jonetta rose barras: Heavy doses of fiscal fantasy in DC politics
Earlier this week, during a breakfast meeting with members of the DC Council, Mayor Muriel Bowser and senior managers of her administration reported on the dismal state of the District’s current and future finances, going into particular…
District Links: Senate votes 49-47 to void DC’s tax decoupling bill; Doni Crawford files to…
The U.S. Senate voted 49-47 along party lines this afternoon to disapprove DC Council legislation that had decoupled the local tax code from multiple provisions in last year's GOP-backed tax changes — including exemptions for tips and…
District Links: DPW deploys seasonal workers to address missed trash pickups; Senate slated to vote…
Amid continuing complaints about missed trash and recycling pickups in the wake of last month's winter storm and the "snowcrete" it left behind, the DC Department of Public Works yesterday evening announced stepped-up efforts to get…
District Links: Bowser admin lays out ‘hard’ choices for FY 2027 amid rising costs,…
Mayor Muriel Bowser and her team today laid out dire fiscal challenges they must address in developing a balanced budget next year, with a hypothetical shortfall of at least $1.15 billion if DC were to continue all services and programs at…
District Links: Senate Dems blast $1.65 million daily cost of National Guard deployment in DC; Lewis…
Democrats on a key Senate committee yesterday released a report blasting the Trump administration's deployment of National Guard troops in DC as wasteful, costing nearly $1.65 million a day with little demonstrated effect on violent crime.…
jonetta rose barras: Breaking federal tax breaks for DC residents and businesses
Last year, during the city’s annual budget deliberations, Ward 5 DC Councilmember Zachary Parker was on the hunt for money to fund a local child tax credit; undoubtedly, he hoped it would be the signature legislation for his first term,…
District Links: Council votes to step up battle with mayor over access to agency budget requests;…
DC Council Chair Phil Mendelson this week overcame objections from several councilmembers and gained renewed support in a long-running dispute with Mayor Muriel Bowser and her administration over the legislature's access to agency budget…
District Links: Washington Post cuts a third of its staff though widespread layoffs; Senate panel…
The Washington Post's local desk was hit hard by today's broad layoffs, which will also mean the elimination of the newspaper's sports department and a considerable reduction in the number of journalists it deploys overseas.
District Links: DC leaders warn of disruption if Congress upends local tax code with disapproval…
Local leaders are battling a proposed disapproval resolution under consideration by the House and Senate that would overturn the District's recent revisions to the local tax code that decoupled DC from several federal provisions…
District Links: DC continues to clear ‘snowcrete’ amid post-storm criticism; Kennedy…
Amid continued criticism of the DC government's handling of ice and snow over the past week, Mayor Muriel Bowser and her administration offered an update this morning that envisions curb-to-curb clearance on top-tier arterial roadways by…
District Links: Congress poised to consider disapproval of DC’s law to ‘decouple’…
The House and Senate are poised to consider as soon as next week whether to overturn the DC Council's recent changes to the local tax code — with the disapproval, if passed, expected to cause a $224 million shortfall in the current fiscal…
District Links: Bowser cuts ribbon on all-affordable, net-zero apartment building in Truxton Circle;…
Mayor Muriel Bowser cut the ribbon this morning on a new 18-unit building at 1520 North Capitol St. NW that's described as DC's first net-zero all-affordable housing community.
District Links: Councilmembers say heavy ice hampered cleanup by damaging city’s small plows;…
Amid mounting criticism of the pace of storm cleanup, DC officials are highlighting continued plowing and removal efforts — with the DC Department of Public Works tweeting a video this afternoon depicting the voluminous amount of snow…
District Links: Norton confirms her retirement after 18 terms as DC delegate; Evans looks to return…
DC Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton released a statement this morning confirming that she won't seek reelection this year and will retire at the end of her 18th term.
District Links: Norton draws praise for legacy as ‘true warrior’ after her campaign…
DC Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton's campaign committee yesterday filed a termination report with the Federal Election Commission, solidifying months of speculation that the longtime officeholder wouldn't seek another term and prompting…
District Links: Bowser declares state of emergency ahead of snow, freezing rain; Trump admin reviews…
Mayor Muriel Bowser this morning declared a state of emergency for DC in preparation for a major winter storm this weekend and extreme cold temperatures well into next week.
jonetta rose barras: Another cloaked and messy week in the DC government
Even before at-large DC Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie announced his resignation last month, everyone inside the John A. Wilson Building knew it was coming, especially his staff. But what did the general public — the taxpayers who fund the…
District Links: Bowser touts major residential conversion on Connecticut Avenue, incentives for 2…
Mayor Muriel Bowser and other DC officials helped kick off construction today on what's billed as the District's largest office-to-residential conversion to date: The Geneva, a project on Connecticut Avenue NW that will include 472…
District Links: Bowser admin highlights new $20.9M middle school addition in Ward 8; anonymous DC…
Mayor Muriel Bowser and her administration are marking the recent completion of a $20.9 million middle school addition at Leckie Education Campus in Ward 8.
District Links: Council names ex-staffer Doni Crawford to interim at-large seat; feds extend…
The DC Council voted unanimously this afternoon to approve the appointment of Doni Crawford as interim at-large councilmember — filling a vacancy created by the resignation of Kenyan McDuffie, who departed to run for mayor in the…