An interesting development yesterday in the trial of the three men charged with robbing and killing Yellow Cab driver Khalil Siddiqi on Buchanan Street on January 18.
According to alexandrianews.org, two of the three have pleaded guilty, while the third is being assessed for his competency to stand trial.
26 comments:
Oh great. Now they'll be turned over to our Alexandria judges so they can impose a very lenient sentence. I am still seething over that Gazette article indicating that Alexandria judges mete out the most lenient sentences of any Virginia jurisidction by far.
I think the civic association should write a letter to the judge letting him or her know that this community wants these as_holes locked up for life.
Not to change the subject but you earlier noted that Ms. Hughes and other new Council members will speak your July 9 ICCA meeting. As a voter I like to keep an open mind I did not vote for Ms. Hughes but did check her bio on the University of Miami Law School website. Maybe Mr. Wilson and the Dems protest too much.
www.law.miami.edu/news.php?article=167
ALICIA HUGHES, Class of 2001 (December), Legislative Assistant on Capitol Hill for the Honorable John F. Tierney (D-Mass.), Washington, D.C. Wrote health policy. In previous years, she served as staff assistant for the Hon. Juanita Millender-McDonald, in Washington, D.C.; summer associate at the Charleston, S.C. firm of Young Clement Rivers & Tisdale, LLP; and judicial intern with the Hon. Robert Shevin of the Florida Third District Court of Appeal. While enrolled at UM Law, Hughes served as Miss Black Texas and was later voted Miss Black USA, 1998-2000.
Hughes is fully qualified for the position. I am not clear what the Democrats have to gain by attacking her so shamefully like this.
Who they should be attacking is Kellom.
"Hughes is fully qualified for the position. I am not clear what the Democrats have to gain by attacking her so shamefully like this."
Trust me, I'm no fan of the democrats but I don't blame them one bit for going after Hughes. I voted for her and really regret it. She has lost all my trust and she isn't sworn in yet!! Anyone who cheats on taxes and is the subject of several collections proceedings (foreclosure, eviction, collection from her school) deserves no place safeguarding my tax dollars.
People like that make me sick. She drives around in a Mercedes, but has no problem forcing her landlord and mortgage company to incur additional legal expenses b/c she can't keep her house in order. I've heard nothing about her suffering any family tragedy or anything like that. She's apparently just arrogant and unwise with her money. People like her got us into this economic mess. She should be ashamed of herself, yet she had the audacity to run for public office!!!
"and was later voted Miss Black USA, 1998-2000."
Wikipedia may not be the final source but it does give clues. An overstatement?
Miss Black America
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Miss Black America pageant is a competition for young African American women in areas such as speech, talent, style, and poise — essentially the black version of the popular Miss America pageant.
J. Morris Anderson first created and produced the Miss Black America Pageant on August 17, 1968, it was a local Philadelphia area pageant to protest the lack of black women in the Miss America pageant. With strong assistance from Phillip H. Savage, Tri-State Director of the NAACP, the Pageant received nationwide press coverage as a protest against the Miss America Pageant, an event that Mr. Savage and other NAACP leaders loudly condemned, over many years, for exclusion of black women contestants.
The winners
Year Miss Black America From
1968 Saundra Williams Pennsylvania
1969 Gloria O. Smith New York
1970 Unknown Mississippi
1971 Joyce Warner Florida
1972 Linda Barney New Jersey
1973 Arniece Russell New York
1974 Von Gretchen Shepard Los Angeles, California
1975 Helen Jean Ford Hattiesburg, Mississippi
1976 Twanna Kilgore Washington, D.C.
1977 Claire Ford Memphis, Tennessee
1978 Lydia Jackson Willingboro, New Jersey
1979 Varetta Shankle Mississippi
1980 Sharon Wright Chicago, Illinois
1981 Yvette Cason District of Columbia
1982 Susan Wells Milwaukee, Wisconsin
1984 Lydia S.Garrett Columbia, South Carolina
1985 Amina Fakir Detroit, Michigan
1986 Rachel Oliver Burlington, North Carolina
1987 Leila McBride Denver, Colorado
1988 Unknown Unknown
1989 Paula Gywnn Unknown
1990 Rosie Jones Unknown
1991 Sharmell Sullivan Gary, Indiana
1992 Unknown Unknown
1993 Ebony Warren Unknown
1994 Pilar G. Fort Detroit, Michigan
1995 Karen D. Wallace (Douglas) Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
1996 Basheerah Ahmad Choctaw, Oklahoma
1997 Karen Brimley-Massey West Helena, Arkansas
1998 Unknown Unknown
1999 Unknown Unknown
2000 Unknown Unknown
2001 Unknown Unknown
2002 Unknown Unknown
2003 Unknown Unknown
2004 Unknown Unknown
2005 Unknown Unknown
The Dems left the door open for Hughes when they told a black Council incumbent not to run on the unofficial primary ticket so they could make room for a white guy. Even if the incumbent who was kicked off the unoffically blessed list of names was a doorknob - and he might have been - the Alexandria Dems often play race to their advantage, and this time they blew it.
And if you want to say race had nothing to do with the outcome, just consider their actions typical Alex Dem arrogance. No wonder so many people voted against the incumbents.
Gerri - just read your letter to the editor in the Gazette. Way to go!!! Thanks so much for not abandoning us even though you moved from the neighborhood.
I only wish, as you so eloquently pointed out, that Melvin Miller and Bill Euille would stop screwing us after they moved out of the neighborhood.
Just read Gerri's letter in the Gazette Packet. Pretty much sums up the mood of many in this neighborhood:
Public Housing: Too Concentrated
Friday, July 03, 2009
To the Editor:
Concentrated poverty created by concentrated public housing is a key factor in the crime that persists in Parker Gray. Ask just about any homeowner in the neighborhood whether the two are related and they will say they are. Asking two white neighborhood advocates and two black city officials, Mayor Euille and ARHA Board Member Melvin Miller, to comment on the issues raised by the recent murder of a wanted criminal reinforces the purported racial divide on the issue in Parker Gray. I will submit that no racial divide exists. It exists only in the minds of people like Mayor Euille and Melvin Miller who long ago left the neighborhood for enclaves of the city where crimes of this nature are not common. As a former Parker Gray homeowner, I can attest that my former neighbors — black , white, Latino and others — are concerned about rising property taxes, concentrated poverty in the public housing properties throughout Parker Gray and the safety of all of Parker Gray's residents, particularly our children. I mention property tax because where else in the city would continued crimes of this nature be tolerated in a neighborhood that has so many $500,000 to $1,000,000 homes?
When I think of the times I walked home near where the latest murder victim was found, at roughly the same hour of his death, my body shudders. Concentrated poverty and crime are related in Parker Gray. Continued efforts to make the issue one of racial divide serves no purpose. The city needs to start looking at Parker Gray as the unpolished gem it is and release it from the confines of concentrated poverty. It’s time for Resolution 830 to go; it’s time to disperse public housing across the city, it’s time for the city to take full advantage of housing vouchers and it’s time for one neighborhood to stop carrying the weight of the city's failed public housing policy. Mr. Miller and Mr. Euille should spend less time being quoted and more time enacting public policies that make Parker Gray a safer place to live, work and play.
Gerri Madrid Davis
Former Parker Gray resident
No marked difference in crime around public housing projects Mr. Miller?
What does a 15 car police response for a brawl on Madison, a 7 car response for a domestic violence incident on Fayette, multiple daytime arrests over the weekend, and narcs flooding through Adkins all last week sound like?
Do you not think people can see things with their own eyes?
From Crime Reports
ROBBERY
03 Jul 2009
700 BLOCK N WEST ST
Distance: 0.91 miles
Identifier: 109129203-1
Time: 0217
Robbery
Pending
"ROBBERY
03 Jul 2009
700 BLOCK N WEST ST"
Dosen't this make 3 Robberies now in the past 30 days?
"Concentrated poverty created by concentrated public housing is a key factor in the crime that persists in Parker Gray."
The proof is as plain as the bling around the Mayor's neck.
If you count these two just outside of the neighborhood, you would have a total of 5 robberies north of King Street, within a 30 day time frame.
Interesting how not one Robbery happened south of King Street in the same time frame.
I can't wait for the next meeting, I will not be asking questions, I will be demanding a new way of thinking.
07 Jun 2009
1700 BLOCK KING ST
Distance: 0.63 miles
Identifier: 109124490-1
Time: 0641
Robbery
Pending
Suspect was robbed at gun point by 3 black males and hit on head with gun. Note: The placement of this icon shows the general location of where a crime occurred (100 block) and not the exact location.
And
ROBBERY
24 Jun 2009
300 BLOCK N WASHINGTON ST
Distance: 0.58 miles
Identifier: 109127694-1
Time: 2336
Robbery
Pending
Unknown suspect robbed the victim at gunpoint. Description unknown race with scarf over his face. Note: The placement of this icon shows the general location of where a crime occurred (100 block) and not the exact location.
"Dosen't this make 3 Robberies now in the past 30 days?"
Shut it gentrifier. There is no crime near the public housing projects.
You only need to look at former comments like this to understand the root cause of the mentality that allows this situation to go on.
Former School Board member Shirley Tyler said she relied on Melvin Miller for advice and counsel for many years. She appreciated his insights on education, but also on public housing issues. Tyler said she thinks Alexandria’s housing policies have been more successful than in other places. "Small clusters give a sense of community," she said. She also cited the importance of residents’ "sense that people like Melvin were on their side and looking out for their interests." She believes that scattered site housing has been a positive development.
What many longtime Alexandrians who defend the status quo dont understand is many of the newer residents of the city grew up in other cities with public housing; its the source for such angst and concern.
While Alexandria's housing projects are no better or worse than other projects in other cities, they are NOT scattered, and they are NOT successful, by any measurable criteria.
And crime is one of those criteria. If one area of a city is experiencing disproportionate amounts of crime, then that City should look at all reasons why that is.
The anger being expressed is that our City leadership, for purely emotional reasons, refuses to look at public housing concentration as a factor.
"Ask just about any homeowner in the neighborhood whether the two are related and they will say they are."
The problem is the City doesnt want to ask. Anyone who tells ARHA or the City Council what they think gets subjected to an emotional assault that inevitably ties public housing to race.
One need only look at the example of Annie Rose to understand the problem. Annie Rose is privately managed public housing and I dont hear about crime waves anywhere around there.
Adkins, Bland, Tancil, Glebe Park, all ARHA managed.
And week after week, on this blog, in meetings with others who live near them, the same point comes across.
Mismanaged.
Its not about the color of skin. Its about the competence of management.
All this crime should be great for business in the area.
Anyone else noticing that NOTHING appears to have opened up recently around here?
No businesses to drive new tax revenue for the City. And they arent coming anytime soon if the perception that Parker Gray will always be affected by crime persists.
In the end there really is no solution to the problem of crime in Braddock East. Since there is no plan in the short term to do anything about public housing concentration (at its hard to consider Bland much of a "solution") these issues will go on and on.
At least its not as bad as what Alfred Street used to be like. Many of the newbies need to understand that it used to be worse than this. things got more noticeable as property values rose and people started moving up from Old Town towards the projects.
Doesnt the City realize that recent crime issues have a deleterious effect on businesses and residential behavior?
Businesses arent going to want to open up in an area they perceive as crime-ridden.
Residents arent going to want to walk down to King St if they perceive PG as a crime-ridden area.
I am continually surprised as a new resident at the lack of accountability on the part of the City to many of these crime issues. This isnt a race or housing issue; you deal with crime directly regardless of source.
I see the cops trying hard but they dont seem to get much support from the City.
I believe that Miller is mis-interpreting the crime reports more than simply being deliberately ignorant.
He is looking at the numbers related to the area directly within the projects.
However, any resident who lives near a housing project can tell you that the police are concentrated in force around the projects, and on the routes between the projects (used by drug dealers for example)
They are not everywhere and every place in PG. They are specifically around the projects and around them a lot.
What you see in these crime reports is crime pushed out from the projects into the surrounding community. Its like a mini version of Chief Bakers containment strategy. Control crime in the projects and leave other areas less well protected.
How you could have 5 robberies in 30 days around here is beyond me. It indicates criminals dont feel much of a threat outside the projects (where police responses are beyond massive, like the Madison brawl last week)
Waht kind of example is set by ARHA regarding crime when its President "resigns" for a crooked roofing contract and its Director of Housing Operations is caught doing drugs in Maryland?
Frankly, listening to Melvin Miller comment on ARHA' "perspective" on crime in Braddock East is depressing. He needs to worry about his own agency and stop trying to sell people propaganda that black or white, they clearly see with their own eyes is ridiculous
"If you count these two just outside of the neighborhood, you would have a total of 5 robberies north of King Street, within a 30 day time frame."
i looked on crime reports and rook out everything except assaults and robberies. Previous poster is correct, everything IS happening north of King Street.
Coincidence that Bland, Adkins, and the Burg (over 50% of ARHA which is located within a 3 mile radius) is the area where all the violent crimes are happening? I think not.
Maybe the Mayor and Mr. Miller should be looking at crimereports instead of reading police reports.
"Its not about the color of skin. Its about the competence of management."
One of the differences in PG is that these properties have no on-sight management, unlike, for example the DC Housing Authority. On-sight managment can provide eyes and ears on the ground where it is most needed. Just exactly what do they do with their resources that they can't employ on site personnel? Their current strategy leaves most crisis "management" to the police.
There are significant management changes that could be made to ARHA properties if the ARHA board "lead" by Melvin Miller was actually interested in managing these properties. A working strategy that makes public housing a stop on a person's journey as opposed to their whole experience takes a real plan. Alexadria and ARHA officials seem to be proud of the fact that some families have lived in ARHA properties for multiple generations.
Considering the mayor grew up in these circumstances you would think he would lead the charge for getting people up and out. Instead ARHA has become a haven for troubled residents who have a hard time finding housing in their own home jurisdictions.
One of the things I would love to know is where residents come from? Are they Alexandria natives, are they from DC, are they from Maryland. Are is Alexandria a draw for those seeking subsidized housing? How is that impacting our tax base, federal funding for housing in the region. These are only a few of the questions that should be answered.
"Alexadria and ARHA officials seem to be proud of the fact that some families have lived in ARHA properties for multiple generations."
Exactly. The problem is that we've now created a situation we cannot solve merely by dispersing the ARHA residents. We've fostered this culture by providing free housing, food, medical care, etc. without asking for anything in return. There is no shame in dropping out of school, getting locked up, having multiple children out of wedlock, drawing public assistance, etc. This is not the same project our Mr. Euille grew up in.
We can't disperse these units and expect the problem to go away. There was an interesting article in Atlantic last year about the experience of dispersing public housing in Memphis. Essentially, when they dispersed the public housing residents, the violence and toxic social environment followed them.
The only way to solve this, they feel, is (1) move them out of the toxic environment; AND (2) to require them (ie. public housing residents) to join society, so to speak. Get a job, finish school, etc. and teach them how to do it.
"
We can't disperse these units and expect the problem to go away. There was an interesting article in Atlantic last year about the experience of dispersing public housing in Memphis. Essentially, when they dispersed the public housing residents, the violence and toxic social environment followed them."
If you read the reaction to the Atlantic article, you will find that it almost directly correlates to the reaction of many ARHA board members and other housing "activists".
And in Memphis, they tore down all the housing projects in their downtown area.
Here in Alexandria, one can imagine that Adkins, Madden Uptown and Tancil will be in place for at least the next 20-25 years.
Two things, one of which is a little off topic.
1) It makes no sense that Alexandria should house people from other STATES just because we need bodies in the houses to receive federal funding. If people in Alexandria need public assistance, that is fine.
2) My new least favorite holiday in PG has to be independance day, and it is not because of the fireworks (though that is annoying). I have had to call the police for the last two years due to large fights that have broken out on my block (500 block of Payne). Is this just a weird coincidence, or are people just a little wilder that evening?
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