THE DISTRICT
No Veto for Bill on Handling Protests
Despite objections by law enforcement officials, D.C. Mayor Anthony A. Williams (D) decided not to veto a bill that would set new standards on how police handle protests in the nation's capital.
The measure would restrict the use of police lines to encircle protesters without probable cause to arrest. It also would place limits on the use of physical restraints and create other safeguards against police overreaction, proponents said.
Williams said yesterday that he thought the measure went too far, restricting police and encouraging lawsuits against the city. To signal his reservations, the mayor took the unusual step of returning the bill unsigned to the council. But short of a veto, the measure will automatically be passed into law after congressional review.
Council member Kathy Patterson (D-Ward 3) hailed it as a victory for the First Amendment and said she hoped other cities would use the District's law as a model of how to balance public safety with the public's right to free speech and assembly.
Workers Uncover Bones Under House
A skull and other bones were found under the basement of a historic Georgetown home yesterday afternoon, police and the owner of the house said.
A work crew doing renovations on the home's foundation discovered the bones while digging under the basement, owner Georgia Ravitz said. The house was built in the 1840s or 1850s, she said.
The bones, which haven't been determined to be human remains, will be taken to scientists at the Smithsonian Institution for examination, said Lt. Brian Harris, a detective in the 2nd District.
MARYLAND
Taxi Driver Is Critically Wounded
A taxicab driver was shot and critically wounded last night in the Seat Pleasant area, Prince George's County authorities said.
Officials released few details about the 10:30 p.m. shooting, but Cpl. Debbie Carlson, a police spokeswoman, said the man was found with wounds to the upper body at St. Margaret's Drive near Addison Road. The man was taken to a hospital with life-threatening injuries, said Capt. Chauncey Bowers, a fire department spokesman.
Four Reach Finals of Science Contest
Four students from Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring were named yesterday as among 40 national finalists for the nation's best-known high school science competition, the Intel Science Talent Search. No other high school had as many finalists. Each student will receive at least a $5,000 scholarship award and will compete in March for the top prize of a $100,000 scholarship.
The finalists from the Montgomery County public school, which has a science, math and computer science magnet program, are: Abigail Fraeman of Olney ("Modeling the Distribution of Comets Around the Star IRC+ 10216"), Sherri Geng of Rockville ("Automated Seizure Detection Using Statistical Analysis of EEG Time-Domain Signals"), Michael Forbes of Silver Spring ("Capacitated Vehicle Routing and the k-Delivery n-Traveling Salesman Problem") and Justin Kovac, who county officials said has moved to Miami ("The Effects of Warm Core Rings on Hurricane Intensification in the Gulf of Mexico").
The finalists were chosen from 1,600 applicants from 508 high schools. There were no finalists from Virginia or the District.
