February 7, 2006
Busy Day for Baseball in D.C.
Just like every other time the D.C. Council was set to vote on the lease agreement for the new stadium along South Capitol Street, something had to come along and muddy up the waters.
As the Post reported this morning, a planned council vote on the lease was put off when council chair Linda Cropp introduced emergency legislation imposing a final price-cap of $300 million for labor and materials for the stadium's construction. The legislation, which would require nine votes to pass, was put on the table after an independent consultant warned that a prior cap negotiated by D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams and MLB might not be as airtight as once thought. The emergency legislation would similarly cap the total cost of the stadium at between $589 million and $630 million, an increase from the $535 million cap imposed in a December 2004 vote.
Now WJLA is reporting that the emergency session may take the better part of the day, pushing off the vote on the stadium lease once again. And not one to be left on the sidelines, Williams is firing back at one of the consultants that warned Cropp of the loophole in the existing price-cap. In a tersely worded release, Williams noted that the consultant, Louis Cohen, had worked for the Virginia Baseball Stadium Authority, which had attempted to get the Nationals for themselves. Said Williams:
This is a shocking conflict of interest. How can the residents of the District of Columbia trust the advice of a lawyer when his previous work was on behalf of Northern Virginia? It’s a blatant and inherent conflict - especially now that Cohen, and others at Piper Rudnick, have encouraged the Council to take actions that could jeopardize the fragile deal to keep the Nationals in DC.Confused? Tired? Banging your head against your desk just hoping for this all to be over? If so, you can take it out on the Post, who is hosting a Q&A on the matter at 1 p.m., or follow the progress on their new blog, D.C. Wire.
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The lease debate would have been so much smoother if the Mayor's office was not being actively coveted by practically every DC Council member.
Message to Linda Cropp: Please pick a message and stick with it. Maybe Fenty would not be ahead in the polls if you chose a position on the stadium.
www.dcbubble.blogspot.com
Note to DC Bubble blogger: Those awful graphics are going to give me a stroke! Black with white and blue text?! Dude, i'm boycotting your blog until it's legible.
I'm not surprised. This ineptitude is what the citizens of the District should continue to expect if they keep electing the Keystone Kops to the City Council.
the Post is reporting the Council rejected the lease.
I'd love to hear what Tom Boswell has to say. He posted that there was "no way" the Nats were leaving town, but I don't see how they are staying in D.C. If NONE of the generous concessions made this past weekend were able to sway a SINGLE vote, then I doubt anything will get Fenty and company to build a new ballpark--not even expensive penalites MLB will be sure to enact once this goes to arbitration. I will make those 8 council members this promise---we baseball fans will remember what they have done, and they will live to regret this decision.
The one hope baseball fans here have is that Governor Tim Keane of Virginia is able to work with the soon-to-be-revived Virginia Baseball Authority to get a proposed ballpark in NoVa and baseball will have the patience to negotiate with them. If not---I won't be surprised if this team is contracted after the 2006 season.
Incidentally, here is my e-mail to Governor Keane:
"Dear Governor:
Earlier today, you said that your office would be willing to negotiate with MLB concerning a proposed baseball stadium in Northern Virginia should talks fail with the District of Columbia. Now that the lease has been rejected, I beg you to honor that promise to keep the Nationals in the Washington area, if not the city of Washington itself.
I am not a resident of the Commonwealth, so I cannot vote for or against any politicians, but if a Northern Virginia stadium is within reasonable driving distance, I would gladly see Nats games and spend my hard earned money in Virginia. Although I would prefer that the team keep the name "Washington", "Virginia" is a small price to pay for keeping the nation's pastime here.
D.C.'s elected representatives were short-sighted and stupid. I trust and pray you do not repeat their mistakes. Thank you very much."
Let's remember Chinatown and surrounding areas before the Convention Center and MCI center. Then lets go up to Baltimore and ask them if building Camden and their Convention Center was worth it, cause about 20 years ago that area was very similar to SE is now. You know what screw it I am following the Nats to No VA at least there I wont pay sky high taxes and have public officials that think being robbed at gun point is no big deal. I hope they don't lock up Barry, it’s not worth the tax dollars. If Ward 8 residents can't learn after all those years that a crack addict can't do anything for you after four terms in office they will never learn, Ward 8 was the poorest, had the highest crime, and the worst education record in DC when Barry was first elected and it still does! My only conclusion can be that the people of Ward 8 like it that way, why would they continue to elect him! And if Fenty becomes Mayor of this town well then this just proves it even more, he sure loves Barry and maybe he is getting ready to follow in his footsteps (http://www.dcbar.org/bprReports/informal_ads/Fenty_A.pdf)?
Council is back in session. The fat lady hasn't sung yet.
during the debate vincent orange blew up and accused fenty of being debarred.......anybody got any info?
I watched much of yesterday's council meeting, and I couldn't help but wonder what it would have been like to have that one bizarre candidate from Ward 3 up there, with his cast of multiple personalities. One minute, he would speak in his latino police officer guise, accent and all. And the next, he would appear as someone else, possibly an african-american woman, to contradict the statements made by his previous incarnation.