jonetta rose barras: Will ranked choice voting disenfranchise DC’s vulnerable voters?
The longer my interview went on with Robert “Bob” King about ranked choice voting, the more animated he seemed to become. He raised concerns about the potential negative effect of that system, which allows voters to choose multiple…
District Links: House passes GOP bills on DC’s bail, policing laws with some Democratic…
Despite the objections of local officials, the House voted last night to establish cash bail and broader pretrial detention in the District, and to repeal the bulk of a police accountability law passed by the DC Council in 2022.
District Links: Cedar Hill hospital still isn’t open for outpatient care; House set to vote…
The House is set to vote tonight on a GOP bill that would remake the District's protocols for pretrial detention and bail, as well as a separate measure that would eliminate police accountability measures adopted by the DC Council several…
District Links: Council OKs land transfer to remove hurdle for 11th Street Bridge Park; House panel…
The DC Council voted unanimously today to remove a procedural impediment to the long-planned 11th Street Bridge Park, which will connect the Navy Yard and Anacostia neighborhoods via the District's first elevated greenway.
District Links: Top DC officials criticize GOP bills as unprecedented overreach ahead of House…
Ahead of expected House action on two DC-related bills this week, the District's three top elected officials issued a joint statement today objecting to those measures as well as 11 others advanced by a GOP-run House committee as…
District Links: House set to vote on GOP bills to require cash bail in DC, repeal police reform law;…
The House of Representatives has announced plans to vote next week on a GOP bill to require mandatory cash bail in DC for various offenses and another bill that would repeal the bulk of a police reform law approved by the DC Council in…
jonetta rose barras: The rogue board running DC’s elections system
Last month, on Oct. 17, the DC Board of Elections placed a notice published in the DC Register at 11 a.m., informing readers they had until 4 p.m. that day to sign up if they wanted to testify at a public hearing on Oct. 22 about…
District Links: Commanders pick HKS to design new stadium at RFK as ‘civic landmark’;…
The Washington Commanders this morning announced the selection of global architecture and design firm HKS as the lead architect for the team's new roofed stadium on the RFK campus.
District Links: Ribbon-cutting celebrates new Metropolitan Branch Trail segment; DC streateries face…
Mayor Muriel Bowser, other DC officials and community leaders today celebrated the completion of a long-awaited Ward 4 segment of the Metropolitan Branch Trail — filling one of the last remaining gaps in the 8-mile regional trail corridor…
District Links: Judge hits former owners of Ward 8’s Marbury Plaza with $41M judgment; Trump…
DC Attorney General Brian Schwalb today announced a record $41 million judgment against the former owners of the Marbury Plaza apartment complex, where tenants endured dangerous conditions even after a judge demanded repairs to fix…
District Links: ‘Mayor Bowser is not under investigation,’ Pirro says amid Qatar trip…
Amid conflicting reports on whether federal authorities are investigating Mayor Muriel Bowser over her 2023 trip to Qatar, she said today that neither she nor anyone in her office had been contacted by federal officials about any probe.
jonetta rose barras: Wellpoint DC’s CEO gets an award while Mayor Bowser’s administration angles to…
Sometimes the swirl of contradictions and ironies in government and politics can be interesting — fascinating even. Consider that this week the DC Hospital Association selected Adrian Jordan as a recipient of its Vincent C. Gray Health…
District Links: Mendelson pulls back from skirmish over MPD reprogramming request; ‘sandwich…
DC Council Chair Phil Mendelson continued this week to speak against overspending by government agencies and urge more aggressive steps to curb the practice, but he ultimately opted not to force an uncomfortable vote to disapprove a…
District Links: Council votes to ‘decouple’ DC from multiple provisions in federal tax…
The DC Council voted yesterday to "decouple" about a dozen provisions in the District's tax code from their federal counterparts in order to avoid a $567 million hit to local revenues through fiscal year 2029 otherwise triggered by tax…
District Links: Council reverses course to approve expanded juvenile curfew for three more months;…
The DC Council voted 9-4 this afternoon to restore the expanded juvenile curfew for three months, narrowly clearing the requirement for a supermajority in order to pass legislation on an emergency basis but revealing continued splits and…
Michele Stewart: DC leaders need to ensure the Early Childhood Educator Pay Equity Fund is here to…
When I first began teaching young children in the District of Columbia, I knew I had found my calling. Helping children learn, grow, and discover the world around them became my "why" — the reason I've stayed in this work for so many…
District Links: Council set to vote again on extension of expanded juvenile curfew; philanthropist…
The DC Council is slated to vote once again at tomorrow's meeting on whether to temporarily restore the expanded juvenile curfew — one month after efforts to pass emergency legislation fell short of the required supermajority.
District Links: Bowser taps into local reserve funds to ensure full SNAP benefits in November; Park…
The DC government will use $30.5 million in local contingency funds to ensure that DC residents enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Women, Infants, and Children Program receive their full November benefits despite…
District Links: Pentagon reportedly extends Guard deployment in DC through February; council hearing…
The Pentagon is extending the National Guard's deployment in DC through at least February, per new reports from CNN and Politico.
District Links: Bowser hails senior units built as Ward 3’s first Housing Production Trust…
Mayor Muriel Bowser and Ward 3 Councilmember Matt Frumin today celebrated the opening of an affordable housing building for seniors that marks the first Housing Production Trust Fund project west of Rock Creek Park.