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

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT---"Liveblog: D.C. Council Grills Michelle Rhee on Teacher Layoffs"; "District Homeless Shelters Are Already At Capacity"; "Pershing Park Case: OAG Reverts Back To Stonewalling"

Morning all. Yesterday's D.C. Council inquisition on the D.C. Public School layoffs wasn't quite the 18-hour marathon that the last hearing was, but let the liveblogging LL say: eight hours was plenty. By the end of the day, a familiar story had emerged: The D.C. Council wanted things to happen one way (cut money from summer school), and the executive branch did things another way (cut money from local school budgets) with the imprimatur of Attorney General Peter Nickles and without transparency or explanation. Perhaps more shocking is that DCPS CFO Noah Wepman would have allowed a fiscal 2010 budget to be approved with a known deficit of $12 million or more without telling his boss, Natwar Gandhi. And, as Bill Turque notes on WaPo A1, 'even some of Rhee's most steadfast supporters on the council rebuked her for the bitter state of relations between the school system and elected officials.' See also WaTimes, Examiner, WTOP, WAMU-FM, NC8, WRC-TV, WTTG-TV, We Love DC.

NB: Don't expect a repeat of the drama at today's hearing on the parks contracts sent to the D.C. Housing Authority. Neil Albert, LL is told, will not be attending. [UPDATE, 10:30 A.M.: Another council source says Albert has confirmed he will be there.]

AFTER THE JUMP---Machen moves closer to securing federal prosecutor nod; WBJ reports on city procurement problems, rise in contract appeals; city preps for census; suburbanites plunder D.C. for flu vaccine; and did Holder tell Chavous to lay off the prez?

Read More "DCPS Budget Gets Nickled: Loose Lips Daily" »

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

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT---"Jack Evans Saves the Black Rooster"; "D.C. Police Release General Orders In Response To FOIA Fight"; "Peter Nickles Sends Flowers to Mary Cheh"

IN LL WEEKLY---The New Cronies: 'God,' some frat buddies, and $86 million in city spending.

Greetings all. LL is currently livetweeting/liveblogging the D.C. Council's inquisition of Michelle Rhee and CFO Natwar Gandhi and their deputies on the Oct. 2 DCPS layoffs. NC8 has set up the hearing as a 'day of reckoning' for the chancellor. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty won't be there. He explained on WRC-TV this morning that he won't appear before the council, just as the likes of Michael Bloomberg, Richard M. Daley, and Barack Obama are not in the habit of making appearances before their respective legislative branches. A good, if self-aggrandizing answer. Also good (and self-aggrandizing) is his explanation for why he's at war with the council over parks contracts sent through the D.C. Housing Authority: 'If you run a $10 billion organization, there are going to be things you just don't agree about at the end of the day.'

AFTER THE JUMP---City settles with Wilmot and IDI; suit by DPR child care workers is tossed from federal court; cops want murder tipster to call back; H Street Martini Lounge shuttered after fight; archdiocese threatens nuclear option on gay marriage bill; and is Mendo running for council chair?

Read More "‘Day of Reckoning’ Comes on DCPS Layoffs: Loose Lips Daily" »

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

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT---'Pershing Park Case: OAG Finds 2,000 Pages Of Discovery Materials'

Morning all. LL will make today's preamble quite brief; he notes only that he neglected to note this Tom Toles cartoon that appeared yesterday on the WaPo editorial page:

(Hat tip to Chuck Thies for today's headline.)

AFTER THE JUMP---WaPo editorial calls for investigation of parks contracts; TV reporters dig in; closed-door council meeting gets testy; key senator refuses to allow D.C. vote on defense approps bill; principal neglects to proofread court filing; judge stalking trial begins

Read More "Fenty Gets the Royal Treatment: Loose Lips Daily" »

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

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT---'David Catania Gives Harry Jackson a History Lesson'; 'Nickles: Parks Contracts Are OK After All'

Morning all! Today marks the one-year anniversary of Loose Lips Daily. LL finds it hard to believe that he's already sacrificed 12 months' worth of early mornings and late nights---through an election, an inauguration, scandals, and tragedies---to bring LLD readers the finest local political aggregation in town. In any case, hearty and heartfelt thanks to you, the more than 1,400 readers who have signed up for the LLD e-mail and the thousands more who have been reading at City Desk since that first, surprisingly short edition.

AFTER THE JUMP---First parks contracts are illegal, then they aren't; same-sex marriage hearings galore (or gay-lore?); Rhee explains mass teacher hirings; crime lab gets the go-ahead; planning director walks the walk; Graham tries hand at (intentional) comedy

Read More "First Anniversary Edition: Loose Lips Daily" »

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

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT---Fenty's DCHA Contracts: Some Questions; Nickles: DCHA Contracts Must Go to D.C. Council

Morning all. Perhaps, on Friday evening, you saw that Attorney General Peter Nickles had determined that controversial parks contracts routed through the D.C. Housing Authority had to be approved by the D.C. Council (LL, Examiner, WaPo) and you thought, perhaps, that the brinksmanship between Mayor Adrian M. Fenty and councilmembers was finally easing. You'd have been wrong. News that Fenty, with Nickles' blessing, had decided to keep ousted parks director Ximena Hartsock on the job pending her replacement prompted another high-profile tussle, as related in a Sunday WaPo B1 story. Ward 3 Councilmember Mary Cheh called Fenty's shop 'almost...a lawless administration,' prompting Nickles to retort that Cheh 'has no idea what she's talking about...She's an angry woman.' The AG went on to warn the council against rejecting the parks contracts, saying, 'they'll have to answer to the voters.' So what now? Writes WaPo, in a slight understatement: 'Few expect the tension to subside.'

AFTER THE JUMP---Council should have noticed the contract runaround sooner, Jonetta says; gay marriage hearing bonanza today; WaPo ed board wants Fenty to do some 'splainin' for once; council digs in to SLED contract; Hill clock ticks on voting rights bill; Maryland man pimps foster child on D.C. streets

Read More "Council vs. Fenty—Is This War?: Loose Lips Daily" »

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

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT---Fenty's Explanation of Homeless Cuts Doesn't Hold Water; Graham Slams Feds At Community Meeting; Claims His Remarks Were 'Off The Record'

Morning all. In this week's column, LL wrote about David Wilmot, Fred Cooke, and the old favored political class. Today we learn more about the new cronies. WaPo and Examiner both cover Mayor Adrian M. Fenty's attempts to send $72M in parks construction contracts through the D.C. Housing Authority, bypassing D.C. Council approval. The council, needless to say, is not happy, dispatching a letter yesterday demanding city officials show at an Oct. 30 hearing. Bill Myers reports that 'Council Chairman Vincent Gray was furious when he found out,' tapping his committee chairs in charge of economic development, parks, housing, and procurement to bring the hammer down. Mary Cheh tells Nikita Stewart, 'It looks sneaky.' So why be sneaky? Easy: Among a passel of contracts awarded last month, all are managed by Banneker Ventures, a firm with ties to Fenty frat buddies Omar Karim and Sinclair Skinner---the same guy who helped scuttle the lottery contract award last year.

AFTER THE JUMP---Pastors meet with Gray, vow to fight; Walter Reed development process kicks off; asbestos found at MPD facility, union freaks; carbon offsets go local; and Metro get closer to cooperating with Google Transit

Read More "The New Cronies: Loose Lips Daily" »

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

IN LL WEEKLY---Out With the Old: Fenty's war against the old guard continues, with David Wilmot as main target.

Greetings all. WTOP's Mark Segraves covers the maybe-candidacy of Don Peebles, noting that the megadeveloper has a large hurdle to overcome: He'd need to move back to the District. 'His spokesperson says Peebles is registered to vote in D.C., but but public records show he isn't and hasn't been since 1999.' (LL also notes that he is not taking the homestead deduction on the $5.9M Embassy Row mansion he purchased in 2007.) Says Mark Plotkin: 'He's lacking credentials when he himself does not care enough to register to vote.' And WBJ's Jonathan O'Connell delivers a more stinging reality check to Peebles, noting that he'd have to face 'questions about his living in Florida, his not having voted in D.C. since the 1990s...and his willingness to sue jurisdictions where he does business.' He also notes that Peebles 'took some surprising shots at [Mayor Adrian M. Fenty]'s economic development work, criticizing developer Chris Donatelli for a practice---raising money for a political candidate who could help his business---that Peebles has built a 25-year career on.' Snap!

AFTER THE JUMP---Sex-ed researchers says D.C. kids want Trojans; most taxi defendants were mere pawns, WCP finds; Gandhi can Nickle with the best of 'em; more stories from laid-off D.C. teachers; rich guy flexes his political muscle in front of reporter

Read More "A Reality Check for Don Peebles: Loose Lips Daily" »

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

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT---'Is DCPS Continuing to Hire Teachers After Firing 229?'

Morning all. Surprise, surprise: There's been no movement on teachers' contract negotiations for a month, says a WaPo report by Bill Turque. The Oct. 2 layoffs of 229 teachers have brought the nearly two-year process 'to another standstill,' he writes. 'The two sides have not met face to face since Sept. 21, and no bargaining sessions are scheduled.' WTU President George Parker says his 'number one priority' is reversing the layoffs, saying 'I feel a little indifferent to contract negotiations right now.' Adds AFT's Randi Weingarten, 'There is no trust right now.' Michelle Rhee's take: 'These talks have been at a standstill for two years.'

AFTER THE JUMP---'Retarded' to be stricken from D.C. law books; Councilmember Doolittle checks in; Michael Brown handed taxi oversight; police officer shoots man to death during DV call; ballpark building gets a tenant!

Read More "‘No Trust’ In DCPS Contract Talks: Loose Lips Daily" »

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

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT---"Accused Taxi Briber Will Stay in Jail, Judge Says"; "Graham Withdraws From Taxi Oversight"

Morning all. It's official: DCision 2010 is on for real. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty was spotted knocking on Ward 7 doors yesterday evening, according to WaPo's Nikita Stewart. Good thing, too: He's got a new potential challenger---D.C. native and megadeveloper Don Peebles, who tells WBJ's Jonathan O'Connell that 'he will either run himself or support another candidate because of what he called “a continued pattern of a lack of oversight and accountability” under Fenty...."The current mayor lacks the integrity, competency, capacity and maturity to be an effective mayor, and he’s unable to get along with anybody else."' A real race? Be still LL's heart!

AFTER THE JUMP---Top city officials react to WaPo HIV/AIDS spending reports; 4,000 Metro citations issued to drivers, only 18 fired; oily rags brought down Cafritz mansion; business owner complains, mayor offers tickets; and should domestic partnerships survive same-sex marriage?

Read More "Don Peebles to Take on Fenty: Loose Lips Daily" »

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

Morning all. The front page of Sunday's WaPo featured one of those big-time investigative stories that it's nice to know a major metropolitan daily is still capable of. Reporter Debbie Cenziper spent some 10 months examining the record of the city's HIV/AIDS Administration, particularly its grants to housing providers, in a series called 'Wasting Away.' She found that the city 'awarded more than $25 million from 2004 to 2008 to nonprofit agencies marked by questionable spending, a lack of clients, or lapses in record-keeping and care.' But will Cenziper's work have any meaningful political fallout? Not likely. The investigation spans the last years of Anthony A. Williams' mayoralty and the first years of Adrian M. Fenty's, and the first article in the series traces much of the malfeasance to HAA supervisor Debra Rowe, who was fired last year by new HAA director Shannon Hader, a Fenty hire. Councilmember David Catania, who's overseen the health department during the period in question, has been a firebrand on the issue of HAA mismanagement for years. So it's as yet unclear what accountability might look like.

AFTER THE JUMP---David Wilmot doesn't need banks for his loans; council hearing stretches 18 hours; Fenty goes one-on-one with a reporter (not LL); the DCHVRA could live after all; Kwame harbors lottery contract doubts; and Chain Bridge Road fire extinguished!

Read More "D.C.’s $25 Million AIDS Failure: Loose Lips Daily" »

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

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT---"It's Official: Gray for Mayor!"; "http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/citydesk/2009/10/15/trinidad-checkpoints-still-illegal/

Morning all. Couple of bits of breaking news: Intralot has been awarded the contract to run the D.C. Lottery---again. This time, however, they did it without their local partner W2Tech, who caused the Greek outfit much grief before the D.C. Council last year. But now Intralot has another problem: They don't have any local partner at all, and expect various councilmembers to make great hay out of that. In other news, Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray is currently amid a 150-witness hearing on the teacher layoffs. There's been lots of rhetorical fireworks thus far, not least of which is labor honcho Jos Williams calling on the council to impeach Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (no such provision happens to exist in D.C. law). But the more momentous comments came from At-Large Councilmember Michael A. Brown, who announced 'it's time to think about reforming the reform,' marking the first time in LL's recollection that a sitting councilmember has called publicly for an end to mayoral control of the D.C. Public Schools. 'We have to figure out another way to move the ball forward....Clearly what's going on right now isn't working,' he said. Yikes.

AFTER THE JUMP---Don Peebles rumored to have $1M for Fenty challenger; Rhee won't discuss working for a mayor other than Fenty; Evans announces potential chairman run (again); massage parlor opens back up; and District sues sex club

Read More "‘Reforming the Reform’: Loose Lips Daily" »

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

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT---"Tipper Gore Stumps for Council Hopeful Clark Ray"; "How to Get a Sweet WaPo Editorial"

IN LL WEEKLY---Parks and Wreck: What Ximena Hartsock's ouster says about Adrian Fenty's undisciplined politics.

Morning all. Peter Nickles and Kwame Brown got into it a little bit yesterday on the John A. Wilson Building steps, as Latino groups protested the Ximena Hartsock ouster. Patrick Madden of WAMU-FM and Tim Craig of WaPo were both on hand for the tête-à-tête. 'You should be ashamed of yourself,' Brown shouted to the AG at one point---ashamed, he says, because of Nickles' references to 'a misogynist, racist hearing' and other comments along those divisive lines. Rather, Brown tells the protesters the vote was about Mayor Adrian M. Fenty breaking the law; Nickles' classic rejoinder, to Craig: 'To use the excuse that she had violated the law...I speak for the law.'

AFTER THE JUMP---Teen dead in Clay Terrace shootout said to be innocent bystander; some sorely needed good news for Michelle Rhee; some think she's Braveheart; Clark Ray buddies up to the guy who fired him; Fenty administration commits to Northeast streetcars; and David Wilmot fetes Fenty tonight---but too late to stop the suing?

Read More "Peter Nickles ‘Speaks for the Law’: Loose Lips Daily" »

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

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT---"Two Dead, Three Injured In Clay Terrace Shooting"; "New D.C. Chief Technology Officer Is Bryan Sivak"

Morning all. The string of bad press for Mayor Adrian M. Fenty and Chancellor Michelle Rhee continues, with Bill Turque's WaPo profile of politically active McKinley Tech students raising questions about teacher layoffs at their school. Student leaders 'have found themselves in the midst of a bitter adult struggle that involves politicians, educators and labor leaders. They were courted, encouraged and criticized....For the most part, they are not inspired by what they have seen.' And, like a lot of people in this town, they're just looking for some semblance of accountability. The student body president says that '[m]ore troubling than the cuts...is Fenty's unwillingness to account for them in a town hall or other public forum. "I'm just confused about why he hasn't talked about the whole thing."' Call LL less confused, but equally vexed.

AFTER THE JUMP---Two teens dead in brazen daylight Northeast drive-by; D.C. General could be seeing a big bump in homeless residents; 'Why Michelle Rhee Has to Play Tough'; meet the new CTO; Metro goes 'by the book'; and Marion Barry and seafood aren't getting along.

Read More "Students in Search of Answers: Loose Lips Daily" »

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

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT---"Thomas Says He’ll Vote for Gay Marriage Bill"; "Marion Barry Released From Hospital"

Morning LLDers. Is the MPD dismantling its high-profile Gay and Lesbian Liaison Unit? According to WaPo's Theola Labbé-DeBose, Chief Cathy Lanier, due to budget pressures, 'has frozen hires into the District's award-winning Gay and Lesbian Liaison Unit and wants to train patrol officers to respond to the specialty calls, a plan that has drawn anger from the gay community.' Plan is to give special GLBT training to officers who want it, which 'will increase the number of available officers to more than 100 after several rounds of training in the next few months. But advocates say it will strike a blow to the unit's effectiveness.' And be warned: 'Lanier said she is going to take similar approaches with units that reach out to the city's Asian, Latino, and deaf and hard-of-hearing communities.'

AFTER THE JUMP---Cell phone ban actually works, study says; honored teacher got the ax; guy gets abducted, slashed, left for dead, and lives to see his assailants sentenced; Barry leaves hospital; and Kevin Chavous hits basic-cable airwaves.

Read More "MPD’s Endangered Liaisons: Loose Lips Daily" »

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

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT---"How Is Causton Toney Connected to the Taxi Probe?"; "Clarence Carter Issues Statement On Homeless Services Cuts"; "Taxi Mogul Solomon Bekele Speaks"

Morning all. And a happy Columbus Day to all---the holiday you only get off if you work for the government. This was a good weekend if you're interested in watching DCPS Chancellor Michelle Rhee take some lumps. Start with Robert McCartney's Sunday WaPo column: 'I want to love Michelle Rhee---really, I do---but she makes it so hard sometimes,' he writes. What's making it hard, he writes, is how she went about the teacher layoffs. 'She picked a spectacularly bad time, just as the school year was shifting into high gear. She also mishandled the theatrics in such a way that she enraged the unions and D.C. Council even more than she usually does. As a result, labor and political tensions simmering in the city over Rhee's reforms since she arrived in 2007 boiled over last week. The spillage might jeopardize her whole project and poses a significant challenge for her patron, Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D), as he seeks reelection next year.'

AFTER THE JUMP---First-year teacher talks about her firing; Hartsock supporters rally at city hall; Colby King isn't seeing results; WaPo's Milbank lays into DOH; Red Line train driver flakes out; and remembering a promising 17-year-old caught in crossfire.

Read More "Michelle Rhee Feels the Blowback: Loose Lips Daily" »