Last week, the Council approved a raft of amendments to the Comprehensive Plan, the fat document that guides land use in the District. The update process has taken over a year, with hundreds of changes proposed, and many rejected. Several of those that made it through very clearly reflect Almost Mayor Vince Gray’s campaign promises. [...]
Well, that was fast. In today's blizzard of Council votes, Councilmember Muriel Bowser shoved through an emergency version of legislation she introduced a couple weeks ago that would require mediation between a lender and the person about to be foreclosed upon, and require the new owner to rent the property back to the old owner [...]
On Monday, the news broke that the land on far New York Avenue Northeast once slated for a mixed-use development was now expected to get a Wal-Mart. Listserv chatter since then has been conflicted: Does D.C. really want to host the biggest and boxiest of the U.S.' bix box stores?
Last night, though, Ward 5 Councilmember [...]
Councilmember Tommy Wells' bill to allow overhead wires to power the planned streetcar network is set for a hearing this afternoon in the Wilson Building. Twenty-eight people are signed up to testify (full list after the jump), from preservationists to environmentalists to H Street-affiliated groups that most need the overhead wire technology available now, rather [...]
Objection!: Landlord attorney Hessler says speedy creation of a new court is not practical.
Every weekday morning at 9 a.m., D.C. landlord and tenant court begins with a mind-numbing exercise: roll call. The clerk stands up front and reads the names.
Some landlords grasp little satchels and clunky brief cases and nervously respond when called; lost-looking tenants [...]
After a week of Real World DC madness, the blog has transitioned back to its usual housing and development-related content. This week, we welcomed both "Proud Satanist" and "Proud Catholic" as commenters to the blog. Both of them were, of course, posting about Catholic Charities' recent threat to stop running city-contracted social service programs if [...]
Council Chair Vincent Gray, and Council Members Mendelson and Evans
It doesn't look like the Catholic Archdiocese is going to be winning this battle.
Yesterday, the Washington Post reported that the Catholic Archdiocese had issued an ultimatum to the D.C. Council: If you require us to extend same-sex marriage benefits to gay couples, we'll stop running city-contracted [...]
Well, this is really shameful.
For most of the Fall, we've been reporting on the latest strains on homeless services around the city: First, it was Central Union Mission struggling to find space for a new shelter; Next, we focused on budgetary concerns crippling shelters around the city.
Well, forget all that. Now, we have a new reason [...]
Just when you thought 'Well it looks like we're over the final hurdle!" it appears the D.C. Convention Center hotel may be facing more delays.
This summer, the D.C. Council zoomed forward on a financing deal to jump-start a long awaited 1,167-room Marriott Marquis hotel, which is supposed to stimulate the city's convention business, and minimize [...]
Mid-summer, amidst many tax increases, the D.C. Council preliminarily approved a move to decrease the tax rate on vacant—often troublesome—properties. According to Councilmember Phil Mendelson, the higher rate was "actually mak[ing] it difficult for some property owners to sell or put their property back to use.”
Maybe so. But the decision wasn't exactly a crowd-pleaser. At [...]
