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

Posted at 05:14 PM ET, 09/28/2011

Kwame Brown gets a Prius — on his own dime

By Tim Craig

Chagrined by the uproar over his Navigator, the D.C. Council chairman has gone environmentally friendly on his own dime.

By Tim Craig | 05:14 PM ET, 09/28/2011 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 12:18 PM ET, 09/28/2011

Gray plans to hire 300 additional D.C. police officers

By Tim Craig

The new hires would bring the District’s force up to at least 3,900 officers.

By Tim Craig | 12:18 PM ET, 09/28/2011 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 01:55 PM ET, 09/27/2011

Adrian Fenty’s write-in campaign reaches settlement

By Tim Craig

The leaders of the unsuccessful campaign to write in Adrian M. Fenty for D.C. mayor during the 2010 general election have reached a settlement with elections officials.

By Tim Craig | 01:55 PM ET, 09/27/2011 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 11:59 AM ET, 09/27/2011

Robert Brannum elected chair of Ward 5 Democratic Committee

By Tim Craig

Brannum, head of the D.C. Federation of Civic Associations, defeated incumbent Angel Alston’s by a better than 2 to 1 margin.

By Tim Craig | 11:59 AM ET, 09/27/2011 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 03:44 PM ET, 09/23/2011

Former D.C. mayor Fenty to host fundraiser for Evans

By Tim Craig

Fenty is dipping his toe back into city politics, hosting a fundraiser for one of his most stalwart political supporters, D.C. Council member Jack Evans.

By Tim Craig | 03:44 PM ET, 09/23/2011 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 12:50 PM ET, 09/23/2011

D.C. taxpayers buy council member new office furnishings

By Tim Craig

Two days after the D.C. Council voted to raise taxes on the city’s wealthiest residents, $2,300 in taxpayer-funded furniture delivered Council member Michael A. Brown had city hall office.

By Tim Craig | 12:50 PM ET, 09/23/2011 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 02:16 PM ET, 09/22/2011

D.C. Fire returns to Twitter

By Tim Craig

@dcfireeems will remain source or news

By Tim Craig | 02:16 PM ET, 09/22/2011 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 01:30 PM ET, 09/21/2011

Press tempers flare over Gray’s move to stifle police and fire communications

By Tim Craig

The District’s local press corps assailed Mayor Vincent C. Gray (D) and his public safety team Wednesday over the administration’s move to encrypt police radios and stifle the fire department’s popular Twitter feed.

By Tim Craig | 01:30 PM ET, 09/21/2011 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 12:16 PM ET, 09/21/2011

Sulaimon Brown reaches deal over records sought by D.C. Council

By Nikita Stewart

By Nikita Stewart | 12:16 PM ET, 09/21/2011 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 12:10 PM ET, 09/21/2011

Norton pushes to let D.C. spend its own money, amid another federal shutdown threat

By Ben Pershing

Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton is trying yet again to gain permission for the District to spend its own money to keep the city government open in the event of a federal shutdown.

By Ben Pershing | 12:10 PM ET, 09/21/2011 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 02:15 PM ET, 09/20/2011

D.C. Council approves tax hike for high earners

By Tim Craig

In the 7 to 6 vote, the council agreed to raise the tax rate from 8.5 percent to 8.95 percent for District residents who earn more than $350,000 a year.

By Tim Craig | 02:15 PM ET, 09/20/2011 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 04:16 PM ET, 09/19/2011

Orange seeks council term limits, pay raises

By Tim Craig

D.C. Council member Vincent B. Orange wants to limit council members to two consecutive terms but make their jobs “full-time” and raise their salaries to as much as $170,000 a year.

By Tim Craig | 04:16 PM ET, 09/19/2011 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 04:44 PM ET, 09/16/2011

District’s finances to be bolstered by extra $89 million

By Tim Craig

The District is expected to end the fiscal year with at least an extra $89 million in cash that city leaders will be able to spend or set aside as reserves.

By Tim Craig | 04:44 PM ET, 09/16/2011 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 03:36 PM ET, 09/15/2011

Wells drafts D.C. bill to limit lobbyists’ influence

By Tim Craig

D.C. Council member Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6) has drafted legislation that would severely curtail registered lobbyists influence on the political process.

By Tim Craig | 03:36 PM ET, 09/15/2011 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 01:00 PM ET, 09/15/2011

Congress members want Bikeshare on the Mall

By Tim Craig

Six members of Congress, including four who represent the District or a close-in suburb, are urging that Capital Bikeshare stations be allowed on the Mall.

By Tim Craig | 01:00 PM ET, 09/15/2011 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 02:00 PM ET, 09/14/2011

Senate D.C. spending bill does not include abortion ban

By Ben Pershing

Advocates for District autonomy and abortion rights won a partial victory Wednesday, as the Senate released a draft spending bill that does not include a ban on the city using taxpayer money to fund abortions for low-income women.

By Ben Pershing | 02:00 PM ET, 09/14/2011 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 03:34 PM ET, 09/13/2011

Activists lobby Senate to keep D.C. abortion ban off spending bill

By Ben Pershing

Advocates are stepping up their Capitol Hill lobbying efforts to prevent a ban on city-funded abortions, as a Senate panel prepares to consider the spending bill that funds the D.C. budget for 2012.

By Ben Pershing | 03:34 PM ET, 09/13/2011 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 09:26 AM ET, 09/12/2011

Sulaimon Brown says he was charged by police with driving infractions

By Nikita Stewart

The former D.C. mayoral candidate, who accused aides to then-candidate Vincent Gray of trying to buy his support, says he was pulled over by police early Monday.

By Nikita Stewart | 09:26 AM ET, 09/12/2011 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 04:46 PM ET, 09/09/2011

District’s ticket amnesty nets nearly $1 million in first month

By Nikita Stewart

The ticket amnesty program that waives penalties on outstanding tickets has already generated $976,341 in the first month.

By Nikita Stewart | 04:46 PM ET, 09/09/2011 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 02:55 PM ET, 09/09/2011

D.C. police stepping up security, mayor says

By Nikita Stewart

Mayor Vincent C. Gray said Friday that the department is requiring officers to work 12-hour shifts and operate under a restricted leave policy as city officials try to protect the nation’s capital under “credible and specific but unconfirmed threats.”

By Nikita Stewart | 02:55 PM ET, 09/09/2011 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 05:00 PM ET, 09/07/2011

Andi Pringle resigning from Gray administration over voting discrepancy, source says

By Nikita Stewart

Andi Pringle, the new deputy chief of staff to Mayor Vincent C. Gray, is resigning, according to a source close to the administration, after coming under fire for voting in the District primary last year even though she lives in Maryland.

By Nikita Stewart | 05:00 PM ET, 09/07/2011 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 04:03 PM ET, 09/07/2011

District to distribute sandbags Wednesday night

By Nikita Stewart

District residents can pick up sandbags between 6 p.m. and midnight Wednesday at RFK Stadium.

By Nikita Stewart | 04:03 PM ET, 09/07/2011 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 05:10 PM ET, 09/06/2011

DHS headquarters project at St. Elizabeths partially funded by Senate proposal

By Ben Pershing

A draft Senate spending bill includes $56 million to continue construction of Department of Homeland Security headquarters at the former St. Elizabeths site.

By Ben Pershing | 05:10 PM ET, 09/06/2011 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 04:14 PM ET, 09/06/2011

Gray ousts former Catania aide from health-care post

By Tim Craig

Genee Unger recently received word from the mayor’s office that her “services were no longer needed,” said Wayne Turnage, whom Gray appointed to lead the Department of Health Care Finance.

By Tim Craig | 04:14 PM ET, 09/06/2011 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 01:22 PM ET, 09/06/2011

Brown says records are under “grand jury subpoena”

By Nikita Stewart

Former mayoral candidate Sulaimon Brown says records that a special D.C. Council committee is seeking are in the hands of the FBI.

By Nikita Stewart | 01:22 PM ET, 09/06/2011 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 11:11 PM ET, 09/01/2011

New appointee voted in D.C., lived in Md.

By Nikita Stewart

By Nikita Stewart | 11:11 PM ET, 09/01/2011 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 03:11 PM ET, 09/01/2011

Former NYC deputy mayor arrested for domestic violence in District

By Nikita Stewart

By Nikita Stewart | 03:11 PM ET, 09/01/2011 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

D.C. Wire: September, 2011