DISTRICT BRIEFING
DISTRICT BRIEFING
Tuesday, May 1, 2007; Page B02
SCHOOL TAKEOVER PLAN
Norton Introduces House Bill to Transfer Control
Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) introduced a House bill yesterday that would alter the city's Home Rule Charter to transfer authority over the public school system from the Board of Education to Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D). The D.C. Council approved the plan two weeks ago, but Fenty needs Congress to ratify the legislation before he takes complete control.
  Slain New York Times reporter David E. Rosenbaum (Susana Raab - For The New York Times) |
Also yesterday, Norton introduced a bill to increase the salary of Chief Financial Officer Natwar M. Gandhi from $186,600 to $279,000. The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is scheduled to mark up bills today.
-- David Nakamura
CAPITOL HILL PROTEST
Nearly 100 Arrested for Unlawful Assembly
Almost 100 protesters were arrested by U.S. Capitol Police yesterday for unlawful assembly after converging on several Capitol Hill offices to lobby for more funding for home-based services for disabled Medicaid recipients.
The disability activists want Congress to hold hearings on the Community Choice Act, which would provide funding so some disabled residents could move from nursing facilities back to their homes. The activists targeted the offices of Reps. John D. Dingell (D-Mich.) and Joe L. Barton (R-Tex.), key members of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, which is considering the bill.
Sgt. Kimberly Schneider, spokesman for the police force, said 99 people were arrested and processed late yesterday afternoon. They were released after paying a fine, she said.
-- Elissa Silverman
