Results tagged “district”

With the D.C. Council's same-sex marriage bill scheduled for a December 1 vote and a petition to put the issue on the ballot denied, opponents of same-sex marriage might finally have to live up to a threat they've been making in recent months: to take the issue to Congress.

The unemployment rate for the District of Columbia jumped to 11.9 percent in the month of October, its highest level since the current recession began, according to figures released today by the Department of Employment Services. That number marks an increase over the previous month, September, which saw an unemployment rate of 11.4 percent. The national unemployment rate for October was 10.2 percent. Today's news comes paired with an estimate that the District actually added 10,200 jobs in October, despite the increase in unemployment figures. A news release from DOES explains these diverging trends as being due to an increase in the District's labor force, with no change in the number of employed people.

The fight for D.C. voting rights has always been two-fold. On one front, the city has demanded representation in Congress, while on the other it has fought for greater autonomy in local budgetary and legislative matters. While the struggle for congressional representation often gets more press, tomorrow a hearing on Capitol Hill will focus on how better to allow the city to make decisions for itself.

DCist had just been wondering when the city was going to get around to raising awareness about the impending 5 cent disposable bag fee, which goes into effect in January 1, 2010, and lo and behold, the “Skip the Bag, Save the River” Education Campaign press release landed in our inbox today.

Yusuf Acar, the former D.C. computer security official who was arrested and charged in March for his part in a bribery scheme that allegedly funneled phony contracts and pay checks through the District's Office of the Chief Technology Officer, is expected to plead guilty, the Examiner reports.

The D.C. Department of Health announced Thursday that it is reducing the hours and frequency of its free H1N1 vaccine clinics in order to be able to send more doses to doctor's offices and community health centers. DOH says that over 11,000 people have been served in D.C.'s clinics in the past two weeks.

It was a year ago today that District residents awoke -- likely groggy from the celebrations the night before -- to a new president-elect. Barack Obama not only became the nation's first African-American president, he also offered residents of the District of Columbia the promise of a new relationship between the federal executive and the city, one that had largely fallen by the wayside during President George W. Bush's eight years in office.

D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton today introduced a bill that would allow District residents to elect their own District Attorney for the first time.

Unless you've got little kids or are under 24 (and apparently the young people care not for this vaccine, if the Post is to be believed), you probably haven't even tried to go get an H1N1 vaccine yet. The District government only late last week opened up its free vaccine clinics to adults over age 24, and for the time being, that only includes adults with underlying health conditions such as asthma or diabetes, or those who are currently or will soon be caregivers of children under 6 months.

The D.C. Department of Public Works began its fall leaf collection period this week, so if you've got a lot of leaves to deal with around your house, it's worth a reminder how this works. First things first, head to http://leaf.dcgis.dc.gov/ and search for your address on the DPW leaf collection status map. The map will return a list of of scheduled leaf collection periods for your area. Take a note of the dates, and then before your next scheduled pass begins, rake all the leaves in front of your house and sidewalk into a pile in the nearest tree box. DPW crews will then come around and vacuum them up. And if you think you might have been missed, make sure to call 311 to request additional leaf removal service.

D.C. Police say they are investigating two fatal shootings that happened overnight in Northeast.

Legislation legalizing same-sex marriage in the District is going to pass, and no one is more aware of that fact than its opponents. Seeing that they've got little chance of swinging any votes on the D.C. Council, they've instead announced an offensive that will include pushing Congress to stop the legislation from taking effect and using the courts to enforce the federal Defense of Marriage Act on the city.

Let's just say that the Fenty administration and the D.C. Council aren't planning any friendly get togethers any time soon.

The District Department of Employment Services released its monthly jobs numbers this morning, and the news appears to be rather grim. D.C.'s September unemployment rate rose by 0.3 percent over August, up to 11.4 percent, marking a brand new high since the current recession began. August, with its 11.1 percent unemployment rate, had previously seen the worst D.C. jobs figures of the year.

Real estate mogul (and D.C. native) Don Peebles is thinking about giving Mayor Adrian Fenty a run for his money, according to a report this morning in the Washington Business Journal. Peebles told reporter Jonathan O'Connell that he will 'either run himself or support another candidate because of what he called "a continued pattern of a lack of oversight and accountabilty" under Fenty.' Harry Jaffe had previously reported the Peebles rumors in the Examiner, though the possibility that the businessman could run himself is a new development.

The D.C. Public Library launched a redesigned web site today, and it appears to a substantial upgrade from its previous version. Check it out for yourself at www.dclibrary.org.

D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty has named Bryan Sivak, a founder of the Silicon Valley company InQuira, as his new chief technology officer, both D.C. Wire and City Desk are reporting. Sivak, 34, was introduced for the first time by the mayor at a press conference at city hall this morning. The nominee takes over for interim chief Chris Willey, who had been tasked with minding the OCTO ship since the departure of Vivek Kundra, who left the agency for a spot in the Obama administration. OCTO has also been rocked by scandal this year, following a string of arrests in a federal bribery sting tied to the agency. Sivak will have to be confirmed by the D.C. Council.

This afternoon, DCPS released final details of the budget reductions that have caused an uproar in the schools community since probable staff cuts were first announced last month.

The Save WEAVE campaign may have allowed that domestic violence assistance non-profit to stay open, but with the start of the new fiscal year today, other local groups are facing similar financial problems. House of Ruth, the District's largest nonprofit aimed at helping homeless women and children, most of whom have been victims of domestic violence, this week found out that it has lost nearly $500,000 in city funding, as the Washington Post's Susan Kinzie reported today.

The office of D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty released a statement this afternoon announcing that it has reached a deal with Cora Masters Barry and her Recreation Wish List Committee for the group to remain at the Southeast Tennis and Learning Center.

At-Large D.C. Council member David Catania (I) will introduce legislation to extend full marriage rights to same-sex couples in the District of Columbia on Tuesday, Oct. 6.

Thinking about making a major purchase in the District this week? You might want to go ahead and pull the trigger tonight, because starting Thursday, the D.C. general sales and use tax rate increases from 5.75 percent to 6 percent. It's not a massive jump, but that additional .25 percent can and will add up.

The Wall Street Journal has one of their career trends by ordinal list pieces today on where young people in the United States are deciding to move during the recession, and once again Washington, D.C. is at the top of the list. We've heard almost all of this before, but here's why the newspaper says the D.C. area is the best option for young job seekers:

Government hiring is projected to grow fast, and jobs in lobbying, aerospace, defense contracting and professional services are also a draw. Mr. DeVol calls Washington the national leader in high-tech services, surpassing Silicon Valley. Washington's 4,000-plus nonprofits hold appeal for service-minded youth. And amid rising regulation of financial markets, says Barbara Lang, president of the DC Chamber of Commerce, "much of Wall Street is now moving to K Street."

Our occasional series "Secret History" features profiles of classic D.C. albums as a way of looking back at the District's contributions to music over time. This installment looks back at Trans Am's post-rock triumph, Surrender To The Night (Thrill Jockey, 1997).

It's always seemed to me that Washington has a disproportionate number of residents who self-identify as libertarians. Perhaps it's just the nature of our politically-focused city, or the location of the Cato Institute, the Competitive Enterprise Institute, et al and the subsequent deployment of so many Koch fellows here, but I've never met more libertarians in one city than I have in D.C. As such, I've always been surprised by the lack of an active D.C. Libertarian Party on the local politics front over the last several years. Even the small-in-number D.C. Republicans have an organized local party and a small staff, not to mention that the national Libertarian Party is headquartered right here in the Watergate. Turns out, D.C. resident Peter Orvetti is trying to change all that. Orvetti is spearheading a rebirth of a local chapter of the Libertarian Party. He's started a blog and a Facebook group dedicated to the endeavor, and has already convened the reborn party's first meeting.

    

This is the picture of a Town Hall Meeting on health-care reform hosted by D.C.'s non-voting delegate to the House of Representatives, Eleanor Holmes Norton. No offensive signs. No angry shouting. No vaguely racist mob clamoring to get inside.

Over at his blog, D.C. Council member Kwame Brown is pimping the new fall classes available from the city's Workforce Development Program. These are free job training classes available to D.C. adults, most of which start later this month. You can download a list of classes and registration materials from the CCDC web site. The types of classes offered include carpentry, pre-apprenticeship construction, hospitality industry, computer basics, medical billing, Spanish in the workplace, and more. To apply, residents need first to take a screening test to determine reading and mathematics levels. Testing is available Tuesdays and Thursdays at 5 p.m. at the Hospitality Public Charter High School at Roosevelt High School (13th and Upshur St. NW) or PR Harris (4600 Livingston Rd. SE) Monday - Thursday at 1 p.m. or 5 p.m.

The last two smoking rooms on Capitol Hill, in the Cannon and Longworth House Office Buildings, will close for good this week, The Hill reports.

As the battle over gay marriage in the District heats up -- the Washington Blade reports today that D.C. Council member David Catania (I-At Large) may introduce a bill before the end of the month -- a number of politics watchers have warned of political tension and conflict that may ensue.

In case you hadn't heard already, Southeastern University in Southwest D.C. lost its accreditation on Aug. 31, the Washington Post is just reporting now. A message on the school's web site simply states, "Southeastern will not be offering a Fall Session. We are not accepting students at this time."