Metro

In Brief

THE region

Suit Over AIDS-Ride Death Can Proceed

The family of a District woman who died while cycling on the Washington AIDS ride in 2000 has the right to sue the charity ride's organizers and medical personnel who did not detect her life-threatening condition, a federal appeals court has ruled.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District decided Friday that a lower court made a mistake last summer when it dismissed the lawsuit that Eve Jaffe's mother filed against Pallotta TeamWorks and a University of Maryland Medical Services Inc. trauma center over her daughter's death.

Rochelle Jaffe claimed that the event's medical staff and the university-run trauma center in Virginia failed to properly treat the 31-year-old bicyclist and diagnose her condition after she approached a medical station on the route complaining of dizziness and nausea. The trauma center reported that she died of a brain hemorrhage, but the family alleges she actually died of cardiopulmonary arrest.

A federal judge decided last summer that Rochelle Jaffe had no grounds to sue under D.C. law because of the waiver Eve Jaffe signed to participate in the four-day charity ride. But the appeals court last week ruled that the waiver could be considered invalid under the law of Virginia, which is where Eve Jaffe was treated and died.

Washington Monument Changes Ahead

The circle of flags and the stone-mounted lights around the Washington Monument will be removed this week for construction to regrade the grounds and build new security barriers.

The grounds have been fenced off for nearly a year for a National Park Service project that will add low security walls around the monument and replace the ring of Jersey barriers. The project is expected to be finished by spring of next year.

Temporary lights will illuminate the monument at night. Park Service spokesman Bill Line said the temporary lights could slightly alter the appearance of the monument.

the district

Water Valve Repairs at Dupont Circle

Residents of the Dupont Circle area along New Hampshire Avenue, between 17th and T streets NW, might experience a water shut-off or low water pressure today as crews make emergency repairs, which could last nine hours, D.C. Water and Sewer Authority officials said.

Beginning at 8 a.m., WASA workers will shut down a section of a 20-inch water main along 17th Street so the D.C. Department of Transportation can repair a valve. WASA officials delivered written notices yesterday to the addresses that will be affected. Customers with additional questions can call WASA at 202-612-3400.

VIRGINIA

Gangs Throughout Va., Study Shows

Gang activity has spread to the urban, suburban and rural regions of Virginia, according to the preliminary report of a new statewide study of gangs announced yesterday by Attorney General Jerry W. Kilgore (R).

Kilgore said the study found that the greatest growth in gang activity has been among Hispanic gangs, especially MS-13, which has been linked to several deaths and mutilations in Northern Virginia over the past several years. The report shows that most of MS-13's growth has been in Northern Virginia but that it is also in Hampton Roads, Richmond and the Shenandoah Valley, Kilgore said.