About three hours into today’s D.C. Council hearing over two taxicab laws—the modernization act, and a bill that would add wheelchair-accessible cabs to the fleet—it occurred to me that the reason drivers are seen as such a powerful bloc is because they share one interest: Being the underdogs.
Whether it’s by the councilmembers, the hotel association, [...]

Petworthies takes note of new parking meters outside of the Yes! Organic Market at Georgia Avenue and Taylor Street NW.
It’s apparently part of a citywide move to install 1,150 solar-powered single-space meters in areas that are picked for their high-turnover (read: revenue generating) potential — although the Taylor Street spots are not highlighted on the PDF [...]

Well, that was fast. Councilmembers Muriel Bowser and Tommy Wells have tabled their proposal to reduce the residential street speed limit from 25 to 15 miles per hour. “My constituents asked me to take a step back and I listened. But, there still needs to be more done to advance pedestrian safety,” said Bowser in a [...]

As mad as some of you might be after Pepco’s recent missteps restoring power following the Jan. 26 thundersnow event, don’t worry: some members of the D.C. Council would like you to know they are even more angry.
Speaking at public hearing of the Committee on Public Services and Consumer Affairs late Friday afternoon, several councilmembers [...]

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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

City Paper exclusive on MPD's go-go report.
Wanted: One mayor for mayoral forum
Sweeperscam now even more expensive

Good morning sweet readers! Did anyone manage [...]

Behold the new club on the block
For nights when it's dancing o'clock
I hear that the bass
WILL BLOW OFF YOUR FACE
Now that is some serious rock
'bout Rhee there is always some scowling
And Hardy has many folks howling
Now Council proceedings
Take cues from kids' readings
With villainous jabs based on Rowling
Some sunshine, both real and instructive
We citizens find quite [...]

UPDATED 3/16, 11:15 A.M.
This week is Sunshine Week, a "national initiative to open a dialogue about the importance of open government and freedom of information."
Today, Ward 4 Councilmember Muriel Bowser announced a step toward those ends, unveiling a bill to strengthen the city's open-meetings law.
Currently, the law only requires meeting where "official action" is taken [...]

Today, the D.C. Wire reported that a five-member council delegation met with Mayor Adrian Fenty last night to discuss the standoff over Ximena Hartsock. A symbol of testy council-mayoral relations, Hartsock is Fenty's choice to helm the D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation. Following some discord among the council, Hartsock, and Fenty, however, the council [...]

Good morning readers. And, while I have your attention, let me take a minute to join the long list of public officials and say: I’m very saddened by the Metro crash. Condolences all around. But, jeesh, it’s not the only thing to go down Monday night.
Petworth residents are perturbed by a possible new round of [...]

Ward 4 Councilmember Muriel Bowser is now being interviewed on WRC-TV about the deadly train crash on the Red Line. "We have seen the police department and the fire department respond in a very coordinated way," says the councilmember, who represents the area in which the collision occurred.

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!

This is so nitpicky, it was made for City Desk. This was NIMBY complaint was found on the Shepherd Park listserv. We love Ralph Blessing as much as the next reporter, but jeez does he have to write Councilmember Bowser to complain about summer camp signs? And does have to hate on old globe posters?
Dear [...]

Not too often these days that you see overt displays of executive-legislative interbranch friendship. Yet, this was one of those days, with Mayor Adrian M. Fenty, Attorney General Peter J. Nickles, police Chief Cathy L. Lanier, and two members of the MPD brass joining legislators Muriel Bowser, Jack Evans, and Jim Graham on a Ward [...]

LL has spent the last week poring over the budget reports submitted by the 12 D.C. Council standing committees. With hundreds of pages of text, there's bound to be a few slip-ups. Here's two of LL's favorites:
Holy Pork: From Muriel Bowser's public services and consumer affairs committee: "$500,000...is transferred to the Department of Parks and [...]