The chairman of the Children and Youth Investment Trust Corporation's board of directors as sent letter to Ward 1 Jim Graham asking him to keep his hands off the embattled organization.
Chairman Robert Bobb expressed "great consternation" over the possibility of Graham joining the CYITC's board as a nonvoting advisory member. Bobb says Graham's involvement [...]
Just about four years ago to the day, former Ward 5 Councilmember Harry Thomas Jr. helped throw a pricey party at the Wilson Building to celebrate the inauguration of President Barack Obama. Dubbed the "51st State Inaugural Ball," the fiesta didn't raise enough money selling $51 tickets to cover its costs (which included a performance [...]
Oh 2012, what turmoil you brought to D.C. politics. Two councilmembers who started the year as elected officials are either in federal prison or under house arrest wearing an electronic monitoring device. Vince Gray appears to have weathered a summer storm that saw the U.S. Attorney’s Office allege that the mayor benefited from an illegal [...]
Councilmember Jim Graham certainly ain't no snitch.
In 2009, his then-chief of staff Ted Loza dropped an envelope on Graham's desk at the Wilson Building filled with $2,600 in cash from a taxi lobbyist working undercover for the FBI. Graham turned the money down and would later say he thought the offer was "radioactive" at the [...]
Ward 1 Councilmember Jim Graham was reimbursed for nearly $1,500 he spent to attend a star-studded memorial service for Elizabeth Taylor in October 2011, city records show. The attendees at the 400-person private event held at the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank, Calif., included celebrities Elton John, Michael Caine, and Colin Farrell.
In paperwork Graham submitted to the [...]
Republican Pat Mara just announced on Newstalk with Bruce DePuyt his candidacy for the special election in April for an at-large D.C. Council seat. Mara is hoping that that the third time is the charm, as he's run unsuccessfully for an at-large seat in 2008 and 2011.
Mara had some level of success in both races—he [...]
The Washington Post editorial page is first out with new details of a hitherto-confidential investigation into the messy world of the D.C. Lottery contract. The investigation, conducted by the District Chief Financial Officer's top watchdog back in 2008, has been walled off from public view by a protective order in the wrongful termination lawsuit brought [...]
Attention bar owners: Ward 7 Councilmember Yvette Alexander wants to wrest oversight of the city's liquor laws away from Ward 1 Councilmember Jim Graham.
Graham, whose booze-soaked ward is home to Adams Morgan and U Street, has long held sway over the city's alcohol regime as chairman of the committee that oversees the Alcoholic Beverage Regulation [...]
Tis the season for D.C.'s elected officials to gin up some goodwill by attaching their names to Thanksgiving turkey giveaways.
LL counts at least five councilmembers hosting turkey giveaways this year, including Mayor-For-Life-turned-Ward 8 Councilmember Marion Barry, whose annual giveaways almost always generate news.
As in years past, Barry is declining to say who paid for the [...]
Oh look, another alleged misuse of city funds involving a Lincoln Navigator.
Today the U.S. Attorney's Office filed a grand jury indictment against Keely Thompson Jr. and his wife Biance Thompson. The move comes almost two years after the feds first filed a criminal complaint against Thompson for allegedly stealing more than $500,000 in city funds [...]
