Nearly one year into his mayoralty, Vince Gray's report card is in, and it's not pretty. Kind of. A poll released overnight by Clarus reports sagging approval ratings for both the mayor and the D.C. Council. more ›

The last three mayors of our fair city have all been tripped up by exactly the same thing -- travel. more ›

There are plenty of folks who think that a signature says a lot about a person. So what can we draw from the marks of the District's mayors? more ›

Homicide statistics have often been bandied about as an easily digestible, if flawed, metric of how well a mayor has battled crime during a given administration. Not surprisingly, the homicide watch in D.C. -- a city where, at one point in the late 1980s and early 90s, more than 400 people were being murdered every year -- has gotten a lot of attention during outgoing Mayor Adrian Fenty's term. Police Chief Cathy Lanier stoked additional interest in the number by proclaiming her goal to reduce the city's homicide total to under 100. Lanier and Fenty didn't reach that goal during the mayor's term. But that hasn't stopped the media from proclaiming Fenty's excellent performance in tamping down the homicide count during his nearly four years in office. more ›

According to the Georgetown Dish, former D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams officially endorsed Vince Gray for mayor during a fundraiser on Saturday. Williams' mother had been on the Gray bandwagon since, well, day one. But it sounds like with eight days to go before the general election, Williams finally felt comfortable with giving the presumptive Mayor his blessing. Williams had endorsed current Mayor Adrian Fenty for reelection back in July. I guess it's not a totally empty gesture, considering the campaign to write-in Fenty that Gray is facing -- after all, Mayor Bow Tie did win reelection in 2002 on the back of write-in votes. more ›

Councilmember Jack Evans now has some company in the "we backed Linda Cropp in 2006, only to find ourselves on the side of Adrian Fenty this year" camp. During a back-slapping ceremony at the DCUSA complex this morning, former Mayor Anthony Williams cannonballed into this year's mayoral race, throwing his weight behind incumbent Mayor Adrian Fenty and fellow bow-tie enthusiast Jim Graham. But, wait! What about Williams' mother, who has hosted fundraisers and worked for challenger Vincent Gray's campaign? Oh, the drama! (Really, Tony Williams and his mom? Sheesh, between that and Gray's fence, we're kind of scraping the bottom of the barrel when it comes to scandals around here, aren't we?) more ›

When Mayor Adrian Fenty disappeared for four days in March, he took with him the public trust. The city deserves answers -- and now, you will have them. A photo has surfaced to explain where Fenty spent March 26-29.
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"You used to be the mayor," said the surprised thief, who simply handed over the box of computer parts. more ›

Federal officials using the District as a testing ground on which to push their preferred domestic programs is nothing new, particularly when it comes to the city’s public schools (ahem, Sen. Landrieu). True to form, nestled deep within President Bush’s 2009 budget proposal is a $5 million increase for a school voucher initiative called the DC Opportunity Scholarship program (OSP). Currently, around 1,900 low-income students receive scholarships up to $7,500 to attend area private schools under the program, the creation of which was authorized through federal legislation in 2003. more ›

The Examiner ran a story on Monday about Bloomingdale's recent round of talks with the city regarding opening a new store in downtown D.C. Along with the recently approved development at the Old Convention Center site, sources in the Fenty administration told Michael Neibauer that the talks have included the controversial Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library at 9th and G Streets NW as a "possible option" for the store. more ›

In most any public or private sector job, losing $31 million on your watch is a surefire way to get yourself fired. CFO Natwar Gandhi's reputation for saving the city's finances has thus far protected him from what is to date the District's biggest corruption scandal. But his fortunes might be changing. Buried towards the end of an article from the Examiner today on an investigation into the tax refund scheme that milked the city... more ›

The Washington Post has the news in the Friday afternoon dump that Mayor Adrian Fenty just fired D.C. Department of Health Director, Gregg A. Pane, along with two of Pane's deputies. We noted back in January that Fenty had major plans to streamline the department in his first 100 days, starting with a consolidation of its eleven agencies into the current seven. Fenty eliminated many of the agency heads appointed by former Mayor Anthony Williams... more ›

>> Runners at the Army Ten-miler are saying there wasn't enough water on the race course. [WTOP] >> Former Mayor Anthony Williams hearts Jenna Bush's new book. [Capital Comment] >> D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier speaks out to defend the records and reputations of the two officers involved in the killing of DeOnte Rawlings, while his father calls for their arrest. [WaPo and WJLA] >> Columbia Heights day was a bit of a bust.... more ›

Harry Jaffe: In writing something of a goodbye column to RFK Stadium, Jaffe recounts the many struggles the District overcame to attract a baseball team. And though plenty of people played important roles, he feels that one deserves extra attention -- former Mayor Anthony Williams. "The hero of the piece has to be Williams, an unpopular mayor who — despite his wandering attention span — kept swinging away at an unpopular crusade to use public... more ›

Well, this isn't exactly what we were expecting. Rather than voting to endorse a change to meters, or keeping the existing zone system, or the third-option of those "zone meters" we talked about yesterday, the D.C. Taxicab Commission today decided to do ... absolutely nothing. The Post has more, describing today's meeting as being deadlocked, which led to the non-decision to recommend that Mayor Fenty make the call all on his own. more ›

In case you missed the news yesterday, the Washington Post has devoted an extraordinary amount of front page column inches to the record breaking temperatures D.C. saw yesterday. At 12:05 p.m. on Wednesday, the temperature hit 102 degrees at Reagan National Airport, according to the National Weather Service, breaking the previous all time high record for Aug. 8, of 101 degrees, set in 1930. The oppressive heat also had a number of other newsworthy... more ›

It only took two years, but now Cornelius Kerwin can finally drop the "acting" part of his title. more ›

The Post's David Nakamura reports that Mayor Adrian Fenty plans to endorse Barack Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination. An official announcement has yet to come, but the actions of Fenty adviser Jim Hudson, who organized a fundraiser for Obama, suggest the mayor looks set to get behind the Illinois senator's campaign. Hudson collected $600,000 and endorsements from some of the mayor's more loyal D.C. Council members: Yvette Alexander (D-Ward 7), Muriel Bowser (D-Ward 4)... more ›

Good morning, D.C. After Tuesday's false Friday, it feels pretty damn good finally to be heading into a real weekend. It's going to be hot, sunny and dry on Saturday and Sunday, so get out there and enjoy it. Police Shot Man Who Died: Two D.C. police officers shot a 23-year-old man near the intersection of 17th Street and Bladensburg Road NE this morning who may have been involved in a gun battle with another... more ›

The Examiner reports that renovations are underway at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library, the central branch of the D.C. Public Public system. The improvements come after former Mayor Anthony Williams' proposal to replace the building with a new flagship library two blocks away on the site of the old convention center was first tabled by the D.C. Council and then shelved by the Fenty administration. Improvements to the outdated and long-neglected MLK Library... more ›

You heard it here first: The bloom is officially off the rose of the Fenty administration. On Monday, the Mayor held an opening ceremony for the District's public swimming pools, at which he failed to fulfill our simple request that he make sure somebody did a cannonball. The Examiner was there yesterday afternoon to witness the pitiful display of showmanship where Fenty opened the city's pools, not with a dive, but with a whistle. While... more ›

Ever since he took office after eight years of Mayor Anthony Williams' tenure, the question has burned in our minds: Will D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty continue Williams' tradition by opening the D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation's public swimming pools with a cannonball dive? He's been asked the question a number of times already, but always with a different answer. First Fenty said maybe his twin sons, Matthew and Andrew, would do the honors. Then... more ›

Happy Friday, D.C. It's sunny out, this weekend is apparently going to be gorgeous (72 degrees!), and on Thursday, the D.C. Voting Rights Act passed the House of Representatives. In order to avoid a repeat of last time, Democrats broke the voting rights measure into two bills -- one that would add the extra seats in the house and the other a PAY-GO bill to fund them. They were both written so narrowly that Republicans... more ›

It's the Ides of March and there's not much to fear, D.C. As long as we don't step on any cracks (and therefore break mothers' backs) or allow black cats free reign, we might not jinx our chances for voting rights. Stay tuned for full DCist coverage on the debate/vote today. On a more personal note, for all those who succumbed to the irrational exuberance of sartorial selection this week, temperance is due; it's back... more ›

Well you can't say that we, along with every other local prognosticator, didn't warn you of the coming winter storm. Now feel free to look outside and share a mutual groan that the foretold snow event has so far materialized into something more like steady flurries or maybe just an unpleasant dampness which TV weathermen, in an effort to keep viewers interested, assure us could turn into a freezing deathtrap at any time! None... more ›

>> Breaking News: Former D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams has taken a new job at Friedman Billings Ramsey, an investment banking company involved in real estate investment trusts. A formal announcement is expected shortly. [NBC4] >> It's SotU time! Wonkette has details on where to go and exactly how much of which substances you'll need for a proper drinking game. Who will the president kiss while walking down the aisle this year, and how jealous will... more ›

Around the time of last year's State of the Union address, we asked whether then-Mayor Anthony Williams should have foregone attending the annual event as a guest of First Lady Laura Bush, to make clear his continuing disappointment with the District's lack of voting rights. Some commenters thought the idea preposterous, with one going as far as to opine: Of course the mayor should attend. What the f*ck is boycotting it going to accomplish? Do... more ›

Good chilly morning to you, Washington. Our neighbors to the north have officially got themselves a new rock-star Governor, as Martin O'Malley was sworn in yesterday afternoon in Maryland to the sounds of the Saw Doctors, an Irish rock band that flew from Dublin for the event, and later to his own band, O'Malley's March, at his inaugural ball. Not that we're jealous or anything, but does anyone know if Mayor Fenty plays an instrument?... more ›

Now that's what we call efficiency. Not six hours after being officially sworn-in as the District's fifth elected mayor since Home Rule, Adrian Fenty's presence is already being felt on the city's official homepage. Gone is the image of former Mayor Anthony Williams atop the page, as is his "Mayor's Welcome." Both have been replaced by Fenty. Williams' blog is also gone, though it won't soon be missed -- it's last entry was dated March... more ›

>> Yeah, you. You need to stay late tonight to make up for the crazy amount of time you're about to have off. That's right, those of us who do not work for the Federal Government are currently glaring up a storm at those of you who do, because the word from on high is now official: President Bush has declared January 2 as the official day of mourning for President Ford, which means Federal... more ›