Stabbing at The Brandywine in 4500 block Connecticut Ave. NW DC

[Anonymous]

^ often denies it

[Anonymous]

The tax base in ward 3 is going to up and move if this doesn’t change fast.

[Anonymous]

Judges and USAO are federally appointed. If they see their jobs as a social justice opportunity and do not value public safety, no change in mayor or # of cops will make any difference.

NoVA and MoCo are safer but are adopting many of the same policies, including restorative justice.

[Anonymous]

Several MPD cars in front of The Saratoga, next to The Brandywine and site of recent Sat afternoon shooting.

Earlier, saw flyers on light poles about apartments at The Chesapeake having doors jimmied and burglaries w/o locks being broken.

Those buildings used to be full of retirees and Murch families. It still is shocking how quickly Forest Hills has changed. I feel sorry for the elderly in rent controlled apartments who may feel stuck/trapped.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The tax base in ward 3 is going to up and move if this doesn’t change fast.

Many in the DC judiciary are likely closer to JLG in outlook and given that they are federally appointed, with 15 year terms, nothing will change. SJ types have Superior Court, staff USAO and AG's office as career prosecutors and hold the Council. No change in Mayor or fiddling with MPD staffing will change the more powerful levers, mayors actually have little influence over the criminal justice system. There are no signs of it changing at all. After being summoned to the Hill, the USAO briefly increased the prosecution rate to a point where it was still a complete outlier vis a vis other D cities, then after a press conference, allowed it to drop further again. The cynicism is something. The case above re: the Days Inn shooter still being on the street to witness tamper and commit more violent crimes is quite revealing about how the system ACTUALLY works.

[Anonymous]

Lolz

Be smart…stay apart

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Several MPD cars in front of The Saratoga, next to The Brandywine and site of recent Sat afternoon shooting.

Earlier, saw flyers on light poles about apartments at The Chesapeake having doors jimmied and burglaries w/o locks being broken.

Those buildings used to be full of retirees and Murch families. It still is shocking how quickly Forest Hills has changed. I feel sorry for the elderly in rent controlled apartments who may feel stuck/trapped.

I lived there for years in two different buildings, including the Chesapeake. I never even heard people’s music or even people walking around, much less burglaries and violence. I knew one person who had their car stolen for parts by a professional operation and that was it in literally years. It was safer and quieter than the Howard County suburb I had moved from. It’s shocking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Judges and USAO are federally appointed. If they see their jobs as a social justice opportunity and do not value public safety, no change in mayor or # of cops will make any difference.

NoVA and MoCo are safer but are adopting many of the same policies, including restorative justice.

Official appointment of Superior Court judges are by the President. However the judges are recommended by the DC Judicial Nomination Commission, which is effectively the mayor + council.
https://jnc.dc.gov/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Update re: Days Inn shooter, the one who KILLED a woman and injured 4 others, even for DC this is UNBELIEVABLE!

I have no words.

Prior to being appointed as a judge, she was a public defender for 14 years.

Her 15 year term is almost up, anyone know of ways to keep her from remaining on the bench?

She is well known amongst those that practice criminal law in DC for being the most defense friendly judge on the bench. She has never remotely attempted to move away from being a public defender. Learning she was the judge that allowed this person to remain on the streets was not shocking in the least.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Update re: Days Inn shooter, the one who KILLED a woman and injured 4 others, even for DC this is UNBELIEVABLE!

I have no words.

Prior to being appointed as a judge, she was a public defender for 14 years.

Her 15 year term is almost up, anyone know of ways to keep her from remaining on the bench?

She is well known amongst those that practice criminal law in DC for being the most defense friendly judge on the bench. She has never remotely attempted to move away from being a public defender. Learning she was the judge that allowed this person to remain on the streets was not shocking in the least.

Another Obama appointee.

[Anonymous]

So here’s an idea on how to course correct on DC’s voucher program: let’s give MPD cops and firefighters and junior level federal agents the opportunity to live in a voucher rental on Connecticut Avenue if they want to. Not only would it provide workforce housing to deserving public servants, it could help to get more voucher residents to walk the straight and narrow instead of committing crime and mayhem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So here’s an idea on how to course correct on DC’s voucher program: let’s give MPD cops and firefighters and junior level federal agents the opportunity to live in a voucher rental on Connecticut Avenue if they want to. Not only would it provide workforce housing to deserving public servants, it could help to get more voucher residents to walk the straight and narrow instead of committing crime and mayhem.

That would be fantastic. It makes way to much sense for DC to implement

[Anonymous]

Panel at Ward 3 Democrats Dec. 6th meeting will discuss housing vouchers and impact on rent-stabilized apartments

The Ward 3 Democrats, at their meeting Wednesday, December 6th at 7 p.m., are hosting a panel on housing vouchers and their impact on rent-stabilized buildings. This virtual meeting is open to the public, but to watch the panel, you must register in advance.

The panelists are Ward 3 Council member Matt Frumin, Department of Human Services Director Laura Zeilinger, and Van Ness South Tenants Association leader Harry Gural.

A Facebook post promoting the event refers to the voucher program being discussed as “Housing Choice,” and Frumin has some related legislation in the works.

https://www.foresthillsconnection.com/news/panel-at-ward-3-democrats-dec-6th-meeting-will-discuss-housing-vouchers-and-impact-on-rent-stabilized-apartments/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So here’s an idea on how to course correct on DC’s voucher program: let’s give MPD cops and firefighters and junior level federal agents the opportunity to live in a voucher rental on Connecticut Avenue if they want to. Not only would it provide workforce housing to deserving public servants, it could help to get more voucher residents to walk the straight and narrow instead of committing crime and mayhem.

This is a great idea.

[Anonymous]

The Forest Hills Connection article provides a useful primer on the Housing Choice and Housing First programs. See link above to click links to additional information.

Housing Choice, formerly known as Section 8, is a federally funded program focused on low-income renters who need assistance, and is administered by the DC Housing Authority (DCHA). The waiting list is thousands of names long, and has been closed since 2013. Moving up the list can be a years-long process. The federal government hasn’t changed DC’s allotment in years, and local municipalities can provide additional funding, but Street Sense in DCist reported in 2022 that the District allocated only enough money to take an additional 310 people off the waitlist in the 2022 fiscal year, and 20 in FY2023. One man in the article waited 15 years for his name to rise to the top, during which time he experienced several bouts of homelessness and ended up in housing under a Housing First program.

Housing First is an approach to moving people from homelessness into permanent housing, recommended by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, and used by the DC Department of Human Services (DHS) in the administration of its own housing voucher programs, which include permanent supportive housing (PSH) for the chronically homeless, including intensive services, and targeted assisted vouchers (TAH) for individuals or households who need fewer services. We explain more here.

The DHS programs have seen rapid growth. DHS, in its frequently updated “A Path to Ending Homelessness” report, said it added more than 5,000 new PSH and TAH vouchers in the 2022 and 2023 fiscal years, more than doubling participation in programs that issued their first vouchers in 2017. Additionally, the DC Department of Behavioral Health Services and programs targeting veterans and returning citizens issue their own housing vouchers. The growth in the DSH programs corresponds with significant upswing in voucher renters in at least six neighborhood rent-stabilized buildings, first reported in 2019.

DCHA sets all voucher payment rates, including those under Housing Choice and Housing First, by determining “rent reasonableness.” HUD blasted DCHA in an October 2022 report for paying landlords rents well in excess of what it considers fair market rates. And The Washington Post and DCist reported at length in February and March on DCHA policies that allowed property owners to “command double or triple what they would otherwise collect” from unsubsidized residents of rent-stabilized buildings, creating incentives to turn the properties into de facto public housing.

In March, Council member Frumin introduced legislation seeking to address the overpayments in rent-stabilized buildings by requiring that DCHA “remove the exemption of housing vouchers from rent stabilization laws.”

"Returning citizens" are convicts who may have committed sex offenses, murder or other violent crime.