This afternoon, Mayor Adrian Fenty officially released his revised fiscal year 2011 budget, which reverses a $188 million deficit through several cuts in government spending and services. The budget eliminates about 125 "vacant and redundant" government jobs, the result of an agency-by-agency review conducted by the Fenty administration. more ›

A crowd of approximately 100 people were hungry this morning. Hungry for pancakes. A line snaked around the entrance to the new IHOP restaurant in Columbia Heights this morning, the promise of free pancakes for those with the patience to wait out the ribbon-cutting ceremony. more ›

BWKP's remarkable shot of Adrian Fenty from last summer's Dextro Energy triathlon captures the serenity he's able to achieve in the heat of battle. We wonder what's going through the Mayor's mind right about now? (EXIF.) more ›

Sunday's Nation's Triathlon was a pretty big deal -- there have been claims that the number of registered participants -- including Mayor Adrian Fenty -- may have broken a Guinness World Record. The event, which involved a 1.5 kilometer swim, a 40 kilometer bike ride and a 10 kilometer run, was won by Robert Wade on the men's side (who finished with a 1:57:13) and Peggy Yetman on the women's side (she finished in 2:07:20). The Tri is always a prime opportunity to capture some of the best action photography in the District -- Swim Bike Run Photography, a collective of local photographers, was on hand and kindly allowed us to show off their work to the world. more ›

This morning, the D.C. Council voted down Mayor Adrian Fenty's proposal to extend the 2010 Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) for an additional seven days. The only votes in favor of the proposal were Harry Thomas, Jr. (D-Ward 5) -- who hosted six teenagers in his office as part of SYEP -- and Muriel Bowser (D-Ward 4). The Council's vote will return about $4 million to the city's fund for homelessness services. (Hardly a place where extra money will go to waste.) We weren't particularly shocked by the vote -- the debate over the program's fiscal management got pretty feisty yesterday, and this isn't the first time the Council has spared with the Mayor about SYEP's budget. At one point, Mary Cheh (D-Ward 3) summed up SYEP's approximately $11.5 million overage thusly: "To borrow a phrase from my daughter, this blows." more ›

Starting today, fines for some traffic violations are doubling or even quadrupling. As a budget balancing measure, Mayor Adrian Fenty approved raising the fines for 71 violations, from speeding to not having windshield wipers. The Examiner has a handy chart for some of these: speeding 11-15 mph over the limit goes from $50 to $125, while passing a stopped school bus goes from $50 to a whopping $500. The fines are expected to pull in over $7 million through the rest of fiscal 2010. more ›

The quasi-governmental agency that's been at the center of D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty's parks contracting scandal will soon be under the financial supervision of D.C. CFO Natwar Gandhi, the Examiner reports. more ›

In hopes of closing a $500 million budget deficit, Mayor Adrian Fenty's proposed FY 2011 budget cut funding for plenty of programs -- and D.C. voting rights and statehood lobbying wasn't spared. more ›

Some good news out of the John A. Wilson Building today. The Post's Nikita Stewart got hold of a letter penned by City Administrator Neil Albert to D.C. Council Chairman Vincent Gray, which just so happened to accompany the delivery of the Council's full allotment of Nationals tickets. more ›

The D.C. Council took care of their Marion Barry problem earlier this afternoon, so now it's time to turn our eyes toward something else that always has the possibility to be a debacle for the city: the start of the Summer Youth Employment Program season, which officially kicked off today. District youth ages 14 to 21 may register via the DOES web site now through April 16. more ›

At-large D.C. Council member Michael A. Brown (I) on Tuesday came close to announcing he will run for mayor against Adrian Fenty in the November regular election. Brown made his comments during an appearance on NewsTalk with Bruce DePuyt on News Channel 8. more ›

Mayor Adrian Fenty just finished addressed the media from outside the Reeves Center, reinforcing his plea that "if you can avoid being out right now, please do so." more ›

Michael Neibauer and Bill Myers filed a two-fer today on the racial divide over D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty, noting in separate stories that black residents have soured on the guy, while whites are still, for the most part, behind him. That much has been evident since Sunday, though, when the Washington Post released its latest poll. So what's new here? For one, they offer that white support alone could still be enough to see Fenty re-elected. Well sure, but really we're burying the lede here: if you read nothing else in either of these stories, read this quote, on Fenty's personality problem:

"Arrogance" is a common refrain among many of Fenty's critics. Many cite the city's spiraling unemployment and then immediately contrast it with a mayor who squabbled over baseball tickets with the D.C. Council and who had a special heater installed at a public pool so his afternoon workouts could be more comfortable. more ›

We're going to play devil's advocate here. more ›

The ongoing contracts dispute between the D.C. Council and the administration of Mayor Adrian Fenty is heading to court. more ›

Remember back in mid-December, when the Council voted unanimously to remove Banneker Ventures -- headed by Mayor Fenty's fraternity buddy Omar Karim -- from the city's contracting rolls? Well, that obviously didn't stop the city from giving them some money. The Post's Nikita Stewart reports that the D.C. Housing Authority wrote a check to Banneker for $2.5 million dollars on Christmas Eve. At a another hearing on the latest Fenty/Council pissing match ongoing Department of Parks and Recreation construction kerfuffle, DCHA chief financial officer Debra Toothman testified that she approved the check's release, without Council knowledge. more ›

Oh, you thought that Mayor Fenty would actually be reimbursing the city for all that extra security he used while biking through Rock Creek Park back in November? District attorney general Peter Nickles says don't be silly! "It has never been the practice of anyone serving as mayor of the District of Columbia to refund the cost of his or her security detail," Nickles told the Council yesterday. Nickles also made sure to remind the Council that just because the Mayor is alone in his vehicle, it doesn't mean that "the mayor isn't adequately protected at all times." Obviously, this can only mean one thing: the EOM has invested in a small cadre of pre-crime sentinels, invisible to the human eye. Heck, the cost for such an operation might just be buried somewhere in that $47 million which the city has "recklessly" handed out to organizations who weren't following tax and business laws this year. more ›

Adrian Fenty is asking if those of you who are out there braving the elements could please come inside now. more ›

The District has about 300 trucks currently working on the roads, according to statements made at a press conference this morning where Mayor Adrian Fenty and the directors of DPW and DDOT commented on the status of snow removal. The Mayor also reinforced that no one should be getting behind the wheel unless it was a crisis. "There should be absolutely no reason anyone should be on the streets," urged Fenty. more ›

Now that hypothermia season has truly hit the city, District homeless shelters are starting to feel the shock of the Fenty administration's $12 million cut to homeless services. more ›

Got nothin' to do tomorrow afternoon? Stop by Mayor Adrian Fenty's birthday bash/campaign fundraiser for what's sure to be -- if recent polls are any indication -- a somewhat more sober affair than originally planned. more ›

D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty today introduced his latest choice to head the Department of Parks and Recreation, Jesús Aguirre. Like his controversial predecessor, outgoing interim-cum-acting director Ximena Hartsock, Aguirre comes from DCPS, where he's been Director of Operations under Michelle Rhee. more ›

The freakout over White House party crashers Michaele and Tareq Salahi having met the president continues apace, but despite the story's tackiness, we were at least amused to find that among the few pictures the couple posted on their promotional Facebook page from the event, our own Mayor Adrian Fenty and his wife Michelle Fenty made the cut. (Other pictures included Vice President Joe Biden, Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and CBS News anchor Katie Couric.) Think this photo makes the Fentys a) happy to be considered part of the city's social elite, or b) really embarrassed? more ›

Yesterday the Washington Post asked a number of local political watchers, myself included, if we thought Mayor Adrian Fenty would be re-elected in 2010. Some said yes, others said no. I stressed that without a credible challenger – and none has yet stepped forward – Fenty would cruise to a second term. Well, if that capable challenger ends up being D.C. Council Chair Vincent Gray, Fenty may have to start looking for a new job. more ›

With relations between Mayor Adrian Fenty and the D.C. Council as strained as they are, you'd think the city's chief executive might do what he could to make things just a little bit better. But if a hearing today before the council on the ongoing Department of Parks and Recreation contracting scandal serves as any indication, that doesn't seem to be the case. more ›

Law-breaking, wasting public funds and an elected official who's increasingly unpopular -- the story had everything you would want in an exposé. So when WTOP's Mark Segraves reported Monday that D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty used a police escort and clogged up area roads on his daily bike ride, everyone jumped on it. Including us. more ›

Like, literally. Our sister site Londonist brings news of London Mayor Boris Johnson, who on Tuesday night jumped off of his bike to save a woman from an aggressive gang of teen girls. The victim of the attack, who actually voted for opponent Ken Livingstone in last year's mayoral election, called Johnson "my knight on a shining bicycle" in comments to The Guardian. more ›

We reported yesterday on rumors that the Giro d'Italia, one of professional cycling's biggest events, may come to the District for an opening stage in 2011. more ›

As a competitive cyclist who mourned the postponement of this year's only professional race in the District, I was ecstatic, though slightly skeptical, to stumble acros the news this morning that organizers of the Giro d'Italia, one of the three grand tours of international cycling, were thinking of bringing the opening stages of the race to D.C.. more ›

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