D.C. Wire: February 1, 2009 - February 7, 2009
Obama Taps Columbia Heights Leader for White House Post
Three decades after the Rev. Jim Wallis and a group of urban missionaries moved into Columbia Heights to serve the poor, Wallis found himself standing in the Oval Office. President Barack Obama, yesterday, named him as a member of the President's Council on Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships. D.C. Wire caught...
By
Hamil Harris
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February 6, 2009; 4:00 PM ET |
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Wilson Building Chatter: Tangherlini In, Gandhi Out?
D.C. Wire went straight to the sources on chatter in the Wilson Building that's been circulating lately: Chief Financial Officer Natwar M. Gandhi would step aside and city administrator Dan Tangherlini would take his place with the nod from Congress, which appoints the fiscal chief. Both men were amused today....
By
Nikita R Stewart
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February 6, 2009; 1:56 PM ET |
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Proposal Calls for Three More School Closings
DCPS has announced a proposal to close three more elementary schools: Webb, Birney and Draper. These are schools that were serving as "receiving" schools that took on kids from schools being modernized. There will be community meetings to discuss the idea next month. Bill Turque...
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Marcia Davis
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February 6, 2009; 1:44 PM ET |
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CFO's Office Under Fire At Hearing
D.C. Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray (D) and Council member Jack Evans (D-Ward 2) are currently focusing on missteps of the Office of Chief Financial Officer Natwar M. Gandhi at today's hearing on the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report. Inspector General Charles J. Willoughby testified earlier that the functions of the...
By
Nikita R Stewart
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February 6, 2009; 11:26 AM ET |
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D.C. Council
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Law & Order in the District
It's a busy day on the law and order front. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty is announcing plans this morning to reintroduce his crime bill from last fall, and the public oversight hearing over subpoena powers for law enforcement officials is scheduled for noon today in room 412 at the John...
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Marcia Davis
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February 6, 2009; 10:00 AM ET |
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Crime and Public Safety
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D.C. Council
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Vigil Is Set for Jose Sanchez Today
A White Vigil is scheduled today at 12:15 in memory of Jose Sanchez, the 31-year-old who died after being attacked last week. Sanchez lay on the ground in Columbia Heights for 20 minutes with his injuries before help was called. Councilmember Jim Graham (D-Ward1), who represents the area and is...
By
Marcia Davis
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February 6, 2009; 7:03 AM ET |
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Crime and Public Safety
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Promises for Eastern High School Draw Skepticism From Some in the Community
D.C. officials unveiled their proposal last night to convert Eastern High School into specialized "academies" focused on health sciences and pre-law. But the reaction from parents, staff and alumni, hardened by years of abortive reform efforts, ranged from noncommittal to hostile. The District is gradually phasing out the current incarnation...
By
Marcia Davis
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February 5, 2009; 2:30 PM ET |
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Bill Would Lower Age To Give Blood
D.C. Council member Harry Thomas Jr. (D-Ward 5) wants to give 16-year-olds the right to donate blood with the consent of their parents or legal guardians - a law already in place in neighboring Maryland and Virginia and he says is necessary to increase donations. Thomas introduced the bill earlier...
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Nikita R Stewart
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February 5, 2009; 1:46 PM ET |
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Holder Faces High Expectations
The nation's new top cop, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, who also has strong roots in the District of Columbia, faces huge expectations from many who are hoping that he'll help right some of the racial injustices that some say piled up under the last eight years. Read the article...
By
Marcia Davis
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February 5, 2009; 7:43 AM ET |
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Crime and Public Safety
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Setting Out-of-Boundaries
Correction: The Wire strayed out of bounds in analyzing recent changes in the D.C. schools out-of-boundary transfer policy. It appeared from a reading of the old policy and the amended version that Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee had replaced principals as the final authority for such transfers. In fact, Rhee has...
By
Marcia Davis
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February 5, 2009; 7:32 AM ET |
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Fenty Focuses on Inmate Job-Training Program
Fenty at the D.C. Jail. D.C. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty joined Department of Corrections (DOC) director Devon Brown and Department of Employment Services (DOES) acting director Joseph Walsh to launch a new effort to today to help inmates find jobs before they are released. The Employment Readiness Center, which opened...
By
Hamil Harris
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February 4, 2009; 3:38 PM ET |
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Slicing Up Apple's Georgetown Designs
Is Apple just too cool for Georgetown? We might find out Thursday morning, when the architects on the Old Georgetown Board of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts meets to discuss a number of potential projects -- including a proposed Apple store at 1229 Wisconsin Ave. in Northwest. (Read Paul...
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Washington Post Editors
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February 4, 2009; 1:34 PM ET |
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City Life
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Economic Development
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Fenty Fundraising: How Much is Too Much?
So Mayor Fenty appears ready to set a new record for local fundraising, having hauled in $2 million for his re-election campaign that still has 1 1/2 years go to. The question is: How much does an incumbent mayor need in a campaign where few serious contenders are expected...
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David A Nakamura
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February 4, 2009; 12:16 PM ET |
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Obamas Visit NW Charter School
President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama dropped by Capital City Public Charter School this afternoon to read to a group of second-graders from a picture book entitled "Moon Over Star," an account of the first moon landing in July 1969. It also happened to be a good diversion...
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Marcia Davis
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February 3, 2009; 3:46 PM ET |
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Education
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Fenty Machine Takes on NYC
Everybody knows by now about the friendship between Mayor Fenty and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Now, Bloomberg is paying off in more ways than just providing Fenty a road map for education reform and a school chancellor. Bloomberg hosted a recent fundraiser for Fenty's 2010 re-election campaign, sources...
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David A Nakamura
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February 3, 2009; 3:22 PM ET |
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Mayor Fenty
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WTU Delivers Contract Proposal
The Washington Teachers' Union president George Parker said he has delivered a contract proposal to DCPS. In a summary posted last night on the WTU website, Parker outlined the proposal in only general terms, saying that the proposal draws ideas from what he calls "successful, collaborative contracts" in New York,...
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Marcia Davis
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February 3, 2009; 3:22 PM ET |
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Education
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Police Union Takes Issue With Mendelson's Comments
Kristopher Baumann, chairman of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 1, which represents D.C. officers, said he has a problem with Council member Phil Mendelson's comments earlier about officers' discretion in giving out tickets. In an earlier debate about legislation that will require drivers to remove snow from their vehicles,...
By
Nikita R Stewart
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February 3, 2009; 1:32 PM ET |
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No Fine For Too Much Snow
The D.C. Council unanimously approved emergency legislation that will require drivers to remove frozen snow and ice from their vehicles. But the penalty will be a warning, not a $50 fine. The bill, introduced by Council member Harry Thomas Jr. (D-Ward 5), was amended to eliminate the fine until a...
By
Nikita R Stewart
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February 3, 2009; 12:01 PM ET |
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D.C. Council
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Ban Trans Fats and Blunts
Following New York City, Philadelphia and the state of California, the District could become the latest jurisdiction to ban artificial trans fats under a bill introduced this morning by Council member Mary M. Cheh (D-Ward 3). The council member says heart disease remains the leading cause of deaths in D.C....
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Nikita R Stewart
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February 3, 2009; 10:43 AM ET |
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Remove Snow From Your Car ... Or Else
The D.C. Council will vote today on whether to require drivers to remove snow and ice from their vehicles or face a $50 fine or traffic school for failing to do so. Council member Harry Thomas Jr. (D-Ward 5) said he came up with the emergency legislation when he was...
By
Nikita R Stewart
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February 3, 2009; 9:56 AM ET |
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D.C. Council
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Gray: 'Guardedly Pleased' About D.C.'s Finances
D.C. Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray released the following statement about the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, or the CAFR, in which the District received a "clean audit" yesterday. Nikita Stewart and David Nakamura write about the report in today's Washington Post. As the story notes, the District is counting on...
By
Marcia Davis
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February 3, 2009; 9:00 AM ET |
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Fenty: New E-Mail Renewal at DMV
Mayor Adrian M. Fenty is set to announce the District's new e-mail renewal service for the Department of Motor Vehicles at 10:30 a.m. today. Stay tuned.......
By
Marcia Davis
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February 3, 2009; 8:30 AM ET |
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Fenty Re-Election Bid: $2 Million and Counting...
Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) has raised more than $2 million for his re-election campaign with more than 1 1/2 years go to before the 2010 election, a whopping total that could serve to scare off any serious challengers. In his first campaign finance report for Fenty 2010, the mayor...
By
David A Nakamura
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February 3, 2009; 5:45 AM ET |
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Norton Among Guests at WH Super Bowl Party
D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton said she had a great time watching the Super Bowl with President Barack Obama, his family and a bipartisan group of lawmakers who filled the ground floor and the White House theater Sunday night. "This was mostly occasion for his friends. He wasn't trying to...
By
Hamil Harris
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February 2, 2009; 5:17 PM ET |
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First Lady Tours U.S. Dept. of Ed
First Lady Michelle Obama spoke to about 350 people at the Department of Education today accordiing to the White House pool report. The "FLOTUS" visit is part of her "get to know D.C." tour, where in the coming weeks she will visit other federal agencies to spend time with workers....
By
Hamil Harris
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February 2, 2009; 4:48 PM ET |
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Registration Starts for Rec Dept. Summer Camps
The D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation is now accepting registration for the city's summer camp programs. The city will offer five two-week sessions between June 15th and August 21st, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and one eight-week session at Camp Riverview, a 217 wooded acre facility along the...
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Hamil Harris
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February 2, 2009; 4:14 PM ET |
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D.C. Looking to Obama's Stimulus Package to Close Deficit
D.C. government officials said today they expect to use money from Barack Obama's economic stimulus package to help close a $456 million revenue gap next year, by pumping federal money into schools and Medicaid and freeing up local dollars for other needs. After an hour-long meeting with Chief Financial Officer...
By
Marcia Davis
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February 2, 2009; 3:10 PM ET |
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City Finances
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Out-of-Boundary Enrollment Begins
Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee has made some changes in the annual out-of boundary enrollment process that began last week. The application deadline has been extended from Feb. 28 to March 13, and parents who want to send their children some place other than their neighborhood school can now apply to...
By
Marcia Davis
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February 2, 2009; 12:08 PM ET |
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Bill Turque
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Rhee and Weingarten in High-Stakes Education Battle
In case you missed it: Washington Post reporter Bill Turque wrote Sunday about the high-stakes point for teachers unions and District school reform. Two powerful education leaders, Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee and labor leader Randi Weingarten, are already at odds. What will happen when Weingarten introduces her alternative to Rhee's...
By
Marcia Davis
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February 2, 2009; 7:03 AM ET |
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