FORMER PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY EXECUTIVE JACK B. JOHNSON had 275,000 copies printed of a glossy booklet trumpeting his achievements in office. That was before he was taken out of his house in handcuffs. Now the booklets, which cost taxpayers upwards of $225,000 await shredding, The Washington Post reports.
FORMER METROPOLITAN POLICE CHIEF CHARLES H. RAMSEY isn’t happy with comments made recently by current Metropolitan Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier regarding his use of discipline. “There’s always going to be second-guessing, but I’m not about to criticize other chiefs who came before me or after me. It’s not my place to do so,” former D.C. Chief and current Philadelphia Police Commissioner Ramsey tells The Washington Times. In other words, Chief Lanier should stick to talking about her own record.
D.C. COUNCIL MEMBER HARRY THOMAS JR. did not disclose on city ethics forms the checks he wrote to “cash” or to himself, The Washington Times reports. This should make that other ongoing investigation into Mr. Thomas by the Office of Campaign Finance that much easier.
REPUBLICANS IN MARYLAND’S HOUSE OF DELEGATES say Gov. Martin O’Malley’s Asia junket will cost far more than the $100,000 the state has said, according to MarylandReporter.com.
FORMER D.C. ATTORNEY GENERAL PETER NICKLES weighs in on the case against D.C. Council member Harry Thomas Jr. in the Washington City Paper “I said many months ago he was in big trouble, and he is.”
VIRGINIA’S HOUSE AND SENATE on Thursday sent two competing congressional redistricting maps to a bipartisan conference committee, where members will hammer out differences such as whether to create the state’s second majority black district, The Washington Times reports. The Democrat-led Senate approved on a party-line 22-15 vote a map giving blacks significant voting influence in two instead of one of Virginia’s 11 congressional districts. The Republican-led House promptly rejected it.
SPEED CAMERAS ARE COMING TO THE BELTWAY for the first time as part of a new long-term work zone, WTOP reports. “Exactly when speed camera enforcement will begin has not yet been announced, but once it does, there will be a three-week warning period before any $40 tickets are issued.” The speed limit remains 55, so speeders must be going at least 67 to get a ticket.
D.C. COUNCIL MEMBER MICHAEL BROWN will step down from the Metro board after having missed two-thirds of the meetings, the Washington Examiner reports. The reason for the poor attendance? He’s a busy guy.
• Matthew Cella can be reached at mcella@washingtontimes.com.
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