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!

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    Come On Irene: Neptune must have been mollified by Mayor Vince Gray‘s Saturday morning offering of a large bull down at the Wilson Building. The District was spared any super serious damage from Hurricane Irene, but as of this morning, there are still thousands of people in the city without power. As for the large number of DCPS students who read this round-up, LL is sad to report that most of you will still have to go to school. The mayor says we got lucky, and no, there wasn’t a 7 p.m. curfew. LL’s looking at you, Ward 7 Councilmember Yvette Alexander.

    AFTER THE JUMP: Kwame the Educator; This Looks Familiar; Why We Feel Good…

    Kwame The Educator: Jonetta Rose Barras reports that Council Chairman Kwame “Fully Loaded” Brown was upset that she hasn’t reported more on his effort to improve public education. “‘I’m out there fighting all the time,’ he told me, noting this week he kicks off a series of meetings he hopes will result in a comprehensive middle-school strategy for the city. That’s all good. He should be commended for starting a dialogue about the importance of middle schools. But, my criticism of Brown and other middle-class blacks is that far too many of them have abandoned their neighborhood schools, fleeing to charters or out-of boundary DCPS facilities. Their exodus leaves communities, particularly those in Wards 5, 7 and 8, bereft of important leadership critical to significant and lasting reform. Brown lives in Ward 7. He sends his children to school in Ward 3. He called their education a private matter. But he said they previously attended Langdon Elementary School in Ward 5 and charter schools before going to the area my colleague Harry Jaffe calls Upper Caucasia. ‘[I’m] the first chairman with young children in D.C. Public Schools. I am professionally and personally invested in DCPS outcomes,’ said Brown.”

    This Looks Familiar: Last week, Post columnist Mike DeBonis wrote about the need for term limits in D.C. politics. This week, TWT‘s Deborah Simmons does the same.

    Why We Feel Good: The New York Times looks at why, according to one poll, the District is the “most economically optimistic part of the country.” Missing from the story: a non-talking head.

    In Other News:

    Gray sked: desk work (read: preparation for inevitable Godzilla attack so this week will top last week’s disasters).

    Council sked: recess.