DISTRICT BRIEFING

Thursday, February 21, 2008

THE MALL

New Pledges for Vietnam Wall Visitor Center

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund announced yesterday that it has received $1.5 million in new pledges toward construction of an underground visitor and education center on the Mall.

The fund's president, Jan C. Scruggs, said Bethesda-based defense contractor Lockheed Martin pledged $1 million and Marathon Oil of Houston pledged $500,000.

With the pledges, the fund said it has secured about $16 million of the $75 million to $100 million it estimates it will need to build the center, to be located near the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Groundbreaking is expected in 2010.

-- Michael E. Ruane

POLICE DEPARTMENT

11-Year Officer Pleads Guilty in Child Sex Case

D.C. police officer Kenneth L. Longerbeam pleaded guilty yesterday to traveling to the District to have sex with a teenage boy.

Longerbeam, 39, who was assigned to the 4th Police District, admitted that he proposed the sexual encounter while exchanging text messages with a cooperating witness who was secretly working with D.C. police and the FBI. According to charging papers filed when Longerbeam was arrested Dec. 19, the witness told Longerbeam that he was going to have sex with a 14-year-old boy, and Longerbeam replied, "Kool, when can I join?"

Longerbeam, who lives in Maryland, was arrested after he arrived at a residence in Southeast Washington where he had arranged to meet with the youth, authorities said. The officer, an 11-year veteran, has agreed to resign as part of a plea agreement. Chief Cathy L. Lanier said yesterday that she is moving to take back the pay Longerbeam received while on administrative leave after his arrest.

"Inherent in every officer's oath is the promise to protect others," Lanier said in a statement. "Longerbeam's actions are contrary to everything the Department stands for, and as a result of his guilty plea I am seeking to suspend him without pay."

-- Carol D. Leonnig

ENERGY USE

Fenty Among Mayors Urging Building Changes

Adrian M. Fenty of the District has joined a coalition of mayors calling for building standards that would make residential units 30 percent more energy efficient, his office announced yesterday.

In a letter to the International Energy Code Committee, the mayors, including Michael R. Bloomberg (I-N.Y.), Manny Diaz (I-Miami) and Greg Nickels (D-Seattle), urged the committee "to take an ambitious, achievable and affordable step toward improving America's energy efficiency."

The "30% Solution" urges higher-efficiency windows and insulation, improved building seals to reduce air leaks, and heating and air conditioning size requirements to maximize efficiency and function.

Public hearings next year on the Building Code Development are tentatively scheduled for Feb. 18 through March 2. More information can be found at http://ddoe.dc.gov.

-- David Nakamura