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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:
Race and Gas: Is Joe Mamo’s Gas Empire Part of the Civil Rights Struggle?
MPD: It’s Hiring Time!
Good morning sweet readers! It’s Thursday, and you all know what that means: the District’s 600,000 residents will all celebrate in their own way a new dead tree edition of Washington City Paper hitting the streets. In this week’s cover, Rend Smith figures out what happened to WPGC’s DJ Rane. Dave McKenna has found the subject of his book deal. LDP has some advice for graying preservationists. And in this week’s column, LL takes at look at gas magnate Joe Mamo’s lobbying efforts to defeat a bill aimed at breaking up what his critics call a gas monopoly. (Amazingly enough, the Post covered the same topic today too.) News time!
What? No Smart Car?: Council Chairman Kwame “Fully Loaded” Brown has purchased a Toyota Prius, the Post reports. The new ride “will make him more attune with the city’s growing reputation for environmental consciousness,” according to the Post. Whatever that means. LL doesn’t know how this story gets reported without details on the new ride’s color scheme. It’s gotta be black on black, no?
AFTER THE JUMP: Budget Freedom; No Thanks on Ethics; Bad Optics…
Freedom: Mayor Vince Gray was very happy that Republican Rep. Jo Ann Emerson inserted language “into a short-term federal spending plan that allows the District to use local funds for the fiscal year that begins on Saturday while Congress continues to debate its financial plan for 2012,” TWT reports.
Keep Your Ethics to Yourself: The District’s do-little inspector general has said he doesn’t want any part of proposed ethics task force. The IG says serving on such task force, which Councilmember Vincent Orange is proposing, “would pose a conflict of interest given the independence and the mission of his office,” the Post reports.
Bad Optics: Several city reporters couldn’t help but notice the obvious incongruity at yesterday’s council/mayor breakfast of city lawmakers sitting around lamenting about the plight of the city’s poor while enjoying expensive bottled water straight from a Norwegian aquifer. Tom Sherwood also mocks Ward 5 Councilmember Harry Thomas for his recent return from hiding to be a vocal advocate of the city’s downtrodden.
In Other News: LDP covers Ward 8 Councilmember Marion Barry’s discussion on gentrification in Ward 8. DCGOP invites the council to sell its luxury box tickets. Lincoln Theatre in trouble. Love this picture from President Obama’s speech at Banneker yesterday.
Gray sked: George Washington University Hillel Rosh Hashanah Service at 10 a.m.; One Judiciary Square Stimulus Energy Project Press Conference at 1 p.m.; Meeting With Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley and Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell at 4:30 p.m.; Ward 8 Community Summit Report Back Town Hall Meeting at 6:15 p.m.
Council sked: Hearing on United Medical Center’s Finances at 10 a.m.;