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Pricey tax credit program falls far short of job-creation goal
May 01, 2008 | 3:00 AMA multimillion-dollar tax credit program that was supposed to create more than 3,000 new jobs for District residents has fallen far short of that goal, and two D.C. Council members are calling for an audit, The Examiner has learned. The Certified Capital Companies Act set aside $50 million in 2003 to create more than 3,000 new jobs by subsidizing insurance companies that did business in and from D.C. But internal figures obtained by The Examiner show that... »
Schools look for hundreds of truants
April 23, 2008 | 3:00 AMA city investigation spurred by the deaths of four young girls earlier this year found that the D.C. school system can’t account for hundreds of students who were cut from attendance rolls late last year, The Examiner has learned.E-mails obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show that 745 children withdrew or were deleted from their schools’ rolls between Nov. 15 and Dec. 15.Officials weren’t sure what happened to the children, and are scrambling to find them, according to the e-mails and city sources who spoke on condition of anonymity.... »
Fenty, D.C. Council go head-to-head on budget spending and earmarks
April 01, 2008 | 3:00 AMThe D.C. Council on Monday challenged Mayor Adrian Fenty to justify a 2009 spending plan that throws millions at nonprofits, raises fees and taxes to generate more than $100 million and dips deeply into crucial reserve funds.Council members were most critical of Fenty’s proposed $10 million earmark for Ford’s Theatre, an award destined for a
Mayor Fenty moves on restoration of Klingle Rd.
March 24, 2008 | 3:00 AMThe 17-year wait for restoration of Klingle Road through Northwest D.C. may finally be coming to an end, as Mayor Adrian Fenty’s proposed 2009 budget includes $2 million to jump-start the controversial project.Ward 1 D.C. Councilman Jim Graham, who represents the eastern side of the shuttered three-quarter-mile link between Mount Pleasant and »
Council chairman tweaks prekindergarten bill
March 19, 2008 | 3:00 AMD.C. Council Chairman Vincent Gray on Tuesday rolled out changes to a long-sought-after bill aimed at expanding the city’s prekindergarten program that includes using an independent evaluator to gauge program quality. Since council members started considering the bill earlier this year, the purpose has remained intact: Raise overall quality while expanding access to all 3- and 4-year-olds in the District.Meetings with experts, though, revealed details needed in the bill, and Gray said there would likely be weeks or even months... »
Fenty: State of D.C. 'strong'
March 15, 2008 | 3:00 AMMayor Adrian Fenty on Friday declared D.C. "strong" during his second State of the District address, an optimistic speech in which he laid out his administration's successes while barely touching on the work still to be done. The 32-minute speech, delivered at the Washington Senior Wellness Center in Ward 7, was mostly a positive reflection of his first year in office, rather than a look ahead. Touting a... »
District schools served recalled beef
February 20, 2008 | 3:00 AMD.C. schoolchildren were fed thousands of pounds of suspect beef that’s now part of the largest food safety recall in American history, The Examiner has learned. School spokeswoman Mafara Hobson confirmed Tuesday that the schools’ main food vendor bought beef from Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Company but she refused to discuss details of the arrangement. She said that the schools won’t be serving beef for the next two weeks... »
Absence of debate dimmed spotlight on lack of voting rights for District
February 12, 2008 | 3:00 AMD.C. leaders hoped a meaningful Potomac primary would bring national attention to the District’s disenfranchisement in Congress, but the lack of a debate between the two Democratic contenders likely spoiled the golden opportunity. Both Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama support full voting representation for the roughly 600,000 D.C. residents. But the issue has languished since the Senate last fall rejected legislation giving the District a single vote in... »
Days before primary, Fenty opens Obama's D.C. headquarters
February 09, 2008 | 3:00 AMMayor Adrian Fenty on Friday opened Barack Obama's D.C. headquarters in Southeast, firing up more than a hundred supporters who anticipate a big victory in next week's Potomac Primary. Looking as comfortable on the stump as he did during his mayoral campaign, Fenty told the crowd gathered outside 1225 Pennsylvania Ave. SE that Obama is the "right candidate at the right time with the right message and the right values."... »
Council backs paid leave for D.C. workers
February 06, 2008 | 3:00 AMThe D.C. Council Tuesday tentatively approved legislation that would guarantee paid sick leave for all workers in the city, rejecting concerns that the measure may cripple small businesses. The bill, which proponents describe as a historic step for about 200,000 workers who receive zero paid sick leave, was approved on first reading by an 11-2 vote. The second reading will come in March. "When all is said and done, we shouldn’t lose sight of the essential feature... »
Obama victory in D.C. uncertain despite Fenty, Kennedy endorsements
February 06, 2008 | 3:00 AMEven with Mayor Adrian Fenty’s endorsement, a 7,000-person turnout at a recent rally and seemingly favorable demographics, Sen. Barack Obama still hasn’t locked up a victory in Tuesday’s D.C. primary, political analysts said."The polling nationwide shows that a substantial majority of African American voters are inclined to support Obama," said Peter Shapiro, director of the »
D.C. Council looks into call for financial literacy classes
January 23, 2008 | 3:00 AMA D.C. Council committee this afternoon will consider a proposal to require financial literacy instruction in the District’s public high schools.Sponsored by Councilwoman Mary Cheh, Ward 3, the bill aims to help students learn how to make smart decisions about personal finance. It doesn’t stipulate lesson specifics, leaving the plan to Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee,... »
Superintendent tries to assuage special education fears
January 23, 2008 | 3:00 AMState Superintendent Deborah Gist tried to reassure an anxious D.C. Council Tuesday that she is prepared to deal with the city’s collapsing special education system. "There is no question that over the last several decades, we have failed to provide appropriate services," Gist told the council, reading from prepared testimony. "I am here to report to you that the days of standing by and watching... »
D.C. still not enforcing year-old affordable housing zoning law
January 11, 2008 | 3:00 AMThe District of Columbia is wasting opportunities to boost its dwindling affordable housing stock because Mayor Adrian Fenty has yet to implement a year-old law requiring affordability in larger projects, D.C. Council members contend.An inclusionary zoning law adopted by the Council in 2006 mandates that developments of at least 10 units include a certain percentage of... »
Council report calls for legislative branch to take more aggressive role in public education overhaul
January 08, 2008 | 3:00 AMD.C. Council members must forcefully insert themselves into education reform rather than simply react to the initiatives tossed out by Mayor Adrian Fenty, the council’s policy arm concludes in a new report.The findings of the fledgling Office of Policy Analysis are illustrative of an ongoing conflict between the executive and legislative branches in the... »
Immigration and transportation top list
January 02, 2008 | 3:00 AMTo be or not to be: Dulles Rail1 The Federal Transit Administration is expected to decide early next year whether the first leg of the Rail-to-Dulles will qualify for federal funding. The 11.6-mile Metrorail track must serve enough riders to meet the FTA’s strict cost-benefit formula, which will determine whether the project qualifies for $900 million in federal grants. The agency has been largely mum on the progress of its review, though state officials said they have heard encouraging... »
A year later, little movement on rate hikes
December 13, 2007 | 3:00 AMIt could be much worse for D.C. residents hit hard by soaring prices at the gas pump: The D.C. Public Service Commission has yet to rule on a pair of utility rate hikes proposed a year ago.Both Washington Gas and Pepco went to the commission, the District’s utility regulator, in late 2006 to request rate increases. "We’re simply waiting for them to make a decision," said Robert Dobkin,... »
Mismanagement of Medicaid funding by officials cost public tens of millions
December 06, 2007 | 3:00 AMDistrict of Columbia school officials have botched years of paperwork and missed countless deadlines that would have won federal reimbursements for services to poor students, costing the public tens of millions of dollars per year, documents show.In fiscal 2003, D.C. schools recouped $25 million in Medicaid funds. By fiscal 2007, the figure had shrunk by nearly half, to $13.4 million, according to internal school data obtained by The Examiner. Medicaid is... »
D.C. Council picks legal team to probe tax corruption scandal
December 04, 2007 | 3:00 AMD.C. Council leaders will announce today that they have retained a powerhouse legal and auditing team to investigate staggering failures that allowed the largest theft in District government history to persist for nearly a decade.Law firm WilmerHale and forensic accounting giant PricewaterhouseCoopers will pilot the council’s inquiry into the massive tax... »
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