Above The Fray, In Beijing

What is it about D.C. officials and China?

In October 2005, just as the D.C. Council began another nasty round of bickering over the question of who would pay for the new Nationals baseball stadium, Mayor Anthony A. Williams jetted off for an 11-day "cultural and economic mission" to Beijing and Bangkok. By the time the mayor returned, his stadium plan was headed toward renewed chaos.

Now the city leader in the hot seat is School Superintendent Clifford B. Janey, who could get a new boss -- Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) -- by Tuesday. So what's on Janey's agenda in the first couple of weeks after that?

Yep, a week-long jaunt to Beijing.

Janey said he's going June 24 along with about a dozen other school officials, as part of a national program to increase Mandarin language instruction in urban school systems. The subject came up at a news conference this week that was supposed to be about the kickoff of an extensive audit of the school system by city officials.

Asked about the China trip, Janey bristled at suggestions that this might be a bad time to be out of town. He noted that he had signed an agreement last year with the Chinese government to promote Mandarin instruction and was proud that D.C. schools were participating in the program. The system has expanded its Mandarin instruction to six schools, Janey said.

But given that Fenty, whose plan to take over the school system has been steadily advancing, is said to favor replacing Janey, it is not even certain whether he'll still be in charge before he leaves -- much less what will happen when he returns.

Legal Fees Top Legal Limit

Stop the presses: The new baseball stadium costs appear to have exceeded the D.C. Council's $611 million cost cap!

Forgive our sarcasm, but we've heard this song before. The Notebook has covered the stadium from the start, back in September 2004, when Mayor Anthony A. Williams and his aides said the project would cost about $435 million in public money.

Then it was $535 million.

Then $611 million.

Now comes word from D.C. Auditor Deborah K. Nichols that costs for legal services provided to the District by Venable LLP on the city's eminent-domain case for the stadium land have gone well above the $1.87 million included in the cost limit -- and that the D.C. Attorney General's Office appeared to allow a little funny business in the final year of the Williams administration.