District Links

Happy Tuesday. The DC Council gave initial approval today to the 2020 budget and related legislation with only one close vote. Amid multiple references to broken promises, it came on an unsuccessful amendment that would have backed the…

Happy Monday. We’ve all heard Muriel Bowser wants 36,000 new residential units by 2025 — with a third of them qualifying as affordable housing — and last Friday she unveiled the first step: public meetings!

TGIF! Phil Mendelson is sticking with his proposed changes to open records laws through a budget provision despite calls for a public hearing.

Happy Thursday. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson and Mayor Muriel Bowser are butting heads. Mendelson might not have enough votes to block Bowser’s commercial tax hikes. But now he says the DC Council will “say no new permits to construct…

Happy Wednesday. Council members are holed up today around a conference table discussing changes made to the mayor’s budget proposal by committees. They're about to return from a short break so members could get lunch.

Happy Tuesday. The Bowser administration yesterday called a group of reporters to the Wilson Building to vent about proposed changes made by DC Council committees to the mayor’s spending plan.

Good Monday morning. The DC Council's Health Committee made a little-noticed move last Thursday, when Ward 7's Vince Gray reversed his support for legislation billed as expediting the construction of a new hospital in Ward 8.

TGIF! A family of four seeking a “modest yet adequate” lifestyle in the Washington area needs to make at least $105,539, WAMU reports …

Happy Thursday. It’s a green day for Muriel Bowser, with the mayor announcing her legislation to legalize the sale of marijuana in the city. The news was laid out in the Post this morning.

Happy May Day. Some amendments to the mayor’s budget proposal are public, with the release of DC Council committee reports, which are being voted on this week.

Happy Tuesday. Columnist jonetta rose barras is following the case of the suicide death of 12-year-old Stormiyah Denson-Jackson, who hanged herself at a Ward 7 boarding school, SEED Public Charter School.

Happy Monday. Muriel Bowser today released the District’s first strategy for meeting challenges such as climate change, called Resilient DC, which pictures more than just the environmental concerns for the city.

TGIF! DC lawmakers have been creating special funds to direct revenue for specific programs, but in many cases that money is subsequently swept into the city's general fund and spent on other programs, the DC auditor says in a new report.…

Good Thursday morning. Progressive activist group DC for Democracy is beginning a new campaign today to further restrict campaign donations and end constituent service funds.

Good Wednesday morning. Green Teamer and ex-DC Council member Bill Lightfoot is representing the family of a driver who was killed by a speeding fire truck suing the District.

Happy Tuesday. The Post editorial board is siding with centrists and the business community in urging council members to question the mayor’s tax hikes on the commercial sector to fund affordable housing.

Happy Earth Day. A pedestrian and cyclist were killed in separate incidents over a three-day span, when drivers of vehicles struck both. In both cases, residents had demanded a safer street for years. 

TGIF! What do municipal planning directors talk about when they meet up? DL found out yesterday when three of the region’s chief planners held a panel yesterday at George Washington University.

Good Thursday morning. Jack Evans is weathering his ethics scandals by keeping up his presence at community meetings. With a recall effort still trying to find liftoff, Evans is being received warmly at meetings like ANC 2A’s last night,…

Good Wednesday morning. Mayoral adviser Beverly Perry has an op-ed in The Hill, writing about how the Maryland gerrymandering case taken up by the Supreme Court can relate to DC statehood.