DISTRICT BRIEFING

CITY GOVERNMENT

Antiwar Group to Sue Over Sign Fines

An antiwar coalition says it will sue the D.C. government next week in response to fines of nearly $10,000 that the city levied against the group for illegally posted signs.

The Answer Coalition has posted hundreds of signs to promote a march Sept. 15 against the war in Iraq and is accusing the Department of Public Works of political harassment.

The group has 14 days to appeal the fines, said Sarah Sloan, the coalition's national staff coordinator.

The Department of Public Works says the coalition illegally affixed the signs to utility boxes using glue that was too sticky, exceeded the number of signs allowed per block and did not register copies of the signs.

The fines have nothing to do with politics, city officials said.

The National Park Service has also asked the group to remove signs from utility boxes on the Mall and near the White House or pay for the federal government to remove them.

-- Jenna Johnson

ESCORT SERVICE CASE

Judge Rejects Bid to Dismiss Indictment

A federal judge refused to dismiss a racketeering indictment yesterday against former escort service owner Deborah Jeane Palfrey, rejecting defense claims that she is a victim of selective prosecution.

Palfrey was indicted in March on charges that she ran a prostitution service in the Washington area. In court papers, her attorneys challenged the indictment, saying that Palfrey was the only one of many escort service owners to face prosecution.