Washington
National Guard asks DC leaders for ‘beautification’ projects as Trump says crime is gone
Protesters called Trump ‘the Hitler of our time’ during DC dinner
Protestors confront President Trump at DC restaurant calling him the ‘Hitler of our time’.
WASHINGTON – Matthew Cohen couldn’t believe the DC National Guard was offering up its soldiers to help with a neighborhood clean-up.
“To have the National Guard come to our neighborhood to help pick up litter is absurd,” said Cohen, an advisory neighborhood commissioner, one of Washington’s hyper-local elected officials in the city’s low crime Northwest.
But he could use the help.
So long as thousands of soldiers had standing orders from President Donald Trump to remain on duty in the capital, Cohen wondered, what was the harm if his community took them up on the offer?
Troops that deployed to the city in August were meant to combat what Trump called a crime emergency. Groups of camouflage-clad soldiers have since become a familiar presence, pacing the underground platforms of Metro stations in the city’s downtown, along the marble halls of Union Station and at the National Mall, home to the Washington’s popular monuments.
Soldiers have also been spotted in parks carrying out tasks typically assigned to gardeners and landscapers – shoveling mulch, blowing leaves and scooping up trash.
Now, the DC National Guard is asking city leaders if they might help with local “beautification” projects. This tender offer comes amid protests against Trump’s takeover of the city under the banner of “Free DC” and the Guard’s own assessments that its deployment prompted “alarm and indignation” among residents.
The Guard may have worn out its welcome, but soldiers were still assigned to the region.
Trump has said the ongoing military presence in the capital – coupled with his takeover of the local police force and surge of immigration agents – has made crime in the city a thing of the past.
“Over the last year, it was a very unsafe place. Over the last 20 years, actually, it was very unsafe, and now it’s got virtually no crime,” Trump said of Washington as he stood on a corner of the city’s downtown on Sept. 9. “We call it crime-free.”
Trump’s emergency declaration allowing him to seize control of police expired Sept. 10, but the National Guard deployment won’t wrap up until Nov. 30, and it could be extended further.
The takeover remains widely unpopular among Washington residents – some 80% oppose it, according to a Washington Post poll.
DC Guard accepting pitches for ‘beautification’ projects
What else could the soldiers do?
In a letter sent to local leaders Sept. 8, Marcus Hunt, the director of the DC National Guard, asked for “help in identifying projects or initiatives” where guardsmen can pitch in on “neighborhood beautification efforts.”
“While our ability to support painting is limited, our teams are well positioned to contribute manpower for clean-up and improvement projects,” Hunt wrote, according to a copy obtained by USA TODAY.
“Most importantly, we want to do this together with the community – building relationships and strengthening the bond between the guard and the community we proudly serve.”
Hunt told USA TODAY the response to the email had been “positive.”
However, local leaders in Washington said they felt torn between their constituents’ opposition to the deployment and the opportunity to recruit military help with sometimes long-neglected community projects.
Cohen, who represents a neighborhoods near American University, decided it would be OK to engage with the soldiers: “If the National Guard wants to clean graffiti or beautify federal parks in our neighborhood, I don’t think anybody is going to oppose that, even if we think it’s a silly way to get that job done and an unwise use of taxpayer dollars.”
Others were reluctant to accept help.
“Our DC National Guard should return back to their families, back to their full-time jobs. This show of force is unnecessary,” said Tom Donohue, an advisory neighborhood commissioner for part of southeastern Anacostia.
But he added, “I’d rather them do something if they’re required to be here, than stand around and do nothing.”
Anacostia, where Donohue is based, is statistically one of the highest-crime areas in Washington – roughly one-third of homicides in the past year occurred in Ward 8, which encompasses part of his region. He said National Guardsmen were to be found in his district.
National Guard sees ‘alarm and indignation’ on social media
The DC National Guard’s own assessment of social media posts about the deployment also found that relationships with community members have been rocky.
An internal media review by the DC National Guard and sent accidentally to USA TODAY and other outlets found that social media discussions of the deployment mentioned “Fatigue, confusion, and demoralization – ‘just gardening,’ unclear mission, wedge between citizens and the military.” The assessment was first reported by the Washington Post.
According to the Army, the media review emails were mistakenly sent to reporters, but the information in them is publicly available.
“Trending videos show residents reacting with alarm and indignation,” according to the assessment. It says “self-identified veterans and active-duty commenters expressed shame and alarm” about the reactions.
One DC National Guard member told USA TODAY that frustration is growing among their ranks. As a resident of the city, he sees the deployment as unnecessary, but he is compelled by lawful orders to stay the course, the soldier said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
When it came to beautification efforts, some leaders warmly welcomed the help. John Adams, a commissioner for a district in Ward 7, on the eastern side of the city, said the community would “invite and embrace” help with beautification. “We appreciate the support,” he said.
In Ward 8, which encompasses Donohue’s district, troops have already been assigned to help with food distribution at a soup kitchen, according to Donohue and a National Guard member with knowledge of the deployment.
For Donohue, a one-on-one discussion with Hunt and a later meeting with his constituents further complicated his decision. The community is “very split” on whether to accept the help, he said.
“They are our neighbors,” he said. “If they have to be here, why not utilize them?”
After all, was a helping hand so different if it came from a soldier?
Jordan Selesnick won the Regional Championship at SCG CON Washington DC with Azorius Momo on Sunday.
Creatures (25)
Lands (21)
In a field packed with Izzet Prowess and Mono-Green Landfall, Selesnick put the power of Azorius Momo on display — proving the power of strong metagaming and mulligan decisions. Selesnick regularly dug for better opening hands in tight matchups, allowing his deck to have starts similar to those in Modern as opposed to Standard. After an 8-1 start on Day 1, Selesnick cruised to the No. 1 seed in the Top 8 with a record of 12-1-2.
Once in the Top 8, Selesnick only dropped a single game in route to a dominant performance. He defeated Stephen Snelson, on Izzet Spellementals, 2-1 in the quarters before clean 2-0 wins against Alexander Kans, on Selesnya Aggro, and Matt Xu, on Mono-Green Landfall.
Selesnick showed off both types of powerful draws the Momo deck can have in the finals, blinking a Quantum Riddler into play on Turn 2 in Game 1, and landing a copied Sage of the Skies on Turn 2 in Game 2. With the fast starts and utility offered from Starfield Shepherd, Selesnick had no problem navigating the mid-games for fast wins facing down strong starts from Xu.
Creatures (20)
Lands (26)
Selesnick took home $20,000 and the title of champion, while Xu earned $10,000. The Top 32 finishers earned invites to the upcoming Pro Tour in Amsterdam, though Selesnick and Xu also punched their tickets to the Magic World Championship.
Izzet Prowess made up almost 25 percent of the 1,198 players on Day 1, followed by Four-Color Control at 10 percent, thanks to its strong showing in the most recent Regional Championships. Mono-Green Landfall was next at just under nine percent, while Mardu Discard and Dimir Excruciator rounded out the Top 5 decks.
Day 2 consisted of 285 players that reached 18 match points on Day 1. See how the archetypes converted below.
View the Top 8 decklists from the Regional Championship. For all the decklists from the event and final standings check out the Melee page for the tournament.
SCG CON will be back in action next in Las Vegas on June 26-28.
LONGVIEW, Wash. (KPTV/Gray News) – Officials say they have found the remains and identified all of the missing workers following a chemical vat implosion at the Nippon Dynawave paper mill on Tuesday.
The Cowlitz County Coroner’s Office released the names of those killed, bringing the death toll to 11:
- 52-year-old Gilbert Bernal of Kelso, Oregon.
- 29-year-old Tyler Covington of Castle Rock, Oregon.
- 27-year-old Brad Covington of Castle Rock, Oregon.
- 48-year-old Robert Wilson of Clatskanie, Oregon.
- 54-year-old Dale Miller of Portland, Oregon.
- 35-year-old Jared Ammons of Longview, Washington.
- 38-year-old Braydon Finkas of Cathlamet, Washington.
- 26-year-old Clinton Doran of Kelso, Oregon.
- 51-year-old John Forsberg of Longview, Washington.
- 58-year-old Norman Barlow of Vancouver, Washington.
- Dillon Miller, taken to a Portland hospital; coroner has no other information.
Officials say a 900,000-gallon tank containing a highly destructive chemical called white liquor imploded at the facility just after 7:15 a.m.
Roughly 600,000 gallons of the substance rushed through work areas at the plant on Tuesday when the tank ruptured.
Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson called it “the deadliest industrial tragedy in modern Washington state history.”
Multiple people, including a firefighter, were injured and taken to area hospitals for treatment following the implosion. Some of those injured were also brought to the Oregon Burn Center.
Investigators were looking into what caused the tank to implode in the first place and whether there’s a risk of it happening again.
The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board said it would begin an investigation into the implosion after the recovery efforts are concluded.
Officials said some of the chemical had made its way into the Columbia River and they have received reports of dead fish near the site’s spillways.
The Washington State Department of Ecology and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency were monitoring air and water quality and working to assess any other environmental impacts.
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