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POLICE REPORTS: A DOZEN POT BUSTS AT CAPITOL SINCE LAST YEAR
A dozen people have been arrested with marijuana while trying to enter the Capitol in the past 18 months, a review of police reports by The Hill found.
Tourists, visitors and staff undergo a strict screening process before entering the House and Senate and their respective office buildings, passing though metal detectors and an X-ray machine on the way. But in the past year and a half, police have stopped at least a dozen people who have entered the building with marijuana and other illegal drugs, including cocaine in one instance, according to police reports. (The Hill)
DC COUNCILWOMAN MOVES TO KEEP ON THE AC
The extreme heat blasting Washington in recent weeks has D.C. Councilwoman Mary Cheh scrambling to help keep the air-conditioning on for residents who are behind on their utility bills.
Cheh has introduced emergency legislation that would prevent power and gas companies from shutting off residents' utilities during extreme heat. The legislation will be considered by the full council on Tuesday and comes on the heels of one of the hottest heat waves to have hit Washington in a decade. (Washington Examiner)
FAMILY TRAPPED IN ELEVATOR FOR 30 MINUTES
A family of five was stuck in the elevator at the Cleveland Park Metro station for more than a half hour this afternoon. At 12:45p.m., fire spokesman Pete Piringer sent out an alert that the elevator had broken with the parents and children trapped inside, later adding that everyone was safe and unharmed. It wasn't until just before 1:30 that he wrote that the family was "freed and happy."
The elevator runs up a lengthy shaft from the Metro station mezzanine to Connecticut Avenue near the zoo, and is often used by families with strollers and young children bound to check out the animals--but the family likely expected to be outside, with the animals confined to their cages, not the other way around. (Washington Post)
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SUMMER GASOLINE PRICES SHOULD HOLD STEADY
Gasoline pump prices should stay in a fairly narrow range this summer, putting less strain on family budgets for summer driving trips and commutes to work.
The national average for a gallon of unleaded regular was $2.715 Monday, according to AAA, Wright Express and Oil Price Information Service. That's down almost a penny from a week ago and 17.8 cents higher than a year ago. (WTOP)
