On Saturday D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Notron and Mayor Adrian Fenty reached a quick agreement with Sen. Benjamin Cardin (D-Md.) to remove the hold the senator placed on the District schools takeover plan on Thursday. "We have a handshake agreement. That's what old friends can do," Norton told the Post.

Cardin had said he placed the hold as a political maneuver to pressure the District to negotiate on a long-standing disagreement involving the District's plans to rebuild the Oak Hill youth detention center in Anne Arundel County. The details of the agreement between Norton and Cardin have yet to be made public, and it's unclear whether Mayor Fenty agreed to budge any if at all on the plans for the Oak Hill facility. A Cardin spokesperson only indicated that the senator would vote in favor of the school takeover legislation.

Despite the plagiarism scandal that came to light last week and prompted Deputy Mayor for Education Victor Reinoso to publicly apologize, the Mayor's school takeover plan looks as though it will now pass Congress with no more hurdles in sight. No doubt we'll finally get a decision about the fate of Superintendant Clifford B. Janey soon enough.

Photo by bethhowe1