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Washington D.C is the worst run and managed muncipality in the Nation. I cut Mayor Williams some slack, he's still cleaning up messes leftover from Marion Berry. But Ramsey is a joke as police chief, the schools are beyond an embarassment, and city hall is still rife with crony appointments. And of course it's illegal for citizens to possess the means to protect themselevs. When someone is murdered on Bob Woodward's block, as the visiting Brit was, I doubt if Mr Woodward is simply double-locking his doors - he's got protection. What about the rest of Washingtonians?

To all D.C cops you have my sympathy fighting this system.

"Worst in ... nation" is a bit strong. You are leaving out Newark, Detroit, and, yes, New Orleans. The bond rating, for example, is in the A's.

While I don't like Ramsey, and there could be better, the staffing changes he's made over the years have been pretty good. Don't forget, we used to have a guy named Fulwood, and he was actively bad. The street maintenance bothers me, but it's not nearly as bad as New Jersey.

The city is booming, in spite of it's troubles. Now we'll see what happens in the next election. The new mayor will either be financially competent, sharp, and utterly lacking in leadership skills, or the precise opposite, and young besides. It's going to be a long four years.

The schools are the way they are because of many things, but mostly because there really is no political will to fix them. The very well to do have private schools, and 1/4 (I think) of the total school attendance is charter schools. Parents getting their kids into charter schools are the kind that can make a difference, and they aren't spending time on the public schools.

"Gentrification" is proceeding so fast it will make your head swim. And just like development moving into mountain lion territory, it takes time for the mountain lions to learn that the world has changed. The ones that don't get dead. But they do make it less safe for a while.

Thank the Lord for Prince Georges County!