News of the World

[kyonides]

DC inmate becomes first incarcerated person in city to win elected office

Joel Caston, 44, won the race for advisory neighborhood commissioner of district 7F07 in southeast D.C., where he'll oversee the Harriet Tubman Women's Shelter, new luxury apartments and D.C. Jail — where he is incarcerated.
Advisory neighborhood commissioners are locally elected representatives who serve two year terms without pay and "were established to bring government closer to the people," according to DC.gov. The seat has been vacant for 12 years, and while elections are usually held in November, a technicality prevented a winner from being announced last year.
Caston has been incarcerated since he was 18 after committing a felony offense, Julie Johnson, the founder of Neighbors for Justice told NBC News.

I don't get it. How is an inmate supposed to be impartial if he will have a strong influence on people running the jail where he's currently serving his time?

California wildfire grows explosively, prompts evacuations

Officials were considering closing Highway 395, a route popular with summer tourists.

A California wildfire underwent explosive growth Friday as the area north of Lake Tahoe braced for triple-digit temperatures this weekend amid a summer heat wave.

The Beckwourth Complex Fire on federal land near the town of Beckwourth prompted evacuations, a closure of part of the Plumas National Forest and presented serious danger for area campgrounds, National Forest Service officials said.

As the fire moved east toward Nevada, officials were considering closing Highway 395, a popular route with tourists heading to Reno, said forest service spokeswoman Phyllis Ashmead. A nearby rail line was also being threatened, spokeswoman Lisa Cox added later.