Pentagon Suspect Details Emerge; Post Responds to Vargas Story: Morning Links

Must-reads from around Washington

Written by Kay Steiger | Published on June 23, 2011

More Pentagon Suspect Details Emerge: The man arrested last Friday in an incident that caused roads surrounding the Pentagon to shut down, wreaking havoc on area morning traffic, is connected to four shootings at military-related targets in Virginia last October, according to a WTOP law enforcement source. Yonothan Melaku, a Marine Corps Reserve member, is being investigated by the FBI for the incidents; no injuries occurred in the shootings. Melaku allegedly sparked Friday's incident when he claimed he had ammonium nitrate in his backpack and that some material had been left at the Pentagon. Authorities say 20 nine-millimeter shell casings were found in his car.

Post Responds to Killing Vargas Article: The Washington Post has responded to the revelation of its decision to kill Jose Antonio Vargas's widely read New York Times magazine story exposing his undocumented status. The story was first scheduled to run in the Post's Outlook section. Executive Editor Marcus Brauchli made the decision to kill the story, but wouldn't discuss his reasons. The Post did disclose, however, that during the weeks of vetting they discovered Vargas hadn't disclosed he replaced his expired Oregon driver's license with one from Washington state. Vargas then said he withheld the information on advice from his lawyer.

Georgetown Apple Store Owes Taxes: Roughly 6,000 DC properties could face the auction block for owing back taxes. One business on the list is Georgetown's Apple store, which owes the DC government $150,000. The store was delinquent in taxes in 2007 and 2008 as well, Michael Neibauer at the Washington Business Journal points out.

Memorial Service For Red Line Crash Victims: Yesterday marked the two-year anniversary of the Red Line crash, and families and friends of its victims gathered near the Fort Totten station to remember the nine people killed.

Pepco Conducts Storm Drill: Despite the fact that Pepco's CEO appears to be aiming low, the utility "showed off" yesterday during a daylong drill designed to demonstrate readiness for a major storm, NBC Washington reports. The utility is planning to use its call center, website, and social media to gather information in such an incident. They also plan to roll out a smartphone app at the end of the month for customers to use in a storm.

Briefly noted: Two reporters were arrested by Park Police during a taxicab commission hearing. . . . Wal-Mart is giving $25 million to support summer youth programs in DC. . . . A barricade situation in Wheaton yesterday ended peacefully.

Subscribe to Washingtonian
Follow Washingtonian on Twitter

More>> Capital Comment Blog | News & Politics | Party Photos