WEEK IN REVIEW
Jan. 14-20
Sunday, January 21, 2007; Page C04
School Board Opposes Takeover PlanMembers Say They'll Present Their Own Changes
Debate intensified over Mayor Adrian M. Fenty's bid to win direct control over the city's struggling school system, with the D.C. Board of Education voting to oppose the far-reaching proposal.
Under his bill, Fenty (D) would assume the power to hire, fire and oversee the school superintendent, a position that would be renamed school chancellor. An independent agency with a chief executive appointed by the mayor would be established to implement the school system's $2.3 billion capital improvement plan.
  In Tribute Zachary Greene, 6, left, Jahan Rasheed, 9, and Jihad Rasheed, 7, at a Martin Luther King Jr. ceremony at the African American Civil War Memorial. (By Andrea Bruce -- The Washington Post) |
The nine-member school board would be removed from day-to-day operations. In opposing Fenty's proposal, the school board promised to create its own plans for change.
Limited Vote Proposed for D.C. DelegateNorton and Fenty Push for Full Voting Rights
House Democratic leaders expect to introduce a measure that would allow D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton to vote on amendments on the floor of the chamber. The D.C. delegate is allowed to vote only in House committees. The rule change would grant the extra voting powers to Norton (D) and other non-state delegates. A similar measure passed in 1993 but was revoked when Republicans took control of the House two years later.
Norton has introduced a bill that would grant the District one full voting member in the House, and Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) announced a campaign to support that bill.
Two Sentenced in Sursum Corda SlayingsGirl, 14, Had Been Shot After Witnessing a Killing
A man convicted of ordering the execution-style slaying of a teenage witness was sentenced to 143 years in prison for that killing and for the killing that the 14-year-old girl had watched unfold five days earlier. The man convicted of shooting the girl, Jahkema "Princess" Hansen, twice in the back of the head was sentenced to 63 years behind bars.
Marquette Ward, 31, a drug dealer angry over the price quoted for a marijuana cigarette, had gunned down Mario J. Evans in front of Hansen and others in the Sursum Corda housing complex, prosecutors said. Worried that Hansen would talk to police, Ward paid Franklin Thompson, 25, $8,000 to kill her in 2004, according to testimony.
Acting Chief Wants More Foot PatrolsShe Says Walking a Beat Makes People Feel Safe
Acting Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier said she plans to use foot patrols to help build stronger relations with neighborhoods across the city. Lanier has asked commanders to come up with new crime-fighting strategies that include more foot patrols.
Criminal justice specialists said foot patrols make people feel safer but do not have much impact on crime. Lanier said they can be effective if used in targeted areas along with other tactics.
Gallaudet Report Rebuts ChargesClaims of Excessive Force Deemed Untrue
An independent investigation into an incident at Gallaudet University in which security officers searched a building occupied in the fall by protesting students concluded that allegations of "excessive force" and the use of pepper spray by the officers were untrue.
The report also said that the security officers were insufficiently trained and equipped to enter the building during the protest over the selection of a school president but that, for the most part, they "performed well under difficult circumstances." Officers entered the building after a bomb threat.
Supreme Court Allows Pollution LimitsAnacostia River Will Be Given Daily Caps
The U.S. Supreme Court let stand a lower court's ruling that would set stricter pollution limits for the Anacostia River, giving environmentalists a victory in a long-running battle over the river's gluts of raw sewage. The decision means that there will be daily caps on the amounts of various pollutants dumped into the Anacostia.
The river has fecal bacteria, trash and toxic chemicals that make it one of the most unhealthy streams in the region.
Previously, the Environmental Protection Agency had required only annual or seasonal pollution caps, which can be easier to meet.
