DISTRICT BRIEFING
DISTRICT BRIEFING
Friday, January 12, 2007; Page B03
FATAL CONSTRUCTION FALL
Police Theorize Worker Slipped
D.C. police believe a naked construction worker who fell to his death this week slipped and fell four stories down an elevator shaft.
Joseph Oliver, 23, of La Plata was discovered about 6 a.m. Wednesday in the basement elevator shaft area of the Newseum, which is being built at 555 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, officials said.
Authorities said it was unclear why he was naked, according to C.V. Morris, head of the department's Violent Crimes Branch.
Police have classified the incident as a death investigation for now and are awaiting results from the D.C. medical examiner's office.
-- Allison Klein
D.C. VOTING RIGHTS
Norton Leads House Speech
Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) led an hour-long session on the floor of the House of Representatives last night in which she and five other Democrats spoke in favor of a bill that would grant the District one full vote in Congress.
The "special order hour" is typically held after the day's business is done to allow a legislator or group of representatives to address an issue important to them.
In her speech, Norton urged Congress to pass a bill she introduced this week with Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (R-Va.) that would add two seats to the House of Representatives: one for the District and one for Utah.
Speaking in favor of the bill last night were Reps. G.K. Butterfield (N.C.), Maxine Waters (Calif.), Danny K. Davis (Ill.) and Sheila Jackson-Lee (Tex.), as well as the delegate from the Virgin Islands, Donna M. Christian-Christensen.
The bill is expected to be considered in coming weeks by the House Judiciary Committee, which could send it to the House floor for a vote.
-- Mary Beth Sheridan
