Yesterday afternoon, the D.C. Council gave preliminary approval to a revised redistricting plan after a pair of high-profile amendments to the plan failed to garner the votes needed to enact changes. more ›

Ted Loza, former chief of staff to Ward 1 Councilmember Jim Graham, is reportedly scheduled to appear in court for a plea hearing this afternoon. The hearing will be held at 3 p.m. more ›

So far, the town halls hosted by presumptive Mayor-elect Vince Gray have been held in wards where he cleaned up (5, 7) or where he got his clock cleaned (2,3). But yesterday's Ward 1 town hall was the first Gray convened in a ward that split about as close to even as the Democratic primary got: 60 to 40, in favor of Mayor Adrian Fenty. (Ward 6 is the other, having gone 55-45 for Fenty.) more ›

You, me, Vince Gray and lots of talk about budget shortfalls and education reform. Sounds good, huh? Gray's citywide town hall tour enters its second half tonight in Ward 1, where he presumptive mayor-elect will broadly assess the state of the city and take questions on his plans for it. So far, Gray's hit wards 5, 3, 7, and 2; 8, 4 and 6 are yet to come. Tonight's event runs from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Carlos Rosario International Public Charter School at 1100 Harvard Street NW. more ›

I was quite taken with Bryan Weaver's first campaign video -- an homage to Paul Wellstone and a piece of much-needed levity in an election season that has taken itself far too seriously, far too often. Plenty of other people thought the same: Weaver's charismatic performance has now hit over 77,000 views on YouTube. That's not too shabby for a guy that, until this summer, most people outside of Ward 1 had probably never heard of. more ›

Who cares if he borrowed the script from former Minnesota Senator Paul Wellstone -- this campaign video from Bryan Weaver, who's gunning for Jim Graham's Ward 1 Council seat, is pretty damn fantastic. We can't really call it positive politics, since one of the numerous highlights of the video is Weaver standing in front of Jim Graham's iconic convertible and knocking the bow-tied one -- though he never names him -- for never riding the system. But Weaver's three-point stroke on the playground and his too-adorable-for-words daughter almost makes us forget this video is about a Council campaign. more ›

Via City Desk, it looks like former D.C. Board of Education member Jeff Smith is considering running against incumbent Ward 1 Council member Jim Graham (D). Smith is Executive Director of DC Voice, an education advocacy group. more ›

As expected, D.C. Council member Jim Graham (D-Ward 1) today formally announced that he will be seeking re-election in 2010. The announcement was coupled with the launch of his campaign web site. more ›

Rumors about a possible D.C. Council run by ANC 1C chair Bryan Weaver have been circulating for weeks now, and DCist had been dutifully pestering the longtime Adams Morgan activist to confirm his intentions for some time before ... getting royally scooped by Loose Lips this afternoon. Sigh. Weaver "filed exploratory papers with the Office of Campaign Finance on Tuesday," Mike DeBonis reports. more ›

The fountain water flowed as District officials gathered this morning to formally dedicate the completion of the first phase of the new Columbia Heights Plaza, located at the intersection of 14th Street, Park Road and Kenyon Street NW. more ›

Councilman Jim Graham made the electronic rounds yesterday to tell residents of Ward 1 that a straw poll on same sex marriage measures will occur on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. in the Second Floor Conference Room of the Reeves Center. The poll, which will be accompanied by a panel discussion on the issue, probably won't be as contentious as recent official votes in Ward 8 (where it passed with a fair majority) and Ward 5 (where it rather controversially did not). Wards 2 and 4 have also given the thumbs up to equality measures. While we'd be rather surprised if the District's most densely populated ward didn't vote in favor of equality, the turnout and margins -- and any potential disruptions like at the Ward 5 meeting -- will be of particular interest. more ›

The ban on the sale of single beers keeps marching on, so it seems. more ›

As illegal graffiti continues to appear on D.C.'s streets, the D.C. Council sought a way to do more than paint over it and send the taggers to jail, only to repeat the process again and again. Council member Jim Graham's office contacted The Midnight Forum, a non-profit with a mission to empower youth through hip-hop, through both the entertainment side as well as teaching business and life skills. more ›