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A deliberative roundup of one city’s local politics. Send your tips, releases, stories, events, etc. to lips@washingtoncitypaper.com. And get LL Daily sent straight to your inbox every morning!
Good morning sweet readers! Catch LL on The Kojo Nnamdi Show at noon today. LL will be asking Councilmember David Catania about his recent Mr. Congeniality award, and Fire Chief Kenneth Ellerbe about the fires burning in his own department. News time:
Like a Freak Accident: The Post‘s Mike DeBonis publishes more of his interview with Ward 7 Council candidate Kevin Chavous, who recently copped a deal with prosecutors after he was arrested on a charge of trying to buy a $20 blow job from an undercover police officer. Says Chavous: “I did nothing wrong or illegal, that it was a misunderstanding that took place. … If it happened to me, it can happen to you. A lot of people have had misunderstandings with law enforcement, but you move on and move forward. … If this were enough to break me, then I wouldn’t be ready for office.” Also, Chavous shared his thoughts on Ward 7 Councilmember Yvette Alexander‘s recent push for permanent “prostitution-free zones”: “I just think it’s very interesting that the councilmember who hasn’t sponsored one major bill now wants to take up this issue when this is not an issue on the radar of people in Ward 7.”
AFTER THE JUMP: Street Legal; Parking News; Mayor’s Tweets Back…
Street Legal: The would-be ballot initiative seeking to ban corporate donations to D.C. politicos cleared a hurdle yesterday when Attorney General Irv Nathan‘s office signed off on it it. Nathan says the proposal passes “constitutional muster,” the Post reports. Now comes the hard part: getting the 22,000 signatures needed. In related news: Ward 6 Councilmartyr Saint Tommy Wells announced via Twitter that he’s closing his constituent service fund in an effort to restore the public’s trust in local government and end pay to play politics.
In Other News:
- D.C. DMV doesn’t require parallel parking test.
- Mayor Vince Gray‘s Twitter writer lets complainer have it.
- Approving these streets signs almost constitutes a fireable offense.
- Harry Jaffe on the District’s demographics: “Market forces are shaping Vince Gray’s “One City” so quickly that we risk losing the shred of identity that once defined local Washington. Money, rather than race, is driving the changes, but that seems to be pushing blacks out. There is not much a mayor can do about those changes, with or without slogans.”
- District’s share of massive mortgage settlement is $40 million.
- Erasure probe narrowed to 35 class rooms.
- District to truants: “The more you learn, the more you earn.”
Gray sked: 10:30 a.m. – 11:55 a.m.: Metropolitan Police Crime Response Press Briefing; 12:00 p.m. – 12:45 p.m.: D.C. One Fund Celebration and Awards Ceremony.
Council sked: Child and Family services review at 11 a.m.