Results tagged “jimgraham”

As expected, D.C. Council member Jim Graham (D-Ward 1) today formally announced that he will be seeking re-election in 2010. The announcement was coupled with the launch of his campaign web site.

Rumors about a possible D.C. Council run by ANC 1C chair Bryan Weaver have been circulating for weeks now, and DCist had been dutifully pestering the longtime Adams Morgan activist to confirm his intentions for some time before ... getting royally scooped by Loose Lips this afternoon. Sigh. Weaver "filed exploratory papers with the Office of Campaign Finance on Tuesday," Mike DeBonis reports.

Ward 1 D.C. Council member Jim Graham is relinquishing his lead role in oversight of the city's taxicab industry, despite an earlier determination from Council Chair Vincent Gray that Graham should keep taxis in his portfolio as chairman of the public works and transportation committee. Graham has asked Gray to transfer taxicab oversight powers to the Committee of the Whole.

Even though a new Washington Post report today suggests D.C. Council member Jim Graham (D-Ward 1) may not actually be a target of the corruption investigation that ensnared his chief of staff, the D.C. Republican Committee keeps hounding him like he definitely is.

After first merely postponing a hearing on his recently proposed taxicab legislation in the wake of related federal bribery charges against his chief of staff, Ward 1 D.C. Council member Jim Graham has gone ahead and withdrawn the bill entirely, Tim Craig is reporting at D.C. Wire. In a rich bit of political theater, Graham is also apparently trying to sell reporters on the notion that this decision has "nothing to do" with the charges against Ted Loza. "Graham said he is pulling the bill because of confusion and opposition within the taxicab industry to a medallion system." Suuuuuure.

Two big updates today on the ongoing federal bribery probe into Ted Loza, chief of staff to Ward 1 D.C. Council member Jim Graham.

Last week's arrest and indictment of Ted Loza, Ward 1 D.C. Council member Jim Graham's chief of staff, continues to put Graham in a rather unpleasant spotlight this morning. After WUSA9 first reported on Monday that the FBI investigation was also targeting the councilman, FOX-5 followed up last night with its own story, noting that Graham refused to go on the record all day on Monday in response to the allegations (earlier that morning when we saw him, Graham claimed he still hadn't read the story).

       

Dimmed luster, my ass! Regardless of the brewing Ted Loza/Jim Graham scandal, the folks who participated in this year's Fiesta DC did a great job putting on a colorful, fun, well-attended event that deserves to be judged apart from anything else. Here's just a few of the shots our Flickr contributors grabbed on Sunday in Mt. Pleasant.

The fountain water flowed as District officials gathered this morning to formally dedicate the completion of the first phase of the new Columbia Heights Plaza, located at the intersection of 14th Street, Park Road and Kenyon Street NW.

Attention, Columbia Heights! The official word has just come down that D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty will formally dedicate the new Columbia Heights Plaza and "Resonance" Fountain on Monday, Sept. 28 at 10:30 a.m. So let all the endless speculation cease. It does seem, however, that the plaza itself was pretty much mostly done and open last night.

Freshly delivered to our inbox is a press release from the office of D.C. Council member Jim Graham (D-Ward 1). The title? "Councilmember Graham Postpones Hearing on Taxicabs." Yeah, good call.

Major, major news from D.C. Wire:

The chief-of-staff to D.C. Council Member Jim Graham (D-Ward 1) was arrested Thursday morning by federal agents on bribery charges, according to a source familiar with the investigation.

Continue reading "Jim Graham's Chief of Staff Arrested on Bribery Charges"

On Tuesday, the Post's D.C. Wire blog reported that Ward 1 D.C. Council member Jim Graham's proposal to name the recently renovated park at 14th and Girard Streets NW "Barack Hussein Obama Park," wasn't allowed under D.C. law, which prohibits the city from naming things after people who are still alive. Not so, according to Graham. He wrote in an email to constituents today:

While the Washington Post accurately quoted law, it did not accurately state the legal situation. For years, the Council has been naming "public spaces" after living persons. The Council in the last year "renamed" roadways to honor Kathy Hughes and Chuck Brown. One of my first acts as a Councilmember in 1999 was to successfully sponsor a bill naming the alley next to Ben's Chili Bowl "Ben Ali Way" to honor the restaurant's founders. All these folks are happily still with us! There are other examples.

Continue reading "Graham Disputes Legal Barriers to 'Obama Park' Name"

Well, this situation just keeps getting worse and worse, now doesn't it? It was awful enough that Thursday's shooting at the Columbia Heights Metro station stemmed from an orientation for the District's Summer Jobs Program, but news broke earlier this evening that the main suspect in the crime is a nineteen-year-old who had been interning in, of all people, Councilman Jim Graham's office.

Is this going to become a yearly thing for Jim Graham?

Is Jumbo Slice a nuisance? It certainly feels that way by [ the walk of shame home -- because you spent your last single bills ensuring that your blood-grease content matched your BAC -- you bet, Jumbo Slice feels like a right pain in the high heel.

Good elected officials know their constituents, and in that Council member Jim Graham (D-Ward 1) has excelled. Graham has represented the District's most diverse ward for the last 10 years, easily offing challengers by remaining accessible to his constituents and making his presence known both in times of celebration and crisis. Heck, it's near impossible to miss a guy with orange glasses and a bow-tie driving a VW Bug from Columbia Heights to Adams Morgan and Mt. Pleasant to Shaw.

Another year, another anti-loitering bill come and gone. In a letter to constituents today, Ward 1 Council member Jim Graham announced he has once again abandoned his quest to implement anti-loitering legislation.

It's hardly news to the enlightened readership of DCist that Ward 1 Councilman -- and newly chosen WMATA chairman -- Jim Graham rarely uses the service which he now holds so much sway over.

Via WaPo, it seems Ward 1 D.C. Council member Jim Graham has brought back one of his favorite chestnuts, a piece of anti-loitering legislation that would allow police officers to issue $300 fines to groups of two or more people gathered in areas that police have determined are "known for illegal activity."

After last week's news that the Old Georgetown Board rejected a design proposal for an Apple store along Wisconsin Avenue for the fourth time, rumors are floating around that the computer manufacturer's iconic store might end up elsewhere in the District.

In what will surely come as a relief to DCist readers, the Examiner's Michael Neibauer reports this morning that the Adams Morgan Taxi Stand pilot program has been torpedoed after less than three months. What's especially interesting is that the program was apparently discontinued by DDOT all the way back in December, though as far as we know, the agency never announced that change. DDOT issued formal notice on Friday that the 90-day pilot program has been postponed.

No big surprise here, but Metro has sent out a release announcing the election of Ward 1 D.C. Council member Jim Graham as Chairman of WMATA's Board of Directors. Graham will serve a year-long term effective immediately, succeeding Christopher Zimmerman, whose term ended today. Graham has been on the Metro Board since 1999 and previously served as Board Chairman in 2003. Also elected today were Peter Benjamin, representing Maryland, as First Vice Chairman and Catherine Hudgins, representing Virginia, as Second Vice Chairman.

Testimony from bar and club owners and workers has convinced Ward 1 Councilmember Jim Graham to see the error of his ways and loosen penalties for bars found serving to minors. Marc Fisher writes that the D.C. Council took up his proposal at the December 16 meeting after tentatively approving the measure in November.

As the Going Out Gurus reported last Friday, this past weekend marked the beginning of the long-awaited Adams Morgan Taxi Stand pilot program. As Ward 1 Council member Jim Graham published on his web site, the program is designed to reduce the killer traffic congestion on the 18th Street nightlife corridor on weekend nights.

In May, we wrote about how stricter residential parking rules were desperately needed in Adams Morgan. Yesterday, Ward 1 Council member Jim Graham's office sent out the following announcement:

D.C. Councilmember Jim Graham (D-Ward One) this week introduced a bill that will protect and enhance residential parking in Ward One. Ward One attracts many non-residents who park on neighborhood streets. As a result residents – even with residential parking permits – can’t find parking near their homes. The bill would preserve street parking for residents by restricting certain areas to RPP holders only. It would also create a more efficient system for metered street parking in commercial areas.

Ward 1 D.C. Council member Jim Graham sent the following email out to the Columbia Heights email list just before 1 p.m.:

As illegal graffiti continues to appear on D.C.'s streets, the D.C. Council sought a way to do more than paint over it and send the taggers to jail, only to repeat the process again and again. Council member Jim Graham's office contacted The Midnight Forum, a non-profit with a mission to empower youth through hip-hop, through both the entertainment side as well as teaching business and life skills.

The Examiner reports on a new bill before the D.C. Council that would levy a $25 per month tax on all private employee parking spaces. The legislation is the brainchild of Ward 1 Council member Jim Graham and At-large member Phil Mendelson, and is designed to discourage employees from driving in to work even though they have access to a parking space at their office.