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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT—-“Cheh on Brooks: ‘He Should Be Ashamed of Himself!’“
Morning all. The Obamas ventured once again into Washington yesterday, reading to kids at Capital City Public Charter School, at 16th and Irving Streets NW. Of course, while they were there, Tom Daschle was quitting his SecHHS bid. At least, Mr. President, you weren’t reading My Pet Goat.
Reporters dig in to Mayor Adrian M. Fenty‘s first campaign finance report from the re-election. David Nakamura and Dana Hedgpeth do the best job listing all the boldface names in WaPo—-including NYC big shots: Fenty, “whose populist 2006 campaign was spurred by a record number of small donations, is now raising large sums for his reelection effort from a bevy of developers and law firms and a handful of Wall Street titans….On the strength of three big fundraising events, Fenty has raked in cash from the community of business interests that once doubted his commitment to the kind of broad economic development favored by his predecessor, Anthony A. Williams (D).”
BUT THE BEST LINE is Michael Neibauer‘s in Examiner: “Nearly every area developer, law office, parking lot manager, government contractor, hotel chain and restaurant threw money Fenty’s way.” He also quotes Chuck Thies setting up the campaign: “Barring a disabling scandal Fenty’s war chest will scare off any potential challenger who wants to be considered a serious mayoral contender in the future….However, no amount of money will dissuade a single-issue or protest candidate from entering the race and demanding debates.”
LEG MEETING ROUNDUP—-Harry Thomas Jr. no-snow-on-cars emergency bill passes, according to Neibauer, but no fines can be levied. WaTimes also covers. ALSO—-Thomas and Marion Barry decide not to challenge mayoral veto of school discipline bill, Nikita Stewart reports in WaPo. “Thomas and Barry said they did not want the override to become a political fight between the mayor and the council.”
AND—-Mary Cheh not winning many friends over at the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington: She introduced measures not only to put sanitation letter grades in restaurant windows, but also to ban trans fats in local eateries. WUSA-TV, NC8 have video.
ALSO ON THE NANNY BEAT—-Yvette Alexander wants to ban blunts. “Miss Alexander said she expects some opposition from the local business community. However she said that since the blunts are used solely for an illegal purpose, those opposed to the measure wouldn’t have much of an argument,” WaTimes reports. WHO WILL EVER THINK OF THE LOVERS OF TINY, AWFUL CIGARS???
Council OK’s dedicated Metro funding to the tune of $50M, Mark Segraves reports for WTOP.
Courtland Milloy, in WaPo, calls on President Barack Obama to expand the Fort Dupont Ice Arena. “Plans for a $20 million arena have been in the works for almost a decade. They are being held up — unfairly, many believe — by red tape in what is now the Obama administration….So, Mr. President, having put down your new town for not having ‘flinty Chicago toughness’ when it comes to removing ice from the roads, perhaps you could show us how Windy City flint can remove this minor bureaucratic iceberg.”
Bill Myers reports in Examiner about a public defender who kept his mouth shut after his client, suspected of attempted murder, escaped while in his custody to attend a funeral. “William Brice was being jailed without bond. But once at the funeral, he slipped away. Brice has stayed on the run, and last week the U.S. Marshals Service put him on their most-wanted list.
Kris Baumann gets all catty with Mendo: “Baumann said tickets are not based on popularity. ‘If that was the case,’ he said, ‘Mendeslon wouldn’t have a license he would have gotten so many tickets.'”
WTOP sits down with Dennis Rubin to let him describe how well the fire and EMS services are working together these days. “The largest of the changes the department is undergoing is making sure that firefighters are uniformly trained as emergency medical technicians and vice versa for EMTs and paramedics….The change has caused friction among firefighters, many of whom don’t want to perform emergency medical work in addition to fighting fires. With fewer fires to fight in recent years due to smoke alarms and sprinkler systems, the vast majority of 911 calls are for medical calls, rather than fires….While he’s heard criticism from some in the community over having fire trucks respond to medical calls, he hasn’t heard it from patients….’They don’t care whether the person comes by helicopter or drops out of a blimp, a fire truck, a motorcycle or a moped. All they want is care and care now,’ Rubin says.”
Harry Jaffe pens feel-good piece of the day on kids at Hospitality High School, a charter located at Roosevelt SHS. “Hospitality High is one of the win-win-win-win stories in D.C.’s often tawdry history of public education. Heading into its 10th year, the school takes children from often dire circumstances, hammers home the basics of reading, writing and math; but it also offers courses in hotel management, culinary services and college entrance….Statistics tell the results: The attendance rate for the 160 students is 90 percent; and more than 80 percent of graduates go to college.” (Read a 2002 WCP story on the school.)
WMATA settles discrimination suit brought by woman whose religious beliefs prevent her from wearing pants.
WaTimes’ Daniel Leaderman looks at WTU’s contract counter-proposal. “The union proposal, presented over the weekend to the city, also calls for the creation of centers for teachers to receive additional training and share materials and resources. They would be modeled after those in New York City.” And The American Prospect’s Dana Goldstein reacts to the counter-plan: “[B]y the look of the public one-page summary document, it will remain difficult to reach common ground….Significantly, there is no mention in the WTU document of the most controversial aspect of Rhee’s contract: the merit pay provisions.”
Examiner blogger wants to know: When will Obamas visit a DCPS school? Meanwhile, charter advocacy group FOCUS tries to make some political hay from yesterday’s CCPCS visit.
DMV launches e-mail renewal notifications, David Betancourt reports in WaPo. LL WATCHED as Fenty signed up for the service yesterday at the Francis A. Gregory Neighborhood Library.
WAPO BRIEF—-Bowie man suspected of embezzling $500K from National City Christian Church: “Federal agents accused him of using a church credit card to make more than $300,000 in unauthorized purchases that included sports tickets, furniture, car down payments and jewelry, the records state.”
$38M, 140,000-square-foot dorm to be built at 1001 3rd St. NE
Early Care and Education Funders Collaborative dishes out $300K in grants.
Metro property near 11th and Park Road NW turned into “unofficial” dog park. “MPD will supposedly turn a blind eye to its use since it’s Metro property. Ward One CM Jim Graham had tried to get the space transformed into an official dog park, but we’re left with a strange, gray-area compromise now,” says IntanglibleArts.
WOO—-“Most D.C.-area workers can expect raises in 2009,” sez Biz Journal.
KenCen stepping in to help arts groups.
LL WATCHED THIS LAST NIGHT—-Excellent…featured interviews with Chuck Brown, Marion Barry, Frank Smith, Charlene Drew Jarvis, and Carol Schwartz.
AUTO SHOW is open. Check out the green vehicles.
D.C. COUNCIL TODAY—-11 a.m.: Committee on Government Operations and the Environment roundtable on PR18-48, PR18-59, JAWB 120; 1:30 p.m.: Committee on Government Operations and the Environment roundtable on PR18-56, PR18-75, JAWB 120; 1 p.m.: Committee on Economic Development roundtable on PR18-36, JAWB 412; 2 p.m.: Committee on Human Services roundtable on PR18-37, PR18-38, PR18-39, PR18-40, PR18-41, PR18-42, PR18-43, PR18-44, PR18-45, JAWB 123.
ADRIAN FENTY TODAY—-10:30 a.m.: remarks, employment readiness center announcement, Central Detention Facility, 1901 D St. SE.