Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton is introducing a bill this week which, according to the release, would create jobs and increased tax revenue by encouraging insurance companies to set up shop in town. Just as they do in Bermuda, insurance companies would have to open offices and hire local employees to handle administration. Norton says there would also be a bump in tertiary employment as accountants, bankers, consultants and actuaries would be needed to support the companies. And taxes would still figure into the equation. The District can collect a "modest" excise tax from the companies, and the local banks holding the funds would also be taxed on them.

The only catch? The tax shelter plan may not make statehood advocates happy, since the law only works as long as the District stays a district. Federal income tax—the thing keeping these companies offshore—can only be done away with if Congress is in full control of a jurisdiction.

The reasons for the challenges ran the gamut from signers unregistered to vote, to signatures not matching the identity of the signer, to signers not registered in the same party as the petitioner. The validity of signatures on campaign petitions is entrusted to its circulators; three of Williams' circulators were singled out as perpetrators of fraud.

Campaign members Scott Bishop Sr., Scott Bishop Jr., and Crystal Bishop were responsible for collection of and vouching for signatures on the petition. But during an investigation by the Board of Elections and Ethics, the review found that Bishop Sr. had collected signatures on June 31 (a date which doesn’t exist), and that Bishop Jr. claimed to have obtained 540 signatures in a 24-hour period.

Whether the signatures were completely fabricated or the circulators had simply acted improperly by not actually collecting signatures personally remained unclear. Bishop Sr. and Bishop Jr. plead the Fifth during the investigation, and Crystal Bishop was hospitalized and unable to testify.

While Williams made some challenges (including the ethics of the BOEE spokesperson) he chose not to defend 214 of the 512 pages in question. Ultimately, the board rejected any signatures collected by the Bishops, leaving Williams with, at most, 1312 signatures, far below the 2,000 signatures D.C. election law requires for a candidate to be included on a ballot. As a result, Williams was forced to run as a write-in candidate.

Williams’ campaign was fined $277,000 for violations. Despite the setback, Williams won both the Democratic primary and the general election, and served a second term as the city's mayor.

But things didn’t turn out quite so well for the Bishops. According to The Washington Post, three years after the scandal, D.C. Attorney General Robert J. Spagnoletti filed criminal charges against all three Bishops after federal prosecutors dropped the case. Scott Bishop Jr. and Crystal Bishop pleaded guilty on four counts each of making false statements and struck a deal with the Attorney General’s office to make a stronger case against Scott Bishop Sr., who was charged with 279 misdemeanor counts.

On June 21, 2006, Anthony Williams took his final cannonball plunge into a D.C. swimming pool as mayor, his traditional way to open the city’s pools for the summer. Williams' two terms as the District's fourth Home Rule-era mayor began with a splash in 1999, when he made his inaugural dive. In 2006, Williams, who earned the nickname "Cannonball," stripped down to his red trunks for one last dip at Turkey Thicket Recreation Center in Brookland. The Washington Post described his final dive as "vintage Williams—neat and precise with nary a wave as he sliced into the pool."

As far as mayoral traditions go, Williams'—appearing shirtless in public and leaping into a pool—may be the most unique among the nation’s elected officials. The Post reported at the time that his spokesman, Vincent Morris, said, "We are very aware of how exposed he is—just a pair of trunks and nothing else." But Williams’ poolside antics had a purpose: He aimed to draw attention to D.C.’s summer programs.

The bow-tie wearing mayor urged his successor to keep the season-opener tradition alive, and D.C.’s political media was not quick to forget Williams' legacy. His successor, Adrian Fenty, dodged the question when reporters asked if he would carry on Williams' annual cannonball stunt. DCist wrote in 2007 that at one point Fenty challenged NBC4 reporter Tom Sherwood to take his place. But Fenty never took the leap, which Post and former Washington City Paper Loose Lips scribe Mike DeBonis tweeted was an early indicator of his aloofness.

This summer, Washingtonians wondered if the mayoral cannonball was a rite of the past, or if Mayor Vince Gray would put his administration’s controversy aside and dive in. In May, City Paper declared Cannonball Watch 2011 officially on during a sweltering Memorial Day weekend. But Gray stayed dry and fully-suited at the Barry Farm Recreation Center in Ward 8, where he ushered in the summer with the opening of 17 of the District’s public pools. Filling in for Gray, Jesus Aguirre, director of D.C. Parks and Recreation, gave the crowd their Williams-inspired entertainment.

Photo by Flickr user Lee Coursey via an Attribution 2.0 Generic Creative Commons license

After hearing about the mayor’s plans to promote chocolate milk, PCRM launched a public campaign to relay the risks associated with consuming dairy products. And the group wasn’t shy about hitching its dairy concerns to other political hot button-topics. Washington City Paper reported the following quote in its May 3 issue:

“For the mayor of a large African-American city and role model to allow himself to be portrayed [wearing a milk mustache], in addition to his position on closing D.C. General Hospital, makes me question his concern [for the health of his constituents],” argues PCRM physician and advocate Milton Mills. “His actions suggest that he is insensitive to the needs of the people he is trying to serve, and I find that very unfortunate.”

At the time of that issue's printing, the city had intended to go forward with the plans. Chief Health Officer Ivan C.A. Walks acknowledged concerns about African-American lactose intolerance, while observing that "[i]t’s certainly appropriate for the mayor to support the drinking of milk, which is healthy for many citizens." In the end, though, the chocolate milk celebration was canned.

Ten years later, chocolate milk is still the subject of heated (or maybe cultured?) debate. Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver spoke out against chocolate milk in schools during a recent Ted talk (at the 12:20 minute mark). And first lady Michelle Obama has certainly lent her star power to childhood nutrition with her "Let's Move" campaign.

Here in D.C., we've come a long way from declaring holidays for chocolate milk. It’s been more than a year since Fairfax County and D.C. schools banned chocolate milk from elementary school lunch lines. (Although pressure from parents, students, and special interests groups is bringing chocolate milk back to Fairfax County, according to The Washington Post.)

Cheers?

Williams had ordered a crackdown on "substandard housing" in the Columbia Heights area, saying it was targeted against "irresponsible landlords." However, the policy resulted in a large number of shuttered apartment buildings and low-income tenants getting forced out.

The crowd greeting Williams saw this as just the latest step in a gentrification plan begun with the opening of the Columbia Heights Metro station a year earlier. As Washington City Paper reported in the April 28, 2000, edition of Loose Lips, their rhetoric was quite heated:

"We want the mayor! We want the mayor!" chanted a a crowd of tenant activists bent on persuading Williams to nix the imminent evictions of hundreds of low-income families from crumbling properties in Columbia Heights.

When the mayor finally paraded into the hall, he met the jeers of a constituency convinced that he is the newest foot soldier in a government-sponsored offensive to whitewash the city's neighborhoods and transplant the underprivileged to Southeast or other peripheral locales. [...]

"I never believed in the Plan before, but now I'm starting too," screamed Karen Williamson of the D.C. Coalition for Rent Control, prompting the loudest uproar of the evening. Williamson apparently doesn't figure among the 77 percent of D.C. residents who approve of the mayor's performance.

The protesters failed to pry a commitment from Williams to "stop the evictions," but they did define the stakes in the dispute: Without a big assist from city hall, the evicted families won't find affordable accommodations in the buildings they're vacating, in other Columbia Heights developments, or, for that matter, in any District neighborhood. "No to gentrification!" shouted Adams Morgan resident Kathleen Wills.

Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Jan. 2. © 2011 Matt Dunn

Where did Mayor Williams stand on the issue of go-go? "No one would be surprised that I'd ask, 'What's go-go?'" Hizzoner replied.

Oh, how far we've come. For all its shortcomings, the Fenty Administration at least knows what go-go is.

Go-go vets Sugar Bear and Junkyard Band are endorsing Fenty at a press conference Sunday at the Old Congress Heights School, according to a media advisory (pictured).

No word yet as to which candidate Chuck Brown is endorsing.

Wait, you ask: What's Emancipation Day? Today in 1862, Abraham Lincoln signed the Compensated Emancipation Act, a precursor to the Emancipation Proclamation that freed roughly 3,100 slaves in D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams declared it a D.C. public holiday in 2005. District government offices and public schools are closed. Feds, sorry, you're out of luck.

Emancipation Day falls the day after Tax Day—conveniently, for a couple reasons. One: For those procrastinators out there who filed their taxes at 11:59 p.m. last night and were in desperate need of a drink, you were in luck—D.C. bars can stay open an hour later than usual the day before public holidays. Two: For those incurable procrastinators out there who sometimes need a day or two extra to file their taxes, Emancipation Day has the effect of extending the filing deadline from April 16 to April 17 during years that April 15 falls on a weekend. Next time's 2012, for all of you keeping track.

Tax Day also brought out the protesters in full force, with thousands of Tea Baggers Tea Party activists gathering at Freedom Plaza and in the amphitheater of the apropos Ronald Reagan Building.

District residents are all atwitter about the filming of Top Chef. Foodies can track Gail Simmons, Tom Colicchio, Padma Lakshmi and the cheftestants as they eat and compete their way through D.C. Our own Chris Shott was lucky enough to spot Padma at the Westend Bistro by Eric Ripert.

Nats fans, last year was rough, but take heart: wunderkind Stephen Strasburg lived up to the hype in a crackerjack professional debut with Double-A Harrisburg, fanning eight and allowing one earned run in five innings, and throwing in the 97-98 mph range.

Meanwhile in sports, the top-seeded Caps began their play-off run with a 3-2 loss to the Montreal Canadiens. Poster boy Alex Ovechkin had no shots on goal after leading the NHL in shots during the regular season. For the sake of fans everywhere, Ovie, don't drown your sorrows in vodka at Russia House just yet! 

Lincoln photo courtesy of gop.com. Gail, Tom, and Padma photo courtesy of photos.mlive.com.

*photo by Darrow Montgomery.

Desi Deschaine, 29, a fixture in local politicking over the last decade and recently a staff member for Ward 2 Councilmember Jack Evans, has died after drowning in Baltimore.

Jeff Coudriet, a top Evans deputy, says that Deschaine had gone on a Chesapeake Bay boat trip Sunday with a man he'd been dating. The boat had returned to Baltimore's Inner Harbor Sunday night when Deschaine left the boat at about 10:30 p.m. He was not seen or heard from again. "In the morning Monday is when we found he was missing. He obviously didn't turn up at work," Coudriet says.

Baltimore police recovered a body from the harbor this morning, a department spokesperson says, and Coudriet says a positive identification has been made. Deschaine's parents arrived in Baltimore late last night.

In a Facebook message posted Sunday, Deschaine wrote that he was "getting ready for an amazing day boating in Baltimore Harbor and the Chesapeake Bay...and hope our friends join for what will be an awesome and amazing afternoon on the water!!"

"We're just obviously stunned," Coudriet says. "We're grief-stricken."

Evans, about to head into today's council legislative meeting, was not able to comment, but did say he'd been in touch with Baltimore Mayor Sharon Sheila Dixon about the incident.

On a personal note, LL's known him since 2004, when Deschaine was a neighborhood services staffer for Mayor Anthony A. Williams and LL was a City Paper intern covering community meetings. For all the years LL has known him, he's never once seen him without a smile on his face—one of the genuinely friendliest and kindest people in the small world of District politics.

A graduate of Catholic University, Deschaine was active in the Democratic State Committee, the Gertrude Stein Democrats, the Logan Circle Community Association, and numerous other groups. After leaving the Williams administration, Deschaine worked for the Washington National Opera before returning to the Wilson Building last year to handle press and outreach for Evans.

Please put your memories of Desi in the comments.

UPDATE, 12:05 P.M.: Evans has released a statement: "Desi Deschaine was a bright, bubbly, enthusiastic, and wonderful person who you just could not help but love. I had the great pleasure of knowing and working with him not just on my staff, but on my campaigns, and over the years with Mayor Williams’ staff, the Opera and numerous other capacities and roles. He brought his passion, energy and good spirits to everything and everyone he touched over the years. My staff and I share the grief of and extend our condolences to Desi’s family and friends, and deeply mourn his untimely loss."

UPDATE, 1:55 P.M.: A statement from Stein Club president Jeff Richardson: "Desi Deschaine was a bright and shining star in the DC Democratic Party and in the DC activist community. Desi involved himself in every sector of DC society and loved to build bridges and facilitate connections across communities. Desi will be missed, but through the joy he shared with us and his deep commitment to the District his spirit will live on."

UPDATE, 5:20 P.M.: Friend Phil Attey has organized an impromptu vigil for Desi this evening at 7:30 in Logan Circle.

Photo from Facebook

He roundly defended the trip, calling the criticism he received the same-old, same-old: “I think you expect on every given day on every given issue that people will challenge you," he said.

While abroad, Fenty inserted himself into an international incident by attending a tennis tournament to which an Israeli player had been denied entrance; he later explained that away by noting that the tournament later agreed to allow another Israeli participate, making it, in Fenty's mind, A-OK for him to attend.

LL, for the most part, is willing to set aside the thorny issue of the tennis tournament. For one thing, WaPo's Marc Fisher was also there this afternoon, asking Fenty questions on tournament, so I'll leave him to weigh in on that aspect. But there's other extremely troubling facts about the trip that Fenty refuses to confront: the secrecy and the money.

Allow LL to lay out exactly, Mr. Mayor, what's wrong here.

It's not that you're traveling abroad. You yourself made foreign travel an issue during your council days by being a vocal critic—rightly so—of Mayor Anthony A. Williams and his extensive travel to various exotic locales. But LL does not begrudge you a vacation—in fact, when you traveled to the Caribbean with your family in 2007, it almost came as a pleasant surprise you wouldn't be dogmatic about your Tonyphobia. And LL even doesn't begrudge you the occasional trade mission.

What does rankle is unwarranted secrecy and undocumented money. This Dubai trip, financed by a foreign government with only the sketchiest details released about your travel itinerary, is the worst kind of junket.

You have done no better than Williams, and probably worse, on disclosing the financial details and dollar amount involved in your travel arrangements to Dubai. And David Nakamura reported in a blog post last week that not only did the United Arab Emirates give money directly to the District, but that this wasn't even the first time—the District took a donation from China in connection to your Olympic trip!

The money matters. As Fisher has already pointed out, if the UAE hadn't picked up the tab for your trip, would it have been easier for you to skip that tennis tournament that caused you so many problems? LL asked you after the event today if you felt obligated to attend the tournament. You said: "I feel like I'm a free person. I can decide whatever I want whenever I want. So, yes, I feel like it was my decision to make."

Maybe so, but given the money that exchanged hands and the secrecy thus far afforded that transaction, it's a lot harder to take that at face value. You have promised a full report, to be completed by Attorney General Peter Nickles; LL looks forward to reviewing it.

It would be nice if that report were accompanied by a commitment to greater transparency in these matters in the future, but that doesn't look likely.

You have preached transparency in government since entering public service. You did it again in your remarks today. But your approach to foreign travel has been perfectly opaque. The Dubai trip was never announced by your office, and when LL asked mayoral aides, he was told you were "away with your family"—implying this was a personal vacation. Williams, for all his international travels, never made a big secret of it; his office typically posted his schedule during said international junkets.

LL asked you this afternoon why you didn't announce the trip ahead of time. "It just hasn't been our practice," you said, and when LL asked if you'd commit to making it your practice, you refused. Your explanation for that: "Again, it hasn't been my practice. We have a public schedule and the public schedule has items that are open to the public to come to. I do an enormous amount of things with the D.C. government that aren't on the public schedule."

LL went on to point out Williams' rather low standards of transparency on foreign travel, then asked why you couldn't even match that.

"I'm a different person," you said.

Yep, but certainly not the "different person" you said you were during your campaign.