Filming of Police Raid for TV Show Outrages DC Residents

Montgomery County police officers staged a fake raid in Northwest D.C., complete with guns drawn and police lights blazing, sparking outrage from local residents who were not warned that the cops were acting for a TV show.

About a half dozen off-duty officers, who wore county uniforms and drove county police cars, were hired by a local production company to stage a police raid on 315 Aspen St. NW, which is about a quarter of a mile from the Montgomery-D.C. border.

"If the D.C. police had been in Montgomery County, that's all [anyone] would have talked about," said an irate Kelly Craven, who lives a few houses down from the raided house.

The filming was for a show called "Prison Wives," which is about women who fall in love with and marry prisoners, according to neighbors. The show is in development for the cable channel Investigation Discovery, according to its Web site.

Julie Schor, who lives next door, and other neighbors said they were angry when they found out that the police were there to be filmed and the community had not been notified.

"I wasn't told nothing," Hall said, adding that the police "took their time" when he asked them to move their cars out of his driveway.

The police also tied up traffic by speeding up and down the two-lane residential street with their flashing lights on, neighbors said.

Police spokeswoman Lucille Baur said the blame for the "very unfortunate" incident lies with the production company for not alerting residents before filming.She said the department allowed officers to participate because it was told that filming would occur inside the county's borders.

The Silver Spring production company, Sirens Media, issued a statement apologizing to the residents for not following the "correct protocol" to notify the District before filming.

Had they cleared the film shoot with the city first, Sirens would have been required to get a permit and paid to have traffic diverted, according a spokesman for the District's film office, who added that the city would have "over-communicated" to the neighborhood about any planned filming involving guns.

Story from the Examiner

Idiot of the Week: DC Councilman Jim Graham - Wants to Combat Crime by Banning Late Night Pizza Slice Sales

A Washington, DC councilman is drafting legislation that would ban the late-night sale of single slices of pizza as a way to combat crime.

Democrat Party councilman Jim Graham says the late-night “Jumbo Slice” pizza shacks operating on the popular Adams Morgan club and bar strip in Ward 1 attract the element that is likely to commit crime.

“Even though it’s a legal business and everything, they have become a nuisance,” Graham said. “Behaving the way they do in terms of music, in terms of letting people hang out and also in terms of tolerating a certain level of violence.”

*-* Really? Is this really what we expect from our elected officials. Get a life, pal. Whats next, banning sidewalks? After all, that is where people walk after the bars close and that is where most of the fights happen. Go buy a clue, pal. This guy needs to be voted out ASAP.

Story from WTOP News

Outrage of the Day: NBC Wants Blagojevich for Reality TV Show

The former governor of Illinois, who pleaded not guilty to federal racketeering and fraud charges Tuesday, has inked a deal to star on NBC's summer reality series, I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Blagojevich's participation requires court approval because the show will be shot in Costa Rica and he is not allowed to leave the United States.

Blagojevich would be one of 10 celebrities competing in survival-of-the-fittest challenges in the Costa Rican jungle to raise money for charity. The series, adapted from the U.K. version, will premiere June 1 and is slated to unspool four nights a week for a month.

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Outrage of the Day: DC Council Considers Grocery Bag Tax

With the economy officially in a recession, and unemployment in the double digits, the brilliant DC Council is set to implement yet another tax.

WASHINGTON - District residents may soon have to start saving up their nickles: the city council is considering a five-cent fee on all grocery bags, paper or plastic.

The fee would apply to all vendors, including grocery stores, street vendors, convenience stores and drug stores.

The move is designed to help consumers go green while helping the city make some green. The move is part of an initiative to help clean up the Anacostia River. The eight-mile river, once considered the jewel of the region, now carries the burden of being one of the most polluted.

The logic behind the idea is that while many shoppers recycle their plastic bags, many others wind up leaving them on top of trashcans or dropping them on the street. The used bags often wind up in storm drains and eventually in the Anacostia River. The fewer shoppers with bags, the council says, the fewer bags in the water.

The majority of the D.C. Council supports the legislation, which will be officially introduced to the D.C. City Council on Tuesday.

Elderly and low-income shoppers would be given durable, reusable shopping bags free of charge; other District residents can buy reusable shopping tote bags at most grocery stores for around a dollar.

Opponents of the plan say everyone is watching their budget these days, and all those nickles will add up. Consumer Christine Williams argued that the bag fees would add up quickly on the end of her already hefty food bill. "Everything is so astronomical, even to think about an extra five cents, doesn't seem like a lot, as often as you go, and you think about it annually -- it's going to add up."

"Five cents each is a lot, I think," added D.C. resident Robert Navotny.

"They need to be going down on the prices, not going up on the prices," complained D.C. resident Meco Hart.

"I just wanted to know how charging five cents a bag is going to prevent them from ending up in the Anacostia River," said Larry Toles, a D.C. employee.