DC Homicides Down 7 Percent; MLK Memorial to Open to Local Residents Early: Morning Links

Today should be cooler than yesterday, which topped 90 degrees yet again. Today Capital Weather Gang says highs will hit the mid-80s with a light breeze. Not bad for August, huh?

DC Homicides Down: Mayor Vincent Gray and DC Police Chief Cathy Lanier announced that homicides are down in the city 11 percent and robberies are down 7 percent when compared with the year up to August 1 last year. But, statistics released yesterday showed that overall crime, including violent crime and property crime, are up 3 percent, the Washington Post reports.

DC’s Summer Jobs Program Under Budget: The DC Department of Employment Services says its summer jobs program will likely come in $5 million under budget. During an oversight hearing before the DC council, At-Large Councilman Michael A. Brown said the Summer Youth Employment Program had run overbudget in previous years due to mismanagement. Still, Employment Services officials said the program’s dropout rate, which, at 19 percent, is normal but could still see improvement, the Washington Times reports.

MLK Memorial Opened First to Locals: Amy Myers at the Washington Examiner reports that DC residents will be allowed to view the Martin Luther King Jr. memorial on August 23 from 8 AM to 8 PM, five days before its public dedication ceremony. Somewhere between 20,000 and 25,000 passes will become available online or at the MLK branch of the DC library starting on August 18. Proof of residency will be required.

Gun Scare in Rosslyn: Reports of a teenager holding a gun around 11:15 AM yesterday on the Washington & Old Dominion trail caused a scare, but ultimately turned up nothing. ARLNow reports that three witnesses reported to police they saw a young man wearing a black ski mask and holding what looked like an assault rifle.

Virginia Home Sales Drop: The Sun Gazette reports that six or seven reporting in the second quarter of 2011 reported a drop in home sales. Northern Virginia saw the second largest tumble. Both the number of sales and the home prices were lower than they were a year ago. Officials say the federal home-buyer tax credit in 2009 and 2010 helped boost sales across the state, but now sales are declining again.

Briefly Noted: DCist reports that Metro has removed benches from the Red Line platform at the Gallery Place-Chinatown station. . . . Garrett’s Tavern in Georgetown is auctioning off the contents of its restaurant.

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Kay Steiger