WEEK IN REVIEW

April 3-9

Allison Lamont Norman is led from the Wicomico County Sheriff's Office in Salisbury. He is charged in the rampage in which two died. (Chris Gardner -- AP)

Mayor Gets Tougher on Crime Effort Is Intended to Make the City Safer

D.C. Mayor Anthony A. Williams (D), saying he wants to give law enforcement the tools it needs to make the city safer, unveiled a criminal justice bill that includes more than a dozen new criminal offenses and increased penalties for some crimes. D.C. Council members did not leap onto the bandwagon. Some raised concerns about the mayor's proposal to criminalize any failure to show up at juvenile court, and others said more criminal charges and longer sentences will not, by themselves, protect residents.

Many D.C. Teachers Lack Licenses Schools Could Lose Federal Funds

D.C. Schools Superintendent Clifford B. Janey said more than 1,400 -- or 25 percent -- of the District's public school teachers are not properly credentialed. Half have never gotten a license in the subject they teach, Janey said, and the other half have expired licenses.

Under the No Child Left Behind law, the system could lose federal funds if the teacher corps is not fully certified by the end of the 2005-06 school year.

Council Questions Stadium Costs Members Worry That Projections Are Low

Thursday is Opening Day for the city's new baseball team, but the Nationals were making news on the road, taking a series from the Philadelphia Phillies to have a winning season after three games.

But the proposal for a new baseball stadium came under fire from D.C. Council members, who ordered the city's chief financial officer to reexamine his cost estimate for acquiring land for the stadium. Council members said his figures were inaccurate and the bill could be higher.

Rent Control May Be Extended City Also Moves to Protect Tenant Options

The D.C. Council gave preliminary approval to measures to extend rent control for five years and close a loophole that has allowed landlords to sell buildings and bypass a law giving tenants the first right to buy. In recent years, hundreds of landlords have avoided the requirement by selling less than 100 percent of a building to a buyer.

Mystery Casket Unearthed Smithsonian Will Help Analyze Remains

A cast iron casket that lay undisturbed in Columbia Heights for more than a century was unearthed by construction workers -- and abruptly brought into the 21st century. They locked it in an empty building for safekeeping, but vandals broke in and broke the glass beneath the casket's faceplate. The casket and the remains of whoever lies in it await experts from the Smithsonian, who will try to determine who was in the casket and the circumstances of the burial.

Former Mayor's Son Pleads Guilty Encounter With Police Led to Assault Charges

Christopher Barry, 24, son of D.C. Council member and former mayor Marion Barry, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor assault charge stemming from a confrontation with city police. If he completes community service and is not arrested again, he could withdraw the plea and the case would be dropped.

Ruling Expected on Hazmat Ban City Wants Shipments Rerouted

A judge suggested a cooling-off period between the city and CSX Transportation in their battle over the city's plan to ban railroad shipments of hazardous materials. CSX and the federal government opted out of that, so U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan probably will rule this week on whether the ban can take effect. District officials are determined to reroute such shipments out of the city, but a CSX attorney said her client is unwilling to halt shipments through the District.