All things to all people
1| Three GOP senators cover all energy bases
The details: Republican Sens. John Thune of South Dakota, Lindsay Graham of South Carolina and Saxby Chambliss of Georgia have signed support letters proposing both to lift the congressional ban on all off-shore oil and gas drilling and to allow drilling only in strictly limited areas off the coasts of four states. Can they spell hypocrisy?
Off with their heads!
2| Barack and Biden reach for the ax
The details: Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden says he and presidential nominee Barack Obama won’t hesitate to “pursue the violations that have been made against our Constitution by the present administration.” Call it the Henry the VIII approach to politics.
Brits recruiting citizen snoopers
3| Your neighbor may be watching you, bloke
The details: British Home Office officials have approved an environmental program that lets local council officials recruit citizens willing to spy on neighbors who fail to clean up dog poop, sort their trash properly or leave litter in public.
Don’t have facts? Make ’em up
4| Magazine cover links Palin to “lies”
The details: Us Weekly magazine hits the stands this weekend with Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin cradling her baby on the cover, with headline saying “Babies, Lies and Scandal: John McCain’s Vice-President” But when challenged by a Fox News reporter to describe specific lies by Palin, the magazine’s editor admitted the headline referred to “lies by others.”
Millions for us, pennies for you
5| Wisconsin law firm cleans up in settlement
The details: The Lakin Law Firm in Wood River gets $8 million under a $25 million settlement approved by the judge in a class-action law suit against Trialegiant, which admitted no wrong-doing. Members of the class each get at least $20 or up to three times the amount they paid for specific Trialegiant products.
Investigating yourself
6| Internal review justifies shooting mayor’s two dogs.
The details: A Prince George’s Sheriff’s Department review defended its officers who shot and killed Berwyn Heights Mayor Cheye Calvo’s two dogs during a botched July 29 SWAT team drug raid at his home. The dogs – Payton and Chase – attacked the officers – but the report said nothing about the dogs defending against intruders [officers] who invaded Calvo’s home without prior warning.
Not following court orders
7| Judge blasts D.C. school officials.
The details: U.S. District Court Judge Paul Friedman sternly reprimanded D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee and Schools Superintendent Deborah Gist for disobeying a court order to eliminate a large backlog of special ed students waiting for services. Nine school officials who had been working their way through the case files were reassigned and an outside contract was terminated, leaving before hundreds of special ed students without needed services.
Cells with a water view
8| New jail proposed on Anacostia River.
The details: With the new Nationals baseball stadium as an anchor, Anacostia Riverfront revitalization is finally moving in D.C. Officials envision the run-down area becoming a glittering eastern gateway to Capitol Hill. But City Administrator Dan Tangherlini’s proposal to build a new jail there should be labeled “nixed use development”
It’s none of your business
9| Power companies won’t release revenue data.
The details: A three-judge panel ruled that the D.C. Public Service Commission is not required to release data on revenue power companies collect from District residents. But if Verizon, Pepco and Washington Gas Light Co. don’t voluntarily make this information public, they shouldn’t expect to win approval for any future rate increases.
Reopening drunk-while-walking case
10| If you’re bombed, stay on the sidewalk.
The details: More than a decade after Joseph Juvenalis lost his personal-injury case against the city, the D.C. Court of Appeals has granted him a new trial. Juvenalis was more than three times the legal limit when he stumbled into the middle of U Street in 1998 and was hit by a speeding D.C. police van.
