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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!
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
The Three Amigos Silent Irv to Grass Cutter: Don’t Threaten Me
Good morning sweet readers! If the Cowboys keep losing, LL might have to pretend to start liking soccer. News time:
Post Poops on Gray’s Parade: Yesterday was supposed to be Mayor Vince Gray‘s big day to speak up for District autonomy at the MLK Memorial dedication ceremony. Speak up he did, in a fiery speech where he implored President Barack Obama and Congress to free District residents from the “yoke of injustice” and “shackles of oppression.” (To which the president replied: “Dude, you don’t think I’ve got enough on my plate right now?”**) But the mayor’s day was marred by this A1 story in the Sunday Post about how much effort federal law enforcement officials have put into investigating Sulaimon Brown‘s claims of shenanigans during last year’s mayoral race. The story doesn’t have any major revelations for the general reader to get too excited about, but there are plenty of interesting details for regular followers of one of D.C.’s most bizarre soap operas. Those details, which come from anonymous sources, include: the fact that the feds seem to be focusing on former Gray campaign aide Howard Brooks (duh); that his son Peyton Brooks has been offered immunity in return for helping investigators (so, Peyton, tell us about your dad…); that the feds have acquired Brown and Brooks’ fingerprints; that the mayor’s lawyer won’t say whether the feds have asked for Gray’s fingerprints; that a couple of people involved in this whole mess have testified before a grand jury (including the very first LL, private investigator Ken Cummins); that there’s even more issues with cash donations that may have been improperly turned into money orders with forged signatures; and that Leroy Ellis, Brooks’ neighbor who the council labeled a “crony” hire, was recently laid off. Confused? The Post has a graphic.
** Not actually true.
AFTER THE JUMP: Kwame Manifesto; Remember Rhee?; No Sulaimon in Bizland…
Kwame Brown Joins the Tea Party?: Council Chairman Kwame “Fully Loaded” Brown pens in the Post his thoughts on the size of District government. Put simply, it’s growing too damn fast and it’s nearly time to make some painful cuts. “We must flatten the curve of government growth to more closely align our services with the revenue we receive from an already heavily burdened tax base. … Over the next three years, I will work with my colleagues and the mayor to strengthen the District’s long-term financial stability and demonstrate the council’s ability to spend within our means and grow the District’s economy.” Sounds perfectly reasonable, but the devil is in the as-yet-unspoken details.
Rheemember Her?: Remember when Post education reporter Bill Turque had the hottest beat in town? The Turquester must have been crankin’ Bruce Springsteen‘s “Glory Days” while writing this piece on what DCPS is like one year removed from former Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee. Interesting note: Rhee may have put the city on the hook for an extra $30 million a year if billionaire edu-philanthropists don’t keep giving the city money.
No Sulaimon Here: LL favorite Michael Neibauer sat down with the mayor to talk business. The results are behind a paywall, but Neibauer notes that you won’t find any good stuff like talk of Sulaimon Brown in the interview. Why? ‘Cause businesswomen and businessmen don’t care. “The scandals and distractions are certainly annoying. They’re noise. They’re worth investigating. And if controversy turns a potential office building buyer, or lessee, or investor away from the District, then obviously it’s a problem. But based on what we’ve heard, those things just haven’t happened.” Boooring!
In Other News:
- Jonetta Rose Barras and A. Scott Bolden did not enjoy PSC nominee Elizabeth Noel‘s performance during nomination hearing.
- Georgia Avenue is, like everything else, changing.
- Press pretty damned determined to turn former fire flack Pete Piringer into a Twitter martyr.
- Kwame Brown’s daughter Loren, age 10, gives pro-D.C.-rights speech at Saturday’s rally.
- Post ed board says D.C. region needs to get its act together before the next disaster strikes.
- Breaking: SEIU says office cleaners have a contract, strike averted.
- Failed gun vote tests Tea Party’s core beliefs.
Gray sked: Welcoming remarks at Rail~Volution 2011 Opening Plenary Session at 8:00; Cabinet Meeting at Nats Stadium at 4 p.m.
Council sked: Hearing on how the city’s leases cars, trucks and Navigators at 10 a.m.; Roundtable on two District nursing homes (which LL wrote about a few weeks ago) at 3 p.m.