D.C. Wire - News and notes on District politics.

Posted at 01:40 PM ET, 03/30/2011

Poll: Grade Mayor Gray

By Justin Jouvenal

By Justin Jouvenal | 01:40 PM ET, 03/30/2011 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 12:19 PM ET, 03/30/2011

House likely to approve D.C. school choice bill, but future in limbo

By Ben Pershing

The House is expected to approve a bill Wednesday afternoon that would revive and expand the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program.

By Ben Pershing | 12:19 PM ET, 03/30/2011 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 11:32 AM ET, 03/30/2011

$1 fuel surcharge now applies for cab rides outside D.C., too

By

Mayor Vincent C. Gray has revised an executive order that permits D.C. cabdrivers to add a $1 fuel surcharge to include trips outside the city as well as those within the District’s borders

By | 11:32 AM ET, 03/30/2011 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 05:01 PM ET, 03/29/2011

Obama opposes Boehner’s D.C. school choice bill, but does not threaten veto

By Ben Pershing

The White House announced Tuesday that President Obama was “strongly opposed” to — but did not threaten to veto — a bill reviving and expanding the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program, one day before the measure is scheduled for a vote on the House floor

By Ben Pershing | 05:01 PM ET, 03/29/2011 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 02:59 PM ET, 03/29/2011

DC Vote activists lobby Senate on spending bill ‘riders’

By Ben Pershing

Advocates for the District of Columbia came to the Senate Tuesday to lobby lawmakers against including restrictions on funding for the city in any final budget deal.

By Ben Pershing | 02:59 PM ET, 03/29/2011 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 11:59 AM ET, 03/29/2011

AFL-CIO backs Orange in at-large race

By Tim Craig

The Metropolitan Washington Council of the AFL-CIO decided Monday night to endorse former council member Vincent B. Orange in the at-large race, a significant boost for a campaign that appears to be gaining momentum

By Tim Craig | 11:59 AM ET, 03/29/2011 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 09:07 PM ET, 03/28/2011

Mayor Vincent Gray’s State of the District address: Full text

By Terri Rupar

Here is the full text of the D.C. mayor’s State of the District address, as prepared for delivery.

By Terri Rupar | 09:07 PM ET, 03/28/2011 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 05:56 PM ET, 03/22/2011

D.C. school choice bill could get House vote next week

By Ben Pershing

A bill to revive D.C.’s opportunity scholarship program, providing private school vouchers for low-income students, could get a House vote next week

By Ben Pershing | 05:56 PM ET, 03/22/2011 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 11:05 AM ET, 03/22/2011

City to sue online travel companies to recoup taxes

By Nikita Stewart

The District is filing a lawsuit against Expedia, Orbitz, Priceline.com and Travelocity on Tuesday to recoup taxes the city says it is owed

By Nikita Stewart | 11:05 AM ET, 03/22/2011 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 04:30 PM ET, 03/21/2011

Cheh seeks subpoena power for hearing on Gray’s hiring practices

By Nikita Stewart

Council member Mary M. Cheh (D-Ward 3) wants the authority to issue subpoenas if necessary for a March 28 she is holding on the hiring practices of Mayor Vincent C. Gray’s administration.

By Nikita Stewart | 04:30 PM ET, 03/21/2011 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 11:08 AM ET, 03/21/2011

Gray seeks residents’ input on budget, tax increase

By Nikita Stewart

Mayor Vincent C. Gray, grappling with an estimated $312 million budget deficit in fiscal 2012, is asking residents whether they would support an increase in fees or taxes and whether they would prioritize education or other issues in an online survey.

By Nikita Stewart | 11:08 AM ET, 03/21/2011 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 04:30 PM ET, 03/17/2011

Senate confirms second D.C. federal court nominee this week

By Ben Pershing

The Senate on Thursday confirmed Amy Berman Jackson to serve as a U.S. District Court Judge for the District of Columbia, the second time this week the chamber has approved a pick for the D.C. court.

By Ben Pershing | 04:30 PM ET, 03/17/2011 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 08:06 PM ET, 03/16/2011

Mayor Gray’s chief resigns before testifying on high appointee salaries

By Tim Craig

Gerri Mason Hall resigned Tuesday, moments before she was scheduled to testify before a D.C. Council committee on why some members of the administration were being paid above the legal limit.

By Tim Craig | 08:06 PM ET, 03/16/2011 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 05:07 PM ET, 03/15/2011

Council holds up vote on Gray ally

By Tim Craig

D.C. Council holds up Lloyd Jordan’s nomination to zoning board

By Tim Craig | 05:07 PM ET, 03/15/2011 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 11:59 AM ET, 03/14/2011

Fenty cleared in parks contracts investigation

By Tim Craig

An outside investigator has concluded there was "no wrongdoing" by former Mayor Adrian M. Fenty related to the issuance of parks and recreation contracts during his term.

By Tim Craig | 11:59 AM ET, 03/14/2011 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 07:07 PM ET, 03/09/2011

D.C. mayor Gray retains attor ney

By

By | 07:07 PM ET, 03/09/2011 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 03:34 PM ET, 03/08/2011

Brown meets with House Oversight Committee

By Nikita Stewart

Sulaimon Brown, the fired D.C. government employee and former mayoral candidate who says he was promised a job in exchange for bashing then-mayor Adrian M. Fenty last year, is meeting Tuesday with the House Oversight and Government Committee.

By Nikita Stewart | 03:34 PM ET, 03/08/2011 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 03:25 PM ET, 03/04/2011

Gray confidant Lorraine Green retires from Amtrak

By Nikita Stewart

Lorraine Green, confidant to Mayor Vincent C. Gray (D), is retiring from her 14-year career as an executive at Amtrak on April 1, but she said she has no plans to join the Gray administration.

By Nikita Stewart | 03:25 PM ET, 03/04/2011 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 12:43 PM ET, 03/04/2011

Evans puts Gray, Brown on notice; fears ‘late-night’ jokes

By Tim Craig

D.C. Council member Jack Evans (D-Ward 2) has issued a biting critique of recent controversies involving Mayor Vincent C. Gray (D) and D.C. Council Chairman Kwame Brown, telling his constituents that “everyone in the city” has been “taken aback by the events.”

By Tim Craig | 12:43 PM ET, 03/04/2011 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 12:19 PM ET, 03/04/2011

AFSCME endorses Vincent Orange in council race

By Tim Craig

By Tim Craig | 12:19 PM ET, 03/04/2011 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 09:50 PM ET, 03/02/2011

Mayor Gray adds more background checks

By Nikita Stewart

Mayor Vincent C. Gray has ordered additional background checks of political hires, called "excepted service" employees in District government, according to a news release issued by his office. Gray's order Wednesday to vet current and future employees comes after revelations about the legal troubles of some of his hires...

By Nikita Stewart | 09:50 PM ET, 03/02/2011 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 12:59 PM ET, 03/02/2011

Biddle picks up SEUI endorsement -- and criticism from opponents

By Tim Craig

The Service Employees International Union on Wednesday endorsed D.C. Council member Sekou Biddle (D-At large) in the April 26 special election, even as some of Biddle's opponents stepped up their criticism of his attempts to have them thrown off the ballot.

By Tim Craig | 12:59 PM ET, 03/02/2011 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Categories: Bryan Weaver, Jacque Patterson, Sekou Biddle, Vincent Orange, at-large election 2011, vincent gray

Posted at 03:40 PM ET, 03/01/2011

Kwame Brown vows to 'win back the trust' of residents

By Tim Craig

D.C. Council Chairman Kwame Brown (D) said Tuesday he's going to work to "win back the trust" of city residents angered or troubled by his decision to request a "fully loaded" Lincoln Navigator that would have cost taxpayers $2,000 a month. Speaking to reporters after the council session, Brown said...

By Tim Craig | 03:40 PM ET, 03/01/2011 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Categories: Joshua Lopez, Kwame Brown, Sekou Biddle

Posted at 11:50 AM ET, 03/01/2011

Norton accuses GOP of trying to 'humiliate' and 'disrespect' Gray

By Ben Pershing

Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) ripped into her Republican colleagues Tuesday morning at a hearing on the District's school voucher program, accusing them of trying to "humiliate" Mayor Vincent C. Gray and "disrespect his office."

By Ben Pershing | 11:50 AM ET, 03/01/2011 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Categories: Ben Pershing, Education, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Vincent C. Gray

D.C. Wire: March, 2011