Mayor Adrian M. Fenty's massive re-election fundraising drive has brought unsurprising results--a boatload of money from the business world (especially real estate developers) along with some smaller chunks of cash from ordinary folks. As of July 31, $2.7 million.

One contribution, though, sticks out among the lawyers and executives: $1,000 from "Spitzer, Eliot" at "985 5th Ave, New York, NY 10021" back in June.

Why does the disgraced former governor of New York have any stake in the mayor's re-election bid?

"I've met him, he's a good person, he's worked hard, and so I like to support candidates like that, people like that who work hard for their city," Spitzer told the Washington City Paper over the phone.

Spitzer's donation came a few months after he helped engineer the purchase by his father's company of a $180 million downtown D.C. office building. Did the purchase affect his decision to support Fenty?

"Absolutely not," Spitzer said. "One has absolutely nothing to do with the other. To suggest the two are related is, frankly, quite stupid."

The mayor is "a friend and somebody who I admire," Spitzer said, but refused to explain their relationship any further. Pressed on the matter, he said only that the two "met in a governmental context."

Fenty said that the donation came from a fundraiser in New York. Who held the fundraiser? "I'll get you that information," said Fenty.

The mayor said he had no second thoughts about accepting donations from a guy who'd used the District as a call-girl liaison pad. He also acknowledged milking his relationship with New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and other Big Apple muni-luminaries to build up his campaign coffers.

"We've had a great working relationship particularly with the city of New York," he said. "It's a relationship that spans between city hall, education, and our similar passions on that end. There's a strong development community that works between New York and Washington D.C."

Fenty is the third candidate to receive a contribution from the ex-governor, after Mark Green and Cy Vance Jr. Is he flattered by that distinction?

"I guess the best thing to say about any particular donation is every single one of them is important. Every single one of them is appreciated."

Additional reporting by Mike DeBonis

This just in from Loose Lips correspondent Mike DeBonis: A D.C. Superior Court judge just moments ago granted a temporary restraining order stopping the eviction of Cora Masters Barry's Recreation Wish List Committee from its home at the Southeast Tennis and Learning Center. The order comes about a month after the administration of Mayor Adrian M. Fenty gave an eviction notice to the group based on the group's failure to keep its nonprofit registration up to date.

More updates to come.

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!

Morning all. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty: Everyone knows he's had a bad year. A slip on the firetruck thing, a stumble on the pool heater, and a general haughtiness that casts doubt on his image as a champion of the everyday D.C. resident.

But does all that hurt his chances for re-election next year?

Read More "Fenty Losing His Grip? Loose Lips Daily" »

Mayor Adrian M. Fenty has taken tons of heat for the installation of a heater in city's East Potomac outdoor pool. Seemed like a great amenity for a die-hard triathlete, a classic use of public resources for personal enjoyment, even though Fenty denied having anything to do with it.

Now that the hubbub over Warmwatergate has passed, and the summer pool season has fired up, another question surfaces: Did the city pick the right pool to heat?

Yes, we know about the bona fides of the East Potomac pool, including its Olympic size and the ample parking.

But check out this page here. It's the Department of Parks and Recreation's pool-usage charts, and according to these early-summer numbers, the East Potomac pool is getting lapped by a more centrally located competitor. The redoubtable Francis pool, located in the slightly wooded recesses Dupont Circle/West End.

The numbers show that Francis is logging in with 3,605 visitors, to East Potomac's 1,170. The only pool that deserves to be in the same qualifier with Francis is Volta Park, over there in much-neglected Georgetown, with 2,102 visitors.

Now: The usage numbers are supposed to "automatically" update every five minutes, according to DPR. But I haven't seen them budge in days. Whatever the updating frequency, I predict Francis's blowout lead will grow, especially after what had to have been high traffic over Pride Weekend.

So yank that heater out of East Potomac, near where no one actually lives, and put it in a neighborhood!

Photo of Hayward H400 pool heater courtesy of billjacobus1, Creative Commons Attribution

No, not on the political front, stupid. On the technology front.

Hizzoner long ago made a name for himself as a BlackBerryholic. One for general city business, one for critical, emergency alerts from police Chief Cathy Lanier and other public safety biz; and a third! for personal stuff.

Now here comes At-Large Councilmember Michael A. Brown, leaving a council hearing carrying a similar bounty of gizmos. The boundaries for Brown's three BlackBerrys go as follows: One for council business, one for the business of his firm, Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge, and one for personal affairs. Too much!

By Mike DeBonis

One staffer at the Mayoral Bullpen at the John A. Wilson Building walked into the office at approximately 8:55 am carrying four Starbucks beverages. The Keurig machine in the bullpen doesn't get much rotation. Says communications chief for Mayor Adrian M. Fenty: "People use it for tea a lot."

Reporting by Mike DeBonis

My apologies to anyone who's been trying to get a hold of me for the past hour. I've been too busy giving pageviews to the Washingtonian. For good reason, too. The mag's February issue has a 14-Web-page expose on the city's Fire and Emergency Medical Services (FEMS) department.

The investigative piece, which puts to shame even the windiest of City Paper cover stories on the word-count front, delves into the decadeslong dysfunction in the agency. The basic message is that the people responsible for your well-being if you suffer a stroke, heart attack, or some other calamity are demoralized, underpaid, and poorly regarded by their firefighting peers in this agency.

One of the story's strongest points is its accountability moment for Mayor Adrian M. Fenty, who in his 2006 campaign promised to separate out the emergency medical part of the agency from its firefighting component. Here's the mag's treatment of that question:

Read More "Mr. Mayor: Why Did You Flip-Flop on FEMS?" »