Neighborhood in the News: Stolen cruiser, free social work degrees, and a spectacular sunset

The sunset on Thursday, December 7th, was a stunner.

Gorgeous sunset in Washington DC today 🌅 pic.twitter.com/b1Vku19S0t

— C on the scene (@Conthescene) December 7, 2023

Spectacular sunset tonight from #VanNessDC 🌇 pic.twitter.com/wtVXi0kfar

— Diane (@DianeKrauthamer) December 7, 2023

Our editor-in-chief, Marlene Berlin, had to grab her camera too.

The photos above were captured from highrises and backyards in Van Ness and Forest Hills. And one of these images is at the top of this Washington Post article explaining the weather phenomena that “made D.C.’s sunset so dazzling.”

We move on now to a less dazzling neighborhood news appearances.

The case of the stolen campus police vehicle: Someone stole a UDC police cruiser from the Van Ness campus in the predawn hours of November 10th. The vehicle was recovered that night (WJLA, WTOP). Reports a few days later revealed the cruiser had been left unlocked with the keys inside (WUSA), and the suspect drove it to Lowe’s, where he did some shopping (WTOP). MPD made an arrest on November 16th (NBC4).

Charges in an attempted bombing at the Chinese embassy: A Florida lawyer faces charges he tried to set off explosives outside the embassy on Van Ness Street. (Panama City News Herald)

In happier news:

A public service jobs pipeline for UDC and Howard grads: Mayor Muriel Bowser announced a new one-year apprenticeship will be available next year to graduating seniors at DC’s two HCBUs. It is “intended to be mutually beneficial,” the Post writes. “The college graduates can springboard into a role in public service, while D.C. seeks to attract new talent, especially at a time the administration has struggled to fill certain rank-and-file vacancies.”

Those vacancies include social worker positions, and that pipeline is getting another boost from the DC government in the form of…

A free master’s degree in social work at UDC: The DC Council voted to create the program, which starts in the 2024-25 school year, and provided funding for tuition, books, certification fees and cost-of-living stipends. Once students graduate from the two-year program, they are required to work at least two years more for a DC agency or a nonprofit with a DC contract (DCist).