The Washington Post - 20.02.2020

KLMNO

METRO

thursday, february 20 , 2020. washingtonpost.com/regional eZ su B

John Kelly’s WAshInGTon

in 1964, Peter and gordon

caused a near-riot in

alexandria. Peter asher’s

back for more. B 3

MARylAnD

a former diplomat’s

daughter is denied bond

in a fatal stabbing at a

Rockville airbnb. B4

oBITUARIes

Zoe Caldwell, 86, an

acclaimed stage actress,

won four tony awards over

34 ° 38 ° 41 ° 37 °^30 years. B5

8 a.m. Noon 4 p.m. 8 p.m.

High today at

approx. 2 p.m.

42

°

Precip: 25%

Wind: N

4-8 mph

BY JUSTIN GEORGE

D.C. Council members want

Metro to create a civilian review

board to investigate claims of

abuse, selective enforcement and

excessive force b y its transit police

officers.

At a hearing Wednesday, coun-

cil member Robert C. White Jr.

(D-At Large) said revelations last

week that Metro Transit Police

held a month-long competition to

see who could make the most ar-

rests was “deeply troubling” and

incentivized aggressive tactics

that could lead to needless con-

frontations with customers.

White said it underscored the

need for greater oversight of the

transit police department, which

is independent of D.C. govern-

ment and state agencies.

“I was happy to hear that [the

contest] was ended quickly,”

White said. “But to be clear, the

existence of the competition un-

fortunately only further under-

mines community trust in the

Metro Transit Police.”

Metro board vice chairman Mi-

chael Goldman, who chairs the

panel’s public safety committee,

declined to comment, deferring to

board chairman Paul C. smed-

berg.

smedberg said in a statement

the board will consider a broad

range of ideas and looks forward

see hearing on b3

Lawmakers

want more

oversight of

Metro police

former officers

blast department

D.C. Council pushes for

a civilian review board

BY KATHERINE SHAVER

Virginia lawmakers have in-

cluded language in the state bud-

get for a $2 million study of how

Metro’s Blue Line could be ex-

tended through Fairfax into

Prince William County to expand

mass transit in the heavily con-

gested and rapidly growing Inter-

state 95 corridor.

If the directive remains in the

General Assembly’s approved

state budget, the study would

explore the cost of extending the

line by about 15 miles to Fort

Belvoir, Lorton, Potomac Mills

and Marine Corps Base Quantico.

It also would examine the poten-

tial ridership, location of stations

and effects on those areas’ devel-

opment.

Many northern Virginia lead-

ers have long sought such a study.

However, advocates say new

Democratic control of the Gener-

al Assembly and the Prince Wil-

liam Board of County supervisors

shifted support toward transit

investments in an area that has

long focused on expanding roads.

sen. scott A. surovell (D-Fair-

fax), who pushed for the study,

said 90 percent of his constitu-

ents want more mass transit op-

tions.

“every time we bring it up,

almost every hand in the room

goes up,” surovell said. “I-95 in

Prince William and stafford

[counties] has the worst traffic in

see blue line on b4

Virginia

explores

Blue Line

extension

Budget directive would

allow study on expansion

of Metro into Pr. William

BY MARISSA J. LANG

T

he music stopped as the mayor made

her way across the stage, past bongo

drums and keyboards, timbales and

amps.

But Muriel e. Bowser wasn’t

ready to let the beat die just yet.

“When I say ‘go-go,’ ” t he mayor called to the

crowd, “you say, ‘is D.C.’ ”

Hundreds of Washingtonians whooped and

cheered, their phones raised high to capture a

bit of history.

Bowser (D) had come to southwest Wash-

ington, to an old church turned arts venue, to

sign legislation enshrining go-go, the District’s

homegrown music genre, as the official sound

of the nation’s c apital. she handed out the pens

that she used to musicians, activists and the

daughter of the late Chuck Brown, the godfa-

ther of go-go, who helped create the sound a nd

gave the music its name.

“Today, we’re going to let the world know

that go-go is D.C.,” Bowser said. “We have to put

our shoulders t o the wheel to make sure we are

creating a real legacy for generations to come.”

The bill, which received unanimous support

from members of the D.C. Council, goes far

see go-go on b2

Photos BY Jahi Chikwendiu/the washington Post

D.C. goes all in for go-go

City officially claims its homegrown sound and commits to promoting and preserving the music

ToP: The backyard band prepares to perform at the District’s go-go celebration.

above: Mayor Muriel e. bowser (D) makes the official announcement on go-go music

during the gathering in southwest Washington. behind her in the red go-go sweatshirt

is D.C. Council member Kenyan r. McDuffie (D-Ward 5), who wrote the city’s go-go bill.

The task seemed

easy enough.

At the

beginning of the

school year, my

son’s

kindergarten

teacher requested

that each student

bring to class three items that

weren’t on the regular school

supplies list.

one was a spare outfit. If you

have children, this needs no

explanation. And if you don’t

have children, then you have

fortunately never opened a

backpack to find a zip-top bag

stuffed with damp clothes.

The second item was a blanket

for those students who still took

naps. or maybe it was slippers.

Truthfully, I only remember that

it was something within easy

reach because I didn’t have to

add it to any mental to-do list —

unlike the third item.

That third item pestered me

for days, and then weeks, tapping

on my shoulder every once in a

while to let me know it was still

there, waiting. I eventually

accepted that I was never going

to get it done. I purposely pushed

aside thoughts of it and

convinced myself that his teacher

had forgotten anyway.

she hadn’t.

A few weeks ago, halfway

through the school year, I

opened my dinosaur-obsessed

kid’s dinosaur-themed backpack,

and there it was — a gentle but

undeniable tap.

A slip of paper let me know

that he still hadn’t brought in a

framed family photo.

We live in an age of

smartphones and tablets and

doorbells that are capable of

capturing acts of thievery and

kindness. Cameras are all around

us all the time. Finding a family

photo should have taken a few

minutes. It should have required

a quick scroll, click and print.

It should not have been a

source of stress.

And yet, there I was, stressing

because I couldn’t think of a

single current family photo to

send.

I have a phone and iPad filled

with images of my two sons. I

have pictures of them together.

Pictures of them with their dad.

Pictures of them with their

see vargas on b4

In family photos, moms get little exposure

theresa

Vargas

We may be main

characters in our

children’s lives, but we

are only guest stars in

our camera rolls.

BY PERRY STEIN

In Philadelphia and Chicago,

school librarians looked with

dread as their positions were

slashed. now, librarians in the

District are fighting to make sure

the s ame fate does not b efall them.

In 2 019, the D.C. school system

made a change that largely went

unnoticed, allowing principals

to request that money intended

for librarians be used for other

purposes.

Many school librarians are just

learning about this change dur-

ing the ongoing process to deter-

mine next year’s budget and fear

that, when budgets get tight, li-

brarians will be the first to go.

They are calling on the school

system to require every campus to

have a librarian.

“We know the track record,” s aid

Kenneth nero Jr., librarian at Ron

Brown College Preparatory High

school in northeast Washington.

“When things get tight, they end

up cutting librarians first.”

school librarians throughout

the country have been fighting to

recover from drastic cuts made

during the Great Recession. In

2012, the D.C. public school sys-

tem laid off dozens of librarians to

balance its budget.

now, 8 3 of the system’s 118

schools have full-time librarians,

an increase since 2012. schools

see librarians on b2

D.C. librarians advocate

for preserving their jobs

A call for school system

to require the position,

even if budgets are tight