Breaking News: Man charged in slaying of D.C. liquor store owner

By Clarence Williams
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, November 20, 2009

Rufina Hernandez gave two robbers the cash they demanded from her small liquor store. But that didn't keep one of the men from shooting her in the neck and face and killing her. On Thursday, D.C. police said a law enforcement task force had caught one of the men.

The Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task force arrested Andres Lopez without incident near Fourth and Kennedy streets NW about 2 p.m. Lopez, 45, of no fixed address, was charged with first-degree murder in the Nov. 7 slaying of Hernandez, 51, who owned La Casa De Morata, a corner store in the Brightwood Park area.

Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) expressed disbelief that Hernandez could be shot for "doing what she was supposed to do" and not fighting the robbers.

"This is probably something that can never be explained," he said at a news conference in front of the store.

D.C. Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier said police investigators heard nothing but kind words about Hernandez as they scoured the neighborhood for clues.

Lanier said Lopez had been arrested previously in the area near the store. She declined to say whether Lopez was the suspected shooter or whether the gun used in the slaying was found.

The search for a second suspect continues, and Lanier sought further help from neighborhood residents. She also warned other would-be shooters that police and residents would continue to work together to solve homicide cases.

"People are fed up. They're going to talk to us and tell us where you are," Lanier said.

D.C. Council member Muriel Bowser (D-Ward 4) said Hernandez was loved for being hardworking and helped keep her block clean. She vowed the neighborhood would follow the prosecution of Lopez. "We want the judge to hear the impact of violent crime on this community," Bowser said.

via Washington Post

Food & Friends Fundraiser

Tomorrow (Thursday, Nov. 19) TODAY is the last day to order Thanksgiving pies in
support of Food and Friends' wonderful work providing meals and friendship
to people who are homebound due to illness.

The pies may be picked up at any of several CVS locations or at the Food and
Friends facility near Fort Totten metro next Tuesday, Nov 24. They cost
from $25 to $35 and are delicious. You can order pies for your own
celebration, to take to a friend or family get-together, or to be sent to
the Food and Friends clients.

The website is www.foodandfriends.org.

Thank you!

Lee on Butternut

Colorado Cleaners

Colorado Cleaners, originally uploaded by cstein96.

This is an area that I pass by often on the way to VA but have yet to explore. I believe we have a couple of gems back here. Maybe LC and I can venture out soon for a coffee and some treats when our schedules clear up.

Tower in Brightwood - Landscape

Tower in Brightwood - Landscape, originally uploaded by Jason Pier.

Today's photo is brought to you by Mr. Jason Pier (via flickr). This is fitting for this time of year when the sun say's it's last "goodbye" around 5pm and by 7pm you've already curled up on your couch or in your favorite chair and don't plan on moving for the rest of the evening.

Cozy up Brightwood, I hear this winter is going to be especially cold.

DCist had just been wondering when the city was going to get around to raising awareness about the impending 5 cent disposable bag fee, which goes into effect in January 1, 2010, and lo and behold, the “Skip the Bag, Save the River” Education Campaign press release landed in our inbox today.

You can find the bulk of the campaign literature at http://green.dc.gov/bags, but the here's the highlights: 122,000 reusable bags will be given away for free to low-income residents and seniors, and TV, radio and Metro display advertisements should start running soon.

"Our message is simple: the bag fee is coming," Mayor Fenty said in a statement. "I signed this law in July to cut down on the disposable bags that foul our waterways. But we want everyone to know that you can save the river, and 5 cents, if you bring your own reusable bag to the store instead."

The mayor also announced today that the District Department of the Environment has partnered with CVS/pharmacy and Safeway to help promote public awareness of the coming bag fee. Both chains have agreed to distribute additional free reusable bags, CVS/pharmacy is contributing Green Bag Tag cards, which give CVS ExtraCare members $1 back every four times they reuse a bag.

via DCist

I know that LC, Wise and I all use recyclable bags when we go shopping. I even received one from Chegg that I keep in my purse just in case I pick up something while I'm out. I think that this is something that EVERYONE can participate in as far as the DC Green movement goes. I mean how many little plastic bags can one collect and not use before you just give up and throw them away?

Shopkeeper Killed During Armed Robbery

WTTG/FOX5 reports on the devastating crime that left 51-year-old shopkeeper Rufina Hernandez shot dead in her Brightwood liquor store. By all accounts, Hernandez did not resist the two armed men who held her up on Saturday night, but after she handed them money, they shot her anyway. 'Police are offering a $25,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the two suspects. The gunman is described as a medium-skinned black male between 30 and 40 years old. He was last seen wearing a flannel shirt. The second suspect is a dark-skinned Hispanic male about six feet tall, thin and wearing a black hooded sweatshirt.' The Post updates that police think the two men might live nearby.

via DCist

I know we here at Brightwood Blog have been MIA but we wanted to post this and to ask our friends and neighbors to keep their eyes and ears open to any clues that might help the MPD catch the assailants.

Leo Alexander Explains His D.C. Mayor Run

Why is Leo Alexander running for mayor?

LL stopped by his kickoff event at the Channel Inn on Monday evening to ask the 45-year-old Brightwood resident and newcomer to electoral politics the first question any decent reporter is obligated to ask a candidate—especially one convinced (deluded?) that he can knock off well-financed incumbent Adrian M. Fenty.

His response: “I’m running because of the suffering that’s going on in our community,” the former TV reporter and government spokesperson says. “No one has a plan to attack generational poverty in our community.”

Alexander’s got a few specific proposals: First, rebuilding D.C. General Hospital in a public/private partnership (such as the one that fell apart late in Anthony Williams‘ tenure); second, “hiring an army of social workers and turning them loose in this city” to address root causes of social decay; and third, keeping illegal immigrants from holding jobs in the District by requiring employers to screen workers with the federal government’s “E-Verify” system.

“They’re using it right now in Arizona, Mississippi, and South Carolina,” Alexander says, namechecking some states that don’t usually share much common political ground with the District. “A generation ago, Washingtonians worked in the hotel industry, parked cars in restaurants—they’re still here, but they’ve been replaced by illegal working poor who will do the job for less money and won’t complain because they’re illegal. We’ve got to do something about that.”

His anti-illegal rhetoric only extends as far as employment. Regarding housing or deportations or any other measure, he says, “let Obama take care of that federally.”

More broadly, Alexander says he sees “a lack of compassion in this current administration,” a malady he traces back to the Williams years. “My base,” he says, “are Marion Barry’s people.”

To wit: “I want the disenfranchised. I want people who are unemployed and cannot find jobs. I want people who cannot access health care. I want people who are union employees. And I want working-class D.C. to understand I’m gonna be their alternative in this mayor’s race….We are counting on the working class, the unions. They need to recognize that I am their candidate, and the sooner the better.” (Barry, incidentally, tried to install Alexander as his cable-television chief in 1997, but dropped him after the plan was leaked .)

But every with the least, the last, and the lost in his corner, how’s he going to even come close to beating an incumbent with nearly $3 million in the bank?

The plan, according to Alexander, is what you’d expect: door-knocking, an Internet blitz, free media, lots of community meetings. He’s also convinced that, simply by being the first visible challenger, he’ll scare off the competition. Vincent Gray, for instance: “If you know anything about his personality, he likes a safe bet….He knows that I would cut into his base, so he cannot win the mayor’s office with me in the race. Same thing with Kwame Brown, Michael Brown, and any of the rest of them.”

OK, then. What about the money?

Alexander says that if he can raise $250,000 by the Jan. 31, 2010, reporting deadline, he’s for real. “That will determine whether or not I will be competitive in this race,” he says. “If I can get $1 million [total], he’s in for a hell of a race.”

via Washington City Paper