D.C. is declaring a war on white-tailed deer. Authorities are set to adopt a plan to manage the killing of hundreds of deer grazing Rock Creek Park into oblivion, according to The Guardian.
The plan will go into effect next January and government sharpshooters will be deployed at night to kill about 300 deer now roaming the park and surrounding neighborhoods, the park’s chief ranger told The Guardian Tuesday.
The plan will take place over three years and will bring down the deer population in the park to about 15 to 20 deer per square miles. Officials believe there are about 80 deer per square mile in the D.C. portions of the park.
Some say the deer population is now about four times what the park can sustain, and many residents complain of the deer ravaging their homes' landscaping. Drivers also say they fear colliding with the deer.
* New Ward 5 Councilman Kenyan McDuffie will be assigned today to be the chairman of a new committee overseeing the District Department of Employment Services, according to The Washington Examiner.
Chairman Kwame Brown is also expected to combine the economic development committee and the housing committee, which will be renamed the Committee on Economic Development and Housing. Councilman Michael Brown will be the head of this new committee, according to The Washington Examiner.
The Committee on Government Operations, headed by Ward 4 Council woman Muriel Bowser, will get jurisdiction over the Department of General Services.
* D.C. Council Chairman Kwame Brown roughed up a WTOP reporter outside the city council meeting Tuesday when the reporter asked him a question about the ongoing federal investigation against him.
According to WTOP, the radio station’s reporter Mark Segraves was waiting in the anteroom between Brown’s office and the council’s main chamber. When Brown left his office to enter the chamber Segraves asked his question.
Brown apparently first walked past the group of reporters and said “no questions.” When pressed further, he shoved his forearm into Segraves chest and pushed him up against the wall.
The Washington Examiner’s Alan Blinder witnessed the incident and in a tweet wrote that “Kwame Brown pushes @SegravesWTOP (not hard, but enough to send a message) as reporters approach with questions.”
According to WTOP, Brown later “winked and smiled” at Segraves in the chamber from the council dais.
Listen to the audio of the altercation here.
* Although he hasn’t yet officially announced his gubernatorial run, Terry McAulliffe launched a nine-city tour through Virginia this week, according to The Post.
On the tour through the Shenandoah Valley, Southside and Southwest, McAuliffe is talking to potential 2013 supporters, emphasizing the need for Virginia to compete globally.
* Councilman Jack Evans did not offer his amendment to implement a ticket-sharing plan before the budget bill passed the council unanimously, according to The Post.
Evans sent out a budget amendment Monday proposing a plan to split ticket giveaways to National Park and Verizon Center evenly between the mayor and council members.
* D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray named three attorneys Tuesday to serve on the newly created D.C. Board of Ethics and Government Accountability.
Former D.C. attorney general Robert Spagnoletti, Laura Richards and Deborah Lathen were named to the board, according to The Washington Times.
The D.C. Council must now confirm the nominees.
