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Peter Murray • August 31, 2015

Matthew Shlonsky, a 23-year-old District resident, 2014 American University graduate, Cleveland native, Deloitte consultant and former Capitol Hill intern, was gunned down outside the Shaw-Howard University Metro station Aug. 15, while on his way to a party at Right Proper Brewing Company.  He was pronounced dead at Howard University Hospital shortly after the 5 p.m. shooting. 
 
According to police, Shlonsky hopped out of a cab with friends at the corner of 7th and S streets NW when he was hit by a bullet meant for someone else.  Police are searching for a burgundy color Chrysler 300 with Maryland license plates after reports that a vehicle matching that description fled the scene around the time of the shooting.
 
The shooting was the latest in a string of gun violence in Shaw, a rapidly changing historic downtown neighborhood that many residents generally consider safe. Notably, at 7th and O streets NW, a few blocks south of where Shlonsky was killed, three people were shot last Tuesday, August 11 and one person was shot and killed on Memorial Day. 

Chuck Baldwin •

The former chief of staff to Mayor Vincent Gray started as Georgetown University’s first ever vice president for government relations and community engagement last Monday. Chris Murphy, a 1998 Georgetown Law graduate, brings more than 25 years of experience in the nonprofit, local and federal sectors.

“Georgetown is a very important member of, and contributor to, the Washington, D.C., community and plays a critical role in so many national conversations,” Murphy says. “I am eager to expand on those relationships so that Georgetown can play an even more influential and helpful role.”

In the newly created position, Murphy will coordinate the university’s engagement with local community groups, as well as the federal government, the District of Columbia and other area governments.

Before working for the mayor, Murphy served as editor of the Georgetown Law Journal, deputy chief of staff for the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, general counsel and executive director of human resources for Atlantic Media Company, and founded City Year Washington, D.C., an AmeriCorps program, for which he also served as executive director.

Peter Murray •

D.C. Public Schools kicked off the 2015-2016 school year today, sending kids back to 113 schools around the city. In a statement, DCPS noted an uptick in enrollment for the fourth year in a row, the opening of four new schools and a new lifetime learning program called “Cornerstones,” aimed at teaching students skills they will need for life.

“Challenging curriculum has always been part of DCPS’ strategy, but going forward, students will receive the same high-quality learning experience, no matter where they live or go to school,” said DCPS Chancellor Kaya Henderson. “Every first-grader, from Simon Elementary in Ward 8 to Janney Elementary in Ward 3, will bioengineer a frog habitat and 10th-graders at every high school will build electric batteries. And starting this year, every DCPS second-grader will learn to ride a bicycle, regardless of whether they have one at home. All high schools will provide at least six Advanced Placement courses, and some will offer more than 20.”

Mayor Muriel Bowser played her part for back to school by making appearances at schools all over the District to highlight the Slow Down Campaign, “to remind drivers that school is back in session and that they should slow down in school zones.”

Despite promising new programs and expansions at D.C. Public Schools, personal finance data website WalletHub rankings give the District’s school system incredibly low marks. WalletHub found that D.C. students have the lowest math and reading and SAT scores in the country, and the city’s schools have one of the highest dropout rates when compared to those in other states. This despite the fact that D.C.’s adult residents are some of the most educated, or most schooled, in the country.

There are good schools in D.C., but getting your kids into one requires living in some of the city’s most expensive real estate. A District Office of Revenue analysis released in June showed that housing prices in D.C. neighborhoods closely correlate with test scores in community schools.

Peter Murray •

Last week, Georgetown resident Shelley Clark and her cat were startled when they heard scampering on her rooftop. Clark rushed outside her home on 29th and Dumbarton streets NW to determine the cause of the commotion, expecting to find a large critter on her roof. Instead, she looked up and saw the faces of two local parkour enthusiasts who, she learned after her partner Andy Leddy confronted them, were using her and nearby residents’ rooftops to practice their jumps, vaults, leaps and flips.

Clark and Leddy’s neighbor wrote a post on the neighborhood’s public safety messaging board on GroupMe to further illuminate the situation. “A neighbor on 29th street called 911 last week to report 3 young men on the roof of a home on Dumbarton. After calling 911, the neighbor confronted the men on the roof who explained they’re Urban Roof Runners and using our neighborhood as an obstacle course,” she wrote, adding, “please we aware of this trending activity and call 911 should you see anyone taking part in this dangerous practice.”

Leddy called the police but by the time officers arrived on the scene the roof runners were gone. According to NBC 4, police have seen an uptick in roof running in Georgetown recently, and those caught participating in the activity “could face charges.”

According to Wikipedia, “parkour is a training discipline using movement that developed from military obstacle course training. Practitioners aim to get from point A to point B in the most efficient way possible without reverting back to point A. This is done using only the human body and the surroundings for propulsion, with a focus on maintaining as much momentum as possible while still remaining safe. Parkour can include obstacle courses, running, climbing, swinging, mantling, vaulting, jumping, rolling, quadrupedal movement, and other, similar movements depending on what movement is deemed most suitable for the given situation.” Participants usually perform the activity in urban spaces.

However, “you don’t want people running around on your roofs,” Clark told NBC, “these are historic houses.” Old and aging rooftops may be a cause for concerns for parkour enthusiasts, too.

So urban runners, beware. Not only are Georgetown residents and police now on the look out. Aging rooftops could give way, leading to serious injury or worse.

It started with a post on neighborhood public safety mes

Robert Devaney • August 20, 2015

Mayor Muriel Bowser stepped up to the microphone set up in the middle of the hallway for the fifth floor of the Wilson Building on Pennsylvania Avenue Aug. 13 and faced the press after an hour-long public safety and justice cluster meeting. With Metropolitan Police Department Chief Cathy Lanier at her side, Bowser talked about the spike in violent crimes over the last couple of weeks.

On poster boards near Bowser and Lanier stood pictures and information about the latest victims and on-going criminal investigations by the MPD. Some cases were closed; most were not.

Bowser said she was asking for help from the community in solving these crimes. Lanier said homicides were up but the MPD was recovering more guns over the last two years. She said she saw high-capacity magazines for guns as possibly contributing to the summer’s uptick in violent crimes and simply said she could not say for sure what the exact cause of the spike is it.

“Our people in the community are tired of this,” said Lanier, who added that the MPD closure rate on crimes was 20 percent higher than the national average — 77 percent compared to 57 percent. She said she was reviewing deployments, working with the Public Housing Authority and “focused on making the system work.”

Lanier also indicated at least 10 homicides involved repeat offenders. “If there is a failure somewhere we have to identify it and address it,” she said.

Bowser said that there was now a test for synthetic drugs and that any crimes on public transit should result “robust sentences.”

“People need to come forward,” Lanier said of solving crimes. “We can’t do it without public assistance. . . .We need witnesses.”
Police need to “work smarter, not harder,” she said. MPD’s so-called lemonade tent at the Kennedy Recreation Center in Shaw — which has seen an increase in crime during the summer — is cited as a simple but effective way for the police to make their presence known and get to know more people.

Lanier summed up this summer of heightened violence and conflict: “It is dispute resolution with a gun.”
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Georgetowner • August 19, 2015

Mayor Muriel Bowser announced last week the District’s purchase of the total output of the 46-megawatt Iberdrola Renewables wind farm located in southwestern Pennsylvania, along with a name change: the Department of Environment is now the Department of Energy and Environment.

“This is about more than just a name change; our energy needs and our environmental concerns go hand in hand. That’s why I’ve tasked Tommy Wells [director of DOEE] and his team with rethinking how we bring more green, affordable energy to all eight wards,” the mayor said.

The wind farm initiative is expected to save the District $45 million over the next 20 years, as it provides 35 percent of the energy needed to power the city’s government buildings. Speaking at the announcement, Wells underscored the significance of the name change from a policy perspective, including plans to expand solar power and improve D.C.’s energy efficiency.

Georgetowner •

Starting Aug. 24, D.C. Public School students can ride to and from school and school-related activities on Metrorail for free through a new program initiated by Mayor Muriel Bowser. Students may register now for the program, called Kids Ride Free on Rail, with the DC One Card, which is required.

Public Charter School students are also eligible, but not private, parochial or homeschooled students, who remain eligible for the Kids Ride Free on Bus program. Enrolling in the rail program automatically enrolls students in the bus program. This program could replace the $30 30-day pass for some students, though the free pass may be revoked if used for non-school events.

Georgetowner •

Owners of three Maine Avenue Fish Market businesses have sued the D.C. government and two developers of the $2 billion Wharf project, the largest mixed-use development project in the District, alleging that they are being forced out of business. In the complaint, the businesses say the government shut down Water Street SW, the primary access point to the Fish Market, preventing customer and delivery access, that construction crews have blocked their parking lots and that the developers have attempted to evict them illegally.

Since a meeting last year between the owners and representatives of the developers failed to resolve their differences, developers have tried to evict two of the businesses. The market owners asked the U.S. District Court for D.C. to prevent “further blocking, altering, or eliminating any entrances to or exits from Plaintiffs’ leased property including the Common Area.”

The CEO of one of the developers, Monty Hoffman, issued a statement recently that said, “With any large-scale project in a dense urban area, some temporary disruption is inevitable.”

Georgetowner •

Reversing her original stance to keep police officers’ body-camera footage away from public view, Mayor Muriel Bowser has proposed the most open plan in America. Citing the high-profile police shootings of the past year, Bowser has changed her stance. “Nationally, we have all seen too many instances where video footage proved to be invaluable,” she said.

Private citizens would be able to view silenced footage of any police interactions on street corners, during traffic stops and elsewhere outdoors. But, in line with privacy concerns, video recorded indoors or in private settings and cases of domestic violence or sexual assault, even in public places, would not be viewable except in court proceedings.

Any person recorded by a body camera could view footage of their interaction at a police station within 90 days of the incident. Academic researchers, prosecutors, the Office of Police Complaints and a few others would have unrestricted access to all of the footage.

The D.C. officers’ union and advocates for open government and police accountability say the plan does not go far enough, but are pleased that the mayor recognized the lack of support for completely restricting public access.
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Robert Devaney •

The CVS at 2819 M St. NW had an unwelcome shopper Aug. 11, and the store manager knew it. She went to the local Georgetown Business GroupMe app — an online community that shares information or photos on suspicious shoppers, among other things — on her smartphone and asked for a “walk through” of the store by an officer of the Metropolitan Police Department. A policeman quickly arrived and checked out the suspect, who was with friends.

The suspect had taken off his ankle monitor and held an H&M shopping bag (now, for store employees, a well-known clue that a person may be looking to shoplift). The MPD officer struggled with the suspect and injured his (the officer’s) foot. The suspect was handcuffed and sat down on the sidewalk as about 15 MPD officers arrived on the scene. While grabbing the attention of passersby, the scene was quickly taken care of by MPD, the D.C. Fire Department and EMS, with both officer and suspect taken away in ambulances for a hospital checkup.
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