MORE ARREST IN DC TECH OFFICE SCANDAL
A second D.C. government employee was charged yesterday with being a key participant in a kickback and bribery scam involving hundreds of thousands of dollarA second D.C. government employee was charged yesterday with being a key participant in a kickback and bribery scam involving hundreds of thousands of dollars in District technology contracts. The charges come as D.C. officials scramble to determine the fallout of the scandal. In a news conference yesterday, Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) said he had ordered an audit of the D.C. Office of the Chief Technology Officer and had restricted its contracting powers to reduce the chance of fraud. (Washington Post)
TO BUILD OR NOT TO BUILD
It’s time for the District government to fulfill a promise made a year ago to more than two-hundred people who were burned out of the Deauville apartments in historic Mt. Pleasant. When a massive fire tore through the building in March 2008, residents’ lives were turned upside down and Mt. Pleasant Street’s appearance took a turn for the worse. In the days immediately following the fire, DC Mayor Adrian Fenty and Ward 1 Council member Jim Graham were the saviors for hundreds of people who needed temporary housing. But the two city leaders also made two hefty promises they have not been able to keep. They promised to not only rebuild the the structure, but also find a way to take the building away from the owner who was responsible for years of building code violations. (Examiner)
BACKYARD SURVIVAL
The home garden is the hot place to be this spring, according to enthusiasts of the pastime. Shoppers are increasingly turning to their backyards for fresh and inexpensive food both in Montgomery County and across the nation. According to a recent National Gardening Association poll, 43 million Americans plan to grow their own fruits, vegetables, herbs and berries this year, a 19 percent jump from last year. Twenty-one percent of respondents said they plan to begin gardening in 2009, according to the survey, while 11 percent of people who already have gardens expect to grow more and 10 percent plan to spend more time in their gardens. The Maryland Master Gardeners launched a "Grow It Eat It" program this winter to help people start vegetable gardens after receiving an increasing number of inquiries on the topic in 2008, according to Master Gardener Bob McDowell of Damascus. Rising food and energy costs and the growth of organic and local food movements have contributed to the mounting interest, he said. (Gazette)
FORECLOSURE PROMPTS FOOD MINISTRY
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The past two years were hard for Tracy and Sheldon Robison, who went through home foreclosure, job loss and a diabetes diagnosis, and the Hyattsville couple could barely feed themselves and their three children. The couple turned to a food donation program to make ends meet and pulled themselves out of foreclosure and into new jobs. But their hard work didn't end there on the heels of her own crisis, Tracy Robison founded a pantry program similar to the one she had relied on so she could help make life easier and cabinets fuller for other struggling families in the area. (Gazette)