This news comes from a memorandum [PDF] issued by City Administrator Neil O. Albert last month, which cites flat revenue growth, the cessation of stimulus funding, and need to replenish reserve funds spent to cover a gap in fiscal 2009. The bottom line is that every agency is “required to present expense reductions and revenue generating proposals that could sustain up to a 10% local funds budget reduction target.”

Writes Albert: “It is critical that each agency evaluate all spending, and dig deeply into the assumptions that underlie its allocation of resources.” Agencies have until Dec. 2 to come up with ideas.

Lazere notes that the “revenue generating proposals” stand to be interesting, given that Fenty made a campaign pledge not to raise taxes, “which severely limits how the city can create new sources of revenue in these cash-strapped times.”

LL learns that Hizzoner is in San Francisco today—first off, to attend the Urban Land Institute’s fall meeting in order to drum up interest in next year’s shindig, to be held here in D.C.

But while there, he will be attending a fundraiser to benefit his re-election campaign, thrown by San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, fresh off his decision not to pursue a gubernatorial bid. LL is guessing that of all the Frisco big shots invited, developer and ex-D.C. United owner Victor MacFarlane will not be among them.

Can you feel Mark Segraves‘ blood boiling yet?

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT—”Another D.C. Council Hearing No-Show!“; “The Number Of Homeless Families In Need Jumps“; “Daycare Fight Continues: Union Files New Lawsuit“; tweets galore!

Morning all. Reliable Source with the scoop! D.C. Public Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee is engaged to Sacramento mayor/ex-Phoenix Sun Kevin Johnson. ‘Rhee, 39, spoke Wednesday night at a Democrats for Education Reform/DC School Reform Now event downtown, and a pretty sparkly thing on her left hand caught the eye of more than one audience member.’ So transcontinental power couple, rad. But what does that mean for Rhee’s continued tenure here in D.C.—the two Fenty terms she promised to serve? ‘Rhee told us she’s not leaving D.C. They plan on a long engagement — no wedding date set, and none envisioned in the near term — and will keep this a commuter relationship for a while.’ (Also WRC-TV.) Sooo…when LL saw KJ in the JAWB last Friday, was he asking Hizzoner for permission to take his chancellor’s hand in marriage? JK—best LL wishes to the happy couple!

AFTER THE JUMP—Complete rundown of contract hearing antics; another possible Ward 1 candidate pops up; WaPo ed board tsk-tsks over UDC board fighting; Lanier says marriage debate may have prompted GU attacks; father of Bowman daughter sues District for wrongful death; and OCTOgate nears a conclusion

LL tweeted much of yesterday’s hearing on Mayor Adrian M. Fenty’s questionable parks contract scheme. From other reports: Procurement chief David Gragan told councilmembers that he wouldn’t use the one-step ‘RFQ’ process used to award the Banneker Ventures contract (as opposed to a two-step RFQ/RFP process, Nikita Stewart writes in WaPo, adding that ‘Larry Dwyer, director of the authority’s Office of Planning and Development, told council members Thursday that he met with two officials from the deputy mayor’s office: David Jannarone, chief operating officer, and Jacquelyn Glover, a project manager. Dwyer said they wanted to know whether the process could be speeded up.’ Jeffrey Anderson notes in WaTimes that several executive witnesses were no-shows, including acting parks chief Ximena Hartsock and DMPED Valerie Santos (who did send an excusal letter). That led hearing chair Harry Thomas Jr. to issue subpoenas. Also see Jonathan O’Connell’s coverage at WBJ, where he notes: ‘Does Fenty get the absolute best possible deal for the city when he brokers these agreements? Probably not. None of the dozens of unused public properties he is trying to sell will get a great price in this market (not to mention the convention center hotel protest). But once the credit markets are revived, they have a good chance to get started.’ And WTTG-TV notes that Michael Brown has asked D.C. Auditor Deborah Nichols to investigate. DCist notes a flip-flop there.

NOTE—No one mentions the most shocking portion of the hearing, where soon-to-be-ex-Peaceoholics honcho and mayoral buddy Ron Moten showed up to testify, slammed Vincent Gray and other CMs, prompting Gray to show up and go all native Washingtonian on his be-hind, demanding that Moten repeat his accusations to his face and under oath. Moten refused, leading to a standoff of sorts before he slinked off.

LAUGH LINE OF THE DAY—Marion Barry: ‘Any mayor that believes in transparency would come down here and answer questions. Sharon Pratt Kelly would’ve come down here. Anthony Williams would’ve come down here. I would’ve come down here.’

Examiner’s Michael Neibauer covers possible challenges to Ward 1 CM Jim Graham: He notes, as LL did Tuesday, that Adams Morgan ANCer Bryan Weaver has filed exploratory papers. He adds in rumors that ex-school board member Jeff Smith, now executive director of the D.C. VOICE nonprofit, is considering a run. Smith’s comments to Neibauer (why didn’t you return LL’s calls?): ‘I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t something I was going to be thinking about over the holidays.’

WaPo editorial board wants Fenty and Gray to quit their ‘gamesmanship’ over UDC board nominations. Indeed, they are ‘playing political chicken’ with the university, and ‘[t]hat is a real shame, because for the first time in its troubled history, UDC is showing hopeful signs of progress.’ The paper lays on this kinda-gotcha: ‘Mr. Gray has rightly criticized the mayor, on other matters, for disrespecting the role of the council and not following procedure, so it’s ironic that he has refused to give Mr. Fenty’s nominees the hearing they are owed and a straight up-or-down vote.’ Never mind that they were poorly qualified; ‘the executive’s right to select the people he thinks are best is most appropriately vetted in an open confirmation process.’ But remember: ‘Mr. Fenty and Mr. Gray may be political rivals, with Mr. Gray considering a mayoral challenge, but as the city’s top leaders they have a responsibility to end this unsavory stalemate.’

OCTOGATE NEARS END—Yusuf Acar, the alleged mastermind behind the city tech office contracting scandal, is likely to plead guilty, Scott McCabe reports in Examiner. ‘Prosecutors on Wednesday filed a “criminal information,” which typically indicates that a plea deal has been worked out because the document can’t be filed without the consent of the defendant. According to the court filing, Acar would pay back more than $200,000 in stolen money, including $69,000 in cash that was seized at his Northwest Washington home at the time of his arrest. Acar, the scheme’s alleged mastermind, is being held at the D.C. Jail. A hearing has not yet been scheduled.’

WAMU’s Patrick Madden noted this morning that People’s Counsel Elizabeth Noel will not be reappointed by Fenty. She had run afoul of Pepco on recent rulings on faulty meters; no explanation was forthcoming from Hizzoner. No link yet.

Phil Mendelson warns FEMS Chief Dennis Rubin that his overtime spending is out of control, Examiner reports. Rubin is spending so fast, says Mendo, ‘that he will blow through his overtime budget halfway through the fiscal year….Rubin told the council’s public safety committee, chaired by Mendelson, that the department’s problems were caused by “the vicious cycle of vacancies, followed by overtime, followed by frozen vacancies, followed by more overtime.”‘

MPD Chief Cathy Lanier tells WTOP listeners that the Georgetown University anti-gay assaults ‘may have been motivated by the same sex marriage debate.’ Police continue to investigate. Her quote: ‘Whenever there’s an issue that’s getting a lot of attention, there may be something that’s sparking these assaults…Certainly that’s something we are looking at.’

ALSO—Lanier is making a star turn of sorts in Michael Baldacci’s latest potboiler, WTOP’s Michelle Basch reports. ‘In the book, D.C. Police Chief Beth Perry owns a blind dog. Chief Lanier says that detail has “amazing similarity” to her own life. She owns five blind dogs, and some are deaf as well. What does Lanier think about the use of that detail in the book? “I think it just shows that police officers are human too, and we love our dogs, and I think the compassion that drives us to do this job also shows in our private lives.”‘

WBJ’s Melissa Castro follows up on her D.C. procurement story last week, covering efforts by local small businesses to oppose reform legislation. ‘They oppose D.C.’s proposed Procurement Efficiency Act of 2009. That too is an obscure name, but the bill’s impact seems clear enough to the coalition’s members: The bill would give the Office of Contracting and Procurement wider and virtually unreviewable discretion to do business with companies of its choosing — preferably on a long-term basis….The full explanation is complex, but there’s a simple aphorism that explains why fewer local companies are winning contracts. It is a concept that has driven the trajectory of the American economy over the past two decades: It’s cheaper to outsource.’

ALSO IN WBJ—Bryant Ruiz Switzky covers possible problems for Morton Bender’s attempts to merge Independence Federal Savings Bank with his Colombo Bank.

WaPo’s Bill Turque does his usual thorough and excellent job covering yesterday’s Superior Court hearing on the WTU’s layoffs lawsuit against DCPS. Judge Judith Bartnoff says she’ll rule next week. ‘While it’s always risky business to predict how a judge might rule based on the tone and tenor of her questions, Bartnoff sent some pretty serious signals that she didn’t think much of the union’s case. She made it clear from the outset that this would not be an exercise in second-guessing Rhee’s decision. “There may be a lot of people around who want to run the school system. I’m not one of them,” said Bartnoff, a 1994 Clinton appointee to the bench who ruled against Roy Pearson in the famous $54 million “lost pants” case.’

More on how Metro might fix the 37-year-old power unit that melted down on Wednesday. Kytja Weir reports in Examiner that ‘replacement equipment could take as long as six months to install, and agency officials said Thursday they couldn’t guarantee that more problems were not going to occur in the meantime as they depended on the old, jury-rigged equipment….The failure highlighted the growing list of costly repairs the cash-strapped agency needs to keep the system running. It also spooked officials and riders about the vulnerability of the system.’

ALSO—Metro is fighting to fend off a 3-percent pay hike for union employees ordered by an arbitrator on Wednesday. ‘The panel called for giving the union members a lump sum payment for last year equivalent to 2 percent of annual salaries, then 3 percent raises for each of the next three years. The agency agreed to pay the $8.6 million lump sum, but said Thursday it planned to appeal the raises, which would cost $96 million over four years. “We think the panel ignored the law,” Metro spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein said. “If they were following the letter of that law, they would have known we are facing a budget gap.”‘ Also WaPo.

Father of one of Renee Bowman’s daughters, murdered and placed in a freezer, files wrongful death lawsuit against the District, AP reports. ‘The suit filed Oct. 22 by Michael Muhammad of Temple Hills, Md., seeks $75 million in damages. It alleges that the D.C. government and adoption agency failed to protect his daughter from an unfit mother.’

Harry Jaffe pens a ‘tale of two cities’ column about unemployment figures. ‘In Ward 8, east of the Anacostia River, nearly a third of the work force was without a job in September. Reaching a new high, the number of unemployed hit 28.3 percent. But in Ward 3, which I often refer to as Upper Caucasia [just you, Harry?], the unemployment rate was 3.2 percent. The white folks who live in Chevy Chase, American University Park, Friendship Heights and Spring Valley are doing quite well, thank you very much….Why? We are always tempted to throw up our hands and blame poverty and health care and drugs and the various ills of urban life. I am with Kwame Brown.’ More job training!

IN THE BLADE—Coverage of Monday’s second gay marriage hearing; Office of Police Complaints recommendation that cop be prosecuted for arrest; Georgetown anti-gay attacks; wrapup of Stein Club awards reception; D.C. Council honors for Desi Deschaine; unveiling of Capital Pride 2010; and an obit for Larry Stansbury, co-founder of Brother Help Thyself, who died at 61.

WCP’s Ruth Samuelson notes at Housing Complex that city agencies headed to 225 Virginia Ave. SE will bring some life to Capital Riverfront area, as well as a new restauarant.

Pennsylvania Avenue SE between 27th Street and Southern Avenue to get stimulus-funded facelift. Ovetta Wiggins reports in WaPo that $30M will buy ‘a median, new curbs, a gutter, pavement, landscaping and upgraded utilities,’ not to mention ‘improvement of signal operations and the construction of three rain gardens.’

Chevy Chase speed humps are ‘dangerous,’ neighbors tell NC8.

With more H1N1 vaccine headed out to other providers, the District is scaling back their vaccination clinics, Michael Laris reports in WaPo. ‘Saturday’s clinics will have an earlier closing time of 1 p.m., not 4 p.m. Tuesday’s clinics at Coolidge High School and McKinley Technology High School have been canceled, as has the Nov. 14 clinic at Wilson High School. Other clinics next week will continue, although three vaccination clinics Nov. 14 will also close at 1 p.m.’

Police are searching for Darrell Glover, 26, who allegedly shot four on Oct. 24 after being accused of stealing an Xbox video game console. ‘Glover, a resident of Southeast, is believed to be hiding out somewhere there or in the Northeast quadrant of the city’ and ‘is described as a black male, 6-feet-1-inches tall and 250 pounds with short hair.’

Age discrimination? Bah! In WaPo letter, 53-year-old explains that she was gladly hired by Rhee. ‘My age never seemed to be an issue at any point in the process. The primary question directed to me was whether I could produce results. Could I teach special education students in new and creative ways and help them become academically successful?’

Robert Wone case update: Legal Times reports that defense lawyers ‘filed court papers this week saying that the government attorneys should be forbidden to say anything about torture and sexual abuse’—so-called ‘uncharged conduct.’ Status hearing this afternoon. See also WMRW?, of course.

D.C. Court of Appeals resurrects blockbuster cell-phone radiation case, NLJ reports.

Yes, the Fort Hood shooter has local ties.

Georgetown trolley tracks set for repair—finally!

Ellen London has been named interim director of the Children and Youth Investment Trust Corp., Susie Cambria reports.

DCist wants Hizzoner to fight crime. Like, literally.

Think tank lauds elections bill.

Amtrak officially out as VRE operator. (Eleanor Holmes Norton is not pleased, BTW, issuing a press release decrying the switch to French company Keolis.)

Blogger notes that DCPS is “Covering Their Class-Actions, i.e., looking for ‘a “high energy problem solver” who can “effectively deal with and provide solutions to complex EEO cases and issues.”‘

Ward 3 supermarket controversy. Nope, not that one.

Weekend Metro delays on Orange, Blue, and Yellow lines.

D.C. COUNCIL TODAY—No events scheduled.

ADRIAN FENTY TODAY—No public events scheduled.

The Giro d’Italia—one of the three grand European cycling tours—is considering starting its run in Washington, D.C. “in the coming years,” before jetting all the competitors across the Atlantic to continue the race.

This momentous news comes courtesy of Cycling News, which in turn got the tidbit from a dispatch in Italian sports rag La Gazzetta dello Sport. LL was unable to find the original reportage on that publication’s Web site.

Race director Angelo Zomegnan is quoted saying, “There exists a concrete interest from the city of Washington.” Adds Cycling News, “Mayor Adrian Fenty will help the bid. He is a fan of cycling and competes in triathlons to stay in shape.”

UPDATE, 11/5, 2:45 P.M.: Fenty spokesperson Jack Pfeiffer says there indeed have been discussions about hosting the start of the race, “but nothing is final.”

“The city welcomes discussions with race officials and share their enthusiasm for the District to serve as a host city,” he said in a statement.

File photo by Mike DeBonis

Interim parks director Ximena Hartsock and her capital projects director had been asked to come to today’s hearing on the matter, but they did not show.

That prompted Ward 5 Councilmember Harry Thomas Jr., chairing the inquiry, to announce at the hearing that he will be issuing subpoenas for the witnesses and related documents.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT—”Fenty Embraces “Signing Statement” Tactic“; “Pershing Park Case: Read The Document Nickles Didn’t Want You See“; “Giro d’Italia to Start in D.C.?“; tweets galore!

IN LL WEEKLY—Fast Company: Is speed an excuse for Fenty’s crony contracts?

Morning all. The D.C. Council is again convened in the fifth-floor chambers to examine Mayor Adrian M. Fenty’s parks contracting scheme. LL will be watching on Chennel 13 and Tweeting away. Expected to testify are procurement chief David Gragan, acting parks director Ximena Hartsock, D.C. Housing Enterprises chief Larry Dwyer, as well as D.C. Housing Authority board members William Slover and Anthony Wash, and …Ron Moten? Not appearing will be DMPED Valerie Santos, who is tending to a serious family illness, and City Administrator Neil Albert, whose father recently died. LL sends his heartfelt condolences.

AFTER THE JUMP—Contracts probe likely to end in courts; the Cheh chem ban explained; Jonetta wants to know when the D.C. gov will get serious about procurement reform; Metro breakdowns traced to 27-year-old power unit; city attorneys try to hide documents because they’re ‘embarrassing’

The council’s probe into Fenty’s fishy parks contracts, Jeffrey Anderson reports in WaTimes, is almost certainly headed for a legal showdown with the mayor and his bulldog, Attorney General Peter Nickles. ‘Several members cautioned that a pattern of resistance by the Fenty administration comes amid worsening relations with legislators and threatens to plunge the city into court battles lasting well into next year. Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray said the council is prepared for obstruction in its latest probe. “We have seen resistance on every front,” Mr. Gray said. “I won’t be shocked if we are forced to issue subpoenas.”‘

Examiner’s Michael Neibauer explains everything you need to know about the chemical ban Mary Cheh is proposing. ‘The list of chemicals all have been tied, some more than others, to health conditions from cancer and birth defects to reproductive disorders and neurological effects. They are used in a host of products from soap to sippy cups….”I think we have to go with the best information that’s out there and not wait for a lagging [Environmental Protection Agency] to take action,” Cheh said.’ Potentially banned: Bisphenol-A, polybrominated diphenyl ethers, permethrin and propoxur, high levels of phthalates, and synthetic exfoliants, such as polyethylene-based microbeads! (Note that natural alternative, ’such as salt, shell pieces and sugar can replace the synthetic washes. “They can be just as clean and have just as significant an exfoliant experience,” Cheh said.’) The American Chemistry Council, needless to say, is not pleased. But where did that get them on the bag bill?

Jonetta Rose Barras in her Examiner column says the the council’s emergency bill cracking down on Fenty’s fishy parks contracting ‘misses the mark.’ Rather, the council needs to embark on a holistic look at procurement reform. ‘The system is so sluggish and ineffective many managers have sought and received separate powers. At least 15 agencies have independent contracting authority approved by the council or delegated by the mayor or David Gragan, the District’s chief procurement officer….The “transparency” legislation introduced by Ward 5’s Harry Thomas doesn’t…repair the procurement system. It is focused solely on DPR.’ She also raises questions about CFO Natwar Gandhi’s role in all this, saying he has ‘become a hoarder of data.’

The aftermath of yesterday morning’s Metro breakdown is this: WMATA needs $14M to replace a pair of 27-year-old power units at its downtown headquarters, Lena Sun reports in WaPo. ‘The part that failed cannot be repaired, and Metro has no backup. The agency, already scrambling to plug a $22 million shortfall in the current budget, must find the money to replace the critical parts. Deputy General Manager Gerald Francis called it one of Metro’s “most urgent needs.” An interim fix is in place, but “there is anxiety” about it, Metro spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein said. “There are no other options at this moment.”‘ Metro’s posted pictures of the antiquated equipment. Also WUSA-TV, WTTG-TV, WRC-TV.

Remember Bill Turque’s ‘15 questions’ about the DCPS layoffs? He’s finally compiled answers from ‘court filings, sworn testimony before the D.C. Council, and interviews.’ A good read!

WaPo’s Tim Craig collects local reaction to Tuesday’s off-year elections, D.C. GOP chair Bob Kabel arguing that Repub victories in Virginia and New Jersey ‘offered a road map for D.C. Republicans on how to make inroads in the 2010 city elections.’ WAMU-FM’s Patrick Madden talks to Harry Jackson et al. for reaction to Maine vote. WaPo editorialist Jo-Ann Armao pens a piece on what the Maine vote means for D.C., gay marriage generally. And national supporters of gay marriage react in WaPo story by Ashley Surdin. ‘For the gay rights movement, the defeat is another setback to its long-held strategy of building the case for marriage equality state by state. Historically, the tactics have been to target places where conditions seem favorable, and Maine, characterized by its governor as a libertarian state, seemed to fit that criterion. Still, advocates say the strategy remains effective.’ No mention of D.C.

As Legal Times first reported yesterday, U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan slapped down an attempt by city attorneys to take back 211 pages of documents related to the Pershing Park case that they had inadvertently handed to plaintiffs’ attorneys. Their argument: That the docs were covered by attorney-client privilege and ‘include statements by high-ranking officials in the District of Columbia Government which, if disclosed to the public, would only serve to embarrass while not shedding light on any matter of controversy in this case.’ And then WCP’s Jason Cherkis fills out the story by revealing what some of the documents they’re fighting about are—such as notes taken by a city attorney in the aftermath of the arrests pointing to Chief Charles Ramsey’s direct involvement in giving orders to conduct the arrests.

Tom Sherwood, in his eponymous Notebook, says the 260-plus witnesses who showed at gay marriage hearings isn’t a record: ‘We think baseball holds that honor.’ He also notes comments from the Rev. Anthony Evans: ‘[W]e’re going to go after Pope Fenty….He doesn’t have a church, he doesn’t have a pastor … and yet he’s dictating religious edicts.’

The Hill: ‘Del. *Eleanor Holmes Norton* (D) is blaming Republican lawmakers for the District of Columbia’s high HIV/AIDS rate. In a letter posted on her website, Norton lashed out at Republican efforts in recent years to attach riders to annual congressional spending bills that limited the District from using locally raised revenues to support needle exchange programs.’

Airports Authority votes to hike Dulles Toll Road fees $.25 per year for three years to help pay for Metro extension, WaPo reports. ‘After Wednesday’s vote, H.R. Crawford, the chairman, said most people see the increases as modest. These people are practical and understand that the board needs the toll revenue to build the Metro line, he said. “We had three meetings; there were no more than 35 people at every meeting,” Crawford said. “There was no great outpouring of opposition.”‘

Can you get trapped in affordable housing? Ruth Samuelson explores the notion at Housing Complex.

‘Barricade situation’ on the 4600 block of Hunt Place NE leads to arrest of Daniel Spriggs, 28, WaPo reports. Marshals showed up with a warrant at about 10 a.m. yesterday; he proceeded to hide in the house for more than two hours. ‘When officers entered the residence, they found Spriggs hiding on the first floor, police said. [MPD spox Traci Hughes] said she did not know whether he was armed or why a warrant had been issued for him.’ Also NC8.

Judge gives two-month extension to perform competency evaluation on Holocaust Museum shooter.

Examiner reports that Henderson Joseph, owner of a accounting firm that prepared fraudulent returns for its clients, gets three years in federal clink. Reminds Channing Phillips: ‘Taxpayers are reminded to scrupulously review a tax return prepared by their tax return preparer.’

WaPo’s Turque follows up on Bruce Johnson’s scoop that Barbara Bullock is a free woman.

In WaPo District Notebook, a look at Vincent Gray’s effort to drum out Noah Wepman as the DCPS chief financial officer.

ALSO IN WAPO DISTRICT WEEKLY—A look at the Healthy Schools Program, an anti-obesity effort being pursued in 47 schools; home sales; news briefs; health code violations; crime blotter.

In themail, Gary Imhoff calls Eleanor Holmes Norton’s bill to establish a locally elected district attorney the ‘biggest local political news of the week….This is the real deal. This is the Evict Peter Nickles and Let Him Stay at Home in Great Falls Act. What’s not to like?’ Also: lots more gay marriage talk.

YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING DEPT.—WaTimes lets anti-gay-marriage activist Kathryn Pearson-West write news story (if you can call it that) on gay marriage referendum. ‘CITIZEN JOURNALISM,’ people!

WaPo’s Michael Birnbaum looks at the increasing embrace of charter schools in suburban jurisdictions.

Economic development summit kicks off Nov. 9 hosted by Vince Gray and the WDC Economic Partnership. Couldn’t come at a better time, says Jonathan O’Connell at WBJ! Gray’s involvement, surprisingly, has not damped executive branch participation; Valerie Santos and Harriet Tregoning to speak.

View 14 project at 14th and Florida NW nears completion, WBJ reports. Thanks for all those tax breaks, Jim!

Informer: ‘District Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee in the Hot Seat.’ Also WireTap mag looks at new AFT ad calling out Rhee.

WaPo profiles new UDC hoops coach Jeff Ruland.

More on the anti-gay incidents at GU, from WAMU-FM.

Noah’s Ark Food Bank gets offers of help after city shutdown, WaTimes reports. H.R. Crawford and Harry Thomas Jr. have offered to pitch in, but director Leo Woodson ’said regular patrons of the food bank were not pleased with the city’s lack of support for a group that has helped the city for so long….Anita Webster, a volunteer for the organization, said a spokeswoman from the mayor’s office called them on Wednesday, asking them to stop having people call the office. She said the phone’s speaker was turned on at the time of the call and that people in the lines for bread overhead the conversation and became outraged.’ Problem was, they were calling the scheduler, not MOCRS! Also NC8.

In case you were wondering: That Cleveland serial-killer thing couldn’t happen in D.C., WUSA-TV explains, because CSOSA checks on our ex-con rapists!

How the Obama girls got their shots: ‘A White House physician administered vaccines obtained through the D.C. Department of Health to the Obamas’ daughters, Malia and Sasha,’ McClatchy reports.

Informer covers opening of Industrial Bank branch in Anacostia.

The Hill Is Home talks to Tommy Wells.

Real-estate blogger: ‘I happened to stop by a client’s new house today–a fantastic renovation of a rowhome in Petworth–and whom should I see walking down the street but Mayor Fenty himself! He was checking out the neighborhood, shaking hands, etc.–no doubt checking up on all the recent development in the area! He was very interested in the recent sales in the neighborhood, which obviously has been undergoing a lot of changes lately, so we chatted for a few minutes.’

Your November Bicycle Advisory Committee notes, courtesy of the WashCycle.

‘The National Zoo’s oldest male sloth bear, Merlin, died Wednesday after surgery to repair a partially twisted spleen,’ Lori Aratani reports in WaPo. ‘It was the zoo’s third animal death in a month.’ Merlin, turns out, had a history of gastric volvulus.

D.C. COUNCIL TODAY—10 a.m.: Committee on Human Services roundtable on PR18-520 (’Interagency Council on Homelessness Sue Ann Marshall Confirmation Resolution of 2009′), PR18-521 (’Interagency Council on Homelessness Robert Scott McNeilly Confirmation Resolution of 2009′), PR18-522 (’Interagency Council on Homelessness Chapman Todd Confirmation Resolution of 2009′), PR18-536 (’Interagency Council on Homelessness Joshua Greene Confirmation Resolution of 2009′), and PR 18-537 (’Interagency Council of Homelessness Brian Watson Confirmation Resolution of 2009′), JAWB 412; 11 a.m.: Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary roundtable on ‘Continuing Overtime and Pay Problems in the Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department,’ JAWB 123; 6 p.m.: Committee on Aging and Community Affairs hearing on B18-324 (’Advisory Neighborhood Commission Vacancy Amendment Act of 2009′), JAWB 412.

ADRIAN FENTY TODAY—6:45 a.m.: remarks, Connecting with the Mayor, WRC-TV; 7:10 a.m.: remarks, Fenty on Fox, WTTG-TV; 10:45 a.m.: remarks, Pennsylvania Avenue streetscape announcement, Twining Park, 27th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue SE.

LL and other local observers have gotten plenty of mileage out of comparing Mayor Adrian M. Fenty’s executive-power-aggregating habits to those of President George W. Bush.

Let the comparisons continue!

Early in October, the D.C. Council passed the fiscal 2010 city budget, after months of wrangling over how best to deal with a late-breaking drop in city revenue. The process had not exactly been a model of interbranch cooperation, with the council jawing about Fenty’s methods of closing the $660 million budget gap and Hizzoner threatening a veto over school-governance matters.

But even with the final vote, the bickering hasn’t ceased. On Oct. 15, Attorney General Peter J. Nickles dispatched a 13-page memo [PDF] to Fenty, who in turn sent it to Gray. The document lays out no fewer than 16 provisions included in the budget legislation that Nickles and his lawyers found to be objectionable—including six measures, he announced, that the executive branch should ignore completely due to “problems, including separation-of-powers and other Home Rule Act violations, that prevent lawful implementation.”

The practice mirrors Bush’s embrace of “signing statements”—messages sent to lawmakers accompanying the presidential signature. The practice, certainly, did not begin with Bush—presidents as far back as James Monroe have made them, but the practice saw a halcyon era under Bush 43. According to one professor’s analysis, Bush by the end of his term ended up challenging some 1,100 provisions in federal law—more than doubling all those issued before him.

Where Bush’s memos addressed matters such as affirmative action programs and the treatment of military detainees, Fenty’s memo deals with matters like taxi rates (the council has no power to set them), budget directives for the deputy mayor’s office (an “unlawful management of Executive Branch affairs”), and grant reporting requirements for the Children and Youth Investment Trust Corp. (the home rule charter says the council only gets to review contracts, not grants).

But just as Bush’s use of the maneuver sent Congress over the edge, Nickles’ memos are driving council types crazy.

Ward 3 Councilmember Mary Cheh says Nickles “is channeling Alberto Gonzales on an unsupported theory of executive power” and says he “doesn’t really understand” the doctrines he cites. At-Large Councilmember Phil Mendelson says “much of the logic is tortured” and that it’s “part of this continuing pattern of picking and choosing which laws to follow.” Even At-Large Councilmember David A. Catania of all people, increasingly peeved by Fenty overreaching, calls them “an exercise in creative writing without the force of law.”

As on the federal level, mayors have issued legislative memos before, but usually to accompany vetoed legislation, says Brian Flowers, the council’s chief lawyer. And since Fenty has taken office, he says, the memos have been flying faster than ever before, with increasingly broad legal claims.

As for the claims in Nickles’ budget memos, “Some of them are quite laughable,” Flowers says. He is drafting a response.

Nickles has a fine retort to the Bush comparisons: “Why don’t they criticize President Obama, who’s engaged in the same practice?”

Indeed, Barack Obama said during the 2008 campaign that he and his lawyers “aren’t going to use signing statements as a way to do an end run around Congress.” Since taking office, however, Obama has issued dozens of his own, and Nickles says he’s read them: “He ensured that Congress knows the president’s view…that he’s not going to interpret legislation to interfere with the Constitution.”

Nickles explains his legislative memos this way: “I think the executive has the duty to stand for the executive’s prerogatives. Otherwise, in our tripartite system of government, one part will run over the other part.”

Photo by Darrow Montgomery

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT—”Jim Graham Attracts a Potential Challenger“; “Did Investigators Botch The Georgetown Library Case?“; “OAG Calls, Wants Its E-Mails Back“; tweets galore!

Morning all. Yesterday was Election Day in a lot of places, but not the District. Still, a couple of ramifications for local politics here. First off, Maine failed to become the first state to have its populace endorse gay marriage by referendum, with 53 percent voting to overturn the state legislature’s May legalization vote. LL is anticipating a flood of fresh rhetoric from District gay-marriage opponents calling for a similar vote here. (And he still thinks D.C. should think about being first to approve gay marriage by popular vote; and good timing, BTW, to whatever gay-marriage supporters scheduled all the public hearings for before Election Day.) Then there’s the New York mayoral race, where incumbent Michael Bloomberg spent at least $90M of his own cash to win an unanticipated squeaker. What’s the message for other big-city chief execs, particularly those facing charges of regal, out-of-touch behavior, as they face re-election? Money isn’t everything!

AFTER THE JUMP—Another interesting election tidbit; complete legislative meeting wrap-up; local DA could be on the way; DCPS parent makes case for firing teachers; WTU embezzler set to go free; whodunit murder of U Street restaurateur; Metro chaos this morning

ANOTHER INTERESTING TIDBIT–-An openly gay ex-Republican councilmember won a plurality of the mayoral vote in Atlanta, after running against the black Democratic establishment. Mary Norwood now faces a runoff. An openly gay white ex-councilmember won a plurality of the mayoral vote in Houston; Annise Parker now faces a runoff.

D.C. COUNCIL LEGISLATIVE MEETING WRAP-UP…

—Council votes 10-3 to pass emergency bill limiting funding parks transfers to the D.C. Housing Authority for 90 days. Nikita Stewart notes in WaPo brief that ‘two members who often support Fenty’s initiatives, [David Catania and Tommy Wells], joined the majority after language was removed from the legislation that would have prohibited the housing authority from entering into any contract with the parks department.’ Also WTTG-TV.

—Also passed: Bill that would clarify what happens after mayoral nominee is disapproved by council. But the language passed contains no to attempt to force out Ximena Hartsock, though Harry Thomas Jr. said Monday he wanted to do so. He now tells Examiner’s Michael Neibauer, that ‘[t]he situation we currently have at Parks and Recreation is unconscionable…Unfortunately, we cannot go back and fix the law and force someone to do what we know is right.’ Also note the ‘people’s’ councilmember YouTubed about it.

—A Kwame Brown-backed measure ‘to strengthen oversight of and alter participation requirements for businesses registered with [the Department of Small and Local Business Development]‘ passed a first-reading vote, Jonathan O’Connell reports in WBJ. The bill would make it a felony to fake CBE status.

—Measure passes to allow married gay couples to file District income taxes jointly with, Bob Summersgill notes, the vote of one Marion Barry.

—ALSO: Early voting/same-day registration election package gets final approval; Southwest fire station land deal is pushed through after delay; modification to Southwest Waterfront’s LDA passed to ‘allow the developers to meet affordable housing requirements with apartments as well as for-sale units’; tax break aimed at DC USA supermarket gets final approval; Gennet Purcell is approved as DISB’s new chief; and it was Washington Capitals day.

Phil Mendelson mentions Harry Jaffe column on the dais; Jaffe proceeds to write a column about it. ‘He focused on a few paragraphs in which I flirted with calling Fenty a money launderer. Ward 1 Councilman Jim Graham took issue. He said mentioning Fenty and money laundering was “totally inappropriate” because there is “no proof” of such conduct….So allow me to distance myself from any suggestion that Fenty was money laundering in the classic, criminal sense. Shakedown, however, might apply.’

Speaking of Graham: LL was first to report yesterday that Adams Morgan activist Bryan Weaver has filed papers to explore a run against Graham for the Ward 1 seat. DCist picked it up. And Chuck Thies, whom LL didn’t inform about Weaver’s aggressive statements, subsequently took to his blog to chastise Weaver for taking the ‘low road.’

DMPED issues RFP for development at old Justice Park, on 1400 block of Euclid Street NW in Columbia Heights, O’Connell reports at WBJ. ‘The city is seeking developers “with experience in planning, financing, building, and operating small to medium scale mixed-use, residential, or retail use development projects,” according to the solicitation. Bids are due Jan. 7.’ Note that this is not for a park; a new Justice Park is being built across the street as part of the controversial package of DCHA-funneled DPR projects.

ALSO—Eastbanc plans to turn the unused basement and third floor of the Georgetown post office into apartments. The PO will remain.

Eleanor Holmes Norton introduces bill to establish a local prosecuting authority for D.C., complete with elected district attorney. Writes AP: ‘It’s her latest effort to pursue full autonomy for the city, which is subject to unique oversight from Congress….Norton says the city needs its own chief law enforcement officer who would be directly accountable to local residents, similar to other cities.’ Also DCist.

Ross ES parent, in WaPo op-ed, says she was glad to see teachers RIF’d. Writes Mary Siddall, a D.C. School Reform Now board member: ‘The District has just laid off scores of teachers, and, at our school, that has been a very good thing….”Whenever I went into his classroom, my son would beg to leave. Now with his new teacher, he is so happy. He is glued to his work. He doesn’t want to leave,” one parent comments. Another mom says she was worried about her daughter, who loved the other teacher who was let go, a popular teacher liked by all. But her daughter told her, “The new teacher challenges us. She doesn’t talk down to us and say things like ‘dude.’”‘

Administrative foul-ups still plague the DCPS athletic department, Alan Goldenbach reports in WaPo. The School Without Walls soccer team, for instance, has had four games postponed due to missing refs, lack of bus, or other reasons. ‘DCPS Athletic Director Marcus Ellis, whose office is responsible for scheduling games, arranging for transportation, and securing sites, officials and trainers, did not respond to phone and e-mail requests for comment. DCPS spokesperson Jennifer Calloway said Ellis’s office is aware of the “transportation and staffing issues” and “is enacting a plan to ensure [they] do not occur moving forward.”‘

Barbara Bullock, convicted of taking $5M from the Washington Teachers’ Union treasury, is scheduled to be released from federal custody today after five years, Bruce Johnson reports at WUSA-TV. ‘Sources confirm that in May, Bullock was released from Alderson prison in West Virginia and sent to a halfway house in Northeast DC. In October, she was released to home confinement in a private condo in the Watergate at Landmark complex in Alexandria.’ The co-conspirators she flipped on, Gwen Hemphill and James Baxter, each have about five years left to serve.

Current/VotH’s Elizabeth Weiner notes that Mary Cheh is pondering a bill to fix the District’s “OneCard” system. Legislation would ‘protect privacy and spell out exactly what information can be contained on the high-tech identification card, which eventually will provide access to a variety of city services and facilities.’

WHODUNIT—Nora Amaya, the 38-year-old co-owner of Coppi’s restaurant on U Street, is found strangled Monday night in her Mount Pleasant apartment. She had been incommunicado since Saturday; the case is being treated as a possible homicide. Also WaPo, NC8, WTTG-TV, WUSA-TV, WRC-TV.

Overnight Metro power unit failure leads to mass chaos across the system this morning. WTOP reports that ‘Metrobuses are not accepting fares. Metro cannot communicate with its bus drivers in the field….Metrorail’s public address system is not working. Metrorail passengers can’t purchase fares with debit cards, and they are limited to charging a maximum of $20 using a credit card.’ Oh, and NextBus isn’t working, nor is the MetroAccess reservation system. Also WaPo, WUSA-TV, WRC-TV.

Metro trying to train disabled riders to use trains and buses rather than MetroAccess as a way to reduce costs, Kytja Weir reports in Examiner. ‘The transit agency has received a grant for most of the $1.2 million program to partner with three centers that work with people who have disabilities. It is slated to ask the Metro board on Thursday to kick in $85,000 for the two-year pilot project.’ Where bus/rail round trips can cost under $3, each MetroAccess trip costs $38.

National Journal does multi-part video series on needle exchange in D.C. ‘The Needle Exchange Next Door,’ it’s called.

City shutters Noah’s Ark Food Bank, operating out of Christ Apostolic Church, for being wholly unlicensed, Jordan Buie reports in WaTimes. ‘The food bank serves about 30,000 packages of bread each week to 300 charitable organizations and more than 150 people, amounting to more than $18 million in food given to the D.C. community annually, food bank organizers said. But with no place to operate from, the food bank is in danger of having to shut down.’ Also NC8, which notes that ‘Some of the bread seekers seem to blame Fenty for the program’s plight.’

WBJ has ward-by-ward breakdowns of unemployment figures. Ward 8 is highest at 28.3 percent; Ward 3 is lowest at 3.2 percent.

College students just not that interested in swine flu shots, Ian Shapira writes in WaPo. Members of one GWU frat ‘view the virus’s threat as a media-concocted sensation. They fend off their parents’—and even their girlfriends’ parents’—worries, much as they do concerns about any other risky behavior, such as parachuting out of an airplane for an upcoming frat event. Their mind-set: They’ll be fine. Even if they get the bug, they’ll still be fine.’ Survey numbers back up a trend, and ‘Puzzled experts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said they are so concerned about young people’s lack of concern about swine flu that they are conducting surveys to tease out the basis for the blasé attitudes.’

The case for District retrocession, as presented in WaPo letter: ‘The real roadblock to D.C. voting rights is that we are being held hostage by national partisan politics; our civil rights are in the grip of two parties, one seeking to gain two Senate seats—eventually—and the other seeking to prevent that. This sad impasse will endure until the right solution is recognized: the restoration of our full voting rights through Maryland, which we had but then lost in 1802,’ writes Lars Peterson of the ‘Committee for the Capital City.’

ALSO—WaPo readers respond to op-ed on gay marriage and religious freedom. And one reader responds to the notion of teachers ’seem to be more concerned with keeping their jobs’ than teaching: ‘How terrible that people would put paying their rent, feeding their family and having health insurance first.’

Lawyers for condemned D.C. sniper John Allen Muhammad asks SCOTUS to review his case ahead of his executive, arguing, per WaPo, that ‘he was paranoid and delusional during his trial’ due to ‘mental illness and brain damage caused partly by childhood beatings.’ The pleading also holds that Muhammad’s trial lawyers ‘were ineffective because they failed to object to Muhammad’s demand to represent himself at trial. Had the pair argued that Muhammad’s mental problems made him unfit to present his own defense, there is a “reasonable probability” that the judge would have found Muhammad incompetent to stand trial altogether.’ His execution is scheduled for Nov. 10. Also AP, WRC-TV. And WTOP airs juror concerns that evidence of mental illness was not presented at Muhammad’s trial.

Blade covers GU vigil on anti-gay attacks; Police Chief Cathy Lanier tells WTOP that ’she believes the incidents are hate crimes.’ Also WUSA-TV, WRC-TV. Queerty asks: ‘Why Haven’t Georgetown’s 2 Gay Bashing Victims Reported What Happened to the Cops?’

About that tax break for a DC USA supermarket…D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute’s Ed Lazere says it’s a bad idea: ‘Forget the fact that there is a Giant supermarket a block away. That the shopping mall already received more than $40 million in taxpayer subsidies. That Columbia Heights is one of the most rapidly gentrifying parts of town. They apparently still need tax breaks.’

MWCOG’s “Greater Washington 2050″ planning process gets coverage from WAMU-FM. ‘The plan includes slashing greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent and raising the high-school graduation rate to 90 percent.’

The Hill does piece on what nonvoting delegates do during House votes: ‘Norton, who has represented the District of Columbia for 18 years, says her colleagues have gotten so used to seeing her come and go to the floor that many have forgotten she doesn’t cast a vote. “Most people, when the bell rings, forget and say, ‘Eleanor, you’ve only got three minutes,’ ” she says.’

WaPo’s Courtland Milloy makes the case for more…bull riding? ‘We could really use some new sports closer to home….The one sport that ranks high on everybody’s list is professional football. But we have no home team to speak of. It has imploded, fracturing a social identity that, if only for a few brief months a year, transcended race and class. Bull riding is no substitute for such a loss. But it could be used to help mend the frayed fabric of our sports community.’

Urban Land Institute report: ‘Workforce housing’ issue only going to get worse.

American Legacy Foundation et al. to study smoking cessation in D.C.

Charity bike stolen from Northwest condo garage.

DCist’s Sommer Mathis recounts her very positive experience at a city H1N1 vaccine clinic.

D.C.-based ‘unclutterer,’ to We Love D.C., on who needs uncluttering in town: ‘There are a few members of the DC City Council who could use a copy of my book. For better or worse (and I contend better), the city of DC has changed a great deal in the past 20 years. However, some of the people on the Council haven’t acknowledged this. I don’t want to name names because that won’t accomplish anything, but I think it’s time for everyone on the Council to start being visionary and stop trying to come up with band-aid solutions to try to fix mistakes of the past.’

HuffPo picks up video of the marriage proposal at Monday’s council hearing.

WAMU-FM covers D.C.’s late marryers.

Everything you ever wanted to know about the Master Address Repository!

Meet the Real World D.C. cast. If you must.

D.C. COUNCIL TODAY—10 a.m.: Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary and Committee on Libraries, Parks and Recreation joint hearing on B18-367 (’Youth and Young Adult Promise Act of 2009′), JAWB 500; Committee on Government Operations and the Environment hearing on B18-279 (’Board of Enhanced Access to Public Space and Buildings Establishment Act of 2009′), JAWB 120.

ADRIAN FENTY TODAY—10:30 a.m.: remarks, New York Avenue bridge announcement, 100 block New York Avenue NE; 7 p.m.: [unscheduled] North Columbia Heights Civic Association meeting, Tubman ES, 13th and Irving Streets NW.

Is someone finally taking a whack at scandal-softened Ward 1 Councilmember Jim Graham?

Bryan Weaver, the longtime Adams Morgan activist and advisory neighborhood commissioner, filed exploratory papers with the Office of Campaign Finance on Tuesday.

To explore a run against the sure-to-be-well-financed three-term incumbent, Weaver has thus far raised the princely sum of $2,500.

Exploratory bids have been rare since campaign finance laws changed some years back, but Weaver, 39, says his campaign is indeed merely speculative at the moment. “I have my opinions on what’s important to me and to the ward,” he says. “Maybe it’s a minority opinion, I don’t know.” Hence the de rigueur “listening tour.”

Why ponder a run? Weaver cites “a difference in ideas and what’s important to the ward,” pointing in particular to “an utter lack of transparency in government and a feeling that there’s a certain group of people who have a seat at the table because of contributions that they give.”

And even if Graham’s longtime chief of staff, Ted Loza, hadn’t been arrested on Sept. 24 as part of a federal bribery sting, Weaver says he’d still be looking at the race. “If you take a foreign trip for 30 days organized by someone with business before the council”—a not-so-veiled reference to alleged Loza briber Abdulaziz Kamus and a 2006 trip to Ethiopia—“no congressman could get away with that,” he says. “I want to hold my city councilmember to the same standards.”

Graham’s campaign apparatus, meanwhile, is grinding to life. He filed his re-election papers in September, and political consultant Chuck Thies has signed on to deliver zinger quotes on his behalf.

“I wish him well. Running as a first-time candidate always presents a number of unforeseen challenges,” he says, playing up Graham’s strong backing in “every part” of Ward 1. “That base of support will surely need to be considered by Bryan as he explores a possible candidacy.”

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT—”Couple Gets Engaged at Gay Marriage Hearing“; “Do You Miss This Man?“; tweets galore

Morning all. The WaPo editorial board harshens its language a bit in examining Mayor Adrian M. Fenty’s parks contracting scheme. ‘The more you learn,’ it writes, ‘the more troubling it becomes. It’s critical that these deals be submitted to the council for thorough review and, if warranted, revocation.’ But even that admonition doesn’t come without some chastening for the legislative branch: ‘We would like to suggest to council members that if they truly want to get some answers, they should give government witnesses an opportunity to answer. The tendency of council members — as evidenced in recent public hearings — to interrupt, insult and bully those testifying does not reflect well on them; nor does it serve the public interest. The administration may have plenty to answer for here; let’s hear the answers.’

AFTER THE JUMP—Council to consider emergency measures to halt parks contracting; Thomas calls scheme ‘like Watergate’ (does that make LL Woodward or Bernstein?); Gray calls for DCPS CFO ouster; St. E’s lawsuit settled for a cool mil; council chambers see first marriage proposal (LL guesses); city tax error leads to mortgage nightmare; what is with all the hate crimeage at GU?

YOUR LEGISLATIVE MEETING PREVIEW—Prompted by the parks contracting revelations, the council plans to consider halting for 90 days funds transfers to the D.C. Housing Authority and reviewing parks-and-rec expenditures exceeding $75K, as well as instituting new rules regarding what happens when an agency head is deemed disapproved by the council. Michael Neibauer notes in Examiner that the measures ‘come as the relationship between the legislative and executive branches continues to fall apart,’ adding that Vincent Gray ‘used his Monday briefing to again chastise D.C. Public Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee for her “chaotic” firing of 226 teachers and 122 support staff six weeks into the school year, and for the revelation that Rhee ignored the council’s order to halve summer school slots in favor of the layoffs.’ Harry Thomas Jr., meanwhile, called the DCHA contracting scheme ‘just government at its worst,’ telling WaTimes that it’s ‘like Watergate…[y]ou don’t know where you’re going to end up.’ Also WaPo, which notes that council moves ‘could put a snag in Fenty’s efforts to improve the city’s park system’ and that Peter Nickles vowed ‘that the administration will cooperate but that “the legislature can’t micromanage the executive.”‘

ALSO—Gray called yesterday for the firing of Noah Wepman, DCPS chief financial officer, citing his failure to reveal a budget deficit to his superiors and the council. And he’s expanded contracting inquiries outside DCHA and the parks.

District settles lawsuit with family of St. Elizabeths patient for $1M, Keith Alexander reports in WaPo. ‘City officials made the payment 10 months after a D.C. federal court jury found the city liable in the 2005 death of Alan Martin. Martin, 56, a former Washington physician who had a diagnosis of bipolar disorder, was admitted to St. Elizabeths just four days before he was housed with another inmate, William E. Dunbar, 29, who investigators said later stomped Martin….Nickles said he authorized the District to make the payment to get the case “behind us.”…”The judgment had been entered against us, and interest was accruing, so I felt it made sense just to get it over with,” he said.’ Representing the family was Bill Lightfoot.

IG investigation finds bad records management at MPD’s youth investigations branch, Neibauer reports in Examiner. ‘Tightly restricted records that by law “shall not be open to public inspection” or disclosed for public review were left in the open for anybody with access to the division to see, the D.C. Inspector General found….The inspectors, during a review of the police department’s division office at 1700 Rhode Island Ave. NE, spotted more than 75 boxes of physical and sexual abuse case records in an unlocked, unattended room. In an unlocked closet, inspectors found boxes of missing persons cases and more sexual abuse records.’ MPD says it has started to digitize the records.

WaPo calls it ‘the marriage proposal heard ’round the District.’ Andrew Hertzberg asked partner Andy Rollman to marry him yesterday in front of the council dais. And it was apparently ‘part of a strategy by same-sex marriage supporters to show the “human side” of the issue to the public.’ DCist has the pitch, and LL has a pic of the happy couple! Blade, WJLA-TV/NC8, WRC-TV covers the proposal and the rest of the hearing. Metro Weekly captures a ‘rambling, repetitive, moody, and incomprehenisible’ [sic] Walter Fauntroy (as well as another fringe character). And watch David Catania beating up on poor old Brian Brown of the National Organization for Marriage.

Marianne Scott, chair of the D.C. Humanities Council, writes at The Root about how a clerical mix-up by city officials have led to a world of hurt for resident Archer Mapp. Tax officials classified his Capitol Hill home as vacant, leading to a doubling of his mortgage payments—which he then couldn’t make. The city fixed the error quickly, but the fact he missed just a couple of payments led his bank, Wachovia, to embark on foreclosure proceedings that are not easily stopped. Says Mapp: ‘This is not rocket science. This wickedness can’t go on. My bank is benefiting from a property tax mistake. To then be so abusive to a customer and taxpayer when they have received public money is just wrong.’

How to close ‘yawning’ Metro budget shortfall? Kytja Weir reports in Examiner that the ‘transit agency is proposing to cobble together as much as $36 million from federal stimulus funds, rainy-day surplus reserves, insurance claims and presidential inauguration reimbursements to bridge the gap, according to an agency report.’ That’s for the current fiscal year, which ends June 30. As Lena Sun notes in WaPo, a ‘much bigger deficit looms for the year beginning July 1; budget preparations underway have already factored in a fare increase.’

ALSO—Expect weeknight Metro delays.

City transportation officials head to Pacific Northwest to inspect their streetcars, following up on an earlier visit by Williams-era functionaries. Jonathan O’Connell reports in WBJ that ‘DDOT Director Gabe Klein and streetcar czar Scott Kubly are headed out to Portland and Seattle this week, along with folks from three business improvement districts, Downtown, NoMa and Capitol Riverfront, and officials from Georgetown University, a possible future streetcar destination. The idea is to check out both streetcar and light rail systems in both cities.’

ABOUT THAT BIKESHARING—Paris is having its problems with the concept, NY Times notes (via WBJ)

Accused judge-stalker’s trial has been delayed until early December, and its jury dismissed, after the accused found herself in the hospital over the weekend. Daniel Newhauser reports in Legal Times. ‘“This is very rare that something like this happens,” presiding Judge Russell Canan told the 14 jurors before releasing them. “You can rest assured this is the least favorable of the options the court considered.”’ Defendant Taylar Nuevelle ‘is scheduled to undergo a medical procedure’ today; when the trial resumes, Magistrate Judge Janet Albert is expected to take the stand.

Georgetown University students call another vigil to protest a second instance of anti-gay hate crime allegations. Jenna Johnson reports in WaPo: ‘Attendees estimated that at least 100 students, staff members and others gathered in the middle of campus on a chilly night, listening to a university vice president and representatives from several student organizations.’ There was also an anti-gay slur scrawled on the door of the student GLBT center. Voice notes that the victims aren’t cooperating with police. Also NC8, WTTG-TV, WRC-TV.

WaPo, WBJ cover Deborah Nichols‘ win v. Nickles. And WaTimes notes that Nickles plans to appeal, ’suggest[ing] that a legal struggle…has no end in sight.’ Nichols’ lawyer, Bob Spagnoletti, says: ‘The refusal to grant access screams lack of transparency….It’s been delay, delay, delay.’ Is SCOTUS review a possibility?

Stimulus funds saved jobs of ‘educators,’ Leah Fabel reports in Examiner. ‘Virginia has seen the biggest bump, with more than 4,500 positions “saved or created” by last winter’s massive influx of dollars, including almost 3,000 teachers….Maryland reported more than 1,900 positions, in addition to nearly 900 education-related “government service” jobs, such as parole officers. The District reported 141 jobs saved or created, but at the time of reporting had spent less than 1 percent of its total funds.’ LL can think of, say, 226 people who could use some stimulating…

Head of medical supplier indicted on federal health care fraud charges, Scott McCabe reports in Examiner. Donna Carney-Barry faces 20-plus years in jail for ‘billing the system by “upcoding,” providing a patient a cheaper piece of equipment, then billing Medicaid for a higher-priced item….The bills falsely claimed that a patient, for example, required a high-end electric wheelchair, such as the Jazzy 1420 power wheelchair for $14,000 or the Cruiser Bariatric Powerbase Chair for $11,000. Instead of ordering the high-end wheelchair, Carney-Barry would provide a walker or much cheaper piece of equipment, charging documents said.’

Burglars enter Chevy Chase home while family sleeps.

Man stabbed to death near 1st and Halley Streets SE on Saturday night identified as James Clinton Harris, 39.

COLD CASE—Examiner recalls 2004 slaying of Roderick Valentine, 16.

WaPo looks at parents who send their kids to nearby boarding schools.

DID YOU KNOW?—Don Peebles is on the cover of this month’s Black Enterprise mag.

WASA’s George Hawkins speaks at Cleveland State University event. Theme: ‘Cowboys and spacemen’!

Tommy Wells talks transpo with Hill blog.

Per DCmud: At least two bid on city-owned parcels in West End.

Another federal judgeship is open to applications.

D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute looks at disconnect between rising District unemployment and the city jobs supply, which has stayed relatively flat. ‘It may be yet another sign that the skills of many DC residents are not well matched to the jobs created in the city — and a call for stepped-up workforce training,’ Jenny Reed writes. Also: Name DCFPI’s blog, and win a ‘DCFPI mug, a homemade lunch with the DCFPI gang, and access to all the DC budget books you can imagine’!

Chuck Thies isn’t happy how Harry Jaffe’s column on the Black Rooster’s reprieve cut out his role in the matter: ‘Instead of penning a well-reported feel-good story about the resurrection of The Black Rooster, a local pundit and elected official demonstrate what happens when things get too cozy; Truth gets buried in the rubble of collateral damage.’

New WETA-TV doc: ‘Washington in the ’60s‘

FLOTUS launches mentoring program for local high-schoolers.

Get your official MPD-issue inauguration commemorative badge, coin, and pin—just $310!

NC8: METRO GERM PATROL!!!

Oh, yeah…there are some elections today.

D.C. COUNCIL TODAY—10 a.m.: 19th legislative meeting, JAWB 500.

ADRIAN FENTY TODAY—10:30 a.m.: remarks, Consolidated Forensics Laboratory demolition, former MPD 1st District headquarters, 14th and School Streets SW.

Of all the romantic locales in the world, or in the District of Columbia even, the John A. Wilson Building does not approach the top of LL’s personal list.

But it was good enough today for D.C. residents Andrew Hertzberg and Andy Rollman.

During this morning’s D.C. Council hearing on the same-sex marriage bill, Hertzberg, 49, proposed to Rollman while before the dais at the close of his testimony. Rollman accepted.

Why pick the council chamber? Says Hertzberg: “This is such important legislation and such an important forum.”

Rollman, 47, says the proposal didn’t come as a complete surprise. “He told me he was going to do something as a surprise at the end,” he says. “I was hoping this was it.”

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT—”Why Adrian Fenty’s Parks Contracting Scheme Is an Outrage“; “Pershing Park Case: New Discovery Abuse Shocker“; “Funds Transfers to DCHA Total $120M”

Morning all. It remains to be seen just how deeply last week’s D.C. Council hearings will affect Mayor Adrian M. Fenty’s administration, but this much has become increasingly apparent: The man does not play well with others. WRC-TV’s Tom Sherwood, David Lipscomb in Saturday’s WaTimes and Nikita Stewart and Tim Craig on Sunday’s WaPo A1 all cover the degeneration in interbranch relations that in retrospect seems destined from the start. But who could have seen the current nadir, where a 10-minute meeting last week between Fenty and Vincent C. Gray is seen as a hopeful signal of detente? The WaPo piece ends with a word from Tony Williams, who says he’s ‘confident’ that ‘important matters’ will bring the mayor and council together: ‘I certainly wasn’t lovey-dovey with them when I first started, but…I really took the council, no matter what the acrimony, as a coequal branch of government.’ Further evidence of ongoing acrimony below…

AFTER THE JUMP—Complete coverage of the parks contract scandal; lots of postmortem analysis on the Thursday Rhee hearing; at least one person is done with ‘what’s best for the kids’; Fenty does Jamaican triathlon Saturday; UDC board in vacancy crisis; more questionable HIV/AIDS spending revealed by WaPo; Trachtenburg may be gone, but his salary lives in infamy

ABOUT THAT MEETING—’After two weeks of public rancor between the two branches of government, [Gray] invited Fenty to his office last week. The impromptu meeting lasted 10 minutes — hardly enough time to mend their differences — and was the first time the two had met one-on-one in at least six months. The chairman, one of those mentioned as a possible mayoral candidate, declined to disclose details. He did say that Fenty agreed to meet privately this week with council members to talk about [ousted DPR chief Ximena Hartsock].’

Do see LL’s wrapup of Friday’s exhaustive (and not yet completed) hearing into the Fenty parks contracting scheme, now involving upwards of $120M. And see coverage from WaPo’s Stewart, WBJ’s Jonathan O’Connell, WTTG-TV’s Karen Gray Houston, and Examiner’s Violeta Ikonomova. The hearing revealed that Banneker Ventures, belonging to close Fenty buddy Omar Karim, had the power to dole out millions in contracts to the likes of Keith Lomax and Sinclair Skinner in less-than-transparent ways. Stewart notes: ‘Several council members, including David A. Catania…who has often supported the mayor’s initiatives, called the contracts illegal and insisted that they go before the council for review. “The worst thing you can do is dig in your heels,” Catania told city administrator Neil O. Albert. “Your office will be well-counseled to bring them back to us as expeditiously as possible. . . . This is not a water-under-the-dam moment.”‘

Jonetta Rose Barras, always one for the counterintuitive read, says in her Examiner column that the contracts hearing was ‘a farce,’ because ‘the roundtable was filled with nauseating levels of political posturing.’ Well, yeah, welcome to politics. Barras points out that city spending has been sent to DCHA before, but that’s about the only defense she can muster. That, and the fact that, you know, Marion Barry’s made some questionable spending decisions himself as of late. But does that excuse the mayor’s fishy funding, which beats Barry’s by orders of magnitude? LL thinks not.

Michael Neibauer looks in Examiner at the ongoing fallout from the Oct. 2 DCPS firings. That includes the lawsuit currently being waged between the city and the Washington Teachers’ Union, and potential firing of DCPS CFO Noah Wepman, whose admission Thursday that he kept a budget deficit from the D.C. Council left his boss, Natwar Gandhi, exposed. Says Gandhi spokesperson David Umansky: ‘Action is being contemplated.’ Phil Mendelson (who missed the late-week hearings to discharge his duties as president of the Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations in Savannah, Ga.) says he and his colleagues are ’struggling with how to handle the arrogance…on the one hand there ought to be a consequence and on the other hand what is in the best interest of the citizens and the school children.’ Neibauer also covers Rhee supporters’ organizing efforts, and Mark Segraves at WTOP also covers the Rhee hearing.

Also Sunday: WaPo’s Bill Turque looks at the current wrangling over Michelle Rhee and wonders whether her school reform agenda will meet the same demise as all those before, ‘disintegrating in a hail of recriminations and rhetoric.’ Still, he writes, ‘It was supposed to be different this time,’ with mayoral takeover legislation ‘designed to minimize the push-and-pull of ward politics, making a single executive accountable. But Thursday’s hearing vividly illustrated that no legislation can completely account for the mix of personalities who come together to execute it.’ Turque quotes ex-councilmember Kathy Patterson], who says ’she likes Rhee’s chances but wants her to build more of a political base of her own. “Not just for self-protection, but to help make sure that reforms are grounded and have community support.”‘ Rhee says she’ll play nicer: ‘I have to continue to be really diligent in figuring out the best way to communicate.’

Couple that with Robert McCartney’s Sunday column, which lays much of Rhee’s difficulties at the door of Rhee herself. His headline: ‘Rhee’s pride could trip up admirable effort.’ His lede: ‘The future of the District’s school system may well be decided by whether Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee’s forceful reform campaign becomes mired in a swamp of her own self-defeating hubris.’ He also notes quite aptly that ’some of Rhee’s strongest allies [David Catania, Tommy Wells] were practically begging her to share more information with them and get along better with Gray.’ And his kicker comes from Mary Cheh: ‘She has this dichotomy which is not a correct one: Either do what I want, everybody be damned, or I’m giving up….You can accomplish your goals and work with other people.’

And WaPo’s Valerie Strauss has had just about enough of the ‘what’s best of kids’ arguments. ‘Tension is rising over a seemingly ever-larger gap between what Rhee says in public and what she does — and while everybody is arguing about who is right and who is wrong and who didn’t call whom back, guess who is going to suffer?…Rhee seems to think she can do whatever she wants because she is sure she is on the side of the angels in her reform efforts. She clearly views Gray as the defender of process rather than poor kids. Such characterizations are not only pointless but dangerous because they only increase a polarization that is sure to end in another failed reform….Rhee would get a lot further if she made her case to the public, explaining why she was doing what she was doing. She doesn’t have to be nice about it. She just can’t say one thing when something else is true. And she has done that more than once in recent months, and not only about the layoffs.’ Strauss wants a ‘high-level intervention’ between Rhee and Gray, brokered by…Fenty. Fat chance.

In the other corner you have the WaPo editorial board, which on Saturday gave its usual stout defense of Rhee: The chancellor, they say, ’stands accused, it seems, of trying to manage her budget in a way that will do the least harm to students. Not a crime, you might think — unless, like Ms. Rhee’s accusers on the D.C. Council, you are more interested in scoring political points than in hearing what she is doing for children….We’ve urged Ms. Rhee and her boss…to make greater efforts to reach out to the council, and we stand by that advice. But reaching out is of no use if the other side won’t hear you in good faith.’ Kevin Carey of Education Sector seconds the notion that being nice isn’t everything.

And, surprisingly, you have Colby King, who on Saturday used the council inquisition as yet another excuse to bludgeon the city’s juvenile justice system. ‘[I]f test scores are up and the school system has stopped bleeding students, as The Post has reported, it’s not all bad. Face it, a good bedside manner is not one of Rhee’s strong points.’ Rather, the council should ‘investigate why the lives of our youth are being jeopardized daily by one of the very departments charged with helping them.’ That would be DYRS, of course, which released one Tyrone Hopkins to commit armed robbery. ‘This is the kind of inquiry that [Gray] and his colleagues ought to be pressing at public hearings. Why is no one in the District government, DYRS specifically, held accountable for these decisions? Why does the council tolerate such a mindset when it threatens public safety?’

ALSO—City answers WTU lawsuit seeking to roll back RIF, arguing that ‘layoffs caused by budget considerations are not subject to arbitration and that the court’s reversal of the dismissals would be an unwarranted interference with the executive powers’ of Fenty and Rhee. Neibauer notes that Fenty has been lying low as of late, while ‘the relationship between the branches continues to worsen and perhaps has hit a new low.’ And CMs Kwame Brown, Mary Cheh, and Harry Thomas appeared Friday on WTTG-TV to talk schools.

Today, the board of trustees of the University of the District of Columbia has only five sitting members on its 15-member board. UDC leaders say that Fenty, who famously tried to kill the appointment Allen Sessoms as president, ‘is allowing its governing board to fall into disarray by refusing to fill vacant seats.’ Fenty says it’s on the council, which has killed numerous (mostly staggeringly underqualified) nominees. Writes Daniel deVise in WaPo, ‘Sessoms and board Chairman Emily F. Durso said Fenty and Rhee have declined invitations to meet with Sessoms since he became president in September of last year. “It’s a fit of pique that just won’t go away, as far as I can tell,” Durso said.’ A compromise hammered out, with Fenty to name half the appointees and Gray the other half, has fallen through.

The recent crackdown on Individual Development Inc., came after years of finger-twiddling on the part of the District government, Henri Cauvin reports in WaPo. Newly released documents reveal ‘that the city waited almost two years to take decisive action against IDI, a nonprofit group run by three prominent D.C. lawyers, and then did so only after questions were raised about the deaths of three IDI residents.’ This, of course, raises the question of whether the city’s latest arrangement with IDI, forged after the District filed suit to put the company is receivership (and a subsequent Fenty fundraiser hosted by IDI chairman David Wilmot), is worth a damn. Says University Legal Services’ Sandy Bernstein: ‘How many chances does this provider get?’

WaPo’s Debbie Cenziper unleashes the second salvo in her attack on city HIV/AIDS spending, looking at Beale Inc., which has been paid upward of $2 million to ‘provide experts, meals and note-taking’ to the Ryan White Planning Council and the HIV Prevention Community Planning Council. The company was run by Robin Beale, ‘convicted in federal court [in 2005] of taking part in a local mortgage fraud scheme that bilked lenders out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.’ She blames HAA and the councils for directing runaway spending, including approvals for ‘invoices that listed unnamed employees and subcontractors, rent for a high-end office that was rarely used, and start-up costs for furniture and equipment that city officials later deemed improper.’ Members of the RWPC says they blew the whistle on Beale early to no effect; she stopped work in March.

ALSO—Republican congressmen Darrell Issa and Jason Chaffetz called Friday for a federal investigation of misspent city AIDS funds, WaPo’s Darryl Fears reports. ‘We are concerned that the lack of oversight…is adversely affecting the District’s most vulnerable residents, and therefore request the committee begin a bipartisan investigation to examine the District’s funding of AIDS programs and services, including how federal AIDS dollars are spent,’ they wrote.

NICKLES V. NICHOLS UPDATE—Another point for Deborah Nichols. From Lipscomb: ‘A D.C. Superior Court judge ordered the Fenty administration to allow D.C. Auditor [Nichols] access to documents detailing real estate deals conducted by a pair of defunct city-run development corporations.’ Expect Nickles to send this to the D.C. Court of Appeals, again.

More courtroom troubles for Nickles, WBJ’s O’Connell writes: ‘I’m not an attorney but I can tell when someone is unimpressed, and that is how I would describe D.C. Superior Court Judge Natalia Combs Greene Thursday afternoon as she heard D.C. defend itself against a suit to block the city’s deal to build a convention center hotel with Marriott.’ Argued JBG lawyer: ‘What we have here is something that is only good for Marriott…[a] $22 million gift.’

WaPo ed columnist Jay Mathews covers the new IMPACT teacher evaluation system: ‘Will it crash and burn? Many think so. George Parker, president of the Washington Teachers’ Union, said “it takes the art of teaching and turns it into bean counting.” I have been sending the plan to experts across the country, and they are more optimistic than I expected….Many promising assessment plans have turned into blotches on the runway when not flown properly, often because they were too complex or too vulnerable to character flaws….But if it works, it could be a big deal and influence assessment even in the Washington suburbs.’

Hizzoner competed Saturday in Jamaican triathlon: ‘Fenty, who arrived late last night for the race, was shellshocked. “Oh no, I wasn’t getting near that PR,” he said, shaking his head, referring to his personal-best recorded at the Nation’s Triathlon earlier this year. “Not in this heat, not on these hills.” Still, he had a solid enough race to finish top 10 overall—eighth—in 2:42:29.’ With cheesecake pic!

Ingmar Guandique, accused killer of Chandra Levy, has allegedly threatened to kill a witness against him, Keith Alexander reports in WaPo. Prosecutors told judge that ‘Guandique and members of his Salvadoran gang, MS-13, sent two letters to the witness threatening him and his family if the witness testified’ at the Levy trial. Defense lawyers say the witness himself may have written the letters. Also WTTG-TV.

Craziness continues at judge-stalker trial: The suspect’s lawyer says his client wants him to withdraw, Legal Times reports. Can’t happen yet, though, because she’s having some sort of medical emergency that might be a put-on.

More information on two deadly shootings early on Friday: Deuante Ray, 20, was found shot dead on the 1100 block of 48th Street NE; and Robert Aren Eagleman Jr., 24, of Capitol Heights was found shot at 46th Street and Hunt Place NE, WaPo reports.

Man shot multiple times Saturday night on the 300 block of 37th Street SE.

Joshua Ruth, 17, is arrested in the July beating death of 76-year-old Clarence Dews. Ruth is alleged to have been one of two who attempted to rob Dews in Congress Heights. Ruth is charged as an adult, WaPo reports.

Woman struck Friday night on Suitland Parkway.

Stephen Joel Trachtenberg might be gone from GWU, but his salary is not forgotten: The $3.7M he collected in 2007-08 was tops among American university presidents—by $2M, WaPo reports. Others: ‘American University President Cornelius M. Kerwin…received $1.4 million in 2007-08, fifth among all current presidents in the survey. Steven Knapp, former provost of Johns Hopkins University, replaced Trachtenberg at GWU, where he received $379,000 in 2007-08….[F]ormer Johns Hopkins president William Brody received $1.1 million in 2007-08; Georgetown President John DeGioia, $643,000; and former Howard University president H. Patrick Swygert, $560,000.’

Harry Jaffe explains how Jack Evans (and Bob Peck and Richard Cohen) saved the Black Rooster.

Metro mechanic accused of stabbing fellow employee at Bladensburg Road bus garage is found not guilty, wants job back. Daryl Redfearn had argued self-defense, Examiner reports (via WTOP).

Bus driver comes down with swine flu, NC8 reports. Fellow drivers demand vaccine shots, but they won’t be getting them just yet.

D.C. Appleseed’s Walter Smith takes his campaign against CareFirst’s reserves to WAMU-FM commentary.

Charter advocate Robert Cane, in Examiner: ‘Use schools for kids, not condominiums’

WaPo architecture critic’s review of parking exhibit at National Building Museum manages to work in slam of DC USA garage debacle.

Another alleged anti-gay hate crime against Georgetown student early Sunday. ‘Immediately prior to the assault, the suspect asked the victim several times, “Are you a homo?” The suspect fled the scene after physically assaulting the victim.’ On Friday, GU students rallied against last week’s alleged gay-hate-motivated assault.

TODAY—Part 2 of the D.C. Council’s gay marriage hearing.

Number of ‘boot-eligible’ cars has tripled in seven months, WaTimes reports, thanks to photo enforcement.

WaPo’s Dr. Gridlock gets wise to streetcars.

WaTimes profiles Destination D.C. chief Elliot Ferguson. ‘”We are going after the international tourism market,” Mr. Ferguson said. “International tourists stay longer and they spend more. The reality is that the euro and the pound are doing much better than the dollar, so international tourists are eating at nice upscale restaurants and they are doing a lot more shopping.”‘

Blade covers annual Stein Club awards, given to Mario Acosta-Velez, Desi Deschaine (in memoriam), Phil Mendelson, Hilary Rosen, and Courtney Snowden.

Poverty & Policy’s Kathryn Baer says ‘Transparency In DC Has a Long Way To Go.’ Particularly as it relates to this year’s homeless services cuts.

Online lottery set for Nat’l Christmas Tree lighting tickets.

A pair of Scimitar-horned oryx, extinct in the wild, die at National Zoo.

Some hipster’s made Marion Barry for mayor T-shirts.

More than you ever wanted to know about Tiber Creek.

D.C. COUNCIL TODAY—9:30 a.m.: Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary hearing on B18-482 (’Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Equality Amendment Act of 2009′), JAWB 500; 10 a.m.: press briefing, JAWB 412; 11 a.m.: Committee on Housing and Workforce Development roundtable on PR18-431 (’Commission on Re-entry and Ex-Offender Affairs James Corbin Resolution of 2009′), PR18-432 (’Commission on Re-entry and Ex-Offender Affairs Bobette Johnson Resolution of 2009′), PR18-433 (’Commission on Re-entry and Ex-Offender Affairs Mark Irving Resolution of 2009′), PR18-434 (’Commission on Re-entry and Ex-Offender Affairs Samuel Als Resolution of 2009′), PR18-483 (’Commission on Re-entry and Ex-Offender Affairs Rodney Newman Resolution of 2009′), PR18-538 (’Rental Housing Commission Peter Szegedy-Maszak Confirmation Resolution of 2009′), and PR18-539 (’Rental Housing Commission Chantal Jean-Baptiste Confirmation Resolution of 2009′), JAWB 412; 2 p.m.: Committee on Housing and Workforce Development hearing on B18-458 (’District of Columbia Housing Authority Board of Commissioners Amendment Act of 2009′), JAWB 412.

ADRIAN FENTY TODAY—10:30 a.m.: remarks, leaf collection kickoff, 3500 block of Pope Street SE; 2 p.m.: remarks,
DPR and Whole Foods partnership press conference, Sherwood Recreation Center, 640 10th St. NE.

That was the rationale offered today by the administration of Mayor Adrian M. Fenty for why at least $120 million in city money has been sent to the D.C. Housing Authority and, in turn, handed to politically connected contractors with the faintest whiff of oversight.

The revelations at the D.C. Council hearing today shocked LL’s conscience. And LL’s conscience, for the record, is not easily shocked. The revelations included:

—That tens of millions of city dollars were moved around the city budget without independent review, in clear violation of the Home Rule charter.

—That the money was handed to a so-called ‘quasi-independent’ public concern, the D.C. Housing Authority, who in turn engaged in a contracting process that saw little, if any, legal review. For their trouble, that concern was paid $700,000.

—That project management functions were outsourced by DCHA to a private company, Banneker Ventures, that was paid more than $4.2 million to do a job—capital project management—that the Department of Parks and Recreation already employs a staff of 11 to do.

—That Banneker Ventures, in turn, was allowed to run a subcontracting process with only the faintest adherence to accepted procurement practices, with immense power to distribute millions of dollars in public money to the contractors of their choice (including, incidentally, to Sinclair Skinner’s Liberty Engineering & Design). And, with the input, LL might add, of the deputy mayor’s office.

—That Banneker Ventures’ contract described the scope of the work to be done for several projects—in some cases costing taxpayers more than $10 million—in a single paragraph of about 100 words. (An Office of the Inspector General chief noted that the language was “problematic” and “needs to be redone.”)

—That this whole scheme was created and calibrated in such a way as to elude oversight by elected officials, and that the D.C. Council took as long as it did to figure out that this was going on under their noses.

The most surprising testimony of the day came from a family-owned local contractor, HRGM Corp., which talked about the subcontracting process that ensued after Banneker Ventures was handed the project management contract. Ramesh and Rachna Butani, father and daughter, both testified, essentially, that the process was a farce—that they were given limited information on what they were supposed to bid on, that the judging process was opaque, and that there was no attempt afterward to explain why they had lost the bid.

Said Rachna Butani, “It has been unclear to me what value Banneker Ventures adds….They’re not responsive….They can’t answer questions.”

She added: “I don’t believe they are professional or capable to handle these contracts.”

Faster, better, cheaper?

Please.

The issue goes beyond the $82 million in parks spending already identified. According to figures obtained by LL, the Fenty administration has authorized $120.7 million in spending to be sent out to the D.C. Housing Authority. Those funds came from projects budgeted by both the parks department and the deputy mayor for planning and economic development. About $72 million of that has already been sent to DCHA.

The projects built through this method included not only the parks projects already identified, but rebuilds of Walker-Jones Education Center and the Deanwood Recreation Center totaling over $74 million. Both of those projects were managed by a team that included Banneker Ventures, the firm owned by developer Omar Karim, who has close ties to the mayor. And the scope of parks work has expanded to include as many as 26 projects.

LL will be following the hearing from the John A. Wilson Building, and will be Tweeting away!

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT—”Liveblog: D.C. Council Grills Michelle Rhee on Teacher Layoffs“; “District Homeless Shelters Are Already At Capacity“; “Pershing Park Case: OAG Reverts Back To Stonewalling”

Morning all. Yesterday’s D.C. Council inquisition on the D.C. Public School layoffs wasn’t quite the 18-hour marathon that the last hearing was, but let the liveblogging LL say: eight hours was plenty. By the end of the day, a familiar story had emerged: The D.C. Council wanted things to happen one way (cut money from summer school), and the executive branch did things another way (cut money from local school budgets) with the imprimatur of Attorney General Peter Nickles and without transparency or explanation. Perhaps more shocking is that DCPS CFO Noah Wepman would have allowed a fiscal 2010 budget to be approved with a known deficit of $12 million or more without telling his boss, Natwar Gandhi. And, as Bill Turque notes on WaPo A1, ‘even some of Rhee’s most steadfast supporters on the council rebuked her for the bitter state of relations between the school system and elected officials.’ See also WaTimes, Examiner, WTOP, WAMU-FM, NC8, WRC-TV, WTTG-TV, We Love DC.

NB: Don’t expect a repeat of the drama at today’s hearing on the parks contracts sent to the D.C. Housing Authority. Neil Albert, LL is told, will not be attending. [UPDATE, 10:30 A.M.: Another council source says Albert has confirmed he will be there.]

AFTER THE JUMP—Machen moves closer to securing federal prosecutor nod; WBJ reports on city procurement problems, rise in contract appeals; city preps for census; suburbanites plunder D.C. for flu vaccine; and did Holder tell Chavous to lay off the prez?

QUOTE OF THE DAY—’Maybe we ought to just disband this council. Why did we spend hours working on a budget…only for you to second-guess us?’

FROM TURQUE—’Rhee also revealed new information about the teachers who were fired and the 934 she hired during the spring and summer. In written testimony delivered Wednesday night, she told Gray that the average age of the District’s teachers is 42 and that the average age of those who were laid off is 48. The average age of the 934 new hires is 32.’

WTU STATEMENT—’Anyone attending today’s public hearing at the Wilson Building saw a demonstration of the lack of accountability and transparency that has been the hallmark of the [DCPS] under chancellor Michelle Rhee….[T]he testimony made it clear that chancellor Rhee had been presented with several options for closing the budget gap without firing teachers. The questioning revealed that even when presented with alternatives, the chancellor elected to cut teachers and services, and disrupt the lives of D.C.’s students….DCPS has created an atmosphere of mistrust, tension and toxicity that has negatively affected the ability of all stakeholders to collaborate for better schools. If the chancellor truly wants to work in the interest of our children, she should start by being a better example of how to work well with others.’

WRITES Harry Jaffe in Examiner column, titled ‘Michelle in the Lion’s Den’: Rhee ‘essentially told the council members that their decision to cut the budget by killing summer school was a lousy idea. Rather than cut summer school, she decided to cut teachers. One could argue that she is right, but that does not make it right for her to move the dough without notifying the council. Many council members were furious, and they were justified. Rhee was mildly apologetic. We have not heard the last of this….In the annals of school reform, this too shall pass. What will not change is the school chancellor. Rhee withstood the nastiness with aplomb and equanimity. She stays.’

WAPO LETTER—’While I hold no particular stance on Ms. Rhee’s policies, she achieved her position by getting things done—not by placating everyone. Let her do her job.’

Ron Machen inches closer to nomination as U.S. Attorney, Joe Palazzolo reports at Main Justice. ‘Two people familiar the situation tell Main Justice that the former federal prosecutor had his interview at the Justice Department earlier this week. If all went well, he is virtually guaranteed the nomination.’

‘Complaints about D.C.’s procurement on the rise,’ reads the headline to Melissa Castro’s WBJ cover piece, which ledes with the story of Christopher Powell Sr. and Jr. and their Configuration Inc. furniture company, which lost a city contract after being identified as low bidder. They see ‘a power grab by Fenty and his newly revamped Office of Contracting and Procurement.’ The nut graf: ‘Configuration is hardly alone in questioning D.C.’s contracting and procurement process. The number of losing bidders filing complaints nearly doubled in 2009, compared with the previous two years. And, just as D.C. Council members are threatening to block construction contracts that appear to favor Mayor Adrian Fenty’s friends and supporters, the same council is entertaining a bill that would hand even more discretion and opacity to contracting officials who control the city’s purse strings.’

NOT COLORBLIND—’The sole item that Configuration could not provide was a requirement that some items be in “Tango Red” — a proprietary and brand-name color to which only M.O.I. has access. “How much is Tango Red worth to them? Two million dollars?” asked…Configuration’s lawyer.’

ALSO IN WBJ—United Negro College Fund might move into Media Center One; exit interview with Hoop Dreams founder Susie Kay

Apologies from LL for missing this earlier in the month: Kevin Chavous says that U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder told him at an event to pull a TV ad criticizing President Obama for failing to support D.C. school vouchers: ‘I saw [Holder] at an event…He did ask me in front of others to pull the ad. My response was, “No, and I tell you what, if the President does the right thing, not only will we pull it but we will celebrate him.”‘ Chavous first made the disclosure on WAMU-FM’s Politics Hour, now the story is blowing up in the right-wing media.

District officials kick off their 2010 Census efforts, branded ‘D.C. Counts.’ Carol Morello reports in WaPo that the campaign is ‘aimed at improving the city’s poor response rate in the Census and securing its claim on billions of federal dollars’—about $3,500 per person, Fenty says. ‘386 people have been hired to coordinate partnerships with “trusted voices,” such as grass-roots organizations, to help promote the census and its importance.’ Also, Michael A. Brown has been engaged as council liaison on the issue; he ‘blamed the District’s low rate partly on “myths” about the consequences of being counted. “Some people think that if they do fill out the form, the government will come after them about parking tickets,” Brown said.’ Not true!

Examiner’s Michael Neibauer looks at interior approps bill now through conference committee, finds ‘tens of millions for facilities in the District.’ That included $220K for the African-American Civil War Memorial, $49M for Holocaust Museum security, $3.8 for Meridian Hill Park, $500K for KenCen, and millions for Smithsonian projects.

Pro-gay pastors gather to support same-sex marriage bill, Tim Craig reports in WaPo. ‘About 200, representing nearly every faith, have formed D.C. Clergy United for Marriage Equality. On Thursday night, more than 100 of them gathered at Asbury United Methodist Church….”There is this myth out there that you can’t be pro-God and pro-gay,” said the Rev. Robert M. Hardies, senior minister of All Souls Church, Unitarian, in the Columbia Heights area. “We are doing the best we can to share the message that there is strong support from within D.C.’s religious community for equality.”‘ Also WAMU-FM. Meanwhile, Harry Jackson keeps flapping his jaw at TownHall.com

ALSO—Today’s Blade covers Sunday anti-marriage rally, Monday’s BOEE hearing, and D.C. Council hearing. Lou Chibbaro Jr. also looks back at unsolved gay murders.

DCist profiles Phil Mendelson, who ‘is now one of the current administration’s biggest opponents. It’s not a role he sought out, he told DCist when we sat down with him last week. “I’m seen as the Fenty critic,” he admitted. “That wasn’t my goal in life.” And though he claims he’s not surprised to see a challenger emerge this early on, he does attribute some of it to his consistent haranguing of Fenty. “You can’t be too critical of the chief executive without at some point getting a bulls-eye on your back,” he said.’

WaPo’s Paul Schwartzman covers the ‘Oklahoma dust bowl’ that is the playing field at Walter Pierce Community Park in Adams Morgan. Soon after opening, ‘Malfunctioning sprinklers saturated the lawn, forcing the city to shut off the water and drying out the grass, which was then torn and ravaged by waves of cleat-wearing ballplayers—all within a few months of the field’s opening….A city is defined by the grandeur of its skyline and the vibrancy of its streets, but sometimes it’s the small things that speak volumes. The saga of Pierce Park is not just about people hungering for that rarest of urban amenities—open, grassy fields—but also about what even D.C. officials acknowledge is progress stymied by bureaucratic incompetence.’ LL’s suggestion: Astroturf it! Seriously!

Swine flu ups area’s school absence rates. ‘School officials say a normal absence rate would range from 3 to 5 percent. At midweek, Fairfax County schools reported an absence rate of 6.5 percent. About 8 percent were out in Montgomery, Arlington and Stafford counties and 9 percent in Prince William and Loudoun counties. D.C. school officials reported an October absence rate of 6 percent.’

ALSO—WTTG-TV reports that Marylanders are flocking to D.C.’s open vaccination clinics. ‘D.C., like other health departments, is not checking IDs. FOX 5 found lots of families who live in Maryland in line at D.C. clinic because they say they’ve had trouble getting the vaccine in their own state. Others went to D.C. because of the vaccine supply. Some previous clinics have only offered the nasal spray vaccine and not the injection.’ The 1,000-dose quota ran out for the first time at Wilson SHS yesterday.

Students from Bancroft, Kimball Elementaries harvest the White House vegetable garden, with Michelle Obama overseeing. WaPo’s Robin Givhan reports that ‘much oohing, giggling, cuteness and shutter-clicking ensued.’ Much of the haul, 740 pounds so far, is going to Miriam’s Kitchen.

Could ballpark-district office buildings become city-subsidized ‘nonprofit village’? WBJ’s Jonathan O’Connell says that’s the idea.

Man dead in overnight shooting on the 1100 block of 48th Street NE, WUSA-TV reports. Police responding to ShotSpotter alert ‘found a man suffering from gun shot wounds in the rear of the residence. He was pronounced dead at the scene.’

Georgetown student claims she was attacked due to her pro-gay T-shirt, NC8 reports. ‘Police say she was targeted because of her perceived sexual orientation. Police say it happened Tuesday night near the school’s entrance on Canal Road. The female student says two men started insulting her with derogatory comments based on her perceived sexual orientation. Then, officers say, the men took her book bag, pushed her to the ground, and then struck her with the bag.’

‘Serious’ two-car accident this a.m. at North Capitol Street and Missouri Avenue, includes possible pedestrian victim. Per WTOP: Seven haven been hospitalized; two have life-threatening injuries. Huge traffic tie-ups as well, with closings of North Cap, Missou, and Riggs Road. Also NC8, WTTG-TV has early video.

Mayoral candidate Leo Alexander announces endorsements from cab industry players: Dominion of Cabs, Washingtonian Cab Co., Diamond Cab Co., and the D.C. Professional Taxi Cab Drivers Association.

Eight restaurants shuttered by OTR for sales tax issues.

WTOP, Housing Complex look at streetcar plans.

H Street Connection development nears ANC approval.

D.C., at 36 percent, still second only to New Orleans (57 percent) in charter-school market share.

Construction permit issued for MLK Mall memorial. Also WAMU-FM.

Famed Terra Cotta Warriors coming to Nat. Geo. Museum.

Learn more about the proposed Carter G. Woodson Park, at 9th and Rhode Island NW.

Pepco earnings down a bit.

WaPo goes inside the Real World house. WCP’s Ruth Samuelson notes they were handed an exclusive.

It’s Halloween tomorrow. Avoid Georgetown. Unless, of course, you like that kind of thing.

D.C. COUNCIL TODAY—11 a.m.: joint public oversight roundtable on ‘The Contracting Process Related to Parks and Recreation Projects,’ JAWB 500.

ADRIAN FENTY TODAY—9:30 a.m.: remarks, announcement of redevelopment plans for 225 Virginia Avenue, 225 Virginia Ave. SE.