‘Light Patrol’
courtesy of ‘Nick.Fisher’

Freeman Klopott of the Examiner has the eagle eyes. Late yesterday, he spotted a series of dropped cases by D.C Attorney General Irvin Nathan, all of which were DUIs.  Last Spring, the Intoxilyzer 5000 series blood alcohol testers fell under serious scrutiny when 8 of the department’s 10 units were suspected of producing faulty results. Since then, the Police Department has been trying to get the new Intoximeter machines certified with the medical examiner’s office, but failing that, they were pulled off the street last week.

Police were collecting evidence using the Intoximeter machines, but according to internal police emails presented by Klopott, not presenting those results in court as certified evidence, due to the conflict with the medical examiner’s officer over certification.  As an intermediary measure, police are now collecting urine samples from suspects to use in court. More information on breathalizer legal cases and dui on the best legal agency near you.

I think there’s something doubly scary here: 1) That Police can’t trust their own equipment to give them solid results and 2) even if they could, watching case after case be thrown out while the potentially irresponsible go free without punishment will have an effect on morale.

‘Smoke on the Mall’
courtesy of ‘kimberlyfaye’

A mid-commute fire at an out-building at the Museum of Natural History on the Mall started a bit of a fracas, traffic-wise near the intersection of Constitution and 9th street NW this morning.  The fire is reportedly the result of a welding mishap in the building that holds the museum’s cooling equipment.

The smoke cloud was disturbing to many this morning, resembling a mushroom cloud in shape, and certainly not the way one would want to start a Monday morning.  The fire was quickly doused by DC Fire/EMS, and they have reported the museum was in no danger.

Shake it off, DC. No problem here.

‘Shiny Penny 2001 D Macro April 30, 20101’
courtesy of ‘stevendepolo’

This morning marks the start of the public lottery for parents to request their child be placed at a school other than the one they were assigned by DCPS.  The period begins today, but doesn’t finish until February 28th at midnight, and DCPS is only accepting applications online.  While you do not have a better chance of being chosen through the lottery by applying today, it’s always good to get a head start on application processes.

If your child has already “won” an out-of-boundary lottery, you don’t need to reapply to keep them there, they get to remain at that school and follow its feeder path.

Good luck, DCPS parents! Hope your lucky penny is handy when you hit submit.  More questions? DCPS has a handy FAQ for the lottery.

For those who don’t have access to the Internet at home, parents can apply at any DCPS school or Library, any DCPS Parent and Family Resource Center, or the DCPS Central Office. The Office of Bilingual Education will also be able to help any parents whose primary language isn’t English.  DCPS is also hosting two events for parents with questions: February 10th at Deal Middle and February 15th at Patterson Elementary, both at 6pm.

‘Dent Capitol Hill Day School’
courtesy of ‘Tony DeFilippo’

Hardy Middle School has been something of a political football for DCPS over the last year, starting with the ouster of principal Patrick Pope, continuing through the Mayor’s race, where it was a campaign issue, and has continued this year as the campus was realigned to join with Hyde Elementary.

Today, Interim Chancellor Kaya Henderson announced that Dana Nerenberg, who has been principal of the combined campus, will return to being the principal of Hyde Elementary, and Hardy will receive its own fulltime principal, ending the experiment.

Henderson spoke supportively of Nerenberg today, saying in a letter to parents and the public, “I want to underscore the fact that our decision for Principal Nerenberg to resume her full-time duties at Hyde is not a reflection on her leadership. She enthusiastically and ably assumed leadership of the cluster last spring and both schools are better because of her work.”

The Chancellor’s office will meet with representatives of the parent community at Hardy on Monday to help guide her selection.

‘Nats DC Baseball Cap’
courtesy of ‘Mr. T in DC’

The special election this April to replace Kwame Brown’s At-Large seat, currently held by Sekou Biddle, just got a lot more interesting.  A 6am announcement on YouTube by brand new Ward 1 State Board of Education member Pat Mara, and a 10am announcement on TBD News Talk by Ward 1 community activist Bryan Weaver, add two more hats to the ring.

For those keeping score, that’s now 18 candidates who have taken out papers, or announced intentions to do so, to run for Kwame Brown’s seat in the April 26th citywide election.

Continue reading →

‘Lex’
courtesy of ‘His Noodly Appendage’

The Supreme Court this morning denied audience to Bishop Harry Jackson’s lawsuit against the DC Board of Elecitons and Ethics, which sought a citywide referendum on the subject of gay marriage.  The lawsuit was initially turned away by the DC Court of Appeals when the DCBOEE argued that to put gay marriage on the ballot would be to potentially authorize discrimination that was in violation of the Human Rights Act.

With the Supreme Court refusing to hear the case, the lower court’s ruling shall stand.  Perhaps Bishop Jackson will once again “move” back to Maryland?  We’ll see.