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Student May Have Been a Threat Prosecutors said Tuesday there is evidence that a Georgetown University student charged last week with possessing the biological toxin ricin may have wanted to poison someone with the powdery substance. Daniel Harry Milzman, 19, was arrested last week after investigators found a potentially lethal amount of the toxin in his dorm room. Court papers filed Tuesday describe Milzman as an emotional college student who struggled with depression and vacillated between wanting to hurt himself — and someone else.
Police were called to Daniel Milzman’s dorm after he confided in a friend, showing him the ricin he had produced. The friend told investigators that he didn’t think Milzman was suicidal but that he was “definitely a threat to someone,” according to a document filed by prosecutors. Milzman told his friend through tears that he was feeling anxious and unfulfilled, according to prosecutors. Milzman also told the friend that he “scared himself” and that he was confiding in him because “part of Milzman wanted to be dared to use it and the other part of Milzman wanted to avoid using it,” according to the filing. (T WP)
During a detention hearing in federal court, Milzman’s attorney told the judge that the college sophomore had been battling depression since high school and that he needs treatment — not incarceration. “He was having a hard time in his life. He was a scared 19-year-old kid,” said defense attorney Danny Onorato. The judge ordered Milzman released to an in-patient psychi-
How Much Do You Need to Make to Afford D.C. Rent? Washington According to a new report from the National Low Income Housing Coalition, a minimum-wage worker in D.C. — where the wage floor is $8.25 an hour — would need to work 137 hours a week to afford what the Department of Housing and Urban Development considers a fair market rent for a modest two-bedroom home. Put another way: A local household would need 3.4 full-time minimum-wage workers to afford such a home. Or, a single earner in that household would need to make a lot more money: $28.25 an hour to be exact. The National Low Income Housing Coalition refers to this
last statistic as a “housing wage.” It’s the amount of money a person would need to earn per hour to afford the local fair market rent (including utilities) for a two-bedroom home, based on a 40-hour week and a 52-week working year that assumes zero time off. This figure also assumes that a person spends no more than 30 percent of his or her income on housing. In D.C., HUD’s fair market twobedroom rent is $1,469 a month, meaning a household would need to make more than $58,000 a year. The District currently has one of the largest gaps in the country between what minimum-wage workers earn and what they’d need to make to afford such a home. EMILY BADGER (THE WASHINGTON POST )
atric program at Sibley Hospital. Assistant U.S. Attorney Maia Miller asked the judge to delay his release order pending an appeal by the government to the chief judge. Prosecutors said in court papers they want Milzman to remain in jail pending any trial because they say his conduct was “extremely serious, reckless and dangerous” and because he is charged with an
ANN E. MARIMOW (THE WASHINGTON POST)
Snow Days of Spring
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Backstory
offense that carries a prison sentence of at least 10 years. Prosecutors also said in court papers that Milzman made “harassing and threatening” comments toward another student early this year. A recent Georgetown graduate told The Washington Post last week that Milzman appeared to have written Facebook messages calling the student a “useless waste of space” and suggesting he would be happy if the other student killed himself. Law enforcement officials said the student obtained a “stay away no-contact order” from the university and that Milzman then obtained his own no-contact order. Officials have previously said they don’t believe Milzman’s case has ties to terrorism, and court papers do not name any potential targets.
Glinda Salgado poses with her $3 million prize check she claimed on Monday. HERNDON, VA.
Va. Deli Owner Sells Self Winning Lottery Ticket Glinda Salgado sells plenty of Virginia Lottery tickets at the Elden Market and Deli that her family owns in Herndon. She’s seen many of her customers win prizes. But this time it was her turn — she won a $3 million jackpot. When Salgado heard that the winning ticket had been sold at her store, she thought, “Oh good, somebody won. Yay!” (THE WASHINGTON POST) PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY, MD.
Metro Worker Charged With Theft of Machinery
RICKY CARIOTI (THE WASHINGTON POST)
Judge orders man in ricin case to undergo psychiatric treatment
In Brief
PEDESTRIANS WALK ALONG THE NATIONAL MALL during a
late-season snowstorm on Tuesday in Washington. The white stuff didn’t accumulate too badly on city roads, but several inches accumulated throughout the day on grassy areas.
Bring on the Tourists! After 32 months and $15 million in repair work, the venerable Washington Monument will reopen for public tours on May 12, the National Park Service announced Tuesday. The monument has been closed since the 5.8-magnitude earthquake that struck the Washington region Aug. 23, 2011, shook the structure from its base to the top of its pyramidion. (THE WASHINGTON POST )
Metro worker Adrian Sclawy, 61, who managed the transit agency’s surplusequipment warehouse, was charged Tuesday with illegally pocketing $60,000 in proceeds from the sale of used heavy machinery, including a bulldozer and an asphalt roller, Prince George’s County authorities said. Sclawy was indicted by a Prince George’s grand jury on a charge of felony theft, said a spokesman for the state’s attorney’s office. (TWP) FAIRFAX
Fairfax Schools Chief: Teacher Pay to Increase Fairfax County schools chief Karen Garza said Monday that retaining quality teachers remains one of her top priorities as she plans a series of salary raises in upcoming years. Garza was interviewed on “The Kojo Nnamdi Show” Monday afternoon on WAMU 88.5 FM, and discussed some of the challenges she faces in her first year as superintendent. Among her goals, she said, is making Fairfax the top-paying school system in the region. (TWP)