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 [...]

Well this is kind of bizarre.
Just as the DC Council approves a budget increasing the sales tax, the gas tax and the cigarette and small cigar tax, it is decreasing a tax on vacant properties from $10 to $5 per $100 of assessed value, the Washington Examiner reports.

 
View Larger Map

On Friday, Loose Lips obtained a letter [PDF] to the D.C. Council from outgoing deputy mayor for planning and economic development Neil O. Albert. In it, he outlined his problems with several proposals in the budget legislation scheduled for a second and final vote on Tuesday. LL plucks out the highlights, republished here:*
Two of the [...]

(1) Justice Souter’s Southwest D.C Home: About as Solitary as You Can Get Here
(2)D.C. United Fans Taking to the Streets on Saturday!

(3)Student Housing, the Newest D.C. Real Estate Boom?
(4)D.C. Council Gives $1 Million to Shaw Giant Development
(5) Does Fenty Just Get to Demolish Buildings Willy-Nilly?
(6)The Washington D.C.-Area’s Best “Towns to Live Well In”
(7) Trump Closes [...]

This morning's Washington Post includes a story about the council mark-up on the mayor's budget. Deputy mayor for education Victor Reinoso is getting hit the hardest—84 percent of his budget is being cut, taking it from $4 million to $778,000. 
[Council Chair Vincent] Gray has long been unhappy with Reinoso, whose portfolio includes oversight of the [...]

The Washington Post published a story yesterday about how much money the District stands to gain ($1 billion in a recent version) from the federal stimulus package:
"Council members are considering what to do with the money. Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray (D) wants to use any savings to restore cuts in the District's affordable housing program [...]

This morning's Washington Business Journal leads with a front page profile on Kwame Brown, Chair of the Council's Economic Development Committee. According to the piece, Kwame's been flexing his legislative muscle, refusing to move forward on development bills until he reviews all the proper information, and generally not bowing to pressure from the building community.
Case [...]

Ward 1 Councilmember Jim Graham, whose committee oversees the Department of Transportation
The D.C. Council is reviewing emergency legislation that will raise meter fees and end free downtown parking on the weekends. The money will be funneled to housing programs, according to the Washington Post:
Committee members also heard from affordable-housing advocates who testified in support of [...]