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Good morning, Oh, Examiner site – how you vex me! Today's stories aren't online yet. Here is the digital print version: http://bit.ly/gx08Fn. Check page 4 for Freeman Klopott's story on the Adams Morgan Marriott / Page 4 for Lisa Gartner's story on Rhee's new endeavor / Page 6 for a duo of Metro stories from Kytja Weir covering pay phones and leadership.
Best, Karyn-Siobhan Robinson a/k/a DC Government Clips
D.C. Government/D.C. Council media clips: Tuesday, December 7, 2010.
Missed yesterday? http://bit.ly/h6krwg
Twitter: DCGovClips
Transition
(Link only)
Top-ranking GW official donates to Gray transition
by Priya Anand
GW Hatchett
GW Hatchett
Issue: 12/6/10
D.C. Council
D.C. Council consider raising taxes - Washington Post
Three council members to propose tax hikes; Gray's position unclear - D.C. Wire (Washington Post blog)
Advocates Urge Gray To Vote Against Homeless Bill - City Desk (Washington City Paper blog)
Read My Lips: No New Taxes in Gray’s Budget - Loose Lips (Washington City Paper)
Gray cancels public airing of budget discussions - Examiner
D.C. Council Chairman-elect: Not enough time for public to weigh in on budget cuts - Examiner
Key Gray initiatves at risk as D.C. pares budget - Washington Times
Negotiations Continue Over D.C. Budget Cuts - DCist.com
Edition DC Hotel tax break resurrected - Washington Business Journal
Business Associations Pushing to Get Food Trucks Taxed, Capped–And Soon - -Housing Complex (Washington City Paper)
A fair budget includes a smarter tax increase – Greater Greater Washington
Tommy Wells to introduce tax hike - Examiner
Yoga Tax Proposal is Back, Via Marion Barry - Loose Lips (Washington City Paper)
COS Salaries, a Comparison - Loose Lips (Washington City Paper)
D.C. Government
New Police Policy: No Cheating on Tests! - City Desk (Washington City Paper blog)
Would You Pay To Park? - WRC – NBC4
Politics / DCPS / Metro / Other
Walmart Resistance Begins in Ward 4 - Housing Complex (Washington City Paper)
Former D.C. schools chancellor Michelle Rhee starts student advocacy group - Washington Post
A new tool to dig out school data - D.C. Schools Insider (Washington Post)
Questions emerge on role of elected officials in Metro leadership - Examiner
Pepco executives acknowledge need to improve reliability - Washington Post
Missed (links only)
Facebook leases room to grow
By Jonathan O'Connell
Capital Business (Washington Post)
Monday, December 6, 2010
Graham negotiating deal between Adams Morgan restaurants, street vendors
Examiner
Of Interest (links only)
What I’ve Learned
We can’t keep politics out of school reform. Why I’m launching a national movement to transform education.
Newsweek
December 06, 2010
Hertz adds electric vehicles to D.C. fleet
Washington Business Journal - by Jeff Clabaugh
Date: Monday, December 6, 2010, 12:07pm EST
D.C. Council
D.C. Council consider raising taxes
By Tim Craig
Washington Post Staff Writer
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/06/AR2010120606792.html
Washington Post Staff Writer
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/06/AR2010120606792.html
Monday, December 6, 2010; 11:16 PM
D.C. Council members are considering proposals to raise taxes on middle- and upper-middle-class residents, not just the wealthy, as they try to close a budget shortfall that they say will require deep cuts to social programs, potential layoffs or furloughs of city employees and new tax brackets.
On Tuesday, the council will vote on a proposal by Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) to close a $188 million budget shortfall in the current year's budget through an array of spending cuts that many advocates have decried as mean-spirited. A tax increase is not expected to be approved Tuesday, but council members say the council debate will set the stage for a showdown next spring as they grapple with even larger shortfalls for fiscal 2012.
"I would love to see someone's budget next year that doesn't include a tax increase," said Council member Michael A. Brown (I-At Large). "The numbers are just too big."
To close the immediate shortfall before he leaves office, Fenty proposed curtailing temporary cash assistance to needy families, scaling back the summer jobs program, cutting job training and energy assistance programs and slashing payments to 700 low-income grandparents who care for their grandchildren.
Under pressure from advocates, D.C. Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray and council members have been exploring ways to raise additional revenue to soften the impact on human-service programs.
Gray, who will be sworn in as mayor Jan. 2, decided to keep nearly all of Fenty's proposed cuts to human service programs. But Gray wants to add back nearly $6 million for job training programs and restore cuts to energy assistance programs. He also wants to keep funding for a new initiative to pay for healthier school lunches.
Council officials also confirm that Gray will propose to place $31 million in funds earmarked for D.C. Public Schools in a reserve account until the system can prove the money is needed. Council members also probably will approve furloughing non-essential city employees on four holidays, meaning they won't get paid for the day off.
Gray had ruled it out
Gray, through a spokeswoman, declined several interview requests Monday.
But several council members said Gray ruled out supporting a tax increase this year, preferring instead to seriously consider the issue in the spring, when he and the council are expected to face a budget gap in the fiscal year 2012 budget that could top $400 million.
Currently, all District wage earners who earn $40,000 a year or more pay an 8.5 percent local income tax rate. Until now, much of the discussion in the council has centered around raising taxes on the wealthy, which would require the creation of a new tax bracket affecting residents who earn either more than $200,000 or more than $500,000 a year.
But in recent days, the debate has shifted toward proposals by Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6) and David A. Catania (I-At Large) that would make broader-based increases in the income tax rate.
Instead of just targeting programs that support the poor and tax hikes aimed at the wealthy, a growing number of council members say all residents should share in the pain of closing the city's budget shortfall.
"I am not excited about this, because it really is a concession of many years of work, of being engaged in fighting for lower taxes," said Catania, a former Republican. "It is a very bitter pill to swallow, but for me what makes sense is shared sacrifice."
Catania is proposing to couple an income tax increase from 8.5 to 8.75 percent for those making more than $40,000 with layoffs, pay cuts and additional cuts to many government programs. A resident with an annual of income of $100,000 would pay an extra $250 a year in taxes.
Catania said he would not push for his proposal until the spring, to give Gray and the council time to come up with additional spending cuts.
Three new tax brackets
Wells, however, plans to ask his colleagues to support his proposal to raise taxes at Tuesday's council meeting.
Saying he would not support Fenty and Gray's proposal to close the shortfall unless it includes additional revenue, Wells is proposing to create three new tax brackets, the first of which would hit residents who earn between $75,000 and $150,000.
If approved, those taxpayers would pay an additional quarter percentage point income tax rate. The increase would grow by a half percentage point, 9 percent, for taxpayers who earn between $150,001 and $500,000 annually. A new 9.5 percent tax bracket would be created for residents who earn more than a half-million.
"I am introducing it to change the conversation away from the millionaires tax," said Wells, noting that District residents who earned at least $20,000 paid a 9.5 percent income tax rate in the mid 1980s. He said his proposal was "predicated on 'everyone gives up something.' "
But Wells is unlikely to find majority support for a tax increase until next year. Not only has Gray signaled that he prefers to wait until spring to consider a tax increase, several other council members said they prefer to deal with the shortfall in the current year's budget through spending cuts.
"I don't think the votes are there, in my view," said Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At large). "While I think we ought to restructure and re-bracket the income tax, this is not the time. I will probably be supportive in the spring."
Three council members to propose tax hikes; Gray's position unclear
By Tim Craig
D.C. Wire (Washington Post blog)
December 6, 2010; 4:10 PM ET
Three D.C. Council members plan to push ahead Tuesday with proposals to raise taxes to help solve the city's budget shortfall, even though Mayor-elect Vincent C. Gray (D) is not likely to go along with the idea.
Gray, the council chairman, is putting the final touches on refinements he made to a proposal from outgoing Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) to slash more than $100 million from the budget to close a mid-year shortfall. The council plans to take the first of two votes on the proposal Tuesday.
In recent weeks, some advocates have been pressuring Gray to consider an array of potential revenue increases - many of which were aimed at the wealthy - to soften the cuts in human service programs.
But Gray has been signaling to members he would prefer to take up the question of a tax increase next spring, when, as mayor, he likely will face a shortfall of at least several hundred million dollars. Gray is instead cobbling together an array of savings - including potential one-day furloughs of city employees on paid holidays - to raise some additional revenue.
Not only is Gray trying to close the $188 million mid-year shortfall, he's looking to raise or save up to an additional $50 million to place in the city's reserve funds, according to council members. But Gray's budget deliberations have largely been done out of public view, making it difficult for council members and advocates to gauge exactly what he will propose late Monday or early Tuesday prior to the vote.
Even though Gray isn't likely to embrace a tax increase this year, Council members Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6), Michael A. Brown (I-At large) and Jim Graham (D-Ward 1) are all expected to push for an increase Tuesday when the council takes up the vote.
"You will see all of us doing our own (proposal) or teaming up behind one," Brown said.
Under the proposal being floated by Brown, the city would create two new top income tax brackets for wage earners, one that starts at $200,000 and another at $1 million. Currently, all District residents who make $40,000 or more pay an 8.5 percent income tax rate. Brown wants to raise the rate to 8.9 percent for those who residents who earn between $200,000 and $1 million. Residents who earn more than $1 million would pay a 9.2 percent rate.
Wells, the chairman of the Human Services Committee, plans to offer a competing proposal that would result in higher taxes for anyone who earns more than $70,000. If approved, residents who earn between $75,000 and $150,000 would see their tax rate rise to 8.75 percent while while those who make up to $500,000 would see a half-percentage point hike. Wage-earners who make at least $500,000 would see a 1 percent increase.
Instead of just targeting the rich, Wells argues upper-middle class District residents should also share the burden in balancing the budget.
"I'm trying to change the conversation away from the millionaires tax so everyone gives up something," said Wells, who said he won't support the budget unless it includes additional revenue.
But several council members said Monday they prefer to wait until the spring to deal with taxes. Council members David A. Catania (I-At large) and Phil Mendelson (D-At large), for example, both said they are unlikely to support a tax increase Tuesday but could embrace one in the spring if its part of a larger gap-closing proposal.
"I view what is happening tomorrow as the start of broad-based discussion," said Mendelson.
Gray, the council chairman, is putting the final touches on refinements he made to a proposal from outgoing Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) to slash more than $100 million from the budget to close a mid-year shortfall. The council plans to take the first of two votes on the proposal Tuesday.
In recent weeks, some advocates have been pressuring Gray to consider an array of potential revenue increases - many of which were aimed at the wealthy - to soften the cuts in human service programs.
But Gray has been signaling to members he would prefer to take up the question of a tax increase next spring, when, as mayor, he likely will face a shortfall of at least several hundred million dollars. Gray is instead cobbling together an array of savings - including potential one-day furloughs of city employees on paid holidays - to raise some additional revenue.
Not only is Gray trying to close the $188 million mid-year shortfall, he's looking to raise or save up to an additional $50 million to place in the city's reserve funds, according to council members. But Gray's budget deliberations have largely been done out of public view, making it difficult for council members and advocates to gauge exactly what he will propose late Monday or early Tuesday prior to the vote.
Even though Gray isn't likely to embrace a tax increase this year, Council members Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6), Michael A. Brown (I-At large) and Jim Graham (D-Ward 1) are all expected to push for an increase Tuesday when the council takes up the vote.
"You will see all of us doing our own (proposal) or teaming up behind one," Brown said.
Under the proposal being floated by Brown, the city would create two new top income tax brackets for wage earners, one that starts at $200,000 and another at $1 million. Currently, all District residents who make $40,000 or more pay an 8.5 percent income tax rate. Brown wants to raise the rate to 8.9 percent for those who residents who earn between $200,000 and $1 million. Residents who earn more than $1 million would pay a 9.2 percent rate.
Wells, the chairman of the Human Services Committee, plans to offer a competing proposal that would result in higher taxes for anyone who earns more than $70,000. If approved, residents who earn between $75,000 and $150,000 would see their tax rate rise to 8.75 percent while while those who make up to $500,000 would see a half-percentage point hike. Wage-earners who make at least $500,000 would see a 1 percent increase.
Instead of just targeting the rich, Wells argues upper-middle class District residents should also share the burden in balancing the budget.
"I'm trying to change the conversation away from the millionaires tax so everyone gives up something," said Wells, who said he won't support the budget unless it includes additional revenue.
But several council members said Monday they prefer to wait until the spring to deal with taxes. Council members David A. Catania (I-At large) and Phil Mendelson (D-At large), for example, both said they are unlikely to support a tax increase Tuesday but could embrace one in the spring if its part of a larger gap-closing proposal.
"I view what is happening tomorrow as the start of broad-based discussion," said Mendelson.
Advocates Urge Gray To Vote Against Homeless Bill
Posted by Jason Cherkis on Dec. 6, 2010 at 8:01 pm
City Desk (Washington City Paper blog)
Remember that homeless bill that the New York Times editorial board slammed as inhumane? The one that every nonprofit in the District condemned? The residency-requirement bill that the city's CFO stated would produce zero cost savings? Tomorrow, Ward 6 Councilmember Tommy Wells is going to put it up for a vote. Just in time for hypothermia season.
Today, Mayor-Elect Vincent Gray got a letter urging that he vote against the bill. The letter was signed by:
Ayuda, Bread for the City, Capital Area Food Bank, Capital Area Immigrants' Rights Coalition, Covenant House Washington, DC Alliance of Youth Advocates, DC Coalition Against Domestic Violence, DC Fiscal Policy Institute, D.C. Hunger Solutions, DC Jobs Council, DC Women's Agenda, District Alliance for Safe Housing, Domestic Violence Legal Empowerment and Appleas Project, Gray Panthers of Metropolitan Washington, Homeless Children's Playtime Project, Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia, LIFT-DC, Mary's Center for Maternal and Child Care Inc., Miriam's Kitchen, National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty, Positive Force DC, Quality Trust for Individuals with Disabilities, So Others Might Eat (SOME), Survivors and Advocates for Empowerment (SAFE) Inc., Thrive DC, University Legal Services, The Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless, We Are Family, Wider Opportunities for Women, the Women's Collective, Women's Committee of 100, Women Empowered Against Violence Inc., and two professors from Catholic University.
Wells may want to reach out to these folks if he wants to keep his progressive membership card. The letter and much more after the jump.
The basic issues with the bill involve the residency requirement for services and the legislation's allowing for the possibility of more communal-style shelter. While the bill makes some exemptions (victims of domestic violence, for example), it still potentially puts families at risk. It also doesn't make clear how victims of domestic violence or, say, human trafficking, would show proof). The bill will give homeless families a three-day grace period to prove they are District residents.
It is unclear what happens if they fail to cut through D.C.'s red tape in time (one of the ways a family can prove they are District residents: they can provide a lease). What is clear? District workers are going to be stuck hassling homeless families to show some I.D. And if they don't show it, it's going to fall on District workers to show those families the door.
The bill as written would also authorize the mayor to loosen regulations on family shelters. Currently, families can only stay in apartment-style shelter. The bill would allow the mayor to place them in non-apartment dwellings. But the bill calls for the alternative placement to be "private rooms." There's nothing in the bill that says how many families would be put in these private rooms. One family per room? Six? It's unclear whether cramming families in say, D.C. General's cafeteria would now be totally legal. In fact, the bill would basically legitimize D.C. General as a shelter when it was never meant to be one, when even Wells thinks its a dumping ground.
The letter to Gray states:
"Rather than taking this short-sighted approach, any concerns that non-residents may be taking away resources from DC residents should be resolved in a thoughtful, data-driven manner that brings regional partners to the table. Likewise, concerns about DC General being out of compliance with Homeless Services Reform Act ("HSRA") standards for sheltering families should focus on developing a long-term plan to shelter all families in units that comply with these important standards and meet basic health and safety laws."
The letter goes on to urge the D.C. council (via the Interagency Council on Homelessness) to actually investigate whether in fact non-residents are gaining access to District shelters, study the movements of homeless residents across state lines, and develop a long-term plan to move the city into compliance with the standards already set for housing homeless families.
And finally, in a fact sheet attached to the letter, the advocates state that so far there is zero proof that non-residents are actually utilizing city shelters. The only evidence provided to the city so far is that non-residents applied for shelter.
Amber Harding, an attorney with the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless says all of the attention devoted to the bill takes away from the real issue: the fact that D.C. General is already at capacity.
"Our position is that this is at a time of a severe budget crisis, they are choosing to go forward with a law that will reduce life-saving services to residents while creating zero fiscal savings to the District," Harding says. "Our concern is that people will not get outreach services, crisis intervention and emergency shelter while they are waiting to overcome bureaucratic hurdles to access emergency services."
Read My Lips: No New Taxes in Gray’s Budget
Posted by Alan Suderman on Dec. 6, 2010 at 4:17 pm
Loose Lips (Washington City Paper)
Hot off the rumor mill, LL hears from a council source that Almost MayorVince Gray will not be proposing any new tax increases as part of his proposed budget to fill a $188 million gap. Gray's plan calls for furlough days for city employees, according to LL's trusted source.
If true, it's a move that will earn kudos from the more fiscally conservative set while earning scorn from social services advocates and labor unions.
Anyway, take this info with a grain of salt as Gray's team hasn't even sent out its final version of a budget to the rest of the council. LL will update when/if he gets confirmation.
Gray cancels public airing of budget discussions
UPDATE:
Gray spokeswoman Doxie McCoy told The Washington Examiner that the televised budget discussions "were always tentative and dependent on how the Chairman and Councilmembers could come up with a budget in the most expedient manner given the time constraints they have been working under."
Mayor-elect Vince Gray had D.C. Council members schedule time Monday afternoon to hold a televised budget discussion, but it was canceled on Monday without any stated reason, council sources told The Washington Examiner.
The scaled-down budget will come from Gray's D.C. Council Chairman office sometime late Monday or early Tuesday morning before the council votes on it. Council sources say that despite appearances of support for a tax increase, it doesn't seem likely Gray is going to include one.
The process of dealing with the $188 million shortfall has been different than the one Gray described in a speech he delivered last month.
While warning the city of deep cuts ahead, Gray also said, "Despite this very tight timeline, I will do everything possible to ensure that this budget gap-closing process is as transparent as possible. I will ensure that budget deliberations will be broadcast live on Channel 13."
But the only portion of the budget process that has been public was a 15-hour public hearing held last week. The remainder of the discussions have been held behind closed-doors in one-on-one meetings with council members. Gray has put the blame on Mayor Adrian Fenty, telling The Washington Examiner that the mayor gave the council an "unreasonable" amount of time to deal with the deep cuts by sending down his budget proposals just two weeks before the council vote. The council can't act on the budget until the mayor sends his proposals.
Without a public meeting before the council votes, it's not likely Gray can know with absolute certainty that he has the votes to get his proposal passed. But as mayor-elect and council chairman, Gray is an unprecedented position of power. He might be relying on that along with public pressure to get the budget fixed to get the votes he needs for is plan.
D.C. Council Chairman-elect: Not enough time for public to weigh in on budget cuts
D.C. Council Chairman-elect Kwame Brown says there hasn't been enough time for the D.C. Council and the public to discuss Mayor Adrian Fenty's proposals to fix a $188 million shortfall.
"We have not had enough time to weigh in and the public has not had enough opportunity," Brown told The Washington Examiner. "We were only given two weeks to deal with this."
Brown added that "people have been meeting and talking. We've spent an incredible amount of time on this."
But Gray had promised that more of that time would take place in the public eye. Instead, Gray canceled a would-be televised council meeting to discuss the budget that had been scheduled for Monday. He's also met with each council members in closed-door, one-on-one meetings.
Gray, like Brown, has pinned the shortened, less public process on the short time frame the council was given when Fenty sent down his budget proposal just two weeks before the council would have to vote on it.
Key Gray initiatves at risk as D.C. pares budget
Mayor-elect wants higher savings
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/dec/6/key-gray-initiatves-at-risk-as-dc-pares-budget/print/
Washington Times
8:32 p.m., Monday, December 6, 2010
New funding for D.C. schools could be at the center of a major new political tug of war for Mayor-elect Vincent C. Gray, who is pushing for even bigger savings as D.C. lawmakers prepare to cast their first votes Tuesday on a package of fiscal 2011 budget cuts.
Fighting the cuts, District teachers are complaining of "mice and rodent" infestations stemming from the city's new "healthy schools" initiative, and interim Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson is fighting to protect special-education reforms from the budget knife.
Both programs are key Gray initiatives, and both are on the chopping block because outgoing Mayor Adrian M. Fenty requested just $161 million in cuts to close a $188 million budget gap, while Mr. Gray, as D.C. Council chairman, is rallying his colleagues around a higher target of $238 million.
Mr. Gray has said he wants the extra $50 million to have in a reserve account "to cover unforeseen pressures."
While Mr. Fenty does not have to consider long-term budget implications, he did propose saving the city $4.6 million by delaying the implementation of the healthy schools initiative, which mandates healthier school meals and increased exercise for students, and also proposed saving another $30 million by mainstreaming special-needs students.
While the school budget battle comes to a head, Michelle Rhee, the controversial school chief under Mr. Fenty, announced Monday that she is launching a nonprofit education organization based in Washington.
Ms. Rhee said the goals of the group, to be known as StudentsFirst, are to attract 1 million members in the next year and to raise $1 billion. She said her group will be nonpartisan but will pressure elected officials and press for changes in legislation.
Mayor-elect Gray and council member Mary Cheh co-sponsored the Healthy Schools Act and orchestrated unanimous passage of the bill in May. Mrs. Cheh has scheduled a status hearing on the law on Thursday.
But Nathan Saunders, the new president of the Washington Teachers Union, questioned whether the program is addressing long-standing health issues or creating new ones.
"In many elementary schools, teachers are required to serve food [amid] infestations of mice and rodents," he said. "The food may not be warmed or cooled properly."
As for special education, Mr. Gray, who has spent much of his career in the public and private social-services sector, faces another political dilemma — fulfilling a promise to reform special education and save the city money.
Having publicized the fact that $43 million in special-education overruns account for nearly half of the citys $88 million in spending pressures for the current fiscal year, Mr. Gray must now square policy with politics.
The $43 million includes pay raises; rental costs; and rising tuition, lodging and transportation spending for out-of-state special-education placements, which Ms. Henderson, who last month replaced Ms. Rheeas schools chief, hasnt disputed. But she said the problem with special-ed spending is underfunding, not overspending.
"Special education was underbudgeted for the last few fiscal years, which is leading to reports of overspending. In fact, special-education spending has remained constant for the past few years," she said.
Both Ms. Henderson and Mr. Gray have promised to curb the costs of educating special-needs students.
The proposal currently under consideration calls for saving $21.9 million by reducing the number of special-needs students in nonpublic schools and by redirecting funds to support the D.C. Public Schools' special-education capacity.
Ms. Henderson insisted that spending levels for special-education programs are not the problem and said she is working with the mayor and city financial officials "to make sure our budget is solid and financial systems correctly portray where we have areas of overspending."
Mr. Saunders, whose union strongly backed Mr. Gray over Mr. Fenty in the Democratic mayoral primary, said actions taken at City Hall speak louder than rhetoric. City officials, he said, outline special-education reforms while at the same time firing special-education teachers and cutting resources.
"Special education is close and dear to me," said Mr. Saunders, but the talk "we are hearing runs totally contrary to reality."
Negotiations Continue Over D.C. Budget Cuts
DCist.com
It's getting down to the wire at the D.C. Council, where Chair and Mayor-elect Vince Gray and his 12 colleagues have continued tweakingMayor Adrian Fenty's plan to close a $188 million budget gap for the current fiscal year.
After a 15-hour hearing last Tuesday, Gray spent what was left of the week meeting one-on-one with members of the Council. There was supposed to a public meeting today to continue hashing out the details of proposed cuts and to consider a possible tax hike on the city's highest earners, but it was called off. A first vote is expected tomorrow, and a second vote is set for December 21.
Nearly everyone is in the dark about what the Council will produce tomorrow, but the pressure has been on in recent days from both sides of the debate. On Saturday, the Post called for spending cuts and came out against any tax increases, an opinion echoed today by Jonetta Rose Barras in her Examiner column. ("[Gray] must encourage his colleagues to consider the long-term interest of the city, pushing them to approve major spending cuts, rollback of some employee benefits, and elimination of select government offices," she wrote.)
At the same time, Councilmember Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6) took to the blogosphere today to advocate for higher taxes on the District's richest residents, while the Save Our Safety Net campaign has organized a demonstration outside the Wilson Building tomorrow and used its blog to detail the cuts to social services ($35 million and counting, it claims) and side with the tax hike. (The Fight Back made a fascinating observation last week -- two Councilmembers dead-set against the tax increases, Jack Evans and David Catania, would beamongst those bumped into a new tax bracket.) Additionally, the D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute has sent out a document quantifying how many people would be affected by such cuts. (A $2.7 million cut to the Grandparent Caregiver program would cut assistance by $3,800 to 700 grandparents raising their grandchildren, while the $1.7 million cut to the Adult Job Training Program would affect 225 out-of-work adults.) Individual groups affected by the proposed cuts are also putting pressure on the Council, such as D.C. Hunger Solutions, which is asking that funding for the city's Healthy Schools Act not be cut.
Beyond money they may lose, many social service advocates are concerned about the process through which it would be lost. One advocate we spoke to noted that the budget cuts were being made behind closed doors, and no one seems to know when a final plan will be made public. They proposed a 48-hour waiting period between when a final budget is proposed and a vote occurs, to allow for more public input. (Can anyone sayStreetcar-gate?) It didn't help the Council's image any when news broke this week that it had cleverly exempted itself from a new version of an open meetings law. Of course, Gray and his colleagues could well argue that Fenty's proposal only came their way on the Tuesday evening before Thanksgiving, not leaving much time for open and thorough negotiations.
We may not find out until late this evening what's going to be in the Council's proposal. Heck, many Councilmembers may not know until they're asked to vote. A few leaks have been coming out this afternoon, though -- the City Paper's Alan Suderman tweets that the city shouldn't expect tax hikes, but furloughs for city workers are likely.
The only thing that's clear: like it or not, this is Gray's budget. Most elected officials get judged by what they do in their first 100 days of office. Gray will apparently have the misfortune of being judged on what he's doing in the 100 days before.
Edition DC Hotel tax break resurrected
Washington Business Journal - by Michael Neibauer
Date: Monday, December 6, 2010, 4:43pm EST - Last Modified: Monday, December 6, 2010, 5:04pm EST
There's new life for the Adams Morgan hotel.
Five days after the D.C. Council's finance and revenue committee voted 3-2 to table the proposed tax abatement for the 174-room, 10-story Edition DC hotel in Adams Morgan, four members of the same panel reconvened to remove the bill from a drawer, pass it and send it onto the full council for consideration.
"We're bringing this thing back from the dead," said Councilman Jack Evans, D-Ward 2, finance chairman.
The committee on Monday amended the bill to reduce the fiscal impact from $61 million, the amount projected by the chief financial officer, to a capped $46 million over 20 years. Another amendment, offered by Council Chairman-elect Kwame Brown, requires the developer to hire D.C. residents and contract with D.C. businesses.
The abatement, if adopted, would not take effect until Oct. 1, 2014.
The planned $127.1 million Edition DC — part of the Ian Schrager/Marriott partnership of boutique hotels — will consume the historic First Church of Christ, Scientist building at Euclid and Champlain streets. A small office building behind the church will be acquired and razed to make way for the 180,000-square-foot project.
Proponents of the tax break say the church is not on the tax rolls now, so the city sacrifices very little to, hopefully, get a big return. It is a "great economic development project," said Councilman Michael Brown, I-At large, who voted to table last week but is now supporting the hotel.
"I was never in favor of killing it and voting 'no,'" Brown said. But he said he wanted more information on the cost before moving forward.
Hotel developer Brian Friedman has said a taxpayer subsidy — either a tax abatement or tax increment financing — is standard operating procedure for a hotel project, and the revenue lost will be offset by the estimated $7 million a year in sales, room and property tax revenue his project promises to generate. The vote to table the bill, Friedman said at the time, was "catastrophic."
"You can have a vacant church or you can have a hotel that contributes jobs, contributes revenue, contributes prosperity," said Councilman Jim Graham, D-Ward 1, who introduced the abatement bill. "Wisdom has prevailed once again in the halls of this legislature."
A few interesting items of note from the July 2010 CB Richard Ellis Group Inc. evaluation of the Edition DC hotel:
Land acquisition costs for the church and an adjacent parcel will be about $17 million. Each room will cost about $45,000 to furnish. Each parking space in the 160-space underground garage will cost about $35,000.
The hotel's occupancy rate is projected to rise from 68 percent to 72 percent in three years. The developer "anticipates that the Edition DC's principal competition will be the Georgetown Ritz Carlton and the Four Seasons." The consultant added the St. Regis, Hay Adams, Willard and W hotels to the list.
The average daily room rate is pegged initially at $411, which is "in the range of what a five-star hotel in Washington DC may achieve," according to the analysis. The ADR would rise to $511 in four years.
The hotel building will include separate rooftop, pool and lobby bars, a 32,310-square-foot health club and spa, a 2,500-square-foot cafe, a 3,000-square-foot cafe bar and 9,000 square feet in two restaurants.
The analysis was required by the District because Friedman originally sought a TIF bond to support his project. But the TIF idea ultimately sank, because the city has so little borrowing capacity.
Business Associations Pushing to Get Food Trucks Taxed, Capped–And Soon
Posted by Lydia DePillis on Dec. 6, 2010 at 4:19 pm
Housing Complex (Washington City Paper)
Prince of Petworth checked inwith Ward 4 CouncilmemberMuriel Bowser, who says that she's considering emergency legislation to slap a moratorium on the number of food trucks on D.C. streets, and tax those that remain. Indeed, D.C. Chamber of Commerce spokeswomanJanene Jackson confirms that she's teamed up with the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington and the Apartment and Office Building Association to ask for the cap, as well as a 10 percent sales tax, since proposed regulations that would govern food trucks are unsatisfactory.
"It's not that we don't want mobile food vendors," Jackson said. "We're in a deficit, and if bricks and mortars have to pay up, then we all have to pay up."
My colleague Alan Suderman is also hearing that the issue could come up as soon as tomorrow's Council legislative meeting, where members will be voting on a plan to close the budget shortfall.
For all the background you need, check out our dearly departed Tim Carman's cover story from a few months back.
UPDATE, 4:30 p.m. - Bowser says that the issue won't come up tomorrow, and clarifies that she strongly opposes a moratorium on the number of food trucks (I initially misread PoP's post).
UPDATE, 5:18 p.m. - Asher Huey, an online organizer helping food truck vendors in their regulatory campaign, says that Bowser's office hasn't yet received the Chief Financial Officer's scoring for a proposed tax increase, which means it can't be included in the gap closing plan. Also, incoming Council Chairman Kwame Brown sat down with several food truck owners and said that while he opposes a moratorium and would not support a tax in the budget legislation, he would like to see a sales tax bill next year that could be debated and implemented fairly.
But AOBA's Shaun Pharr is more optimistic about the sales tax's short-term prospects. "In light of the city’s current financial distress, it will come as no surprise if the sales tax aspect comes up in budget deliberations between now and the end of the current Council Period," he e-mails. Pharr praises rules recently passed in San Francisco that both make it easier for vendors to get permits and allow brick-and-mortar businesses a forum to voice their concerns before permits are granted. And some restaurants, he says, are even interested in starting up mobile branches themselves. "However," he writes, "...while mobile vending is desirable, it is both illogical and inequitable to let it proliferate in an almost entirely unregulated, Wild West fashion."
A fair budget includes a smarter tax increase
by Tommy Wells • December 6, 2010 9:53 am
Greater Greater Washington
On Tuesday, the DC Council will vote on how we'll close the District's gaping budget gap.
Grappling with a budget deficit of $188 million, that could balloon up to $500 million in 2011, the Mayor and DC Council have put virtually all city services on the chopping block.
Human services, public safety, public education, health care, public works and the government workforce will be cut to the bone. What's wrong with this picture?
My wife and I have not been asked to pay one more dime to help balance the District's budget — not now, and not even in the last four years. We enjoy improved city services, safer streets and the renaissance of H Street NE, Barracks Row, the Waterfront and our Ward 6 neighborhood schools. Yet, to meet this challenge, our city's leaders have no plans to raise taxes for people who are most able to support a vibrant community. Instead, they imagine they can balance the budget by asking for sacrifices primarily from those DC citizens who are least able to afford them.
I understand that in this economy, budget cuts are unavoidable. But we're all in this crisis together. If we are truly one city, then I believe that every citizen needs to step up.
That's why I'm introducing a budget amendment to raise the DC income tax for citizens with the highest annual incomes. This modest increase would be graduated: ¼ of 1% for incomes of $75,000 to $150,000, ½ of 1% for incomes of $150,000 to $500,000, and 1% for incomes over $500,000.
Particularly for people who itemize their tax deductions, the cost would be minimal and partially offset by reduced federal taxes. For example, taxpayers with incomes of $75,000 would pay about $63 more for the year, those between $150,000 and $500,000 would pay between $188 to $1,938 more, and people with incomes around $1 million would pay an additional $6,938.
My proposal would raise $37 million in this fiscal year and $55 million in the next. Obviously, a tax increase can't completely close the budget gap — nor should it — but it will help spread the cost of a devastating economy beyond our city's most vulnerable citizens. These funds will help sustain a great city — one that makes us all proud.
Tommy Wells is the DC Councilmember for Ward 6.
Tommy Wells to introduce tax hike
Tommy Wells is planning to introduce tax raising measures, the Ward 6 Councilman said in a blog post on Greater Greater Washington.
Wells won't likely be alone. Severl councilmembers have said they're interested in raising taxes as well to help fix a $188 million budget gap. The big question seems to be not whether the council will increase taxes, but how. They'll answer that question Tuesday when they vote on a budget-fixing proposal. Wells says he'll introduce his proposal as an amendment to the budget fix on Tuesday.
Here's Wells' plan:
"This modest increase would be graduated: ¼ of 1% for incomes of $75,000 to $150,000, ½ of 1% for incomes of $150,000 to $500,000, and 1% for incomes over $500,000."
Yoga Tax Proposal is Back, Via Marion Barry
Posted by Alan Suderman on Dec. 6, 2010 at 7:50 pm
Loose Lips (Washington City Paper)
Ward 8 Councilmember Marion Barry wants to extend D.C.'s sales tax to include: pet grooming, health clubs, armored car services, private investigations and admission to live performances.
You'll recall that similar measures were considered last budget go round, but the all-powerful Yoga lobby put a squash to them.
Anyway, Barry also wants to raise the tax rate on parking from 12 percent to 16 percent, and raise the minimum franchise tax from $100 to $1,000. All together, Barry says his proposed tax increases would raise $41.1 million and allow the council to restore cuts to social services proposed in Still Mayor Adrian Fenty's budget, specifically the cuts to welfare recipients that Barry initially proposed.
Read his letter to the council here, wherein Barry explains his current stance on reforming welfare in D.C. (Click link above to read letter.)
COS Salaries, a Comparison
Posted by Alan Suderman on Dec. 6, 2010 at 3:13 pm
Loose Lips (Washington City Paper)
Update: Councilmember Phil Mendelson currently doesn't have a COS and CM David Catania's COS is out on leave. The chart LL posted is as of Dec 3.
When LL was looking into how bad the Washingtonian messed up D.C. public officials' salaries in its annual salary issues, he was sent an interesting spreadsheet of the salaries of D.C. Council employees.
LL was struck by the disparity between what councilmembers pay their chief of staffs. Ward 2 Councilmember Jack Evans pays his chief of staff,Schanette Grant, $132,000 a year, while Ward 1 Councilmember Jim Graham pays his chief of staff, Calvin Woodland, only $85,277 a year.
Councilmembers are each given a set amount each year to spend on overall personnel costs. But how
much they pay each employee is up to them. Anyway, here's the chart:
| Grant,Schanette L | CHIEF OF STAFF | $132,000 | Jack Evans |
| ESPARZA,IRMA Y | CHIEF OF STAFF | $127,468 | Kwame Brown |
| ALLEN,CHARLES W | CHIEF OF STAFF | $115,000 | Tommy Wells |
| WHARTON BOYD,LINDA | CHIEF OF STAFF | $110,500 | Michael Brown |
| SLONNEGER,DAWN L | CHIEF OF STAFF | $105,000 | Vince Gray |
| MEYERS,JON R | CHIEF OF STAFF | $104,194 | Yvette Alexander |
| ZVENYACH,VLADLEN DAVID | CHIEF OF STAFF | $97,000 | Mary Cheh |
| Holland,Joy | CHIEF OF STAFF | $94,061 | Muriel Bowser |
| LEWIS,GRACE J | CHIEF OF STAFF | $93,256 | Harry Thomas Jr. |
| Clements Smith,Joyce Ann | CHIEF OF STAFF | $90,000 | Marion Barry |
| Woodland,Calvin | CHIEF OF STAFF | $85,277 | Jim Graham |
D.C. Mayor Puts Healthy School Food on the Chopping Block
December 06, 2010 10:40 AM (PT)
At the same time that the federal Child Nutrition Act is poised to become law, one city may axe nutritious lunches in school cafeterias. Washington, D.C.'s Mayor Adrian Fenty recently proposed cutting funds for the city'sHealthy Schools Act. The budget cuts will effectively ruin one of the most progressive school lunch programs in America — unless folks speak up now.
Washington, D.C.'s Healthy Schools Act, which was passed earlier this year, created one of the most nutritious, eco-minded school meal programs in the nation. By implementing a six percent sales tax on soda sold within city limits, legislators could provide an additional 10 cents for every meal served in public and charter school cafeterias. Not only would this increase improve access to lunches and meals' nutritional quality, it would implement quite a few sustainable foodie ideals. Farm-to-school programs received a huge push through the plan, with cafeterias required to serve locally grown produce whenever possible and report where ingredients were produced. While the rest of America's students chow down on soggy pizza, D.C.'s kids would get chicken and cheddar on a whole wheat wrap with a fresh, local apple.
The city's high-quality lunches might sink back down to fast food quality if Mayor Fenty gets his way. The mayor recently proposed slashing $5.2 million from the Healthy Schools Act in order to decrease overall spending in the 2011 fiscal year. Councilmembers will vote on the proposed cuts tomorrow, December 7th. If the cuts get the go-ahead, it may be bye-bye local apples and hello packaged fruit cocktail.
While the Child Nutrition Act will improve school lunches throughout the nation, D.C.'s Healthy Schools Act goes much further than the federal legislation, especially when it comes to farm-to-school programs. This local ordinance should be lauded as a model initiative that other cities could follow — not slashed before it really goes into effect.
The cuts haven't been approved yet, so there's still time for sustainable foodies to speak up. The D.C. Farm to School Network, a coalition of advocates working to get healthy food into D.C.'s schools, outlines ways that concerned D.C. citizens can prevent funding decreases. If you're a D.C. resident, you can sign onto the Network's petition urging your Councilmember to vote against Mayor Fenty's proposed budget cuts. You can also phone your Councilmember directly today, Dec. 6th, during the D.C. Farm to School Network's phone-in period (it takes place from 2PM to 4PM EST, and the Network provides a sample message here). Finally, everyone can email D.C.'s Councilmembers directly and encourage them to keep funding in place for the Healthy Schools Act.
As America's childhood obesity epidemic continues to rage out of control, it's important to devote more funding to healthy meals initiatives — not less. For additional information and more ways to get involved,check out the D.C. Farm to School Network's Web page.
D.C. Government
New Police Policy: No Cheating on Tests!
Posted by Rend Smith on Dec. 6, 2010 at 1:28 pm
City Desk (Washington City Paper blog)
http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/citydesk/2010/12/06/new-police-policy-no-cheating-on-tests/
In the wake of the Metropolitan Police Department's test cheating scandal, MPD has a new "Integrity Policy." The policy went out via e-mail today to police brass, so they could inform cops under their authority. It appears officers will encounter the policy each time they take an exam. The new rules make explicit that anyone taking an MPD test is supposed to come up with the answers on their own. (Meanwhile, there's no word yet on what will become of Assistant Chief Diane Groomes, who's accused of passing answers to an exam to commanders she supervised.)
The new policy is after the jump:
If this module consists of or contains a test, completion of that test is to be an individual effort. You are to complete the test yourself and you shall not direct nor allow any other person to take the test on your behalf. You shall not provide draft or actual test questions or answers to any other person. You shall not take the test on behalf of any other person, nor shall you solicit nor accept draft or actual test questions or answers from any other person.
Any allegation that a testing rule has been violated will be investigated. Persons who violate any testing rule shall be subject to discipline, up to and including termination. Persons who become aware of an alleged testing rule violation shall follow Departmental procedures for reporting alleged misconduct.
By taking this test you hereby certify and affirm that the completion of this test was an individual effort by you, and that you have followed all applicable testing rules.
Would You Pay To Park?
Can green space go private?
WRC – NBC4
Updated 7:30 AM EST, Mon, Dec 6, 2010
Does every city neighborhood need to have green space? Most urban planners and design experts seem to think so. But when neighborhoods are close together and a city has an abundance of parks, it is always necessary?
I found myself pondering this recently when I saw a poster protesting the lack of green space in one Northwest neighborhood. It was true -- that neighborhood did not have many parks. But I knew of several parks within walking distance -- D.C., after all, has 127 named neighborhoods within its 61.4 square miles of land. They were not in that “neighborhood,” but they were certainly close by.
The issue came to mind again when I came across a Washington Business Journal piece on the transformation of the NoMA (north of Massachusetts Avenue) neighborhood. Michael Neibauer writes that NoMA “went from industrial no man’s land to burgeoning neighborhood in less than a decade, but District planners and developers omitted a critical piece of any mixed-use neighborhood: parks. There’s not a single one” amid all the new retail, business, and residential space.
Greater Greater Washington’s David Alpert writes that Ward 6Councilmember Tommy Wells has “introduced a bill to try to fix this glaring omission” by “allocating up to $51.5 million in tax revenue from NoMA into a special fund.” Alpert says the District government “created a lot of value” when the area was rezoned, but it “all went instantly into the pockets of the current owners,” increasing the likelihood of development, but making it “almost impossible to ask for any amenities, like parks.”
But Ryan Avent of The Economist says this misses the point: “‘Public good’ doesn’t mean ‘something that every neighborhood should have’ or ‘something that should be provided at no cost.’ Rather, a public good is something that the market will under-provide in a socially suboptimal way,” such as national defense -- things that taxes must provide. Avent asks, “Are neighborhood parks like defense? Not necessarily. It is relatively easy to build a private park -- simply put up a fence around the park and sell keys to the lock on the gate. But if private actors aren’t rushing to build parks, then maybe people don’t actually care as much about parks as we think they do.”
The idea of private parks may seem like some libertarian fantasy, but we have similar places: private swim clubs and gyms, country clubs and the like. On one of my D.C.-born sons’ first trips to the suburbs, they were puzzled about why they couldn’t just run over to every swing set they saw as the would in the city -- backyards are essentially private parks.
“If residents are willing to tax themselves to pay for the land for a park, then great,” Avent writes. “That essentially solves the public good problem. But what if they don’t want to tax themselves to pay for the park?” That indicates that “they’re happy to take parks when those parks are provided for them ‘free’” -- that is, by taxing other people -- but they don’t want to pay themselves.
Public parks are a public good, and I am happy to have my tax dollars go to them. But as Avent writes, “it does not follow that every neighborhood needs a park” -- there are many kinds of neighborhoods in a city, and not every neighborhood will have a movie theater or a museum or a pizza place or an organic food store, either. Neighborhoods are a part of the whole, not islands unto themselves.
Politics / DCPS / Metro / Other
Walmart Resistance Begins in Ward 4
Posted by Lydia DePillis on Dec. 6, 2010 at 2:53 pm
Housing Complex (Washington City Paper)
After a few weeks of processing the news of Walmart's arrival, it looks like at least one neighborhood–Brightwood–is mobilizing in attempt to bend the company to its will.
Funny thing is, the outcry wouldn't be as loud if developer Foulger-Pratt hadn't backed out of a planned community meeting on the subject, calling it "unecessary."
Rebecca Mills, who maintains the neighborhood's most active blog, israllying neighborhood residents to pressure the developer to "halt their Wal-Mart plans until there is sufficient time for community input." According to Mills, the company has opted instead to meet with smaller groups, rather than put itself through a potentially contentious public meeting. (F-P executive Dick Knapp didn't return my call or email, but he told the Post'sJonathan O'Connell that they will be at the meeting).
One of those went off last Thursday, in which Foulger-Pratt and Walmart representatives met with Councilmember Muriel Bowser, local ANCs, and civic associations. According to notes by ANC commissioner Joseph Martin, Walmart said some encouraging things: In terms of design, there will be a wide sidewalk with plants and benches and parking for 362 cars underneath the 102,000-foot store, which may or may not be more than one level (the site can handle 400,000 square feet, which was roughly the size of Foulger-Pratt's previously planned residential development). In terms of working conditions, Walmart expects to have 70 percent full-time and 30 percent part-time employees, who will be entitled to health and dental insurance, as well as vacation pay.
But concerns remain. Last night, community members met again with labor activists to go over issues around traffic, impact on small businesses, and potential alternatives that could still be considered, like a Harris Teeter. Some of those issues will be sorted out through the Office of Planning'slarge tract review process, which requires traffic and environmental impact studies for anything larger than three acres. For questions around Walmart's labor practices and integration into the community, participants suggested negotiating a community benefits agreement–but, as Richard Laymannotes, that's going to be pretty much impossible under these conditions. Plus, although the United Food and Commercial Workers Union has stood steadfastly against Walmart's arrival, building trades unions are likely to support it, undermining solidarity on that front.
D.C. Jobs With Justice's Mackenzie Baris acknowledges that labor advocates can't hold Walmart to a higher standard on their own.
"Any concessions will need to be voluntary on Walmart's part, or pushed by the developer as a condition," she says. "The main leverage we have it community opposition and pressure and concern by the Walmart or the developer over bad publicity and their reputations."
Brightwood is the only place where I've seen significant community mobilization thus far. An online poll has residents split on the New Jersey Avenue location, and Councilmember Harry Thomas is pretty psyched about the one in his own ward.
"I am excited that Wal-Mart recognizes that Ward 5 is an ideal location for its largest DC store," he said in a recent newsletter. "Connecting residents to the jobs this project will create is one of my biggest goals for my second term in office."
Former D.C. schools chancellor Michelle Rhee starts student advocacy group
By Bill Turque and Nick Anderson
Washington Post Staff Writers
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/06/AR2010120602718.html
Washington Post Staff Writers
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/06/AR2010120602718.html
Monday, December 6, 2010; 5:30 PM
Michelle A. Rhee, who often expressed impatience with politics in more than three years as D.C. schools chancellor, launched a new political organization Monday that plans to spend $1 billion bringing her aggressive brand of education reform to the national stage .
Rhee said the new group, StudentsFirst, will pressure elected officials and bankroll candidates at all levels of government who support her approach. The agenda includes recruiting high-quality teachers who are held accountable for student growth, swiftly removing those who do not perform, offering merit pay to reward top educators, expanding school choice and fostering parent and family involvement.
"We'll support any candidate who's reform-minded, regardless of political party, so reform won't be just a few courageous politicians experimenting in isolated locations," said Rhee, a longtime Democrat, in a first-person essay in Newsweek. "It'll be a powerful, nationwide movement."
The announcement marks the widely anticipated next chapter for Rhee, 40, who resigned in October after Mayor Adrian M. Fenty's Democratic primary loss to Mayor-elect Vincent C. Gray.
While she made news last week by accepting an unpaid position on the education transition team of Florida Gov.-elect Rick Scott (R), her new venture will be her principal vehicle to promote educational change. StudentsFirst was rolled out in a carefully coordinated media blitz on Monday that included the Politico Playbook, the cover of Newsweek, a segment on Oprah and a new Web site. Rhee will be the group's chief executive and public face as it tries to raise $1 billion from corporations and individuals.
As D.C. schools chancellor, Rhee upended a school system with a history of low academic achievement, imposing a rigorous new teacher evaluation system that triggers dismissal for low-performing teachers and negotiating a labor contract that provides performance pay and new latitude for principals in choosing their faculty. She closed more than two dozen schools and fired or laid off teachers and principals by the hundreds. Standardized test scores generally improved.
But in the process, Rhee and Fenty alienated large segments of the public school community. Parents said that she appeared to be not interested in their input. Teachers said that she blamed them completely for the poor academic record. Some members of the D.C. Council said they found her dismissive and uncommunicative.
In the aftermath of Fenty's loss - which she said "stunned" her - Rhee acknowledged that she erred by paying scant attention to the political impact of her changes.
"I thought, very naively, that if we just put our heads down and we worked hard and produced the results, people would be so happy that they would want to continue the work," she told a D.C. audience in October. "We were absolutely incorrect about that."
She said in Newsweek that StudentsFirst is the product of her realization that results alone are not sustainable without political support.
"From the National Rifle Association to the pharamceutical industry to the tobacco lobby, powerful interests put pressure on our elected officials and government institutions to sway or stop change," she said. "Education is no different. We have textbook manufacturers, teachers' unions and even food vendors that work hard to dictate and determine policy. The public-employee unions in D.C., including the teachers' union, spent huge sums of money to defeat Fenty. . . but there is no big organized interest group that defends and promotes the interests of children."
Rhee, who said she hopes to sign 1 million members for the group over the next year, offered no details on its board, management, location or immediate projects.
StudentsFirst is organized under federal tax laws as a 501(c)(4), designed for political advocacy. While donations to such groups are not tax deductible - as they are to 501(c)(3) organizations - they can accept unlimited donations without disclosing the names of contributors. Critics say that the (c))4) designation has become a vehicle for undue corporate influence in political campaigns.
During her years as chancellor, Rhee earned praise from a number of wealthy philanthropists and executives who admired her hard-nosed approach to teachers unions and other interest groups. They include Los Angeles real estate giant Eli Broad, News Corp. chairman Rupert Murdoch and the Walton family.
StudentsFirst is not the first organization to pursue education reform through campaign finance. It joins organizations such as Democrats for Education Reform and California's Edvoice.
"I think she's envisioning an organization that is going to step in and do the political lifting and political advocacy behind reform efforts that would have been good to have in D.C," said Rick Hess, director of educational policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute and a Rhee supporter. "How effectively they will be able to do that and how muscular they'll be remains to be seen.
American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten, who clashed with Rhee during negotiation of the D.C. contract, wished her well in a statement but added the hope that "she learns, as we have, that promoting education reform through conflict and division will not serve the interests of children and their educational needs."
But Rhee said at the end of her Newsweek essay that those in her movement "can't shy away from conflict."
"Right now," she said, "what we need to do is fight."
A new tool to dig out school data
By Bill Turque
D.C. Schools Insider (Washington Post)
December 6, 2010; 4:25 PM ET
DCPS unveiled a new "easy-to-use" online tool Monday that it promises will give families unprecedented access to school information as the out-of-boundary school lottery season approaches.
The School Profiles tool, available here , gives parents what officials described as a one-stop-shop for data on academic programs, test scores, community partnerships, demographics and enrollment. It also allows users to customize searches to compare schools.
"This exciting new tool brings transparency to a level we have never seen at DCPS," Interim Chancellor Kaya Henderson said in a statement. "Families now will have greater access to a wealth of information about our schools and greater choice in deciding which DC public school is best for their children."
Questions emerge on role of elected officials in Metro leadership
By: Kytja Weir 12/06/10 8:05 PM
Examiner
Examiner
The voices are becoming a louder chorus: Metro needs to change how it is run.
A regional task force and the transit system's official riders' mouthpiece have recommended how the agency's leadership should be restructured. Interest groups have chimed in, too.
But the views of what changes are needed don't all harmonize, with a critical difference coming in the form of how large a role elected officials should play. Currently, Virginia and the District fill at least some slots with elected officials on the 14-person board, while Maryland and the federal government appoint nonelected representatives.
A report by the Metro's Riders Advisory Council, made up of 21 riders from across the region, calls for elected officials to remain central to the Metro board of directors structure.
That contrasts with a recommendation issued last month by a joint task force of the Greater Washington Board of Trade and Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments. That group had urged a system in which Maryland and Virginia's governors and the D.C. mayor each would select one board member and create a commission to oversee the board. They called for term limits and a stronger role for the board chairman.
The task force's recommendations would dilute the effect of local elected officials -- and would eliminate seasoned directors such as Arlington County Board Member Christopher Zimmerman and D.C. Council Member Jim Graham. Some see that as a good move. And Richmond has long sought a bigger role in Northern Virginia's transportation issues.
On the other hand, the riders' group said adding an oversight group, executive appointees and term limits would weaken the connection to riders and local funding sources. The riders council opposed strengthening the role of the chairman since that person has "sometimes exercised too much control, rather than too little."
The two reports mesh in some areas, including recommending that a chief executive lead the agency instead of a general manager. But the board already is taking that angle in its search for a new executive, Zimmerman said.
"It's not a new focus for us," he said. "That's where the board's been for a long time."
SIDEBAR: Other transit system leadership structures
· San Francisco's BART system: A nine-person board is elected directly by local riders and taxpayers.
· Boston MBTA: A five-member board is appointed by the governor.
· New York MTA: A 17-member board is nominated by the governor, after local recommendations including from unions and riders' groups.
Pepco executives acknowledge need to improve reliability
By Mary Pat Flaherty and Joe Stephens
Washington Post Staff Writers
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/06/AR2010120605490.html
Washington Post Staff Writers
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/06/AR2010120605490.html
Monday, December 6, 2010; 5:19 PM
Senior Pepco executives acknowledged Monday that the company has failed to provide reliable power to its customers and repeated their previously announced plan to improve service over the next five years.
That upgrade will cost the average customer in Maryland and the District an extra $1 a month if regulators approve a rate hike, Pepco said at a news conference. The increase would be phased in beginning in about 18 months, they said.
Pepco region president Thomas Graham said that while the company was not asking customers to lower their expectations, Pepco still was urging them "to level their expectations" during major storms.
The executives appeared a day after The Washington Post reported that Pepco's day-to-day reliability began declining five years ago and that Pepco now ranks at or near the bottom in industry surveys of reliability. The average Pepco customer experienced 70 percent more outages than customers of other big city utilities that took part in one 2009 survey, The Post reported. And the lights stayed out more than twice as long.
Pepco did not announce additions or changes in an "enhancement" plan it first released this summer, following an outcry from the public and political leaders over the company's lag in restoring service after major snowstorms and summer outages. Pepco serves 778,000 customers in the District and Montgomery and Prince George's counties.
The plan calls for adding $100 million in improvements in Maryland and $90 million in the District - costs that the company would pass on to rate payers.
The company said it was hoping to move into the upper half in day-to-day reliability on surveys that compare power companies. Recent rankings have Pepco at or near the bottom of most studies.
"Our customers have told us we need to make improvements in reliability, and we are," said Joseph Rigby, chief executive of Pepco Holdings, Pepco's parent company. "The challenges of 2010 have created a laser-like focus" on reliability, he said.
"Our reliability performance is not where it needs to be," Rigby told reporters. "We are working at maximum capacity, and we are going to stay in that mode."
Rigby said,"We are a good company, and we are committed to meeting our customers' expectations."
Pepco is "not where we want to be" for reliability, said Graham, who pledged that "on a day-to-day basis, service for our customers will improve. We're going to have a high-level of accountability."
Although Pepco has long cited Washington's tree cover as a primary reason for the frequency and duration of its outages, Pepco's internal records show that equipment failures, not trees, caused the most sustained power interruptions last year.
Asked why reliability had been declining, Rigby said it was not due to lack of investment or maintenance. The company has aging wires that date to the 1970s, he said, and has to meet rising demand from customers who often work at home.
The news conference differed in tone from appearances by Pepco executives as recently as August when they suggested to Maryland utility regulators that they were not disappointed by their handling of recent outages.
During an August hearing in Baltimore, Mike Sullivan, senior vice president of operations at Pepco, said: "I think we did a reasonable job of restoring power. I'm not embarrassed by what we did."
Likewise, David Velazquez, Pepco Holdings executive vice president for power delivery, told state commissioners that while the summer had been frustrating for customers and the company, "we responded properly" to outages."
On Monday, Velazquez stressed the improvements that were needed and said, "We are in this, and committed to this, for the long haul." He also praised workers he said have been working hard for customers.
In 2009, Pepco had more outages and longer interruptions than Dominion Virginia Power, which serves most of Virginia, and Potomac Edison, which serves Western Maryland. And Pepco's customers experienced sustained outages more frequently than those of Baltimore Gas and Electric, which serves all or parts of 10 central Maryland counties and Baltimore City. The statistics do not include the companies' performance during big storms, which experts said can skew results.
In 2009, Pepco ranked in the bottom 25 percent of U.S. energy utility companies in customer satisfaction.
The Post reported Sunday that there is no independent ranking establishing, as Pepco has told regulators, that the Washington region's tree cover is the "fourth most dense" in the nation. Forestry experts estimated that the D.C. region's tree canopy is about average.
In the few cities that Pepco says have a denser canopy than the District, the local electric companies have outperformed Pepco in daily reliability, the newspaper's study found.
Yesterday:
· Mike DeBonis: http://bit.ly/fN23Xb
· DMV Daily (P.J. Orvetti): http://bit.ly/h1Fnng
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