April 3, 2007
School Takeover Plan Moves Ahead
Mayor Adrian Fenty's plan to take personal control of D.C. Public Schools took one important step forward today, and may yet take another. In a 9-2 vote that took the proposal out of committee, the Washington Post reports the Council gave the takeover its first official blessing, paving the way for a first reading vote that could still happen in an extended session today.
The committee vote took place after Lisa Comfort Bradford, a candidate for the vacant Ward 4 Council seat, requested a temporary injunction against the vote, saying the decision should be delayed until after the special elections for wards 4 and 7. Senior Judge Bruce S. Mencher denied the request, explaining that no action could be taken until the law had been passed. If the council votes affirmatively on first reading, Bradford could file for a preliminary injunction to delay the final vote.
The results of the vote itself are no big surprise. Fenty has long been thought to have the votes he needs to pass this legislation, with traditional political foes Carol Schwartz (R-At Large) and Phil Mendelson (D-At Large) the only dissenters. We'll have more updates on all the controversial measures taken up by the D.C. Council today for you in the morning, including the school takeover plan, a mandatory HPV vaccine for girls to attend 6th grade, the $50 million to gift to Abe Pollin to update the Verizon Center, and confirmations of Acting Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier and Acting Attorney General Linda Singer.
Photo by krwaltondc
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why is there a mandatory vaccination for a disease that isn't easily transmitted during class?
that's ridiculous. if they invent a vaccine for hiv are they going to make that mandatory? i would hope not. this isn't the goddamn plague.
oh. and where the hell is that $50,000,000 going to come from? does dc get to share in the profits of the verizon center? why doesn't verizon donate the damn money?
"he's revitalized the chinatown area!"
... so what. give him the key to the city then. how about the abe polli center in lieu of the verizon center.
PRIVATE BUSINESS should not be funded by our taxes. what the hell is going on fenty?!?!?!
I give props to Cheh and Wells for opposing the Verizon handout. And I love how supposed populists Graham, Mendelson and Schwartz all went along with the $50 giveaway with nary a peep. Their supposed populism apparently only goes so far.
hpv vaccine to be `mandatory?' no opt out clause? if so that's pretty bold on his part, especially considering two wards didn't even get a say on this bill.
"give him the key to the city then. "
Actually, if I recall correctly, the Tony Williams-designed "key" to the city was pretty damn expensive itself. And like the new Tony williams-designed baseball stadium, it's ugly, unexplicably modernist, and doesn't seemed designed to appeal to anyone.
Chalk up another disappointment in the first 100 days of the Fenty administration. D.C. is giving a $50 million thank you card to a man who already has made tens of millions off city residents. It just boggles the mind.
Carol Schwartz is the shadiest rep. this side of the U.S. Congress. When has she seen a corporate giveaway she didn't like?