driveby”! Why do you suppose this grieving mother even felt the need to say that?

Exclusive on DC School Closings!

DC School Chancellor Michelle Rhee has taken some brutal hits for her proposal to close 23 city schools;

but sources close to the Fenty administration tell me the list of schools isn't Rhee's work alone. Mayor Adrian Fenty's Deputy Mayor for education, Victor Reinoso had as much say in putting the hit list together.

Reinoso's Chief of staff and at least one other staffer were part of the working group that produced the list of schools to be closed because of under enrollment. Rhee's contribution was a couple of her own staffers.

Social Workers Sit in at Council Hearing

A few dozen social workers from the City's Child and Family Services administration traveled to the Wilson building Tuesday to hear testimony at a hearing looking into the DC's Government's response to the Jacks family crisis.

Deloris Williams, a 13 year veteran says there is shock over the firings of two of her colleagues who went to the Jack's home but left and eventually dropped the case. She says there is now fear on the part of remaining social workers about what will happen to them if they make mistakes on the job.

Sources told me the one administrator fired by Mayor Fenty is Cynthia Courts-Marshall. She had been with The Department of Human services for a while; but in the top job over social workers for only about a year.

Two telephone operators were also fired because the Mayor felt they hadn't done their jobs after the agency was first notified that Banita Jack's family was in crisis.

In the end it was US Deputy Marshalls, and not social workers on the case, who found the four daughters of Jack, dead..their decomposing bodies in their house in Southeast where Jacks had been holding them captive--away from their schools, Booker T Washington and Meridian Charter schools, both on Florida avenue in Northwest.

The girls hadn't been to classes for at least 33 days. Meridian never notified authorities according to city officials who testified at the hearing called by Councilman Tommy Wells.

In an interview with me on Tuesday, Wells, said if needed, a bill would be forthcoming requiring Charter schools to comply with a rule that says notification must come if a student is absent without excuse for ten days.

Failed Policies, No Policies or Lazy Social Workers?

DC Mayor Fenty moved quickly to fire two social workers, two managers and two phone operators in the Child Family Services division who may have been in position to help rescue the four daughters of Banita Jacks.

Their decomposing bodies were found just over a week ago in their Southeast row house after Deputy US Marshalls arrived to carry out an eviction order. Ms Jacks, 33,remains in jail, charged with murdering her daughters, ages 5,6,11 and 16.

Meantime, DC Councilman Tommy Wells has scheduled a public hearing for Tuesday afternoon to try and determine if this case represents a systems failure or merely indifference and incompetence on the part of some government social service workers.

In announcing the firings on Monday, Mayor Fenty applauded the efforts of one social worker, Kathy Lopes at the Booker T Washington Charter High School, where, Brittany, the oldest daughter was a student, but absent from classes for more than a month.

In a taped recording we can hear an emotional Ms. Lopes phoning DC Protective Services and eventually Police more than once to insist that authorities use their powers to go to the Southeast residence and intervene on the children's behalf.

A key staffer in Councilman Wells' Office tells me there is no policy, no law that requires such action on the part of Charter school employees...
The same truancy laws that mandate public school administrators hunt down missing students does not apply to the Charter schools that educate an estimated 20 thousand city children, he says. This is an issue that will be explored at today's hearing.

Three of the Jacks girls attended Meridian Charter school, which is located next door to Booker T Washington.

There is no indication--up to this point--that Meridian staff went looking for the girls who had been held hostage and kept out of classes for at least 33 days by their mother. WHY?

The upcoming hearing may result in new law; but some of the Council members might also insist on a few more firings from the people who run the Charter Schools independently of the DC Public school system.

Among the witnesses this afternoon will be Victor Reinoso, Deputy Mayor for Education
Josephine Baker, Executive Director, DC Public Charter School Board
and Vincent Blount, Assistant Principal, Meridian Public Charter School.

Click HERE To Listen To Kathy Lopes' Calls

Click HERE To Listen To The U.S. Marshals' Call To 911 on January 9

Fenty Moves Quickly in Deaths of 4 Girls!

I may be wrong but it seems to be that Mayor Adrian Fenty should be commended for the speed in which his team has reported back to the public in the deaths of four girls in their home in Southeast this week.

No need to regurgitate all the horrible details here; but it should be noted that City workers knew of Banita Jacks dire straits, beginning with her dying husband's plea for help while seeking emergency treatment a George Washington University hospital.

His wife and girls, ages 5 to 17, were living in a vehicle with no fixed address; but rather than send out an SOS and respond with all the city government's resources, the Jack family was tossed off the emergency rolls, their case closed just because they had no fixed address.

The Mayor's team pieced together lots more disturbing details that justify the zero based review of the emergency assistance efforts of DHS for this family and all the others.

Here's a bet on my part; that one of the things they will find is that there are to few social workers, too many social service cases. Too few truant officers to track down children who disappear from classrooms, and too few people making home visits, refusing to leave without some answers.

The goal shouldn't be to merely reduce the caseload. The goal should be to get these poor children, and this city has thousands of them, into places were they can be healthy, safe, fed and given a chance in life; even if their parents have already given up or been given up on..

Redskins QB Jason Campbell Speaks Out!

Jason Campbell, in a telephone interview with Sports Talk Radio 980 speaks out about Joe Gibbs departure, who should be the next Redskins coach, and talk about his having to compete with Todd Collins for the starting job next season. It's the kind of interview we have never heard from Campbell who usually limits his remarks to short clips that could to have been issued by the Redskins PR office.

Sports Talk provided this reporter with a copy of the 10 minute interview which was conducted by former Skins Doc Walker for his radio show Tuesday

Click here to watch (jason campbell interview).

DC's Own War Zone

Residents in parts of the District's Shaw area are under attack again! Here's the latest from some of the activists.

From: Cary Silverman who wants to unseat longtime incumbent Jack Evans on the DC Council...

"Yesterday, I posted an unreported incident in which 31 shots were fired in the heart of Ward 2 on Monday in the mid-evening - fortunately, no one was hurt". "Well, at 7:30pm last night, it happened again, and this time there were injuries: a 16-year-old boy shot six times in the back and a 22-year-old man also hit". "Both are expected to survive.This incident, in a residential neighborhood across the street from the Washington Convention Center, received barely a mention in the media".

A local blogger has more photos and details here. It is the 4th shooting in this area in 10 days.

"This was most likely a gang-related incident, but it is only a matter of time before an innocent bystander gets caught in the crossfire".

What needs to happen now, according to Silverman:

New leadership for PSA 308.

Immediate installation of Shot spotter to cover high-crime areas in Ward 2.
Additional foot beats, as promised, with officers who speak with residents on the street and door-to-door, and who talk with those who are loitering in the area and investigate any suspicious or potentially gang-related activity.
Additional anti-gang unit resources allocated to Ward 2.

We'll get a response from Councilman Evans and post it here shortly...we'll also check back with the Alliance of Concerned Men who helped broker a gang truce months ago to find out what has gone wrong. Stay tuned.

Tim Page Update

I got a return email from Washington Post reporter Tim Page recently. He's the Pulitzer Prize winning classical music critic who got into hot water for calling Marion Barry "a crack head" and more.

Page's comments got him suspended by Post management, in large part because he used the company email to issue his critique of the former Mayor.

He's still away from the newspaper and is teaching at a university out west.

Here's what Page said in his email. " To be honest with you, I'd be happy if the whole thing went away and I guess I'd prefer not to be quoted. You can certainly say that the leave was arranged long in advance and you can find details of the professorship if you type in "Tim Page USC." Also, I am on record saying that my treatment from the Post was firm but fair and that I have no pride in my outburst".

Radio One Moving Back to DC; But at What Cost?

The Country's largest African American owned broadcast company, founded by the legendary Cathy Hughes is moving back to the District and the Shaw area, not far from Howard University where Hughes helped launched the successful "Quiet Storm" radio program with the late DJ Melvin Lindsay.

The DC Government is making Radio One an offer that no broadcast group would refuse;lots of government incentives amounting to more than $25 million dollars by some estimates, to anchor a development aimed at helping revise that portion of the U street corridor.

I could be wrong but it seems like Howard University could have put together this package in it's own backyard together decades ago.

DC Councilman Kwame Brown is quite proud of his role in getting the project through the legislative body on Tuesday; but others are calling it a giveaway. Listed below are some of the provisions of the deal...as provided by Brown's Office.

Some of the highlights of the agreement include:

· Creating 25% affordable housing units;
· Proving for 35%-50% participation of local, small business vendors in the development process;
· Reserving 10% of the retail space for existing or emerging local businesses, providing reduced rents at a rate of 50% for the first 2 years and 25% for years 3-5;
· 20% equity ownership by Ellis Development Group, LLC
· Radio One donating $250,000 for a scholarship fund for Shaw high school students to attend the Howard University School of Business or the Howard University School of Communications.

“Bringing Radio One back to the District is a victory for the Shaw neighborhood and our city as a whole,” said Brown. “This is an important milestone in the effort to revitalize our neighborhoods outside of the downtown area. The project will help stimulate the neighborhood’s economy while providing new local job opportunities and affordable housing so that residents can afford to live where they work.”

New Tax Chief

District CFO Natwar Ghandi sent out a press release announcing the appointment of Stephen Cordi, a former deputy comptroller for the state of Maryland, as the new director of the D.C. Office of Tax and Revenue. Cordi takes the job vacated by Sherryl Hobbs Newman after she was fired in the wake of the 20 to 44 million dollar tax office embezzlement scandal.

Joe Leaves Again; Former Players on What's Next!

I managed to get assigned to the Redskins today following Joe Gibbs surprise resignation. Former star players Rick Doc Walker and Brian Mitchell gave me their candid reactions during interviews at Sports talk 980. They're not surprised by Joe's departure. They think Greg Williams would make sense as Gibb's replacement; but both men warn that Skins owner Dan Snyder has pulled some big surprise announcements in the past that left fans and former players gasping.

Click here to watch Bruce's interview with Mitchell and Walker

Click here to watch Bruce's interview with Jason Campbell

Another Indictment in DC Tax Office Theft

32 year old Ricardo Walters, nephew to alleged mastermind Harriet Walters has been indicted in connection with the alleged theft of well over 20 million dollars from the DC Tax and Revenue Office. The nephew lives in Fort Washington, Maryland.

Here's part of the indictment released today by the US Attorney's Office.

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF MARYLAND
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA *
*
v. **
RICARDO WALTERS, *
*
Defendant *
*
*******
CRIMINAL NO.
(Receipt of Stolen Property, 18 U.S.C.
§ 2315; Aiding and Abetting, 18 U.S.C.
§ 2)
INDICTMENT


COUNT ONE

The Grand Jury for the District of Maryland charges that:

On or about September 1, 2006, in the District of Maryland and elsewhere, the defendant,
RICARDO WALTERS,
received and possessed securities and money of the value of $5,000 or more - to wit, check no.
6588507 in the amount of $375,815, drawn from a District of Columbia government bank
account - which crossed a State boundary after being stolen, unlawfully converted, and taken,
knowing the same to have been stolen, unlawfully converted, and taken.
18 U.S.C. § 2315
18 U.S.C. § 2
Rod J. Rosenstein
United States Attorney
A True Bill:
Foreperson

Skins Lose! Now What?

I'm not going to brood over the Redskins loss to Seattle Saturday. There is comfort here in knowing Joe Gibbs, Greg Williams, Todd Collins and others were able to right the ship in some very rough seas and make it into the playoffs.

A missed field goal and those two interceptions by Collins didn't go down well with me.

I caught glimpses of the game on a studio camera as Jennifer Ryan and I anchored the early newscast (game was on a rival station).

The team was able to rally from a 13-0 halftime deficit. I became hopeful; but then we allowed 22 consecutive points in the end. Give Seattle some credit; that pass rush was impressive.

So it's on to next season. My guess is they'll resign Todd Collins to a richly deserved new contract; but re-instate Jason Campbell as the starting quarterback for training camp. I'm guessing Joe Gibbs will be back and looking for a possession wide receiver, offensive and defensive line help through the draft and free agency.

My problem now is what to watch on TV from here on out? The rest of the NFL playoffs will get a few peaks.

I like the effort by the Gilbert Arenas less Wizards; but I'm not yet sure that makes Eddy Jordan's bunch "must see TV". The Terps are painful to watch; Georgetown, no longer a surprise squad, has gotta start playing up to it's potential and try getting " mean" like in the old days.

but I'm afraid I may have run out of excuses in my house to not watch American Idol!

Redskins Prediction

My colleague and weekend Sports Anchor extraordinaire Levin Reid reminds me that at the beginning of the season I had picked the Redskins to finish the season at 9-7.

It is with the same humility and unexplained gift that I predict the Skins will upset Seattle this weekend.

Followup to the $54 Million Pants Lawsuit

Who can forget the Chung family, owners of the DC dry cleaners who were sued for 54 million dollars by the administrative law judge Roy Pearson who complained they had lost his pants?

The couple won the case and are now featured in a video by tort reform forces.


DCist.com first posted the story with these comments.


"It's pretty heart wrenching to watch Jin and Soo Chung come to tears over the stress that Pearson's $54 million suit brought them. But it's also pretty startling to see powerful lobbying groups for business interests like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce hold up the Chungs, who were the victims of a lawsuit so unusual and outlandish that it earned international media attention and a relatively quick dismissal, as being representative of larger problems within the U.S. legal system. Does one Roy Pearson mean tort reform is imperative? We're not so sure", writes DCist.

Click here to see the Chung video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnM5NhgBH7Y&eurl=http://dcist.com/

Showdown on the Way!

The DC Business Community is preparing to head off a bill in the DC Council on Tuesday that would require employers, big and small to provide full and part time workers paid sick leave. The District would become only the second city in the country to take such a step.

I covered the issue on Wednesday and included an interview with Council member Carol Schwartz sponsor of the bill. Schwartz called it a compromise measure that would require businesses with more than 51 workers to pay for 7 days sick leave for full time employees. Small businesses with less than 10 workers would pay for 3 sick days. Part time employees would also earn some paid sick leave.

For my Wednesday story on Nine News Now the DC Chamber of Commerce took a position of the DC Council should further study the impact of the bill before making it law. The Chamber stopped short of opposing the measure.

That was then.

Now, the Chamber of Commerce through an email on Friday says it intends to fight the mandatory paid sick leave move which Schwartz says has majority support among her colleagues.

Here's what the Chamber statement says in part.

"....businesses would be forced to cut back on salary, benefits and even their number of employees. Worst case scenario, existing businesses may choose to relocate to more business-friendly markets like those in Maryland and Virginia, and new businesses may choose not to come at all. Ultimately, this legislation would hurt the very people it's trying to help."Therefore, the DC Chamber is now officially opposed to the Accrued Sick and Safe Leave Act of 2007, and will seek to have the bill voted down".

From Karachi, Pakistan; Goodbye 2007

The Picture and comments are posted by a Metroblogger from Karachi, original capitol and largest city in Pakistan. .I thought citizens of this Capitol City might relate.




posted by umar at 11:54 PM on December 31, 2007


So, a day full of panic, rumours, and chaos marked the end of the year 2007. I can only recall sad events that happened this year because they clearly overshadowed anything good that happened.
May 12, 2007, October 18, 2007, December 27, 2007, December 31, 2007


These are not just dates. These are marks on the pages of history that will forever haunt the citizens of Karachi.


Let's hope and pray that next year we see a better Karachi in all aspects.

The Redskins and New Year's Eve Talk

Here's a question that sparked a lot of comment at a New Year's Eve gathering...

Of course Todd Collins should start at quarterback for the remainder of the Redskin's playoff season!

No argument on this one.

Even if Jason Campbell becomes healthy enough to play, why tamper with the kind of success we've seen with Collins under center; Even Jason must know his season is over;

but what about next year?

Who comes to training camp as your starter? The question was raised at a New year's Eve gathering and the men were almost evenly divided and adamant about their positions.

Half said it's Collin's job to lose. Before training camp begins he should be given the starting quarterback job, a new contract and a hefty raise.

The Collins team points to his complete understanding of the offense, his lack of turnovers and his leading the team to four straight wins after everyone, including a lot of Redskins fans had counted them out.

This position was shared by most of the old timers at the gathering.

The younger group (and no one was really all that young) was insisting that Jason Campbell is the future and with more raw talent of the two and should be returned to his rightful place as the starter. They say team injuries, poor coaching decisions hampered Campbell's development.

Jason Campbell should be back under center with a full compliment of Redskins starters when training camp begins. This group agrees that Collins should be paid to stay...as a backup.

At some point I'm going to try and pin Levan Reid, Brian Mitchell and others down on what they think; what about your thoughts?

Unfinished Business for 2007

I may be wrong; but it seems to me the US Attorney for the District should be nearing an end of of his probe into the De'ont Rawlings slaying.

The 14 year old Southeast youth was shot and killed by an off duty DC Police Officer months ago.

Since then the Rawlings family and their attorney have been on the offensive, filing a $100 million dollar lawsuit against the City, Police department and two officers who have been on administrative leave with pay.

We have yet to hear from them or their attorney who privately is telling people he's confident they will be vindicated and returned to work.