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Morning all. Late last night, we published a piece on the latest mystery woman in Ward 8 Councilmember Marion Barry's life: Sharon Bowen. Bowen, who resides in Ohio, received $50,000 in contract work from the legendary politico to work on poverty issues in Ward 8. Bowen, our sources say, was also Barry's girlfriend at the time (June 2007 to May 2008). For the piece, we detail her work and interview key players including Barry and Bowen's daughter. Meanwhile, the Hill Rag's The Nose examines Barry's legislative record and finds it lacking in accomplishments. The upshot: many of Barry's bills go nowhere and his priorities seem misplaced.

TREY JOYNER: The U.S. Park Police shooting of Trey Joyner on June 8 is getting a serious look by law enforcement authorities. On that Monday night, four park police cops in plainclothes moved in on Joyner as he was getting out of a car. When the officers tried to arrest him, allegedly a struggle ensued and he was gunned down. Witnesses at the time stated that Joyner was shot in the back and that the officers did not announce themselves. Now, WaPo is reporting that a federal grand jury is getting deep into the case and has subpoenaed an amateur video showing the chaos in Trinidad after the shooting. The WaPo scoop includes an interview with the filmmaker and has the man's video. Fox-5 finds Eleanor Holmes Norton is still fuming over whether or not the U.S. Attorney's Office should be leading the investigation into the shooting. If only all suspicious police shootings got this much attention.

HOMELESS FAMILIES: District officials plan to expand the number of beds for homeless families by 10 percent. But there's a catch: the extra beds will only be available in the winter. WaPo reports that means 75 more beds (WUSA also has the story). Key graphs:

"Nassim Moshiree, a lawyer with the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless, said the officials who presented the plan seemed overconfident. 'This past spring, 88 families were living at the family shelter at D.C. General Hospital when the capacity was 75,' Moshiree said. 'Some had to stay in the cafeteria. They say they'll only need 75 beds there in the winter, when demand is high now. Where is their Plan B? They need a Plan B.'

Fred Swan, family services administrator for the Department of Human Services, said Moshiree voiced a common complaint. 'To a certain extent, we hear that every year,' Swan said. 'We'll make adjustments as needed.'

AFTER THE JUMP---Cathy Lanier dismisses the controversy over the "police" report in Fenty's car accident, Harry Jaffe continues to hammer away at the Pershing Park case, Fenty signs anti-crime bill, and much, much more.

Read More "Marion Barry’s Mystery Woman Revealed: Loose Lips Daily" »

Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) has asked the U.S. Justice Department for clarification on the investigation into the fatal shooting by U.S. Park Police of Trey Joyner in D.C.'s Trinidad neighborhood on June 8.

Norton, after talking with Park Police Chief Salvatore Lauro, had been under the impression that the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division would be leading an inquiry into the incident. She told residents as much at a community meeting last month at Mount Horeb Baptist Church.

"Last week, my staff was informed that the Civil Rights Division is not leading the investigation of the shooting, but that the U.S. Attorney's Office will be the agency leading this investigation," Norton wrote to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder this week.

Read More "The Trey Joyner Shooting in Trinidad" »

The next local election day might be some 15 months off, but Saturday's Capital Pride parade still had a political charge---mostly due to the recent heat on gay marriage, but also thanks to a mayoral campaign kicking into full gear and possible council challenger in the mix.

LL was there with camera. Behold!

Read More "LL’s 2009 Capital Pride Reviewing Stand" »

Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton has killed the D.C. House Voting Rights Act.

The decision to hold off on current legislation due to the threat of gun-related amendments follows a conference call on Sunday with various advocates and local politicos. A compromise gun legislation proposed by the office of Majority Leader Steny Hoyer was reviewed.

The consensus was not to move forward with the compromise. "Please understand that we are holding the bill for now, not giving up on voting rights," Norton wrote.

[UPDATES BELOW, with statements from Ilir Zherka of D.C. Vote, Council Chairman Vincent Gray, and Mayor Adrian M. Fenty]

Here is the full statement she sent this morning to various legislators, staff, and advocates involved in the voting rights push:

Read More "BREAKING: Norton Kills Voting Rights Bill" »

Roll Call's Tory Newmeyer reports that House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer has backed off his earlier promises to bring the D.C. House Voting Right Act to the chamber's floor.

Reports Newmeyer:

"As a result of there not being a consensus, I don’t think we’re going to be able to move the bill at this point in time,” Hoyer told reporters at his weekly briefing....Hoyer had originally set Memorial Day as his target for passing the D.C. voting bill. Before the break for that holiday, he acknowledged the difficulty in reaching a breakthrough but pledged action this year. “It is going to happen,” he said. He declined to repeat the prediction on Tuesday.

Call this one more step toward oblivion for the DCHVRA. Without a 180-degree turn by Eleanor Holmes Norton and others on a possible gun amendment compromise, this thing looks dead in the water.

But, says one wag, "Things are still in the works."

35 Shots of Rum: Your recommended apéritif before watching 35 Shots of Rum

Tonights highlight's include steamy tango, Sri Lankan handballers, and Eleanor Holmes Norton. (What a film that would make!) Plus, in case you missed yesterday's showing, Cruzando. Check it, people:

YAY!:

Machan, based on the true story of the Sri Lankan National Handball Federation. Think Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, except without the dick jokes. Aaron Wiener says Machan "leaves the viewer refreshed and petrified of large German handballers." 8:15 p.m. at E Street Cinema.

Un-Natural State, a documentary on D.C.'s woeful lack of congressional representation. Jule Banville gives it a thumbs-up: "The cinematography will make you both recognize your city and see it in a new, flattering light. Deft, fun edits move what might be a Beltway-only interest into one that might actually hold the attention of the 'real America.'" That means you, Virginia! 6:30 p.m. at the E Street Cinema.

Read More "Tonight at Filmfest: Café de los Maestros, Un-Natural State, and More" »

So the D.C. Council has voted to (kinda-sorta) allow same-sex marriage. What now?

Assuming the bill becomes law, plenty of observers see two fronts of possible conflict. First is that the law will set off a frenzy of congressional intervention. To wit, American Prospect's Ezra Klein.

Nope, Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton says to LL this afternoon: "I anticipate being able to be able to protect it....In order to do something someone is going to have to introduce a bill or otherwise get something through the Congress. Well, you gotta pass by me on that....I believe I can prevent any bill from moving to the House floor to overturn the bill that was passed yesterday."

What Klein doesn't quite get right is that Congress need not actively "approve" D.C.'s decision. If lawmakers do nothing about the bill for 30 days, it's law.

Read More "Norton: I Can Protect Same-Sex Marriage Bill" »

Today D.C. found it has 61 friends in the U.S. Senate, more than ever before. The approval of the D.C. House Voting Rights Act cleared its biggest hurdle and, barring some conceivable glitches regarding the pro-gun amendment attached to it today, this baby's going to Obama. Here's the roundup:

* DCist, which has been liveblogging, gets some knowledgeable commenters who outline what's next. One of them kindly includes the full text of the amendment "the NRA gave DC residents."

* WaPo's coverage includes a photo of proud-as-punch Eleanor Holmes Norton. You've still got to run, EHN!

* AP includes a timeline of the push for the vote, delineating that the Organic Act of 1801 can now suck it.

* The Economist breaks with its nature and leads with funnies: Stephen Colbert's takedown of EHN.

* Time.com goes big, leading with the idea that without the vote, D.C.ers don't even exist. Whoa! Somebody sure loves his license plate...

A press conference featuring Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Sen. Joe Lieberman, Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, and Mayor Adrian M. Fenty just wrapped up. All were in a suitably self-congratulatory mood over the D.C. House Voting Rights Act's survival of cloture earlier today.

Said Norton, "We see all lights on go, and we can say with all confidence, there's no turning back now."

Read More "More DCVRA Reactions and Explanations" »

With the D.C. House Voting Rights Act set to hit the Senate floor early next week, and with House consideration likely not far behind, things are looking up enough that LL can ask the question: What happens after the bill becomes law?

Well, Eleanor Holmes Norton isn't magically transformed from delegate into full-fledged congresswoman.

Read More "D.C. House Voting Rights Act: What Happens If It Passes?" »

Across the country, states, counties, and municipalities have been scrambling to come up with plans for sucking up the billions lawmakers have promised in stimulus dollars.

Make that states, counties, municipalities, and a District.

Earlier this month, Mayor Adrian M. Fenty outlined in a letter [PDF] to Eleanor Holmes Norton, the District's delegate to Congress, his list of priorities for federal dollars that might be disbursed in coming months in attempts to jumpstart the economy.

What are those priorities?

Well, one's no secret: schools. In his letter, Fenty talks up his DCPS reform efforts, but notes that "many of the buildings in which these reforms are occurring do not meet the high standards to which we are holding our teachers and students....With Federal support, we could cut in half my 5-year plan to rehabilitate all of the city's educational space." He also notes UDC could use an injection of capital funds.

Moving on to public safety issues, he mentions a pair of "shovel-ready" projects that could move forward immediately with federal funding: a new police evidence warehouse and forensics lab, which the letter says "could be underway within 90 days of funding."

Also in the shovel-ready category are a bunch of transportation projects---including the South Capitol Street and 11th Street bridge replacement projects, as well as streetcar implementation and other transit projects. The more pie-in-the-sky request in the transportation category is to change the federal transportation funding formula to reflect the fact that most cars on District roads are from out of state---"Therefore, some additional targeted funding might be necessary to reflect the unique Federal/Regional aspects of the District's transportation infrastructure."

Read More "Fenty Stimulus Priorities: Schools, Cops, and “Green” Stuff" »

Right now, on the floor of the U.S. Senate, big shots are talking D.C. voting rights. At issue is a bill that would create a vote in the House for the District of Columbia, which, as we all know, is disenfranchised on the Hill.

1:44 pm: Sen. Joseph Lieberman enters statement from Sen. Orrin Hatch into the record. Lieberman talked about how nearly 600,000 Americans who live in the District of Columbia contribute to our society in various ways but get not representation. Lieberman yields the floor. Here's the release from Lieberman's office.

1:47: Chamber still waiting for someone else to come forward and talk.

1:49: Still waiting--how rude!

Update 2:01: Doesn't anyone want to come to the floor and talk about D.C. voting rights? Such apathy! That's the problem, I say.

Update 2:02: Some liveblog this is turning out to be.

Update 2:13: There's some fine classical piano playing on C-SPAN 2 right now. Crank it. It promises to go on as long as it takes someone to come to the Senate floor and say something, perhaps about D.C. voting rights.

Update 2:25: This liveblog is dead, apparently as dead as D.C. voting rights themselves (itself?). The classical piano on C-SPAN 2 is getting really annoying. But if I hit mute, then I won't be able to hear if someone else comes to the floor to talk about D.C. voting rights. Talk about a Hobson's choice. Or a dilemma. Or a Catch-22, or something along those lines.

Update 2:30: A sign of life! Talking from the Senate floor is the Hon. Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee. So what does this guy have to say about D.C. voting rights? Well, not much--he's talking about the late Sen. Claiborne Pell. From Alexander, we're learning a bit about the history of scholarships, as a way of contextualizing the contribution made by the great Pell grant.

Update 2:32: Alexander is talking about education in the United States circa World War II. How's he going to steer this monologue toward D.C. voting rights? Stay tuned. Or, better yet, don't!

Update 2:34: Alexander has always wondered why, if the Pell grant is a great idea for college, we don't have a system for Kindergarten through the 12th grade. Any minute, any minute now--this guy's going to launch into a discussion of voting rights!

Update 2:36: Alexander asks that his remarks from 2004 on "Pell grants for kids" be entered into the record of today's Senate proceedings.

Update 2:41: With Alexander having yielded the floor, we're back to lively classical piano riffing on C-SPAN 2. Could be Chopin.

Update 2:50: Byrd is front and center! The West Virginia Dem is talking about how he's watched this great institution (the Senate) weather various storms, including "strife and uncertainty." It, he says, has "served our country so well because great and courageous senators have always been willing to stay the course through thick and thin and keep the faith." More cliches than a big-league pitcher, there.

2:52: "It has been said that this institution--meaning the United States Senate--has a life of its own."--Sen. Robert Byrd.

2:53: More Byrd praising the great institution of the United States Senate. Great people in the Senate. List of great senators includes Byrd's mentors--Russell, Johnson, Mansfield, among others, of course. Including Goldwater and Gramm. Howard Baker and Mark Hatfield, too.

2:55: Byrd calls Ted Kennedy "dearest friend."

2:56: More from Byrd on Senate being a "great institution."

2:59: In recent years, says Byrd, the chamber has become "bitterly partisan." "If anyone thinks that I am exaggerating, I give just one example: The filibuster...."

3:08: Byrd says he's had a "wonderful 50 years" serving in the Senate.

LL just caught Tom Nida, the chair of the Public Charter School Board, ahead of the board's monthly meeting tonight.

Asked about Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton's demand that, in the wake of the Washington Post's reporting on alleged self-dealing, he resign his post, Nida said, "I serve at the pleasure of the mayor."

Asked if he would resign should Mayor Adrian M. Fenty ask him to, Nida said, "I'm a volunteer."

Nida said he had no plans to address the Post story at the meeting: "I'm in no-comment mode right now."

Indeed, at meeting's start, David Holmes, an advisory neighborhood commissioner from North Lincoln Park, strongly rebuked the board for various issues, including those raised in the Post report. Neither Nida nor any other board member said anything, and the board moved straight into its agenda.

UPDATE, 8:30 P.M.: In fact, ANC 6A is calling for the resignations of PCSB members and administrators and calling for additional reforms by the council. Letter after the jump.

Read More "PCSB Chair: “I Serve at the Pleasure of the Mayor”" »

On Sunday, the Washington Post dropped a huge investigative report on the many, many intertwined links between officials on the Public Charter Schools Board, their employers, and the schools they oversee.

Now Eleanor Holmes Norton is weighing in on the matter. She wants PCSB Chair Tom Nida and credit enhancement committee chair Barbara Hart to resign, and she wants the system by which board members are chosen to change. Currently, for each vacancy, the federal government draws up a short list of names, from which the D.C. mayor is obligated to make a final selection.

The result has been that, for as long as the board has been in existence (mostly under a Republican president), it has been populated by folks who have or have had vested interests in the success of charter schools from an ideological, business, or other perspective. (LL wrote about this in more depth over the summer.) And many have not been District residents. The concept of having "outside directors," as most corporate boards do, has not been the practice of the PCSB. That has meant that the board has been highly successful at growing the charter system, and somewhat successful at raising levels of student achievement, but undeniably aloof when it comes following well-accepted principles of good government and working as part of a larger body politic.

Whether that's a good thing or a bad think depends who you ask.

Read More "Eleanor Wants Charter Board Changes" »