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Good morning, Another big news day. It's cold outside.
Best, Karyn-Siobhan Robinson a/k/a DC Government Clips
D.C. Government/D.C. Council media clips: Thursday, December 9, 2010.
Missed yesterday? http://bit.ly/hcxenr
Twitter: DCGovClips
Transition / Vincent Gray
Gray names 2 to his starting lineup - Washington Post
Meet the New Boss, Allen Lew - Loose Lips (Washington City Paper)
Allen Lew named Gray's city administrator - Washington Business Journal
Reported New CoS Speeds, Doesn’t Pay - Loose Lips (Washington City Paper)
D.C. Council
Seats of Power: Kwame Brown May Anger Colleagues With Committee Assignments - Loose Lips (Washington City Paper)
D.C. Council proceeds with bill to make homeless families prove city residency for shelters - Washington Post
Rivlin: No Jack, We Are Not About to Get Another Control Board - Housing Complex (Washington City Paper)
D.C. Council member proposes reducing deficit with online gambling in city - Washington Post
Approval for online poker in D.C. seen as long shot - Washington Times
Wells lessens blow for grandparents in D.C. cuts - Examiner
Adams Morgan restaurants push tougher rules for street vendors - Examiner
Harry Thomas ordered to hand over nonprofit records -- but is it too late to matter? - Washington Post blog
D.C. Government
Summarily Ousted, Klein Isn’t Sure Whether He Would Have Stayed Anyway - Housing Complex (Washington City Paper)
Gray pushes Klein out, changes DDOT funding - Examiner
Gabe Klein out at DDOT, Linda Argo out at DCRA - Washington Business Journal
What does Gray's dismissal of Klein and others mean? - Greater Greater Washington
Gabe Klein out at DDOT - Washington Post blog
OCTO’s Bryan Sivak’s Farewell Letter - Loose Lips (Washington City Paper)
Housing Authority leader Todman gets 'interim' taken off title - D.C. Wire (Washington Post blog)
Lanier building private workout space at police HQ - Examiner
D.C. Police Chief Speaks Out on “Gym-Gate” - City Desk (Washington City Paper blog)
D.C. police investigate slayings of Georgetown employee and teen shot on street - Washington Post
Politics / DCPS / Metro / Other
Dunbar High's private operator ousted; ex-principal to return - Washington Post
DCPS wants to close Shaed, River Terrace; open Montessori - D.C. Schools Insider (Washington Post)
Walmart Meeting Reveals Possible Lowe’s, Parking Garage, Not Much Else - Housing Complex (Washington City Paper)
Missed (links only)
Council restores proposed cuts for AIDS groups
Lou Chibbaro Jr. | Dec 08, 2010
Washington Blade
Of Interest (links only)
Transition / Vincent Gray
Gray names 2 to his starting lineup
By Nikita Stewart
Washington Post Staff Writer
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/08/AR2010120807163.html
Washington Post Staff Writer
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/08/AR2010120807163.html
Thursday, December 9, 2010; B05
Following recent criticism that he was slow to name officials to his administration, Mayor-elect Vincent C. Gray on Wednesday rolled out his choices for city administrator and chief of staff.
Allen Y. Lew, czar of the District's massive school-modernization program, will take on the considerably larger role of city administrator, overseeing the day-to-day operations of city agencies, Gray (D) said at a news conference at the Reeves Municipal Center. He also named Gerri Mason Hall, a former Amtrak executive, as his chief of staff.
Over the past 15 years, Lew has overseen some of the city's largest public construction projects, including the $850 million Walter E. Washington Convention Center and $600 million-plus Nationals Park.
"It's not just his exceptional leadership over bricks and mortar. . . . The position requires someone who is a visionary and a doer," Gray said. "And frankly, the city administrator has to have a constructive level of impatience about getting things done."
Hall is a former staffer in the city's personnel office who is now a human resources executive at food services giant Sodexo.
The announcements marked a substantial development for Gray, who was criticized by some for a transition that was off to a slow start. The pace reignited worries that his career-long cautious decision-making style would mean he wouldn't be fully prepared to take over from Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) on Jan. 2.
The afternoon news conference followed a night and morning of buzz about Fenty appointees who received termination letters. Those let go included several young staffers, such Gabe Klein, the transportation director who became known for innovations in city government and for harnessing the changing culture of the District.
In an earlier interview, Gray said he plans to retain other Fenty staffers but would announce them later.
Although Gray and Fenty jointly announced in October that deputy schools chancellor Kaya Henderson would replace Michelle A. Rhee in an acting capacity, Lew is the highest-profile Fenty holdover so far.
Lew, an architect with a master's degree from Columbia University, has built his reputation from his days in the 1980s as acting president and chief executive of the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center Development Corp. in New York. In the District, he solidified an image as a take-charge manager while chief executive of the convention center authority and then as chief executive of the Sports and Entertainment Commission.
He and his staff are known for their no-nonsense approach to construction projects, holding contractors firm to deadlines and budgets.
In 2007, Fenty lured him to his administration as the first executive director of the Office of Public Education Facilities Modernization, an agency formed to manage the $1 billion in school building renovations and athletic field creation.
There are already rumblings about whether Lew's hard-charging management of construction projects can carry over into the daily, broader grind of managing city agencies.
"I like lean operations. I like efficient operations. I like thin bureaucracies," Lew, 60, said at the news conference. "We're gonna work to parlay some of my style into the way we administer services for the city."
Lew's approach isn't universally appreciated, said Paul J. Cohn, a prominent restaurateur who served on the convention center's board during the building's construction and who says he's a "huge fan" of Lew's.
Shortly after he recommended Lew to D.C. Council member Jack Evans (D-Ward 2) to lead the city's sports authority, he recalled, "Jack calls and asks, 'Who is this Allen Lew guy? He's stepping on all these toes.' I told Jack, 'You didn't tell me you wanted a politician - you told me you wanted someone to build a stadium.' "
Now, Cohn said, "He's going to have to be a little more of a politician."
Although a high-ranking director under Fenty, Lew maintained a good relationship with Gray. He appeared to be a leading candidate for the post shortly after Gray defeated Fenty in the Democratic primary Sept. 14. Lew, who currently is paid $275,000 annually, has contributed $8,550 to local campaigns, including Gray's, since 2000, according to campaign finance records.
Evans said Lew will complement Gray, known for his deliberative decision-making. "Allen is of that ilk of 'Let's get things done and worry later about the collateral damage.' Paired with Vince, I think it's a great team," he said.
Hall's relationship with Gray is more personal.
A friend to Gray confidante Lorraine Green, Hall has a background in human resources and diversity. Gray has known her for at least 25 years, dating back to when she worked as deputy director in the District's personnel office under former mayor Sharon Pratt. Pratt described Hall Wednesday as a "first-rate professional."
Green, who has worked with Hall in the public and private sectors, said her friend is well-prepared for the chief-of-staff role: "She juggles a lot of balls at one time, and she doesn't drop any. And that's what it's gonna take."
Reginald Gilliam, who has worked closely with Hall, 51, in his role as chief lobbyist at Sodexo, called her a "natural diplomat" who has skillfully navigated diverse constituencies at the company. "She's not one of these people that's pushing and shouting. She's very calm, very objective, and when she speaks, it's substantive and deliberative," said Gilliam, a former University of the District of Columbia board member.
A native of the District, Hall holds a law degree from George Washington University. She was active in Gray's campaigns for council chairman and mayor and is expected to play an "integral part" in advancing his commitment to unify the city.
Unlike department directors, the city administrator and chief of staff appointments do not require council approval.
In the Fenty administration, the chief of staff played a more low-key role than in the past, and the city administrator was overshadowed by Attorney General Peter Nickles, who became a de facto spokesman for the administration.
Lew and Hall will now likely have a hand in further personnel selections.
Over the past two days, several city officials learned that they were not invited to remain for the Gray administration. Besides Klein, they included Valerie Santos, deputy mayor for planning and economic development; Joseph P. Walsh, director of the Department of Employment Services; Linda K. Argo, director of the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs; Gloria Nauden, director of the Commission on Arts and the Humanities; and Kathy Hollinger, director of the Office of Motion Picture and Television Development.
Klein, through his advocacy of bicycle and pedestrian amenities, promotion for public transit, and unorthodox approach to traffic and parking, developed a devoted following among advocates of "smart growth," who have emerged as a potent political force. But he was also at the center of a significant political headache for Gray during his campaign: the city's streetcar program, which was canceled and then restored under pressure during council budget negotiations.
Some planning and neighborhood advocates lobbied Gray to retain Klein. But other groups called for the ouster, criticizing him and his department for inadequate planning and community outreach.
"I don't know that it's a matter of letting them go," Gray said. "It's a matter of we're selecting the next administration. . . . It's certainly not a statement about anybody at this stage."
Staff writers Mike DeBonis and Ann E. Marimow contributed to this report.
Meet the New Boss, Allen Lew
Loose Lips (Washington City Paper)
Allen "git-r-done" Lew, who—barehanded—remodeled the city's schools after building the baseball stadium, the convention center, and a reputation for getting massive projects done on time and on budget, has just been handed the keys to the kingdom. Lew will be Almost Mayor Vince Gray's city administrator, responsible for making sure "the trains run on time," as Gray put it.
In brief comments today at a news conference at the Reeves Center, Lew sounded a lot like what his soon-to-be former boss, Still Mayor Adrian Fenty,sounded like on the campaign trail not so long ago.
"I like lean operations, I like efficient operations, I like thin bureaucracies," said Lew. "We're going to be looking to establish performance standards, I subscribe to a performance relationship with staff, and with contractors and with everyone. We'll be driven by results."
On second thought, he sounds more like former schools boss Michelle Rhee, which is probably why NBC 4's Tom Sherwood was jokingly calling him "the male Michelle Rhee" at the news conference.
Regardless of who he sounds like, Gray probably could have done a lot worse than making a hardass with a strong track record his CA.
But if the wheels fall off for some reason, LL wants to get on record that Lew said he and Gray plan on "having some fun."
Gray also named Gerri Mason Hall, a senior V.P. of H.R. at Sodexo, as his new chief of staff. Hall worked under Gray's confidant Lorraine Green, first at the D.C. Office of Personnel and then at Amtrak.
Allen Lew named Gray's city administrator
Washington Business Journal - by Michael Neibauer
Date: Wednesday, December 8, 2010, 2:34pm EST - Last Modified: Wednesday, December 8, 2010, 2:37pm EST
Allen Lew built D.C.'s convention center. He built Nationals Park. He refurbished D.C.'s public schools. He is known for running a tight ship, for getting projects done on time, and generally within budget.
Now he will help build a new city government, or at least to run one. Mayor-Elect Vince Gray on Wednesday named Lew the next city administrator, the first major appointment of the Gray transition. Lew will manage the day-to-day operations of a $5.2 billion, 35,000-employee operation — a government that, because of tanking revenue, is being asked to do more with much, much less.
“The city administrator must ensure the efficient and effective delivery of city services and oversee the day-to-day operations of executive branch agencies,“ Gray said Wednesday in a statement. “I see all of these skills and abilities in Mr. Lew.”
Lew has served as chief of the D.C. Office of Public Education Facilities Modernization since 2007, managing a 15-year, $3.5 billion campaign to refurbish the District's rotting school buildings. Mayor Adrian Fenty pulled Lew from the Nationals Park project, which he was driving to finish in two years on a tight, $611 million budget as head of the now-defunct D.C. Sports and Entertainment Commission.
Lew ran the Washington Convention Center Authority from 1996-2004, during which he oversaw construction of the $850 million convention center.
The D.C. Building and Industry Association in May honored Lew with an achievement award for creating a "can-do culture" while constructing five new schools and rehabilitating nearly 30 existing facilities.
He will replace City Administrator Neil Albert, who took over the slot in 2009 after Dan Tangherlini left to join President Barack Obama's administration.
Also Wednesday, Gray named Gerri Mason Hall as his chief of staff. Hall, a human resources senior vice president with Sodexo USA, will manage the Executive Office of the Mayor. Prior to 2006, Hall served as Amtrak's vice president of business diversity and strategic initiatives.
Reported New CoS Speeds, Doesn’t Pay
Loose Lips (Washington City Paper)
The Post is reporting that Almost Mayor Vince Gray's new chief of staff will beGerri Mason Hall, a former executive at Amtrak and friend of Gray's transition chairwoman Lorraine Green.
To the court records! Uh-oh, looks like Hall has a 20-year-old speeding ticket in Montgomery County she didn't pay.
Court records show Hall was caught going 58 in a 35 on Aug. 15, 1990. The records also show that Hall never paid the $105 ticket!
Rest assured, LL will get comment from Hall at the upcoming presser.
Update: Hall tells LL she was unaware of any unpaid ticket and isn't sure the court records are accurate.
One More Update: Just so we are clear, LL doesn't really care about Hall's unpaid ticket. Also, full disclosure: LL has an unpaid ticket in New Zealand that he never plans to pay, because he never plans to go back to that rotten little country.
D.C. Council
Seats of Power: Kwame Brown May Anger Colleagues With Committee Assignments
Posted by Alan Suderman on Dec. 8, 2010 at 7:58 pm
Loose Lips (Washington City Paper)
Kwame Brown, the next D.C. Council chairman, is the most thoughtful man on the planet. His wisdom knows no bounds. His intelligence is extraordinary.
At least, that’s a rough approximation of what many of Brown’s colleagues are saying about their new leader these days. It’s a remarkable turnaround from a few months ago, when Brown’s colleagues were anonymously questioning his intelligence in the press.
Brown’s popularity is the result of his new power, as council boss, to assign committee chairmanships. Why should you care? Chairmanships, believe it or not, actually affect how the D.C. government is run. A competent committee leader can hold a city agency in check; a dud can let dysfunction get worse. Good committee chairs can also prevent bad proposed legislation from ever seeing the light of day. Bad ones, on the other hand, can pole-axe worthwhile ideas.
Intelligence and good judgment, alas, aren’t likely to be Brown’s only guiding factors. Instead, the next D.C. Council chairman will take into consideration political ambitions, past deals he may have made, and the fickle temperaments of his colleagues as he seeks to start his new gig with as much consensus—and as few enemies—as possible.
Put another way: a few false moves and Brown could be making a shit sandwich he’ll have to gobble down over the next two years.
“This is where Kwame risks a debacle,” says local Democratic political strategist Chuck Thies.
Brown has been mum on committee assignments, other than to say every member will get one. He has started meeting with councilmembers, but spokeswoman Traci Hughes says Brown doesn’t have a specific timeline.
Councilmembers, like children with their hearts set on one particular Christmas toy, are anxious. But while kids can only hope from help from Santa, pols can take matters into their own hands by lobbying Brown—and by taking potential rivals down a peg or two in the process.
The marquee matchup is between Councilmembers David Catania andMary Cheh for the chairmanship of the yet-to-be formed education committee.
Almost Mayor Vince Gray made the education committee the entire council’s responsibility, in the form of the Committee of the Whole. Wags at the Wilson Building speculate Brown will keep his current chairmanship of the Committee on Economic Development by making it the subject for the Committee of the Whole. That leaves a high profile education committee in need of a boss.
Cheh, who represents Ward 3, is usually happy to speak at length, but was tight-lipped when LL asked about her committee preferences.
Maybe Team Cheh just doesn’t want to jinx themselves; one council source says her staff thinks she’s got the gig all but wrapped up.
Cheh wouldn’t make her case to LL, but her rival Catania, who holds an At-Large council seat, was happy to make her case as he sees it. The relatively inexperienced Cheh, he says, would leapfrog the more seasoned Catania and both run education and become chair pro tempore (the council’s largely meaningless No. 2 slot) thanks in large part to some political debts: She endorsed Gray in the primary, though Still Mayor Adrian Fenty remained highly popular among her Upper Northwest constituents.
“The only reason to break with the seniority system would be a simple crass political payback and I think people can see right through that,” says Catania.
A council source says Catania tried to interest Cheh in the Committee on Health, which he currently chairs. Cheh balked, the source says, calling the health committee’s workload “too complicated.” Catania then launched a trial balloon, a Washington Post blog item saying he wanted to run the education committee.
Catania says he has a strong record as chairman of the Committee on Health, and has the skills necessary to get a handle of the DCPS’ notoriously convoluted finances.
Catania’s also wooing Brown’s inner teenager. It’s no secret plenty of people at the Wilson Building wonder whether Brown will be a pushover when the council and the mayor’s office come to loggerheads. Pick me, says Catania, and you show the world you’re your own man.
“It’s obvious that if Kwame were to select me instead of Mary that it would be a sign of greater independence,” says Catania. “Vince obviously thinks he has greater leverage with Mary than me, and I don’t blame Vince for wanting to have kid gloves.”
If that wasn’t clear enough, Catania continues: “I’m certainly not angry with Vince for trying to advance a person into a position that is going to be more predisposed to letting him having his way than someone who is not. One thing is clear, I’m no pushover.”
Still not sure what Catania’s saying? Here’s one more zinger: “It is obvious that Vince has greater control over Mary than he does over me.”
OK, David, stop. LL gets it. The question is whether Brown does.
Not everyone is happy with Catania’s aggressive approach. His frequent nemesis, Ward 8 Councilmember Marion Barry, tells LL Catania is out of line. “Kwame Brown is going to make those assignments, and I have been quiet about it on purpose,” says Barry. “Everybody but David Catania has been quiet about it.”
That’s not altogether true. Councilmember Michael A. Brown tells LL he’d be a “nice fit” as head of the Committee on Economic Development. (Just about everyone agrees that Kwame Brown isn’t going to give that plum assignment to a potential rival in a future mayor’s race.) And both Ward 2’sJack Evans and At-Large Councilmember Phil Mendelson expect to keep their current committees.
Barry, by the way, may be headed toward the Committee on Human Services, as LL noted a few weeks ago. (Says Barry about that column: “You’re gonna speculate on what committee I want. I mean, what the shit is this?”)
The Committee on Public Works and Transportation seems likely to become the second-best battle—pitting Ward 6’s Tommy Wells, who currently leads the human services panel, against incumbent chairman Jim Graham, who sits on Metro’s Board of Directors.
Wells is a favorite of the smart-growth set. He attends almost every one of Graham’s committee hearings, and made transportation central to his re-election campaign. His slogan: “For a livable, walkable community.”
But Graham’s no pushover, and will likely play a strong defense. LL had no luck getting a game plan out of Graham. Instead, the Ward 1 councilmember lectured LL on how much he loves the First Amendment—before insisting LL needed Graham’s explicit permission to use a voice recorder while interviewing him in the council chambers.
For his part, Wells tried to strike a diplomatic note: “This is not Tommy Wells versus Jim Graham,” he says. “This is what Kwame Brown thinks is best for the city.”
If Wells really believes that, then God bless him. The final pick will probably be a lot more about what Brown thinks is best for him.
And on that front, he’s already getting lobbied. “Kwame Brown faces a defining moment for his chairmanship,” says Ken Archer, a contributor to the Wells-admiring Greater Greater Washington website. “Will he appoint chairs who will pursue innovative policies in D.C. to move our city forward, or will he let politics or the status quo define his committee choices?"
D.C. Council proceeds with bill to make homeless families prove city residency for shelters
By Tim Craig
Washington Post Staff Writer
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/08/AR2010120807661.html
Washington Post Staff Writer
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/08/AR2010120807661.html
Wednesday, December 8, 2010; 10:07 PM
The D.C. Council is moving forward with plans to make homeless families prove they live in the District before they can receive shelter, a stance that one council member called "cruel."
In a preliminary vote Tuesday, the council voted 8 to 3 to approve a bill by council members Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6) and Michael A. Brown (I-At Large) that would put in place residency requirements for people seeking temporary assistance at city shelters that accept families.
The legislation also would redefine the city's obligation to homeless adults with children. Currently, the District tries to place homeless families needing shelter in an "apartment setting."
But with officials struggling to meet that obligation amid mounting financial challenges, the new policy would only guarantee families a private room.
"It's a standard we have never been able to meet, and the District has always been vulnerable to a class-action lawsuit," Wells said. "We won't be able to meet this standard in the foreseeable future because it would require a substantial new investment that we do not see happening for a while."
The council's final vote on the legislation is slated for Dec. 21.
After Tuesday's action, several advocates for the homeless said that the proposed change would force homeless adults with young children into dormitory-style shelters.
"Community-style shelters are dangerous. . . . An entire family will have to cook, live and sleep in one room," said Nassim Moshiree, a staff attorney for the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless. "It's just bad public policy."
During Tuesday's debate, many council members said that they had no choice but to toughen entry requirements and standards. They said the city's network of shelters is often overwhelmed; officials estimated that over the summer about 10 percent of the families in need of emergency shelter came from outside the city.
"We cannot be the hotel for Virginia and Maryland residents," Wells said.
Wells's proposal would not apply to temporary "low-barrier" shelters that often serve single adults. He and other officials said that as the nation's capital, the city has an obligation to house homeless adults during cold snaps.
Others seeking more permanent shelter would have three days to prove their District residency with identification, a government-issued check, or proof that their child is enrolled in city schools. Under the proposed change, priority would be given to District residents.
Council members Mary M. Cheh (D-Ward 3), Phil Mendelson (D-At Large) and Jim Graham (D-Ward 1) voted against the bill. They said that it would contradict the city's reputation for compassion.
"I think in its various applications, it's going to be cruel," Cheh said.
Rivlin: No Jack, We Are Not About to Get Another Control Board
Posted by Lydia DePillis on Dec. 8, 2010 at 3:26 pm
Housing Complex (Washington City Paper)
For the last several months, Ward 2 Councilmember Jack Evans has been running around the city, waving graphs that show the city's historical fiscal surplus turning into a deficit. Yesterday, while the Council was debating whether to raise taxes or cut more services–they opted for the latter–Evans read off headlines from the 1990s, to illustrate how then-Mayor Marion Barry's refusal to rein in spending had finally prompted the feds to take control of the District's finances. Councilmember Kwame Brown also jumped on the Control Board bandwagon, warning everyone watching that if the Council didn't make tough decisions, Congress would step in and "make them for us."
Evans' rhetoric spawned one of the best Twitter hashtags to come out of a marathon budget hearing ever. And it made me wonder: Is he totally full of shit?
Well, he's at least being hyperbolic. Brookings scholar Alice Rivlin, former head of the Control Board and current member of Vince Gray's transition team, says there are quite a few differences between 1995 and 2010.
"I think all cities at the moment are in some serious financial straits because of the recession. D.C. is no exception," she began. "However, it's nothing like the '90s. The city is in much stronger shape than it was in the worst year, which was 1995. The population has grown, there's been a lot of economic development, the tax base is stronger than it was then. We have now a 12-year history of balanced budgets. And we built up a substantial balance in the general fund. So I don't think the city is in any danger of the return of a control board. Unless we do something extremely stupid, and I do not think the new mayor and the new council will do that."
Plus, District government itself is nothing like it was 15 years ago, especially in terms of its reputation on the Hill.
"The Congress in the 90s had very little confidence in the city, and was doing a lot of meddling with the D.C. budget making process," Rivlin said. "And that's been much less true, in part because of the succession of mayors. [Former Mayor Anthony] Williams and Fenty have established good relationships on the Hill. And the other difference is the existence of a Chief Financial Officer. We didn't have that in 1995. That was a creation of the legislation to put the control board in place, and it was a good one."
How did the Council do on closing the budget gap this time around?
"It's a pretty good compromise, because they had to do something by the end of the year," Rivlin says. "Next year, they're going to have to close an even bigger gap. And then I think some tax increases will have to be seriously considered."
She declined to pontificate on what types of taxes would be appropriate. But if we raised them, it's fair to say that the our Congressional overlords wouldn't try to step in and take over.
D.C. Council member proposes reducing deficit with online gambling in city
By Paul Schwartzman
Washington Post Staff Writer
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/08/AR2010120807586.html
Washington Post Staff Writer
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/08/AR2010120807586.html
Wednesday, December 8, 2010; 9:52 PM
Raising taxes and parking fines are the traditionally irksome ways that local governments generate desperately needed revenue.
Not the District government, that hotbed of fiscal innovation.
Try blackjack, Texas hold 'em and five-card stud.
A D.C. council member is proposing that the city legalize and promote online poker and fantasy sports gambling as a way to slash the city's $200 million budget deficit.
The D.C. Lottery Commission would oversee the games, which would be legal as long as those anteing up play within the District's borders, according to Michael A. Brown (I-At-Large), the council member who offered online poker as budgetary salvation.
"We need every kind of revenue enhancement possible," Brown said, adding that the city is losing legions of local gamblers to racetracks and casinos in Maryland and West Virginia. "We have to be more competitive. Everyone around us is doing stuff that is attracting our residents outside the city."
Brown, whose move was first reported by the Washington Times, tucked the proposal inside a budget bill Tuesday, catching Democratic Mayor Adrian M. Fenty's administration by surprise.
Attorney General Peter J. Nickles said he's not certain that the city can legalize online poker since federal law bars credit-card companies from transmitting money from players to gambling Web sites.
"There are some very serious questions," said Nickles, adding that the council never consulted his office on the proposal. "I don't like that that there's no legal opinion certifying it."
Mayor-elect Vincent C. Gray (D), in his final days as council chairman, did not respond to a request for comment.
Terry Lynch, executive director of the Downtown Cluster of Congregations, said online gambling, like the lottery, is an unsavory way for the District to raise revenue, and would probably provoke criticism from religious residents.
"It doesn't generate real jobs and livelihoods that make a difference in the community," Lynch said. "It preys on peoples' weaknesses."
With the economic downturn, a number of states, including New Jersey and California, are reviewing proposals to legalize online gambling. Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.), the Senate majority leader, has introduced federal legislation to legalize Internet poker.
Offshore companies host Internet gambling, which has been around since 1995. More than 2,000 Web sites generate more than $5 billion in annual gaming revenue in the United States, or a fifth of the worldwide total, according to the American Gaming Association.
Holly Wetzel, an AGA spokesperson, said lawmakers across the nation are becoming interested in online gambling because the games could raise tremendous revenue.
"The government is looking at this because, if millions of people are gambling online, we should properly regulate it, we should tax it, and we should keep the money in our borders," she said.
Michael Paladino, a gaming analyst for Fitch Ratings service, said a clear market of online gamblers has emerged, although he's unsure how substantial it would be in a city of 600,000 residents.
"Within any market, there will be a decent subset looking to game online or to play online poker," Paladino said. "Is it enough to generate meaningful tax dollars? I don't know."
Under Brown's proposal, tourists staying in Washington hotels would be eligible to play the city's online games.
In a memo to the council, Brown, citing analyses from the city's chief financial officer, wrote that online gambling would produce $13 million by the end of 2014. Over the past five years, Brown said, revenue from the D.C. Lottery has declined by 10 percent, a decrease he attributed to the recession.
Approval for online poker in D.C. seen as long shot
Washington Times
8:34 p.m., Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Congress sent a message Wednesday to D.C. officials who this week approved plans for the city lottery to offer online poker: Not so fast.
The D.C. Council on Tuesday, with little discussion and no public notice, voted 11-2 in favor of a budget amendment that would legalize online poker and fantasy sports gambling through the D.C. Lottery as a means of helping plug a $200 million budget gap.
But on Wednesday, Rep. Jason Chaffetz of Utah, ranking Republican on the House subcommittee that oversees the District, said he is "absolutely, totally opposed" to the idea — and because of the District's status as a federal enclave, Congress has final approval over its laws.
"Washington, D.C., should not be the mecca for gambling. You don't solve financial problems that way," he said. "I'm not sure how Congresswill weigh in, but I will make sure my colleagues know about this, and I expect there will be a lot of resistance."
Mr. Chaffetz compared the likely resistance to that facing federal legislation being promoted by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat, who is seeking to allow Internet poker games at casinos and racetracks. But he noted that the D.C. Lottery proposal, introduced by council member Michael A. Brown, at-large Democrat, arrived suddenly with little discussion either in the city or on Capitol Hill.
"There is no foundation that has been laid to gain any broad support,"Mr. Chaffetz said. "It was slipped into a budget discussion in the middle of the night. That doesn't strike me as a good way to do business."
Mr. Brown said public notice for a budget amendment is not required, and that he has been working with colleagues on the D.C. Council for months to develop his plan for the lottery to establish a private computer network that would allow customers to play poker online as long as they were playing in the District.
But regardless of near-unanimous council support for online poker, including from Mayor-elect Vincent C. Gray, who is serving his final weeks as council chairman, Mr. Brown and his colleagues could face political and legal resistance from other directions.
D.C. Attorney General Peter J. Nickles, due to step down by the end of the month to make way for a Gray-appointed successor, has his own concerns.
"This is transforming the lottery, which is a game of chance, into a system that involves both games of skill and games of chance, and that could run afoul of a number of federal laws," he said. "And I don't think the city's chief financial officer has looked at it seriously. I'm not sure what they were thinking at all."
According to Mr. Brown, the city's legislative general counsel, Brian K. Flowers, "signed off on this proposal," and the Office of Chief Financial Officer Natwar M. Gandhi issued a fiscal impact statement that estimates more than $13 million could be generated by online poker in the next three years.
Mr. Brown refused to provide written copies of those opinions.
An e-mail obtained by The Times, sent from Mr. Gandhi's office to the attorney general, states that the CFO has not yet issued a fiscal impact statement on the D.C. Lottery proposal.
Mr. Nickles said he has asked to see a legal sufficiency memo, but Mr. Flowers' office denied his request.
Mr. Flowers and Mr. Gandhi did not return multiple calls and e-mails from The Washington Times requesting confirmation of the information offered by Mr. Brown.
Still other detractors could complicate the District's online-poker plans.
Despite Mr. Brown's assertion on Tuesday that "the Department of Justice has made no effort to curtail procurements in other states," Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. has publicly said he would not support efforts to legalize online gambling, a position taken by many state attorneys general.
And in a Nov. 13, 2009, letter to Rep. Spencer Bachus, ranking Republican on the House Committee on Financial Services, Shawn Henry, assistant director of the Justice Department's Cyber Division, expressed concerns that technology exists to manipulate online-poker games to allow for cheating, and that online poker could be used to transfer illicit funds from one person to another in a serial fashion, essentially "washing the money."
Mr. Brown's proposal also states that the new lottery poker game would have to comply with the Johnson Act, which generally prohibits the manufacture, possession, use, sale or transportation of any gambling device in the District of Columbia.
But lottery experts say that to ensure such compliance, the system would have to rely on an Internet Protocol (IP) address to confirm that players are playing in the District. And Mr. Henry warned that "the use of IP address-based information for geolocation allows for the manipulation" of that information.
"By changing the IP address information, someone can make it appear that their residence is in a different location," he wrote.
A second hearing on the budget amendments passed by the council this week, including the lottery proposal, is scheduled for Dec. 21. By then, an additional issue also could surface, according to industry experts.
A spokesman for Providence, R.I.-based GTech, which has been a part of a joint venture to run theD.C. Lottery for the past 27 years, said technology exists to confirm the location of online-poker players to ensure they are playing in the District, but it may involve a platform different from the one specified in the District's request for proposal in the most recent lottery procurement.
Robert K. Vincent, senior vice president of corporate affairs for GTech, which lost in its bid for theD.C. Lottery last year to Greece gaming giant Intralot said, "This is a separate procurement from the one we bid on. It's a different gaming platform."
"It could very well be that the bidder deemed the best through the procurement is not really the best when you look at the new elements they are looking to put in place," added Mr. Nickles.
Beyond the changing of the guard in D.C. government lies the city's congressional overseers, some of whom are about to take majority control of the House.
"They may want to get more creative," said Mr. Chaffetz, "but they also might want to seriously look at running the city more efficiently first."
Wells lessens blow for grandparents in D.C. cuts
Examiner
12/08/10 8:05 PM
A subsidy program for grandparents who take care of their children's children has not been cut as deeply as Mayor Adrian Fenty proposed, after some late maneuvering by Ward 6 Councilman Tommy Wells.
Fenty proposed slashing the subsidy program by half, or nearly $2.7 million. But Wells was able to find $900,000 in the city's Child and Family Services Agency budget to reduce the cut to less than 25 percent instead of 50 percent.
"We're delighted some of the money was restored," said Judith Sandalow, the executive director of D.C.'s Children's Law Center. The budget, though, "it still taking from the poorest people in our city who are taking care of our children and keeping them out of foster care."
The subsidy had become a rallying point for child and social service advocates who were frustrated with the deep cuts to programs that help the poor in both Fenty's and Mayor-elect Vince Gray's proposals to fix a $188 million budget gap. Although the grandparent subsidy will now be reduced by less, another program that helps the city's most-needy families will be cut down to nothing over the next five years.
The bulk of the cash Wells found for the grandparent subsidy was in a calculation error in Fenty's proposal. Fenty's budget calculated $477,000 in savings from not filling vacant positions, but the calculation didn't include more than $500,000 that would be saved in the benefits provided for those positions.
Wells said "I'm not just being kind-hearted, I'm being smart with the District's money."
On average, grandparents in the subsidy program receive about $9,000 a year. Many of them use the funds to buy groceries and pay their rent. Without the monthly cash, the children the grandparents care for would likely end up in the foster care system -- where the city pays about $45,000 a year for each child each year.
Even though the cut is less than proposed, it's still a cut, Wells said.
"It's still a big difference for them," he said. "For someone on Social Security with that being your only income while taking care of a child, any cut would really be a lot."
Adams Morgan restaurants push tougher rules for street vendors
D.C. Councilman Jim Graham has stepped into an ongoing feud between brick-and-mortar restaurants in Adams Morgan and a group of vendors who sell lower-cost food in an area park.
The Adams Morgan Partnership, which represents local businesses, has been trying for months to get the Fenty administration to create tighter guidelines on the vendors who sell food and clothing in Unity Park every Friday through Sunday.
The partnership says the vendors represent unfair competition because they don't have to pay rent and other costs that come from running a restaurant or store that sits inside a building. The Greater Washington Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, which recently stepped in to represent the vendors, says it's willing to work with the brick-and-mortar restaurants -- but contends that the vendors have an equal right to sell their goods in the area.
Graham, who represents the area, stepped into the fray earlier this month after the two groups deadlocked.
Graham told The Washington Examiner that he's now held "a few" meetings with each side and the mayor's Latino Affairs Office, which first helped set up the vendors in the park near the corner of 18th Street and Columbia Road two years ago.
"I wouldn't say I have a personal agenda," Graham said. "I represent the business interests who pay rent, and I am concerned that the vendors are given a chance."
About two months ago, the 12 vendors became part of a business incubation program funded by the city, but run through the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, said chamber President and Chief Executive Officer Angela Franco.
Up until then, many didn't have the licenses they needed to operate, Franco said. Now, all of them do. The chamber, she said, is also in the process of creating a training plan so the vendors can establish themselves as formal small businesses.
The business partnership wants to see more changes, including a reduction in the number of days the vendors operate and more competitive prices, said Executive Director Kristen Barden.
"I'm hopeful we can come to arrangement on those things," Barden said.
Franco said they're working to get to a "point where everybody feels comfortable." The chamber is willing to help the brick-and-mortars with marketing and cut vendors' operation hours.
Graham is hopeful, too.
"We're making progress," he said.
Harry Thomas ordered to hand over nonprofit records -- but is it too late to matter?
By Mike DeBonis
Washington Post blog
December 8, 2010; 6:53 PM ET
After a two-month-long quest to get to the bottom of D.C. Council member Harry Thomas Jr.'s nonprofit dealings, Attorney GeneralPeter J. Nickles won a significant victory today. But it may have come too late.
Superior Court Senior Judge Stephen F. Eilperin ruled today that Thomas must comply with Nickles' subpoena for records pertaining to the organization, dubbed Team Thomas, providing detailed financial records and other materials. But he does not have to do so until Jan. 8 -- six days after Nickles will be leaving his job.
Questions persist about Team Thomas, including who gave to the group, how money was spent, and how its funds were solicited. Thomas said he had taken trips with the group's money, related to its purpose of promoting youth sports.
Nickles had complained previously that Thomas was trying to "run out the clock" on his tenure -- that is, extend the deadline for compliance to beyond Nickles' departure date. It now appears that the clock may have run out.
That means that Mayor-elect Vincent C. Gray will be handed a political hot potato as soon as he enters office. Though Nickles will be leaving, his deputies will remain, and they will continue to pursue old business until directed otherwise. It would be up to Nickles's replacement, and perhaps Gray himself, to direct otherwise.
But would Gray do that? The question has been put to him through his spokeswoman.
Nickles pointed out that Thomas "has been a big supporter of the chairman's. I'd like to believe that my successor would pursue the matter. It's a matter of high public interest. It goes to the whole question of integrity of the political process."
Thomas said he had not had time to review the ruling with his lawyer,Frederick D. Cooke Jr., but would do "whatever my attorney deems reasonable." Cooke declined to comment before he'd spoken with his client.
Nickles intimated that he might have other options for pursuing Team Thomas in his remaining time -- for instance, returning to court to ask for quicker compliance or attempting to force Thomas to give sworn oral testimony before month's end. He also said that could release damning information concerning Team Thomas on he had gathered -- "documents from outside sources" that indicate that some of the group's expenditures were improper.
"I'm not done," he said. "I've got another 20-some days; I've got a creative mind; and I don't like it when the law is being avoided. ... The day of reckoning is coming."
D.C. Government
Summarily Ousted, Klein Isn’t Sure Whether He Would Have Stayed Anyway
Posted by Lydia DePillis on Dec. 8, 2010 at 12:18 pm
Housing Complex (Washington City Paper)
NOTE: Watch interview on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjjRwfSY9Ko&feature=player_embedded
Last night, District Department of Transportation Director Gabe Klein got a letter delivered to his office at the Reeves Center on U Street. The contents weren't entirely unexpected: He had been getting "inklings" over the last few months that he wouldn't be asked to stay on in the administration of mayor-elect Vince Gray.
Actually, the two haven't talked for the last three months. Although Klein says they once worked closely together on projects like the 11th Street bridge, communication largely ceased after the "kerfuffle" over streetcar funding back in May.
And even now, Klein isn't sure that he would have stayed even if Gray had asked him to.
"My palms were sweating yesterday as I was walking around the Wilson Building," he said in his office this morning, in a wide-ranging discussion with reporters. "And it wasn't because I thought I was going to leave, it was because I thought they were going to ask me to stay, and I didn't know what my answer would be."
Why? Because at that very moment, the Council was hashing out the final gap-closing budget measures. One of the things they cut was DDOT's "unified fund," which isn't just a pot of money: As funding that DDOT generates and gets to keep for its own priorities, it's allowed the agency to be more flexible and function much more like a private business in its operations than other bureaucracies within District government. Effective yesterday, all the revenue DDOT generates from things like meters, permits, and fees will go straight into the city's general fund, and doled back out to DDOT at the Council's discretion.
"Getting rid of our unified fund really will fundamentally change the way this agency works, from an entrepreneurial agency to a sort of standard traditional government agency, with more central decisionmaking downtown, and probably more administration at my level," Klein said. "I prided myself on my creativity, my ability to build a great team and execute projects. It's probably not a good fit going forward. You know, it's just a matter of philosophy."
Having that kind of budget discretion, along with Mayor Adrian Fenty's entrepreneurial spirit, was a big part of what had lured Klein to the directorship in the first place.
"If you could come to the table with a great idea that will make the city better, and fiscally responsible, with benchmarks and data to show that it would work, you had a really good shot that it would happen," he said.
Klein tried to allay concerns that bike lanes would be painted over and the streetcar brought to a screeching halt. Even as the unified fund was being cut, funding for the H Street-Benning Streetcar was approved, and he hasn't heard anything that would indicate that the Gray administration wouldn't continue to build on the success of Capital Bikeshare (which he sees as his biggest legacy).
"I firmly believe that once that line is operational," he said, "that stake's in the ground for the streetcar, and the rest will happen."
But he did recognize that the breakneck pace at which he and Fenty made change was at times divisive, and focused criticism on himself. I asked him why debate over things like streetcars and bike lanes had gotten so acrimonious.
"Some of this is played up in the media. People act like I sit around and draw bike lanes all day," he said with a wry smile. "But there are some divides in the city, and I think it's foolish to ignore them. I think they're based on geography, topography, I think we have some surburban neighborhoods, and some very dense urban neighborhoods."
"People talk about a racial divide," he went on. "I have to tell you, I have so many friends and supporters in Wards 7 and 8. I'm much more aware of a age divide. And I'm not going to claim to know what it's about. But whether it's older, white folks from Ward 3, or older black folks in Ward 5, there's certain people that don't agree with some of the changes that we're looking at."
Klein didn't say where he'd be doing next–he just learned he would be out of a job yesterday, after all. But he could see himself working in government again sometime.
"This is the best job I have ever had," he said, firmly.
Gray pushes Klein out, changes DDOT funding
The District's top transportation leader said Wednesday that he will step down under the new mayor, a casualty and symbol of the outgoing Fenty administration's entrepreneurial yet sometimes unpopular style.
District Department of Transportation Director Gabe Klein said he received a letter from Mayor-elect Vincent Gray on Tuesday night asking him to resign. He will leave Jan. 1.
Turnover among Cabinet officials is not unusual when their leader loses an election. But Klein's departure signals not just a change in personality and style, but a broader structural shift at DDOT. A replacement has not been named.
Klein shook up parking policy, expanded the D.C. Circulator system, and pushed bike sharing, bike lanes, and a $1 billion plan for streetcars. But he, like Fenty, was criticized for moving ahead at times without getting consensus.
Klein, 39, said he wasn't surprised to be let go. Relations had been limited between him and Gray since Gray pulled $47 million for Klein's streetcar program during midnight budget negotiations in May, then reinstated it after many complaints.
Gray demurred when asked about Klein: "I am not making a statement about anybody."
On Tuesday, Klein said he was again surprised when Gray dismantled the self-contained fund that runs DDOT. The pool of money that included the agency's revenues had allowed DDOT to control its projects without getting approval each time from the D.C. Council. Under the new structure, the agency will submit all revenue to the general fund, then receive a set allocation.
"It's like eating what you kill, then eating what you're given," Klein said.
He called the change "a bit demoralizing for the team." The new structure would make the job less entrepreneurial and more administrative, which Klein said was "not a good fit for me."
Greater Greater Washington blogger David Alpert, who pushed Fenty for an innovative DDOT leader, then petitioned Gray to keep Klein, said he was disappointed. "Gabe Klein really pushed a lot of innovative policies at DDOT, that often has a tendency to be very stodgy," Alpert said.
But Alpert said it doesn't mean that bike lanes will be painted over. And he welcomed some reforms to DDOT, which he said played shell games with money and at times plowed ahead without input.
Klein said he is not sure what his plans are next. But the 15-year resident of the city said he will be watching the Gray administration. "My expectations will be high," he said.
SIDEBAR: The parachute
DDOT Director Gabe Klein made $150,000 per year, according to D.C.'s Human Resources Department, and could be eligible for up to 12 weeks of pay as severance. The benefits package had not been finalized as of Wednesday.
Gabe Klein out at DDOT, Linda Argo out at DCRA
Washington Business Journal - by Michael Neibauer
Date: Wednesday, December 8, 2010, 10:30am EST - Last Modified: Wednesday, December 8, 2010, 1:32pm EST
Word is leaking out of who's in and who's out of D.C. Mayor-elect Vince Gray's administration. Well, really, all we know so far is who's out.
Gabe Klein will not direct the D.C. Department of Transportation under Gray. Valerie Santos is out as deputy mayor for planning and economic development, as is Linda Argo as head of the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs. Bryan Sivak is leaving his job as chief technology officer. Joseph Walsh is out as head of the Department of Employment Services, and Lee Smith is done as director of the Department of Small and Local Business Development.
All of Mayor Adrian Fenty's agency chiefs were required to resign last month, but it was up to Gray whether to accept. Those letters from Gray went out Tuesday.
"'I think it's probably not a good fit for me going forward," Klein told some press this morning, as reported on Twitter by The Washington Post's Mike DeBonis.
We still don't know the fate of Planning Director Harriet Tregoning, but we hear from a source that she met with Gray for several hours last Wednesday, before Gray headed off to the White House for lunch with President Barack Obama.
Argo is a surprise victim of the transition, as she is often praised for improving DCRA's once-dreadful customer service and automating the city's licensing and permitting agency.
Klein and Tregoning are both extremely popular among D.C.'s large contingent of smart-growth, multi-modal, cycling, streetcar fans. But powerful organizations such as the Committee of 100 that generally oppose dense, urban development spilling out beyond Washington's core targeted both for removal.
Reaction on Klein's removal, on Twitter, was fierce:
· "What a loss," wrote tranportgooru.
· "Bad News for DC. Thanks a lot Gray," wrote davedc.
· "Now DC can return to the dark ages," wrote Cycleboredom.
My theory, for what it's worth: Tregoning stays. Gray, who maintained oversight of all planning and zoning issues even as he chaired the council, has developed a solid rapport with her and has previously sung her praises.
What does Gray's dismissal of Klein and others mean?
by Erik Weber • December 8, 2010 1:25 pm
Greater Greater Washington
In the wake of disappointing news that Mayor-Elect Vincent Gray won't be keeping Gabe Klein and several other Fenty cabinet officials, District residents and smart growth advocates have a distinct duty to avoid doom-and-gloom projections and frantic searches for apartments in Arlington or Silver Spring.
Gray's decision to replace Klein is disappointing, no doubt, but should not come as much of a surprise. While the Committee of 100 and a host of entrenched Ward 3 residents may gloat that the transportation policies of the past few years are on the way out, it's more likely Gray made the decision out of discomfort with the process rather than the policy.
The bottom line from this year's primary election, that many seem to have forgotten by now, is that there were pretty minuscule policy differences in the Gray and Fenty platforms. What most distinguishes the two are their approaches to decision-making.
Gabe Klein was the poster child for Fenty's reliance on fast-acting, agile agencies that were willing to push new policies quickly into fruition, evaluate them on an interim basis, and, assuming successful outcomes, work quickly to push for broader implementation.
This style is anathema to Vince Gray's affinity for more reserved, intricately studied, broadly discussed, and carefully compromised policy-making. As many have stated, this move does not necessarily amount to a rebuttal by Vincent Gray of those smart growth and alternative transportation policies that were coming out of DDOT. Though some of Gray's supporters would like that, it is still too early to tell.
While I'm disappointed by Gray's need to very apparently distance himself from the Fenty administration, despite his continued statements of support for a smart growth agenda (David didn't endorse him for no reason), it's pretty much standard operating procedure in changing political administrations for the biggest heads to roll. We will have to see who Gray picks to succeed Klein, to make a better judgment on where DC's transportation and growth policy is heading.
What is perhaps more disappointing is the dismissal of DCRA's Linda Argo. Argo has been relatively low profile throughout their tenure, despite making major strides in their agencies. Under her leadership, DCRA has undertaken a variety of daunting regulatory rewrites in an open and informative way, to the benefit of Washington business.
Bryan Sivak, another cabinet member let go today, has pushed OCTO to continue open up DC government to the public, releasing mountains of data and creating a variety of tools to provide District citizens with a window into the workings of their government. While relatively low key in DC, Sivak has become something of a superstar in Gov 2.0 circles for his great work in the District.
As such, I will be eagerly awaiting Gray's cabinet announcements to see if he keeps any Fenty appointees on board. Gray's announcement that he will promote Fenty's head of DCPS school modernization, Allen Lew, to City Administrator is encouraging on this front. Rumors have also begun swirling that Office of Planning chief Harriet Tregoning will be asked to stay or even promoted to Deputy Mayor for Economic Development.
Most disappointing in this whole saga was this morning's revelation that Gray and Klein have not spoken in 3 months. I'm baffled that the man who ran on a platform of "One City" and touts himself a public servant who believes in the importance of hearing opposing viewpoints, listening to all the disparate voices, and making compromises, was unable to find time to discuss the direction of the city's transportation department with its current head.
Perhaps neither is true, and the two just simply didn't have time to talk. After all, they have both been extraordinarily busy with running the city. All in all, I think it's too soon to make summary judgment about where Vince Gray will take the District.
While I voted for Fenty, I'm not ready to throw the towel in on the incoming Gray administration. If anything, now is the time to make our voices heard, as Gray looks for new people to fill these positions.
Gabe Klein out at DDOT
By Dan Malouff
Washington Post blog
December 8, 2010; 1:29 PM ET
DDOT Director and alternative transportation guru Gabe Klein just announced he will not be welcome in the Gray administration, and will be leaving. Klein has been a major champion of streetcars and especially bicycling projects in the city, so his departure will be a major loss for progressive transportation policy. It is also a significant warning sign that mayor-elect Vincent Gray doesn’t intend to continue pushing forward as vigorously on transportation as did his predecessor.
This decision makes Gray one out of three on supporting a progressive DDOT. He kept streetcars in the budget, but fired Klein and eliminated the "Unified Fund," which was used by DOT for quick fixes to a variety of issues. Taken together there is a clear pattern: Gray will continue policies that have been on the books for a long time, but will obstruct DDOT from moving quickly on just about anything.
Washington, D.C., has taken a step backwards. It’s not a good day.
Dan Malouff is an Arlington County transportation planner who blogs independently at BeyondDC.com. The Local Blog Network is a group of bloggers from around the D.C. region who have agreed to make regular contributions to All Opinions Are Local.
OCTO’s Bryan Sivak’s Farewell Letter
Loose Lips (Washington City Paper)
D.C.'s head computer man, Bryan Sivak, was one of several District government agency heads shown the door yesterday by incoming Almost Mayor Vince Gray.
Judging by the facts that the chief technology officer begins his goodbye letter to staff by saying he has a "heavy heart" and that he wrote Gray a four-page resignation letter about OCTO's accomplishments under his watch, Sivak probably wanted to hold on to the gig. Oh, and the part where he says, "simply put, the past 14 months have been some of the greatest of my life," is another clue.
Here's his letter:
From: Bryan Sivak (OCTO) [mailto:bryan.sivak@dc.gov]
Sent: Wednesday, December 08, 2010 10:47 AM
To: All Personnel – OCTO; OCTO All Personnel (OCTO)
Subject: Transition update
Sent: Wednesday, December 08, 2010 10:47 AM
To: All Personnel – OCTO; OCTO All Personnel (OCTO)
Subject: Transition update
Dear OCTO Team,
It is with a heavy heart that I write these words: I have been informed by the new administration that my services will no longer be necessary effective January 1st.
Simply put, the past 14 months have been some of the greatest of my life. I came into the public sector expecting mind-numbing bureaucracy and stereotypical government employees, and while I have certainly seen some of the former across the District, I continue to be amazed at the caliber of individual that is employed by this agency. The enthusiasm, creativity, intelligence and dedication I have seen from any number of people is incredibly motivating and allows me to leave knowing the agency will continue to execute and fulfill its mission to the residents of the District of Columbia for many years to come.
Over the past 14 months, we have accomplished an amazing amount, but I am most proud of the significant change I have personally seen as we became a customer-focused agency. On my sixth day on the job, I charged the agency with this mission, and you responded—while I can set the direction, the goal cannot be achieved without significant effort from each and every one of you. In many cases, this meant fighting against years of history, structure and bureaucracy, often at personal risk, and we have without a doubt hit an inflection point in this journey. This is evident to me when Agency Directors, CIOs or others praise the great work we do—at least once a week these days —and the pace of these acknowledgements have done nothing but increase.
I have not yet been informed who will be taking the reins from here, but rest assured, I will do everything in my power to ensure that the results of your efforts do not go unnoticed by the new leadership.
One final anecdote: as many of you probably know, it is customary for Mayoral appointees to submit a formal resignation letter which the incoming administration chooses to accept or reject (this is what they accepted yesterday). I was provided a standard three-paragraph template for this letter, but I decided that the accomplishments of the agency were significant enough during my tenure that it was worth briefly noting in the letter.
I ended up submitting a letter four pages long.
For all of this, I thank each and every one of you, and wish all of you the best of luck in your future endeavors. As I decide my next steps, please know that as always, my door remains open.
Bryan
Housing Authority leader Todman gets 'interim' taken off title
By Jonathan O'Connell
D.C. Wire (Washington Post blog)
December 8, 2010; 3:09 PM ET
Adrianne Todman was appointed by the board of the D.C. Housing Authority today to be the agency's permanent executive director.
Todman took over the agency on an interim basis more than a year ago, after longtime director Michael Kelly left to become general manager of the New York City Housing Authority. A six-year veteran of the agency -- which administers 8,000 public housing units and provides subsidized housing to more than 50,000 residents -- Todman was selected to stay on after a nationwide search for candidates drew more than 130 applicants.
In a release issued by the housing authority, board chair LaRuby May, an appointee of Mayor Adrian M. Fenty, called Todman an "exceptional leader with a wealth of knowledge and experience in the affordable housing industry" who enjoyed the support of housing authority residents, staff and elected officials.
The release also included supportive comments from mayor-elect Vincent Gray. "Adrianne Todman is a proven leader and someone in whom we have great confidence," Gray said in the statement, released by the agency. "We look forward to working with her in expanding DCHA's affordable housing and workforce development services for District residents in need. The selection of Ms Todman signals a new direction for the DCHA, and we look forward to her leadership."
Todman served as deputy executive director and deputy chief of staff as D.C. attracted seven Hope VI grants from the federal government. The grants financed redevelopment of some of the city's most dilapidated public housing.
Todman's time as interim chief has been rockier, however, as she handled criticism levied at the agency after Kelly and the board approved a contract for construction of parks and recreation facilities that went to friends of Fenty.
Lanier building private workout space at police HQ
Examiner
12/07/10 8:05 PM
D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier is building a workout space for yoga, step aerobics and other activities on a secure floor of police headquarters that can only be accessed by Lanier and her top staff.
The renovations are not part of the city's capital budget and are being performed by the police department's maintenance staff, The Washington Examiner has confirmed.
"There is no gym being built," Lanier spokeswoman Gwendolyn Crump said in an e-mail late Tuesday in response to Examiner inquiries regarding rumors of the construction of a gym. "We have identified an open space for group fitness activities."
That space is room 5126 at police headquarters in Northwest, sources said. Only Lanier and her staff have access to the guarded fifth floor. Crump said only that the space will be open to "members of the department."
Crump did not immediately respond to requests for comment on how much the renovations for the "open space for group fitness activities" have cost the city. She did say the department will not be purchasing equipment.
The District is in the midst of a deep budget crisis. On Tuesday, the D.C. Council voted to furlough "non-essential" city employees for four days to save $19.3 million. It was part of a larger effort to close a $188 million budget gap. And although the council didn't move forward with proposed tax hikes, it's likely to take up the possibility in April when city officials expect to face a $440 million budget shortfall. The police department has been hit hard by the latest round of budget cuts, including losing $1.6 million for recruiting. If the department doesn't fill positions that will be left vacant by retiring officers, it will shrink.
"Given the fact that we just cut over 400 police positions, the fact that the chief of police is building herself a private gym at taxpayer expense is appalling," said police union Chief Kris Baumann.
The department already has several gyms. Although there isn't one in the headquarters, there are gyms in each of the city's seven district facilities. There's also a larger gym at the police academy.
Baumann said it's particularly frustrating that the funds for the project were not in the capital budget.
"The chief is acting like she's a monarch taking funds from the treasury and destroying part of the castle," he said. "It's government run amuck."
D.C. Police Chief Speaks Out on “Gym-Gate”
Posted by Rend Smith on Dec. 8, 2010 at 4:29 pm
City Desk (Washington City Paper blog)
The Examiner reported this morning that Metropolitan Police Department Chief Cathy Lanier and her inner circle will be sweating at a private gym built next to her office. The news would seem to come at a bad time—as in budget-crunch time.
But Lanier e-mailed City Desk today to issue a full-throated denial. The gym, she claims, is for everyone who works at MPD headquarters, not just the top brass.
"I would like to once again correct misstatements in an Examiner article," Lanier writes. "The article alleges that MPD is building a private workout space, in a secure location, to be used by top staff. This story could not be further from the truth."
Lanier says the department is using an existing space that could be used as a "break room, or other purposes" for a communal workout space, and that it wasn't her idea. "This is being done at the request of our MPD members," she says.
She claims having a gym at HQ is nothing new. As a matter of fact, there was one in the exact same space once before: "Many people wanted to bring this back; but, due to tight times we chose not to spend money on this route." Lanier says the room being used was set up as gym back when Fred Thomas was chief. "All we are doing is putting it back to what it used to be—a place to work out. Minus buying any equipment. "
The chief doesn't say why they've chosen to do all this now. She did say this: "Virtually all police facilities have exercise rooms to allow members the opportunity to stay physically fit. This is a beneficial way to handle the stress that comes with being a police officer." Lanier goes on to suggest the gym will contribute to the "wellness initiative" the department has been working on, which has spawned efforts like the "MPD Biggest Loser" campaign, which she says helped the department collectively shed 1500 pounds.
(City agencies didn't immediately have an answer to the big question about all this: How much did it cost?)
Police union head Kris Baumann says he isn't buying the MPD line. He says there's no way everyone who works at HQ will have access to the gym. "It's in an area where only her and her staff are allowed," Baumann says.
Lanier insists that's not true: "It is secure from the General Public—not persons who work for the PD."
Update:An internal document that appears to show security protocols for the fifth floor of MPD's headquarters refers to there being an area on that floor with a glass door. To get past the door, and the guard posted there, employees must have an ID card. If an MPD officer or employee doesn't have the proper ID, they have to sign in and wait for the office they plan to visit to be contacted, so they can get approved. If the gym MPD is building is behind the glass, that would seem to restrict access to it.
D.C. police investigate slayings of Georgetown employee and teen shot on street
By Clarence Williams
Washington Post Staff Writer
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/08/AR2010120807654.html
Washington Post Staff Writer
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/08/AR2010120807654.html
Thursday, December 9, 2010; 12:26 AM
D.C. police are investigating the slayings of a 41-year-old Georgetown University Hospital employee found stabbed in her apartment and a 17-year-old youth shot on the street, in separate incidents in Southwest Washington, officials said.
In the first case, a family member came home to the unit block of Galveston Place and reportedly found Tawanna Barnes-Copeland dead about 8:30 p.m. Tuesday from apparent stab wounds, said Capt. Michael Farish of the homicide unit. Police found no signs of forced entry in her apartment, Farish said.
Police knew of no motive in the slaying of Barnes-Copeland, a phlebotomist, and had no suspects Wednesday night, Farish said.
About 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, police found a 17-year-old who had been fatally shot after they were called to an alley behind the 1300 block of Half Street SW, about two blocks from Nationals Park. Police identified the youth Wednesday night as Scott Staten of the 400 block of Xenia Street SE.
Three law enforcement sources, who declined to be identified because the investigation is ongoing, said the youth had recently absconded from a Department of Youth and Rehabilitative Services facility.
Based on a preliminary investigation, officials think the teen was shot in the unit block of N Street SW and probably ran about a block to the alley behind Half Street, Farish said.
Authorities asked that anyone with information about either case contact police at 202-727-9099.
Politics / DCPS / Metro / Other
Dunbar High's private operator ousted; ex-principal to return
By Bill Turque
Washington Post Staff Writer
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/08/AR2010120807351.html
Washington Post Staff Writer
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/08/AR2010120807351.html
Wednesday, December 8, 2010; 9:27 PM
Interim D.C. Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson ousted the private, New York-based operator of Dunbar Senior High School on Wednesday, less than three years after former schools chief Michelle A. Rhee hired it to transform the culture and academic performance of the struggling school.
Henderson's removal of Friends of Bedford comes after a series of complaints from parents, teachers and other community members about safety, security and academics at the 750-student school in Northwest. She has said that during her visits to the school, she saw students roaming the halls and classrooms without teachers.
"The school is no longer operated by Friends of Bedford. It will function as a traditional DCPS high school," Henderson said in a prepared statement. Bedford will continue, however, to operate Coolidge High School under its contract with the District, which expires in the spring.
In an unusual twist, Henderson named former Dunbar principal Stephen Jackson, who was removed from the post by Bedford officials at the end of the 2009-10 school year, to head the new leadership team. Henderson said last week that the school took a turn for the worse when Jackson was removed.
Henderson's action underscores the extreme difficulty of high school turnarounds - especially involving operators who try to transplant their success into new soil in a different city. Rhee selected Friends of Bedford on the basis of its success at Bedford Academy, a highly regarded Brooklyn public school with an unstinting emphasis on college preparation. Anacostia Senior High School, which was placed under the control of Friendship Public Charter Schools by Rhee at the same time she hired Bedford, has also had leadership changes and discipline issues.
Bedford Chief Executive George Leonard, who had been acting principal since the beginning of the current school year, could not be reached to comment Wednesday. But in an interview Saturday, Leonard said the District's intervention was politically inspired, the product of disgruntled parents and former staff who had the ear of Mayor-elect Vincent C. Gray (D), a Dunbar alumnus, and D.C. Council member Harry Thomas Jr. (D), who represents Ward 5, home to the school.
Henderson said flatly that she took no guidance from Gray on the matter.
"Some will say it's Gray. I'm telling you unequivocally that he hasn't told me any direction to go in on this," she said in an e-mail. "I'm just going to do what I think is best. Sorry I don't have anything juicier to tell you."
Six students were arrested Nov. 23 and charged with raping a 15-year-old girl in a stairway in an unoccupied area of the sprawling school. The charges were dropped, but the incident shook the school community and was described by officials as emblematic of larger safety issues.
In addition to rehiring Jackson, the District has added six additional police officers to Dunbar. It has also detailed two additional officers from the "Roving Leaders" unit of the Parks and Recreation Department to address ongoing neighborhood disputes that have affected the school climate. Unused portions of the building have been closed off, and more security cameras have been installed, Henderson said.
The District has also begun a series of sessions with students about sexual assault and inappropriate behavior.
Leonard said Saturday that he had requested such changes of the District for many months.
LaTanya Cherry, president of the Dunbar parents association, said that the school has suffered since the beginning of the academic year but that after Jackson's departure there was a downward spiral. "We were on the right track in June," she said. "Just to see this complete 360 is disheartening."
Leonard said Saturday that Jackson was removed for "undermining" efforts to improve the school. He did not elaborate.
While he had success with his Brooklyn school, Leonard, a former biology teacher, faced a significantly different situation in the District. He built Bedford from scratch, while Dunbar, once the educational pride of black Washington, is twice the size and has been a failing school for years.
Bedford was an application school, where students' grades, standardized test scores and attendance were screened by the city's education department. At Dunbar, Friends of Bedford was required to accept anyone with the legal right to attend.
At Bedford Academy, Leonard said, incoming ninth-graders attended a mandatory month-long "summer bridge" program to prepare them for the demands of high school. In the District, the program was not compulsory, and few attended.
DCPS wants to close Shaed, River Terrace; open Montessori
By Bill Turque
D.C. Schools Insider (Washington Post)
December 8, 2010; 9:15 PM E
DCPS has proposed a series of closures and consolidations that would take effect this fall. It wants to shutter two lightly-enrolled schools in Northeast and open a Montessori school at the old Logan Elementary building near Union Station.
According to notices posted on the school system web site, River Terrace Elementary in Ward 7 would close at the end of the current academic year and merge with Thomas Elementary in Parkside. Students at Shaed Education Campus, a PS-8 school in Ward 5, would join those at Emery Education Campus PS-8,in relocating to the former Langley School building next to McKinley Technology High School.
In a letter to the Shaed community, Interim Chancellor Kaya Henderson said Shaed's current enrollment of 146 makes it difficult to sustain a full PS-8 program. Emery's building, she said, lack some of the physical amenities of a PS-8 school. Both, she said, would benefit from the move to Langley, which is vacant.
Twenty-seven schools were closed or consolidated in the Fenty-Rhee era, generating considerable political pushback. Henderson will likely get her share when she meets with both school communities after the holidays. A final recommendation to the mayor's office will follow.
Expansion of Montessori, a response to burgeoning demand, is part of a larger set of moves in the works for Ward 6 schools. The current Montessori program, housed at Watkins Elementary, runs through fourth grade. DCPS wants to move it to Logan and extend it an extra year, through fifth grade. Watkins would then pick up the fifth grade currently housed at Stuart-Hobson Middle School.
Walmart Meeting Reveals Possible Lowe’s, Parking Garage, Not Much Else
Posted by Matt Bevilacqua on Dec. 8, 2010 at 6:33 am
Housing Complex (Washington City Paper)
As if Walmart weren't enough, Arboretum residents might have another superstore to look forward to at Bladensburg Road and New York Avenue NE.
Developer Rick Walkerand Walmart community affairs director Keith Morris said that a Lowe’s hardware store could possibly share the large triangular space reserved for one of the four Walmarts slated come to D.C. by 2012.
Speaking at a public meeting convened last night by Ward 5 CouncilmemberHarry Thomas, Walker–the man behind the area’s Giant Food Store, Home Depot and AJWright–said that he also plans to build smaller retail stores, two drive-through banks, and maybe restaurants on the 12-acre site now covered by defunct auto repair lots.
If the partnership with Lowe’s comes to pass–from the tone of the meeting, it sounds likely–then the project will reflect a similar Walker venture in Baltimore, where this year he proposed to build a Walmart and Lowe’s side by side.
Walker and Morris also touched upon some tentative parking ideas. While reluctant to reveal specific information about design, they did mention that they plan to use square footage comparable to Home Depot’s underused lot on Rhode Island Avenue. They would mitigate the sprawl, however, by dividing the spaces throughout a three-story, aboveground garage which, they said, wouldn’t rise higher than 40 feet tall. Cars could access the lot through at least five entryways: one from New York, two from Montana Avenue, and two from Bladensburg.
Residents gave the presentation a lukewarm reception. The only time things got relatively tense came when several residents asked about getting Walmart’s promises in writing, so that the community could hold them to it should things change.
Morris responded by pointing out that the company generally stays away from community benefits agreements, saying that “we don’t think they’re the best way” to plan a project with local input. He and Walker did say they were open to signing other documents as the plans for development become more concrete.
Thomas remarked that he would hold Walmart accountable himself.
Besides that, the meeting didn’t yield much that Walmart and the city haven’t already said. More information, especially specifics on design, is supposed to come out at a future meeting hosted by the Arboretum Civic Association. No dates have yet been scheduled. For now, all we have are these vague sketches.
Posted by Lydia DePillis on Dec. 8, 2010 at 6:48 pm
Housing Complex (Washington City Paper)
Washington Yu Ying Public Charter School, a Chinese-immersion program hotly sought after by District parents, has set its sights on a drafty old building near Catholic University for a second campus.
The school has beenlooking around for spacesince it started outgrowing its building in Brookland–they submitted a bid for the Franklin School downtown–and also landed a spot in the Walter Reed complex in Ward 4. If both deals work out, Yu Ying will join E.L. Haynes in a group of popular public charter schools that have expanded to more than one location.
The new spot, 220 Taylor Street NE, is a former Marist seminary that was used by the Joz-Arz Public Charter School until its charter was revokedseveral years ago. It's got four stories and 33,400 square feet, including an auxiliary building, and has been listed for $10.2 million.
Executive director Mary Shaffner said she couldn't comment on the tentative purchase "until we close."
Yu Ying's ambitions also undermine one of the arguments used against theLatin American Youth Center's plans for the J.F. Cook school–opponentsasked why LAYC and partner Youthbuld hadn't considered 220 Taylor Street. There's a community meeting on that issue tonight at 7:00 p.m. at the Big Bear Cafe, in anticipation of a Council hearing on the disposition J.F. Cook on Friday at 10:00 a.m.
Yesterday:
· Mike DeBonis: http://wapo.st/ekn8tV
· DMV Daily (P.J. Orvetti): http://bit.ly/fN8BWr
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