How gardeners can combat climate change

of the territory of the kind of variation people are used to, and we are in new territory where it’s more extreme,” Via said. “Average temperatures have warmed, we have fewer colder nights — it’s not the same thing.” Janet Young, of Montgomery County Master Gardeners, lectures on gardening techniques in this new environment. Because tomato and pepper plants reduce fruit set and suffer poor quality in extreme heat, she advises shielding them with shade cloth. Another approach is to sow winter cover crops in late summer as a way of excluding weeds (one of the plant beneficiaries of climate change) and enriching the soil without fertilizers. Gardening simply requires greater vigilance than before; insect pests may have three generations a year instead of one, and you have to check them before they get out of hand. “You may want to get out there and weed as early as January, instead of March or April,” Young said. She is working with others to develop a list of plant varieties bred for better tolerance to environmental stresses. Another strategy is to expand the range of plants in your garden to include those that can endure more cold, more heat, more drought. At the New York Botanical Garden, “we are incorporating plants from climates similar to ours but more extreme,” said Todd Forrest, vice president for horticulture and living collections. These include trees and shrubs native to the Caucasus and more plants from Southern states. “I don’t know whether they will survive, but we need to broaden the palette of plants that might survive,” Forrest said. Unfortunately, the patterns of change are not simply a case of plants that once worked in Georgia now growing dependably in Washington, he said, “because you’re still going to have colder weather than Atlanta.” “There is no easy answer,” he said. “Be a better-informed gardener, be willing to experiment, pay attention to changes and talk to other gardeners.” Another response is simpler — pause to savor, say, an April shower or a fresh spring morning that requires a sweater. “As a gardener, when we have a beautiful or seasonal day, I tend to be thankful for the rare experience of normalcy,” Forrest said. @adrian_higgins on Twitter More from Lifestyle: Tackling Patagonia’s peaks and valleys Dinosaurs’ oldest-known relative had a surprising appearance The dogwood tree — the living symbol of the American spring — makes a comeback


Montgomery County Animal Watch

Montgomery county This case was received by the Montgomery County Animal Services Division. For information, call 240-773-5900. This number provides recorded information on topics such as the new animal services and adoption center’s hours and location in Derwood, adoption and licensing procedures, and lost-and-found and field services. State park dog bite: Reduced FEES FOR CATS Cats and kittens will be available for adoption at the next open house of Friends of Montgomery County Animals at the following location. Call 301-977-4833, or visit fmca.org or facebook.com/fmcainfo.PetSmart at Milestone Center, 20924 Frederick Rd., Germantown. Hours: 2 to 5 p.m. Saturday. Cats at no-kill shelter Cats and kittens will be available for adoption through the Animal Welfare League of Montgomery County’s no-kill shelter at the following location. For information, call 301-740-2511 or visit awlmc.org.Animal Welfare League of Montgomery County no-kill shelter, 12 Park Ave., Gaithersburg. Hours: 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, noon to 3 p.m. Saturday, 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday. Humane Society adoptions The Montgomery County Humane Society’s private rescue shelter has dogs, puppies, cats and kittens available for adoption. Call 240-252-2555 or visit mchumane.org.MCHS Adoptions and Education Center, 601 S. Stonestreet Ave., Rockville. Hours: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, except holidays. — Compiled by Lisa M. Bolton


D.C., Maryland and Virginia health code violations

These food establishments were closed because of health code violations. The list, compiled from health department reports, reflects actions taken by the departments. THE DISTRICT 7 Eleven 1900 Wyoming Ave. NW Closed last Thursday because of circumstances that may endanger public health. Reopened Friday. Bell Corner Stop 3501 Georgia Ave. NW Closed April 7 because of insects, rodents and other pests. Reopened last Thursday. Best Buy Meats 407 Morse St. NE Closed March 27 for operating without a license. Golden China 1703 Sixth St. NW Closed April 10 because of gross unsanitary conditions, including vermin. Reopened April 12. Open City 2331 Calvert St. NW Closed April 10 because of insects, rodents and other pests. Reopened April 12. Secolari 3501 Connecticut Ave. NW Closed Friday for operating without a license. Slim’s Diner 4201 Georgia Ave. NW Closed Friday because of insects, rodents and other pests, and because of a sewage backup. Subway 1401 K St. NW Closed April 5 for operating without a manager on duty. Reopened April 7. MARYLAND 7 Eleven 11422 Cherry Hill Rd., Beltsville Closed Friday for operating without hot water. Agama Kitchen and Restaurant 5640 Annapolis Rd., Bladensburg Closed April 5 because of unsanitary conditions, including rodents, and unapproved equipment. China Express 3671 Bladensburg Rd., Colmar Manor Closed April 10 because of roaches. Reopened the next day. Crown Fried Chicken and Kabob House 11911 Livingston Rd, Fort Washington Closed April 14 for operating without a working kitchen hand sink. Dora Kennedy French Immersion School 8950 Edmonston Rd., Greenbelt Food service closed April 11 because of a mouse sighting. Reopened the next day. El Bucanas 5409 Kennilworth Ave., Riverdale Closed April 11 for inadequate refrigeration. Reopened April 12. Elizabeth Deli 4601 N. Park Drive, Chevy Chase Closed Friday because of a sewage backup. Reopened that day. Pizza Boli’s 6338 Marlboro Pike, District Heights Closed April 12 because of rodents. Reopened the next day. Popeyes 4621 Silver Hill Rd., Suitland Closed April 11 for operating without hot water. Reopened that day. Subway 15106 N. Frederick Rd., Rockville Closed April 13 for operating without hot water. VIRGINIA Fire Brick Chicken 20937 Ashburn Rd., Ashburn Closed April 4 because of a fire. Reopened Monday. — Compiled by Terence McArdle


Montgomery County adopt a pet

Link, a neutered white domestic shorthair, is available for adoption. (Montgomery County Animal Services) Link If you have lost a pet or are interested in adoption, animals can be seen at the adoption center noon to 7 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, and noon to 5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. To learn about lost and adoptable animals, such as Link, and other programs and services, call 240-773-5900, visit montgomerycountymd.gov/asd, email adoptmcasac@montgomerycountymd.gov or visit facebook.com/mcasac.


Reminiscing about Abe Pollin’s Capital idea: The Capital Centre

the Capital Centre in Landover, Md., was the setting for sports and entertainment events. In May, employees will reunite and reminisce. What Arnold did was make the Cap Centre a test bed for new technology, encouraging Abe to green-light two features that would become common around the country: massive TV screens hanging from the ceiling above midcourt — dubbed the TelScreen — and a computerized ticket-buying system called Ticket Centre. Before Ticket Centre, each ticket-selling location received an allotment of physical tickets. Which tickets you got depended on which place you went. The Cap Centre’s program would allow customers to get the best available seating option regardless of which outlet they stopped at. That 1973 dedication book includes a photo of an unidentified boy holding what are described as the “first tickets to be sold” for the first event: the Washington Bullets vs. the Seattle SuperSonics. (The Bullets won, 98-96.) The kid might have been in for a surprise when he got to his seats, said Jerry Sachs, the Cap Centre’s onetime president. “The program wasn’t ready for prime time, because it could double- and triple- and occasionally quadruple-sell the same seat,” said Jerry. “It caused us enormous pain.” It took a couple of months, but the glitches were finally worked out. It’s kind of amazing that the Capital Centre was as successful as it was. Pollin had built apartments and owned sports teams, but never an arena. “We didn’t know the first thing about it, actually, but we got the thing built,” Jerry said. Jerry had worked doing marketing and PR for the Orioles, the Atlanta Braves and at Coca-Cola when Pollin hired him. Empty units in the Rittenhouse — a Pollin-owned apartment building on 16th Street NW — became offices as the team scrambled to get the Cap Centre built. “Abe was up for us trying everything,” Jerry said. “We were the first arena in the country to actually design in sky suites. Madison Square Garden had them, but they were retrofitted into the arena.” Pollin created his own circus, too, after feuding with Irvin Feld, owner of Ringling Bros. “Abe actually went to Russia and recruited Russian talent,” Jerry said. Clown Emmett Kelly Sr. was signed up, along with the Flying Wallendas and others. The result was Circus America, which went head to head with Feld’s circus when Ringling Bros. was at the D.C. Armory. You’ll hear


‘Born in China’ and other films and TV shows to watch with your kids

Tao Tao, a golden snub-nosed monkey, is one of the stars of “Born in China.” (Oliver Scholey/The Walt Disney Company/ Disneynature) Born in China (G) Age 6+ Nature documentary has gorgeous vistas, moments of peril. “Born in China” is a fascinating nature documentary. Narrated by John Krasinski, it follows a rarely seen snow leopard fighting to feed her young in one of the harshest environments on Earth, a golden monkey struggling after being cast out by his family and a doting giant panda helping her cub become independent. Although it’s family-friendly overall and promotes messages related to courage and family, there are scenes of animals in peril and fighting for survival and death that could be scary for very little or sensitive kids. The harsh realities of living in the wild include seeing a baby monkey being swept up by a hawk, animals viciously attacking one another and the death of an animal mother. But older kids and parents will likely be interested in seeing this remote part of the world and its inhabitants. (79 minutes) Charlie Hunnam plays explorer Percy Fawcett in “The Lost City of Z.” (Aidan Monaghan/Amazon Studios & Bleecker Street) The Lost City of Z (PG-13) Age 14+ Dense, intelligent, mature, yet measured adventure drama. “The Lost City of Z” is a fact-based historical adventure/drama about the search for a lost Amazonian city. Originally rated R but edited to get a PG-13, the movie has sporadic but strong violence, including guns and shooting, bloody wounds, hunting sequences (with animals killed), arrows piercing a man’s chest, fighting and other iffy images. Topless women native to the Amazon are shown, and there’s brief mild innuendo. Language includes “goddamn” and “bastard.” Characters occasionally drink from flasks and smoke, and one character’s father is described as a drinker and a gambler who ruined the family name. Even though it might come across as an exciting jungle adventure, the movie is slow, dense and mature, and it’s unlikely to excite many teens. Charlie Hunnam and Robert Pattinson co-star; the movie is based on the book by David Grann. (141 minutes) Gemma Arterton in “Their Finest.” (Nicola Dove/STX Entertainment) Their Finest (R) Age 15+ Sparkling WWII drama offers different take on toll of war. “Their Finest” is a drama set in World War II Great Britain about the production of a patriotic movie meant to raise spirits on the home front. There’s


‘Born in China,’ starring a panda cub, monkey and snow leopard, elicits awe

With “Born in China,” Disneynature continues its tradition of ascribing human traits and emotions to wild creatures in ways that flirt with artificiality. Yet the documentary does manage to elicit a viewer’s awe and touch the heart. The “stars” of the film include an adorable panda cub bonding with her mom, a frisky adolescent monkey in need of friends and a snow leopard struggling to provide for her cubs. The panda cub Mei Mei in “Born in China.” (Oliver Scholey/The Walt Disney Company/ Disneynature) The Chinese-American co-production was gorgeously shot over three years by five different nature cinematographers and directed by Chinese filmmaker Lu Chuan. Partly due to the film’s brief hour-and-a-quarter length, some scenes seem overly compressed and edited to create both high drama and low comedy. At least actor John Krasinski brings an easy, low-key delivery to the often florid narration. A family of golden snub-nosed monkeys in “Born in China.” (Alec Ginns/The Walt Disney Company/ Disneynature) The featured animals were filmed in remote and breathtaking Chinese wildernesses and nature preserves, locales highlighted briefly on a map early in the film. Additional footage of red-crowned cranes, the iconic birds of so much Chinese art, and a herd of migrating female chiru (or Tibetan antelope), while not as individualized as the main “characters,” provides a glue between the film’s ever-shifting scenes among its star creatures. The giant panda Ya Ya is a “helicopter mom” to her cuddly cub Mei Mei, who keeps trying to climb trees before she’s ready. Tao Tao, the adolescent golden snub-nosed monkey, is frozen out by his own parents after his baby sister is born, so he hangs — literally — with a mischievous gang of other teens. And the striking snow leopard, Dawa, struggles to feed her cubs in the face of a territorial rival and even prey animals who fight back. If you take animal-loving little ones to the G-rated “Born in China,” know that there are a couple of gore-free, yet still intense and potentially heart-rending moments, though far harsher events can be seen on NatGeo Wild every day. G. 79 minutes.


The DEA warned NFL doctors about drug laws in 2011. It didn’t go well.

a criminal,” said one doctor in attendance. The teams’ medical personnel were unhappy with the DEA official’s tone, his message and the laws he was outlining. Groans, catcalls and even some boos filled the hotel ballroom at times. “I’d done hundreds of presentations,” Rannazzisi said in a recent interview. “I’d never experienced that before.” “It was about as contentious as you can imagine a professional meeting getting,” another participant said. After the meeting ended, the doctors returned to their teams and continued administering powerful painkillers and anti-inflammatories in ways that often ran counter to federal guidelines. It would be four years until the NFL fully instituted rules and practices that addressed the DEA’s concerns over the way teams travel with pain medications, store them at their practice facilities and administer them on the road. The issues Rannazzisi warned team doctors about would become the heart of a DEA investigation into the NFL’s prescription drug practices and the crux of a lawsuit involving more than 1,800 former players who say teams improperly medicated them during their playing careers. The lawsuit paints a cavalier attitude within the NFL about the quantities of drugs distributed to players and alleges teams were reckless in the way they handled, stored and transported medications, failing to maintain proper records and allowing nonlicensed personnel, such as team trainers, to dole out prescription drugs. One trainer, for example, said his team was at a “competitive disadvantage” because it wasn’t using a powerful anti-inflammatory called Toradol like other teams at the time, according to a court filing. The former players cited documents obtained in discovery that showed in one calendar year the average team prescribed nearly 5,777 doses of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and 2,213 doses of controlled medications to its players. The 2011 Indianapolis meeting marked a flash point for the NFL in which team medical personnel were advised of the federal laws they later would be accused of violating. Those in the Indianapolis ballroom say the doctors were particularly frustrated to learn they couldn’t travel with prescription-strength medications across state lines to road games, as they had for years. At one point, Rannazzisi said, a doctor raised his hand and asked why the president is able to travel with drugs aboard Air Force One. The DEA official explained that Air Force One is a military plane and statutes allow exemptions for military aircraft to move drugs around the


5 D.C. area restaurants that make dining out with kids easy

Post restaurant critic Tom Sietsema chose All-Purpose as his No. 1 restaurant in the 2016 Fall Dining Guide. (Dixie D. Vereen/For The Washington Post) Looking for somewhere to take your kids — that you’ll also enjoy? Here are a few suggestions. All-Purpose This pizzeria is especially popular with parents at lunch. There’s plenty of ambient noise, and a couple of booths along one wall are ideal for families. Plus, you can make reservations. And is any other food as kid-friendly as pizza? 1250 Ninth St. NW. Dino’s Grotto The price of the children’s menu varies depending on age: $8 per dish for ages 6-12 and $5 for younger than 6. The offerings are a nice mix between familiar and comforting food that can play to more daring tastes. Dishes include a jamon and mozzarella antipasto, fish or shrimp with potato, and a build-your-own pasta with such toppings as a mild tomato sauce, boar and olive oil. 1914 Ninth St. NW. PassionFish The children’s menu comes with a few activities to keep little ones entertained (word search, puzzles, etc.) but also helps introduce them to seafood, with such fare as a simply grilled catch of the day, crispy fish and a “beginner sushi roll” with crab or vegetables. (There’s some menu overlap with sister restaurant TenPenh, too.) 11960 Democracy Dr., Reston; 7187 Woodmont Ave., Bethesda. Ted’s Bulletin, which has locations in the District, Fairfax, Gaithersburg and Reston, is popular with families. (Photo by Bonnie Jo Mount/The Washington Post) (Bonnie Jo Mount/The Washington Post) Ted’s Bulletin Breakfast served all day, a kids’ menu, booths and toys on hand — there are plenty of reasons this local chain is a favorite with families. Ted’s doesn’t take reservations, but call-ahead seating can take the pain out of the wait. Multiple locations. Trummer’s on Main Particularly good for slightly older kids who might relish their own “petit gourmand” tasting menu ($38) for a special occasion. Smaller dishes can be ordered off the regular menu for children, and there are plenty of spaces indoors and out to take your little one should he or she start getting fussy. 7134 Main St., Clifton, Va. .


Kelley and Courtney Hurley can’t give up on fencing, and their Olympic dreams

Courtney Hurley, left, and her sister Kelley, right, flank the other two members of the U.S. epee team — Maya Lawrence and Susie Scanlan — that won bronze at the London Games. Despite failing to medal at the Rio Games last summer, the Hurley sisters aren’t ready to give up their dreams. (Hassan Ammar/AP) For months, the plan seemed simple enough: Fencer Kelley Hurley would go to the 2016 Olympics, she’d win a medal, and so would her younger sister, Courtney. She’d then return home, lay down her sword and embark on a new life as a medical school student. But like her sister, Kelley lost in her first epee bout of the Rio Games. Five days later, they lost out in the team competition, too. The Hurley sisters came home empty-handed, but Kelley felt something inside still burning. Eight months later, Kelley is not in medical school. She’s still training, her sights set firmly on a fourth Summer Olympics. The road there begins in earnest this weekend. Both Kelley and Courtney will be competing at the national championships, which run Friday through Monday in Baltimore. Last summer as they were processing the disappointment from the Rio competition, the sisters hung around the city, soaked in the Olympic atmosphere and Kelley slowly started to realize it wasn’t yet time to walk away from the sport. “I just began to really think that I’m not really ready to quit yet,” said Hurley, who is trying for her fifth national epee title this weekend. “I did want to take a break, but I felt there was so much more out there.” The sisters attended Closing Ceremonies in Rio and saw the spectacle put on by the 2020 Tokyo organizers. The pull was too strong. “It really just made me think: I want to make it four. I want to see what Tokyo has,” Kelley said. The decision is one most Olympians face when the NBC cameras go dark and the pageantry ends. For many, continuing in their sport means delaying other plans. In chasing gold, Olympic athletes often postpone working toward careers or building families or pursuing more lucrative endeavors. Kelley was locked into medical school after the Rio Games. Now that’s on hold. “Maybe med school isn’t the ultimate goal,” she says now. Kelley is wrapping up her master’s degree in public health this summer, and Courtney, 26, is pursuing her


The little vegan honey company that could now gives back — to bees

kitchens, making up to 3,000 bottles in a day by herself, from cooking to labeling. But it wasn’t until Sanchez met Melissa Elms at the Natural Products Expo West in 2013 that she found someone who not only understood her passion, but had an idea of how to take it to a wider audience. It was Sanchez’s first trade show, and Elms, who was there launching an organic apple juice across the aisle, had been working in food distribution and sales for two decades. She thought she tasted a winning product in Bee Free Honee. “When I met Katie in 2013,” says Elms, “she had done $5,000 in sales with zero revenue, no profit. At one point during that trade show, Katie said to me, ‘Some guy just came by with a big entourage from some farmers market.’ I said, ‘Katie, that was Sprouts Farmers Market [a supermarket chain in 14 states] — that’s a really big account!’ She just had no idea.” Elms didn’t plan to join Sanchez in the business, but two weeks after that trade show, Sanchez called her and said, “I need you to become my business partner.” But the connection was deeper than a business partnership from the beginning, both say, calling each other “soul sisters.” Four months later, they applied for, and won, a low-interest loan through Whole Foods’ Local Producer Loan Program, which allowed the business to invest in some new equipment to automate some of the work that Sanchez had been doing by hand. By the end of their first year working together, with Sanchez in Minnesota and Elms in Texas, the business had earned $75,000 in revenue. With the operations now moved into a larger facility in Houston, it is expected to clear $300,000 this year. “2017 is going to be our breakout year for generating more revenue, because we’re prepared now,” says Elms. Fig Bars, a recipe from the Bee Free Honee website. (Deb Lindsey /For The Washington Post) If it is their breakout year, as Elms predicts, it will likely have a lot to do with the rebranding effort that puts the focus on dwindling bee populations, with the help of three new investors that came to them through their 2016 appearance on reality television show “Shark Tank,” where entrepreneurs pitch business proposals to potential investors. Bee Free Honee walked away with $210,000 in financial support from Barbara Corcoran,


organization, Beyond the Blue Orchard (named for a bee native to North America), to which they donate 10 cents from the sale of each bottle to help farmers develop beekeeping operations rather than having to depend on bee brokers who truck millions of bees around the country to pollinate everything from peaches to blueberries to oranges. “This is farming American-style,” says Marina Marchese, a beekeeper and founder of the American Honey Tasting Society. “We have these huge monocultures, like a million acres of almonds being grown in California, which require a lot of bees for pollination.” She acknowledges that it’s a stressful life for the bees who are traveling around the country, including the chemicals that they are exposed to on each farm, but says, “Bees are livestock. We all lose bees as beekeepers, but what’s really important is to learn why you lost them.” Bee Free Honee’s pilot beekeeping project will begin with Sachia Orchards, the oldest apple orchard in Wisconsin, which supplies juice for the Bee Free Honee product; Sachia plans to launch with about 40 hives in one 150-acre orchard, using an existing bee population that took up residence in an old barn on the 600-acre property. The goal is to eventually wean from hiring beehives brought in from out of state. Ryan Cosyns, who runs a beekeeping operation for his family’s almond farm in Madera, Calif., is skeptical about Sachia Orchards’ chance of success, pointing to the bees’ need for multiple food sources once they’ve exhausted the apple blossoms in early spring and the area’s long, cold winters. Now in its 12th year, Cosyns’s bee operations have expanded from pollinating the family farm’s 1,000 acres of almond trees in February and March to renting out 3,000 hives for honey production in North Dakota. “Bees have to be managed year-round,” says Cosyns. “People from Wisconsin send their bees to California for the winter. I think they’ll have a little more respect for the beekeeper they’ve been using.” But Scott Kee, vice president of operations for Sachia Orchards, likes the idea of supporting a bee population on site instead of continuing to be dependent on a bee broker. “I get worried about different diseases, so there’s a good business reason to do this,” he said. “If a hurricane hits Florida and wipes out the bees there who are supposed to travel up to my orchard next, what do


Don’t let Congress block consumer protections for prepaid card users

“Ensuring the safety and transparency of these financial products is critical to the health of this fast-growing market and to the financial well-being of its customers.” If people are using prepaid cards much like a credit or debit card, why shouldn’t they have similar protections? Apparently Republicans in Congress don’t think prepaid cards deserve the same protections and are trying to impede the CFPB’s implementation of the new rules by steamrolling legislation. Here’s one complaint that I just find ridiculous. Some critics argue that the fee disclosures are too upfront and may force people to pay more attention to what they are being charged. And if this happens, people may opt not to use prepaid cards in a way that will cost them more money. On this issue, it comes down to this: Opponents of the new rules object to helping people who can least afford a whole bunch of fees so that card companies can make more money off them. It’s an example of putting business interests first and the interests of the nation’s most financially vulnerable consumers last. There have always been businesses profiting off products sold to folks living on the edge. Payday lenders say that they provide a much-needed service to cash-strapped people who need just a little bit of money to make it to their next payday. But far too many of their customers end up in a bad cycle of using one payday loan to pay off another. It took me the longest time to get my disabled brother to stop going to liquor stores to cash his paychecks. The fee to cash each check didn’t seem like much to him. But he needed every dollar he made when he could work. I finally persuaded him to open a regular checking account and have his pay directly deposited. Critics argue that the CFPB’s new rules are another example of government overregulating. They’re not. Prepaid cards can be a good alternative for folks who are living on so little that they are scared to bank at a financial institution and incur overdraft charges. Used properly, the cards can help people manage their money. But when there is a business model that profits off financially struggling people, the government should step in and provide consumer protections. Write Singletary at The Washington Post, 1301 K St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20071 or singletarym@washpost.com. To read more, go to


Moving car kills 33-year-old in Northwest; U-Va. to raise tuition by 2.2 percent

THE DISTRICT Police say man killed in NW as car left curb A 33-year-old man died Friday after he was hit by a car whose driver was pulling from a curb early Thursday in Northwest, according to D.C. police. The man was identified as Clinton Norman. Police said in a statement that he lived in Brooklyn, although public records showed he lived near Thomas Circle and worked at CB2, a retailer in Georgetown. A store manager confirmed that Norman was a sales associate. Police said Norman was struck about 2 a.m. in the 2100 block of Eighth Street NW. Police said the driver of a Volkswagen Golf was pulling out “when he realized he struck something,” looked in his mirror and “noticed an individual lying in the street.” The driver called 911. Police did not release additional details Friday. No charges have been filed, but the investigation remains open, police said. — Peter Hermann 24-year-old arrested in fatal shooting in SE D.C. police on Friday arrested Antione Kingwood, 24, of Southeast in a fatal shooting in Southeast, according to authorities. Kingwood was charged with second-degree murder while armed in the March 17 death of Steven Edward Stewart Jr., 33, of Southeast. Stewart was shot about 8:55 a.m . in the 2200 block of Minnesota Avenue SE, in front of a convenience store and across the street from Orr Elementary School. Police did not comment on a possible motive. — Peter Hermann MARYLAND Easter stabbing victim was a 17-year-old Police identified the person fatally stabbed Easter morning in Forestville as Te’yja Chase, 17, of Suitland. Chase had knocked on the door of a home in the 3300 block of Springdale Avenue on Sunday before collapsing in the yard, according to Prince George’s County police. The homeowner called 911, police said. Authorities are looking for a motive and suspect. — Lynh Bui Teacher ordered jailed until pornography trial A Maryland elementary school substitute teacher and coach arrested on child pornography charges was ordered held in jail Friday pending trial, according to prosecutors. Christopher H. Speights, 34, of Capitol Heights was held after Maryland State Police said they seized more than 150 graphic images and videos of children performing sexually explicit acts on devices he owned. Speights worked at Bradbury Heights Elementary School for nine years, court files show. Officials with Prince George’s County public schools said he no longer works for the


Chesapeake Bay female crabs at their most plentiful since at least 1990

Maryland blue crabs scooped up off Tilghman Island. (André Chung/for The Washington Post) There are more spawning-age female blue crabs in the Chesapeake Bay than there have been in at least 28 years, a sign that efforts to help the species withstand natural population swings are working. However, an annual survey of the bay’s crab population found that there are fewer crabs overall in the bay than there were a year ago — about 455 million, down from 550 million. That is because tides and currents carried less larval crabs up the estuary. The number of adult male crabs also fell. “Despite the modest number of young crabs, the total population remains stable and the number of spawning-age females — a major scientific benchmark for the health of the species — rose,” said David Blazer, director of fishing and boating services for the state Department of Natural Resources. “This is testament to the state’s adaptive and effective management of the fishery.” Crab season began April 1 and continues through the fall. The survey results likely foreshadow a strong first half of the crab season for Maryland watermen — until midsummer, they will be catching many of last season’s abundant juveniles that have matured enough to be harvested. But into the fall, crabs that meet the harvest size minimum could become scarcer, state natural resources officials said. Chris Moore, senior scientist for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, called the results “a mixed bag” that show signs of resilience in the crab population, but also cause for concern. “The low number of juveniles suggests we need to keep in place the suite of crab management regulations first agreed to in 2008 by Virginia and Maryland,” he said. “We also must maintain federal funding for critical crab management programs, such as underwater grasses restoration.” Gov. Larry Hogan’s administration acknowledged last month that it might be open to revising catch limits, such as a midsummer increase in the minimum crab harvest size. Wednesday’s release of the population survey results launches an annual process of reviewing the regulations and whether they can or should be changed. Blazer said any such changes “will only be considered after we receive input from all parties involved.” Bay advocates meanwhile are also pressing against President Trump’s budget proposal that calls for elimination of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Annapolis-based Chesapeake Bay Program. That office coordinates cleanup efforts across the bay watershed’s


One powerful weapon to use against North Korea

can process transactions for a bank already facing sanctions (for example, one of the many North Korean banks that have been listed by the United States) or it can maintain its access to the U.S. financial system, but it cannot do both. That presents an easy choice, because access to the U.S. financial system, which also means access to the U.S. dollar, is a practical necessity for almost any bank anywhere in the world. Adopting secondary sanctions against North Korea could cut the last tendrils of its access to the international financial system. As a recent assessment by a special U.N. committee reportedly concluded, North Korean banks and trading companies operate in China through China-based front companies. These front companies, in turn, have accounts at Chinese banks, from which they are able to do business globally, including in the United States. If the United States were to adopt secondary sanctions against North Korea, that move would almost certainly force some Chinese banks to choose between facilitating the regime’s international banking capacity and maintaining their own access. Some observers fear that this move would so irritate the Chinese government as to make secondary sanctions inadvisable. History teaches that we should not worry too much about an adverse Chinese reaction. When I was serving in the Treasury Department during the Obama administration, we employed secondary sanctions to significantly ramp up pressure on the Iranian government. Hundreds of foreign banks that had been transacting with sanctioned Iranian banks voluntarily severed those relationships, thereby isolating much of the Iranian banking system. But two banks in particular continued to work with sanctioned Iranian banks. One was China-based Kunlun Bank, a midsize institution that, our financial intelligence told us, “provided hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of financial services” to a half-dozen sanctioned Iranian banks. Despite repeated warnings to the Chinese government, Kunlun refused to stop such activity. So in August 2012, Treasury used the secondary sanctions tool and cut off Kunlun from the U.S. financial system. What happened next is instructive. The Chinese Foreign Ministry issued a relatively tepid and formulaic protest — and, behind the scenes, the Chinese government directed Kunlun to stop. Despite what some had feared, employing secondary sanctions against Kunlun neither led China to stop cooperating on Iran nor soured our relations with Beijing in any other respect. China reacted this way for several reasons — all of which have parallels


Five families slipped away from southern India, moving to ISIS territory in Afghanistan

civil police officer in the state’s special branch who knows the families well. “All these people were very rich. They didn’t need money. They were going to give up all material pleasures for a medieval lifestyle, to live like shepherds.” At one point, Hamza, who owns a hotel and restaurant in Mumbai, left an angry voice message for a nephew who had also vanished. Between obscenities, the older man told him not to bother coming home. The nephew responded with a photo of an AK-47. “We are not going to come back. We are devoted to [Islamic State leader] Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. We’ll meet again in paradise,” the nephew texted later. ‘Where are you?’ Hafsath, the mother of two men who left with their wives and children to join the Islamic State. (Enrico Fabian/for The Washington Post) Hamza’s house — set amid palm trees, with soaring ceilings and marble floors — seems empty now that so many members of his family have gone. The room where one of the young couples lived has grown musty from disuse, stripped of personal belongings. The room looks out over the brightly painted villa next door, once home to another young man who disappeared. He was killed in a drone strike in Afghanistan in February. His 11-year-old sister still cries at the sound of his name. Sitting in her quiet dining room, Hamza’s wife, Hafsath, said mournfully that she believed her sons’ religious education had taken them “to an extreme level.” “I’m scared. I’m frightened. I’m also worried about the small children, their lives,” she said. “I don’t understand why they have chosen that place. I feel angry at times, but I still want them to come back.” About three months ago, the landline rang. It was her daughter-in-law Rufaila, Ijas’s wife. She was calling to ask after a sick relative and to tell them she had given birth to a beautiful baby girl they named Fatima. Rufaila grew emotional, however, when she confessed to her mother-in-law that she was kept in the dark about their destination when they left Kerala. She believed the lie Ijas had told his parents: that he was taking a new job at a hospital in the Lakshadweep Islands. “Where are you?” Hafsath asked desperately, wanting to help. The line went dead. Shahina K.K. in Kerala, Walid Sharif in Kabul and Julie Tate in Washington contributed to this report.


Though shovels are ready, Trump officials delay grant for Caltrain upgrade

overhaul, which extends a locomotive or passenger car’s life by an additional decade, costs $2.2 million per locomotive and $1.5 million per car. “We’re the second-oldest railroad west of the Mississippi, and we have advanced that far beyond the steam engine,” Navarro said. “We’re running diesel.” Caltrain first contemplated an electric rail line two decades ago, but the idea has taken on new urgency as Silicon Valley has boomed and ridership has doubled since 2005. Officials approached the FTA about the project in 2001, while also tapping local funding sources, including money approved by Proposition 1A, a 2008 ballot measure intended to connect transit projects to the state’s planned high-speed rail system. This annoyed Rep. Jeff Denham (R-Calif.), who chairs a key House Transportation and Infrastructure subcommittee. Denham has lobbied Chao to deny the grant because the new Caltrain cars would run slower than 220 mph, the rate that defines high-speed rail. He urged California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) to find a different source of state financing for Caltrain and then reapply for the federal money. “I am supportive of Caltrain and the electrification project, but they have to be funded the right way,” Denham said. “I would expect any new administration to fund what their new transportation policy is going to be and what their priorities are.” Brown, who met with Chao last month to discuss the grant, said of Denham in a phone interview: “That’s called blackmail.” Californians “voted for a bond issue” for high-speed rail “but envisioned other projects” using the cash, the governor said. “To go against it is the rawest, stupidest form of politics.” For the moment, Caltrain has obtained a four-month delay from its contractors in exchange for paying a penalty, meaning it could still proceed with the project if it gets an infusion of federal funds by June 30. The electrification upgrade is expected to generate 4,700 jobs in more than a dozen states, including Utah, where the new trains would be manufactured. Caltrain officials have reached out to more than a dozen members of the House and Senate who represent areas that would benefit from the project. In an interview, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah) said the project “would be very beneficial to Utah, no question.” Although it may be challenging to free up the money, Hatch said, “we’re going to do what we can to get that done.”


There’s now an even better reason to steal that hotel bathrobe

Some of the new styles of hotel robes that are featured at chains including Hilton, Marriott and Caesars Entertainment. (Standard Textile) Most hotel rooms are a blur, says Maxwell Young. But there is one part of his stay at the Hotel Palomar in Northwest Washington that he will always remember: the leopard- and zebra-print robes hanging in his room. “It was like I opened the closet and rays of sunshine poured out,” he said of the bathrobes, which he later raved about on Twitter. (“Snow may have put a crimp in our DC plans, but this zebra robe at @Kimpton Palomar Hotel is really lifting my mood.”) Young, who works in marketing, spent the rest of his business trip working in his animal print robes. By checkout time, he’d made plans to buy a similar robe for a friend. As hotel chains look for new ways to attract younger travelers, bathrobes have become one more way to add pizazz to an otherwise predictable stay. Gone are the one-size-fits-all robes of earlier decades. In their place: Seersucker, houndstooth and periwinkle blue, all perfectly suited for sharing on social media. “It’s no longer just about putting the hotel logo on a floppy, loosefitting white robe,” said Greg Eubanks, vice president of hospitality at Standard Textile, where robe sales to such companies as Marriott International and Hilton Hotels & Resorts have tripled in the past two years. These days, he said, the company’s robes have sewn-in belts and pockets deep enough to hold smartphones. They’re slimmer, too, and tend to be shorter. “For years, we sold robes that were about operational efficiency,” Eubanks said. “These days, guests want to feel special — sexy, even — in their robes.” To that end, executives at Four Seasons Hotels spent three years fine-tuning the chain’s newest offerings, which are more tailored and less bulky than their predecessors. They also have slimmer sleeves to make it easier for women to style their hair in their robes. (“We know customers are pleased because so many of our robes walk away,” one executive said.) Marriott, meanwhile, has replaced many of its white robes with charcoal gray versions that are shorter and have wider sleeves. And at Hilton — where 18 percent of guests say that “lounging around in hotel robes all day” is their favorite part of being on vacation — lighter-weight resort robes have taken the place of


Warring cousins, a grisly execution: A Tunisian family torn apart by ISIS

accused Najib Guasmi, 37, a shepherd, of being an informant for the security forces. “They killed him with a bullet to his head,” said his brother, Hadi. The militants have also planted land mines, killing several civilians in recent months. At least a dozen Tunisian fighters returning from Syria and Iraq have joined the militants, said Ridha Raddaoui, co-author of a recent report on terrorism by the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights. As more fighters return, he added, “they will be fuel to the battle in the mountains against the Tunisian state.” At checkpoints in the towns, Tunisian security forces search vehicles for weapons and bombs. Soldiers patrol in Humvees and armored personnel carriers. Suspected militants have been arrested and sent to jail. But a recent visit to the mountains, under armed escort, revealed the security challenges on this vast terrain dotted with cactus and pine trees along dry riverbeds. “There are fighters everywhere,” said a national guard commander, pointing at the mountains, a Belgian-made rifle slung over his shoulder. He spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to journalists. “But we don’t have the necessary means and equipment to fight them.” The security forces, he said, were stretched thin and lacked equipment to track down the militants. “God is the only one protecting us now,” he said. A tragic return On that November evening, Muntasir was determined to confront his cousin. By then, he was routinely coming down from the mountains to pick up food and supplies. Nearly half the village was helping the militants. The other half lived in fear. Sayed, too, was coming home — despite the omens. On one visit, a cousin told him that if he had a gun he would kill him on the spot. “I told my brother, ‘Don’t come to the house. Muntasir is watching you,’ ” Fadha Ghozlani recalled. But Sayed was close to his mother, and she needed money. As Sayed glared at Muntasir in their house, his mother began to cry. She begged Muntasir not to harm her son. But the militants hauled Sayed into a guest room. Muntasir joined them. Moments later, two bullets pierced the back of Sayed’s head. Fadha, Salina and Mohammed Ghozlani had a brother who was killed by Islamic State militants last fall. They say a cousin was among the attackers. (Lorenzo Tugnoli/For The Washington Post)


The Trump team has a historic opportunity with Japan — if it can pull together a strategy

should take a more assertive role and fulfill its decades-long drive to become a more normal, independent and self-reliant nation. Vice President Pence, visiting Tokyo last week, told me that the Trump administration wholeheartedly supports Abe’s push for Japan to do more. “The president would like to see Japan and our other allies in the world who have an ability to play a greater role in our common defense play that role and to bear that burden and I think that’s consistent with that aspiration of the Japanese people,” Pence said, adding he raised the issue of sharing the financial burden directly with Abe in their meeting. For Japan, paying more money for hosting U.S. troops is only one part of the discussion. As Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso noted after meeting Pence, Japan already pays a far greater percentage of the cost of hosting U.S. forces than any European ally does. In fact, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said in Tokyo in February that Japan is a model country in that respect. What Abe wants is for Japan to build military capabilities needed to counter North Korea and also China, for example, by acquiring an offensive-strike capability and expanding Japan’s missile defenses. That’s politically difficult for him domestically and could require financial commitments the Japanese budget can’t bear. But the project would benefit from more support from Washington. Tokyo also wants to join with Washington to strengthen the rules-based international order in the face of Chinese aggression in the South China Sea and the East China Sea, as well as Chinese military expansion throughout the Western Pacific. Maritime security is paramount for Japan. The Trump administration is pursuing a warming of U.S.-China relations, and there’s a concern that relationships with key allies, including Japan, could become subservient to that drive. There’s also a risk that by placing too much emphasis on getting Beijing to fix the North Korea problem, the United States could lose sight of the regional dynamic and also acquiesce to a wide range of China’s bad behaviors. “Japan and the United States should jointly address these issues,” Kentaro Sonoura, Japan’s vice foreign minister, told me. “What kind of actions will the United States be willing to take? Will the United States be willing to stand on our side or not? These are indeed very important points of interest and concern for us.” Several Japanese officials told me


U.S. defense chief arrives in Kabul as his Afghan counterpart resigns in disgrace

H.R. McMaster. About 8,400 U.S. troops are currently advising and training local forces, conducting counterinsurgency operations and providing air combat and evacuation support. By comparison, at the height of the war, more than 100,000 U.S. forces were stationed here. In an assault Friday marked by ruthlessness and stealth, a handful of Taliban fighters managed to enter a base teeming with soldiers and kill at least 140 of them shortly after the weekly prayer service there. The attack at a base in northern Balkh province, the deadliest carried out by the Taliban against the military in 16 years of fighting, belied Afghan insistence that the country’s troubled defense forces are moving toward self-sufficiency after years of relying on Western allies to fund, train and equip them. The attackers, who penetrated the base wearing army uniforms and kept fighting for more than five hours, were finally quelled by an Afghan commando force. That scenario has been repeated in numerous other battlefronts, where the elite units replaced police and regular troops who were unable to fend off insurgent fighters. While the commandos were singled out for praise Saturday by Nicholson, the defense forces overall, totaling more than 700,000 men, remain plagued by poor coordination, illiteracy, high rates of attrition, defections to the Taliban, ethnic infighting, and widespread corruption that includes the theft and resale of combat supplies meant for front-line troops. The weaknesses that have left heavily subsidized Afghan forces struggling to fend off much smaller numbers of insurgents have become increasingly difficult to excuse, as indicated by the highly unusual resignations of Defense Minister Abdullah Habibi and Army Chief of Staff Qadam Shah Shahim on Monday. “No one has put pressure on me. I have resigned for the national interest of the country,” Habibi told reporters. Shahim also said he stepped down voluntarily. President Ashraf Ghani accepted both resignations immediately and replaced three other army commanders, a move that some analysts praised as necessary to boost military morale and public trust. Other recent major attacks claimed by the Taliban or Islamic State include the invasion of a military hospital in Kabul on Mar. 8 that left at least 30 people dead, and a one-day spate of scattered bombings Jan. 10 that killed 65 people, including three Emirati diplomats at a government guesthouse in Kandahar. U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis checks his watch as he arrives via helicopter at Resolute Support headquarters in


Trump administration imposes sanctions on 271 employees of Syrian research center

support of chemical weapons programs since at least 2012,” Mnuchin said. It was unclear what effect the new sanctions would have on those targeted. All are listed only as working for Syria’s Scientific Studies and Research Center, which itself was sanctioned — along with any person deemed to be involved with its chemical weapons activity — in an executive order signed by President George W. Bush in 2005. Additional sanctions were imposed on the center and affiliated organizations by Treasury in 2007. Although none of those named is known to have assets in this country, the sanctioning of what appear to be mid-level, previously anonymous employees could have the effect of undermining confidence in the government. Those whose names have surfaced in relation to chemical weapons attacks and other alleged war crimes are more likely to be cited in any postwar investigations. The sanctions are a second round of punishment by the administration for the chemical attack. On April 6, the United States launched 59 cruise missiles against the Syrian airfield it said was the base from which the chemical airstrikes originated. Following a sarin attack in September 2013, in which hundreds of civilians were killed in a Damascus suburb, President Barack Obama unsuccessfully sought congressional approval to launch a military strike on the Syrian government. The Obama administration later negotiated an agreement with Russia that led to international removal of what were said to be all of Assad’s chemical weapons stocks. Since then, the government has repeatedly been found to use bombs laden with chlorine, and international inspectors have discovered traces of sarin and other chemical weapons in some locations. But the April attack was the first time since 2013 that the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons cited “incontrovertible” evidence that “victims were exposed to sarin or a sarin-like substance.” The Scientific Studies and Research Center, established decades ago to advance and coordinate scientific activities in Syria, is officially unaffiliated with the government but has long been assumed to be the site of chemical weapons research and development for the Syrian military. According to a French intelligence dossier published in 2013, a branch of the center “composed only of Alawite military personnel . . . distinguished by a high level of loyalty to the regime” is responsible for producing toxic agents for military use. Alawites are members of a branch of Shiite Islam to which Assad belongs.


Marijuanalujah? Jeff Sessions and the cannabis conundrum

muddle along with the patchwork system now in place, with the federal government neither legalizing pot nor cracking down — a system that, as the ganjapreneur put it Monday, “kind of makes no sense.” I know to what she reefers. I applied for a medical marijuana card in the District — for strictly, ahem, journalistic purposes — to see how the current system works in the absence of federal involvement. I contacted one of the District’s medical marijuana dispensaries, which set me up for an appointment with a doctor. Upon arrival at this practitioner’s office, I had my weight and blood pressure taken in a large closet full of coffee supplies. Then I met the doctor, a Trinidadian educated in Jamaica, who sat across his desk from me. Drawings of Salk, Pasteur and other medical giants graced the walls. A gas station was visible through the window. I told the doctor I have low-back pain, which is true, and then I gave him his fee: $150 in cash only. He stuck the bills in his desk drawer and approved me for a marijuana card. A friend had a similar appointment and said she had depression. When the doctor noted that her intake form said she already has a prescription for depression, she hastily revised her symptoms: “Menstrual cramps!” She got a card, too. This arrangement may be superior to a black-market system for pot, but it’s hardly preferable to a nationwide system that strictly regulates and taxes marijuana the way it does the more dangerous drug of alcohol. That will only happen with time, and with another administration. On the positive side, the stalemate gives the D.C. pot activists (the same group previously displayed a 51-foot inflatable joint outside the White House and handed out joints to congressional staffers) time to improve their pitch. Many activists arrived late for their “joint session” Monday. They were a cacophony of marijuana shirts and stockings, wigs and hats, flags, dreadlocks and, despite the rain, sunglasses. A sign claiming that eight presidents used cannabis, from George Washington to Barack Obama, misspelled Zachary Taylor’s name “Tayler.” The “hemperor” offered his view that the Declaration of Independence was written on hemp. After an hour and 20 minutes of speeches about marijuana, even the police looked bored, but they revived when a distinctive smell wafted over the Capitol lawn. Before he was hauled off, the Rastafarian briefly


Why D.C. residents don’t need to worry about a federal government shutdown

A National Park Service employee posts a sign on a barricade closing access to the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2013. Congress plunged the nation into a partial government shutdown, forcing about 800, 000 federal workers off the job and suspending most non-essential federal programs and services. (Carolyn Kaster/AP) The daily work of local government — trash pickup, teaching in public schools and more — will continue without a hitch in the nation’s capital if the federal government shuts down this week amid disputes between the White House and Congress over spending on a border wall, D.C. officials said. Kevin Donahue, deputy mayor for public safety and justice, said the District would not be forced to repeat the scramble to continue operating that ensued in 2013, when the federal government shut down for 16 days after conservative Republicans refused to fund the government unless the Affordable Care Act was gutted. The shutdown threatened the District, whose budget is tied to that of the federal government. Then-Mayor Vincent C. Gray (D) managed to keep the city open by dipping into budget reserves and designating every one of its tens of thousands of employees as “essential to the protection of public safety, health and property,” which insulated them from the furloughs that affected roughly 800,000 federal workers. Since then, however, the District has adopted a new interpretation of its budget autonomy — the ability to raise and spend local funds without congressional approval — and Congress has decided that the District’s budget should remain in effect during any standoffs over federal spending on Capitol Hill. “Our budget has a degree of separation from the Congress that it did not have at the time of the last shutdown,” Donahue said Tuesday. “We believe, in the event of a shutdown, that there will be no effect on city services, nor will we need to take the extraordinary step of declaring all employees essential.” That doesn’t mean District residents won’t notice effects if the federal government grinds to a halt. Trash collection and maintenance for federal landmarks, such as the Mall, could cease during a shutdown. Donahue said that smaller, federally controlled parks throughout the city — such as Franklin Square downtown or Stanton Park on Capitol Hill — could also go untended, perhaps prompting extra effort from the city’s Department of Public Works. In 2013, garbage and rats accumulated in some of


Drugged driving eclipses drunken driving in tests of motorists killed in crashes

percent in 2015, the latest year for which data is available. Though the dates when each state passed a law vary, that period coincided with more-permissive laws covering the use of marijuana. Medical use of the drug is now allowed in 29 states and the District of Columbia; 17 states permit its use in some medical circumstances; use has been decriminalized in 21 states; and recreational use is allowed in eight states and the District. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has promised to reinvigorate the war on drugs, reversing an Obama administration policy that reduced prison sentences for nonviolent drug offenders. Although the liberalization of marijuana laws and increase in drug-use fatalities might lead to an easy conclusion, the report cites European studies that found marijuana use slightly increased the risk of a crash, while opioids, amphetamines and mixing alcohol with drugs greatly increased the risk of a crash. Counterbalancing that assessment of crash risk is this stark statistic: In Colorado, marijuana-related traffic deaths increased by 48 percent after the state legalized recreational use of the drug. “Drugged driving is a complicated issue,” said Jim Hedlund, a former National Highway Traffic Safety Administration official who wrote the GHSA report. “The more we can synthesize the latest research and share what’s going on around the country to address drug-impaired driving, the better positioned states will be to prevent it.” Unlike the blood alcohol standard of 0.08, which often can be established at the scene of a crash, testing for drug use is more complex, usually requiring a blood test, and the effect of drug use can vary substantially among users. Surveys of regular marijuana users in Colorado and Washington state, which also has legalized recreational use, found that almost none of them thought marijuana use impaired their driving, while they believed drinking alcohol did. The challenge to police in attempting to enforce laws against drug-using drivers is compounded because many officers lack training to identify those under the influence of drugs, and delays in testing may allow the drug to metabolize so the results do not accurately measure the concentration in the driver’s system at the time of the incident. “As states across the country continue to struggle with drug-impaired driving, it’s critical that we help them understand the current landscape and provide examples of best practices so they can craft the most effective countermeasures,” said Jonathan Adkins, executive director of GHSA.


Five lessons we can all learn from federal workers who may be facing a furlough

In 2013, a political stalemate forced the federal government to halt all nonessential activity and furlough nonessential government workers. (JUSTIN LANE/EPA) A lot of federal workers are in fear of a furlough. There have been signs that Congress and the president will end up compromising and keep funding the federal government, thereby avoiding a shutdown. Even still, there are lessons to learn from this latest budget skirmish. Ask yourself: How prepared am I for a furlough, layoff or reduction in work hours? I don’t want you to manage your finances out of fright, but you’d be smart to play the what-if game to ensure that if the “what if” happens, you’re as prepared as you can be. I remember well the last shutdown — 16 days in 2013. Many federal workers were sent scrambling because they didn’t have a savings cushion. As many as 850,000 people a day were furloughed. And it’s not just federal employees who may be affected. Work by contractors, essential to federal operations, may be stopped. In the 2013 shutdown, to avoid missing a paycheck, some contract workers had to take vacation days. And unlike federal workers, many of these employees didn’t get back pay. The shutdown “jeopardized both the income stability of hundreds of thousands of federal employees and their ability to focus on important agency missions that citizens rely upon each day,” according to a November 2013 report from the Office of Management and Budget. We can all learn from recent events. Here are five things you can do to position yourself for a disruption in income: Cut expenses now. Take, for example, credit card debt. As the economy has improved, many people have gone right back to overusing credit. The National Foundation for Credit Counseling recently found an increase in the percentage of U.S. adults carrying monthly credit card debt. Save something. Okay, you’ve got bills, and the recommendation of having three to six months of living expenses seems impossible. Then don’t set yourself up for failure. Start with just having enough saved to get you through missing just one paycheck. From there, build up to a larger cash cushion. Don’t be afraid to talk to your creditors. Don’t view your retirement account as an emergency fund. You need both. During the 2013 shutdown, 14,000 federal employees took hardship withdrawals from their Thrift Savings Plan. If you have a choice between making your


D.C.’s top chefs deserve a night off. This amateur cook spends big bucks to give it to them.

Todd Hauptli, left, plates a first course of egg custard with lobster in eggshells during a dinner at his home in McLean, Va. At center is Romie Stefanelli, with chef Marjorie Meek-Bradley at right. (Deb Lindsey /For The Washington Post) Copper pots hang on a rack over a large kitchen island He moves through his kitchen with a casual grace, offering a glass of 2002 Krug champagne to his guests while returning, time and again, to focus on his plates. His breezy hospitality suggests a professional who’s firmly in control. His black jacket, with the cursive “T” on the left breast, suggests a chef trained to deliver this eight-course feast featuring seared Wagyu beef, butter-poached lobster, aged grand cru Burgundies and other delicacies connected to the rarefied world of fine dining. Don’t bother trying to guess the name of his restaurant. It doesn’t exist. Sure, there’s a place called Chez Hauptli, but it’s a $2 million home tucked into the wooded back roads of McLean. To reach it, you need a really good GPS system and an invitation. Todd Hauptli, 54, is the man behind Chez Hauptli, and although he’s not technically a chef with his own restaurant and crew, his guest lists have included some major players in local and national dining circles: chefs Eric Ziebold, Nick Stefanelli and Jonathan Krinn. Pastry chef Amanda Cook. Sommelier Andy Myers. Even if you don’t immediately recognize the names, you might recognize where they have worked: the French Laundry, CityZen, 2941, Citronelle, Per Se, Galileo, Minibar and other restaurants, past and present, that represent the pinnacle of American gastronomy. Hauptli’s roasted beet salad with buttermilk-goat cheese coulis, the second course of his nine-course meal. (Deb Lindsey /For The Washington Post) For the sixth course: house-cured Snake River Farms pork belly with caramel glaze, fennel puree and frisee salad. (Deb Lindsey /For The Washington Post) So who the heck is Todd Hauptli? He’s the president and chief executive of the American Association of Airport Executives, or AAAE, just another alphabet-soup organization that calls Washington home. Hauptli has been with the organization since 1991, when he worked as vice president of federal affairs or, as his wife, Kathy, likes to tease him, a “sleazy Republican lobbyist.” Now as the chief executive, Hauptli carries the weight of the nation’s airports on the shoulders of his stylish suits, whether testifying before a U.S. Senate panel or


‘It’s like eating sunshine’: Going plum crazy for a Japanese tree’s juicy fruit

just plums. When the fruit is young and hard, the female uses her snout to wound it and lay an egg just under the skin. The larvae hatch inside, then tunnel, feed and burrow out again, leaving the fruit badly damaged. Mark has had good results against plum curculio by spraying his tree with Surround, a nontoxic product approved for organic growers. It’s made from the chalk mineral kaolinite, refined to exclude impurities and micronize the particles to a finer texture that’s sprayable and disturbing enough to drive the beetles away. (If you can’t find Surround at a local store, you can order it from 7springsfarm.com.) Using a backpack sprayer with an eight-foot wand, Mark coats the tree after petal fall, when the fruits have set but are still as small as peas. With good coverage, one or two applications will do, depending on the severity of the infestation and whether heavy rain has washed the coating away. He sprays the grass under the tree to take care of any insects that have dropped. “They fold up their little lawn chairs and go,” Mia says. Japanese plums bloom early, and pollination can be tricky. You need another Japanese plum that blooms at the same time to pollinate your tree. It should be a different variety. (Early Golden, Methley and Starking Delicious are popular ones.) But somehow, Chip’s and Mark’s Shiro trees have been pollinating each other for years. Sometimes Mark cuts flowering branches from her tree, puts them in water-filled glass jars and hangs them in his, just to be sure. Such community cooperation counts for a lot, of course, but so does our local population of native bees, without which there would be fewer golden balls of juice for us to enjoy. The fact that none of us use bee-toxic products in our gardens helps ensure their survival. This year, Mark and Mia got an assist from another friend, Debrae, who keeps honeybees but is often away on long sailing voyages. She entrusted them with her bees’ care over the winter, but now, sitting on Chip’s porch, she’s negotiating their return. “Sure,” Mark says. “After the plum trees bloom.” More from Lifestyle: How to plan a better tomato crop this season The dogwood tree — the living symbol of the American spring — makes a comeback Calling citizen scientists: Researchers want you to track nesting birds in your garden


Police say burglar pointed gun at homeowner during confrontation in Northwest

Person of Interest in Burglary II/ADW (Gun), 2000 b/o 15th St, NW, on March 29, 2017 D.C. police are looking for a man who they said burglarized a residence in Northwest Washington and then pointed a gun at the homeowner who tried to retrieve his belongings, according to authorities. The break-in occurred March 29 about 1:40 p.m. at a rowhouse in the 2000 block of 15th Street NW, between U and V streets, an area undergoing a transformation with new apartments and restaurants on a historic corridor known for a vibrant nightlife. Police said a man forced his way into the residence and took an Apple iPad, a Play Station 4 and money. As the man left with the items, police said, the owner discovered the break-in and confronted the man in a back alley. A police report says the man pointed a black handgun at the homeowner and then ran away.


A look at how Hollywood depicts female journalists. (Hint: It’s not always positive.)

(Rachel McAdams) “State of Play” 2009 Rating: 10 McAdams’s intrepid reporter may not be as seasoned as Russell Crowe’s Cal McAffrey when she’s brought on to assist in his research of a suspicious death. But she should not be trifled with just because she’s spent most of her career blogging — and she proves it by seeking out her own leads in the case. It’s fitting that McAdams would go on to portray an actual, stone-cold female journalist in the Oscar-winning film “Spotlight.” MacKenzie McHale (Emily Mortimer), Maggie Jordan (Alison Pill) and Sloan Sabbith (Olivia Munn) “The Newsroom” 2012-2014 Rating: 6 Few things irked the fans of Aaron Sorkin’s HBO show more than his depiction of female journalists. MacKenzie deeply wants to legitimize her show, but she gets derailed by something as innocuous as her Wikipedia listing having the wrong alma mater. Maggie encounters some serious demons (a kid dies while she’s reporting), but her distractions are more frequently love-life related. That leaves Munn’s financial whiz who, perhaps because of the actress’s gift for the show’s rapid-fire dialogue, can explain the subprime mortgage crisis and have no fear of questioning authority. Kate Mara in the first season of "House of Cards." (Melinda Sue Gordon) Zoe Barnes (Kate Mara) “House of Cards” 2013-present Rating: 1 This cub reporter so badly wants to be in the big league. Although Zoe is enterprising enough to seize an opportunity when he (Kevin Spacey’s Machiavellian Frank Underwood) is presented, she is too gullible for the job. Zoe is a cautionary tale for covering the murky political world: Don’t sleep with a source, and don’t hide information about a potential murder from the teammates on the piece. And if you do happen to do those things? Don’t meet said unscrupulous source late at night at a subway stop and delete any evidence of your relationship. Rosario Dawson as Chelsea Brown in “Top Five.” (Ali Paige Goldstein/Paramount Pictures) Chelsea Brown (Rosario Dawson) “Top Five” 2014 Rating: 1 Dawson’s character in Chris Rock’s dramedy isn’t so much a journalist as she is a sounding board that the comedian utilizes to allow his character to monologue about typecasting, alcoholism and the price of fame. Plus, she takes Rock’s flailing lead inside her apartment so he can meet her family, profiles him after she’d already written a negative review of his film under a pseudonym and (sigh) gets with him


Seven appliances that show where home cooking is heading

Hello Egg, a virtual assistant, will help plan weekly meals according to dietary preferences, organize shopping lists, order grocery delivery, provide recipe videos and back you up with a 24/7 cooking experts team. (Hello Egg) Kitchens are moving into the tech age with a range of new gadgets. (Getty Images/iStockphoto) Who needs a fridge magnet for a grocery list when a scanner on your garbage can will remind you what to buy? How about an egg-shaped gadget that plans your weekly meals and calls up videos to give you step-by-step cooking instructions? Or how about a device that will prevent you from burning your meals or another one that will dispense an accurate amount of ingredients without having to use measuring cups and spoons? A new wave of technologies is upping the ante on convenience and efficiency in the kitchen. “The very nature of the space of the kitchen will begin to change as a confluence of enabling technologies come into the kitchen,” said Michael Wolf, creator of the Smart Kitchen Summit, a forum that explores how technology is changing food and cooking. Cooking appliances, he said, will evolve and become more intelligent over time to adapt to lifestyles. Cameras built into appliances, machine-learning software, voice-powered devices, guided cooking systems and smart surfaces also will gain a foothold in the kitchen. Technologically, the living room is more advanced than the kitchen, he said, pointing out that the main function of the living room, entertainment, has evolved dramatically as smart TVs and video streaming have satisfied an appetite for being connected. In the kitchen, the digital transformation has just begun. “Over the next 10 to 20 years, we’re going to see that change happening in the kitchen,” Wolf said. Here’s a sampling of products, highlighted at the recent International Home and Housewares Show in Chicago, designed to delight tech-savvy foodies and reluctant cooks and make grocery shopping, meal preparation and entertaining more manageable and productive. The virtual assistant will help plan weekly meals according to dietary preferences, organize shopping lists, order grocery delivery, provide recipe videos and back you up with a 24/7 cooking experts team. (Courtesy of Hello Egg) ● Hello Egg: The timing couldn’t be more perfect for Hello Egg. A recent survey by online grocer Peapod found that 72 percent of Americans cook at home four nights or more a week. Of those who cook at home, 53


percent would like to plan meals more often to save money, eat healthy and waste less food. This cleverly designed voice-operated device aims to take the hassle out of home cooking, especially when you have a busy schedule. Simply place Hello Egg on your kitchen counter and start talking to it. Its playful animated eye mimics facial expressions by blinking. The virtual assistant will help plan weekly meals according to dietary preferences, organize shopping lists, order grocery delivery, provide recipe videos and back you up with a 24/7 cooking experts team. ( helloegg.net : basic version $120; premium $350) Attach the scanner to your garbage can or recycling bin. It keeps a log on items as you toss them out so you can update your grocery list. When the app is synced with an Amazon account, GeniCan orders items like paper towels and snacks once they have been thrown away or recycled. (Courtesy of GeniCan) ● GeniCan: Of all the mundane things to do in the kitchen, keeping a grocery shopping list is probably one of them. But in the world of smart technology, that’s the inspiration for GeniCan, a device that almost makes throwing away trash fun. Attach the scanner to your garbage can or recycling bin. It keeps a log on items as you toss them out so you can update your grocery list. When the app is synced with an Amazon account, GeniCan orders items such as paper towels and snacks once they have been thrown away or recycled. (Amazon.com founder Jeffrey P. Bezos owns The Washington Post.) An item without a bar code can be added to your shopping list by holding it in front of GeniCan for a couple of seconds and using voice-recognition technology to instruct the device. ( genican.com : $149) The PantryChic Store & Dispense System simplifies recipe preparation by automatically dispensing the precise amount of each ingredient from canisters with the push of a button, eliminating the need for measuring cups and spoons. (Courtesy of PantryChic) ● PantryChic: Foodies of every skill level will probably appreciate this alternative to traditional storage canisters, measuring utensils and scales. The PantryChic Store & Dispense System simplifies recipe preparation by automatically dispensing the precise amount of each ingredient from canisters with the push of a button. The system comes with three dishwasher-safe, BPA-free canisters in small, medium and large. They are rectangular and stackable to


cultivated to your taste preferences by making adjustments to the plants’ growing conditions. The same seed and plant harvested at the same age can have different flavors, colors and textures simply because of how they are grown. Results have shown SproutsIO can grow produce two to three times as fast as traditional methods. The hybrid hydroculture system uses only 2 percent of the water of conventional soil-based growing techniques and half the power of an incandescent lightbulb. The growing device is equipped with WiFi connectivity, sensors for monitoring plant and ambient conditions, a camera, LED lighting and an electronic mister. The product also includes software services and six months’ worth of seed refills. ( sprouts.io : $799) Make your own craft cider at home with this cool countertop brewing machine that turns fresh fruit into alcohol and creates hard cider, mead or wine. Simply choose a recipe on the app, add fruit, sugar, water and a yeast packet. (Courtesy of Alchema) ● Alchema: Make your own craft cider at home with this cool countertop brewing machine that turns fresh fruit into alcohol and creates hard cider, mead or wine. Simply choose a recipe on the app, add fruit, sugar, water and a yeast packet. The app weighs ingredients and notifies you when fermentation is complete and the batch is ready. Cider typically takes up to two weeks to make, depending on the fruit and recipes. Mead, also known as honey wine, takes less than a week. Notifications will appear on your smartphone with suggestions on what to do when the fermentation is finished, your WiFi disconnects or temperature or pressure is abnormal. Three types of yeast are available in a standard three-pack for sparkling cider, fruitier concoctions and recipes with a stronger alcohol content. ( alchema.com : $499.99) Using Bluetooth technology and embedded sensors, the smart saute pan, induction burner and recipe app work in unison to assist you in every phase of the cooking process, all with the satisfaction of knowing the products will never burn your food. (Courtesy of Hestan) ● Hestan Cue: This connected cookware system controls time and temperature so you can always count on a cooking experience that’s just right. Using Bluetooth technology and embedded sensors, the smart saute pan, induction burner and recipe app work in unison to assist you in every phase of the cooking process, all with the satisfaction of knowing the


Smog becomes a political issue in South Korean election

also promised to work with China and increase the number of environmentally friendly cars on the roads. The 123-story Lotte World Tower and other buildings are blanketed in a gray haze caused by fine dust in the air in Seoul. (Yonhap/European Pressphoto Agency) Seoul is joining Beijing and Delhi near the top of the list of Asian cities with certifiably unhealthy air. The South Korean capital now regularly records unhealthy levels of PM2.5 ultra-fine dust in the air — particles that are one-thirtieth the width of a human hair and can pick up lead and arsenic from the air and then embed themselves deep in a person’s lungs once inhaled. In the first months of this year, Seoul has been recording twice the number of ultrafine dust warnings as last year, with authorities advising people to limit outdoor activities and sensitive groups to stay inside altogether to avoid breathing in the dangerous particles. “It’s really frustrating because air pollution is not something I can fix as a citizen,” said Seoul resident Lee Eun-jung, the mother of two girls, ages 9 and 15. “My eldest daughter goes to a middle school where they still have outdoor P.E. classes on days when the pollution is considered dangerous. It breaks my heart to imagine her working out on a day like that,” Lee said. “My youngest daughter has asthma and has been hospitalized several times for pneumonia.” The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has linked PM2.5 to a variety of illnesses, including cancer and heart disease, and low birth weight. A recent South Korean study suggested an association with Parkinson’s and other neurological diseases. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has predicted that 1,069 South Koreans per million will die prematurely in 2060 as a direct result of air pollution. South Korea is the only country in the “rich nations club” (a phrase often used to describe the OECD) to exceed 1,000 deaths per million in the projections. Local studies have put the economic damage caused by air pollution — largely because of lost production — at about $9 billion a year and have predicted this will double by 2060. The tendency here has been to blame the pollution on neighboring China, where coal-fired power plants and huge factories are spewing gunk into the environment to be carried on winds over to the Korean Peninsula. “China is the main culprit,”


More than a million patients flock to this website. Drug companies are in hot pursuit.

people, are afflicted with rare diseases. They use online searches to find people facing similar challenges. The pool includes people who suffer from relatively rare maladies such as Wilson’s disease, pulmonary fibrosis and pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor or PNET, which killed Apple co-founder Steve Jobs. A large concentration of PNET sufferers are on Inspire. The site also has 40,000 members in the community of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, which is a disorder of the tissue surrounding joints. “What that means is that if you are a researcher trying to study these things, you have trouble finding patients,” Loew said. “And we have the patients. The researcher comes to us and we invite the member to participate.” Getting people to open up to researchers is handled delicately. (I confess to a certain unease when it comes to personal health issues online, even though I have written about them for this newspaper.) Loew said the key is honesty and transparency when approaching members about participating in studies: “Particularly when someone is sick, it’s important that they think they are in control. A lot of people are being asked these questions at their most vulnerable moment.” Loew said Inspire emails members, notifying them of a study, describing what it is and informing them how to participate if they would like. “And if they don’t respond, we ask more people,” he said. “No means no.” If the patient wants to connect with the researcher, Inspire helps them meet and then steps out of the way. The clients can get pretty specific about what they need. One pharmaceutical company came to Inspire for help in locating hemophilia Type B patients. The search had been going on for two years. Inspire found the patients in two weeks from its membership. Loew has always had a science bent. He grew up in an upper-middle-class family in Fairfax County. His mother taught elementary school and his father still teaches biomedical engineering at George Washington University. Loew received his first computer at age 10. He attended the prestigious Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, then double-majored in physics and economics at GWU. After graduating in 1993, he wrote computer code at the World Bank, then worked for Nature, the British science journal. He and some friends started Worldweb.net in 1993. The entire arc of the company, including the sell-off in 2000, left him depressed. “We were so close to going


A major eclipse is coming this summer. There’s proper attire for it.

(ISTOCKPHOTO) Don’t even think about booking a hotel room in Jackson, Wyo., on Aug. 21. They’ve all already been snapped up by fanatical eclipse chasers — mostly, apparently, middle-aged men who can’t get enough of watching the moon block the sun. You’re curious about this subculture, right? Maybe you have a few questions you wish you could ask them? Finding out more about eclipse chasers is the point of the first episode of the new podcast “Every Little Thing,” hosted by Flora Lichtman, an accomplished science journalist who has also worked on the new Netflix series “Bill Nye Saves the World.” As she explains, the podcast “gives the ordinary, the everyday, a second look ” — because “upon close inspection, there’s always more to it.” Lichtman walks listeners through the technical aspects of an eclipse and why the one visible — weather permitting — from portions of the United States this summer will be such a major deal. But she doesn’t stop there. She also plays some not-entirely-suitable-for-children audio of the reactions of folks seeing one for the first time. And she interviews an expert on the optimal attire for eclipse viewing. (If you want to fit in, wear eclipse-themed T-shirts and buttons.) For Episode 2, she turns her attention to the lives of office plants. Turns out they’re mostly born in Homestead, Fla. — a prime spot on the interstate with weather conducive to raising tropical varieties. They’re expected to look good from top to bottom. (Lest a dead leaf distract executives who should be focused on an important deal.) When they find their way north, they end up in the hands of an “interiorscaper” — a person who specializes in putting plants indoors. As Lichtman describes it, a critical part of this person’s job is matchmaking greenery with companies. The spiky yucca cane, for instance, is “a power tree.” An old-school law firm might be more interested, however, in the aristocratic vibe of a kentia palm. Oh, and how did potted plants land a spot in many top boardrooms in America? The answer has to do with NASA and an epidemic of sick building syndrome. You’ll have to listen to hear the whole story.


We can’t keep leaving black girls behind

a mistake in our fight for racial justice and equality if we exclude girls. Those of us who do grass-roots activism can tell you that the challenges facing girls of color are just as serious as those facing boys of color. Only 12 percent of poor children live in two-parent households. That means the majority of our children in poverty-stricken urban areas such as Southeast are being raised by single mothers. If we neglect girls’ needs and overlook their leadership potential, My Brother’s Keeper will not get anywhere — those boys are being raised by women. We need to make sure those women are empowered, and we can’t wait until they’re grown. Girls of color face their own challenges: Forty percent of sex-trafficking victims are black. The majority of women and girls in correctional settings have been victims of violence — domestic violence, rape, sexual assaults and child abuse. “Black Girls Matter,” a new report by the African American Policy Forum and Columbia Law School’s Center for Intersectionality and Social Policy Studies, highlighted the troubles facing black girls in school. They are often left out of efforts to end the school-to-prison pipeline. In Boston, for example, they have as many as 11 times the number of disciplinary actions compared with their white peers. They are the fastest-growing population in D.C.’s juvenile justice system. In 2004, we started taking groups of D.C. youths to Alabama to study with civil rights veterans and learn the best antiviolence strategies to apply in the District. The boys and girls met Amelia Boynton, Annie Lee Cooper, Gwen Cook Webb, James Bevel and James Orange. We learned that women were key to the victory in Selma, Ala. We learned that young ladies such as Webb made a difference. She was among the young women who persuaded the males not to retaliate when the police whipped, hosed and sicced dogs on protesters. This history shows the power of women in the community. We used a similar technique to bring about truces among rival gangs such as Lynch Mob and Choppa City. We started with the young women — and they were no joke. Several were former gang leaders themselves and had experienced violence on a regular basis. However, the young women were willing to listen to us. After we got them to join forces, the guys soon followed — just as they did in the 1960s. Spending


How my daughter managed to finish college free of debt

invest about $210 a month to have enough for Olivia to go to a state school. We decided to save using a tax-deferred 529 plan. We opened her account when she was 6. My husband and I chose the “age-based” investment option, which means that the younger the child, the more aggressive the investment strategy. As Olivia got closer to going to college, the money was automatically moved to more conservative positions. We elected to invest in the 529 plan offered by Maryland, where we live. It has low fees. And because we are residents, we get a $2,500 state tax deduction every year for each of our three children’s accounts. Because of our contributions over the years, the low fees and the earnings growth, Olivia ended up with savings worth about $66,000. My husband and I made a few lump-sum payments whenever we got extra money. We started even earlier for our other two children, so we haven’t had to make any extra contributions. Depending on their school choice, they, too, will have enough to graduate debt-free. Olivia took Advanced Placement courses in high school and scored high enough on the exams to earn college credit. She started at the University of Maryland’s College Park campus with a semester’s worth of credits, which reduced costs. She received $21,500 in merit-based scholarships, which covered about a fourth of the total cost of her attendance. Olivia did have to buy her own textbooks. To afford them, she began working during the summer following her junior year in high school. She is a super saver. She put away about 80 percent of her earnings to pay for books and personal expenses. We did not allow Olivia to work during her freshman year of college, to ease her transition. But by her sophomore year, she got a part-time job at an on-campus day-care center. She has had paid internships throughout college. I should add that we had told our daughter when she was in middle school that she could apply to any college she wanted with just one caveat: There would be no loans. We managed her expectations throughout the college-selection process. She would have lived at home or started at our local community college if our savings came up short. Maryland wasn’t her first school choice. But she ended up loving it and all the more because, when she walks across the


U.S. watchdog finds major internal flaws hampering Afghanistan war effort

F. Sopko noted that senior U.S. military officials, including Gen. John W. Nicholson, the commander of the U.S. military mission in Afghanistan, have described the conflict as being at a stalemate and have suggested that several thousand more U.S. troops are needed to tip the balance. The current troop level is 8,400. “If there is a stalemate, the question is why and how it can be improved,” Sopko said. “The why is corruption, the why is poor leadership. . . . If leadership is poor, the people below don’t care, and they wonder why they have to die.” The report said the Afghan armed forces are also plagued by illiteracy, an attrition rate of nearly 35 percent and overreliance on highly trained special forces for routine missions. A previous report by Sopko’s office described military officers reselling supplies and food intended for combat troops. Such problems, the new report said, are “corrosive” and can undercut civilian progress in health care, rule of law and efforts to counter the soaring drug trade. A recent example of the deadly cost of these weaknesses was the Taliban attack on April 21 that killed at least 140 soldiers on a large Afghan army base in northern Balkh province. It was the deadliest single insurgent attack of the war, and some of the contributing factors were the same systemic flaws mentioned in the report. One factor was poor leadership based on nepotism. Sopko said the commander of the Balkh base was known as well connected but ineffective. Another was shoddy vetting of military personnel; several of the people suspected of carrying out or helping in the attack were military recruits or former base workers. Sopko said a new system of biometric identification had been planned for all soldiers but was taking far too long to implement. And, ultimately, Afghan special forces had to come in and quash the assault though the base trains thousands of soldiers. The report, titled “Reprioritizing Afghanistan Reconstruction,” also described a panoply of problems across Afghan society and government that hinder national reconstruction efforts, even as the international community has pledged substantial new aid through 2020 and wants as much of that aid to be spent and managed by Afghan agencies as possible. “Opium production stands at near record levels,” the report noted. “Illiteracy and poverty remain widespread. Corruption reaches into every aspect of national life. The rule of law has


on April 21 that killed at least 140 soldiers on a large Afghan army base in northern Balkh province. It was the deadliest single insurgent attack of the war, and some of the contributing factors were the same systemic flaws mentioned in the report. One factor was poor leadership based on nepotism. Sopko said the commander of the Balkh base was known as well connected but ineffective. Another was shoddy vetting of military personnel; several of the people suspected of carrying out or helping in the attack were military recruits or former base workers. Sopko said a new system of biometric identification had been planned for all soldiers but was taking far too long to implement. And, ultimately, Afghan special forces had to come in and quash the assault though the base trains thousands of soldiers. The report, titled “Reprioritizing Afghanistan Reconstruction,” also described a panoply of problems across Afghan society and government that hinder national reconstruction efforts, even as the international community has pledged substantial new aid through 2020 and wants as much of that aid to be spent and managed by Afghan agencies as possible. “Opium production stands at near record levels,” the report noted. “Illiteracy and poverty remain widespread. Corruption reaches into every aspect of national life. The rule of law has limited reach. Multiple obstacles deter investors. . . . The ranks of the jobless grow as the economy stagnates.” Sopko said that the United States has a cooperative and “willing partner” in the government of President Ashraf Ghani and that senior Afghan officials “really care about improving their country,” but he said they have been frustrated by old systems of ethnic patronage and palm-greasing that discourage building institutions based on professionalism and merit. He said that the government has made noticeable progress on some U.S.-backed programs, such as a new anti-corruption task force, but that even this effort has taken only “baby steps” and needs to prosecute some “mafia big fish” to bring real change and build public confidence. In its recommendations, the report said the White House and Congress need to be prepared to perform “triage” on less successful projects, impose more rigorous standards of management and accountability for all programs, prevent aid funds from inadvertently reaching insurgents, establish a new strategy to combat opium production and drug trafficking, and decide whether reductions made in U.S. military and civilian oversight need to be reversed.


The BSO gives them something to shout about with an edgy program

The University of Maryland Concert Choir, under the direction of Edward Maclary, performed with the Baltimore Syphony Orchestra on Saturday night at Strathmore. (Courtesy of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra ) The conductor Marin Alsop invited the audience to scream along with the music on Saturday night. Call it a gimmick, yet Arvo Part’s 1968 “Credo” is music that screams. It’s a protest piece that contrasts the majesty of the divine, limned in major chords, with the messy agitation of human life, expressed in atonality and the threat of rolling timpani, until the chorus finally erupts in cries. Part is that rarity in Western culture, a genuinely popular classical composer — popular, at least, with the public at large. Yet to many who came to hear the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra at Strathmore on Saturday, Part was probably the outlier on a program that also included Stravinsky’s Symphony of Psalms (written 20 years earlier) and Rachmaninoff’s second symphony, which had its premiere in 1908. It was, in short, an all-20th century program, and thus risky in the eyes of some classical music fans — and very welcome to others. The University of Maryland Concert Choir got a workout on the first half with the Part and Stravinsky, one all intuitive emotion, the other a beautiful cerebral tangle of sound. Stravinsky’s musical tapestry of word and music sounds high and dark and slightly archaic, with low strings against high winds and brass — not a violin or clarinet in sight. The unaccustomed mix led to a sound that was a little rough around the edges in places, more vehement than refined, but the chorus overall did nobly. In the more familiar Rachmaninoff, Alsop’s vehemence translated into a rather undifferentiated fever pitch of emotional goo — though I’d wager that the goo, the unrelieved intensity, might have been welcome to many listeners. The symphony’s individual movements were not strongly varied; all were cut from the cloth of intense late Romanticism, in a sturdy but not delicate performance. Still, the evening as a whole was an example of a kind of programming we’d like to see more of: offering something for everyone, and more or less pulling it off.