Klingle Road Is Dead: The D.C. Council just voted 10-3 to keep language in the city budget that would close Klingle Road and replace it with a hiker/biker trail, perhaps, just maybe bringing a 17-year saga close to its end. LL’s tally of votes held up with one exception: At-Large Councilmember David A. Catania, who voted to open the road in 2003, voted today to close it, citing the federal government’s failure to approve funding for the reconstruction. In his comments on the matter, Catania adopted LL’s point of view: enough of this shit already. “I believe the majority of the citizens of the city wouldn’t be able to find Klingle Road if you put a gun to their head,” he said. “I hope that once and for all we can put this issue to rest.” —Mike DeBonis

In Saturday’s Post, Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray’s office said that the controversial lottery contract wouldn’t be placed on the agenda for tomorrow’s council meeting, drawing criticism from the representatives of the contractors, Intralot and W2Tech, who said the council was short-circuiting a fair process.

Well, looks like they made their point: The lottery contract, “Contract No. CFOPD-7-C-053, On-line Gaming System and Related Services Approval Resolution of 2008″, PR 17-0429,” is back on the agenda posted this afternoon on the council Web site.

Gray spokesperson Doxie McCoy confirms that her boss made the move, but she makes the point that any councilmember could have moved the contract onto the council agenda.

In his column this week, LL held forth on the glories of budget earmarks—in particular, Mayor Adrian M. Fenty’s move to porkify money from ballpark-related development.

LL said of Fenty’s move, “Don’t expect much opposition on the D.C. Council,” and explained how At-Large Councilmember Kwame R. Brown had appropriated dollars for his own favorite groups, “all but ensuring that the budget will continue to be nicely porked with ballpark dollars for years to come.”

Well, seems LL was dead wrong: According to draft budget legislation being passed around the John A. Wilson Building yesterday—a draft that reflected changes made during a six-plus hour closed-door meeting of councilmembers Wednesday—the council plans to cut out the mayor’s “community benefits” maneuver when they take up the budget next Tuesday. No word on exactly what happened, but it looks like Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray’s followed through on his pledges to get a handle on earmarks. Also no word yet on how the $2.23 million projected to flow into the community benefit fund will actually be spent.

Other tidbits from the draft legislation:

What’s out? A provision that would require city agencies to closely track their employment positions….language that would have made DCPS subject to the same budget-hearing procedures as any other agency….several provisions concerning youth services, including one that would establish a central “Office for Youth Mentoring” and another that would required training in child-abuse reporting….the proposed “budget reserve,” which would be used to pay settlements and judgments and other unforeseen city expenses.

What’s in? The watered-down “Healthy DC” plan….the $10 million for Ford’s Theatre….the Klingle Road closing provision.

More to come.

The noise bill has passed its initial test on the D.C. Council.

After well over an hour of contentious debate, the bill was amended by At-Large Councilmember Kwame R. Brown, who proposed a compromise that would put an 80 decibel cap on downtown amplified speech in addition to a 70 decibel cap on residential amplified speech.

The count:

Eight Fer it: Cheh, Wells, Alexander, Barry, Brown, Schwartz, Catania, Gray

Five Agin it: Graham, Evans, Bowser, Thomas, Mendelson

See you next month for second reading!

UPDATE, 5:20 P.M.: Also should be noted: Brown’s amendment allows protests to be as loud as 10 decibels above ambient noise, in both residential and commercial areas. In other words, if you’re demonstrating on a downtown street where it’s already 85 decibels, you can legally go up to 95 decibels.

High Drama on Noise Bill! Evans amendment fails, 7-6. Voting to water down the bill/cave to unions: Bowser, Evans, Graham, Gray, Mendelson, Thomas. —Mike DeBonis

The battle over the noise bill, recently brought back from the dead, comes to a head today at the D.C. Council’s legislative meeting.

Actually, the battle is well underway: At this morning’s council breakfast meeting, councilmembers got pretty huffy over the bill’s prospects. Ward 2 Councilmember Jack Evans described an amendment he plans to introduce that would distinguish between amplified noise in residential areas, where it would be limited to 80 decibels as measured inside a residence, and commercial areas, where there would be no limits. The distinction, he explained, was necessary to protect the interests of unions (Local 25 of the Hotel and Restaurant Employees was specifically mentioned) who want to hold protests—including protests outside three large hotels located inside residential zones (the Washington Hilton, the Wardman Park Marriott, and the Omni Shoreham).

Also, rather than empowering police officers to enforce the law as originally proposed, the amendment would require readings to be taken by noise inspectors from the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs. That, Evans explains, is because the unions “have an enormous distrust of the Metropolitan Police Department.”

Ward 6 Councilmember and bill cosponsor Tommy Wells initially suggested a compromise amendment that would keep the residential/commercial distinction, but lower the threshold to 70 decibels, as measured outside a residence. To placate the unions, Wells proposed allowing amplified speech within 100 feet of a hotel with 50 rooms or more.

So what does 70 decibels sound like? Some said “freight train”; Evans likened it to one of his favorite hangouts: “It’s Cafe Milano on a busy night,” he said.

Wells took a dig at Evans, who had loudspeaker-equipped protesters outside his Georgetown home early on a Sunday morning earlier this year: “As Jack learned, noise is used…as a weapon.”

Then At-Large Councilmember David A. Catania said, essentially, screw this union shit: “What offends me about this is in the effort to pander to one constituency…we’ve basically said to the community, ‘Good luck!’” After Catania’s spiel, At-Large Councilmember Carol Schwartz also spoke again the union pander, and Ward 3 Councilmember Mary M. Cheh stood up for the provisions in the original bill, which she cosponsored. The hotel exception, she says, is “beyond pandering.”

The meeting broke up when Evans stalked out shortly before 10 a.m.; Cheh, Wells, and others huddled to discuss strategy.

Shortly before the start of the meeting, Wells told LL that he and his allies would offer no amendment unless Evans’ amendment passes.

“Healthy DC,” the plan put forth in March by At-Large Councilmember David A. Catania that aimed to insure every District resident, looks to be dead.

In its place, Catania announced at the D.C. Council’s pre-legislative meeting press conference this morning, the D.C. Healthcare Alliance—which covers the District’s poorest residents—will be expanded so that uninsured folks who earn more than the Alliance’s ceiling of about $21,000 can buy in for a premium that would be no more than 3 percent of their income.

There are a few catches: One, the requirement that all District residents carry some form of insurance goes away in the new proposal; two, the proposed funding level will only support about 15,000 of the 25,000 estimated uninsured originally targeted; and three, the benefits won’t include any mental-health or substance abuse treatment. The program is still proposed to be funded out of a $1-per-pack hike on cigarette taxes and new taxes on HMOs.

Catania hinted that the reason for the collapse of the orginal plan was a failure to get CareFirst, the District’s Blue Cross Blue Shield licensee and largest health insurer, to buy in to the plan. The company—which, in the original Healthy DC plan essentially administered the program—was unwilling to move forward unless the District assumed all of the risk on the deal. CareFirst had also come into some criticism for essentially getting handed the program on a no-bid basis.

“CareFirst has had, the best way to characterize it, a change of heart,” he said. Catania did say the new plan “doesn’t let them off the hook,” in that CareFirst is still required by law to engage in a substantial community benefits program.

[UPDATE, 3:40 P.M.: Catania’s chief of staff, Ben Young, disagrees with LL’s choice of words: “Healthy DC is not dead. However, we may need to take a different approach.”]

Other notes from the presser:

• Vince Gray Punctuality Watch: Things kicked off at 10:14 a.m.—14 minutes late and 2 minutes worse than last month. But that’s OK, ’cause LL was 10 minutes late.
• Ward 6 Councilmember Tommy Wells introduced a suite of improvements to child-welfare services contained in the fiscal 2009 budget, plus a couple of as-yet-unfunded proposals. The sexiest of them is a proposal for a tax credit of up to $2,000 for folks who mentor youth; employers who let their employees do mentoring would get a tax credit toward the costs. Wells said he’s yet to get a fiscal impact statement on his proposals, saying, “We certainly know what it costs in terms of losing our youth.” That comment drew an audible sigh from Ward 2 Councilmember and fiscal watchdog Jack Evans.
• The council’s investigation into the OTR tax scandal continues, led by the pro bono efforts of the Wilmer Hale law firm. Gray says the probe “is not at the stage where we’re ready to release any findings.” Investigators are looking to interview “30 to 35″ persons about the scandal, Gray says. Discussion of the tax scandal led to a withering line of questioning from the Examiner tag team of Jonetta Rose Barras, Michael Neibauer, and Bill Myers, all of whom asked about an audit of the District’s tax system commissioned by the CFO’s office. Gray said he hadn’t read the report; though Evans had reviewed the report, he declined to comment.
• Gray will be introducing a “Sense of the Council” resolution in opposition to hate crimes. Talk about something everyone can get behind.
• The single-sales bans in Wards 7 and 8 are moving forward, and the ban in Ward 4 is likely to be made permanent.
• The noise bill will be back before the council tomorrow. Evans, who had said he would likely introduce amendments to the bill, declined to say whether he would do so.
• Ceremonial resolutions galore tomorrow, including one for your playoff-qualifying Washington Capitals. Owner Ted Leonsis will be on hand for the occasion.

At the budget markup for the D.C. Council’s committee on economic development, chair Kwame R. Brown is proposing to take the responsibility for RFK Stadium away from the Sports and Entertainment Commission, which has operated the stadium in its various forms for 45 years, and will give it to the city’s Office of Property Management.

Developing.

UPDATE, 3:20 P.M.: Brown has he’s frustrated with his inability to get reliable financial info from the SEC. “It’s almost like trying to get information from the White House right now.” Carol Schwartz, who oversees the OPM budget in her own committee, wants a guarantee that the stadium money will move over. “Show me the money!” she says. Marion Barry is opposing; Jack Evans is looking extremely exasperated, as is SEC honcho Bill Hall, who is sitting in the chamber.

UPDATE, 3:35 P.M.: Brown’s maneuver fails. He agrees to strip the RFK transfer from the committee’s report, pending clarification on how to move the money to OPM.

Typically, the only time LL’s Thursday-afternoon strolls through the John A. Wilson Building even get a whiff of celebrity are the occasional Dan Tangherlini sighting in the mayoral bullpen. (Governance rock star, that guy!) But not this week.

Yesterday afternoon, distinguished Spanish tenor and Washington National Opera general director Plácido Domingo spent more than an hour roaming the building with a pair of WNO bigwigs in tow, as well as an official photographer. (Yes, LL had his picture taken with the maestro.) His rounds took him to the offices of most councilmembers.

A couple of members asked for a command performance from the tenor, including Ward 7 Councilmember Yvette Alexander and Ward 4 Councilmember Muriel Bowser, who rated his pipes as “excellent.”

Domingo treated Bowser and staff to a bit of Gounod’s “Ave Maria.” “We got a good taste, I think,” she said. Her chief of staff, Joy Holland, chimed in: “The first 10 bars, which is a good taste.”

So why exactly was Domingo roaming the Wilson Building halls? To ask for money, duh.

Later today, a panel of WNO bigwigs (not including Domingo) will appear before the council to make their case for a city subsidy. The mayor’s proposed list of budget earmarks leaves the opera out in the cold, even though such cultural organizations as the Washington Ballet ($1 million), Ford’s Theatre ($10 million), and the Ward 7 Arts Collaborative ($100,000) are currently in the money.

Domingo’s appeal played up the need for greater resources for arts-education programs. He then had to be rushed out to rehearse for his upcoming role in Handel’s Tamerlano.

On Tuesday, the struggling nonprofit Positive Nature has received some possible help from Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray. He introduced the “Positive Nature Property Tax Exemption Forgiveness Act.”

According to the press release, the bill would:

Provide property tax relief to a unique, high-quality after school program that is threatened with closing due to skyrocketing real estate taxes around its location near the Nationals stadium. The bill was co-introduced by Councilmember Tommy Wells of Ward 6, where Positive Nature is located. Gray said Positive Nature is a non-profit organization that has operated a valuable, therapeutic after school program for D.C. youth with behavioral problems, not just in Ward 6, but from across the city for several years.

We had heard from several sources that the D.C. Council was inclined to not introduce any legislation to assist the nonprofit with its huge property tax bill (caused by Nationals Park). We wrote about Positive Nature here and followed-up with items here and here and here, among other items. The nonprofit held a rally and even resorted to asking for money outside the stadium. It wasn’t pretty.

So it was a huge shock—especially to Positive Nature. The news of the legislation came from this reporter’s blog. But who knows if this legislation will ever come up for a vote.

The Gray press release goes on to state:

“Gray’s tax relief legislation is designed to keep the program from having to shut down while a long-term solution, including relocation to more affordable facilities, is found. Wells and Councilmember David Catania, who chairs the Committee on Health, have been working with the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development to identify District-owned or other space for relocation. Gray said, ‘The Council must step in to ensure these much-needed services for some of the District’s most vulnerable children remain available until a permanent solution is found.’”

The D.C. Council voted unanimously today to approve legislation that limits noncommercial amplified noise. The vote in the council’s committee of the whole clears the way for a swift first-reading approval during the council’s legislative meeting later today on May 6.

The bill had been tabled 7-5 on a motion by Ward 2 Councilmember Jack Evans at a Feb. 19 council meeting. The move followed strenuous lobbying from the local AFL-CIO, who held that any noise bill would unduly restrict their abilities to hold union protest rallies.

In response to the move, noise-bill advocates shortly afterward took to the streets with loudspeakers in front of Evans’ Georgetown home early on weekend mornings.

Tomorrow’s the monthly D.C. Council legislative meeting. This morning, Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray held his usual preview press conference. Here’s the rundown:

• Vince Gray Punctuality Watch: The presser kicked off at 9:42 a.m.—12 minutes late. Getting better, Mr. Chairman!
• Things kicked off with a presentation from At-Large Councilmember David A. Catania on his “Healthy DC” universal-health-care plan. The meat of the policy proposal is to provide an affordable health insurance option for a relatively small part of the city populace: the approximately 25,000 uninsured folks who make too much to be eligible for Medicaid or the D.C. Healthcare Alliance program. Will spare the details, but the costs are intended to be no more than 3 percent of annual income for participants, with a District subsidy covering the rest.

  Along with the bridge insurance program comes a requirement that all District residents over 18 years of age be continuously insured. Anyone filing a D.C. tax return will be required to check a box attesting they’re insured. Enforcement is still vague; Catania said liars could be prosecuted for tax fraud—another option, he says, would be to cross-reference all emergency-room visitors with their tax returns.

  How is it being paid for? Under Catania’s proposal, the individuals are expected to bear a little more than half of the cost through monthly premiums. As for the remainder, a new 2 percent premium tax on HMOs raises a chunk, and taxes paid by CareFirst, the local Blue Cross licensee, takes care of most of the rest. Also kicking in, but not directly: A doubling of the District’s excise tax on cigarettes, from $1 to $2.

  The plan is scheduled to kick in on July 1, 2009; Gray said he hopes to hold a hearing on the plan before the end of the budget season.

• Looks like Ward 8 Councilmember Marion Barry’s plan to rename the Southeast-Southwest Freeway and part of Maine Avenue SW after Martin Luther King isn’t going anywhere fast. Said Gray: “I have a number of concerns about that…as well as a number of my colleagues….I think this is one of those where I think I will have a hearing.”

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Back in December, Ward 8 Councilmember Marion Barry introduced a bill to extend Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue SE across the Anacostia River into Wards 2 and 6. Since then, the measure’s gone nowhere fast, but Barry’s looking to speed up the timetable a bit.

This week, Barry circulated a memo informing his colleagues that he would move his bill as emergency legislation at next Tuesday’s legislative meeting. The memo said the emergency action, which requires no public hearing, was necessary in order to honor the good Dr. King in time for the 40th anniversary of his April 4, 1968, assassination.

The bill would extend the traditional MLK Avenue, renamed from Nichols Avenue SE in 1971, from its current northern terminus at Good Hope Road SE across the 11th Street Bridge, along the Southwest/Southeast Freeway and along Maine Avenue SW to its new terminus at Raoul Wallenberg Place SW (itself a renamed portion of 15th Street SW). The new portion would be called Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.

An inspection of the route revels very few, if any, addresses will be affected, but it’s problematic to say the least that folks won’t get a chance to express an opinion one way or another about the change before action is taken.

Nine councilmembers co-sponsored the original bill, indicating a reasonably good chance of legislative success. Noticeably absent from the co-sponsor list: Ward 6 Councilmember Tommy Wells, through whose ward most of the affected thoroughfares run. Wells is out of town and unavailable for comment, but his chief of staff, Charles Allen, says that Wells declined to cosponsor because “he wasn’t approached or consulted about the possible renaming of streets in Ward 6.”

Let the amendments begin! The Sick and Safe Leave bill is up on the council dais; sponsor Carol Schwartz has introduced a substitute that keeps things largely intact and doesn’t address the main issues the business community have. Never fear—Ward 2 Councilmember Jack Evans is on the scene. He’s got seven amendments, drafted with the assistance of Council chair Vincent C. Gray, at-large member David A. Catania, and, undoubtedly, the D.C. Chamber of Commerce. This could take a while. —Mike DeBonis

Tomorrow’s the monthly D.C. Council legislative meeting. This morning, Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray held his usual preview press conference. Here’s what’s on tap:

• The biggest deal tomorrow is going to be what happens with the final reading on the Accrued Sick and Safe Leave Act, which has attracted the intense scrutiny of the business community. After LL queried Gray on possible amendments, At-Large Councilmember and bill sponsor Carol Schwartz stepped to the mike to announce that she would be submitting a substitute bill, which she had drafted with her staff over the weekend. (LL’s voice mail vouches for that: He arrived this morning to find a message from Schwartz left on Sunday returning a Friday call. “Hope you’re having a good weekend,” she said. “Better than mine!”) Schwartz declined to make the new text available this morning, but she did allude at the press conference that it was intended to allay the concerns of the business community. LL is presently trying to get his hands on a copy of the bill to see if Barbara Lang’s “Big Five” made it in.

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