The Washington Post - USA (2022-04-03)

SUNDAY, APRIL 3 , 2022. THE WASHINGTON POST EZ M2 C3

John

Kelly's

Washington

He is away. His column will resume
when he returns.

VIRGINIA

Passenger killed in

Loudoun County crash

A man w as killed early
Saturday in Sterling when the
car he was i n went off the road
and rolled, according to the
Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office.
Orlando J. Rodriguez, 23, of
Maryland died at the scene, o n
Route 7 near Bartholomew Fair
Drive, authorities said. Three
other occupants of car were
injured in the 2:15 a.m. crash,
they said.
Investigators said the car was
eastbound w hen the driver
veered to miss a slower vehicle
and lost control.
— Joe Heim

Alexandria man dies

in crash in Oakton

A 7 8-year-old Alexandria man
died of injuries suffered in a
Wednesday crash in Oakton, the
Fairfax County police said.
Thomas Peregoy was
eastbound on L awyers Road
near Kedge Drive about 2 p.m.
when his car drifted off the road
to the right and struck a tree,
police said. He later died at a
hospital.
— Martin Weil

LOCAL DIGEST

Results from April 2

DISTRICT
Day/DC-3: 9-3-8
DC-4: 8-2-2-6
DC-5: 4-5-3-6-0
Night/DC-3 (Fri.): 0-9-8
DC-3 (Sat.): 4-2-4
DC-4 (Fri.): 6-3-1-2
DC-4 (Sat.): 4-0-3-3
DC-5 (Fri.): 1-9-5-9-8
DC-5 (Sat.): 3-9-7-0-7

MARYLAND
Day/Pick 3: 9-7-2
Pick 4: 1-1-1-3
Pick 5: 8-9-1-2-2
Night/Pick 3 (Fri.): 6-4-7
Pick 3 (Sat.): 9-0-9
Pick 4 (Fri.): 0-6-2-7
Pick 4 (Sat.): 4-1-1-5
Pick 5 (Fri.): 6-3-2-3-1
Pick 5 (Sat.): 3-9-4-2-8
Bonus Match 5 (Fri.): 10-16-21-28-37 29
Bonus Match 5 (Sat.): 9-10-11-17-27 28

VIRGINIA
Day/Pick-3: 7-1-9 ^7
Pick-4: 4-6-9-1 ^8
Night/Pick-3 (Fri.): 7-8-6 ^0
Pick-3 (Sat.): 7-4-2 ^9
Pick-4 (Fri.): 4-0-4-1 ^2
Pick-4 (Sat.): 8-3-2-4 ^4
Cash-5 (Fri.): 1-11-22-35-40
Cash-5 (Sat.): 8-13-19-20-31
Bank a Million: 2-12-14-16-28-39 *32

MULTI-STATE GAMES
Powerball: 6-28-47-58-59 †18
Power Play: 2x
Double Play: 6-7-41-57-61 †14
Mega Millions: 26-42-47-48-63 *21
Megaplier: 5x
Cash 4 Life:3-14-16-33-52 ¶2
Lucky for Life:19-23-32-34-39 ‡16
Bonus Ball **Mega Ball ^Fireball
¶ Cash Ball †Powerball ‡Lucky Ball
For late drawings and other results, check
washingtonpost.com/local/lottery

LOTTERIES

BY BLAINE P.

FRIEDLANDER JR.

Much like March, planetary

sky gazing in April remains most-

ly a morning affair.

Before dawn now, the planets

Venus, Saturn and Mars gather

in the east-southeast, with the

dynamic Venus the easiest to

spot, residing now in the constel-

lation Aquarius, just above the

horizon. Our planetary neighbor

is incredibly bright at -4.4 magni-

tude, according to the U.S. Naval

Observatory.

Saturn and Mars sit to the right

of Venus, on the edge of the

constellation Capricornus. Mars

is far out to the right and has a

+1.1 magnitude, still a little dim to

see in the light-polluted skies of

the Washington area. The ringed

Saturn, between Mars and Venus,

is +0.7 magnitude, slightly bright-

er than Mars, according to the

observatory.

As coffee aroma wafts through

your house, get up tomorrow

(April 4) before the sun and see

Saturn and Mars conjunct. After

the conjunction, these two plan-

ets seemingly switch places and

the planets start forming a line.

Mars, Saturn and Venus start

spreading out each day for a

middle-of-the-month morning

lineup, and the large gaseous

Jupiter (-2 magnitude, very

bright, according to the observa-

tory) emerges from the sun’s glare

to join the planetary parade in the

east-southeastern morning sky,

close to the horizon.

These four fabulously fun plan-

ets fall in line for a notable sight

— before sunrise — about April

10-24, with a defined line around

April 16-18. Jupiter anchors the

group in the east, while the vivid

Venus lines up next. Mars follows

beautifully in the east-southeast,

while Saturn forms the end of the

procession in the southeast.

The elderly, waning moon ap-

proaches Saturn on the morning

of April 24, and the splinter of a

moon scoots under Mars on April

25.

As April began with the Mars-

Saturn conjunction, it will end

with a clash of the bright planets

— a Venus-Jupiter conjunction,

according to the observatory. En-

joy it before sunrise on April 30.

The Lyrid meteors peak April

22 — with about 20 shooting stars

an hour at that peak, according to

predictions from the Royal Astro-

nomical Society of Canada. Late

in the evening, find a dark spot

free of streetlights and get your

eyes acclimated. Be patient and

see a few meteors (dusty rem-

nants of Comet Thatcher found

in 1861) streak across the heav-

ens.

There will be a partial solar

eclipse on April 30 at the very tip

of South America and in the

Antarctic region. Don’t fret if you

miss it.

Down-to-Earth Events

l April 8 — “ Supermassive

Black Holes at the Centers of

Galaxies,” an online lecture by

Shobita Satyapal, a professor of

astrophysics at George Mason

University in Fairfax, Va. 8 p.m. It

is hosted by PSW Science. For

information, visit psw-

science.org, as the YouTube link

to the lecture is at that website.

l April 9 — “ A Review of the

Exoplanet-Host Star Composi-

tion Connection,” an online talk

by Johanna Teske, an astronomer

at the Carnegie Earth and Planets

Lab. The meeting is hosted by the

National Capital Astronomers,

and the virtual Zoom doors open

at 7 p.m. The meeting starts at

7:30 p.m. For more details, vis-

it capitalastronomers.org.

l April 10 — “ How to Measure

Velocities of Distant Galaxy Clus-

ters — and Why,” an online talk by

Arthur Kosowsky, a professor of

physics and astronomy at the

University of Pittsburgh. The

meeting is hosted by the North-

ern Virginia Astronomy Club (no-

vac.com). 7:30 p.m. To view the

lecture: meet.google.com/osh-

bcyd-gti.

l April 20 — “Ancient Cities

and Landscapes from Space: How

Remote Sensing is Transforming

Archaeology,” an in-person and

online lecture by Timothy M.

Murtha, a professor at the Univer-

sity of Florida in Gainesville. In

partnership with the Smithso-

nian’s National Air and Space

Museum, the event is hosted at

the National Museum of the

American Indian (Rasmuson

Theater) on the Mall in Washing-

ton. 8 p.m. To register for the

concurrent in-person event or to

view the online stream, go to:

https://s.si.edu/3IYDzop.

Blaine Friedlander can be reached at

[email protected].

SKY WATCH

Planetary parade as Venus, Saturn, Mars and Jupiter group up at dawn

BY BILLY JEAN LOUIS

B-360 launched a $10 million

campaign in late March to build a

dirt bike campus in Baltimore

City that would allow the non-

profit organization, which teach-

es young adults the science be-

hind dirt biking, to house all of its

programs.

“We don’t have a workspace.

This will not only be a place to

ride — we do need that too — but

a place to make sure we’re adding

and contributing jobs,” Brittany

Young, founder and CEO of B-

360, said before a news confer-

ence with city officials including

Mayor Brandon Scott at the War

Memorial.

The park’s location and when

it could be built depends on how

much money is raised, Young

said.

The number of people a 20-

plus-acre campus and riding area

could accommodate remains un-

clear. But the nonprofit, founded

in 2017, has worked with more

than 8,000 riders so far, Young

said.

Dirt bike riding in Baltimore is

illegal but common in the streets.

While many refer to it as a sport

that’s long been embedded in the

city’s culture, others call it a

public safety concern, particular-

ly when it comes to riders per-

forming stunts in traffic. In May,

footage was posted online of

riders doing wheelies in crowded

Fells Point.

Five years ago, then-Mayor

Catherine Pugh formed a task

force — which included dirt bike

advocates Rashad Staton, Young

and others — to consider build-

ing a city-backed dirt bike park

and reviewing dirt bike laws, but

the task force dissolved after

Pugh’s resignation following a

children’s book scandal.

Baltimore native Staton said

that through his work as an

advocate, he has met law-abiding

riders ranging from elected offi-

cials to parents.

“I think this narrative [that

riders are criminals] is false and

should not be carried on because

it’s dangerous, and it does not

allow us as Black and Brown folks

to be seen as human,” he said. “If

we can’t see humanity in all the

things that we do, we lose sight of

how much we can invest in the

future that makes it beneficial for

all of us to live and thrive and

succeed.”

The community needs to con-

tinue show strength, he said.

“Much of those that are in

favor, that’s helping to push and

expedite the results that we’re

starting to see — as far as policy

change and making space and

investments and building these

dirt bikes — these persons have

always been in favor of it,” Staton

said. “But sometimes you have to

allow time to take its course, and

I think the time is now.”

During the recent news confer-

ence, Scott expressed support for

the program but declined to com-

ment when asked how much the

city will contribute to the project.

“We’re trying to help out young

people express themselves in a

safe way, which is to partner with

anybody who wants to engage

with our young people in a posi-

tive way,” the mayor said.

Jahaud Wilkerson was one of

the riders at the news conference

wearing a hooded shirt reading

“Why we ride. Ride 4 change” at

the War Memorial building. He

said he’d hoped to play college

basketball but got injured.

Around the same time in 2018,

his brother was killed.

Joining B-360 helped him

cope, he said.

“That really took a toll on me

and broke my heart,” Wilkerson

said. “I didn’t want to do any-

thing anymore.”

West Baltimore native and

professional racer Darius Glover,

who received his first bike from

his older brother and father, said

not having a place to practice

while growing up put him at a

disadvantage.

“I had to wait until the week-

ends to be able to go and train,

just so I can be on the same

playing field as everyone else

because a lot of the riders that I

was racing against, they were

able to go and train, or they

might have had land that they

can ride on,” he said.

Joshua Harris, vice president

of the NAACP’s Baltimore chap-

ter and vice president of the

NAACP Maryland State Confer-

ence, said he supports the project

because it gives young people an

early start in the workforce, in-

cluding engineering.

“This is an opportunity for us

to build a space where the com-

munity can grow and thrive,” he

said.

The campus will have a tour-

ism impact on the city, Young

said, just like the Preakness

Stakes in Northwest Baltimore.

“This will be a new place not

only just for people to ride dirt

bikes,” she said, “but hopefully to

host [professional] games here

around dirt bikes.”

— Baltimore Sun

MARYLAND

Fundraising driving force in when, where of dirt bike campus

2018 PHOTO BY KENNETH K. LAM/BALTIMORE SUN

Taylor McCullough, 12, practices some of her tricks after a B-360 pop-up event in Baltimore. B-360,

founded in 2017, launched a $10 million campaign last month to build a 20-acre dirt bike campus.

BY EMILY DAVIES

D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser

(D) has proposed an increase in

local funding to the city’s trou-

bled Department of Forensic Sci-

ences, allocating additional re-

sources to help the crime lab

work toward the accreditation it

lost almost a year ago.

Bowser’s plan would allow the

department to hire an external

consultant tasked with improv-

ing quality assurance and pay for

contracts outsourcing crime

scene and evidence analysis to

federal and private labs, among

other a dditions.

In the latest sign of the Dis-

trict’s growing dependence on

outside entities to process key

evidence, the U.S. attorney for

D.C., Matthew M. Graves, an-

nounced on Monday that the U.S.

Drug Enforcement Administra-

tion will perform drug testing for

evidence submitted by city pros-

ecutors. The change came

months after Anthony Crispino,

interim director of the Depart-

ment of Forensic Sciences, testi-

fied at a city council hearing that

a contract to outsource forensic

chemistry work was “on hold.”

At a budget oversight hearing

on Thursday, Crispino told coun-

cil members that the proposed

2023 fiscal year funding would be

enough to support ongoing work

toward reaccreditation. The city’s

contribution to the lab would

increase nearly 9 percent, from

$28.4 million in fiscal 2022 to

$30.9 million in fiscal 2023.

“DFS has dedicated itself to the

reforms in quality assurance pro-

cesses necessary to obtain reac-

creditation while continuing to

deliver on our mission,” he said.

“Funding levels provided will

continue to support our current

productivity levels.”

Crispino, who took over the

department in May, said he hopes

to apply for reaccreditation for at

least two units in the crime lab by

the end of this fiscal year.

The Department of Forensic

Sciences includes a public health

lab, which handles testing of

pathogens like the coronavirus,

and a crime lab tasked with

analyzing evidence collected in

criminal investigations. The

crime lab has been functionally

closed since last April, when it

lost its accreditation amid re-

ports of analyzing errors and

poor quality control. Eight

months later, Virginia-based con-

sulting firm SNA International,

which was hired by the city,

released an incriminating report

that criticized operations at the

lab since its opening in 2012. The

report recommended complete

overhauls of parts of the foren-

sics arm. As of Thursday, accord-

ing to Crispino, 30 percent of

positions across the agency were

vacant.

The years-long breakdown at

the crime lab could have serious

implications. Bowser has com-

mitted to a sweeping review of

criminal convictions dating back

to the crime lab’s establishment

in 2012, fearing that past errors

could have led to wrongful con-

victions. She convened an ad hoc

committee in December that has

been meeting regularly to deter-

mine who should lead that effort.

The absence of a functioning

crime lab has also meant the city

has outsourced much of its evi-

dence processing. At the over-

sight hearing, D.C. Council mem-

ber Charles Allen (D-Ward 6),

who chairs the judiciary commit-

tee, listed at least seven external

partners contracted with the city

to analyze evidence. The pro-

posed budget includes more than

$1.5 million to hire a consultant

and pay for third-party help that

will help prevent further back-

logs in the District’s court sys-

tem.

On Thursday, Crispino also

provided an update on the crime

lab’s digital evidence unit, which

the SNA report concluded had a

“lack of competent management

practices” and “unvalidated

methods for performing acquisi-

tions, extractions, examinations

and analyzes of digital evidence.”

Crispino said he plans to trans-

fer two digital evidence unit em-

ployees to D.C. police, though

Allen asked whether the police

department was accredited to

perform digital evidence work.

Crispino said it is not.

“I’m trying to understand, in

what ways are we actually solving

the problem,” Allen said Thurs-

day, “or are we just moving things

around?”

Crispino said the move would

prevent a backlog in cases and

that prosecutors had agreed it

was the best way forward. He

added that the Sciences Advisory

Board, which oversees the De-

partment of Forensic Sciences,

would further evaluate the digi-

tal evidence transfer during a

meeting at the end of April.

THE DISTRICT

Bowser proposes more local funding to help restore crime lab

BILL O’LEARY/THE WASHINGTON POST

Mayor Muriel E. Bowser, center, greets officials at the D.C. Department of Forensic Sciences. The

department lost its accreditation about a year ago amid reports of errors and poor quality control.

BY MARTIN WEIL

On Saturday, the 13th full day
of spring, it seemed that our
cherry blossoms have accompa-
nied us on every one of them, in
some semblance of peak bloom.
On Saturday, the delicate flow-
ers, famed for fragility and fleet-
ing beauty, seemed to show a
tenacious side, staying on in large
and even spectacular numbers.
At moments, as the rays of the
setting sun flooded across the
Potomac River, the upper branch-
es of many trees seemed to glow
as might a sea of opals and
rubies.
Seeming to act as stained glass
windows, the blossoms let light
shine through, transmuted in
color. They also seemed to seize
the sun’s last rays, hold them,
then spread them before us as if
radiating some inner light.
So the blossoms that burst into
full bloom March 21, the day after
the spring equinox, held on into
the second day of April, perhaps
suffering in rain, cold and wind
but refusing to surrender.

Cherry blossoms

remain resilient

through m any

spring elements