DC Council

Housing advocates across the District are demanding that the DC Housing Authority (DCHA) reform the way it administers housing vouchers so people experiencing homelessness can be matched sooner with a place to live. On Feb. 9, DCHA’s Board…

During the recent kickoff for his mayoral campaign, Ward 8 DC Council member Trayon White led his supporters in a chant: “We are going to take our city back. We are going to take our city back.” It was a dog whistle as loud as any…

Next week when legislators return from their summer recess, the DC Council is expected to approve the “Contracts with Managed Care Organizations for the Provision of Health Care Services to District Residents Emergency Approval and…

There are many labels that have been slapped on DC Council Chairman Phil Mendelson throughout his decades-long political career. He has been accused of suffering the all-trees-no-forest syndrome, of being a nitpicker, and of being a…

When Mayor Muriel Bowser issued her recent order declaring a “Health Care Resources Emergency,” she tore a page straight from former President Donald J. Trump’s book on how to create and exploit a crisis for personal political benefit. She…

For the past year, Mayor Muriel Bowser and her Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Wayne Turnage have presented a master class in government and financial mismanagement marked by political and self-centered motivations. They — and…

The DC Council capped its deliberations on the fiscal year 2022 budget last week, giving final approval to the Budget Support Act at its virtual legislative meeting on Aug. 10. Council members introduced several amendments at the meeting…

There was Ward 4 DC Council member Janeese Lewis George, during last week’s public roundtable on gun violence and Mayor Muriel Bowser’s Building Blocks initiative, reiterating a statement made by former DC Metropolitan Police Department…

The DC Council debated several amendments to fiscal year 2022 budget legislation to include a measure to tax high-income earners at a higher rate to support a number of new initiatives, as well as a failed measure to allocate additional…

In presenting his recommended Fiscal Year 2022 Budget and Financial Plan to colleagues, DC Council Chairman Phil Mendelson called the $17,962,963,587 spending proposal and the attached Budget Support Act (BSA) “transformative.”  (Photo…

With the public health emergency ending, DC tenants have a range of protections and resources available to help navigate responding to an eviction notice.

For Emilie Cassou, the meals served to students like her son at his public elementary school in the District aren’t worth the tray they’re served on. Some might look at a typical lunch served to students and see a ham and cheese…

A law meant to protect consumers by prohibiting businesses from refusing to accept cash took effect on April 4. There’s just one problem — it’s unenforceable. Or, rather, DC officials put off enforcement during the public health emergency,…

That’s probably the question many landlords and utility companies asked as the DC Council took action this week that confirmed the public health emergency will end July 25. However, legislators extended Mayor Muriel Bowser’s authority…

Ward 6 DC Council member Charles Allen touted in a press release last week that his Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety voted to recommend to the full legislature a 172% increase in spending for violence prevention programs as…

Long-held criticism of the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs — which manages everything from licensing plumbers and other professionals to enforcing housing safety codes and issuing building permits — led to a new law in April…

Judith Sandalow sat inside the square — the virtual infrastructure made ubiquitous by the coronavirus pandemic as we’ve sought to remain both publicly active and socially distanced, hoping to halt COVID-19’s indiscriminate killing…

It’s been more than a decade since DC lawmakers sought to add the District Opportunity to Purchase Act as a new tool to preserve affordable housing in the city. But the resulting program has languished ever since, prompting the DC Council…

Ward 1 DC Council member Brianne Nadeau will conduct a public hearing next week on Mayor Muriel Bowser’s fiscal year 2022 budget and financial plan for the Department of Human Services. If past is prologue, she likely will scope out…