D.C. Wire: March 22, 2009 - March 28, 2009
Council Members Will Skip Pay Raise
D.C. Council members will give up their automatic cost-of-living increases in fiscal 2010 in light of Mayor Adrian M. Fenty's proposed $5.4 billion budget that lays off hundreds of employees and freezes salaries. Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray (D) said he talked to all 12 of his colleagues and they...
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Nikita R Stewart
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March 28, 2009; 9:38 PM ET |
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DCPS Toughens Dress Policies
School principals have the right to establish mandatory uniform policies and get tougher with students who violate existing dress codes, under an emergency rule posted on the D.C. Register today by DCPS. Dena Iverson, a spokeswoman for Chancellor Michelle Rhee, said the rule was in response to widespread interest...
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Bill Turque
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March 27, 2009; 9:05 PM ET |
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No Meeting, No Peace
The D.C. Council and Attorney General Peter Nickles are at again - this time over the scandal at the Office of the Chief Technology Officer. Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray (D) and Council member Mary M. Cheh (D-Ward 3) scheduled a Monday meeting to get briefed on the latest, high-profile...
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Nikita R Stewart
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March 27, 2009; 6:28 PM ET |
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Rhee, Teachers To Meet on New Evaluation System
Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee, stepping up her efforts to reach out to D.C. teachers, has announced a series of meetings to discuss the new evaluation system scheduled to launch in the fall. A notice on the DCPS website invites teachers to "help shape" the new approach. Rhee has said that...
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Bill Turque
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March 27, 2009; 2:34 PM ET |
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Shower Stalled for Evans
Workers arrived in the office of Council member Jack Evans (D-Ward 2) this week to figure out how to install a shower in his first-floor office - a luxury anytime, but especially when the mayor has proposed layoffs, salary freezes and other cuts. A shower would be so luxurious that...
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Nikita R Stewart
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March 27, 2009; 2:15 PM ET |
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Easter Egg Roll Changes Bring Frustration
The White House changes to the Easter Egg Roll is causing some residents a lot of grief and frustration. Timothy Wlison reports on the reaction to the change....
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Marcia Davis
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March 27, 2009; 8:05 AM ET |
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D.C. Vote Bill Delayed Again
A vote on the D.C. Voting Rights bill will be delayed at least several more weeks, House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer's office said today. The bill, which would give a House seat to the District, was not added to next week's schedule and the House will recess for two...
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David A Nakamura
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March 26, 2009; 5:46 PM ET |
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Barry Reacts to Lax Tax News
The Post's Del Quentin Wilber has been reporting today that D.C. Council member Marion Barry (D-Ward 8) owes the federal government more than $277,000 in back taxes and hasn't made a payment on undisclosed taxes owed to the D.C. government since July, according to federal authorities. Now, Barry reponds: "The...
By
Hamil Harris
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March 26, 2009; 5:20 PM ET |
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Fenty Out of Town -- Again
Where in the world is Mayor Fenty? Out of town, says the mayor's office. Okay, where? we asked. Personal trip, his spokeswoman said. She declined to elaborate. When will he return to work? She didn't know. In the wake of Fenty's controversial trip to the United Arab Emirates last month,...
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David A Nakamura
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March 26, 2009; 12:21 PM ET |
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Teacher Pay Hikes Tucked Into Funding Formula
Don't bother looking for the spot in the proposed FY 2010 budget where it says there is money for teacher raises. District officials, who confirmed yesterday that public school teachers are the lone exception to Mayor Adrian M. Fenty's proposed salary freeze, have placed it into the Uniform Per...
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Bill Turque
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March 26, 2009; 12:20 PM ET |
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No More Money For Burials?
Mayor Adrian M. Fenty's budget plan is filled with cuts, and his administration appears to have looked at everything possible, including burials. The proposed budget shows that the Fenty administration wants to save $25,000 in the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner by cremating the city's unidentified dead instead of...
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Nikita R Stewart
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March 26, 2009; 12:03 PM ET |
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Guns and Roses From Kwame Brown
At-Large D.C. Councilmember Kwame Brown has an idea on how to fight for voting rights and statehood. Brown, who sits on the council's new special statehood committee, has an answer to the run rider that Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) attached to the D.C. vote bill. Ensign vexed District legislators and...
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Marcia Davis
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March 26, 2009; 9:00 AM ET |
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Budget Battles Continue for City
The battle over the proposed 2010 budget for the District continues to heat up. The troubled economy is a secret to no one, but figuring out how to make budget adjustments and who must sacrifice is not an easy question. Reporter David Nakamura writes about the reaction of unions representing...
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Marcia Davis
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March 26, 2009; 8:30 AM ET |
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Teacher Talks Set To Resume With Mediator
The District has completed its review of the Washington Teachers' Union (WTU) contract proposal and is ready to return to the negotiating table, a spokeswoman for Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee said this evening. Dena Iverson, Rhee's spokeswoman, also said that the District was ready to engage a third-party mediator...
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Bill Turque
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March 25, 2009; 6:35 PM ET |
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Bread for the City Expanding
As the economic recession continues to drive up demand at food pantries and public medical clinics, one of the region's largest direct-service organizations is preparing to expand to meet the need. Bread for the City, which provides clothing, food, medical care, legal assistance and social services to needy District...
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Kathryn Tolbert
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March 25, 2009; 12:30 PM ET |
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Summer Jobs Program Kicks Off Today
Mayor Adrian M. Fenty kicks off the 2009 summer jobs program this morning at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, where he'll appear along with Joseph P. Walsh, the new director of the Department of Employment Services. Fenty and Walsh hope to encourage potential participants to register for the program...
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Marcia Davis
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March 25, 2009; 8:07 AM ET |
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D.C. Holds 'Historic' Statehood Strategy Session
More than 40 people turned out for the D.C. Council's first statehood strategy session late yesterday afternoon at the John A. Wilson Building, including representatives from DC Vote, DC Statehood Green Party, the League of Women Voters, Stand Up for Democracy and several other groups. "I think we're fighting for...
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Marcia Davis
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March 25, 2009; 8:00 AM ET |
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Hoyer 'Hopes' to Bring Back D.C. Vote Bill Before April Break
House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md) says he's "hopeful" he can bring the D.C. vote bill to the floor before the House recesses for a one-week break on April 4. But there's still no agreement on what kind of measure lawmakers will consider. "We've done a lot of work...
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Marcia Davis
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March 24, 2009; 12:46 PM ET |
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Fenty Defends Dubai Trip
Mayor Fenty has been catching more criticism about his trip to Dubai last month, which was funded by the United Arab Emirates. Read today's story in the Post about how Fenty's travel compares to other mayors and governors. And watch Fenty take questions about the trip (above)....
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David A Nakamura
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March 24, 2009; 11:02 AM ET |
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Strategy Session on Voting Rights Today
At-Large D.C. Councilmember Michael A. Brown (I) is chair of the council's new Committee on Statehood and Self-Determination. Today he's holding his first "statehood strategy" meeting with statehood and voting rights advocates. He's invited a long roster of organizations, including: DC Vote, DC Statehood Green Party, Statehood Now! Yes We...
By
Marcia Davis
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March 24, 2009; 9:00 AM ET |
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Fenty: No Raises for Workers Proposed for 2010
Mayor Adrian M. Fenty's proposed budget for 2010 is taking several approaches to saving money, including offering no raises for city government workers. Read David Nakamura's report here....
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Marcia Davis
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March 24, 2009; 8:45 AM ET |
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New Rules for White House Easter Egg Roll
Post reporter Michael E. Ruane on the new rules for the White House Easter Egg roll, click here....
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Marcia Davis
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March 24, 2009; 8:30 AM ET |
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Rhee: "It Potentially Gets Uglier"
Did Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee say that mediation wasn't the only option if talks with the Washington Teachers Union remained stalemated? That's kind of what it sounded like in Nicholas D. Kristof's New York Times column yesterday. Addressing her 16-month-long fight with the union over pay and job security...
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Bill Turque
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March 23, 2009; 6:12 PM ET |
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No Big Boom on the Potomac Wednesday
Briefly today -- before officials hastily issued a correction -- it looked like commuters near Georgetown would be in for quite a show Wednesday morning. "For the filming of a TV pilot, there will be a simulated explosion ..... between 9:30 a.m. and noon near the Key Bridge," read a...
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Marcia Davis
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March 23, 2009; 5:30 PM ET |
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Coolidge Principal Resigns
Coolidge, one of three failing D.C. high schools that will be run by a private management firm next year, is losing its principal. L. Nelson Burton has told his staff that he will not be back. Burton, principal for the last four years, said his departure has nothing to...
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Bill Turque
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March 23, 2009; 1:32 PM ET |
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Fenty's Budget Testimony
Mayor Fenty is now testifying before the D.C. Council on his fiscal 2010 budget plan. You can read his full testimony here....
By
David A Nakamura
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March 23, 2009; 10:39 AM ET |
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Fenty to Go Before Council Today on 2010 Budget
Mayor Adrian M. Fenty appears before the D.C. Council today to introduce is proposed 2010 budget, which among other things, calls for cutting more than 1,000 jobs through attrition, unfilled vacancies and layoffs. The mayor will appear for two hours, then others from his administration will take over and face...
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Marcia Davis
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March 23, 2009; 8:00 AM ET |
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