Author Archives: Erica Butler

As police investigate the shooting and killing of a 23-year-old transgendered woman, no significant leads have been made in the case, officials said. On July 20, the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) was called around 4:30 a.m. to the 6100 block of Dix Street, N.E. where the body of Myles McLean, who suffered a gunshot wound, […]

The shocking cheating scandal that has rocked the Atlanta public school system left the public wondering about other metropolitans and their ethical standards. But D.C.’s schools chancellor said the District school system does not tolerate a “culture of cheating” and should not be compared to other school districts. In an assessment conducted by Georgia Gov. […]

Council member Marion Barry (D) is taking drastic measures to “save” his ward from a culture that prefers renting to owning, proposing legislation to ban any new apartment construction in Ward 8—the poorest part of the city. The Moratorium on the Construction of Apartment Buildings in Ward 8 Act 0f 2011 forbids the city to […]

The D.C. Council’s two-month hiatus from routine legislative work leaves behind a controversial committee reshuffling and the dampening pall of multiple investigations into officials, including council members and the mayor. During the last legislative hearing, Chairman Kwame Brown reassigned Council member Mary Cheh (D-Ward 3) to the Committee on Public Works and Transportation, a post […]

D.C. Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier said the department will meet with the lesbian, gay and transgender residents to mediate issues after a recent three-hour hearing, where local LGBT activists complained that the D.C. Council and the police department are slow responders to hate crimes. The group also alleged the police are failing to document […]

The D.C. Metropolitan Police Department got a much-needed boost this week with the passage of Mayor Vincent Gray’s FY 2011 supplemental budget, which was voted on by lawmakers July 12. The department, which has long complained of insufficient manpower, was awarded $10.8 million in extra funds after D.C.’s Chief Financial Officer Natwar Gandhi announced a […]

Four attacks against Metro bus drivers in June prompted a D.C. union to propose the installation of optional bus safety shields on July 1 before a panel of transit officials. In a letter issued by the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 689, which has 11,000 Metro workers, President Jackie Jeter told bus operators that they “deserved […]

“Call it what it was: gang violence, not parade violence,” said a D.C. lawmaker, urging the public to not associate last weekend’s shooting with the D.C. Caribbean Festival, a summer staple that took place on June 25. The violence left one person dead and three injured. Four hours after the costumed parade ended at 1 […]

A dozen protestors locked arms and patiently waited on June 25 to be arrested in front of a restricted part of the White House. D.C. activists and leaders called on President Barack Obama to help a city tired of being used a bargaining chip among elected officials. “You know I support Obama, but how can […]

At a June 24 Capitol Hill hearing on security gaps and safety within the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), several D.C. officials emphasized one point: Effective crime fighting requires sufficient crime fighters. Metro Transit Police Chief Michael Taborn, Metropolitan Police Chief Cathy Lanier and Del. Eleanor Holmes (D-D.C.) in their testimonies all agreed that […]