D.C. Wire: October 26, 2008 - November 1, 2008
WTU Board Turns Up Heat on Parker
Washington Teachers' Union (WTU) president George Parker was censured by his executive board this week, the latest reflection of unhappiness with his leadership in the contentious contract talks with the D.C. school system. Union sources said a resolution, passed by a 9-4 vote Thursday night, accused Parker of failing to...
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Marcia Davis
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November 1, 2008; 8:29 AM ET |
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Education
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Strauss Mum on Arrest
The Washington City Paper broke the news on its City Desk blog that D.C. Shadow Senator Paul Strauss, who is running for re-election, was arrested for drunk driving Oct. 1. According to City Paper, "The arrest took place on the 2000 block of Calvert Street NW, on or near the...
By
David A Nakamura
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October 31, 2008; 4:36 PM ET |
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2008 District Election
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Peter Nickles: Bank of America Like Disney Land
Acting Attorney General Peter Nickles rarely minces words and it was no different when D.C. Wire caught up with him today to get his take on the $105 million lawsuit the city filed against Bank of America to recoup money lost, along with damages, in the D.C. tax office embezzlment...
By
David A Nakamura
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October 31, 2008; 3:53 PM ET |
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City Finances
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Fenty, Nickles Announce Report on Disability Agency After Resident's Death
Three city employees have been let go after an investigation found that a mentally retarded man living in a cockroach-infested apartment had been denied disability services for more than two years, even as a social worker pleaded for him to get some assistance. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) and Attorney...
By
Marcia Davis
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October 31, 2008; 3:43 PM ET |
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Mayor Fenty
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Wells Holds Hearing on Fenty Housing Plan for Homeless
Stefana Washington said living in a $52-a-month storage bend in Northwest Washington was a better life than living in one of the city's emergency shelters, but after four years his frustrations were building to a dangerous level. "I was either going public or postal," the 36-year-old former homeless man told...
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Marcia Davis
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October 31, 2008; 3:29 PM ET |
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D.C. Council
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City Files Suit Against Bank of America in Tax Scam Case
The District government filed a $105 million lawsuit against Bank of America today, asking for damages and penalties against the institution that cashed fraudulent checks through accounts controlled by Harriette Walters and others in the D.C. tax scam. Read our story here and the full lawsuit here....
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David A Nakamura
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October 31, 2008; 1:55 PM ET |
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City Finances
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Mayor Fenty Activates Hypothermia Plan on Eve of Hearing
Mayor Adrian M. Fenty issued the first hypothermia alert Thursday night and dispatched vans across the city to assist the homeless. "It is important to get the message out that shelter is available," said Fenty, just before he greeted a van loaded with homeless people outside the Cathedral of Sacred...
By
Hamil Harris
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October 31, 2008; 7:20 AM ET |
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Mayor Fenty
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The Homeless
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Federal Judge Upholds D.C. Checkpoints
U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon has denied a request for preliminary injunction from four District residents who contended that the checkpoints established by Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier in the Trinidad neighborhood were unconstitutional. Plantiffs "have neither demonstrated a substantial likelihood that this checkpoint program is unconstitutioinal, nor the...
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David A Nakamura
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October 30, 2008; 4:14 PM ET |
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Crime and Public Safety
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Council Members Endorse Schwartz
It's looking like political warfare on the D.C. Council as members line up behind candidates for the second at-large seat being contested in Tuesday's election. DC At-Large Council member Carol Schwartz, who lost in the Republican primary to newcomer Patrick Mara, is waging a write-in campaign to keep her seat....
By
Marcia Davis
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October 30, 2008; 1:21 PM ET |
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2008 District Election
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Board Won't Count At-Large Write-Ins Until Nov. 5th
About 40 to 50 election workers will begin counting write-in votes at 9 a.m. the day after the election in the District, putting off the results of the hotly contested race for two at-large seats on the D.C. Council. Council member Carol Schwartz (R), who lost the GOP primary last...
By
Marcia Davis
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October 30, 2008; 12:40 PM ET |
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2008 District Election
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Election Board Moves Walk-In Voting to Handle Crowds
The D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics has moved its location of where to cast a walk-in absentee ballot to the first floor of 441 Fourth St. NW. The move is meant to accommodate the large numbers of residents who have flooded the offices in recent days to cast ballots...
By
Hamil Harris
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October 30, 2008; 9:00 AM ET |
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2008 Presidential Race
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D.C. Wire Video: Nader Protests Outside Washington Post
Consumer advocate Ralph Nader complains a lot that he can't get any mainstream media coverage for his presidential campaign this go-round. So today he showed up outside the Washington Post's headquarters at 1150 15th St. to hold a news conference, in which he quoted liberally from Washington Post stories....
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David A Nakamura
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October 29, 2008; 5:07 PM ET |
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Catania Conducts Own Budget Analysis
We told you today about council member David Catania's decision to seek a postponement of Healthy DC, the health insurance plan for uninsured residents that he created and convinced colleagues to adopt in the spring. Catania said the city must cut spending to create cash reserves because he's convinced greater...
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David A Nakamura
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October 29, 2008; 4:49 PM ET |
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City Finances
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The Playground Platform At Pepco
The seven candidates for two at-large seats on the D.C. Council have been crisscrossing the city to attend forums of neighborhood associations, advisory neighborhood commissions and various nonprofits. Today, six of them stopped at Pepco's downtown offices where employees munched on pizza, popcorn and cotton candy and got an earful...
By
Nikita R Stewart
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October 29, 2008; 3:32 PM ET |
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Kwame Brown and Cheh Team Up For Tenley
Council members Kwame R. Brown (D-At Large) and Mary Cheh (D-Ward 3) issued a joint press release today that voices their opposition to Mayor Adrian M. Fenty's plan for a mixed-use development for the site that includes Janney Elementary School and the former Tenley-Friendship Library. They also sent a letter...
By
Nikita R Stewart
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October 29, 2008; 12:01 PM ET |
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D.C. Council
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Gray Endorses Michael Brown for Council
Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray has endorsed Michael Brown for the non-Democratic at-large council seat in the general election. His colleague and incumbent Carol Schwartz (R-At-Large) isn't pleased. That's just one of the developments in this race, which is also producing other fascinating alliances. Nikita Stewart reports in today's Washington...
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Marcia Davis
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October 29, 2008; 8:23 AM ET |
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2008 District Election
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School Advocates Push for Fuller Budget Disclosure
D.C. public school activists who believe that transparency and public participation have been casualties of the Michelle Rhee era had their say at the D.C. Council this morning. The occasion was a hearing on the "Public Schools Hearing Amendment Act of 2008," introduced by Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray (D)....
By
Marcia Davis
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October 28, 2008; 4:27 PM ET |
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Education
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Norton Hosting Wall Street Bailout Hearing Tonight
D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) will host a town hall meeting this evening entitled "The Bailout and the Economy: What Happened, What's Next, What it Means to You, D.C., and the USA." Tonight's forum, which will be held in room 2168 of the Rayburn House Office Building, will feature...
By
Hamil Harris
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October 28, 2008; 3:04 PM ET |
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Economic Development
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Budget Woes: Catania Seeks Delay of Healthy DC
The D.C. Council member who created a plan to provide health care to thousands of uninsured residents said today he wants to delay it to help the District create a $20 million cash reserve in the face of continued economic uncertainty. David A. Catania (I-At Large), who sponsored the Healthy...
By
David A Nakamura
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October 28, 2008; 11:57 AM ET |
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City Finances
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Post-Howard U. Election Panel Discussion Oct. 29
Looking for a forum to discuss this incredible rollercoaster ride that the country has been on for two years, otherwise known as the presidential campaign? "In My Lifetime" is a panel discussion presented by Howard University and co-sponsored by The Washington Post. The event, set for Wednesday, Oct. 29, from...
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Washington Post Editors
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October 28, 2008; 11:33 AM ET |
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2008 Presidential Race
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Harry Thomas Endorses Michael Brown for Council
D.C. Council member Harry Thomas Jr. (D-Ward 5) said he will throw his support behind at-large council candidate Michael Brown today by voting for him in-person absentee and then endorsing him. Thomas said he and Brown have a longtime working relationship that goes back to them working together with the...
By
Marcia Davis
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October 28, 2008; 8:33 AM ET |
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Weingarten to Rhee: AFT Involvement No Secret
American Federation of Teachers (AFT) president Randi Weingarten says there's been nothing hush-hush about her organization's role in helping the Washington Teachers Union (WTU) in its contract negotiations. Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee said Friday that the AFT has been "disingenuous" in claiming no involvement, even though it has detailed...
By
Marcia Davis
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October 28, 2008; 8:00 AM ET |
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Bill Turque
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Education
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D.C. Wire Video: Mayor Fenty Rallies Obama Volunteers
Mayor Fenty spoke to Obama supporters Saturday before they went to Virginia to canvass and make phone calls....
By
David A Nakamura
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October 27, 2008; 6:13 PM ET |
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D.C. Wire Video: Etan Thomas Rallies Obama Supporters
We told you that Washington Wizards center Etan Thomas spoke at Saturday's rally of Obama supporters in the District. Here's the proof....
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David A Nakamura
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October 27, 2008; 2:26 PM ET |
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Gas Prices Down = Smart Car Garaged?
Mayor Fenty showed up at Saturday's rally of Barack Obama supporters in the old Lincoln Navigator he used to drive before he got Smart....
By
David A Nakamura
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October 27, 2008; 12:18 PM ET |
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The Pace Setter
We're back with this Monday morning feature after a bit of a hiatus (primarily because the Mayor Fenty's office stopped listing most of his competitive races on his weekend schedule). But Fenty was back in action Sunday in the Marine Corps Marathon, where he ran a personal best time or...
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David A Nakamura
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October 27, 2008; 11:48 AM ET |
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Mayor Fenty
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Faulty Absentee Ballots Raise More Ire With Elections Board
Council Member Mary Cheh is worried that the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics may not be ready on Tuesday, Nov. 4th. This weekend she blasted the board's leadership and management in a report by Post reporters Nikita Stewart and Hamil R. Harris after learning about more problems with voters,...
By
Marcia Davis
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October 27, 2008; 7:23 AM ET |
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2008 District Election
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