In recent months, the D.C. Democratic State Committee has come under the disapproving glare of city campaign finance officials. That glare remains trained on the local Democratic umbrella organization.

According to an interim audit report released Monday, the city campaign finance office did not accept explanations offered by DCDSC officials for fundraising irregularities. Audit officials maintain that the committee needs to return some $37,000 to donors, and it may be subject to fines.

At issue was lax reporting of receipts and expenditures by the DCDSC, but more importantly questionable practices in fundraising for last year's Democratic National Convention.

Top DCDSC honchos, including chair Anita Bonds, set up a separate organization to raise funds for the District's DNC delegation. But they did so in some instances by invoking the name and authority of the DCDSC itself, raising issues as to whether the fundraising was subject to city contribution limits and disclosure regulations.

Read More "D.C. Democrats Not Off the Hook, Say Finance Officials" »

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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT---"Pershing Park Case: Council Hearings Unlikely"; "David Catania Smacks Down Anti-Gay-Marriage Law Prof"; "WTOP's Mark Segraves to Get TV Show"; "Is Adrian Fenty Exercising Too Much?"; tweets galore!

Morning all. The Archdiocese of Washington is playing hardball, holding that the District's gay marriage bill, as currently written, threatens to end their involvement in various city services. And the D.C. Council has swung right back. In second-day story, WaPo reporters write that councilmembers are 'hardening their opposition' to the archdiocese, 'setting up a political showdown between the city and one of its largest social service providers.' Says Tommy Wells: 'It's a dangerous thing when the Catholic Church starts writing and determining the legislation and the laws of the District of Columbia.' No CM is acting conciliatory at the moment, and the archdiocese is trying to draw a semantic distinction: that the District is 'giving the ultimatum,' not the church. But WaPo columnist Petula Dvorak isn't buying it: 'By trying to play political hardball with the District, no matter how carefully they word their objection to the bill, officials at the Archdiocese of Washington and Catholic Charities are telling our city's most vulnerable people---homeless families, sick children, low-income mothers---that they are willing to throw them on the table as a bargaining chip. What the Church is doing is an uncharitable and cruel maneuver.' Still yet to enter the debate: Archbishop Donald W. Wuerl. Also Examiner, NYT, WaPo blog, WaPo chat, WaTimes, LAT blog, NC8, WRC-TV, WTTG-TV, World mag, Atlantic, TPM, lots more.

AFTER THE JUMP---More on the fate of Hardy MS; Harold Brazil sues tattoo shop whose floor he soiled; movie tax pondered to fund arts groups; murdered Rawlings brother said to be implicated in Halloween killing; D.C. Jail to join federal immigration-check program

Read More "The Archdiocese Plays Hardball: Loose Lips Daily" »

D.C. Wire just posted on this, but this document is just too good not to share more fully.

At-Large Councilmember David Catania today posted a letter to Robin Fretwell Wilson, law professor at Washington & Lee University, who has made it her job, as of late, to join the public debate in jurisdictions considering same-sex marriage, stumping for broad exemptions to discrimination laws for those who have religious objections to the practice.

Recently, she testified at a D.C. Council hearing on gay marriage and also wrote a Washington Post op-ed advocating for stronger protections against religious discrimination. In her council testimony, Wilson cited a flurry of federal case law to support her positions. Catania proceeded to actually look up the cases. If you come at Catania, you best come correct. Wilson, it seems, did not.

You can read the letter in full [PDF]. In fact, please do. Text is also pasted after the jump.

Read More "David Catania Smacks Down Anti-Gay-Marriage Law Prof" »

In his column this week, LL asks the question: Is Mayor Adrian M. Fenty exercising too much? Is he pushing himself so far in his triathlon training that it has begun to affect his judgment and temperament?

In his analysis, LL relied heavily on Dr. Alayne Yates and her 1991 book, Compulsive Exercise and the Eating Disorders: Toward an Integrated Theory of Activity. Yates suggests a pathological basis to overexercises that manifests itself in other aspects of life.

Given, LL is wary of engaging in any armchair diagnoses here, and Fenty is free to take any fitness-related advice doled out by the 225-pound LL with a grain of salt (or sodium-free substitute, as it were). But ask yourself whether you don't think any of these passages from Yates' book hit home:

Read More "Is Adrian Fenty Exercising Too Much?" »

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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT---"Cathy Lanier: The True Victim Of Fenty's Latest Scandal"; "Archdiocese Threatens To Cut Services Over Same-Sex Marriage Bill"; tweets galore!

IN LL WEEKLY---Is Fenty's Exercise Regimen Clouding His Judgment? Plus: Ron Moten may be retiring, but he isn't going anywhere.

Morning all. Jonetta Rose Barras with a very nice column about racial/educational politics in the western wards. The dispute centers on the Ellington School for the Arts and newly renovated Hardy Middle School. 'No one cared much that they have substantial African American populations, although their surrounding communities are predominantly white. The education reform movement and construction of new buildings changed that. Now, parents in Wards 2 and 3 have begun pushing for fewer slots for out-of-boundary students and more traditional academic programs.' Barras discusses a possible plan to move Ellington and convert the former Western High building back to a general-enrollment high school, as well as plans to change the academic program at Hardy to lure more in-boundary (read: white) parents. Michelle Rhee, she reports, 'told the Citizens Association of Georgetown to expect a "major announcement" next month. "[Hardy's] not going to turn overnight, but I think the plan we're moving forward on is one that is really going to boost [it as an] option."' The comments have black parents with kids enrolled out-of-boundary at Hardy upset: '"What's that suppose to mean?" asked Keenan Kellar, Ward 1 resident and Hardy parent. "African-American parents have a great sensitivity to that kind of coded language."'

AFTER THE JUMP---Fenty: 'Going forward, I'm not going to use a motorcyle anymore'; archdiocese lays down an ultimatum; HUD threatens to keep AIDS money from District; 21-year-old shot on H Street NE in broad daylight is brother of DeOnte Rawlings; NTSB wants Metro crash hearings; rock-throwing kids terrorize Hill East

Read More "Rewhitening DCPS: Loose Lips Daily" »

courtesy of D.C. Sports Bog

Dan Snyder and Vinny Cerrato, the poster children of the Prague Spring for Redskins fans, have been dubbed "Dumb" and "Dumber" in much of the agit prop that Redskins security has worked so hard to keep out of FedExField.

Awesome trivia: In "Dumb and Dumber," 1994 movie that informs the insurgency, there's a character named "Karl Swanson."

Really. You can look it up.

And in real life, as outlined by Paul Farhi in today's Washington Post, there's a Karl Swanson who's the third wheel in the Snyder/Cerrato continuum. (Full disclosure: I'm briefly in the story.) The flesh-and-blood Swanson has been Snyder's spokesperson since before he took over the Redskins. Swanson and Cerrato are the longest-tenured Skins staffers in the Snyder regime. They ride golf carts with the boss, and Swanson drives.

Read More "Life Imitates Art: ‘Karl Swanson’ Had a Role in ‘Dumb and Dumber’?" »

Just got a Washington Post local text alert telling me that the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development is threatening to cut off funding to District HIV/AIDS programs.

Huh?

The local text alerts are used once or twice a day, mostly to get the word out about rush hour traffic backups, but also about major breaking news events---the election of Bob O'Donnell McDonnell as Virginia governor, the execution of John Allen Muhammad, to give a couple of recent examples. But news of a letter from a federal bureaucrat telling District bureaucrats they're in some shit if they don't shape up (which they probably will)?

This is not to take away from the diligent and excellent reporting of Debbie Cenziper in exposing massive oversight failures in the D.C. government. She and her paper deserve every award they're going to get. But a big part of landing these prizes is documenting (and sometimes overblowing) the institutional response to your stories. My guess is that if, say, the Washington Examiner or Washington Times or this paper had broken the story, there would not have been a text alert this afternoon.

As much local politics as humanly possible. Send your tips, releases, stories, events, etc. to lips@washingtoncitypaper.com. And get LL Daily sent straight to your inbox every morning!

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT---"Fenty Promises To Replace Hartsock By Dec. 1"; "Pershing Park Case: Is Peter Nickles Ready To Deal?"; tweets galore!

Good Veterans Day morning to all. Yesterday, D.C. Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray celebrated his 68th birthday with a party/fundraiser at the Beacon Hotel. LL, feeling under the weather, couldn't make it, but WaPo's Nikita Stewart did, calling it 'like a pre-mayoral campaign kickoff.' From her D.C. Wire report: 'Go-go godfather Chuck Brown, who is also the father of Ward 4 activist Cherita Whiting, led the crowd in a chorus of "Happy Birthday."...There were some interesting faces in the crowd: Greg O'Dell, who heads the Washington Convention and Sports Authority and happens to be a fraternity brother of Fenty; Adrienne Todman, the interim director of the D.C. Housing Authority who has had to answer questions about controversial construction contracts; and Lateef Mangum, Fenty's former photographer.' Also there: Sharon Pratt, Linda Cropp, and Virginia Williams, and all CMs except Marion Barry, mourning his mother.

AFTER THE JUMP---The D.C. sniper mastermind is dead; more stories about Fenty's biking habits; council and mayor come to an understanding on Hartsock; gay marriage bill is out of committee; Randi Weingarten as next DCPS chancellor?

Read More "Happy Birthday Vince: Loose Lips Daily" »

As much local politics as humanly possible. Send your tips, releases, stories, events, etc. to lips@washingtoncitypaper.com. And get LL Daily sent straight to your inbox every morning!

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT---"Nickles Seeks Order Barring Public From Seeing Pershing Park Discovery Materials"; "WTOP: Fenty Uses D.C. Cops to Escort Cycling Team"; tweets galore!

Morning all. The big news yesterday came from WTOP's Mark Segraves, and his report, complete with video evidence, that Mayor Adrian M. Fenty is in the habit of regularly having police motorcycles accompany himself and his cycling team on midday training rides. Picking up on the story were WJLA-TV, WTTG-TV, WUSA-TV, DCist, and LL---meaning that Hizzoner has lost yet another news cycle to allegations of arrogance and misdealing. WRC-TV's Tom Sherwood takes a more expansive view of Hizzoner's style, noting that it's not unusual for 'take-charge mayors of big cities' to, well, take charge. It's just that Fenty seems particularly tone-deaf about how he does it, leading to 'a consistent drumbeat around town that he's overdoing it with his "I'm in charge; you're not" frame of mind. Even discounting the criticisms from people who have lost their jobs or who are tied to the old-school way of doing things, there still seems to be too much grumbling about this mayor's ABC's -- arrogance, bullying and cronyism.'

AFTER THE JUMP---City settles first protest lawsuit; Wepman is out as DCPS financial officer; religious freedom provisions strengthened in gay marriage bill; Barry reality show taping confirmed; prosecutors explain handling of Tony Randolph Hunter case; the teabagger angle on the teacher layoffs

Read More "Mind Your ABC’s: Loose Lips Daily" »

WTOP's Mark Segraves has the hot scoop: He is reporting that Mayor Adrian M. Fenty regularly uses motorcycle-mounted police to escort his cycling team as they train throughout the District and Maryland. This happens during weekday business hours, leading to traffic backups.

Moreover, Segraves says, Fenty and his team, D.C. Velo, use the cops to run red lights and stop signs (mere misdemeanors in LL's book) as well as traverse thoroughfares verboten to cyclists, e.g. the Clara Barton Parkway along the Potomac.

WTOP's video is above. Fenty, in comments to Segraves, declined to address the story, except to say if he did anything illegal, he won't any longer.

Read More "WTOP: Fenty Uses D.C. Cops to Escort Cycling Team" »

As much local politics as humanly possible. Send your tips, releases, stories, events, etc. to lips@washingtoncitypaper.com. And get LL Daily sent straight to your inbox every morning!

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT---"Fenty Fundraises in San Francisco"; "City Agencies Asked to 'Dig Deeply' to Cover $300M 2011 Budget Gap"; tweets galore!

Morning all. Kathy Patterson, in a WaPo op-ed, begins her advice for Chancellor Michelle Rhee by invoking names like Arlene Ackerman and Julius Becton. The lesson from those failed DCPS chiefs: 'You can't fix schools from the top down, and working from the bottom up requires working with the duly elected legislature of the District. How to get along with the council? Pretending it doesn't exist isn't the answer. Far better would be a program of preventive maintenance made up of regular conversations and a policy of "no surprises."' Furthermore: 'Communication is a two-way street, and politicians no less than superintendents have a responsibility to keep channels open. The notion of a superintendent or chancellor as change agent on horseback, single-handedly rebuilding a system and improving learning, is illusory.' A must-click.

Also: Mattie Cummings, mother of Marion Barry, has died at 92 in Memphis. In a release, Barry 'asks that you keep him and his family in your prayers.' LL offers his condolences to the CM and family. See Tim Craig's item at D.C. Wire for more.

AFTER THE JUMP---Barry reportedly taping reality show; Colby King says Hizzoner needs to watch out, lest he get Bloomberged; Jonetta recounts the history of cronyism in the District; Georgia Avenue liquor store holdup leads to shopkeeper slaying; deer becomes dinner for zoo lions

Read More "Get Along to Keep Going Along: Loose Lips Daily" »

Ed Lazere of the D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute has scooped the reportorial corps with this revelation: District government agency heads have been asked to reduce their budgets by some $300 million going into the fiscal 2011 budget planning process.

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."

Another day with no public appearances by Mayor Adrian M. Fenty, another day of reporters wondering where the man has jetted off to.

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?

As much local politics as humanly possible. Send your tips, releases, stories, events, etc. to lips@washingtoncitypaper.com. And get LL Daily sent straight to your inbox every morning!

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

Read More "Michelle Rhee Gets Engaged: Loose Lips Daily" »

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