Capital Pride Kicks Off; Crack-Cocaine Law Could Affect Thousands in Prison: Morning Links

Capital Pride Kicks Off: Today kicks off the first day of the 38th annual Capital Pride festival, which celebrates DC's LGBT community, in Dupont Circle. Borderstan, a co-sponsor of the festival, highlights a list of events. The kickoff tonight features a panel discussion on LGBT journalists at the Chastleton Ballroom at 6:30 PM and "Pride Idol," which starts at Cobalt at 9:30 PM. The festival runs through June 12.

Crack-Cocaine Law Could Affect Thousands of Old Cases: The US Sentencing Commission will meet today to decide whether new sentencing guidelines that reduce penalties for crack offenders will apply to inmates that were already incarcerated before the law was enacted. The AP reported that up to 1,000 inmates in the eastern district of Virginia could be affected.

Former Alcohol Board Chair Arrested: Charles Brodsky, who recently resigned from his position as head of the Alcoholic Beverage Administration, was arrested for impersonating a police officer on Saturday night in Adams Morgan. The Washington Post reports that Brodsky resigned after Mayor Vince Gray's office was investigating conflicts of interest.

Bus Company Involved in Fatal Crash Shut Down: The Sun Express, which operates $30 bus rides between New York and 15 other cities, was shut down after a crash in Virginia that killed four people and injured several others. WTOP reports that the company had been involved in several accidents in the last two years as well as cited for 46 violations of driver fatigue.

Petition May Block Implementation of Maryland In-State Tuition Bill: Activists who oppose a bill would allow undocumented students to pay in-state tuition at Maryland's public universities say they have enough signatures for a first step in blocking the bill. The Baltimore Sun reports that opponents need 56,000 valid signatures to put the controversial bill on the 2012 ballot, but they say they already have "over 40,000."

Developers Paid Bribes to Prince George's Council: Court documents revealed that at least one developer paid bribes, in the form of campaign contributions and other favors, to former county executive Jack Johnson. The Gazette reports that activists are saying such corruption was "a way of life" and that "the development process was stacked against regular people."

Scandalous Sex Scandal Art: The Atlantic notes that Sax, which just opened in Penn Quarter, has scandalous art depicting various political sex scandals. We told you so. Update: The Washington Post and the Washington City Paper have also reported on the controversial paintings.

Aw of the Day: Prince George's fire department blog highlights a rookie firefighter who saved nine overheated ducklings from a drainage ditch in Clinton.

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Kay Steiger