You Don't Have To Go Home, But You Can't Stay Here: Nothing like some nosy House Republicans to bring a protest to an end. After last week's hearing in Congress, the National Park Service and U.S. Park Police began enforcing a long-ignored ban on camping in McPherson Square today, which could be the first step toward closing up the Occupy D.C. encampment there. Now if only Congress would show similar concern about all the real problems in D.C.'s national parks. -1

Make Money Money: Turns out 2011 wasn't quite as bad financially for the D.C. government as everyone thought. An audit of the now-ended fiscal year revealed an extra $240 million in unexpected cash, thanks mostly to higher than projected capital gains and estate tax revenues. Predictably, the D.C. Council is already eyeing the windfall for an election-year tax cut. Also predictably, the city is expected to run a $150 million shortfall in the upcoming 2013 fiscal year. +3

Let Them Eat Beer: The District is suddenly awash in breweries, which means a lot of leftover zymurgical grain. The District also has a lot of people going hungry, especially with the economy the way it is. Turns out all that grain can be baked into bread. DC Brau teamed up with Pizzeria Paradiso recently to produce 65 loaves for Bread for the City, recycling barley that would have been turned into cattle feed and feeding people with it instead. The brewers eventually want to produce 500 loaves a month to donate to charity. Which could mean your bar tab is tax deductible. +3

The Circus Leaves Town: Besides the running circuses at the Wilson Building and the Capitol, the D.C. area is also home to one of the largest traveling three-ring productions in the world, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, which is owned by Feld Entertainment (the same company behind Disney on Ice). That may soon be changing. Feld announced plans today to relocate 190 jobs from its Vienna headquarters to a new office in Florida. Another 100 jobs will remain in Virginia. No word on where they'll send the clowns. -1

Friday's Needle rating: 34 Today's score: +4 Today's Needle rating: 38

Automatic For The People: The latest failure of Congress to get anything done won't just result in deserved mockery of the Supercommittee's name—it could also kill the local economy. The automatic cuts in federal spending that would be triggered in 2013, thanks to the committee's inability to agree on other ways to reduce the budget deficit, would take economic growth to zero in the area, local economy guru Stephen Fuller estimates. Then again, that would still put the D.C. area in better shape than most of the rest of the country. -3

Occupy The Budget: District officials say they're not ready to endorse pepper-spraying Occupy protesters quite yet, but the grumbling from authorities about the encampment in McPherson Square continues. Word came today that the District has spent $1 million over the last two months maintaining a police presence near the protests and marches. But considering the protests are calling attention to things like the vacant Franklin School, making McPherson Square feel lived in, and providing a new live music venue, it may be worth the cost. Of course, one way to cut expenses: Send fewer cops to the park. -1

Long Way Down: The escalator at the Rosslyn Metro station is the third-longest in the world. So falling down it would seem like the sort of thing you might have to be drunk to do. And in fact, that's exactly what Metro officials say caused a guy to do just that Friday evening, after having "several" alcoholic beverages, then trying to sit on the railing. He was treated at George Washington University Hospital and released. -1

I'm A Loser Baby: For a moment Sunday, it almost looked like the Washington Redskins would pull it off—not just an upset victory over the Dallas Cowboys, but also a win over the growing certainty most fans have that this year's team, despite all the promises from various fellows named Shanahan, is just not very good. And then, in a flash (or rather, a missed Graham Gano field goal in overtime), it was all over. Dallas won, 27-24. Afterwards, sports talk radio was full of discussion of "moral victories," but wide receiver Jabar Gaffney wasn't buying it; he took to Twitter to tell a Cowboys fan to kill himself. -3

Friday's Needle rating: 59 Today's score: -8 Today's Needle rating: 51

More Money, More Problems: Ordinarily, finding an extra $77 million in tax revenue floating around the District's budget would be great news. But since the D.C. Council was hoping to find an extra $135 million, today's announcement of new revenue projections actually came as a bit of a disappointment. The wait list for how to spend the new money is considerably longer than the new projections can pay for. What won't make the cut: More cops, Sunday library hours, and a whole bunch of other stuff the council was hoping it'd be able to deliver. -3

Does This Taxi Go To The Jail?: One way to make sure your organization doesn't receive negative press coverage for what it's doing is to avoid doing controversial things. Another is to arrest journalists who try to watch what you're doing. The D.C. Taxicab Commission apparently decided the second plan makes more sense, getting U.S. Park Police officers to detain Pete Tucker from The Fightback and Jim Epstein from Reason for recording and photographing a public meeting. Most taxi drivers at the meeting left in protest. Prediciton: If Tucker and Epstein have to pay cab fare any time in the next year, it'll only be because they're too shy to tell the drivers who they are. -2

The One That Got Away: There's nothing worse for newspaper types than to see a good story wind up running in the competition's pages before you have it—especially if you could have run it, yourself. As former Washington Post staffer Jose Antonio Vargas' moving narrative in the New York Times Magazine, exposing himself as an undocumented immigrant, made its way around the Internet today, the Times disclosed that it only ran there because the Post's Outlook section had killed it. Outlook editor Carlos Lozada says "a decision was made" to pass on it. Wonder how many people interested in the story will decide to pass on reading the Sunday Post and read the Times instead this week. -2

Are You Ready For Some Football?: Fantasy football addicts won't be the only people in the area complaining if the NFL season doesn't get on track this year. A study by the Maryland comptroller estimates the treasury will miss out on $40 million in revenue if the Baltimore Ravens and the Washington Redskins, both of which play their home games in the Old Line State, don't take the field. Which could be a reason to be glad D.C. hasn't actually built a stadium for the Redskins to return to the District—just what the city needs now is more unexpected budget cuts. (See the first item, if you had any doubts.) -1

Yesterday's Needle rating: 58 Today's score: -8 Today's Needle rating: 50

In its preliminary review of the Gray's budget, the D.C. Behavioral Health Association found reductions in vital services for children:

"$900,000 reduction from DMH’s contracts for non-Medicaid reimbursed services for children.  These services may include mobile crisis response – which prevents children from being hospitalized for psychiatric emergency – and D.C. Choices, which works to prevent youth in schools and the juvenile justice system from being sent to psychiatric residential treatment centers.

$2,500,000 reduction from DMH’s funds that support specialized, non-Medicaid reimbursed mental health treatment for traumatized children through CFSA's intra-district transfer, including Choice Provider assessment, training and practice capacity funds.

There is a $3 million local-funding cap on DMH’s specialty, in-home treatment services; if this applies to Medicaid-funded services, it would translate to an overall $10.3 million reduction in treatment funds.

An additional $80.7 million reduction in Medicaid provider payments that is not further detailed, but which may further reduce Medicaid funding for mental health providers."

Shannon Hall, executive director of the D.C. Behavioral Health Association, said via email:

"D.C. already under-spends on children's mental health treatment: we spent $13 million on our children's mental health program while Vermont, which has a similiar population size, spent $72 million.  Now Mayor Gray's proposed FY2012 further reduces the mental health services that keep children out of hospitals and out of the juvenile delinquency system.  It reduces the treatment funds that help parents improve their parenting skills.  Perversely, while cutting these effective programs, Mayor Gray proposes spending significantly more on the expensive interventions that don't have the proven track record of efficacy."

Councilmember David Catania may have something to say about these cuts. This past week he announced a sweeping proposal that would address children's mental health in a comprehensive way.

Experts Weigh In: The House is setting up a fight with the White House over school vouchers for low-income D.C. students, which the Obama administration is opposing on the theory that Congress really shouldn't be deciding who goes to which schools in the District. And like all issues, the future of D.C. education policy can be easily reduced to snappy soundbites from political operatives who have no stake in and know nothing about the situation! Just ask Georgia state Sen. Judson Hill, a Republican who bills himself as "the conservative leader who delivers," and muses to Politico: "Parents should have the say in their children's education before teachers or a union. Restricting parents control and supporting unions first only reinforces the fact that the president is not on the side of children." Pithy! Thanks for contributing your generic talking points to our local issues, Sen. Hill; it only, uh, "reinforces the fact" that D.C. should be run by Washingtonians. -1

Only Voters Pay Fines: When they're not writing legislation affecting a city they like to pretend they never even set foot in, members of Congress apparently like to spend their time parking illegally and running red lights. An investigation by Roll Call finds at least $15,000 in unpaid tickets pending against cars owned or driven by lawmakers (though some, like would-be New York Mayor Anthony Weiner, paid their tab when the paper called them). City law allows members of Congress to park without paying meters wherever they like as long as they're on official business—which seems like a decent provision to revisit in our time of budgetary crises. -2

There's Something About a Tweet That's Magic: Traveling between D.C. and points north by rail often means delays of uncertain causes and lengths. But now, thanks to the power of social networking, it will mean delays of uncertain causes and lengths with 140 character rationalizations—Amtrak has launched what it's calling a "pilot program" to tweet out status updates for major problems, using the catchy Twitter handle @AmtrakNEC (for Northeast Corridor). If all goes well, maybe next they'll start sending LinkedIn requests to Acela passengers. +1

Cars to Pedestrians, Cyclists—Drop Dead: Getting around the District without the protective cushioning of at least a ton of steel, plastic, glass, and a combustion engine is increasingly dangerous. Last year, the number of people hit by cars increased 25 percent over the year before; by now, three times a day, someone meets the business end of a vehicle. (Follow @StruckDC for a grisly tally.) Officials just kicked off a new campaign aimed at pedestrian and bike safety, which will include ticketing... pedestrians and cyclists. The good news: Once they're on the ground, they're very easy to hit with a ticket. -2

Yesterday's Needle rating: 63 Today's score: -4 Today's Needle rating: 59

One of the biggest costs putting the city in the red: the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services' continued insistence on placing youths in out-of-state residential treatment facilities. The juvenile justice agency is projected to spend $8.4 million more than originally allocated for this outsourcing. In a recent cover story we outlined reasons why this is an outdated, extremely costly, and ineffective use of public funds.

The DC Behavioral Health Association raised similar concerns about DYRS' emphasis on residential treatment in a 2010 report.

Trash Man Didn't Get the Trash Today: The real world impact of municipal budget cuts isn't always immediately apparent. But one of last fall's decisions may lead to obviously visible—and smellable—results. The D.C. Department of Public Works, facing a $3.9 million cut to its budget last year, decided to stop ordering trash cans and recycling containers. Which means there's a significant backlog for getting new ones out to new residents or replacements to people whose cans get stolen. Time to start composting! -2

Fake Pot, Real Cops: Federal authorities banned fake pot—known as K2 or Spice—earlier this month. A few weeks later, D.C. authorities are finally getting around to seeing if they can make a bust under the new regulations. Cops visited stores where they'd previously purchased the synthetic weed and threatened consequences if the stuff is still for sale. (It might go on your permanent record!) The whole exercise seems ridiculous; after all, the only reason there's any market for fake pot in the first place is because of the inane criminalization of real marijuana. -2

Constitution Avenue Reconstituted: Between the cherry blossoms and the rolling waves of spring breakers and their families heading to town, venturing anywhere near downtown during the spring usually means battling hordes of tourists, both on the sidewalks, in the Metro, and on the roads. Add to the usual seasonal chaos some serious road work. The National Park Service, which for some reason owns the length of Constitution Avenue, will tear up and replace the stretch between 15th Street NW and 23rd Street NW, one block at a time. The concrete under the road, which dates to the 1950s, will all be replaced with new slabs. It'll cost $10.3 million and should be done sometime in "early 2012." Don't hold your breath. -3

Snow? Really?: Just because we've sprung the clocks forward and it's officially spring doesn't mean you get to put the snow shovels away yet—weather forecasters say there's a chance of flurries or snow showers later this week. The good news: It wouldn't actually pile up anywhere. The bad news: If it's snowing, it won't be 60 degrees. -1

Yesterday's Needle rating: 67 Today's score: -8 Today's Needle rating: 59

Millions and Millions: A month ago, Mayor Vince Gray’s team released their new, terrifying estimate of the budget gap facing the District in fiscal 2012: $600 million. But today, chief financial officer Natwar Gandhi declared the actual shortfall will be $312 million. The difference, apparently, is due to higher than expected tax revenue from commercial properties; real estate taxes are expected to be up 16 percent next year. If the budget is really getting healthier at a rate of $70 million a week, maybe the city can lease a Lincoln Navigator for everyone by the fall! +3

Go Ride a Bike: At times during last year's mayoral election, you could be forgiven for thinking it was, instead, a referendum on bike lanes. New Census data makes clear, though, that the lanes are good for something—they get people riding bikes. Rates of Washingtonians commuting to work on two wheels are highest in neighborhoods where the city has installed good bike infrastructure. (No word on whether the Census findings have been adjusted to take former Mayor Adrian Fenty's job teaching at Oberlin into account; for a commute that far, you'd need to use a SmartCar, not a bike.) +2

One (Healthy) City: If the only thing hold the D.C. government back from greatness is junk food, greatness will soon be upon us. (Of course, that could be a big if.) Councilmember Mary Cheh is introducing legislation to replace the vending machines in city and federal buildings with offerings that have at least one ingredient besides high fructose corn syrup. Last year, Cheh brought veggie burgers to DCPS lunch menus, so she's probably serious. City workers can now look forward to vending machines always being out of celery around 4 p.m. every day. +2

Riggo Goes to Kenya?: The perfect gift for a football-loving wildlife photographer can be hard to think up. Nature and the NFL don't always go together perfectly, after all. Fortunately, John Riggins has solved the problem. The Washington Redskins career leading rusher ran a sweepstakes for a Kenyan photo safari on his website, which is now closed, but you can still purchase a trip for the low price of $2,995. On closer examination, it's unclear whether Riggo will necessarily accompany the winner on the trip, but so what? Remember: To get a reclusive cheetah to pose for a picture, just whisper to it, "Loosen up, cheetah baby." +1

Yesterday's Needle rating: 21 Today's score: +8 Today's Needle rating: 29

The Ice of the Inner Loop: Take one part rush hour, one part severe cold snap, one part aging infrastructure, mix gently, and what do you get? Chaos. A water main burst near Central Avenue early this morning, leaving several lanes of the Beltway under water—which, in the delightful Arctic cold that descended on the region this weekend, quickly turned icy. By mid-afternoon, the highway had only partially reopened, and 400,000 people in Prince George's County were under orders to boil tap water before drinking it. 55 more days until spring! -3

Hawking Books: The Library of Congress has more than 33 million books in its collection. But apparently, not a single one of them deals with ornithology. Officials at the library have been unable to convince a hawk to leave its new perch there since last week, resorting instead to putting up nets to keep the bird from swooping down and attacking researchers as they work in the Main Reading Room. (If new Republican members of Congress have their way, of course, the library will probably just declare the bird a national security threat and shoot it.) +1

Heighters Gonna Height: The view of Union Station from the north of the iconic train station is a tough one to capture—in no small part because looking at it from the north involves standing on train tracks. That hasn't stopped preservationists from arguing against a new mixed-use development that would sit above the rails, on the grounds that it violates the spirit (if maybe not the letter) of the Height Act, the 100-year-old law that's mostly now used as a weapon against interesting blueprints. The obvious punch line for this item would be, "Don't ever change, D.C.," but thanks to laws like the Height Act, it already can't. -2

At Eastern Motors, Your Government Job's Your Credit: Getting around D.C. isn't always easy: There's traffic, parking's expensive, gas costs a lot, the Metro rarely works right. Fortunately, next time you're dealing with inconvenient transportation logistics, you can take solace in the knowledge that a share of your tax dollars are paying for nearly $2,000-a-month SUV leases for both Mayor Vince Gray and D.C. Council Chairman Kwame Brown. After all, the city's budget deficit is only $600 million; why shouldn't our top two elected officials ride in style? -4

Friday's Needle rating: 50 Today's score: -8 Today's Needle rating: 42

D.C. Busted: For months, budget experts and politicians have been warning of how bad the District's fiscal situation is, and how much would have to be cut from expenditures (or raised in new taxes) to fill a $450 million gap in this year's balance sheet. Now it turns out the real shortfall is $600 million instead. The solution is obvious—start charging a tax on commuters from Maryland and Virginia who spend most of their weeks here and take all their income home with them—but unfortunately, that's not an option. (Thanks, Congress!) Look for a municipal bake sale soon, featuring $40,000 cupcakes; if it's sponsored by those folks with the TLC show, people are sure to buy 'em. -4

Run, Rudy, Run: And now, time for today's installment of completely arbitrary national rankings ginned up to get Web traffic by magazine editors. The latest news: D.C. lands at fifth on a list of the rudest cities in America compiled by Travel + Leisure. Their evidence of our obnoxious nature? Harry S Truman said to get a dog if you want a friend in Washington. The list is clearly wrong, regardless; Philadelphia came in third. Having lived there for more than six years, we can't really trust any rudeness ranking Philly doesn't top. -1

All Your Tax Are Belong To Us: A little-known side effect of being a U.S. colony is that technically, every dollar the D.C. government spends is appropriated to the city by Congress; local tax revenues are turned over to the U.S. Treasury, then given back to the District, in an accounting gimmick that makes about as much sense as, well, denying meaningful representation in the national legislature to residents of the nation's capital does. And so it is that the new Republican House has decided to try to ban District authorities from spending any money—even money that comes from local income or sales taxes—to pay for abortions. Passing laws that only affect a city where none of your constituents live is, clearly, the American dream. -3

Millions and Millions: George Washington University typically finds itself near the top of the "America's most expensive colleges" lists. But now it's clear that all that tuition money is good for something, after all: It can buy you luck! A GW alumnus, Gilbert Cisneros, and his wife Jacki won $266 million in a California lottery drawing last May, and they've given GW $1.1 million out of their haul. Presumably, soon you'll be able to buy lottery tickets with your GWorld card. +1

Yesterday's Needle rating: 55 Today's score: -7 Friday bonus: +2 Today's Needle rating: 50

"At a time when the District government is $500 million in the hole, allow me to suggest a quick way to slash $.2.6 million: 86 the OPC.

Born in the day when police were often accused of roughing up citizens, OPC is now redundant in an age of excessive scrutiny of cops."

Jaffe's column, written on May 12, essentially parrots the complaints forwarded from Kristopher Baumann, the D.C. Police union chief. It's Baumann's job to advocate for the rank and file; he does great work on behalf of his fellow officers. But Jaffe's job is to actually report accurately the facts, and formulate an independent opinion based on those facts. In this case,  Jaffe didn't even bother to interview anyone at the OPC.  Instead, he actually writes that the police do a good job of investigating their own.

Fortunately, the OPC's budget had zero chance of being eliminated. While Mayor Adrian Fenty had proposed cuts to the OPC, Councilmember Phil Mendelson restored the funds.

The OPC's standing was such that it didn't matter that the Examiner's columnist got his facts wrong.

In a letter-to-the-editor, OPC Executive Director Phil Eure writes in the May 26 Examiner:

"The next time that Harry Jaffe wants to propose that the D.C. Office of Police Complaints be eliminated, he should get his facts straight. Mr. Jaffe claims that the office issued only 'zero decisions' so far this year. The correct number is 172. He claims that last year, the office issued six decisions. The correct number is 338.

He further claims that the office is 'redundant' because it only gets a case after the Metropolitan Police Department has investigated and federal prosecutors have declined to prosecute. Actually, the police department does not investigate citizen complaints filed with our agency, and federal prosecutors only review complaints involving excessive force allegations — a very small fraction of the total number we receive.

Mr. Jaffe credits the Fraternal Order of Police's 'well-argued' letter to judiciary committee Chairman Phil Mendelson for making the case to 'ax' the office. Assuming that he is relying on the union's letter for the wrong statistics he cites, neither he nor the FOP has made a very good case to do away with independent police review in Washington, D.C."

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT—"Suspect: I Watched Project Runway During Wone Murder," "Budget Vote: Seniors Stage Protest," "Budget Silver Lining: Another Million For Bruce Monroe, Etc.," "Jim Graham Campaign Sign Scandal!"

BUDGET CLUSTERF**K 2010: Unfortunately, yesterday wasn't dominated by thought-provoking answers on how the District government could restore funds to services that address its most vulnerable residents. Yesterday was all about streetcar drama. It began at midnight with Gray's decision to cut streetcar funds. He argued that the cuts would have gone a long way toward closing the budget gap. Then....all hell broke loose. Here's a timeline:

*At Noon: D.C. Wire reported that the D.C. Council voted to strip funding for the streetcar project: "The D.C. Council Wednesday approved stripping funds designated to bring streetcar service back to the city in an effort to close a $550 million budget gap. The vote effectively delays the launch of the streetcars. The council still must vote on the change when it votes on the full budget later today. The council voted to take $49 million for street car system and distribute it among other projects. Gabe Klein, director of the District Department of Transportation, was lobbying furiously to save the funds from being redistributed. 'It will essentially kill the program,' he said. 'If they kill it, basically, it goes on ice.'"

*At 1:10 p.m.: Council Chairman Vincent Gray released a statement affirming the decision to kill streetcar funding: "I am firmly committed to a new streetcar system in the District. But we owe it ourselves to have a well thought out planning process. We can't afford the mayor's approach of 'build now and plan later', which only results in poor outcomes and much higher costs in the end."

Here's more from the Gray statement:

“But we owe it to ourselves to have a well thought out planning process. We can’t afford to adopt the Mayor’s approach of “build now and plan later,” which only results in poor outcomes and much higher costs in the end. Comprehensive planning, transportation and engineering work needs to be done, and the Council has allocated $5 million to complete the planning process necessary to give us the most efficient use of our dollars. I have every intention of moving forward with streetcars however, we need to use some of the dollars for more immediate projects, like renovation of middle schools.

This approach, which was passed today by the Council by a vote of 11-2 in the Committee of the Whole, will allow for better collaboration and cooperation with residents, business owners, and other stakeholders, and result in a much better streetcar system in the end.”

D.C. Councilmember Tommy Wells' streetcar defense—and the back and forth—hit Twitter:

"I believe this will kill this project for another generation" — Tommy Wells.

Tommy Wells: "Are you aware we may lose $100-197M in stimulus funding?" Gray: "Yes."

*At 3:10 p.m.: WaPo's Nikita Stewart reports that streetcar funding may be resurrected: "Chairman Vincent C. Gray (D) is expected to announce Wednesday that the city has found enough money to restore funding for street car service in the District. Earlier Wednesday, the council approved taking $49 million from the streetcars to use to balance city's budget and help fund other projects. That vote effectively delayed the launch of the streetcars by two years."

*At 3:35: D.C. Wire's Nikita Stewart reports that the streetcar project has been saved. "Gray spokeswoman Doxie McCoy said $10 million would be made available immediately to purchase streetcars in fiscal 2011. Another $37 million would be place in reserve pending an operations and funding proposal from Mayor Adrian Fenty. The council would then have to approve the proposal. The decision to restore funding came just hours after the council decided to pull money from the streetcars to fund other services. But within moments of the decision, the council was inundated with calls."

*At 8:22 p.m.: Gray Spokesperson Doxie McCoy sent out an e-mail declaring that the press had gotten it all wrong about the Council Chairman killing streetcars. The statement is as wonky and deliberative as you can imagine. It's also amazingly lame damage control [strong use of bold and Ital all McCoy's]:

"Streetcars were never dead. Earlier today, the Chairman got the Council to slow them down to allow proper planning, which is still required after the vote on the Fiscal year 10 and 11 budgets today. Since the statement below from earlier this afternoon, during the break between the Committee of the Whole and the legislative session, Gray consulted with the CFO’s office to look for alternatives to move forward given plans on H Street and Benning Road, NE already underway. And here is what they came up with: identified $10M in capital funds to be borrowed in FY to purchase three cars for H and Benning that had been in the works….plus $37M in capital funding to be borrowed. However, the $37 M will not be released until the executive presents a planning and financing plan to the Council for approval. In real dollars, the District will have to pay $4 M in FY 10 and 11 to cover the debt created by the borrowing and the CFO says that amount is available in the debt service reserves fund and will not affect any other projects or programs."

I can't wait to see Gray debate his waffling on streetcars. The Council Chairman makes a good point, one echoed by policy wonks—that the street car project may need a more rigorous plan. Still, he had given zero indication—at least publicly—that streetcar funds were on the chopping block. He just looked silly slaughtering the streetcar funds at the last minute. Did yesterday's scene remind you of Linda Cropp's waffling on baseball? First she was for it. Then she was against it. Then who the hell remembers?

AFTER THE JUMP—More streetcars, more budget winners and losers.

STREETCAR FALLOUT: WaPo's Tim Craig and Nikita Stewart provide excellent coverage of yesterday's fight over streetcars. D.C. Council Chair Vincent Gray needs to position himself as the champion of those left out of Fenty's dog-park love, rec center ribbon cuttings, and well, improving schools and decreases in crime. But he also can't alienate the yuppies and/or nostalgic old-timers who embraced streetcars. Craig and Stewart write:

"After a backlash from at least one member of Congress and hundreds of residents who jammed government phone lines, community e-mail groups and Gray's Web site — the late-night maneuver had been scrapped. By midday Wednesday, Gray was back at the council dais, telling his colleagues that he and city finance officials had found $50 million to keep the streetcar program on track.

The saga of the streetcars is emblematic of one of the central tensions between the campaigns of Gray and Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) as well as the voters they're targeting. Fenty has been criticized for favoring newcomers over more established Washingtonians and for using scarce resources to build dog parks, recreation centers and streetcar lines instead of bolstering more traditional social services.

Gray has sought to capitalize on that sentiment by establishing himself as a champion of those who feel left out, but he must do so without turning off voters who value the new services.

In the days leading up to Wednesday's budget vote, Gray had sought to navigate political land mines surrounding proposals to establish a soda tax, increase taxes on the wealthy and restore millions in proposed cuts to social service programs.

Touting himself as the candidate in the September Democratic primary who can unite the city, Gray tried to fashion an election-year budget that would keep him from making enemies in a city often divided by class and race."

Gray did himself no favors by appearing to be a little too cute with the budget. He waited till the 11th hour to cut the streetcar funding. And he never provided a real alternative to the proposed tax increase on the city's wealthy elites. Instead, he looked like he was playing politics. More streetcar coverage via The Examiner, NC8, WBJ.

TAX PLAN FAILS: Despite Save Our Safety Net's Wilson Building protest this morning (NBC4), the D.C. Council ruled out a tax increase on the District's top wage earners as a way to restore funds to social services. The Examiner reports: "The D.C. Council voted down a proposed tax increase for residents making more than $350,000 a year Wednesday while initially approving next fiscal year's budget, which expands sales taxes to soda drinks but avoids raising parking meter fees to as much as $3 an hour. The income tax increase, proposed by Ward 1 Councilman Jim Graham, would have raised the income taxes for wealthy residents from 8.5 percent to 8.9 percent. The measure, which failed 8-5, received vocal support from a number of social service groups present at the council hearing. Graham said the measure would raise $77 million over four years and would be 'paid for by those who can most afford to pay this.' The extra revenue would have been used to pay for services such as assistance for the disabled and grandparents raising children. Mayor Adrian Fenty proposed a number of cuts to social services as part of his effort to bridge a more than $500 million budget gap. But opponents of the tax increase said it would lead to the 4,000 residents who would be hit with the tax to simply change their primary residences to their second homes in more tax-friendly states."

In a WBJ story on the taxes, Councilmember Yvette Alexander explains why she voted against the tax increase: “Let’s be fair. You can’t just depend on the resources of a few for the masses. You just can’t do that.” A real profile in courage. And a complete misreading of the tax-increase proposal. The proposal would have actually leveled the playing field since the tax rate currently places too much burden on middle-class and lower-middle-class earners. More coverage via DCist, D.C. Wire, WJLA.

The D.C. Council may have settled on something more sensible—and something all residents could get behind—the commuter tax. Too bad it will never happen. WBJ's Michael Neibauer writes: "The budget also includes a tax on the incomes of D.C. government employees who live outside the city and are paid with local revenues. If enacted, the tax would generate upward of $105 million, said Councilman Harry Thomas Jr., D-Ward 5. But because the Home Rule Charter bars the District from taxing the incomes of people who work in D.C. but live elsewhere, the change will require Congressional approval — and that’s very unlikely."

SODA TAX: Who's sick of the soda tax? It passed.

MAYOR'S SCHEDULE:
4 p.m. Remarks: Demolition for new Minn Ave/Benning Road Development
Location: 4004 Minnesota Avenue NE

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT—"Defense Hounds Cops for Questioning Robert Wone's Sexuality," "Wone Investigators Found No Fingerprints On Fence"

Howdy. Today, the D.C. Council votes on the budget. Expect a lot of activity down at the Wilson Building. And a lot of political gamesmanship. WaPo's Tim Craig offers a solid think piece on the negotiations between Mayor Adrian Fenty and the D.C. Council. It certainly does not look good for the Fair Budget Coalition and the Save Our Safety Net folks who pressed for tax increases on the city's elite as a way of preventing millions in cuts to social services. Craig writes that the council and the mayor do not seem willing to make the really hard choices during an election year. "When the D.C. Council votes on the budget Wednesday, it will make some major changes to the city's 2011 spending plan, including a sales tax on carbonated sugar sodas and on medical marijuana. But members have tabled many proposals for fear that they — not the mayor — would be tagged as having increased taxes or made crippling cuts to social service programs. With Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray challenging Mayor Adrian M. Fenty's reelection bid this year, neither wants to be perceived as the bad guy, causing some to fear that District finances could collapse next year when the shadow of politics lifts from the city budget." Key quote: "'We are saying it's too onerous to do this year,' council member Jack Evans (D-Ward 2), the chairman of the Committee on Finance and Revenue, said recently about his colleagues' hesitance to discuss major spending reductions or tax increases. 'However, next year, at the same time, at this exact place, we are going to have to do it. . . . There is no savings account left.'" Meanwhile, WUSA9 looks at the possibility of a commuter tax. More coverage via WTOP, WJLA.

SODA TAX IS BACK: Late yesterday evening, WaPo's Tim Craig (again!) reports in the D.C. Wire that Council Chair Vincent Gray has revived the soda tax in a last-minute effort to shore up the budget. Craig writes: "Gray has included another form of beverage tax in his recommended fiscal year 2011 budget, the Washington Post has learned. The revised proposal, which comes despite fierce opposition from the beverage industry, would extend the city's 6 percent sales tax to sodas and other 'non-alcoholic beverages with natural or artificial sweeteners.' Such beverages currently are excluded from the sales tax because they are considered grocery items. The proposal, which will be voted on by the council Wednesday, would generate about $8 million in revenue. About $6.5 million would be used to fund Cheh's Healthy Schools initiative, which requires city schools serve more fresh fruits and vegetables to students. The remainder of the revenue would go into the general fund." The Blimpies Lobby totally failed on this one!

AFTER THE JUMP—housing and homeless services still taking hits, the death of the $3 per-hour parking meter, Save our Safety Net disrupts D.C. Council breakfast, Congress proposes aid to Metro, and much, much more!

SAFETY NET CUTS: The D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute reports that after all the protests and lobbying from nonprofit groups, the D.C. Council has not restored funding to several programs. It looks like housing assistance and homeless services are still taking big hits in this budget. [But let's make sure to keep on funding $400,000 dog parks]. Here is a breakdown provided by DCFPI:

"Rapid Housing: $1.1 million cut, eliminating the program
This program keeps kids with their parents when the risk of homelessness threatens to force children into the foster care system. It also supports children aging out of foster care who have nowhere to go. Every dollar invested in it saves four dollars in foster care costs that year. Eliminating this program, which helps 150 families per year, will push children into the foster care system.

Grandparent Caregiver: $2 million cut
This program keeps children out of foster care by giving grandparents financial support to take care of grandchildren. This $2 million cut means 250 grandparents will lose assistance. Also, assistance to grandparents could be cut as much as $380 per month. More children will be forced to enter the foster care system.

Emergency Rental Assistance: $1.3 million cut
This program helps low-income families stay in their homes and out of shelters by providing one-time assistance to pay overdue rent or a security deposit or first month’s rent.. The $1.3 million cut will put another 650 families at risk of homelessness.

Interim Disability Assistance: $6 million cut
IDA provides temporary cash assistance to poor adults with disabilities while they wait for months or even years for their application for federal Supplemental Security Income to be processed. For most recipients it is the only source of financial support they receive besides food stamps during that time. The Council has restored only $1 million to the IDA program, leaving a $6 million cut. Every $1 million restored would provide benefits for 300 low-income adults with disabilities.

Homeless Services: $4 million cut
Family homelessness increased 37 percent in two years. Last winter, 200 families were crammed into space suitable for only 135. This month, the Department of Human Services has turned away homeless families with children who have absolutely no other place to go. Yet the budget for homeless services was cut $4 million in 2010 and kept at that level for 2011.

Local Rent Supplement Program: $1 million cut
This program provides housing vouchers for very low income families. Many families that benefit from this program were homeless prior to participating in it. $2 million was cut from LSRP last year. The Council has restored $1 million. Restoring the remaining $1 million would help 75 families get safe and affordable housing."

BREAKFAST SLAM: This morning, Save Our Safety Net surprised the D.C. Council's morning breakfast meeting with a protest, D.C. Wire reports, in what amounts to a last-minute appeal to restore cuts to the District budget. It appears Councilmember Michael Brown has at least temporarily given up on his tax-increase proposal. WaPo's Tim Craig writes: "'D.C. deserves better than this,'" one woman began shouting. 'We want to know who is going to stand up today for a strong safety net.' The advocates are lobbying in support of a proposal by council member Michael Brown (I-At large) to increase taxes on the wealthy to spare some cuts to social service programs. Brown's proposal would impose income tax rates of 8.9 or 9.4 percent for top wage earners. But Brown said today he will not push for his proposal at today's meeting because he is comfortable that the council is already restoring funding for key social service programs. 'We are going to have to revisit this later this year, definitely next year,' Brown told the Washington Post's Mike DeBonis. 'I got [the cuts] restored in another way.' The crowd, which forced many members to flee their breakfast meeting while they awaited for the security guards to restore order, spent about 10 minutes shouting various chants. 'Can you guys leave so we can have our' meeting, Council member Yvette Alexander (D-Ward 7) said one point."

$3 PARKING METERS: The Examiner's Alan Suderman has more on the budget negotiations. He reports that Gray has ruled out Fenty's proposed $3 per-hour rate on some parking meters: "What's not expected to change is the council's rejection of Mayor Adrian Fenty's proposal to raise parking meter rates, including charging $3 an hour — or 25 cents for five minutes — for so called 'premium demand' spots in downtown and Georgetown. Fenty proposed them as part of a way to bridge a more than $500 million budget gap. But the proposed meter rate increases created an uproar from restaurant owners and Fenty quickly said the $3-an-hour rates were negotiable. John Townsend, spokesman for AAA Mid-Atlantic, said the rejection of the fees was a 'victory' for city residents. 'You cannot nickel and dime people to death with fees,' Townsend said. 'I think the council got the message.'"

METRO FARE HIKE NEWS: The Examiner's Kytja Weir reports that eight Democratic senators have introduced a $2 billion bill aimed at aiding transit agencies: "The Public Transportation Preservation Act of 2010 would help transit agencies nationwide help close funding gaps that have occurred amid the broader economic crisis. The bill arrived just two days before Metro's board of directors is slated to vote on a fare increase that would raise bus, rail and MetroAccess fares significantly, with the longest train rides potentially topping $5 per one-way trip. The transit agency is considering the increases as it stares down a record $189.2 million gap in its proposed $1.4 billion operating budget. 'We have a major budget problem, and anything we can do to solve that without taking money from somewhere else would make us happy,' Metro Board Chairman Peter Benjamin said when told of the bill. But he said he had questions about it, including the funding formula that dictates how much Metro could get, what strings would be attached and when it would arrive....Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd, D-Conn., plus seven other senators, including Robert Menendez, D-N.J., Dick Durbin, D-Ill., Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, Jack Reed, D-R.I., and Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., introduced the bill. It calls for transit agencies to use the money to reduce fare increases and restore services that were cut after January 2009 — or to prevent future service cuts or fare increases through September 2011. Under those parameters, Metro could apply any money to backfill the current budget or the pending one."

CHILDREN'S RIGHTS: WaPo's Lena Sun profiles the work between the Children's Law Center and local doctors: "As part of a medical-legal partnership that began in 2002, lawyers work alongside doctors at four District clinics run by the hospital. Their shared goal is to overcome legal and social challenges that threaten the care of their patients — low-income children, predominantly African American, and virtually all covered by Medicaid."

TOURISM NEWS: WBJ's Michael Neibauer reports that DCRA is making it easier for tour guides to get city licenses: "Under existing law, tour guides must also not be epileptics. They must not be new Washington-area residents, or hard of hearing, or a drunkard or 'subject to vertigo.' But that will soon change, as the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs has proposed easing the conditions for becoming a licensed tour guide. All applicants will still have to pass a test 'covering the applicant’s knowledge of buildings and points of historical and general interest in the District.' But under the new rules, gone is the mandate that a licensed sightseeing guide be a U.S. citizen who has lived in the Washington area for at least two years. Gone is the demand that an applicant 'read, write and speak English;' it is replaced with 'proficient in the English language.' No longer must an aspiring guide maintain a 'sound physique' with at least 20/40 eyesight and hearing in both ears, not live with epilepsy, vertigo or heart trouble, and be free from any contagious or infectious disease. And a 'drunkard,' according to the amended rules, is free to apply."

UNION'S FADING INFLUENCE: Examiner Columnist Jonetta Rose Barras thinks union endorsements are way overrated (see: Linda Cropp).

LOCAL MYSTERY: WaPo's J. Freedom du Lac tries to figure out what happened to Hattie McDaniel's Oscar. It had been given to Howard University's theater department and then vanished: "When she died of breast cancer in 1952, McDaniel bequeathed her Oscar to Howard's drama department, which had honored the pioneering actress with a luncheon after her win. (McDaniel had no academic affiliation with the school.) Howard archivists say there's no official record that the university ever received the award, which was a plaque, not one of the iconic Oscar statuettes. (Supporting actor and actress winners didn't get statuettes until 1943.) But former students vividly recall seeing it in the school's fine-arts building, Childers Hall. Charles "Buddy" Butler, a theater major who graduated from Howard in 1968, says he saw the plaque displayed in a glass-enclosed case in the Childers greenroom. The university's drama chairman at the time, Owen Dodson, 'was so proud of having it at Howard,' says Butler, who now teaches theater at San Jose State University in California. 'Dodson talked about it as something we, as African American students, could aspire to.' Sometime after Butler graduated, though, McDaniel's award vanished. Gone, as it were, with the wind. Was it taken by student protesters to repudiate the subservience of McDaniel's Mammy? The Wikipedia entry on McDaniel states as fact that her Oscar "disappeared during racial unrest [at Howard] in the late 1960s." (One version of that popular theory has students tossing the award into the Potomac.) Other theories abound: Maybe the plaque was moved for safekeeping during a period of black-power protest and never made it back to its display case. A professor might have walked away with it. Perhaps it was stolen, then sold to a collector. Any of this could have happened in 1968. Or was it 1973?"

POLICE CHASE: A police chase ends in crash; the suspect got away. D.C. Police make arrests in two cold case murders, NC8 reports.

ROBERT WONE: The latest from the trial in D.C. Superior Court.

ICE CREAM NEWS: The downtown Gifford's recently got shut down by the city's health department. DCist reports that the shop hopes to open soon.

MAYOR'S SCHEDULE: No public events are scheduled.

D.C. COUNCIL SCHEDULE: You know what they're doing.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT—"Photos: Official Portraits," "Crime Scene Tech: No Sign Of Break-In After Robert Wone Murder," "Prosecutors Play Joe Price's Police Interrogation Video," "Defense: Missing Blood Theory in Robert Wone Case Based On Faulty Tests,""Outrage Erupts at D.C. Green Groups' Ties To BP"

Howdy. It looks very unlikely that the D.C. Council will raise taxes on the city's elite in an effort to restore spending cuts to District services. As the budget talks come to a close, advocates are intensifying their efforts—enlisting the assistance of Councilmember Michael Brown. D.C. Wire's Tim Craig reports: "Currently, all District wage-earners who make $40,000 or more pay an 8.5 percent income tax. Brown has proposed creating another bracket for residents who make $250,000 a year or more and another for people who earn at least $1 million annually. Brown appears to have support from Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6), Marion Barry (D-Ward 8) and Jim Graham (D-Ward 1), according to Joni Podschun, campaign manager for Save Our Safety Net. Without a tax increase, Podschun and Brown note, the city will be slashing millions of dollars from programs for the homeless and poor." But Vincent Gray has balked at this plan. He wants to deliberate more: "In an interview, Gray said the council needs a 'longer and more protracted' discussion about taxes and spending that he hopes will continue even after Wednesday's vote on the budget. 'We need a 365-day discussion,' Gray said." Is Gray parodying himself?

AFTER THE JUMP—The wheels start coming off MetroAccess, a judge declares the D.C. Jail a disgrace, CFO takes over the Housing Authority, budget talks, and much, much more.

HOUSING TAKEOVER: The District's CFO is taking over the Housing Authority's finances—an action stemming from Fenty's frat-brother contract controversy. The Examiner's Alan Sudermanreports: "CFO Natwar Gandhi told the Housing Authority on Monday that he's taking control of its 'financial operations and financial staff' starting July 1. The move comes at the behest of some council members who are upset that Mayor Adrian Fenty used the quasi-independent agency to award about $100 million in city contracts without council approval. The council has appointed a special investigator to examine how Fenty's fraternity brothers wound up receiving approval to manage about $80 million in Department of Parks and Recreation projects. The Fenty administration has said it has done nothing wrong, and the contracts were awarded through the Housing Authority not to sidestep council oversight but to speed up the construction of parks, ball fields and recreation centers. Ward 5 Councilman Harry Thomas Jr. said he was pleased by Gandhi's decision, and said the move was a "refutation of some bad financial practices" that had occurred at DCHA. 'We need more oversight, and more review of what was going on there,' Thomas said. 'It's a good step on behalf of the city to ensure that those dollars are being spent the right way.'"

BUSBOYS AND POETS OWNER: Andy Shallal wrote an op-ed on Sunday that we missed (apologies). He writes an eloquent plea to the D.C. Council to raise his taxes if it means supporting social services:

"Sure, raising taxes for this reason is in my self-interest. I'm a business owner in this city, and I want more customers to have money to spend at my restaurants. Having a city with a widening gulf of haves and have-nots simply doesn't bode well for my long-term business plans.

My personal stake in this doesn't end there. One of the proposals I support is raising the income tax on the top 5 percent of earners in the city. I fall into this category, and I'm happy to tell the D.C. Council that I'm not about to move to Bethesda or Fairfax if it takes this step. My family certainly isn't going to leave behind our friends, neighbors, doctors, etc., just because of a half-percentage increase on our income taxes. I love this city and want all its residents, not just a few, to prosper....I support the proposal to modernize our sales tax system by adding services such as dog grooming, yoga classes and theater tickets to our tax code. I also don't think that those who invest in out-of-state bonds should receive a tax exemption. That creates an incentive for people to invest in Chicago and Seattle instead of in the District.

I invite you to look at what infrastructure investment can do for a city. Take 14th and U streets, for example. This dynamic part of town came about because the District decided to put resources here: The city built the Frank Reeves Municipal Center to create a daytime office population, and it worked with Metro to open a Green Line Metro station. That has brought with it millions of dollars of transit-oriented development and new residents for our city. And that means more tax revenue for schools, splash parks and libraries."

The D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute breaks down the budget cuts and starts another call-in campaign for today. D.C. Wire's Nikita Stewart reports on a big push to restore funding to the Office of Latino Affairs.

D.C. JAIL: Department of Corrections Director Devon Brown has made some strides in improving the D.C. Jail. What those improvements might be, LL wouldn't know. Brown helms one of the least transparent city agencies. What we do know is that the jail has had a problem with violence, security cameras that produce video that no one can see [or you have to wait years to see], and had had issues identifying suicidal inmates. And now we know something else about the D.C. Jail. We now know that a judge thinks the jail is a disaster. WTOP reports: "A D.C. Superior Court judge says the D.C. jail is the disgrace of the nation's capital. Speaking at a community meeting. D.C. Magistrate Judge Richard Ringell said there aren't enough services for the inmates. 'That jail sometimes is not the place in order to solve the community ills,' he said. 'They do have programs in there to help people who have substance abuse, but it certainly isn't the best environment.'" Brown actually responds with some weak offer: "'For the judge to hold a belief that the department is anything but a national leader is not accurate,' Brown says. He says he's invited all of the judges to tour the jail. 'Many of them have accepted my invitation. I don't recall this judge having done so,' Brown said." What would would a judge get out of a tour of the jail?

WaPo's editorial board praises Virginia's governor for making improvements to its services to ex-cons.

SLEEPER CAR: In the wake of last week's incident involving a man found dead on the Red Line, WaPo's Petula Dvorak tries to figure out what happens or doesn't happen when people fall asleep on the Metro: "No one knows how many people passed Van Houter as he was slumped in his seat. The 52-year-old computer programmer boarded the train at the Twinbrook Station on the way to work as a government contractor. He died, presumably of natural causes, sometime between boarding the train for his morning commute and when a train operator found him in the Shady Grove rail yard in the afternoon. Things haven't changed much in the ensuing week. There were 57 people in the car leaving Twinbrook this morning. There were no empty seats. A car full of humans and no human interaction. 'Like him. I wouldn't go wake him up,' Ricki Peltzman said, looking over her paper at a man across the aisle. He had a salt-and-pepper brush cut, wore suspenders and looked to be about the age of Van Houter. He had nodded off and leaned forward, his forehead jiggling against the seat in front of him. No one, except for the little tourist boy in a matching shorts-and-shirt set, looked at one another on the train. Half the riders wore headphones; about a third were scrolling or thumb-tapping their PDAs. Hundreds of people must have walked past Van Houter, scrolling through Facebook updates about what their friends ate for breakfast or what they did over the weekend. There are TMI posts about body functions or Twitter confessions, kilobytes of intimate details swirling around us 24/7."

METRO CUTBACKS: WaPo's Ann Scott Tyson reports that Metro is cutting its services for the elderly and disabled. The reason is very Catch-22. The increased demand has made the program unsustainable: "The proposed changes would curtail service and toughen eligibility requirements. Rates for MetroAccess would rise to twice the comparable base bus fare, and the surcharge on longer trips would increase. If the bus fare increases, there would be a proportional increase in the paratransit fare. In addition, Metro plans to begin more rigorous screening of customers July 1, classifying them not only as "eligible" or "ineligible" but adding a category for those who are "conditionally" eligible....But customers and advocates for the disabled said the service cuts and fare increases would cause serious hardship for some of Metro's most dependent riders. Moreover, they said, some of the changes could be difficult, if not impossible, to implement. Linda Lupaczyk is blind and depends on MetroAccess to get to her job at Home Depot, where she answers phones. Lupaczyk, who rents a room in Centreville and cannot afford her own residence, said that if MetroAccess raises fares, she will have to cut back on groceries."

STEVIE WONDER: Hundreds of DCPS teachers will be losing out on free Stevie Wonder tickets. The tickets have been stolen. NC8 reports: "The concert was a goodbye gesture from the family of the late Abe Pollin, who built the Verizon Center, to the city's public servants. After selling the Washington Wizards to Capitals Owner Ted Leonsis, the family arranged for the free concert, with TicketMaster designated to distribute the tickets to various city institutions — including police, fire, and schools. Each agency's human resources department received a password to access their tickets online. At D.C. public schools, which received 1,500 tickets, somebody got the password and, as schools spokesperson Jennifer Calloway put it: "An unknown individual or individuals falsely claimed the vast majority of the tickets before DCPS could redeem and distribute them to teachers."

RON MACHEN JR. Our new U.S. Attorney was sworn in yesterday in District Court. Legal Times reports: "On the sixth floor, in the ceremonial courtroom, Machen's friends and family—and some 200 spectators—gathered for his formal installation as the top federal prosecutor in the District of Columbia. The former Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr partner was confirmed for the post in February, replacing Jeffrey Taylor, who joined Ernst & Young. In remarks, Machen talked about what he called the long road here, which included a stint as a federal prosecutor in D.C. under then-U.S. Attorney Eric Holder Jr. Machen said he was struck back then by Holder's pride in representing D.C.—and, he joked, by the size of Holder’s office."

ROBERT WONE: Read the latest from the trial.

MAYOR'S SCHEDULE: 10:30 a.m. Remarks
Ribbon Cutting for Park Morton Playground
Location: Park Morton
600 Block Park Rd. NW

3:30 p.m. Remarks
Hilton Ribbon Cutting with Magic Johnson
Location: Washington Hilton Hotel
1919 Connecticut Ave. NW

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT—'Robert Wone's 'Meticulous' Habits Contrary to Cluttered Crime Scene," "Voice of Maureen Bunyan Pivotal To Robert Wone Case," "EMS Worker Was Suspicious of Robert Wone Pal Price"

Howdy. Good afternoon. Lots good stuff so let's get to it. First big news on budget transparency. Nonprofits and social service providers won a big victory yesterday. They had been grumbling behind the seems—and to LL—about how the haggling over the budget would be taking place mostly behind closed doors. Well, D.C. Council Chair—and mayoral candidate—Vince Gray responded to those grumblings and has agreed to broadcast the horsetrading on Channel 13 today. Gray wrote to D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute's Executive Director Ed Lazere with the news. The letter was then forwarded to the press by Gray staff. Gray writes:

"I am alerting your organization and others who wrote me on May 13th that I have arranged for the Office of Cable Television to air live on Council Channel 13 (Comcast) the informal Councilmember budget discussion at 10 AM on Wednesday, May 19th. In addition, I have opened Room 123 of the John A. Wilson Building for the public to view the budget talks via the television monitor in the hearing room at the same time they air live. As is standard, the public also can view the live proceedings on the Council web site at www.dccouncil.us. I am pleased to offer this new access to the public, which is in line with my continuing efforts to promote transparency in government.

As you may be aware, all Councilmembers and select staff attend these informal meetings in the Chairman’s Conference Room on the 5th floor of the Wilson Building. Last year, I opened the sessions to the press as very limited space allowed. I have made these sessions more open than ever by allowing press access. The news coverage has generated enormous feedback from the public through emails directly to members and to staff, phone calls and face-to-face conversations. In addition, pages and pages of public witnesses have testified at marathon budget oversight hearings and mark-ups in recent weeks, and have used these opportunities to comment on agency budgets, and on possible cuts and revenue raising ideas they learned about from numerous news reports, neighborhood list servs and other social media.

I hope that by witnessing these budget talks on television or online, District of Columbia residents will be motivated to offer even more feedback to Councilmembers as we face difficult decisions and the first vote on the budget on May 26th. We sincerely appreciate and consider this feedback to be important to the process of formulating a budget plan that meets the needs of our city in very challenging economic times.

Thank you for your steadfast interest in the fiscal affairs of the District of Columbia."

LL loves transparency. You should too.

AFTER THE JUMP: A congressional foe goes down, more from the Wone trial, a mysterious death on the Metro, the D.C. Council fails to address Fenty's fee increases, and much, much, more!

SEE YA, SOUDER: D.C. Wire's Mike DeBonis reports that Rep. Mark Souder's sudden resignation is a boon to the District as the congressman had been one of the most notorious meddlers in city affairs taking particular aim at our gun laws and our needle-exchange program. DeBonis gets great quotes from Councilmember David Catania on the good news. He writes: "Local self-determination advocates will remember Souder 'as one of the more outspoken people who was willing to impose his own views over the objections of the elected representatives and people of the District,' says Walter Smith, executive director of D.C. Appleseed, a think tank that advocates for D.C. voting rights. At least one city official made no attempt to disguise his glee at Souder's demise. 'Ding-dong, the witch is dead,' said At-Large Council member David A. Catania (I) this afternoon. 'You could almost hyperventilate explaining the hypocrisy of this man's career....I'm sorry for his wife, but I'm glad it happened to him. It couldn't have happened to a more deserving guy.'"

BROWN AND GRAY WIN ENDORSEMENTS: D.C. Wire reports that Gray and Brown have won pivotal endorsements from labor: "Council Chairman Vincent Gray picked up the backing Wednesday of the American Federation of Government Employees, a federal and D.C. government employee union that represents 600,000 workers. In announcing support for Gray in his mayoral bid, the group took aim in a statement at Mayor Adrian Fenty, who has had tense relations with city government workers throughout his tenure. 'We understand that this election is a fight for the soul of the District of Columbia. Will this be a city that supports working people or will it be a city that only supports the wealthy and well-connected? That is what we're fighting for and that is why we're supporting Vincent Gray.' Separately, the Service Employees International Maryland/DC State Council announced support Wednesday for Council member Kwame Brown (D-At Large) in his campaign to succeed Gray as chairman.The union, which represents 15,000 workers in the Washington region, pledged to help Brown with mailings and door-to-door campaigning as he faces former council member Vincent Orange in the Democratic primary. The group praised Brown for his support of legislation guaranteeing paid sick time for workers and for a measure that boosted wages for private security officers." D.C. Wire also reports that Brown is getting financial backing from the District's bigwigs.

FEE FIGHT: Yesterday, the D.C. Council decided it wanted to play no part in enacting Mayor Fenty's proposed fee increases as a way of increasing much needed revenue. The Examiner's Alan Suderman reports: "The D.C. Council on Tuesday came close to passing Mayor Adrian Fenty's proposed increases for more than 600 fees and fines — including a tenfold increase for some driving tickets — before having second thoughts and telling the mayor to do it himself. 'If you want to nickel-and-dime residents ... then take full responsibility for it,' said Councilman Phil Mendelson, D-at large. Fenty proposed more than $7.5 million worth of fee and fine increases effective June 1 to close a budget gap in the fiscal year that ends in September. The increases are wide-ranging and include higher fees for businesses and nonprofits as well as raising the fines for 71 vehicle citations." More coverage via D.C. Wire, WTOP, WBJ.

METRO DEATH: WaPo's Martin Veil reports on a man who was found dead riding the Red Line: "As recounted Tuesday by Metro, based on a preliminary investigation, the man apparently boarded the train at the Twinbrook Station about 10:15 a.m. He remained onboard as the train headed south into the District and then on to Silver Spring. After the train turned around there, the man apparently was still onboard as it headed back into the District, and then on to the Red Line terminal at Shady Grove. At Shady Grove, it was taken out of service about 11:55 a.m. and went into the rail yard there. The body, which apparently had remained on the train, in the yard, for three hours, was found at 2:55 p.m. as the train was prepared for afternoon service. According to Metro, emergency personnel were summoned, and the man was pronounced dead. The agency said he was in the last car of eight." More coverage via The Examiner, NBC4.

ROBERT WONE TRIAL DAY TWO: Again, the bloggers at Who Murdered Robert Wone provide a super detailed account of the conspiracy trial's second day of testimony. Robert's widow Kathy Wone testified about the demeanor of the three roommates in the aftermath of the murder—they seemed shell shocked. Neighbors testified about hearing a scream the night of the murder. The big news: D.C. Police detectives waited three weeks to interview them. Then came an EMT worker. The bloggers write:

"EMT Jeff Baker, first to arrive at 1509, took the stand. He relayed his 14 years of experience answering calls in DC, minor and traumatic. He’s seen several hundred violent crime scenes including many stabbings. He described the typical atmosphere he sees as 'chaotic.' He arrived at 1509, saw Zaborsky on a phone at the stoop and proceeded upstairs with a Reeves stretcher. He says he saw the unresponsive Ward even before getting to the top of the stairs. In the guestroom he observed Price sitting on the bed with his back to him, a leg tucked up underneath.

Baker volunteered, '…hair stood up on the back of my neck.' A moment later, the entire defense table seemed to erupt with an objection, as if they’ve been waiting years for that moment. Sustained.... [AUSA] Kirschner asked Baker about life saving measures and was told that in the ambulance on the way to GW, a firefighter was compressing Robert’s chest while his EMT colleague was hooking up an IV. It went into the bend of the elbow while Baker worked Robert’s airway. It was en route to GW that Baker noticed the striations on Robert’s abdomen. 'It looked like it was wiped down,' and that the imprint of a towel’s texture was visible. 'It looked like a light film,'… moist with linear marks.

Kirschner showed Baker a large blow up of an autopsy photo, government exhibit #381, and it was briefly visible to the audience. Members of the Wone family were crying even before that. Baker was asked about other needle puncture marks and said he was not authorized to insert needles into a patient’s chest. He also said there would’ve been no reason for any resuscitative needles in Robert’s feet or ankles. While hooked up to monitors in the ambulance, Baker said Robert was ‘P.E.A’, meaning Pulseless Electrical Activity. Flat line."

More coverage via WTOP, WaPo, NC8, the Examiner.

MAYOR'S SCHEDULE:
10:45 a.m.
Remarks re: Washington Kastles Season Kick-Off
Location: Old Convention Center Site
11th and H St. NW