Paulina Phelps • April 11, 2014

Metropolitan Police Chief Cathy Lanier announced April 3 that the weeklong search for missing eight-year-old Relisha Rudd in Kenilworth Park in Northeast Washington, D.C., has ended.

“We came here expecting the worst, a grave site,” Lanier said. “We’re relieved that we did not find that . . . We’re always hopeful. Children are found years after they disappear.”

While the search was unsuccessful in finding Rudd or evidence of what might have happened to her, it did result in the discovery of the body of Rudd’s suspected abductor, Kahlil Malik Tatum. The search of the 700-acre park has been exceptionally thorough with police looking through trash bins, digging large holes and using flashlights to look into storm drains.

The search for Rudd has been described as a recovery operation, but many people disagree. For instance, although the search in Kenilworth Park has come to a close, different conclusions have been posited by other organizations investigating the case. The most recent speculation was by a National Missing Persons Organization called the Black and Missing Foundation. This organization believes Rudd’s disappearance is the result of a human trafficking network. WUSA 9 News reported that co-founder of the organization Derrica Wilson said, “I’m pulling at everything in me and there’s nothing in my gut that tells me we’re in a recovery operation. I feel that we’re searching for a live person.”

Wilson co-founded the Black and Missing Foundation with her sister Natalie Wilson to raise awareness and efforts in locating missing persons of color, a segment of the population far overlooked. For instance, according to the foundation in the last year more than 200,000 persons of color were reported missing. Compared to other cases, Relisha’s serves as an exception as it has gotten a great deal of media coverage, which many people believe is because she is so young.

“This case has really rocked me to the core,” Derrica Wilson told WUSA-9 News. “I personally feel that this little girl was sold. I think her mother sold her to Tatum and I think Tatum has sold her in this worldwide industry of trafficking.”

Wilson says that she believes the investigation needs to expand far beyond D.C. and incorporate more than just police. “She could be anywhere and we need to help find her,” Natalie Wilson said. “We would like the public to get involved. Again, somebody knows something.”

Paulina Phelps •

Lucky Strike, the restaurant with bowling and billiards, has awarded 62 U.S. Olympians complimentary bowling to thank them for their efforts at the 22nd Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia.

Athletes who medaled are receiving four years of complimentary bowling while athletes who placed are given one year of free bowling.

Three Olympians were honored April 3 and took time out of their busy schedules to accept Lucky Strike’s award in bowling the ceremonial first bowl, taking photos and answering questions. These athletes included silver medalist in speed skating Jordan Malone, ski jumper Nick Fairall, and luger Tucker West. The evening before all three athletes shot “Best of the U.S. Awards,” an awards show which airs on April 7 on ESPN, at the Warner Theatre. Out of the three, West is the only one up for an award.

The three young athletes are a “rare combination of mellow and easy going,” said Douglas Eldridge a partner at DLE, an agency which has represented many Olympic athletes.

Eldridge reflected the agencies hope to accomplish their client’s goals and objectives saying in commenting on the promising future of his youngest Olympic client Tucker West. “Tucker will be one of the faces of 2018,” Eldridge said.

West, whose father built a luge track in the family’s backyard, expressed his preparation and the surreal experience of making it to the Olympics. “Sochi was a great time. It was something I dreamed about since I was a little kid,” West said. Olympic ski jumper Nick Fairall who placed 35th in the event, the best placement for the U.S., described his favorite part of the sport: “The feeling of flying through the air.”
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Paulina Phelps • March 28, 2014

Today’s updates on missing eight-year-old Relisha Rudd were released at a press conference held around 1:30 p.m., during which, Metropolitan Police revealed that it is now sure that Tatum had contact with up to four girls at the homeless shelter where he worked and where Relisha’s family had been living.

During a March 27 press conference near Kenilworth Park, D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier said, “We cannot ignore the possibility that he may have killed her.” Lanier was referring to janitor Kahlil Malik Tatum, the suspected abductor, who worked at the shelter, where Rudd and her mother lived. D.C. police also labeled their efforts “a recovery operation.”

The search at Kenilworth Park resumed this morning, after it was suspended Thursday night following 12 hours of inconclusive searching. Just after 7 a.m., D.C. Fire Department and Emergency Services, the Metropolitan Police Department and a K-9 unit conducted a “grid search” of the vast wooded 700-acre area.

After information was disclosed which tracked Tatum to the Kenilworth Park area, investigators began the search. Investigators also reported that on March 2, a day after Rudd was last seen, Tatum spent considerable time in Kenilworth Park. In addition, according to NBC4 News, on March 2 he had purchased suspicious items like garbage bags, a shovel, and lime, which can be used to speed up the decomposition of bodies as well.

Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Relisha Rudd or Kahlil Tatum is asked to call 911or the Command Information Center at 202-727-9099 or 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324).

Paulina Phelps • March 13, 2014

Sting will headline the seventh annual Performance Series of Legends benefit concert for the Duke Ellington School of the Arts, Wednesday, March 12, at 8 p.m. at the Music Center at Strathmore. He will be joined by special guest Paul Simon plus an additional surprise performer.

The benefit concert will help fund badly needed renovations at the arts school.

“We are absolutely thrilled that Sting has offered his resources and talents to our school,” said Rory Pullens, Head of School and CEO of the Duke Ellington School of the Arts. “His contribution through this performance series not only gives our students inspiration and valuable exposure but provides a source of revenue that enables us to continue the important mission of providing arts education excellence to deserving students who wouldn’t otherwise have this opportunity.”

According to the school’s co-founder, Peggy Cafritz, “We are the only high school with a 100 percent graduation rate; 95 percent of our graduates go to college.”
To stay enrolled, students must earn above a certain grade point average, while also completing 34 percent more credits, which the school requires in comparison to other D.C. public schools.
Producing some of the best talent in the country, the Ellington School is ranked as one of D.C.’s top public high school.
The school also benefits the community by admitting 40 percent of the most economically disadvantaged students in the community.

Meanwhile, Duke Ellington School’s renovation plans are top on the agenda for the Advisory Neighborhood Commission’s meeting March 4.
Since its establishment in 1974, Georgetown and Burleith have supported the public school. Therefore, the renovation plans hold much significance for students and faculty at the school as well as the surrounding neighborhood. As the school is a landmarked building, the Old Georgetown Board and the Commission of Fine Arts have the authority to approve the plans. Certain elements of the renovation face controversy, such as a rooftop terrace. At a previous meeting, commissioners voted in favor of the school renovation but unanimously voiced “serious concerns about several elements in the concept submission.”

The funds for the renovation come from D.C.’s 2014 budget, which has committed $90 million dollars. The school hopes the city will continue to raise this amount to $130 million, as that is the average cost for high school renovations in the city.

The school’s annual Legends Benefit Concert on March 12 will contribute to those fundraising efforts. For this year’s concert, artists Sting and Paul Simon will perform — free of charge — as past performers have always done. With help from the city and from the benefit concert, the school hopes to move out of the planning phase and break ground this year.

The concert is the latest installment of the Duke Ellington School of the Arts’ Performance Series of Legends that has previously featured Dave Chappelle, Denyce Graves, Stevie Wonder, Earth Wind & Fire, Smokey Robinson and Patti Labelle.

Individual ticket prices for 8 p.m. March 12 performance are between $250 and $750. VIP tickets are $1,000 each and will include access to a private reception prior to the concert. Sponsorship levels range from $5,000-$100,000 and are available through the Ellington Fund at 202-333-2555 or info@ellingtonarts.org. Visit www.ellingtonschool.org for details.

Paulina Phelps •

On March 5, the D.C. Water and Sewer Authority issued an advisory, which affected more 1,010 persons, running businesses and living in areas west and southwest of Rock Creek Park. The advisory was a precaution after a power outage yesterday afternoon at the Ft. Reno Pumping Station, which an official told the Washington Post was caused by a switchgear failure. The email alert instructed residents who are experiencing low water pressure to boil water before cooking or drinking as it may be contaminated.

According to the D.C. Water and Sewage Authority, since this advisory was issued, water consumption has been restored in all areas except for upper parts of Northwest D.C., where it will remain in effect until Friday.

Water contamination remains a problem for any major city. According to the Washington Post, D.C. pumps 2 billion gallons from sewers and toilets into the Potomac and the Anacostia Rivers and Rock Creek annually.

The repeated instances and detrimental effects of water contaminated with lead has caused miscarriages, many believe, and needs to be stopped.

The Environmental Protection Agency and the Justice Department ordered D.C. — along with a number of other rainy cities like New York, Philadelphia and Seattle — to stop dumping combined sewer overflow into rivers. This resulted in the creation and construction of the District’s $2.6-billion underground sewage tunnel, also known as “Lady Bird.” Construction on the tunnel began last July 29 and will be finished in stages with some parts opening in 2016 and the bigger sections following in 2018 and 2022.

While the sewage tunnel will fix many of the water contamination issues, it is a big budget item. DC Water’s general manager George Hawkins told the Washington Post, “Our ratepayers are paying for all this…we estimate [there will be] rate increases for the next 10 years, and maybe for 20, and most of that’s for the tunnel.” … “I want our ratepayers to understand that we have to do this, but it’s more important that they recognize the benefits of it…No one will ever see this tunnel, but they’ll see that the river’s cleaner, and down stream in the Chesapeake, it will be a significant difference.”

Paulina Phelps • February 20, 2014

Decriminalizing Marijuana in D.C.

Over the past four years, Washingtonians support of legalization of marijuana has increased exponentially with 63 percent of residents now in favor. Currently, a bill is being proposed that will make the possession of marijuana a civil offense rather than a criminal one. If this bill passes the level of possession of marijuana will be equivalent to getting a parking ticket and the level of police involvement and legal costs will reduce “undeniable racial disparities.” Passage of the bill is likely, as 9 out of the 13 council members and Mayor Vincent Gray support the measure.

Gray Awaits 11 Pieces of Environmental Legislation

In efforts to reduce pollution, a measure receiving the most attention is a ban on styrofoam food and drink containers. This would be the first measure taken to reduce the pollution in the Anacostia and Potomac Rivers.

Proposed Law Would Ban Federal Funding for Abortions in D.C.

The “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act” prohibits states from using federal grants for funding abortions. Rep. John Conyers Jr., D-Mich., introduced an amendment to strike language that defines D.C. as a part of the federal government, which he cited under the Home Rule Act passed in 1973. In opposition, House Judiciary Chairman Robert W. Goodlatte, R-Va., expressed controversial views of people supporting District autonomy. Goodlatte said that the budget of the District of Columbia must be approved by Congress, including revenues generated by local sources. Despite Conyers’s efforts, the committee rejected his amendment, siding with Goodlatte, and the “No Taxpayers Funding for Abortion Act” was favorably reported to the House.

Paulina Phelps •

Mayor Vincent Gray announced Feb. 3 that the partnership of Georgetown-based Eastbanc and the Institute of Contemporary Expression has secured plans to redevelop the historic Franklin School. The space will be transformed into a venue that will be part exhibition and performance space.

The renovation of the 1869 building at 13th and K Streets, NW, will offer Washingtonians as well as visitors a center to showcase contemporary works and performances of artists from all over the world. The man behind this vision is the institute’s founder, Dani Levinas, who is a local art collector and joined with developer, Eastbanc, Inc.

The destination will also feature a ground-floor restaurant by celebrity chef Jose Andres as well as an arts bookstore. A flexible art space where easy transitions between installations can occur has been something many D.C. art organizations have been seeking. The space was backed by the Logan Circle advisory neighborhood commission last December, beating out three other bids, including a boutique hotel, office building, or technology campus (a work space for tech entrepreneurs).

According to the local ANC vice chair Walt Cain, the criteria the commission had for the proposal was that it engaged as many people as possible and allowed the community the greatest access to the Franklin School.

The transformation of taking a historic space and redeveloping it into a contemporary space requires a number of considerations that need to be made in regards to its construction. For instance, making sure the technology is least invasive as possible as well as making sure the building is up to load-bearing capabilities. The building has fallen from its once pristine condition and has been closed since 2008.

Before renovations begin on the building the city estimates that it will cost at least $30 million to stabilize the building. The bidding process for Eastbanc, Inc., and ICE’s vision began last April and will continue.

In addition to this new modern art museum, Eastbanc plans to partner with the National Park Service to revive the adjacent Franklin Park, also under renovation.