WaPo has a nice little incremental story on the controversy surrounding the Recreation Wish List Committee's looming eviction from the Southeast Tennis and Learning Center. Fenty and Co. appear confused about how to handle the Committee's Honcho Cora Masters Barry. D.C. Wire writes:

"'If Cora Barry gets her corporate papers together, then we will determine if she can play a role in the future plans of the city' said Fenty spokeswoman Erica Stanley early Wednesday.

However, Mafara Hobson, Fenty's director of communications, called a short time later to say that Stanley's comments did not accurately describe the administration's position.

'While we can't comment on leasing or contracting issues, the administration appreciated the contribution and partnership of Cora Masters Barry over the years,' Hobson said. 'We will work hard to find ways to continue working with her going forward.'

Whatever the Barry-Fenty partnership may be, this reads like the administration is prepared to evict Barry from 701 Mississippi Avenue SE. What could the future work be?

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: Now It's All About The Coverup; Nickles Faces Huge Test In U.S. District Court," and "Councilmember Cheh Calls For Nickles To Resign."

Morning all. LL has biked to Dewey Beach leaving me to takeover the LL Daily franchise for a week. LL was kind enough to e-mail me a handy rundown of what he does to fuel this beast. I am no LL. So please, take it easy on me. It's also August.

Mayor Fenty was involved in a car accident on Sunday evening. Thankfully, he wasn't driving his Le Car. Fox is reporting that "No injuries were reported in the crash on Broad Branch Road in northwest Washington. A spokeswoman for Fenty says he was behind the wheel of a sport utility vehicle when another vehicle apparently went through a stop sign and pulled in front of the mayor's SUV. There was minor damage to the vehicles." (WTOP has same).

Columbia Heights is again the focus of a potentially controversial shooting. WJLA is reporting that a Special Police Officer (i.e. a private security guard) shot and killed a resident during a confrontation on Friday night. WUSA9 is also on the story. The D.C. Police Department has issued more info on the shooting via a press release:

"At approximately 9:06 pm on Friday, July 31, 2009, officers from the Third District responded to the 1400 block of Girard Street, NW, to investigate the report of a shooting. Upon arrival they discovered an adult male lying in front of a building at that location suffering from an apparent gunshot wound. The victim was transported by personnel from the DC Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department to an area hospital where he was pronounced dead.

The decedent in this case has been identified as 31-year-old Michael Dwayne Parker of the 4000 block of Livingston Road, SE.

A preliminary investigation into this case indicates that the decedent may have been fatally shot at the above location during an alleged confrontation with a Special Police Officer employed by a private company. It must be noted that all of the circumstances surrounding this case remain under active investigation and that all facts will be subsequently presented to the United States Attorney’s Office for their review."

Last week, the D.C. Council gave its OK on that huge hotel development near the Convention Center. The Post offers a fine rundown of the development's lengthy backstory and its major selling point---that it may revive Shaw. Key graph: "The hotel, promised when the District broke ground on the convention center in 1998, will stretch more than 1 million square feet at Ninth Street and Massachusetts Avenue NW. It will rise 14 stories, a mix of modern glass and steel and brick dating to 1916 in a design that incorporates the old headquarters of the American Federation of Labor, a landmark building on the otherwise vacant property." Honestly, how many major projects does it take to develop Shaw? Not sure if a big shiny hotel is it.

The D.C. Council also voted to increase unemployment benefits (Washington Business Journal, WTOP , WJLA, NC8).

Hope and change remain the main narratives on the education front. The Post's Bill Turque breaks down the different groups taking over a number of District public schools this coming year. NYC's Friends of Bedford is set to takeover Coolidge and Dunbar. Friendship Public Charter Schools is taking over Anacostia High. Key graph: "Experts say one of the lessons learned is that starting a school from scratch is usually easier than taking control of an existing one, where political feuds, bureaucratic inertia and scar tissue from past reform attempts can make change difficult." And then there's this: "Friendship and Friends of Bedford will face that challenge at Anacostia, Dunbar and Coolidge. Although they have autonomy on matters of curriculum, instruction and teacher professional development, the schools' staff." Meanwhile, the Post reports that MOCO expanded its summer school programming.

AFTER THE JUMP: More Fedex Field controversy this time over this past Saturday's Paul McCartney show, an upcoming hearing is scheduled over the fire hydrant-water-flow issues, and so much more!

Read More "Mystery Shooting In Columbia Heights: Loose Lips Daily" »

This morning in U.S. District Court, Judge Thomas F. Hogan took up the on-going legal battle over the District's Child and Family Services Agency. At issue was whether or not the agency could be held in contempt. Hogan devoted much of his consternation on the how the District went about picking Dr. Roque Gerald (pictured) to head up CFSA.

At the time of Dr. Gerald's selection, City Desk questioned whether the District violated Hogan's order. We wrote:

Read More "Judge Hogan Critical Of CFSA Director Selection Process" »

There's been a lot of grandstanding over the pending crime bill. Mendo has been particularly targeted in silly ways--at a press conference and at recent hearing. Now comes Muriel Bowser on Kojo with her own bit of fear mongering. (She's BSing right now! on gangs). Bowser argues that the police need better tools in dealing with gangs. Her argument is completely uninformed, straight-up Palin-esque politics.

Yes. Gangs are scary. But D.C. has plenty of tools already on the books. The District does not need to go into civil court with these new crime-bill tools. The Feds have long used RICO to take gangs off street corners. They've been quite successful. RICO is scary, too. Gang leaders like Kevin Gray and Tommy Edelin have found that out. Death penalty cases are now part of D.C.

There are also already civil tools the city has used like nuisance property laws that can target crack houses and shut them down. The results have been mixed. Innocent families have been targeted based on flimsy evidence.

Read More "Crime Bill Angst" »