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Charter Group Sues D.C. Alleging Unequal Funding
WMATA Sued Over Background Checks
An organization that represents more than three dozen charter schools filed a federal lawsuit against D.C. on Wednesday, alleging the city failed to provide uniform operating funds for charter and traditional schools as the law requires. The D.C. Association of Chartered Public Schools argues that the city has spent about $2,150 less per charter student each year since 2008 than it did for students in the D.C. public school system. It caps years of funding debates that have pitted charter advocates against government officials and traditionalschool advocates. (THE WASHINGTON POST)
Attorneys in D.C. filed a class-action lawsuit Wednesday against the Washington Metro Transit Authority on behalf of nine African-American men who claim the agency’s criminal background screening policy violates their civil rights. The suit alleges that WMATA has an “overly broad, unjustifiably rigid” screening policy that disproportionately bars wellqualified black workers. The lawsuit comes as D.C., Montgomery County, Md., and about 70 other municipalities have recently passed “ban the box” legislation, preventing employers from asking about prior convictions on job applications. (TWP)
Lanier: Security, Not Street Crime, at Risk Washington A federal judge’s decision Saturday to strike down the District’s ban on carrying guns in public could have dramatic implications for the security of dignitaries and the safety of high-profile events, the city’s police chief said Wednesday. Police Chief Cathy Lanier called for “reasonable provisions” restricting the public from bearing arms in sensitive locations at sensitive times. Otherwise, she said, the decision would have a relatively minimal impact on street crime or her department’s ability to police neighbor-
RICKY CARIOTI (THE WASHINGTON POST)
In Brief
Police Chief Cathy Lanier said the ruling against D.C.’s gun-carry ban shouldn’t affect neighborhood policing.
hoods and lock up dangerous criminals who are found carrying guns. “Law-abiding citizens that register firearms, that follow the rules,
are not our worry,” she said. “Our worry really is, how do we maintain the level of security in the nation’s capital that we’re required to maintain 24 hours a day?” The ruling from U.S. District Senior Judge Frederick Scullin is on hold until at least October while city leaders determine how to comply with his finding that the city’s flat ban on the carrying of weapons by people who are not law enforcement officials violates the Second Amendment to the Constitution. Lanier made note of major public events such as the yearly July 4 celebrations on the Mall and next week’s U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit, which is expected to attract dozens of world leaders, as places where gun carrying should be tightly restricted. MIKE DeBONIS (THE WASHINGTON POST )
BIG CHANGES FOR A
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BRIGHTER FUTURE
ig changes and new travel opportunities are coming to Fairfax County with the opening of Phase I of Metro’s new Silver Line. Five new Metro stations — WiehleReston East, Spring Hill, Greensboro, Tysons Corner, and McLean — will provide access to the greater Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s (WMATA) 91 stations throughout Virginia, the District of Columbia, and Maryland. Fairfax Connector will operate daily service to and from each of the new Metro stations, connecting passengers with work, home, or business destinations.
www.fairfaxconnector.com 703-339-7200 ■ TTY 703-339-1608 @ffxconnector /FairfaxConnector
GET ON BOARD!
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