T. Michelle Colson: Young DC natives face unique challenges accessing workforce opportunities in…
Washington, DC, is one of the most opportunity-dense cities in the country. It is home to federal agencies, global employers, research institutions and fast-growing industries. But along with opportunity density comes a high degree of…
District Links: Bowser pushes contracting reform with two new bills; Commanders reach $1M settlement…
Mayor Muriel Bowser announced two legislative initiatives today that she said would cut unnecessary red tape and make it easier to do business in the District.
District Links: CFO’s latest revenue estimates fuel dispute with Bowser, Mendelson; DC lifts…
The District's independent chief financial officer's newly released revenue estimates point to a $75.1 million upward adjustment in the current fiscal year amid higher-than-expected individual income tax collections — although the revised…
District Links: Bowser hails first-ever congressionally approved boost to DCTAG grants for students;…
Mayor Muriel Bowser and DC's top education leaders visited Ward 4's Coolidge High School yesterday for a pep rally of sorts to celebrate the 25th year of the DC Tuition Assistance Grant program and recent congressional approval for the…
jonetta rose barras: Can DC afford public financing of its local election campaigns?
Just as Mayor Muriel Bowser and the DC Council were ending their breakfast meeting earlier this month, at-large Councilmember Anita Bonds asked her how she intended to handle funding for the city’s Fair Elections Program — a…
District Links: Feds look to sell part of USDA’s headquarters in Southwest DC; judge allows…
Federal officials yesterday announced plans to sell the 2 million-square-foot southern section of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's headquarters in Southwest DC — the latest step in the Trump administration's push to scale back the…
District Links: Council to consider access to MPD body cam footage in use of force incidents…
Newly introduced legislation in the DC Council would require the public release of Metropolitan Police Department body-worn camera footage in connection with serious use of force incidents involving federal agencies.
District Links: Congressional disapproval came too late to repeal DC tax law, AG Schwalb says; UDC…
In a new 12-page legal memo, DC Attorney General Brian Schwalb says that Congress acted too late for its recent disapproval resolution to repeal the District's locally enacted tax conformity law, and that a retroactivity provision adopted…
District Links: Allen introduces bill to speed up Pepco solar approvals as utility costs rise; EPA…
Amid concerns about rising electric bills, Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen and six colleagues are introducing legislation aimed at speeding up Pepco's approval of new solar projects.
District Links: DC breaks ground on community center amid flurry of modernization projects in Ward…
Mayor Muriel Bowser yesterday helped break ground on a new Douglass Community Center — the next step in an ongoing expansion of recreation facilities in Ward 8, where she and other officials are slated to cut the ribbon later this month at…
District Links: Bowser seeks federal aid for cleanup, repair work after Potomac sewage spill;…
Mayor Muriel Bowser yesterday formally asked the White House for federal assistance in the response to the Potomac Interceptor break that led to more than 250 million gallons of untreated sewage spilling into the Potomac River — and she's…
District Links: Bowser proposes 2.55% boost to school funding formula amid fiscal challenges; bill…
Despite looming budget challenges, Mayor Muriel Bowser today announced a proposed 2.55% increase to the District's Uniform Per Student Funding Formula foundation level, a key building block in determining allocations to the District's…
District Links: Council eyes revisions to Schools First budget approach; Trump faults regional…
The DC Council is advancing a bill to modify aspects of the Schools First budgeting approach established by lawmakers in 2022 in an effort to provide greater stability in school budgets and staffing.
District Links: DC warns against Potomac River contact amid calls for stronger response to sewage…
As DC Water crews continue to work on repairs and containment efforts at the site of a collapsed section of the Potomac Interceptor sewage pipe, the DC Department of Energy and Environment is warning residents to stay away from the Potomac…
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,…