Archive: Theola Labbé-DeBose
Crime Scene: Hate crimes, D.C. police and the gay and lesbian community
(Cross-posted from Crime Scene) It was a day of disagreement between D.C. police and gay activitists over how the department handles hate crimes, and whether the gay community is being served by changes to the Gay and Lesbian Liason Unit. At a hearing Friday chaired by Councilmember Phil Mendelson (D-At...
By Theola Labbé-DeBose | November 23, 2009; 07:30 AM ET | Comments (1)
Unspun with Council member Mary Cheh
Check out this weekend's Washington Post Magazine for an interview with first-term Ward 3 Council member Mary Cheh. Some excerpts follow. Excerpts: Tell us about your biggest goof. I wasn't always sufficiently aware of what the [D.C.] Council did before I got involved with it. On the night of...
By Christopher Dean Hopkins | October 23, 2009; 01:56 PM ET | Comments (4)
Mayor Says Police, Fire Retirement Benefits Preserved
Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D), Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier and Fire Chief Dennis L. Rubin appeared together at a press conference this morning to announce that they had restored cuts to retirement health benefits of police and fire employees. The issue of retirement health care cuts to public safety...
By Theola Labbé-DeBose | October 6, 2009; 03:22 PM ET | Comments (3)
D.C. Council Says No to Private Hydrants, Passes Emergency Legislation Effective Today
Developers, beware. Starting today, developers and others cannot install private fire hydrant in the District unless they can show proof of who will maintain it. The legislation, sponsored by Councilmembers Phil Mendelson (D-At Large) and Jim Graham (D-Ward 1) was passed by the D.C. Council this week. It comes after...
By Theola Labbé-DeBose | October 1, 2009; 09:00 AM ET | Comments (1)
Legal Debate over D.C. Police's "All Hands on Deck" Heads to PERB
The legal wrangling over the Metropolitan Police Department's "All Hands on Deck" program will head to the Public Employee Relations Board, an independent entity that resolves disputes between the government and labor organizations that represent District employees. A federal arbitrator ruled earlier this month that the police department's program of...
By Theola Labbé-DeBose | September 30, 2009; 12:07 PM ET | Comments (5)
D.C. Police Union Files Papers in "All Hands On Deck" Case
When a federal arbitrator ruled this month that the Metropolitan Police Department's "All Hands on Deck" program violated D.C. law and the police union contract, D.C. Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier announced that the department would appeal the decision, and it filed legal papers asking that the case be reconsidered....
By Theola Labbé-DeBose | September 25, 2009; 04:08 PM ET | Comments (2)
Cheh Asks Fenty to Appoint Leader on Water Pressure Issues
The hearing led by Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large) about water supply and firefighting is under way, with Fire Chief Dennis L. Rubin, D.C. WASA Interim General Manager Avis Marie Russell and other fire and water officials answering questions about available water supply. A frequent point of discussion is...
By Theola Labbé-DeBose | September 25, 2009; 10:54 AM ET | Comments (0)
Lanier Announces Appeal Filed in "All Hands" Ruling
Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier said that the Metropolitan Police Department filed legal papers today asking a federal arbitrator to reconsider the decision that the "All Hands on Deck" program must cease. Arbitrator John C. Truesdale ruled Sept. 9 that the program violated the police union contract and city law,...
By Theola Labbé-DeBose | September 18, 2009; 06:21 PM ET | Comments (2)
D.C. Police Expert to Lead National Review Committee on Prof. Gates Arrest
The City of Cambridge, MA and its Police Department announced the members of a national committee that will examine the July arrest of Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates, which touched off a national debate on race, class, police procedure and the criminal justice system. The 12-member volunteer group will be...
By Theola Labbé-DeBose | September 11, 2009; 03:59 PM ET | Comments (1)
"All Hands on Deck" D.C. Police Program Must Cease, Arbitrator Says
The police department's "All Hands on Deck" initiative, where all available officers work beats across the city in a three-day weekend period, is a favorite of Chief Cathy L. Lanier and has also been whole-heartedly endorsed by Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D). This week an arbitrator said it was a...
By Theola Labbé-DeBose | September 11, 2009; 03:56 PM ET | Comments (3)
UPDATE: U.S. Attorney On Mendelson Letter in Tony Randolph Hunter Murder Case
D.C. Wire promised we would update when we heard from the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the District about the letter Mendelson wrote to Acting U.S. Attorney for the District Channing Phillips about the status of Tony Randolph Hunter murder case. Around 6 p.m. spokesman Ben Friedman sent this...
By Theola Labbé-DeBose | September 10, 2009; 07:14 PM ET | Comments (0)
Mendelson Weighs in on Tony Randolph Hunter Murder Case
Councilmember Phil Mendelson doesn't like the way the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the District is handling the murder case of Tony Randolph Hunter. Mendelson (D-At Large) fired off a letter to Acting U.S. Attorney Channing Phillips this afternoon saying that he is "alarmed" that the office is offering...
By Theola Labbé-DeBose | September 10, 2009; 04:14 PM ET | Comments (0)
Fire Station to be Named for First African American Chief
In 1943 an ambitious African American man joined the All Negro Engine Company #4 of the D.C. Fire Department, Burton W. Johnson. Johnson, an Army veteran and graduate of Dunbar High School, impressed his bosses with his first job in the department, to make sure that the boots and coat...
By Theola Labbé-DeBose | July 17, 2009; 12:10 PM ET | Comments (0)
New Member of DC Fire/EMS Press Office On The Way
Pete Piringer, director of Community Outreach and Public Information for Montgomery County Fire and Rescue, plans to join the press operation of the District's Fire and Emergency Services Agency, D.C. Wire has learned. Piringer confirmed this afternoon that "an offer has been made," and that he's coming to work for...
By Theola Labbé-DeBose | June 5, 2009; 04:42 PM ET | Comments (1)
Residents Upset about Transfer of Police Inspector
Police Inspector Edward Delgado of the Third District was never shy about putting his thoughts into writing and emailing them to residents living in Columbia Heights, Mount Pleasant, Adams Morgan and other Northwest neighborhoods. As the head of the Third District Police Sub-Station, he frequently posted to the neighborhood email...
By Theola Labbé-DeBose | June 4, 2009; 06:08 PM ET | Comments (16)
DC Preservation League Releases 2009 List of "Most Endangered Places"
Photo credit: Theola Labbé-DeBose The large brick home that dates to 1795 sits on the 600 block of D St SE, with boarded up windows and green moss on its bricks. Friendship House, as it is called, is one of six locales that the D.C. Preservation League said today...
By Theola Labbé-DeBose | June 2, 2009; 03:49 PM ET | Comments (0)
Albert Takes Time Out on Last Day to Chide Council
Neil Albert could have spent his last day as Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development cleaning out his desk and saying goodbye to his soon-to-be former colleagues. He may have done some of those last-day-on-the-job things, but he also took time out to fire off a four-page, single-spaced letter...
By Theola Labbé-DeBose | June 1, 2009; 01:46 PM ET | Comments (1)
No Go for Police-Community Meeting Webcasts
Among the many issues that Ward 5 resident Robert Brannum gets involved in, he has a special duty to stay on top of crime and public safety as the chair of the Fifth District Citizens Advisory Council, a group of residents who work closely with police commanders on crime issues....
By Theola Labbé-DeBose | May 28, 2009; 09:48 AM ET | Comments (0)
DC Cops Say Buckle up, Or Pay Up
Summer conjures up fond memories of barbecues, dining al fresco with friends, enhanced seat belt enforcement by police. Hey, wait a minute... It's not the kind of summertime event people think of most readily, but police and transportation officials want to make sure that residents and visitors alike don't forget...
By Theola Labbé-DeBose | May 27, 2009; 10:29 AM ET | Comments (4)
Local Fire Departments Say They Face Staffing Presssures
D.C. metro area fire departments say they are losing volunteer firefighters because of the weakening economy, according to a study released today. At least 60 percent of firefighters in the region -- represented by 45 local fire departments -- said that volunteer firefighters are leaving their ranks because they need...
By Theola Labbé-DeBose | May 19, 2009; 11:00 AM ET | Comments (0)
Fenty Witnesses No-Show for Crime Bill Hearing
An aide from Mayor Adrian M. Fenty's administration who was scheduled to testify on behalf of the administration's crime bill was a no-show at a D.C. Council committee hearing this morning, drawing the ire of Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At-Large). About 45 minutes into the hearing by the Committee on...
By Vanessa Williams | May 18, 2009; 01:33 PM ET | Comments (4)
30th Annual Police Memorial Service (Photos)
Six police officers from the Washington region and two civilians who worked to support law enforcement were killed last year: Officer Todd Allen Bahr from Fredricksburg police; Sgt. Richard Scott Findley from Prince George's County Police; Lt. Michael Patrick Howe from Baltimore County Police; Trooper First Class Mickey Charles Lippy...
By Theola Labbé-DeBose | May 11, 2009; 01:45 PM ET | Comments (0)
D.C. Hosts National Police Week
If you see a lot more police around the city this week, you're not just imagining things. Officers from departments around the country -- and the world (D.C. Wire spotted London and Poland) -- are in town for National Police Week. In 1962, President John F. Kennedy signed a Presidential...
By Theola Labbé-DeBose | May 11, 2009; 10:02 AM ET | Comments (5)
D.C. Police and the Quest for Public Information
The relationship between cops and reporters can be like oil and water. The tension comes from police wanting hold back information as to not jeopardize an investigation or reveal too much strategy to the bad guys. Meanwhile, a reporter's livelihood depends on information -- the more, the better. This story...
By Theola Labbé-DeBose | April 23, 2009; 02:38 PM ET | Comments (1)
D.C. Charter Board Taps DCPS for New Press Aide
Another DCPS person goes charter. No, we're not talking about one of the roughly 4,200 students who left D.C. Public Schools last year while charter enrollment surged 14 percent, according to the 2008 school enrollment audit report. Audrey A. Williams, who worked in the DCPS communications office, is now the...
By Theola Labbé-DeBose | April 8, 2009; 06:30 AM ET | Comments (0)
DC Fire/EMS Wants to Be Your Friend on Facebook
The city's fire department has embraced Web 2.0 and is on the hunt for a few more "friends" and followers. DC Fire/EMS spokesman Alan Etter said today that the department is on Facebook and on Twitter. On Facebook search for "DC FireEMS" and on Twitter, follow the department's latest updates...
By Theola Labbé-DeBose | April 6, 2009; 12:25 PM ET | Comments (1)
Fenty Tells Homicide Detectives: Job Well Done
The men and women who work as D.C. homicide detectives labor to solve some of the city's most disturbing crimes. Anger gone terribly wrong. Another young life cut violently short. It's important, but grim work. Nothing positive about murder. Except perhaps when you catch who did it. D.C. detectives...
By Theola Labbé-DeBose | April 3, 2009; 09:17 AM ET | Comments (0)
Stimulus Money to Build New D.C. Firehouses?
President Barack Obama has said that the billion-dollar stimulus money is not to be squandered, and should go toward "shovel-ready" projects. Well, D.C. Fire/EMS Chief Dennis L. Rubin has a couple in mind. Rubin will be requesting $41 million to renovate seven aging city firehouses and for 14 roof replacements,...
By Theola Labbé-DeBose | March 4, 2009; 02:02 PM ET | Comments (3)
Fenty and Obama, Colleagues on "Snow" Too
Mayor Adrian M Fenty (D), wearing all black clothing and snow boots on his feet, made his third public appearance to talk about the city's response to the snow. Standing at the city's giant salt dome in Northeast Washington, as trucks beeped and scooped up mounds of salt, Fenty said...
By Theola Labbé-DeBose | March 2, 2009; 12:45 PM ET | Comments (93)
Get Out of Jail....When?
It's 10 p.m., does the District know where its jail inmates are? Right now there's a city law that says jail inmates can't be released between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. Attorney General Peter J. Nickles let it be known this week that he wants it repealed. He told Council...
By Theola Labbé-DeBose | February 20, 2009; 07:00 AM ET | Comments (0)
More Inauguration Revelry = More Cops? The Mayor (and Chief) Speaks
Might the D.C. Council's decision to keep bars and nightclubs open 24 hours a day during Inauguration weekend mean more cops hitting the streets to keep late-night partygoers in line? Mayor Adrian M. Fenty and Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier reluctantly shared some reaction to the emergency legislation at a...
By Theola Labbé-DeBose | December 3, 2008; 01:42 PM ET | Comments (1)
Absent? Charter Officials Will Now Know Sooner, Rather Than Later
The tragic case of Banita Jacks and her four daughters has faded from the spotlight. But in January when Jacks was discovered at home with the badly decomposing bodies of her children ---she has been charged with their deaths--- city officials couldn't explain why the sisters had been absent for...
By Theola Labbé-DeBose | August 19, 2008; 03:50 PM ET | Comments (1)
No More Stokes
For nearly five years, John A. Stokes has tried to sell city reporters on good news stories like summer meals for children and college tuition programs for D.C. high school students, as a spokesman for the state education office. Now he'll be doing it from a different perch, as the...
By Theola Labbé-DeBose | May 14, 2008; 12:00 PM ET | Comments (0)
A Night for Seeing Stars
The phrase Fight Night connotes excitement around an impending boxing match. So what does the term School Night mean?...
By Theola Labbé-DeBose | April 24, 2008; 08:20 AM ET | Comments (0)
The Chancellor Rhee Ties That Do or Don't Bind?
We told you once, then twice, about DC resident Kristin Ehrgood, and the group she helped put together, DC School Reform Now. A reminder: they are citizens and parents circulating a petition in support of the education reform plans of Mayor Fenty and Chancellor Rhee. Then D.C. Wire heard an...
By Theola Labbé-DeBose | April 16, 2008; 07:00 AM ET | Comments (0)
So Who Worked on the DC Catholic-Charter Conversions?
With the local arrival of Pope Benedict XVI today, D.C. Wire is reminded of a story last week about the state of Catholic education in the U.S. Archbishop of Washington Donald W. Wuerl toured Nationals Park yesterday in preparation for Thursday's Papal Mass. (Nikki Kahn-The Washington Post) That piece included...
By Theola Labbé-DeBose | April 15, 2008; 07:00 AM ET | Comments (0)
More on School Reform....At the D.C. Council Today
Beth Schmierer and Kristin Ehrgood, District residents who started an online petition that DC Wire told you about yesterday, are slated to testify before the D.C. Council this morning at the budget hearing for the school system....
By Theola Labbé-DeBose | April 8, 2008; 07:28 AM ET | Comments (0)
Budget Hearings: Talking Dollars and Needs
April is tax season, but it's also the season for budget hearings, where the council combs through the mayor's proposed budget and talks to agency after agency and department after department to figure out who gets what. This morning it was Brenda Rhodes Miller, the executive director of the D.C....
By Theola Labbé-DeBose | April 2, 2008; 12:29 PM ET | Comments (1)
More on New Security Policy at Wilson
We told you earlier about students from Woodrow Wilson High School who took their concerns over Chancellor Michelle Rhee's new security policies online, organizing a Facebook page to rally student support for an alternate plan. The students from the Northwest school object to Rhee's recently announced plan to have them...
By Theola Labbé-DeBose | March 27, 2008; 07:25 AM ET | Comments (1)
The Vacant School Wish List
Recreation center? Art gallery? Charter school? Dozens turned out Monday night at Harriet Tubman Elementary school in Columbia Heights to give their ideas for what should happen with two school buildings in Ward 1 that are slated to close. Ward 1 Councilmember Jim Graham (D), ever eager to stay on...
By Theola Labbé-DeBose | March 26, 2008; 07:00 AM ET | Comments (1)
Want to See How Much $$ Goes to Your Local School?
The school system's finance office has just released school-by-school budgets for 2008. The list is organized by cluster. You can also see the spending plan for the school system's central office, special education programs and other items....
By Theola Labbé-DeBose | March 25, 2008; 01:00 PM ET | Comments (1)
When Should the Public Testify on the School Budget?
Mayor Adrian M. Fenty released his proposed 2009 budget last Thursday, and D.C. Wire has already read and analyzed every page, from the executive summary to parts 1 and 2 of the agency spending plans to the appendices. Okay, maybe not. But as D.C. Wire continues to pore over this...
By Theola Labbé-DeBose | March 25, 2008; 12:00 PM ET | Comments (0)
The Future of Empty School Buildings
The decision by Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) and DC Schools Chancellor Michelle A Rhee to close 23 schools still stirs pain in some parents' hearts. But in some quarters another emotion is taking root, fear -- over the fate of soon-to-be empty school buildings....
By Theola Labbé-DeBose | March 24, 2008; 12:00 PM ET | Comments (0)
E-Chancellor?
First, there was the YouTube videos of Michelle Rhee at a Democrats for Education Reform event last Fall that had people abuzz because of Rhee's straight talk about her frustrations with the school system. Now the chancellor has made an appearance on Facebook....
By Theola Labbé-DeBose | March 24, 2008; 06:30 AM ET | Comments (0)
