All Opinions Are Local - A forum on hot topics in D.C., Maryland and Virginia - August 29, 2010

My endorsement: Putting children first

By Ann Scoffier Ward 3 I am voting for Vincent Gray because he has proven — as a judicious, effective and financially responsible chairman of the D.C. Council — that he could govern well as mayor of the whole city....

By washingtonpost.com editors | September 4, 2010; 5:30 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: D.C., D.C. politics, HotTopic, My Endorsement
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My endorsement: Don’t turn back the clock

By Sarah Barak Ward 2 I endorse D.C. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty for reelection because the lives of many residents have improved greatly during his term. For the first time, officials have ticketed my neighbors for improper garbage disposal that...

By washingtonpost.com editors | September 4, 2010; 5:22 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: D.C., D.C. politics, HotTopic, My Endorsement
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The case against ambulance fees

By Marcine D. Goodloe Rockville Fire and rescue volunteers in Montgomery County strongly oppose ambulance fees. We have freely served Montgomery residents for more than 100 years, saving taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars and helping to build strong communities....

By washingtonpost.com editors | September 4, 2010; 10:52 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (9)
Categories: HotTopic, Maryland, Montgomery County
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My endorsement: Handling the budget right

By Robert D. Ebel Ward 3 At first, balancing the budget was easy. Then came the recession. By July 2009, the District faced a $400 million revenue shortfall for 2009 and $878 million for 2010. But what the city got...

By washingtonpost.com editors | September 3, 2010; 6:08 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: D.C., D.C. politics, HotTopic, Local blog network, My Endorsement
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My endorsement: I'm voting for ... Rhee

By Frank Gainer Ward 2 I am voting for Adrian Fenty for one reason and one reason only — Michelle Rhee. This is one taxpayer who is glad the D.C. Public Schools are finally moving in the right direction....

By washingtonpost.com editors | September 3, 2010; 5:13 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: D.C., D.C. politics, Local blog network, My Endorsement
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An ANC race in Georgetown!

This November a small slice of Georgetown might finally have a decision to make for the Advisory Neighborhood Commission. With the current commissioner expected to step down, two residents have come forward to take his place in representing Single...

By Topher Mathews | September 3, 2010; 3:44 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: D.C., D.C. politics, Georgetown, HotTopic, Local blog network
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McDonnell drags his feet on the bay

Virginia was the only state among six to miss a Sept. 1 deadline for filing a plan to cut pollution in the Chesapeake Bay. Doug Domenech, Virginia's secretary of natural resources, explained that Gov. Robert F. McDonnell and other...

By Peter Galuszka | September 3, 2010; 1:30 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: D.C., D.C. politics, HotTopic, Local blog network, Maryland, Va. Politics, Virginia, development, economy, education, environment, parks, public health, real estate, schools, wildlife
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Bryan Weaver's video sequel

I was quite taken with Bryan Weaver's first campaign video -- an homage to Paul Wellstone and a piece of much-needed levity in an election season that has taken itself far too seriously, far too often. Plenty of other...

By Aaron Morrissey | September 3, 2010; 11:24 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: D.C., D.C. politics, HotTopic, Local blog network
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A narrow assessment of my role on the D.C. Council

By Harry Thomas, Washington The Sept. 2 editorial “D.C. Council endorsements,” which characterized my tenure as “a major disappointment,” was based on a disturbingly narrow range of issues. With its limited and subjective focus on mayoral support and school reform,...

By washingtonpost.com editors | September 2, 2010; 6:57 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (8)
Categories: D.C., D.C. politics, Fenty, HotTopic, Mayor Fenty, UDC, development, education, housing, media, parks, schools
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Our nation's capital of rats?

By Kathy Megyeri, Washington While sitting in the small park at the corner of Columbia Road and 16th Street NW in the middle of the day, I saw rats the size of house cats frolicking under park benches and ducking...

By washingtonpost.com editors | September 2, 2010; 6:49 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Adams Morgan, D.C., DMV, Fenty, environment, housing, parks, public health, wildlife
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My endorsement: Because Gray cares

By Sharon Gang Ward 3 From the tiniest town to the biggest metropolis, mayors are the go-to individuals for anyone needing help from their city. From road repairs to public safety to trash pickup and education, mayors must attend to...

By washingtonpost.com editors | September 2, 2010; 3:18 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: D.C., D.C. politics, HotTopic, My Endorsement
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My endorsement: Fenty the promise-keeper

By Arkan Haile Ward 6 I endorse Mayor Adrian M. Fenty for re-election. This election is (or should be) a referendum, above all else, on the mayor’s record. Four years ago we elected a no-nonsense, results-oriented man as our next...

By washingtonpost.com editors | September 2, 2010; 3:14 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (6)
Categories: D.C., D.C. politics, HotTopic, Mayor Fenty, My Endorsement
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WMATA's options on SmarTrip negative balances

WMATA raised the hackles of many riders when it announced SmarTrips would no longer go negative. Responding to the outcry, CFO Carol Kissal and her team developed six alternatives for handing the issue, which they presented to the Riders'...

By David Alpert | September 2, 2010; 2:13 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: HotTopic, Local blog network, Metro, transportation
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Virginia's immigration Know-Nothings

The news from the Pew Hispanic Center does not reassure. The center reports that the number of immigrants entering the United States illegally fell by nearly two-thirds between 2005 to 2009. In the first part of the past decade,...

By Peter Galuszka | September 2, 2010; 9:35 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: HotTopic, Local blog network, Prince William County, Va. Politics, development, economy, environment, faith, history, immigration, race
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Virginia's unemployment overpayments

Maybe Virginia's unemployment funds would have lasted longer if the state hadn't given 15 percent of its payments to unqualified claimants last year. In October 2009, the state's unemployment money ran out and it had to borrow $347 million...

By Paige Winfield Cunningham | September 2, 2010; 7:00 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Fairfax County, HotTopic, Local blog network, Prince William County, Tysons Corner, Virginia, economy
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How D.C. can make ride-sharing easier

By Ken Kobetsky, Fairfax Station Regarding the Aug. 27 Metro story “D.C. seeks input on slug sites for ride sharers”: Apparently, D.C. Department of Transportation Director Gabe Klein has been too busy establishing bike lanes to understand the slug line...

By washingtonpost.com editors | September 1, 2010; 7:03 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (4)
Categories: D.C., DMV, HotTopic, Virginia, traffic, transportation
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My endorsement: Don't get fooled again

By Peter D. Rosenstein Ward 2 D.C. Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray is the right person to continue moving the District into the 21st century. Gray will institutionalize school reform and continue improving government services. He believes that the benefits...

By washingtonpost.com editors | September 1, 2010; 3:15 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: D.C., D.C. politics, HotTopic, Local blog network, My Endorsement
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Stop treating teenagers like insects

Do teenagers have a right to be in the city? Are they entitled to use the Metro? Are movie theaters and ice cream parlors reasonable places for them to hang out? Herbert Miller, the developer of Gallery Place, answered...

By Dan Malouff | September 1, 2010; 2:00 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (12)
Categories: D.C., HotTopic, Local blog network, Metro, transportation
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Where's Duchy?

On the Maryland Politics Watch blog this past week, Adam Pagnucco, clearly no friend of Montgomery County Council Member Duchy Trachtenberg (D-At Large), accuses the candidate of not using her enormous war chest ($226,911, as of Aug. 17) “wisely.”...

By Keith Berner | September 1, 2010; 1:25 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: HotTopic, Local blog network, Maryland, Montgomery County
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Live-blogging the Fenty-Gray debate

Local Blog Network participant Martin Austermuhle is live-blogging today's one-on-one D.C. mayoral debate between Adrian Fenty and Vincent Gray here and at DCist, his home site. 1:35 p.m.: All told, the debate was more of the same. Fenty focused...

By Martin Austermuhle | September 1, 2010; 11:40 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: D.C. politics, HotTopic, Local blog network
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Austermuhle to live-blog mayoral candidate debate

D.C. mayoral candidates Adrian Fenty and Vincent Gray will face off in a debate hosted by the Washington Post at noon today. Martin Austermuhle of DCist will offer quick takes -- from this blog -- once it begins. Check back...

By Washington Post editors | September 1, 2010; 10:09 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: D.C., Fenty, HotTopic, Local blog network, Mayor Fenty
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My endorsement: Better schools and services

By Jewell Dassance Ward 6 After reading the Aug. 22 Local Opinions pieces by Mayor Adrian M. Fenty and D.C. Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray [“Leadership for a changing city”] and other comments the candidates have made, I have decided...

By washingtonpost.com editors | September 1, 2010; 10:03 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: D.C., D.C. politics, HotTopic, Mayor Fenty, My Endorsement
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Fix the 'creativity gap' and achievement will follow

By Aleta Margolis Washington The Aug. 27 front-page article “Progress stalls in closing gaps in D.C. schools” indicated that the achievement gap between white and African American students is growing again in the city. The article highlights a serious problem...

By washingtonpost.com editors | August 31, 2010; 6:54 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: D.C., HotTopic, schools
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My endorsement: Too much progress to turn back

By Wendy Sefsaf Ward 3 As I drive around my community these days, I am struck by the development that has gone up in just the past few years. In Northwest, we have a new Safeway, the newly renovated Deal...

By washingtonpost.com editors | August 31, 2010; 1:00 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (4)
Categories: D.C., D.C. politics, HotTopic, Local blog network
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Northrop Grumman and the myth of privatization

If you want to see just how privatization can get really fouled up, look no further than Northrop Grumman, the huge defense corporation that Virginia officials persuaded to bring its headquarters here this year with a goodie basket worth...

By Peter Galuszka | August 31, 2010; 1:00 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: DMV, Fairfax County, HotTopic, Local blog network, Va. Politics, Virginia, economy, environment, taxes, traffic, transportation
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Va. schools: Band-aids on the Titanic

Virginia schools are putting band-aids on the Titanic. That was the metaphor used by Kitty Boitnott, president of the Virginia Education Association, when we spoke last week about using one-time federal dollars to postpone teacher layoffs. After last year's...

By Paige Winfield Cunningham | August 31, 2010; 11:30 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: HotTopic, Local blog network, Virginia, schools
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My endorsement: A mayor who can unite the city

By Cherita Whiting Ward 4 I endorse D.C. Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray for D.C. mayor. There is no one else who can heal this city at this moment, when we all are in need of healing. Gray is a...

By washingtonpost.com editors | August 31, 2010; 10:29 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (5)
Categories: D.C., D.C. politics, HotTopic, My Endorsement
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It's 1-1 for Cuccinelli

It's 1-1 so far for Kenneth Cuccinelli, Virginia's flamboyant attorney general. On Aug. 2, the hard-right official got a boost from a federal judge in Richmond who allowed his case against the new federal health-care law to proceed. But...

By Peter Galuszk | August 30, 2010; 4:30 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: HotTopic, Local blog network, Va. Politics, Virginia, crime, development, domestic violence, energy, environment, public health, taxes, weather
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Would Fenty do a better job if he did nothing at all?

Many people speculated, incorrectly, about my motivations for writing an article suspicious of Adrian Fenty on Friday. The simple fact is this. By all rights, I should love Adrian Fenty. He's aligned with me on most policy issues. However,...

By David Alpert | August 30, 2010; 2:44 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: D.C., D.C. politics, Fenty, HotTopic, Local blog network, Mayor Fenty
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The ambulance fee debate: Not so black and white

In Sunday’s Post, Montgomery County Council Member Phil Andrews (D-Gaithersburg-Rockville) decried the recent Board of Elections ruling against a November referendum to overturn the county’s new ambulance fee [“To the Montgomery elections board, your legal signature isn't good enough,”...

By Keith Berner | August 30, 2010; 2:00 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: HotTopic, Local blog network, Maryland, Montgomery County
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All Opinions Are Local: August 29, 2010 - September 4, 2010