D.C. Wire: December 19, 2010 - December 25, 2010

Senate approves two D.C. judicial nominees

The Senate on Wednesday approved two of President Obama's four pending nominees to the bench of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, part of a last-minute flurry of action on nominations before the 111th Congress adjourned.

By Ben Pershing  | December 23, 2010; 1:24 PM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (2)
Categories:  Ben Pershing  
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Brown shakes up council committees

D.C. Council member Kwame Brown (D-At Large), the incoming council chairman, shook up the committee chairmanships Wednesday, forcing Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6) and Jim Graham (D-Ward 1) to swap committees.

By Washington Post Editors  | December 22, 2010; 4:33 PM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (1)
Categories:  D.C. Council, Marion Barry, Tim Craig, Vincent C. Gray  
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Gray picks new Department of Employment Services chief

Mayor-elect Vincent C. Gray nominated Rochelle L. Webb, administrator of the Arizona Department of Economic Security, to run the Department of Employment Services -- a top priority for the Gray administration after education.

By Nikita R. Stewart  | December 22, 2010; 1:37 PM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (0)
Categories:  D.C. Employees, Nikita Stewart, Vincent C. Gray  
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D.C. schools to be led by newcomers from Newark, Wisconsin

Breaking a streak of tapping local talent to join his Cabinet, Mayor-elect Vincent C. Gray named an aide to Newark Mayor Cory Booker to be the city's deputy mayor of education, and an education guru who has worked in Wisconsin, Atlanta and Chicago to be the new state superintendent of education.

By Nikita R. Stewart  | December 22, 2010; 1:26 PM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (4)
Categories:  Nikita Stewart, Vincent C. Gray  
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Norton will lose ability to vote on floor amendments

What little right to vote Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) has on the House floor will be gone come January, as Republicans have decided to take away the right of delegates and resident commissioners to vote in the Committee of the Whole.

By Ben Pershing  | December 22, 2010; 12:25 PM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (10)
Categories:  Ben Pershing, Congressional Oversight, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Voting Rights  
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Gray to name education deputy mayor

Mayor-elect Vincent C. Gray will continue to name nominees to his Cabinet on Wednesday, but interim schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson will not be one of them. Gray will announce his picks for deputy mayor for education, state superintendent and director of the Department of Employment Services, according to sources within...

By Nikita R. Stewart  | December 22, 2010; 12:08 PM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (0)
Tags:  Vincent C. Gray; Kaya Henderson; Michelle A. Rhee  
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Fenty transfers money from job training to his staff as 'separation pay'

Mayor Adrian M. Fenty, who leaves office Jan. 2, used his authority to reprogram $495,000 designated for adult job training to give to his departing staff in "separation pay," according to a one-paragraph Dec. 14 letter he sent to Chief Financial Officer Natwar M. Gandhi.

By Nikita Stewart  | December 21, 2010; 5:22 PM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (40)
Categories:  D.C. Council, Mayor Fenty, Nikita Stewart  
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Council enacts a few last-minute measures

In its last meeting of the session, the D.C. Council approved several pieces of legislation Tuesday covering a range of issues -- from setting up guidelines at homeless shelters to extending rules for rent control. The measures require the signature of Mayor Adrian M. Fenty.

By Ann E. Marimow  | December 21, 2010; 5:11 PM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (0)
 
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Council modifies welfare proposal

The D.C. Council is stepping away from its position to gradually remove all long-term welfare recipients from the rolls, instead embracing a proposal to punish only those families who do not take advantage of job training and placement programs.

By Tim Craig  | December 21, 2010; 11:26 AM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (20)
Categories:  Budget, City Finances, D.C. Council, Tim Craig, Vincent C. Gray  
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Wuerl to deliver prayer at Gray's inauguration

Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl will deliver the invocation and benediction at the Jan. 2 inauguration of Mayor-elect Vincent C. Gray. Wuerl was one of 24 Catholic leaders worldwide elevated to the College of Cardinals by Pope Benedict XVI. More than 400 friends and relatives traveled to Rome last month to...

By Nikita R Stewart  | December 20, 2010; 4:07 PM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (2)
Tags:  Cardinal Wuerl; Mayor-elect Vincent C. Gray; inaugural; gay marriage  
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