Shooting, scandals and suits from 2007

WASHINGTON (Map, News) - Gunman murders 32 at Virginia Tech

1. A raw, blustery morning in Blacksburg, Va., turned into a bloody tragedy April 16 when a deranged Virginia Tech student fatally shot 32 students and faculty members.

The worst massacre on an American campus ended when Seung-Hui Cho, a Westfield High School graduate who had a long history of mental illness committed suicide in a classroom building.

“It is difficult to comprehend senseless violence on this scale,” Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine said.

A review of the incident ripped the state's mental health system and said a “widespread lack of understanding” about state and federal privacy laws blocked critical information about Cho’s mental health from being shared with Virginia Tech officials, medical personnel and his family.

Kaine has proposed spending $46 million over the next two years to begin overhauling the state's mental health services and is pushing legislation to address the privacy-law confusion.

The incident forced schools nationwide to examine their plans for such a crisis. Many installed text-messaging systems and alert sirens to immediately notify students, faculty and staff of an emergency.

The incident also renewed calls for tighter gun-control laws in Virginia.

D.C. tax scandal

2. What may be the largest public corruption scandal in the District of Columbia’s history has set the city on its head.

Two middling bureaucrats in the District government, an executive with the Internal Revenue Service and seven others have been charged with filching tens of millions of dollars through dummy companies.

Prosecutors say that alleged mastermind Harriette Walters took advantage of weak internal controls to cut thousands of big-dollar checks to herself, her friends and her relatives.

The investigation is continuing, and sources say more arrests are imminent. Already the once-impregnable city finance office is tottering. Chief Financial Officer Natwar Gandhi, who once dubbed himself “The Golden Hammer” because of his unquestioned clout, is now working neighborhood meetings in an effort hold on to his job.

Illegal immigration

3. How to deal with an influx of illegal immigrants became a dominant issue in 2007.

Prince William County received national attention for its crackdown, which includes increasing deportation efforts and denying some service to illegal aliens. The issue caught fire as Loudoun and Spotsylvania counties, Culpeper, Herndon and other localities began to take similar steps.

Voters demanded candidates in Virginia’s elections explain their plans for tackling illegal immigration, and the issue pushed many get-tough candidates to victory. Virginia's crackdown has sent illegal aliens reportedly scurrying to Montgomery County, which is not as aggressive. Montgomery officials say their approach is “more enlightened” than the Virginia localities.

New mayor’s schools plan

4. Mayor Adrian Fenty was inaugurated Jan. 2 after winning all 142 D.C. precincts in both the primary and the general elections. The new 36-year-old mayor swept in with unprecedented power and the backing of the D.C. Council, even those who opposed him throughout the campaign.

From the start, Fenty declared schools his top priority. On Day Two of his administration, to the dismay of some school advocates, he laid out his plan: Put the public schools under the control of the executive and enfeeble the Board of Education.

The plan was easily approved months later by the council, and the rest is history. Fenty took over, hiring Michelle Rhee as his schools chancellor, reducing and reworking the board’s role and creating a new office to handle school facilities modernization.

Foreclosures

5. The area’s 9,000 foreclosures — one for every 138 houses — ranked No. 38 in the nation on a list of the top 100 metropolitan areas for the third quarter, according to RealtyTrac.

Though Northern Virginia was more affected than Maryland, Montgomery County’s problems worsened in the later part of 2007 with a 2,000 percent spike in the number of foreclosure filings.

The worst could be yet to come. Interest rates for many of the 115,000 subprime loans made locally in 2005 and 2006 are due to reset in 2008.

D.C. handgun ban

6. The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to rule whether the District of Columbia’s ban on all firearms violates the Second Amendment, a decision that carries broad implications for gun-control laws across the country and could affect the elections in 2008.

The high court decided to hear the case after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia overturned the city’s 31-year gun ban when it declared that the Constitution ensures the rights of citizens to bear arms.

The District says the Second Amendment exists to prevent the federal government from disarming a state’s militia, and argues that D.C. should have the right to make its own decisions.

The Supreme Court, which last examined the Second Amendment in 1939, said it would answer only whether the D.C. gun ban violates the Second Amendment rights of individuals “who are not affiliated with any state-regulated militia, but who wish to keep handguns and other firearms for private use in their homes.”

Arguments likely will be in March, followed by a decision in late June.

Abusive-driving fees

7. Virginia lawmakers set off an unprecedented outpouring of outrage when they increased penalties for serious traffic violations to raise more money for road projects.

The fees, part of the state’s first major transportation package in 20 years, range from $750 to $3,000. Virginia drivers also were outraged that the penalties are paid only by state residents.

Almost 180,000 Virginians signed a petition calling for the fees’ abolition, and legislators were bombarded with criticism as they sought re-election. At least six bills have been filed for the General Assembly session to repeal the fines.

Maryland budget collapses

8. Huge budget deficits at the state and the county level promise to leave Montgomery County residents feeling a pinch in the new year.

In a special November session, Maryland lawmakers closed a projected $1.7 billion budget shortfall by approving the state’s largest-ever tax increase and a referendum on slot machine gambling next year.

In Montgomery County, County Executive Ike Leggett announced an expected $401 million budget shortfall for fiscal 2009 — blaming lower-than-expected revenues on income and real estate taxes.

County agencies have been asked to trim their current budgets, but deeper budget cuts and tax increases have already been hinted at.

The pants suit

9. No legal case in the District of Columbia court system received more ink or airtime than the lawsuit that simply became known as the “Pants” suit.

D.C. Administrative Law Judge Roy Pearson became the punch line for late- night comics and the poster child for the need to stop frivolous lawsuits when he unsuccessfully sued a dry cleaners for $54 million over a lost pair of trousers.

The case embarrassed the D.C. legal community, forced the Korean immigrant dry cleaners to close their shop and ultimately led to the dismissal of Pearson from his $100,000-a-year job.

Dems win Virginia Senate

10. Virginia Democrats capitalized on voters’ displeasure with national Republicans to capture control of the state Senate for the first time since 1999.

Locally, Democrats picked up two Senate seats — George Barker ousted Jay O'Brien in the 39th District and Chap Petersen trounced Jeannemarie Devolites Davis in the 34th.

The new majority — Democrats hold a 21-19 advantage — is expected to be a boon for Democratic Gov. Tim Kaine, who will need the Senate as an ally in fights with the Republican-run House of Delegates.

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