February 28, 2006
Morning Roundup: Fat Tuesday Editon
Bring out your purple plastic beads and get ready for some king cake! Well, we wish. For obvious reasons, the District and surrounding areas are decidedly calmer than, say, Bourbon Street. But we've still got some action going on. If you'd like to experience some good ol’ Mardi Gras flavor, the Post's City Guide lists what's going on today, from galas to Zydeco. Of course, there is always Lulu’s in Foggy Bottom -- they bring Mardi Gras cheer to the District all year long. And now, for some news:
Reward Offered in U Street Shooting: After a shooting on the popular U Street corridor this weekend left a bystander dead, the search continues for those involved in a late-night attack. The shooting left 33-year-old Arlington architect Damon Ward dead and a 21-year old woman injured. According to Fox 5's News at 10, Ward was a talented architect in his prime who designed the world's first cageless animal shelter, which is still under construction. Anyone with tips regarding this crime should call D.C. police at 202-727-9099.
D.C. School Superintendent Reveals Master Plan: D.C. Public Schools Superintendent Clifford Janey yesterday unveiled his Master Education Plan, a 124-page document outlining a big overhaul to the system. As listed in the Examiner, Janey's plan would include arts, music and physical education being reintroduced into the system, students being required to complete additional math and science classes, as well as expanding vocational education programs. The plan will cost DCPS $264 million over the next three years, which is nearly twice what the system has available. The plan also suggests that five of the city's 20 high schools all with enrollments below 500 could be reconfigured and that the "community school" concept, which has been successful in other major U.S. cities, be expanded.
Silver Spring Transit receives $24 million in Federal Funds: In an effort to revamp the Silver Spring Metro station and transit center, $24 million in federal funds have been appropriated for the project. The State of Maryland had previously agreed to contribute $6 million to the project, but the governor's office announced Monday that such funds were not included in their budget. As noted in the Examiner, the Transit Center is slated to include two levels for buses, a third level for the Kiss & Ride area, a taxi stand and short-term parking as well as an urban park.
Briefly Noted: GW down, Georgetown up ... Hearing to be held on Dulles Rail Plan ... High-ranking D.C. fire official under investigation ... Sun reporter critically injured in Downtown Baltimore.
Picture snapped by ohad*.
|
Does anyone have first hand knowledge on that "community school" concept. According to the Examiner, it involves making the school more of a year-round community center, meaning health, social services, recreation, etc. It sounds like a good idea, but I wonder if it makes sense for a school to be providing those services, when other entities already do that. Wouldn't that create overlapping costs? Does it even work geographically? If kids don't go to a school in their neighborhood, what use is having all the services provided there? They say it was successful elsewhere, anyone know that for themselves? I suppose if it's cost efficient it would be good to reinforce the centrality of education, etc., and I know that much of my childhood activities revolved around the schools, but I just worry that it's not a financially sustainable idea.
Fat Tuesday and no mention of Anna Nicole Smith being in town for her Supreme Court case...
Shouldn't everyone be there with their cameras and bells on, ready to catch a quick glimpse of the super mega star...
Wha!?!
GW, while under-staffed with Pops out for the next week and a half due to a meniscus tear, still has the longest winning streak in the nation and is one of only two teams in Division I with a single loss. Duke, despite a couple of very squeaky games rose, but GW falls... in both polls, how's that happen?
I think that you accidentally linked the wrong Fox5 article. I'm getting "woman sentenced to jail for sons' truancy."
Dan S.,
While I am by no means a polling expert, my guess would be that the teams that rose played harder teams for their wins. Yes, yes, we know, G-Dub's got a winning streak. When your tough competition includes Richmond and Xavier... well, uh, any decent team should be doing the same. I'm not belittling GW, and I'm actually quite proud of them. I'm just saying that their falling in the polls is probably due to the fact that teams ranked higher than they are win against harder teams. (Hey, who knows, if GW has a successful couple of years or more, maybe they can change conferences?)
Here's the way I see the GW ranking. If the teams above them would have played the same schedule as GW, they would all have the same record, if not undefeated. Additionally, their margin of victory would likely be higher. Could you imagine Duke playing in the same conference as GW?
An extreme analogy is this: do you think the #1 D3 team in the country could beat the #25 team in D1? Of course not. Records and win streaks only matter so much. Look at Gonzaga for another example.
GWU didn't fall in both polls. GWU dropped in the AP poll and but remained at #6 this week in the coaches poll. Although they only keep #6 by 3 votes over number #7 Texas
Here's an updated link to the story about the U Street homicide.
Thanks for the heads up on the Fox 5 link...I swear, there was a Fox 5 story up on the website about the shooting between 11pm last night and 8am this morning. I haven't the slightest where it is now, so no new link.
The team that leapfrogged GW (Texas) crushed a top 20 team (Kansas) by 25 points in a nationally televised primetime game. Not really a shocker they would slip by mighty GW.
U Street murder update:
Chief Ramsey has increased the reward to $50,000 for info leading to an arrest and conviction in the Damon Ward murder case.
Damon was a good friend of mine, so I certainly hope this continued media attention will help solve this senseless crime. It was U Street in front of Ben's. I cannot think of a more crowded place to be on a late night.
Dan.. because GW plays in the Atlantic Ten, which may or may not be as strong as the Washington Area Catholic School league
Polls don't matter, but RPI does. GWU may not even get a 2 seed in the tourney
Hmmm... so, I suppose that all the fawning over St. Joe's undefeated season two years ago really shouldn't count, since they played in the A-10, huh? It should have an aterisk that signifies the record is really the equivalent of a 19-6 record in the SEC, eh?