Results tagged “mayor”

Whew, we can all breathe a little easier now. After what seemed like weeks of incessantly meaningless bickering, D.C. Wire reports that the Mayor's office handed over 19 Nationals seats to the City Council today, in what I'm sure new City Administrator Neil O. Albert is going to remember fondly as his first official duty in said capacity. Vincent Gray & Co. will be able to use the seats in Suite 61 at Nationals Park starting on Wednesday against Pittsburgh. (Hey, just in time to watch the Nationals and Pirates battle for the title of most incompetent National League franchise!) Post scribe Nikita Stewart, who broke the story, wonders about the timing of the exchange: "[t]he tickets could be a peace offering as Fenty tries to convince the council to restore some of his original budget proposal before a final vote on the budget support act." Uh, sure, tickets are nice and all, but if the Mayor thinks that giving the Council Nats tickets which they already believed were theirs is really going to grease the wheels, he probably has not seen a lot of Nationals games this season. (Springsteen tickets probably would have been a better choice.) But hey, that's beside the point here -- at least now we won't have to hear about this nonsense again until there's something interesting happening at the Verizon Center.

We're not even done with this election cycle, and already we have to look forward to the next one. Over the weekend D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty filed the necessary paperwork to run for re-election in 2010. Here's Fenty's statement, via D.C. Wire:

"The time has come to engage the residents of the District of Columbia about the future of the city and the leadership that will represent them moving forward," Fenty began. "We are proud of the progress we've made over the past 22 months, whether its beginning the critical reform of DCPS or bringing more development into our great neighborhoods. We cannot rest on the improvement we've fostered thus far and will continue to work with all residents to make the District a world class city."

The home of Berwyn Heights, Md. Mayor Cheye Calvo was raided on Tuesday, reports the Post, and police recovered 32 pounds of marijuana inside. A SWAT team also shot and killed Calvo's two dogs when they entered the home.

Good morning, Washington. Supporters of Gov. Mike Huckabee and Sen. Barack Obama are riding high off their caucus victories in Iowa last night, but locally, D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty continues to suffer some bumps in the road after one year in office. Just weeks after the resignation of Attorney General Linda Singer, Fenty's former deputy chief of staff, Neil Richardson, has also resigned. Richardson, who was a key Fenty aide during his mayoral campaign, had been moved out of Fenty's "bullpen" in October and placed in an office called Serve DC, where he was tasked with creating a volunteer program to help the school system. Yesterday Richardson decided that the demotion, which came, according to the Post, after Richardson complained to the mayor that he was not listening enough to the public on key decisions, wasn't worth sticking around for, and tendered his resignation. WTOP has excerpts from Richardson's resignation letter, which reiterates complaints heard from others about Fenty's dictatorial governing style.

As we mentioned at the end of the day yesterday, Acting D.C. Attorney General Peter Nickles has fired Alan Morrison, the lawyer who had been preparing to defend the District's handgun ban before the Supreme Court in March. The timing of this move leads to all manner of questions about how seriously the Fenty administration actually takes this Supreme Court case, and whether the Mayor and the Acting AG are capable of putting important legal proceedings above personal disagreements.

Good morning, Washington. It really is freezing outside, people are dropping like flies from this terrible cold going around town, and over in Iowa, we hear there's some kind of a fake election going on that's going to dominate the news cycle all day. It could all be enough to get us down, but yet, we carry on ... until we read this story about an 11-year-old boy in Burke, VA who has been arrested on charges of breaking and entering and sexual assault. Eleven years old! Kid hasn't even gone through puberty yet. WTF?

The people behind DC Residents for Reasonable Taxi Fares, the web site that's been calling for Mayor Fenty to make some significant revisions to his taxi meter proposals, have sent out a last-minute push for residents to send like-minded input to the District. The deadline for public comment set by the D.C. Taxicab Commission on the proposed move from zones to time and distance meters, which Mayor Fenty has said would include a $4.50$4.00 flag drop, are due Monday, Jan. 7.

Good morning, Washington. Well, this is it: the holidays are finally, tragically over. You're once again sitting at your desk. And now we begin the slow, terrible death march toward spring, with only brief, inadequate celebrations of Presidents' and MLK Day to sustain us. Stay strong, D.C. — we'll get through this. Can You Hear Me Now? Hello? Hello?: The ball dropped, the phones came out and... nothing. "Y2K8 Bug" doesn't sound very catchy, but that seems to be what Verizon Wireless customers experienced in the first few hours of 2008, as WTOP reports. A software glitch affected some calls and text messages until around 4 a.m. on New Year's Day. Virginia Considers Mining Uranium: Walter Coles' family farm in Pittsylvania County sits atop what is thought to be the largest deposit of uranium on the East coast — enough to power the nation's reactors for two years. But up until now he hasn't been able to do anything about it: as the Post explains, uranium mining has been banned in Virginia since 1982. Now Coles is undertaking a lobbying effort to have that changed. Although the landowner claims that he's avoided selling the land so that he can ensure the mining process proceeds safely and with a maximum benefit to the community, critics say that Coles is motivated solely by money and that uranium mining can't be conducted safely in Virginia's moist environment. String of Stabbings in Virginia: The Post reports on three separate incidents that occurred yesterday and overnight in Northern Virginia. A man was found stabbed in Falls Church; another in Reston; and three people sustained knife injuries after a man was barred from a party in Franconia. The Falls Church incident resulted in the victim's death. Police say the incidents aren't related. Briefly Noted: Maryland property assessments rising despite falling home prices... Third Democrat considers running for Tom Davis' seat... Union Station was briefly evacuated yesterday due to a french fry fire, lower level will remain closed today... Arlington chairman pledges to support affordable housing, pursue smoking/trans-fat ban and keep county pro-immigrant... This Day In DCist: One year ago Mayor Fenty was taking office, Washington was paying its respects to Gerald Ford, and the Post was cozying up to local bloggers. Image posted to DCist Photos by Flickr user Oblivious Dude

>> So Mayor Fenty and Schools Chancellor Rhee have scheduled 23 simultaneous school closure hearings at each of the proposed 23 schools to be closed. Logistics nightmare questions aside, what is a parent who has a child at more than one of the schools supposed to do? Pick which child they think is more important? [WaPo]

The Washington Post says that taxicab drivers are handing out surveys to riders about the impending change from zones to meters. Drivers have until Jan. 8 to hand in public comments to the D.C. Taxicab Commission and the mayor's office, which means that if you get in a D.C. cab between now and then, odds are pretty good you'll be asked to complete a survey.

The Washington Post has a fantastic story on today's front page accusing Sen. Mary Landrieu (D.-La.), in her role as chairwoman of the Senate's D.C. appropriations subcommittee up until earlier this year, of forcing an unproven reading program on the District's kindergarten and first grade classrooms in exchange for $80,000 in donations from the company that designed it.

Good morning, Washington. With the Christmas holiday looming, things are slowing down in workplaces around the region. Well, most workplaces, anyway — D.C.'s firefighters seem to be keeping plenty busy. Yesterday, of course, there was the fire at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. Since then there's been a two alarm fire at the Chinatown Red Roof Inn, and this impressive gathering of firefighters just south of Logan around 6 p.m. last night. Here's hoping their holiday season calms down. More On The D.C. Quarter: The Post follows up yesterday's news with a longer article on the District's inclusion in the Treasury's state quarter program. First, the good news: the city government gets to decide on the design, and Mayor Fenty is promising that the process will involve "maximum resident input" — so it sounds like "No Taxation Without Representation" has a real shot at appearing on U.S. currency. The bad news: state flags aren't allowed in the designs, making the other half of the winning choice from yesterday's poll a no-go. Also, it turns out that we're only getting a quarter because Puerto Rico is. That stings a little, but I suppose we'll take what we can get. Maryland Gives Seventeen Year-Olds The Vote: Well, in the state's primary, anyway. WTOP reports that Maryland's Attorney General has issued an opinion that will ensure citizens can vote in the state's presidential primary on February 12, provided that they will be eighteen by the time of the general election. Both parties had requested such a measure. Briefly Noted: "Capitol Steps" creator passes away... Long-awaited "Stop Snitchin'" sequel nears release in Baltimore... Car crashes into Reston home... Surveillance photos of robbery suspects released... This Day In DCist: One year ago we chatted with Nethers and suggested some last minute gift ideas. Two years ago we checked out some new shopping options. Image posted to DCist Photos by Flickr user Nivad

The Examiner ran a story on Monday about Bloomingdale's recent round of talks with the city regarding opening a new store in downtown D.C. Along with the recently approved development at the Old Convention Center site, sources in the Fenty administration told Michael Neibauer that the talks have included the controversial Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library at 9th and G Streets NW as a "possible option" for the store.

WTOP's Mark Segraves got a hold of a partial list of the folks who've been receiving tickets to use the city's free luxury box in the Verizon Center -- the one that the D.C. Council is so miffed they're being boxed out of -- and there's some fun tidbits he discovered.

Most of those invited to D.C.'s Luxury Suite at the Verizon Center by Fenty either contributed the maximum $2,000 to Fenty's campaign or worked on the campaign. The rest of the tickets, with only a few exceptions, went to friends, family and the mayor's senior staffers of the mayor.

Good morning, Washington. We hope not too many of you were making your way into the city from Montgomery County this morning, as two separate water main breaks forced road closures in Takoma Park and kids to get the day off from school in Germantown. We'll admit it -- we're pretty envious of the students at Fox Chapel Elementary School, who get to spend the day doing whatever they please while we had to show up and actually do work. Isn't it supposed to be Christmas break already?

Hilda Mason, 91, who served more than 20 years on the D.C. Council, died yesterday at Washington Hospital Center.

Big news from the Washington Post: D.C. Attorney General Linda Singer has resigned after less than a year on the job.

It's Friday, Washington, and reactions are still rolling in to Metro's approval of its largest fare hikes ever. We all knew this was coming, but we're curious to hear if any of our readers actually plan to make changes to their commuting habits come January 6, when the increases will go into effect. Do you think you'll ride Metro any less, or finally make the leap to using SmarTrip? Let us know in the comments.

Good morning, Washington. We'll be standing by for a good chunk of the day to see what the Metro Board decides to do about the proposed fare hike - the Board is meeting at 11 a.m. for a session that is expected to produce a final vote on the fare hikes, which could go into effect as soon as January. Board members have indicated they would likely pass a fare hike that is slightly less than the current proposal.

Good morning, Washington. It turns out that House Pages don't need lecherous congressmen's help to make scandalous headlines: two have just gotten busted for inappropriate behavior in a House elevator. They've been dismissed, bringing the year's total fired pages to five — two others were caught shoplifting, and one was booted for fighting. Needless to say, it looks like the program — the oversight of which has been in turmoil — will be getting...

>> Oh noes! The Ron Paul blimp launch was delayed, and rescheduled for its D.C. appearance on Wednesday at 3 p.m. [via Wonkette] >> D.C.'s Beacon House Falcons of Edgewood Terrace won Pop Warner Football’s Pee Wee Division I Super Bowl championship on Saturday. [Notions Capital] >> Former D.C. Police Chief Charles Ramsey no longer thinks handgun bans are such a good idea now that he works for a city that doesn't have one....

Now that the gloves have come off in the relationship between the D.C. Council and Mayor Adrian Fenty, it's apparently time for more of their amusingly petty disagreements to become public. The Post has a hilarious story in today's District Extra about a brewing battle over exactly how the city's allotment of free Wizards tickets will be distributed. Turns out last week the mayor's office slyly attempted to pick up all 24 tickets for the...

How about that first snow storm of the season, Washington? CapitalWeather.com says that "yesterday's clipper system actually significantly 'over-performed,'" which is why we ended up with 2-4" of snow for the region instead of the 1" we were originally expecting. The Examiner was concerned about your commute this morning thanks to overnight lows that were forecast to drop into the low 20s, allowing for ice to refreeze on the roads in time for this...

DC for Marriage, an eight-month-old group advocating same-sex marriage rights in the District, will hold a "Marriage Equality Community Forum" tomorrow night at 7 p.m. in room 412 of the Wilson Building. This is the group's first public event, which is co-sponsored by several local LGBT organizations including the DC Center, DC Black Pride, AQUA DC, and the Sexual Minority Youth Assistance League, among others. Yesterday, DC for Marriage announced Sabrina Sojourner, the first open...

Up until last year, the D.C. Council's weekly breakfast meetings were closed to the press and the public. The meetings, which then council Chair Linda Cropp claimed were merely social in nature, were thought of by local reporters as the place where city politicos hammered out sensitive deals -- and did so away from the prying eyes of the District's residents. Even though that has now changed, we've never really gotten much of a sense...

Are you ready, D.C.?! That's right: it's the first snowfall of the season. We talked about it yesterday, and the outlook remains pretty much the same. Both Capital Weather and our local TV weatherpeople agree that we'll get about an inch of unusually fluffy snow, with most of it falling by early afternoon. City Starts Looking For More Theft: Watch out, D.C. government ne'er-do-wells: Dan Tangherlini is on your trail. NBC4 reports that the...

>> "More than 50 nonunionized workers rallied against the new Nationals ballpark this morning, angry that more District residents did not receive construction jobs." [WaPo] >> "I saw firsthand the fragile relationship that exists between Mayor Fenty and the City Council Members. I heard tales of a delayed Comprehensive Annual Financial Review , rising murder rates and a Chief of Police who feels burdened by a system that won't help her, proposals to close...

>> The law firm that uncovered widespread fraud at Enron is now investigating the tax fraud case at the D.C. Office of Tax and Revenue. [WTOP] >> The swear word directed at Mayor Fenty by Council member Marion Barry, revealed. [City Desk] >> "So if giving CNN yet another chance to screw up major debates is the first mistake, then allowing Wolf Blitzer to moderate one of them (Anderson Cooper the other, meh) is...

Last week, the Fenty administration announced an aggressive plan calling for the closure of 24 schools within the District of Columbia Public Schools system. Parents and concerned members of the community are now being invited to attend a series of public meetings where they can raise concerns directly with Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee and Deputy Mayor for Education Victor Reinoso. We've posted the full schedule below. Wards 1, 2 & 6: *Monday, Dec. 10 from...

Fall leaves have lingered on trees much later than normal this year, leading to slippery conditions all over the city. Metro once again had to place speed restrictions on all trains passing through above-ground stations over the weekend, and we spotted more than a few people stepping carefully through wet and leaf-covered sidewalks this morning after last night's storm. Seems like a good time to remind everyone how fall leaf collection works in the District....