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KLMNO POSTLOCAL Talk to us. Talk to newsmakers. Talk to each other. Join the conversation at postlocal.com Conversations


PostLocal.com readers responded to a story about Ken Diviney of Ashburn, who spends every day caring for son Ryan, 21, who is in a vegetative state, or “eyes-open coma,” resulting from a November2009beating during a fight in Morgantown,W.Va., where he attended college.


A father’s commitment


justthinking2:May all parties involved here find peace.


redhotCAPSaicin: I am filled with sorrow and anger. Ken Diviney is a stronger man then I. I am the father of a son and a daughter, and if something like this happened to one of them, the only thing that would keep me going is a burning rage and a sense of duty tomy other child.


pfreeman11: Ken Diviney has shown the ultimate love for his son. I wish I, a stranger, could reach out to him with a hug.


JerseyJoey: When a man decides to have a family our lives at that point are only about our children. When horrific acts of violence or tragedy strike, a father will do whatever is necessary to protect his family. Ken must feel guilty that he wasn’t with his son when these animals attacked him and now he is doing the only thing he can.


DCreamer1: Such a sad, sad story and such a great, great dad.


rhalter3633: If only young people would think about the consequences of their actions. As the mother of a young son, stories like this make me think hard about how I will teach him, and how I


will protect him from situations like the one that shattered this family.


lois3: I pray that Ken doesn’t forget about the other people in his life, especially his wife and daughter. He must understand the need for balance and that they need his attention also.


mimi5251:My best friend is currently in a vegetative state. It all happened after the birth of her baby.Me and hermomtake shifts at the hospital.At first hermomslept there. I don’t have kids and I’m single so I’mable to be theremore. I talk to her too just in case she can hear us. I just think about if I were in this state and I could hear everyone how would I feel. I don’twant her to feel alone.


pcca: Part of me wants Ryan’s Dad to get his two minutes of justice because it will bring his rage to an end. But then the other part of me kicks in, saying that Ryan’s life does have a purpose now; he is bringing a whole community together, letting us feel closeness to his family and making us feel the need to help his family anyway we can.


jdumb: Youth and alcohol never mix well. CAROL GUZY/THE WASHINGTON POST 6 Newonline


We’ve relaunched our online weather page. We’d like to know what you think of it.


Check the forecast If you’re the kind of person who can’t leave the


house without checking the weather forecast, we’ve got the page for you. We’ve just relaunched our online weather page,


and we’d like to hear what you think. Along with a fresh newlook, we’ve improved our


display of forecast and conditions information, upgraded ourWeatherWall, and made space for more reader comment via comments and Twitter. And we’ve still got the CapitalWeather Gang


bloggers writing every day. What do you think? E-mail your comments to us at weather@washpost.com.


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TAKE A LOOK AND TELL USWHAT YOU THINK Visit washingtonpost.com/weather.


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Q: Every year, I do well with allmy exams and papers and things until I get to this time of year. I just losemy endurance and will to keep upmy studying when it often counts themost.How do I motivatemyself to push through?


Johnson: You aren’t alone—and you are almost there! This is an exhausting time of year. The best


thing that you can do is spend some time planning out your final weeks of class and setting some priorities.What tests do you have to do well on, and which ones can you spend less time studying for?What club and campus activities do you want to attend, and which ones can you skip? And remember to schedule in some time to


You voted 55% 6


sleep, work out, hang out with friends, reward yourself for a strong semester and enjoy the holidays.


Q: Obviously finals stress students out because everything falls at exactly the same time. (I have a friend who has three finals back-to-back on the very first day of finals.) Is this really the best way for students to learn?


of you said you preferred a real Christmas tree to an artificial one


—Non-scientific online survey of Post readers as of Thursday evening


AxelDC: I prefer real trees, but it’s so much easier to pull outmy Target tree from the closet.


rbruce3: I’m lucky enough to have a little farm in Southern VA and our tradition is to drive down and cut a cedar every year. It’s not always perfectly shaped but it’s real, wild and helps keeps the cedars from spreading.


MuffinsMom: I like a real tree, but every year when I pull out the artificial tree I think about how much money it’s saving me. And I’m not cleaning up dropped needles for months after Christmas.


MORE USER POLLS Vote and leave comments at washingtonpost.com/user-polls.


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Getting around Get the latest on weekend travel and transportation. washingtonpost.com/drgridlock


Carolyn Hax Join The Post’s advice columnist for a live Q&A at noon. washingtonpost.com/discussions


Holiday help Ideas for gifts, food, fun and much more. washingtonpost.com/holidayguide.


Tell us What do you think of this page and our local coverage? E-mail us at metro@washpost.com.


THE DAILY QUIZ


On what page of the Weekend section can you read about the Turtle Island Quartet, which is performing Saturday at George Mason University?


EARN 5 POINTS: Find the answer, then go to washingtonpost.com/postpoints and click on “Quizzes” to enter the correct response.


Q&A


What to do with a young son during a long holiday break? Justin Rude tried to help a doting dad during a live chat with readers yesterday on PostLocal.com.


About a boy


Q:My office is closed between Xmas and New Year’s, and so ismy son’s kindergarten. Do you have any recommendations for a father to entertain his 5-year-old onmultiple days?


Rude: Even if you aren’t a hockey fan, Caps practices, which are free, are held in between game days at the complex in Arlington County, and they’re really interesting.My kid loves them.


POINTS EVENTS


Read for Points! PostPoints members earn 25 points for visiting washingtonpost.com 5 times or more within one week! That’s right, you earn points for reading the news. Just make sure you’re signed in, and your 25 points will be automatic.


You could also take a trip farther out in


Virginia to the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, the giant annex the National Air and SpaceMuseum fills with planes. Similarly, the College Park AviationMuseum is a delight for kids.


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MORE LOCAL ENTERTAINMENT IDEAS Visit GoingOutGuide.com


POINTS & REWARDS Platinum and Gold members can rack up points when doing business at:


Cyprus Air Heating and Cooling The tax credit on new HVAC systems expires December 31. Get the details at indoorcomfort.com.


Kitchen & Bath Depot Kitchen & Bath Depot manufactures its own glass shower doors—buy direct! See kitchenbathdepot.com.


Washington National Opera Songs for the Unsung, a free public concert, will be presented by the WNO next Thursday, December 9, at 2 p.m. at the historic Armed Forces Retirement Home. See dc-opera.org for information.


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Not a PostPoints member yet? Log onto washingtonpost.com/postpoints for more information about this exciting free program.


Johnson: Ah, but it wouldn’t be college if it weren’t for the super stressful finals season, right? But, yes, some educators have the same idea


you have: they aremaking the final examworth less than all the other exams or putting an emphasis on projects or papers. Still, don’t plan on seeing finals disappear


anytime soon, as it’s really the ultimate way to test what someone has learned all semester.


Q:Where is the BEST place to study for finals? The library tends to get jammed this time of year.


Johnson: The best place is where you feelmost comfortable.My favorite spot to get work done is a crowded, loud coffee shop nearmy apartment. Butmost people would gomad with all of that background sound. Ask your friends for ideas, explore different


places and study somewhere new each day:Maybe not your dormroom, but a quiet hallway in the basement.Maybe not themain library, but a quiet small subject-specific one on campus. Even some campus churches open up their space to students!


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READ MORE FROMJENNA Visit washingtonpost.com/campusoverload.


MORE LOCAL CONVERSATIONS Every day on PostLocal.com.


Ryan Diviney remains in a vegetative state after a brutal beating inMorgantown last year.


I MIKE DEBONIS


Baker’s challenge: Pr. George’s police


n the three weeks since Prince George’s County Executive Jack B. Johnson was handcuffed by federal agents, plenty of


tongues have wagged and plenty of ink has been spilled about the county’s dirty politicians. Less often mentioned: its dirty cops. Sadly, lawenforcement wrongdoing has long


been par for the course in Prince George’s, with its long history of police corruption and brutality. So when the feds fingered three county cops on extortion, drug and gun charges, you might forgive the good people of Prince George’s for reacting with something less than shock and outrage. And so while incoming county executive


Rushern L. Baker ran on a platform emphasizing jobs, economic development, and education, it’s clear that after his inauguration Monday, the county’s lawenforcement still demands his attention. Baker admitted as much this week. On


Wednesday, Prince George’s County Police Chief Roberto L.Hylton was given his walking papers in a rather unorthodox manner: State’s Attorney Glenn F. Ivey told a TBD TV news anchor that it was his “understanding” thatHylton would be replaced comeMonday. Baker would not confirm Ivey’s intimation—


Hitting the books


Getting ready for finals—or know somebody who is? Post college correspondent Jenna Johnson took questions on studying and scholarship during a live chat with readers yesterday on PostLocal.com.


When it’s time to cram


never mind that Baker and Ivey are best buds going way back—butHylton's ouster was confirmed by TheWashington Post by day’s end. The swift dispatch surprised some and


angered those who had rallied toHylton’s defense after Baker’s victory. As ironic as it might seem now, the Prince George’s Police Department improved in many ways under Johnson’s watch.He brought in a sorely needed outsider,Melvin C.High, to take over a department amid a federal investigation into its astronomical level of police-committed violence.High reached an agreement with the Justice Department to end the probe and took real steps toward developing meaningful outreach to the community. And underHylton, promoted afterHigh


retired in 2008, violent crime has dropped to levels not seen since the mid-1970s. Community policing efforts have flourished;Hylton, a Spanish-speaking native Panamanian, developed especially close ties with the county’s Hispanic population. But with the arrests earlier this month of Sgt.


Richard Delabrer, Cpl. Chong Chin Kim and Officer Sinisa Simic—three days after Johnson’s shocking arrest—the worst perceptions about the Prince George’s police persist. Hylton’s difficulties started earlier, of course.


A videotape showed three officers beating University ofMaryland students in College Park after aMarch basketball game, prompting an FBI investigation. A federal investigation implicated five veteran officers in a scheme to protect a drug dealers’ gambling ring. And after detailed allegations of widespread cheating at the county police academy surfaced earlier this year,Hylton dismissed them as “no sinister plot.”


And memories linger of more high-profile incidents that predatedHylton’s time atop the department: the jailhouse killing of Ronnie L. White, a suspect in the 2008 killing of a county police officer; the 2007 murder of a deliveryman by former Cpl. KeithWashington, a Johnson confidante. Earlier this week,Hylton did his best to save


his hide, discussing with The Post’sMatt Zapotosky his internal efforts to snuff out police corruption—touting the fact that at least 46 Prince George’s officers are either suspended or on desk duty for various types of misconduct. It’s the rare police chief that feels compelled


to highlight his unusually large stable of lousy officers. But in Prince George’s, acknowledging that


you have a police problem is the first step in the battle.Unfortunately, the admission came two years intoHylton’s tenure. On the campaign trail earlier this year, the


state of the county’s police force took a back seat to bread-and-butter economic and education concerns. Part of that can be attributed to the fact that crime in the county has been on the decline—putting the issue on the back burner while people hurt for jobs. But now that Baker is about the take the hot


seat, public safety matters have heated up. An ad hoc group called the “Coalition of


Prince George’s County Organizations and Leaders” rallied for a second time Thursday to ask Baker to keepHylton, who is known for his presence at community events and his strident words when faced with police wrongdoing. HakimMuhammad, one of the group’s


leaders, said he was “quite outraged” at Baker’s power move and praisedHylton for taking action against those 46 officers. But the other outrage Baker needs to think


about comes from residents who have put up with a tarnished police force for too long.He has promised a national search forHylton’s replacement.


A complete list of PostPoints Spots can be found at washingtonpost.com/postpoints.


FRIDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2010


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