D.C. Council Approves Rhee as Schools Chief

Rhee was accompanied yesterday by several city officials, including Deputy Mayor Victor Reinoso, whose council confirmation has been delayed until at least September. Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray (D) said he decided to postpone the confirmation because he wants more time to assess Reinoso's performance. Reinoso, a former school board member, has taken the blame for a plagiarized education report but refused last month to tell the council whether he penned the document.

In other business, the council voted 12 to 0 to initially approve legislation that will curb the city's payday loan industry, which was criticized by some council members yesterday as "legal loan-sharking."

Under the legislation, check-cashing firms could charge a maximum of about 90 cents for a $100 loan repaid within two weeks. Currently, customers pay $15 to $16 on the small loan. The rate change puts check-cashing firms on par with other lending institutions, such as banks and credit unions.

Council member Marion Barry (D-Ward 8), who originally co-sponsored the legislation with council member Mary M. Cheh (D-Ward 3), abstained. He said he has learned more about the firms and believes that they would not be able to operate under the legislation. "We are putting this industry out of business," he said. "Over 400 jobs will be lost. . . . Eight million dollars will be lost to the economy."

Cheh said in an interview that she was frustrated with Barry's flip-flop and with Gandhi, who prepared a statement showing that the legislation would result in a loss of $527,000 in tax and fee revenue from fiscal 2008 to 2011.

The council will take a final vote in the fall when members return from a summer recess.

In other business, the council approved emergency legislation to establish a moratorium that will limit the number of taverns in Adams Morgan to 10 in the future. There are currently 11 restaurants that have tavern licenses, which allow them to serve much more alcohol than food. Six pending applications will still be considered for approval.

Some residents say the proliferation of tavern licenses is contributing to an increase in violence and loitering in the neighborhood. But restaurant owners say they are just trying to stay afloat in a neighborhood where customers often come for drinks and the nightlife, which prevents them from meeting a city law that says a restaurant's revenue must include 45 percent in food sales or $2,000 per seat in food sales annually.

Enforcement of that law was set to begin Oct. 1, but the council approved legislation to delay enforcement while it studies whether restaurants can meet the revenue requirements.