dc stuff

[nacho]

Good.  I'm glad it took them 33 years to replace the idiotic slippery death tiles.

For the past four months, riders on Metro's Red Line have been able to notice a new kind of flooring at DC's Takoma station. Installed as a part of a test to see how well the new material would hold up, the new, larger pre-cast concrete tiles are located at the far northern end of the platform, where they are exposed to the elements. Metro announced yesterday that the test has been successful, and these tiles will soon be coming to other stations whose floors are in need of replacement.

Since 1976, Metro has been using a terra cotta-colored, hexagonal glazed tile. This design feature has long been one of Metro's common design themes which help to unite the architectural experience. Unfortunately, these tiles have not held up well under outside conditions. Metro reports that one of the reasons for platform deterioration at exterior stations has been caused by water seeping through the tiles and damaging the underlying structure.

The new tiles are made of concrete. They are square, but are cut to appear hexagonal. Each slab is larger than the traditional seven-inch hexagonal tiles rail riders are used to, reducing the permeability of the platform surface. These tiles should do a better job of protecting the platform supports in addition to being safer for passengers. They will be less likely to come loose as the current tiles are wont to do, and have the added advantage of being less slippery. The new tiles are just as easy to keep clean as the old tiles, but require less upkeep. Additionally, the uniformity of design which is unique to Metro will be maintained.

These tiles will be installed soon at other Metro stations where decades of snow and rail have taken their toll. The rehabilitation of platforms with these tiles is expected to occur this fall. All future Metrorail platform construction and rehabillitation, including the Silver Line to Tysons and Dulles, will use the new pre-cast concrete tiles.

[nacho]

So NOLA has this whole crescent city manhole cover shit that's beautiful and has become a weird local art thing:

http://www.planetneworleans.com/new_orleans/2005/11/new_orleans_water_meter_cover.html



And what does DC get?  We get DC Slits:

[nacho]

Two people were shot last week and, well... Now this craziness broke over the weekend:

The shooter from the incident  outside Five Guys in Columbia Heights has turned himself in and apparently was an intern for CM Graham.  From an email from Council Member Jim Graham:

“This morning I sent out the message, below.  By early afternoon, I received a call from media with a rumor that the shooter was an intern in my office.  I could hardly believe what I heard…all the same, I confronted the young man with this incredible report.  He had started work in my office only this week, and had been absent for the better part of two days.He had been at the Convention Center for the summer youth program.In response to my direct questions, he denied any involvement with the afternoon shooting.

I also contacted a high ranking MPD official, who assured me that MPD at that time had no suspects.  I then went to the Mayor’s press conference on gang violence at 14th and Irving.  During the press conference, I heard MPD announce that they had a suspect and expected to make an arrest before the end of the day. When I got back to the office, after 5 PM, all the interns had left.But I received a call from MPD saying they had a warrant for the intern’s arrest on a charge of assault with a deadly weapon. 

I then called the intern, whose is a 19 year old named Devyn Black, and told him there was a warrant out for his arrest.I advised him that the best course for action was for him to turn himself in, and cooperate with eh police.  I offered to come and get him in my car and take him to the Third District headquarters at 17th and V.  He agreed, and I went and got him. He surrendered to police and 3D, was charged and is now in custody. It’s very sad and upsetting. But he did the right thing ultimately.

Have a good and safe weekend, Bests Councilmember Jim Graham”

[nacho]

Man, bad night for DC.  Prince of Petworth posts this on his blog:

I got two very similar sounding emails. First from the Lamont & Georgia Area:

“In the last 30 minutes - multiple volleys, 60+ initial shots. Major police / fire / ambulance response.”

Second from the Warder and Newton Area:

“Around 9:45pm this evening, I heard a number of what sounded to be gunshots (I have a hard time telling… there were fireworks going off in the neighborhood as well tonight). It sounded pretty intense, with some squealing tires following and tons of emergency services sirens shortly thereafter. I also heard some my neighbors’ kids outside screaming, “Someone got shot!” Perhaps you can verify and/or shed some light?”

I haven’t seen any police reports but will update as soon as I do. Did anyone else hear/see this incident?

UPDATE:

“There is now a police or news helicopter circling the area. My neighbor indicated that a black SUV right outside our building at the 3500 block of Warder has 3 bullet holes in it and that the gunfight initially began on Quebec Place, NW. Likely related is an overturned car near Georgia Ave. ”

This has just been a brutal day…

[RottingCorpse]

Nacho, I know you've been in moving hell, but I'm sure you've caught wind of the lastest Marion Berry/City Paper drama.

I mean, who wouldn't love this headline?

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/display.php?id=37514

[nacho]

That headline is something!  CP's desperate. 

[RottingCorpse]

Between Comcast and work, I though you might have snapped, Nacho.

Police shoot and kill armed man near US Capitol

WASHINGTON – A chaotic scene unfolded near the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday after police shot and killed an armed man in what authorities described as a routine rush hour traffic stop that turned deadly.

U.S. Capitol Police spokeswoman Sgt. Kim Schneider said the unidentified 35-year-old man refused to stop at the checkpoint about two blocks north of the Capitol complex. The man drove the wrong way down a street and struck two officers with his car — one on foot and the other on a motorcycle, Schneider said. The two officers received minor injuries.

Police opened fire after the man brandished a handgun and refused to put it down, said Schneider, who described the melee as "very fast moving, very fluid."

"The officers felt they were being threatened — they were in fear for their lives," Schneider said.

She did not know if the man fired at police first. District of Columbia Fire Department spokesman Pete Piringer said the man was being taken to a hospital. It was not clear where he died.

The late afternoon scare occurred as lawmakers were wrapping up a third day of hearings for Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor. Police briefly sealed off part of the Capitol as a precaution, but the buildings were reopened about a half hour later. Authorities said the shooting was not related to the Capitol complex.

"We hear pop, pop, pop, like a gun," said Carol Lanigan, of Toledo, Ohio, describing how she saw a white car come flying down the street with two police cars behind chasing it.

She said she heard about four or five shots.

"There were so many gunshots being fired my family got down," said Robert Drumm, a tourist from Oklahoma who was visiting the nation's capital with his family.

Drumm said he saw someone being taken away in an ambulance. He said he first noticed trouble when he saw one car speeding and being chased by a police vehicle.

Numerous emergency vehicles converged quickly in the area.

Another witness, Dale Lanigan of Toledo, Ohio, described a similar scene, although he said two police cars gave chase.

As the car went past him, Lanigan said, "the driver had one hand on the wheel and it looked like he was reaching for something."

Lanigan said he then heard shots and police ordered him to get away.

[nacho]

Oh-ho!

MSNBC reportsthat a Virginia judge has scheduled John Allen Mohammed, the infamous DC sniper, for a November 10 execution date.  Mohammed was convicted of murdering Dean Meyers during a random killing spree in 2002 that left 10 people dead and several others severely injured. Over the course of three weeks, Mohammed and his accomplice, Lee Boyd Malvo, shot 14 innocent people in Virgina, Maryland and DC. The pair concealed themselves and a high powered rifle in the back of a specially modified sedan.  Both were captured in 2002 after a concerted effort by law enforcement and local communities and Mohammed was sentenced to death in Virginia in 2004.

[RottingCorpse]

This got double posted in "RC's book of killers."

[nacho]

Yeah.  I searched high and low for the old sniper thread... And for the secret broken forums that I thought were still floating around in the massive labyrinth of GS files.

Oh well.

And, also, yawn.

[Nubbins]

Man, I bet living in DC during that shit was absolutely insane. 

[nacho]

Didn't really faze me.  I remember coming back from the UK and taking the Metro out to just within about a mile of the Leisure World killing.  It was about three days after, and the snipings were still going on.  But it was pretty ho-hum.

I think Chandra Levy got more of a rise out of Washingtonians.

[Reginald McGraw]

I remember going to gas stations in silver spring and olney and looking around.  Other people in those areas seemed nervous too.

[nacho]

Maybe I'm just hyper-paranoid and it's always on my mind so, when it actually does happen, it doesn't feel very different.

[Reginald McGraw]

I'm watching you, riiiiiiiight NOW.