Metro
In Brief

Friday, December 16, 2005

THE REGION

D.C. Court Censures Gansler for Remarks

The District's highest court has censured Montgomery County State's Attorney Douglas F. Gansler (D) for public comments he made about cases his office was prosecuting.

The Court of Appeals of Maryland sanctioned Gansler in November 2003 for his comments, which, the court found, had a substantial likelihood of depriving criminal defendants of fair trials. As a member of the D.C. Bar, Gansler, a former assistant U.S. attorney in the District, faced disciplinary action in the District as well.

The D.C. Bar Counsel, which investigates and prosecutes misconduct by lawyers licensed in the District, concluded that the remarks for which Gansler was sanctioned in Maryland also violate rules for District lawyers. The D.C. Board on Professional Responsibility recommended that Gansler be censured, a sanction that can be handed down only by the D.C. Court of Appeals. Yesterday, a three-judge panel took that step.

THE DISTRICT

Man Apparently Killed by Gas Identified

Authorities identified Miguel Angel Jose Jimenez, 25, yesterday as the man who died in Northwest Washington this week of apparent carbon monoxide poisoning.

Several others also became ill Monday inside a rowhouse in the Columbia Heights area. Three remained hospitalized yesterday and were in stable condition.

The house, in the 1000 block of Spring Road NW, had been the subject of neighborhood complaints about trash and rats for months. The victims were discovered by a friend about 8:30 a.m. Monday. Jimenez, of Woodbridge, was described as the boyfriend of one of the residents.

Mendelson Is Honored for Leadership

D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large) received the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments' Scull Award on Wednesday as the region's outstanding public leader.

Mendelson was chosen because of his work on transportation planning, improving air quality and pushing for a regional communications system to help with homeland security concerns, said David Robertson, the council's executive director.

"It's not only a recognition of his project-based, task-oriented achievements, but also the body of work he has amassed over the years," Robertson said.

MARYLAND

11% More Sought for Pr. George's Schools

The Prince George's County public school system would spend an additional 10.8 percent in the next academic year under a $1.5 billion budget proposed last night by interim schools chief Howard A. Burnett. The proposal will be vetted by the school board and then move to the county government next year for approval.

Burnett sought $115 million for program improvements, including $6.2 million to expand pre-kindergarten classes and $48.8 million for higher pay for teachers and staff. Other proposals include $5.6 million to boost performance on the Maryland School Assessment; $2.7 million for summer, evening and weekend classes; and $5.9 million to add middle and high school teaching positions.

Fire Destroys 39 Vehicles at Impound Lot

A fire at a Montgomery County police lot for impounded cars destroyed 39 vehicles early yesterday morning, police said.

The blaze, at 580 Metropolitan Grove Rd. in Gaithersburg, was reported shortly after 4 a.m. by a train conductor, Montgomery County police spokeswoman Nancy Nickerson said.

"We're still trying to determine what started the fire," Nickerson said. The fire caused no injuries but destroyed property valued at $400,000.

Montgomery Taps Interim Planning Chief

The Montgomery County Planning Board has hired a temporary director of the county's troubled planning agency while it conducts a nationwide search for a new leader.

Faroll Hamer, chief of development review for the Prince George's County planning agency, will replace Charles Loehr, who resigned in October.

Hamer, 60, will be paid $115,000 annually. She takes over as the Montgomery planning agency tries to change after Clarksburg residents discovered flaws in the county's planning system.

VIRGINIA

Kaine Picks GOP's Bryant for Cabinet

Virginia Gov.-elect Timothy M. Kaine (D) has selected Del. L. Preston Bryant (Lynchburg) to be the first Republican in his Cabinet, he announced yesterday. Bryant will serve as Kaine's secretary of natural resources, with oversight of the state's environmental agencies.

In 2004, Bryant was co-leader of efforts to rally support among moderate Republicans for support of a bipartisan tax and budget compromise. After that, he lost his seat on the House Appropriations Committee and his place at leadership meetings.

Kaine also announced that he has chosen Aneesh Chopra, an Arlington business executive, to serve as secretary of technology. Chopra has served on several public boards and received a master's degree in public policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Tougher Laws on Sex Offenders Backed

The Virginia State Crime Commission endorsed tougher punishments this week for violent sex offenders and improved efforts to track such felons once they are released from prison.

The panel recommended laws that include a minimum 25-year prison term for a violent sexual assault against a child and a mandatory life sentence for a second offense.

The commission endorsed efforts that would make it a crime for convicted sex offenders released from prison to work on school or child-care center property and would hire 71 state troopers to enforce the new laws. The recommendations will be put before the General Assembly next month as part of four bills.

Commission officials estimate that the new initiatives would cost $31 million in fiscal 2007 and 2008, largely to hire extra state police officers and staff in the Virginia attorney general's office.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"The presence of a human being is inhibiting to most motorists, and it's very, very rare for someone to drive past a toll collector."

-- Peter Samuel, editor of the Toll Roads News Web site, on the deterrent toll collectors serve to cheating on toll payments. -- Page A1

Compiled from reports by staff writers Henri E. Cauvin, Del Quentin Wilber, David Nakamura, Nick Anderson, Ernesto Londoo, Tim Craig, Michael D. Shear and Chris L. Jenkins and the Associated Press.