Let's Take Back the Weekend Nights!

Let me first say that we all fully support DC Police Chief Cathy Lanier's efforts to get more cops back on the streets, if that is what is really happening;

"All Hands on Deck" and "Taking Back the Night" are both catchy slogans that bring out a lot of public officials and extra cops in an attempt to allay a lot of the fear that grips city neighborhoods.
But if Mayor Fenty and Chief Lanier are listening to what citizens are saying in the sound bites they are giving to TV cameras--they will deploy these cops at NIGHT! beginning Thursdays, especially around the first of the month, (when government checks arrive and the drug dealers and liquor store owners line up for their cut)and certainly on Friday and Saturday nights when most of the violent crime is taking place.

Who becomes a cop to work business hours...9AM to 5PM Monday through Friday? Would a firefighter leave the academy never expecting to fight a fire?

We need to see cops on the streets before dark and all night long, into the early morning hours when the Clubs let out and when the robbers, gangs, car thieves and burglars are cruising our neighborhoods looking for victims. "All Hands on deck" and "Taking Back the Night" should be more than mere slogans and feel good events..



Here's the latest on the Poplar Point Development Issue.

Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development Neil O. Albert announced today that the District will issue on Aug. 10 a Request for Expressions of Interest (RFEI) for Poplar Point, a 110-acre site along the eastern banks of the Anacostia River in Ward 8.

“Poplar Point is one of the District’s greatest assets and we expect there will be no shortage of interest from the development community,” Albert said. “We are going to move swiftly, but we fully expect to hold an open, transparent and community-driven process to determine the maximum benefits to our residents.”

District officials expect the solicitation will stimulate interest from both the national and international development communities. Respondents will have about 60 days to reply to the solicitation and the District expects to select a development partner about 30 days after the submissions are due.