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 [...]
Anyone doubting the strength of organized labor in this town, think again: A bill that would allow the District to enforce limits on daytime noise was tabled without debate this morning at a meeting of the D.C. Council's committee of the whole, thanks in no small part to union protesters.
The Noise Control Protection Amendment Act, [...]
OK, folks, we're about six hours into the Potomac Primary, and LL's been working the phones. Here's what he's got:
Anyone willing to stick their neck out and make an early judgment says that turnout is high. Anita Bonds, chair of the D.C. Democratic State Committee, says people are out to the polls in D.C. in [...]
As I indicated yesterday, support is shaky at best for At-Large Councilmember Carol Schwartz's Accrued Sick and Safe Leave Act, though it will come to a vote today.
Ward 2 Councilmember Jack Evans moved to table the bill after Council Chair Vincent C. Gray spoke in favor of taking time to take a closer look at [...]
This week, Loose Lips ran his Secret Santa column, resurrecting a tradition in which LL gives back to all those who have given him so much. Problem is, LL had to skip of lot of deserving folks in the Wilson Building and elsewhere, which has made for several unhappy politicos. All this week, LL's been [...]
Shadow Sen. Paul Strauss has made no bones about the fact that he'd like spots for him and his daughter in the city's Verizon Center skybox for the Jan. 7 Hannah Montana concert.
Well, he asked. And he's been denied.
"Neil Albert told me there's no room," Strauss says, referring to the deputy mayor for planning and [...]
Last night, lawyer and neighborhood activist Cary Silverman kicked off his campaign to unseat four-plus-term Ward 2 Councilmember Jack Evans.
At the HR-57 jazz club on 14th Street NW, Silverman told about 50 supporters, "I think we need a change of priorities in Ward 2." His campaign slogan: "Neighborhoods first."
In a press release this morning, Silverman [...]
OK, folks, they're about to get started in the Council chambers. After your typical round of grandstanding opening statements from councilmembers, you'll have a panel of civic activists before getting into the real meat of the lineup: fired Deputy CFO Sherryl Hobbs Newman, District Auditor Deborah Nichols, and, the man himself, CFO Natwar M. Gandhi. [...]
Today's hearing on the tax scandal, a joint effort between the Committee on Finance and Revenue and the Committee of the Whole, kicks off at 1 p.m. Check back around then for the liveblog.
Here's the witness list:
Panel 1: good-government types Marie Drissel, David Mallof, Anna Escobar, and Gail Dixon
2. Sherryl Hobbs Newman, former deputy CFO, [...]
If only Natwar M. Gandhi had been more of a train buff.
If so, his financial security might be in better shape right now: In April, Amtrak tried to lure Gandhi, the city's chief financial officer, with a $250,000 salary plus a $100,000 signing bonus. In order to keep the man widely credited with restoring the [...]
"President Jarvis told me, 'This is not a roast,'" said WRC-TV newsman Tom Sherwood, warming up as MC of this year's Southeastern University Gala at the Washington Hilton.
The yearly benefit for the private school in Southwest D.C., headed by former Ward 4 Councilmember Charlene Drew Jarvis, is well-known as a forum for elected officials, business [...]
This photo, from Wednesday's announcement that the city will be spending a portion of a budget surplus on the D.C. Schools, is currently in rotation on the front page of dc.gov:
I know the Mayor & Co. don't want to look too gleeful when spending taxpayer money, but jeez–turn those frowns upside down!
Look up, guys–you got [...]
Today is Car-Free Day in the District of Columbia, which provided city politicos a chance to prove their ecocredentials during this morning's commute.
Ward 6 Councilmember Tommy Wells, who masterminded the holiday, rode his bike to work, as did City Administrator Dan Tangherlini. Council Chairman Vincent Gray and Ward 2 Councilmember Jack Evans took Metro. But [...]
Shaw resident and provocateur Ray Milefsky is proposing a solution for how citizens can band together to clean up accumulated trash on city streets. On the Third District community Listserv, he writes: “I am thinking a trip to deliver it to Jack Evans’ and Mayor Fenty's homes à la Michael Moore would be effective with [...]
As the Foggy Bottom/West End Advisory Neighborhood Commission meeting was about to conclude Wednesday evening, Eastbanc President Anthony Lanier asked hopefully if the crowd wanted to see his company's plans to remake two blocks in the West End. Derisive laughter provided the answer: No, the community did want to hear anything about development plans for [...]
