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Welcome to the post-Labor Day work week, D.C. While Labor Day is supposed to signal the end of summer and the start of cooler, fall temperatures, the weather didn’t seem to get that memo. Temperatures are expected to approach 100 degrees today and tomorrow. If you, like some of us, spent the holiday by the sea, we wish you luck as you return to this inferno.
Here’s the news you may have missed while watching the first weekend of college football.
I was like, good gracious…
Congratulations to all the summer lovers out there who aren’t ready for scarf and sock season—D.C. and much of the East Coast is holding on to sweltering summer temperatures for the rest of this week. On Sunday, D.C. recorded a high of 97 degrees, matching the year’s highest temperature, which was set in late July. Dulles and BWI airports reported record highs of 99 degrees on Monday.
High temperatures like these are particularly dangerous for older adults, young children, people with chronic illnesses and disabilities, and those who live and/or work outdoors. Because this heat comes after Labor Day, when most public pools and spray parks in the District have closed for the season, it presents an added challenge. The Department of Parks and Recreation announced yesterday that they will keep 18 spray parks, including those at Turkey Thicket, Fort Davis, Hillcrest, and Takoma, open until Sept. 21, closer to the last official day of summer. Two outdoor pools—Hearst, on 37th Street NW in Ward 3, and Oxon Run, on Mississippi Avenue SE in Ward 8—will also remain open until Sept. 21. Indoor pools will operate as usual.
More Teens Killed
Four people under the age of 20 were shot and killed in the District over the holiday weekend. Zyion Turner, a 15-year-old, died Saturday in a home on 4th Street SE; he was the 14th person under the age of 18 to be killed in D.C. in 2023. Friends Cle’shai Perry, 18, and Mikeya Ferguson, 19, were fatally shot at a playground near the Washington Convention Center on Friday night; Ferguson’s 15-year-old cousin was also shot and is in critical but stable condition at a local hospital. An 18-year-old man who police have not identified was killed in a shooting on Wahler Place SE in Washington Highlands. As of Tuesday morning, police have made no arrests related to these shootings.
While neighborhood residents and elected officials have called for more support from the District government to prevent such violence, it’s unclear if efforts Mayor Muriel Bowser has pushed, including the enforcement of a youth curfew and a new law that holds more defendants in jail before their trials, will lead to fewer shootings. For now, Mikeya Ferguson’s father, Michael, is calling for more support from the mayor and D.C. police.
Shelf Stability
Giant generated a lot of headlines last week when it announced that it would no longer stock brand name products such as Tide detergent, Colgate toothpaste, and Advil pain relievers at its store on Alabama Avenue SE. The grocery chain blamed the decision on rising theft in the area. Those who shop at the store regularly say they’ve noticed people stealing but still lament the decision.
Ward 8 Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner Laneice Moore believes preemptively removing items from the shelves won’t stop people from stealing. Instead, she tells WTOP, she thinks the property managers should hire more security guards who can track what goes on in the store. Giant is resisting that effort as store officials said last month that they’d spent upwards of $300,000 on theft abatement efforts. But Moore says ANC8A will discuss Giant’s actions at its meeting next week.
—Caroline Jones (tips? cjones@washingtoncitypaper.com)
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