Deputy Mayor's Staffing Takes a Hit

Turns out Whiting is the daughter of go-go music legend Chuck Brown, who was providing the entertainment for the party.

"I'm onstage everywhere he plays -- the 9:30 Club, anywhere," Whiting said.

She said she has played tambourine and keyboard during previous performances, although she never had a music career.

As for Fenty, Whiting hasn't found a soft spot.

"I'm just not happy with how he's making it a one-man show," she said. "Even with the school takeover, had he brought people to the table, even if some of us were against it, at least we would have felt included."

Sour Grapes Over Free Suite

When you can't beat 'em, don't join 'em.

The Notebook reported last week on the behind-the-scenes tug-of-war between Fenty and the D.C. Council over which branch of government should control the city's rent-free luxury suite at the Verizon Center.

Fenty's underlings want to keep a tight grip on the tickets, but some council members would like the same rules that applied to the less luxurious seating at RFK stadium to apply to the Verizon Center.

At RFK, the legislative and executive branches split tickets two-thirds to one-third, respectively.

Such logic has been cast aside for the Verizon suite, granted to the city by Washington Wizards owner Abe Pollin as appreciation for $50 million from taxpayers the council approved to refurbish the 10-year-old arena.

As of Tuesday, there was still no resolution. But one idea making the rounds in private conversation is to ask Pollin for a second suite -- one for the mayor, the other for the council -- because apparently the Wizards have not sold all of them for the season.

Stay tuned.

Staff writer Nikita Stewart contributed to this report.